Jeff Taffe
| Jeff Taffe | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Born |
February 19, 1981 Hastings, MN, USA | ||
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (191 cm) | ||
| Weight | 207 lb (94 kg; 14 st 11 lb) | ||
| Position | Center | ||
| Shoots | Left | ||
| team Former teams |
Free Agent Phoenix Coyotes New York Rangers Pittsburgh Penguins Florida Panthers Chicago Blackhawks Minnesota Wild | ||
| NHL draft |
30th overall, 2000 St. Louis Blues | ||
| Playing career | 2002–present | ||
Jeffrey Charles Taffe (born February 19, 1981) is an American center currently an Unrestricted Free Agent. Taffe was drafted in the first round, 30th overall, by the St. Louis Blues in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft. In 2013 Taffe was set to join the swedish team Linkoping HC in the highest division in Sweden, But he ended the deal after he had sign the contract of family reasons. Linköping Hc bought the player Chad Kolarik instead. But due the fact that Linköpings HC took the ending of the contract very good it has been said that he might join next year.
Playing career
After playing three seasons with the University of Minnesota, during which the Blues traded his rights to the Phoenix Coyotes in a deal involving Keith Tkachuk, Taffe made his professional debut with Coyotes' American Hockey League affiliate, the Springfield Falcons, in the 2002–03 season. He also appeared in 20 NHL games with the Coyotes that same season, scoring three goals.
Taffe spent the 2004-05 season as a member of the American Hockey League's Utah Grizzlies. On November 28, 2004, Taffe was involved in an on-ice incident where he elbowed Houston Aeros goalie Josh Harding in the back of Harding's neck, resulting in a grade two concussion to Harding. Taffe was suspended for four games by the league.
Taffe appeared in 82 games over parts of three seasons with the Coyotes before being traded to the New York Rangers in exchange for Jamie Lundmark during the 2005–06 season. He appeared in two games with the Rangers, before being traded back to Phoenix later in the season in exchange for Martin Sonnenberg.
On July 13, 2007, Taffe signed a one-year contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins.[1] After beginning the 2007–08 with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, Taffe was recalled to Pittsburgh and found a checking role on the fourth line.[2] He remained on the team as a healthy scratch in the playoffs that year as Adam Hall was favored to fill Taffe's fourth line position.
After re-signing with the Penguins,[3] Taffe played a handful of games with Pittsburgh during the 2008–09 season mainly playing in Wilkes-Barre. After Wilkes-Barre was eliminated from the AHL playoffs, Taffe was recalled for the Pittsburgh Penguins playoff run and eventual 2009 Stanley Cup Championship. He was on the practice squad but did not play in any games and was not included on the Stanley Cup due to this fact. However, Taffe and a number of other Wilkes-Barre players and healthy scratches took part in the on-ice celebration and team photo.
Taffe then signed a two year, two-way deal with the Florida Panthers on July 3, 2009.[4] At this point Taffe started to play very few NHL games and mostly played in the American Hockey League, receiving very few call-ups.
The Florida Panthers traded Jeff Taffe to the Chicago Blackhawks for Marty Reasoner on July 22, 2010.[5] Taffe was assigned to Chicago's AHL affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs shortly before the 2010 NHL regular season began.
On July 3, 2011, Taffe signed a two-way contract with the Minnesota Wild. Taffe was familiarly assigned to the AHL, with affiliate the Houston Aeros. Through the duration of the 2011–12 season, Taffe was recalled by the Wild and appeared as a depth player in 5 games.
