Lyle Odelein

Lyle Odelein
Lyle Odelein
Born	July 21, 1968 (age 56); Quill Lake, Saskatchewan, Canada
Height	5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight	200 lb (91 kg; 14 st 4 lb)
Position	Defence
Shot	Right
Played for	Montreal Canadiens; New Jersey Devils; Phoenix Coyotes; Columbus Blue Jackets; Chicago Blackhawks; Dallas Stars; Florida Panthers; Pittsburgh Penguins
National team	Canada
NHL draft	141st overall, 1986; Montreal Canadiens
Playing career	1989–2006

Lyle Theodore Odelein (born July 21, 1968) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played for eight National Hockey League (NHL) teams in 16 seasons, and was the inaugural captain of the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Playing career

Odelein played junior hockey for the Moose Jaw Warriors before being drafted by the Montreal Canadiens in the seventh round (141st overall) in 1986.

His playing style adapted through his career; primarily used as a defensive defenceman early in his career (as well as an enforcer), but became more of a two-way threat when former Montreal Canadiens coach Jacques Demers used him on the power play.

His first NHL goal was a highlight-reel end-to-end rush against Chicago Blackhawks goalie Ed Belfour on December 19, 1991.

Odelein won the Stanley Cup with the Montreal Canadiens in 1993.

The 1993–94 NHL season marked Odelein's career highlight. He scored 11 goals, 29 assists and 40 points, all career highs, scoring 24 of those points in 26 games in February and March that season. As well, he scored a hat trick against the St. Louis Blues and goalie Jim Hrivnak on March 9, 1994. His 5 assists on February 2, 1994, against the Hartford Whalers, tied a single-game record for a Canadiens defenseman held by Doug Harvey, which was also tied in 2004 by Sheldon Souray.

Prior to the 1996–97 season, Odelein was traded by the Canadiens to the New Jersey Devils for Stéphane Richer on August 22, 1996. In the 1999–2000 season, his fourth with the Devils, Odelein was traded by the Devils to the Phoenix Coyotes for Deron Quint and a third round selection on March 7, 2000.

Odelein's tenure with the Coyotes was short as he was claimed in the expansion draft by the Columbus Blue Jackets on June 23, 2000. He was later named the first captain of the Blue Jackets before their inaugural season in 2000–01.

During his second season in Columbus he was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks for defensemen Jaroslav Špaček. The following season he was on the move again when he was traded to the Dallas Stars. After just three regular season games and two more in the playoffs, he was done in Dallas and found himself without a guaranteed contract offer in the off-season.

His next opportunity came from the Florida Panthers who offered him a try out that proved successful and led to a $650,000 one-year contract.^[1] For the first—and only—time in his career, Odelein stayed healthy for the full season and played in all 82-games for the Panthers. The Panthers' general manager Rick Dudley expressed interest in retaining Odelein^[1] when his contract expired, however, a lockout that erased the 2004-05 NHL season, and a changing of the guard in Florida that saw Dudley replaced by Mike Keenan, spelled the end of Odelein in Florida.

His final NHL stint came with the Pittsburgh Penguins when he inked a one-year, $500,000 deal^[2] on September 2, 2005. However, he managed just 27 games before injuring his knee, gaining just a single assist, and retired from professional hockey.

Odelein finished his NHL career with 182 fights and his 2,316 career penalty minutes place him 29th all-time.

Personal

His brother Selmar Odelein lives in Saskatchewan also and played briefly for the Edmonton Oilers before playing for Team Canada and moving to Europe. Another brother, Lee Odelein, has also played professionally in Europe. After retirement, Odelein spent time on his family farm in Saskatchewan and also maintains a home in Pittsburgh. Odelein has three children from a previous marriage.

In March 2018, Odelein was hospitalized and diagnosed with Critical Illness Polyneuropathy, after falling into a coma and paralysis. Odelein underwent a heart valve, liver and kidney transplant at Allegheny General Hospital in Pennsylvania. He was released from a rehabilitation facility in July 2018 and walking unaided by September 2018.^[3]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

			Regular season					Playoffs
Season	Team	League	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1985–86	Moose Jaw Warriors	WHL	67	9	37	46	117	13	1	6	7	34
1986–87	Moose Jaw Warriors	WHL	59	9	50	59	70	9	2	5	7	26
1987–88	Moose Jaw Warriors	WHL	63	15	43	58	166	—	—	—	—	—
1988–89	Peoria Rivermen	IHL	36	2	8	10	116	—	—	—	—	—
1988–89	Sherbrooke Canadiens	AHL	33	3	4	7	120	3	0	2	2	5
1989–90	Sherbrooke Canadiens	AHL	68	7	24	31	265	12	6	5	11	79
1989–90	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	8	0	2	2	33	—	—	—	—	—
1990–91	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	52	0	2	2	259	12	0	0	0	54
1991–92	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	71	1	7	8	212	7	0	0	0	11
1992–93	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	83	2	14	16	205	20	1	5	6	30
1993–94	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	79	11	29	40	276	7	0	0	0	17
1994–95	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	48	3	7	10	152	—	—	—	—	—
1995–96	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	79	3	14	17	230	6	1	1	2	6
1996–97	New Jersey Devils	NHL	79	3	13	16	110	10	2	2	4	19
1997–98	New Jersey Devils	NHL	79	4	19	23	171	6	1	1	2	21
1998–99	New Jersey Devils	NHL	70	5	26	31	114	7	0	3	3	10
1999–00	New Jersey Devils	NHL	57	1	15	16	104	—	—	—	—	—
1999–00	Phoenix Coyotes	NHL	16	1	7	8	19	5	0	0	0	16
2000–01	Columbus Blue Jackets	NHL	81	3	14	17	118	—	—	—	—	—
2001–02	Columbus Blue Jackets	NHL	65	2	14	16	89	—	—	—	—	—
2001–02	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL	12	0	2	2	4	4	0	1	1	25
2002–03	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL	65	7	4	11	76	—	—	—	—	—
2002–03	Dallas Stars	NHL	3	0	0	0	6	2	0	0	0	0
2003–04	Florida Panthers	NHL	82	4	12	16	88	—	—	—	—	—
2005–06	Pittsburgh Penguins	NHL	27	0	1	1	50	—	—	—	—	—
NHL totals			1056	50	202	252	2316	86	5	13	18	209

International

Year	Team	Event	Result		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1996	Canada	WCH			2	0	0	0	0
Senior totals					2	0	0	0	0

Awards and honours

Award	Year
NHL
Stanley Cup (Montreal Canadiens)	1992–93

References

^ ^a ^b "Odelein Could Go Elsewhere". Sun Sentinel. 21 February 2004. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
^ "Penguins sign veteran defenceman Odelein". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. 3 September 2005. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
^ Portzline, Aaron. "At Death's Door: Former NHL star Lyle Odelein is a medical miracle after surviving a coma, triple transplant and paralysis". The Athletic. The Athletic Media Company. Retrieved 8 October 2018.

External links

Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database

Sporting positions
Preceded by Position created	Columbus Blue Jackets captain 2000–02	Succeeded by Ray Whitney

[auto-1] "Odelein Could Go Elsewhere". Sun Sentinel. 21 February 2004. Retrieved 11 January 2019.

[2] "Penguins sign veteran defenceman Odelein". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. 3 September 2005. Retrieved 11 January 2019.

[3] Portzline, Aaron. "At Death's Door: Former NHL star Lyle Odelein is a medical miracle after surviving a coma, triple transplant and paralysis". The Athletic. The Athletic Media Company. Retrieved 8 October 2018.

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