Paul Kariya

Paul Tetsuhiko Kariya (born October 16, 1974) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger. He played a total of 15 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL). He played for the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, Colorado Avalanche, Nashville Predators, and St. Louis Blues. He was known for his speed, vision, playmaking and puck-handling skills when he played.

Kariya is a seven-time All-Star, being named one in 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, and 2003. He is also a two-time back-to-back Lady Byng Memorial Trophy winner in 1996 and 1997. Internationally, Kariya played for Canada, winning a silver medal with them in 1994 and a gold medal in 2002. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2017.

Career
Before playing in the NHL, Kariya played parts of two seasons with the Penticton Panthers of the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) and two years with the Maine Black Bears of Hockey East. He had a successful time with his teams. With the Panthers, Kariya was awarded the Bruce Allison Memorial Trophy for being the rookie of the year, the Bob Fenton Trophy twice for being the most sportsmanlike player, the Vern Dye Memorial Trophy for being the BCHL's most valuable player, and was named the Canadian Junior A Player of the Year. With the Black Bears, Kariya finished his rookie season, scoring 25 goals and recording 75 assists for 100 points in 39 games. He won both the Rookie of the Year, Player of the Year, and the Lamoriello Trophy with the Bears. He was also named to the All-Hockey East Rookie Team and First Team. Kariya was the 1993 winner of the Hobey Baker Award and won the National Champion with Black Bears. The end of the year saw Kariya named to the All-Tournament Team and was also named as a AHCA East First-Team All-American.

He was drafted 31st overall by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in the 1993 NHL entry draft. On August 31, 1994, he signed a three-year, $6.5 million entry-level contract to join the Mighty Ducks. On January 20, 1995, Kariya made his NHL debut in a 2–1 loss against the Edmonton Oilers. The next day on January 21, Kariya scored his first NHL goal against Tim Cheveldae in a 4–3 win against the Winnipeg Jets. Kariya as a nominee for the Calder Memorial Trophy but it was won by Quebec Nordiques player Peter Forsberg. He was named to the NHL All-Rookie Team at the end of the season. 

The next season, he was selected to play in his first All-Star game. Kariya was put on a line with the recently acquired Teemu Selänne and the two had a tremendous amount of success. Kariya recorded a 100-point season. He was awarded the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy at the end of the season for his sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct. On October 3, 1996, the Mighty Ducks announced named Kariya as their new team captain. During a game against the Toronto Maple Leafs on November 13, 1996, Leafs player Mathieu Schneider elbowed Kariya in the head and he was out of action with a concussion for two games. Schneider was suspended by the NHL for the hit. Despite the injury, Kariya still had a productive season. He was named to his second All-Star game and was third in the league for point-scoring. At the end of the season, he was awarded his second back-to-back Lady Byng Memorial Trophy and was also a finalist for the Hart Memorial Trophy. On December 11, 1997, Kariya signed a two-year, $14 million contract to stay with the Mighty Ducks. His contract featured a clause where the Anaheim pays him $8.5 million in his second contract year. This made Kariya the second-highest-paid player in NHL history behind Mario Lemieux and his $11 million contract. 

After being concussed by a crosscheck to the face from Chicago Blackhawks player Gary Suter, Kariya was forced to miss the 1992 Winter Olympics and suffered post-concussion syndrome, headaches, and short-term memory afterwards. It was speculated that Suter had intentionally injured Kariya so that he could not play against Suter's United States team in the Olympics. Suter received death threats afterwards. On June 30, 1999, Kariya signed a three-year, $32 million contract to stay with the Mighty Ducks. During Game 3 of the playoffs, Kariya broke his foot after blocking a puck with his skate. The Mighty Ducks went on to lose the series to the defending champion Detroit Red Wings and were eliminated. Kariya was selected for his third All-Star game. On December 8, 1999, Kariya played against his younger brother Steve Kariya of the Vancouver Canucks for the first time in their lives. He finished the season scoring 42 goals and recording 44 assists for 86 points in 74 games. This was fourth-highest in the NHL for the season. In January 2002, Kariya was selected for his sixth All-Star game. On February 7, 2002, Kariya recorded a hat trick in his 500th carer game where they defeated the Philadelphia Flyers. His scoring and offensive production started to decrease after the season. The team didn't fare any better as they had the third-worst record in the Western Conference and their home attendance started to dwindle.