On July 2, 2012, Unable to earn a NHL contract due to the lockout, Taffe signed a one-year contract with the Hershey Bears of the AHL.[6] During the 2012–13 season, Taffe led the Bears in scoring with 71 points in 73 games, for second overall in the AHL. In the penultimate regular season game, Taffe recorded his league leading 53rd assist in a 4-2 defeat to the Binghamton Senators for his 500th AHL point, on April 20, 2013. He was selected to the AHL Second All-Star Team at years end.[7]
After 10 seasons of playing professionally in North America, Taffe signed his first contract abroad on a two-year deal with Swedish club Linköpings HC of the Swedish Elitserien on May 17, 2013.[8] However just under two weeks later, citing personal reasons, Taffe was granted a release from his contract with Linköpings to remain in North America.[9]
Career statistics
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1998–99 | Rochester Mustangs | USHL | 17 | 12 | 9 | 21 | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1999–00 | University of Minnesota | WCHA | 39 | 10 | 10 | 20 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2000–01 | University of Minnesota | WCHA | 38 | 12 | 23 | 35 | 56 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2001–02 | University of Minnesota | WCHA | 43 | 34 | 24 | 58 | 86 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2002–03 | Springfield Falcons | AHL | 57 | 23 | 26 | 49 | 44 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 8 | ||
| 2002–03 | Phoenix Coyotes | NHL | 20 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2003–04 | Springfield Falcons | AHL | 15 | 10 | 6 | 16 | 19 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2003–04 | Phoenix Coyotes | NHL | 59 | 8 | 10 | 18 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2004–05 | Utah Grizzlies | AHL | 27 | 9 | 10 | 19 | 35 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2005–06 | Phoenix Coyotes | NHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2005–06 | New York Rangers | NHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2005–06 | Hartford Wolf Pack | AHL | 36 | 6 | 16 | 22 | 34 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2005–06 | San Antonio Rampage | AHL | 33 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 29 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006–07 | San Antonio Rampage | AHL | 59 | 20 | 20 | 40 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006–07 | Phoenix Coyotes | NHL | 17 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins | AHL | 27 | 11 | 10 | 21 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 45 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 | Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins | AHL | 74 | 25 | 50 | 75 | 65 | 12 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 22 | ||
| 2008–09 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 8 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 61 | 28 | 28 | 56 | 47 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 9 | ||
| 2009–10 | Florida Panthers | NHL | 21 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 | Rockford IceHogs | AHL | 74 | 30 | 37 | 67 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2011–12 | Houston Aeros | AHL | 70 | 18 | 35 | 53 | 16 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2011–12 | Minnesota Wild | NHL | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | Hershey Bears | AHL | 73 | 18 | 53 | 71 | 27 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 2 | ||
| AHL totals | 606 | 203 | 297 | 500 | 382 | 33 | 6 | 19 | 25 | 41 | ||||
| NHL totals | 180 | 21 | 25 | 46 | 40 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
Awards and honours
| Award | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| USHS | ||
| Minnesota Mr. Hockey | 1999 | |
| College | ||
| WCHA Third All-Star Team | 2002 | |
| AHL | ||
| Second All-Star Team | 2013 | [7] |
References
- ^ "Penguins sign Jeff Taffe and John Curry". Pittsburgh Penguins. July 13, 2007. Retrieved April 4, 2010.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "Taffe Working Hard In Pittsburgh". Pittsburgh Penguins. December 28, 2007. Retrieved April 4, 2010.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "Penguins re-sign forward Jeff Taffe". Pittsburgh Penguins. July 21, 2008. Retrieved April 4, 2010.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "Panthers sign C Jeff Taffe". Florida Panthers. July 3, 2009. Retrieved April 4, 2010.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "Blackhawks acquire Jeff Taffe from Florida". Chicago Blackhawks. July 22, 2010. Retrieved July 22, 2010.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "Taffe, Berry, DiSalvatore, Oleksy bolster roster". Hershey Bears. July 2, 2012. Retrieved October 23, 2012.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ a b "Taffe hits milestone for Bears". American Hockey League. April 20, 2013. Retrieved April 20, 2013.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "Jeff Taffe is ready to play for LHC" (in Swedish). Linköpings HC. May 17, 2013. Retrieved May 17, 2013.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "No Jeff Taffe in LHC" (in Swedish). Linköpings HC. May 30, 2013. Retrieved May 30, 2013.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help)
External links
- 1981 births
- Living people
- American ice hockey centres
- Chicago Blackhawks players
- Florida Panthers players
- Hartford Wolf Pack players
- Hershey Bears players
- Houston Aeros (1994–2013) players
- Ice hockey people from Minnesota
- Minnesota Golden Gophers men's ice hockey players
- Minnesota Wild players
- National Hockey League first round draft picks
- New York Rangers players
- People from Hastings, Minnesota
- Phoenix Coyotes players
- Pittsburgh Penguins players
- Rochester Americans players
- Rochester Mustangs players
- Rockford IceHogs (AHL) players
- St. Louis Blues draft picks
- San Antonio Rampage players
- Springfield Falcons players
- Utah Grizzlies (AHL) players
- Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins players