Josh Gorges

Joshua Daniel Gorges (born August 14, 1984) is a Canadian former ice hockey defenceman. He played parts of fourteen seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL). He played for the San Jose Sharks, Montreal Canadiens, and Buffalo Sabres. 

Career
Before playing in the NHL, Gorges played 4 seasons with the Kelowna Rockets of the Western Hockey League (WHL). During his time with the Rockets, he captained the team and helped them win the Memorial Cup in 2004. Gorges was awarded the George Parsons Trophy for being the most sportsmanlike player in the Memorial Cup tournament. Gorges also captained the WHL in the Canada-Russia challenge in November 2003.

He went undrafted but signed a contract with the San Jose Sharks as a free agent on September 20, 2002. On October 7, 2005, Gorges made his NHL debut with Sharks in a 6–3 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks. He played 2 seasons with the Sharks. On January 4, 2007, Gorges scored his first NHL goal against Dominik Hašek of the Detroit Red Wings in a 9–4 win.

On February 25, 2007, the Sharks traded Gorges along with their 1st round choice (Max Pacioretty) in 2007 NHL Entry Draft in exchange for Craig Rivet and Montreal's 5th round choice (Julien Demers) in 2008 NHL Entry Draft. On July 9, 2008, he signed a three-year, $3.3 million contract with the Canadiens.

On February 10, 2010, during a game against the Washington Capitals, Gorges was involved in an in-ice incident where he was hit on the left side of the head by a slap shot from Mike Green while attempting to block a shot. He was motionless on the ice for several minutes, with his head bleeding. He would be helped to the bench by doctors.

On February 19, 2011, He had successful reconstruction surgery on his injured right knee and he had to miss the remainder of the 2010–11 season. On July 22, 2011, during the off-season, Gorges signed a one-year, $2.5 million contract with the Montreal Canadiens. On January 1, 2012, he re-signed with the Canadiens with a six-year, $3.9 million contract.

On July 1, 2014, the Canadiens traded Gorges to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for a 2nd round draft pick in 2016, after Gorges refused to waive his no-trade clause to be traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs. After 13 seasons in the NHL, he officially retired from playing on January 14, 2019.

References

 Other websites 

Category:1984 births
Category:Living people
Category:Buffalo Sabres players
Category:Canadian ice hockey defencemen
Category:Cleveland Barons (2001–2006) players
Category:Ice hockey people from British Columbia
Category:Montreal Canadiens players
Category:People from Kelowna
Category:San Jose Sharks players
Category:Worcester Sharks players
Category:Memorial Cup winners