Aaron Ward (ice hockey)

Aaron Ward
Born	January 17, 1973 (1973-01-17) Windsor, ON, CAN
Height	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight	209 lb (95 kg; 14 st 13 lb)
Position	Defence
Shot	Right
Played for	Detroit Red Wings Carolina Hurricanes New York Rangers Boston Bruins Anaheim Ducks
NHL Draft	5th overall, 1991 Winnipeg Jets
Playing career	1993–2010

Aaron Ward (born January 17, 1973) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman and current hockey analyst on TSN. He won the Stanley Cup three times.

Playing career

Born in Windsor, Ontario, Ward moved with his family to Blackburn Hamlet, Ontario, a suburb of Ottawa, as a youth. Ward played junior hockey for the Nepean Raiders of the Central Junior A Hockey League, before accepting a scholarship at the University of Michigan. After one season at Michigan, he was drafted fifth-overall by the Winnipeg Jets in the 1991 NHL Entry Draft. Before his playing days at Michigan were over, he was traded to the Detroit Red Wings, signing with the club in 1993. He was assigned to the Red Wings' affiliate Adirondack Red Wings for the 1993–94 season, where he spent the bulk of the next three seasons. He made his NHL debut in 1993–94, but only became a regular NHL player in the 1996–97 season. Although in his debut in 1993–94, he scored the first goal at the Arrowhead Pond on October 8, 1993.

Since 1993–94, Ward has played over 600 career NHL games and been a member of three Stanley Cup championship teams, two while playing for the Detroit Red Wings in 1997, 1998 and one with the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006. In 2006, Ward scored the first goal in game seven of the Stanley Cup finals to help his team win the Cup. After the 2006 season, Ward became an unrestricted free agent and he signed with the New York Rangers. He joined fellow 2006 Cup winner Matt Cullen as a free agent signed by the Rangers. His tenure as a Ranger however was short-lived, during the 2006–07 season among rumors of tension between him and then captain Jaromír Jágr, Ward found himself traded to the Boston Bruins. While with Boston, Ward added solid defense and much-needed veteran leadership. He was often paired up with Zdeno Chara on Boston's top defensive pair.

Prior to the 2009-10 season on July 24, 2009, Ward was re-acquired by Carolina exchange for forward Patrick Eaves and a 4th round draft pick in 2010. Ward surprisingly struggled in his return with the Hurricanes and on March 3, 2010, he was traded to the Anaheim Ducks for Justin Pogge and a 4th round pick.

Ward announced his retirement from professional hockey after 13 NHL seasons on August 24, 2010.

Ward now serves as a analyst and personality on TSN.

Trades and transactions

• June 9, 1991, Drafted by the Winnipeg Jets in the 1st round (5th overall) in 1991.
• June 11, 1993, Traded by the Winnipeg Jets along with a 4th round selection to the Detroit Red Wings for Paul Ysebaert.
• July 9, 2001, Traded by the Detroit Red Wings to the Carolina Hurricanes for a future second round selection.
• July 3, 2006, Signed with the New York Rangers as a free agent.
• February 27, 2007, Traded by the New York Rangers to the Boston Bruins for Paul Mara.
• May 22, 2008, Signed a 2 year contract with the Boston Bruins.
• July 24, 2009, Traded by the Boston Bruins to the Carolina Hurricanes for winger Patrick Eaves and a fourth-round pick in the 2010 draft.
• December 14, 2009, waived by the Carolina Hurricanes.
• March 3, 2010, traded by the Carolina Hurricanes to the Anaheim Ducks in a trade for Justin Pogge and a 2010 4th round pick.

Personal life

Ward and his wife Kelly have three children.

Cuts for a Cause

In March 2008, Ward, in conjunction with the Toucher and Rich radio program (WBCN 104.1) created a head-shaving charity event called 'Cuts for a Cause'. Seven players from the Boston Bruins shaved their heads to raise money to benefit the MassGeneral Hospital for Children. Patrice Bergeron, Phil Kessel, Andrew Alberts, Milan Lucic, Mark Stuart and Dennis Wideman joined Ward in helping raise $25,000. A second 'Cuts for a Cause' event took place in April 2009 with the group raising $32,000 for the Boston Bruins Foundation and MassGeneral Hospital for Children's Pediatric Oncology Unit. This year a total of thirteen members of the Bruins roster participated in the head shaving contest, as well as on-air personalities Fred Toucher and Adolfo "baby" Gonzalez.

Big Ten Analyst

In the spring of 2010, he was the NHL on Versus analyst for the Stanley Cup playoffs and since then joined the Big Ten Network as the hockey analyst.

Career statistics

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1988–89	Nepean Raiders	CJAHL		54	1	14	15	40		—	—	—	—	—
1990–91	University of Michigan	CCHA		46	8	11	19	126		—	—	—	—	—
1991–92	University of Michigan	CCHA		42	7	12	19	64		—	—	—	—	—
1992–93	University of Michigan	CCHA		30	5	8	13	73		—	—	—	—	—
1993–94	Adirondack Red Wings	AHL		58	4	12	16	87		9	2	6	8	6
1993–94	Detroit Red Wings	NHL		5	1	0	1	4		—	—	—	—	—
1994–95	Adirondack Red Wings	AHL		76	11	24	35	87		4	0	1	1	0
1994–95	Detroit Red Wings	NHL		1	0	1	1	2		—	—	—	—	—
1995–96	Adirondack Red Wings	AHL		74	5	10	15	133		3	0	0	0	6
1996–97	Detroit Red Wings	NHL		49	2	5	7	52		19	0	0	0	17
1997–98	Detroit Red Wings	NHL		52	5	5	10	47		—	—	—	—	—
1998–99	Detroit Red Wings	NHL		60	3	8	11	52		8	0	1	1	8
1999–00	Detroit Red Wings	NHL		36	1	3	4	24		3	0	0	0	0
2000–01	Detroit Red Wings	NHL		73	4	5	9	57		—	—	—	—	—
2001–02	Carolina Hurricanes	NHL		79	3	11	14	74		23	1	1	2	22
2002–03	Carolina Hurricanes	NHL		77	3	6	9	90		—	—	—	—	—
2003–04	Carolina Hurricanes	NHL		49	3	5	8	37		—	—	—	—	—
2004–05	Ingolstadt ERC	DEL		8	0	3	3	16		11	1	1	2	16
2005–06	Carolina Hurricanes	NHL		71	6	19	25	62		25	2	3	5	18
2006–07	New York Rangers	NHL		60	3	10	13	57		—	—	—	—	—
2006–07	Boston Bruins	NHL		20	1	2	3	18		—	—	—	—	—
2007–08	Boston Bruins	NHL		65	5	8	13	54		6	0	1	1	6
2008–09	Boston Bruins	NHL		65	3	7	10	44		11	1	0	1	2
2009–10	Carolina Hurricanes	NHL		60	1	10	11	54		—	—	—	—	—
2009–10	Anaheim Ducks	NHL		17	0	2	2	8		—	—	—	—	—
NHL totals				839	44	107	151	736		95	4	6	10	73

External links

• Aaron Ward's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database
• Unofficial website of Aaron Ward

Preceded by Keith Tkachuk

Winnipeg Jets first round draft pick 1991

Succeeded by Sergei Bautin