On July 31, 2002, Kariya signed a one-year contract extension to stay with the Mighty Ducks. In February 2003, he was selected for his seventh All-Star game.

He helped the Mighty Ducks when they went on a run in the playoffs. They defeated the Detroit Red Wings, Dallas Stars, and Minnesota Wild. They were eventually defeated the New Jersey Devils four games to three in the Final. During Game Six of the Final, Devils player Scott Stevens delivered a huge open-ice hit on Kariya which left Kariya less on the ice for minutes. He later returned 4 minutes later and scored a goal in a 4–1 win. He also had two assists in the game as well. Kariya played much of the playoffs with a separated shoulder.

On July 3, 2003, Kariya signed a one-year, $1.2 million contract to join the Colorado Avalanche. The Avalanche also signed Kariya's former linemate Teemu Selanne which made Kariya take a pay cut of $8.8 million of his $10 million salary with Anaheim last season, setting the record for the highest decrease in compensation for a player in the history of the league. On October 21, Kariya injured his wrist and was out for ten games but when he returned, he ended up re-injuring his wrist which kept him out for months. On July 3, 2003, Kariya signed a one-year contract extension to stay with the Colorado Avalanche. On July 1, 2004, Kariya's time with the Avalanche came to an end after his contract ran out.

On August 5, 2005, Kariya signed a two-year, $9 million contract to join the Nashville Predators. The signing made him the highest-payed player in the history of the Predators. In September, Kariya separated his ankle and suffered a groin injury during Predators camp which affected his playing time. Kariya finished the season scoring 31 goals and recording 54 assists for 85 points. This set new records for the Predators for all categories. The points and assists recorde were eventually broken by Roman Josi in the 2021–22 season. After an uncertain future with team owner Craig Leipold wanting to sell the team and it being possibly relocated, Kariya decided not to re-sign with the team.

On July 1, 2007, Kariya signed a three-year, $18 million contract to join the St. Louis Blues. On January 5, 2009, Kariya underwent surgery for a torn acetabular labrum. He had another MRI which showed that he had a torn labrum in the other side of his hip which needed a second surgery. On April 11, 2010, Kariya played in his last game. He had an assist on a David Backes goal in a 2–1 shootout loss to his former team, the Nashville Predators. On December 27, 2009, during a game against the Buffalo Sabres, Sabres player Patrick Kaleta elbowed Kariya in the back of the head and concussed him. The hit cause the NHL to review their rules and make changes about hits to the head. On June 29, 2011, Kariya announced that he was retiring from playing professional ice hockey citing multiple concussions and post-concussion syndrome as reasons why. He also advocates for the understanding of concussions in hockey better.

On June 26, 2017, Kariya was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame alongside Selänne. On October 21, 2018, the Ducks retired Kariya's jersey number #9 and raised it to the rafter alongside his former linemate and close friend Teemu Selänne's #8.

Personal life
Kariya's younger brother Steve also played 65 games in the NHL for the Vancouver Canucks. His sister Noriko is a professional boxer and his other brother Martin played professional hockey in Europe.

References

 Other websites 

Category:1974 births
Category:Living people
Category:Canadian ice hockey left wingers
Category:Colorado Avalanche players
Category:Hockey Hall of Fame inductees
Category:Ice hockey people from British Columbia
Category:Lady Byng Memorial Trophy winners
Category:Mighty Ducks of Anaheim players
Category:Nashville Predators players
Category:Olympic gold medalists for Canada
Category:Olympic silver medalists for Canada
Category:St. Louis Blues players