Tom Kurvers

Tom Kurvers
Tom Kurvers
Born	September 14, 1962 (age 61); Minneapolis, MN, USA
Height	6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight	190 lb (86 kg; 13 st 8 lb)
Position	Defense
Shot	Left
Played for	Montreal Canadiens; Buffalo Sabres; New Jersey Devils; Toronto Maple Leafs; Vancouver Canucks; New York Islanders; Mighty Ducks of Anaheim
NHL draft	145th overall, 1981; Montreal Canadiens
Playing career	1984–1996

Thomas James Kurvers (born September 14, 1962) is an American retired professional ice hockey defenseman who spent 11 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) between 1984 and 1995. He was a member of the 1986 Stanley Cup Champion Montreal Canadiens. He is also a former interim General Manager for the Tampa Bay Lightning during the 2009-10 season. Kurvers was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, but grew up in Bloomington, Minnesota.

Playing career

Kurvers played collegiately at the University of Minnesota Duluth, and was selected 145th overall by the Montreal Canadiens in the 1981 NHL Entry Draft following his freshman season. His time with the Bulldogs culminated with winning the Hobey Baker Award, given to the most outstanding collegiate hockey player in the NCAA, as a senior in 1983–84 after registering 76 points in just 43 games.

Kurvers made his NHL debut in the 1984–85 season with the Canadiens. He won the Stanley Cup in 1986 with Montreal. After two full seasons with Montreal, and one game in the 1986–87 season, he was traded to the Buffalo Sabres for a draft pick.

Before the 1987–88 season, the Sabres traded Kurvers to the New Jersey Devils. He would play some of his best hockey for the Devils, posting 15 points in their surprising run to the 1988 Wales Conference Finals, and notching career highs of 16 goals and 66 points in 1988–89 season. He played two full seasons, and one game in the 1989–90 season, with the Devils before being traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs for the pick that would turn out to be Scott Niedermayer.

He was always a highly productive player, especially dangerous on the powerplay due to his wicked point shot and playmaking skills. That said, at even strength Tom was often a defensive liability. Several coaches along the way attempted to fix his defensive shortcomings, however, without result. Thus, Kurvers was destined to become a journeyman, making stops with the Vancouver Canucks, New York Islanders, and Mighty Ducks of Anaheim before leaving the league after the 1994–95 season. He played a season in Japan before retiring.

In his NHL career, Kurvers appeared in 659 games. He scored 93 goals and added 328 assists for 421 points. He also appeared in 57 Stanley Cup playoff games, scoring eight goals and recording 22 assists.

Post-hockey career

Following his retirement, Kurvers landed a job doing radio commentary for the Phoenix Coyotes, in part due to his connection to former Montreal teammate Bobby Smith who was GM in Phoenix at the time. Following one season in that capacity, he was hired as a pro scout by the Coyotes. Kurvers was promoted again, to Director of Player Personnel, in 2005.

Kurvers is married and has 4 children.

Awards and honors

Award	Year
All-WCHA First Team	1983–84	^[1]
AHCA West First-Team All-American	1983–84	^[2]

Stanley Cup championship (Montreal) 1986

Career statistics

			Regular season					Playoffs
Season	Team	League	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1980–81	Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs	WCHA	39	6	24	30	48	—	—	—	—	—
1981–82	Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs	WCHA	37	11	31	42	18	—	—	—	—	—
1982–83	Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs	WCHA	45	8	36	44	42	—	—	—	—	—
1983–84	Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs	WCHA	43	18	58	76	46	—	—	—	—	—
1984–85	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	75	10	35	45	30	12	0	6	6	6
1985–86	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	62	7	23	30	36	—	—	—	—	—
1986–87	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	1	0	0	0	2	—	—	—	—	—
1986–87	Buffalo Sabres	NHL	55	6	17	23	22	—	—	—	—	—
1987–88	New Jersey Devils	NHL	56	5	29	34	46	19	6	9	15	38
1988–89	New Jersey Devils	NHL	74	16	50	66	38	—	—	—	—	—
1989–90	New Jersey Devils	NHL	1	0	0	0	0	—	—	—	—	—
1989–90	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL	70	15	37	52	29	5	0	3	3	4
1990–91	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL	19	0	3	3	8	—	—	—	—	—
1990–91	Vancouver Canucks	NHL	32	4	23	27	20	6	2	2	4	12
1991–92	New York Islanders	NHL	74	9	47	56	30	—	—	—	—	—
1992–93	Capital District Islanders	AHL	7	3	4	7	8	—	—	—	—	—
1992–93	New York Islanders	NHL	52	8	30	38	38	12	0	2	2	6
1993–94	New York Islanders	NHL	66	9	31	40	47	3	0	0	0	2
1994–95	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim	NHL	22	4	3	7	6	—	—	—	—	—
1995–96	Seibu	Japan	40	18	34	52	85	2	1	2	3	36
NHL totals			659	93	328	421	352	57	8	22	30	68

References

^ "WCHA All-Teams". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
^ "Men's Ice Hockey Award Winners" (PDF). NCAA.org. Retrieved June 11, 2013.

External links

Tom Kurvers career statistics at The Internet Hockey Database

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Bob Mason	WCHA Player of the Year 1983–84	Succeeded by Bill Watson
Preceded by Mark Fusco	Winner of the Hobey Baker Award 1983–84	Succeeded by Bill Watson
Sporting positions
Preceded by Brian Lawton	Interim General Manager of the Tampa Bay Lightning 2010	Succeeded by Steve Yzerman

This biographical article relating to ice hockey is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

[WCHA-1] "WCHA All-Teams". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013.

[2] "Men's Ice Hockey Award Winners" (PDF). NCAA.org. Retrieved June 11, 2013.

[1]

[2]

v t e Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs men's ice hockey
Playing venues	Duluth Amphitheater (1930–1932) Duluth Curling and Skating Club (1946–1966) DECC Arena (1966–2010) AMSOIL Arena (2010–present)
Head coaches	Frank Kovach (1930–32) Joe Oven (1946–47) Hank Jensen (1947–51) Gord Eddolls (1951–54) Bob Boyat (1954–55) Connie Pleban (1955–59) Ralph Romano (1959–68) Bill Selman (1968–70) Terry Shercliffe (1970–75) Gus Hendrickson (1975–82) Mike Sertich (1982–2000) Scott Sandelin (2000–present)
Seasons	1930–31 1931–32 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23
Conference affiliations	MIAC (1946–1961) WCHA (1965–2013) NCHC (2013–present)
Rivalries	Minnesota
Culture & lore	North Star College Cup
All-time leaders	Statistical leaders Dan Lempe (222 Points) Thomas Milani (100 Goals) Hunter Shepard (76 Wins)
Retired numbers	9 Keith Christiansen 14 Bill Watson 29 Brett Hull
National championships	2011 2018 2019
Frozen Four appearances	1984 1985 2004 2011 2017 2018 2019 2021
NCAA Tournament appearances	1983 1984 1985 1993 2004 2009 2011 2012 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2021 2022
Conference Tournament titles	WCHA: 1984 1985 2009 NCHC: 2017 2019 2022
Hobey Baker winners	Tom Kurvers (1984) Bill Watson (1985) Chris Marinucci (1994) Junior Lessard (2004) Jack Connolly (2012) Scott Perunovich (2020)
University of Minnesota Duluth Duluth, MN