Brett Lebda

Brett Steven Lebda (born January 15, 1982) is a former American professional ice hockey defenseman, who last played with the Binghamton Senators of the American Hockey League (AHL). He has played in the National Hockey League with the Detroit Red Wings, Columbus Blue Jackets and Toronto Maple Leafs.

Brett Lebda
Born (1982-01-15) January 15, 1982
Buffalo Grove, Illinois, U.S.
Height 5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
Weight 195 lb (88 kg; 13 st 13 lb)
Position Defense
Shot Left
Played for Detroit Red Wings
Toronto Maple Leafs
Columbus Blue Jackets
National team  United States
NHL Draft Undrafted
Playing career 2004–2013

He was a member of the Stanley Cup winning Red Wings team of 2007-08.

Playing career

As a youth, Lebda played in the 1996 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with the Chicago Young Americans minor ice hockey team.[1]

Lebda attended Buffalo Grove High School in Buffalo Grove, Illinois for two years. In addition to hockey, he also played golf and volleyball. He then relocated to Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he was a participant on the USA National Under-18 Team. Lebda graduated from Pioneer High School.

Lebda played college hockey at the University of Notre Dame. He was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Detroit Red Wings in 2004, and was assigned to the Grand Rapids Griffins, the Wings' minor league affiliate in the American Hockey League. Lebda was unable to suit up for a NHL game until the 2005–06 NHL season due to the NHL lockout. He became the first Red Wing since Greg Johnson in 1993 to score his first NHL goal on opening night.[2] He played in 46 games that regular season and all of Detroit's six opening round playoff games.

He played in 76 games during the 2006–07 NHL season to go with 12 games that playoff year. He set a career high in points with 18, and participated in the only fight of his career when he squared off against Mikael Holmqvist.

In the 2007–08 NHL season, Lebda suited up for 78 games, as well as 19 playoff games as the Red Wings won the 2008 Stanley Cup.

Due to sub-par play to start the 2008–09 NHL season, Lebda found himself a healthy scratch for three straight games before returning to the lineup.

During his career with the Red Wings, Lebda was often paired with Chris Chelios, a fellow Chicago suburban native who is 20 years his elder. While growing up in suburban Chicago, Lebda considered Chelios an idol, and modeled his game after his.[3]

On July 7, 2010, Lebda signed a two-year contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs.[4] However, he struggled during his time in Toronto, playing only 41 games and posting a career-worst -14. His one and only goal came against the Montreal Canadiens on February 24, 2011.[5]

Lebda and Robert Slaney were traded to the Nashville Predators for Cody Franson and Matthew Lombardi on July 3, 2011. On August 10, 2011, the Predators bought out Lebda's contract.[6]

Following the 2010–11 NHL season Lebda became a free agent,[7] and on November 7, 2011, the Springfield Falcons of the American Hockey League signed Lebda to a professional tryout agreement.[8] With NHL affiliate, the Columbus Blue Jackets, suffering injuries on the defense he was subsequently signed to a one-year deal for the remainder of the season with the Jackets on January 19, 2012.[9]

On February 5, 2013, Lebda signed a professional try-out contract with the Binghamton Senators of the American Hockey League.[10]

International play

Lebda made his international debut for United States at the 2002 World Junior Championships, where he recorded two goals in seven games.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs
    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1998–99 US NTDP Juniors USHL 3 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
1998–99 US NTDP U17 USDP 11 1 7 8 4 — — — — —
1998–99 US NTDP U18 NAHL 52 11 17 28 56 — — — — —
1999–2000 US NTDP Juniors USHL 22 6 7 13 28 — — — — —
1999–2000 US NTDP U18 USDP 4 0 0 0 6 — — — — —
2000–01 Chicago Steel USHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
2000–01 University of Notre Dame CCHA 39 7 19 26 109 — — — — —
2001–02 University of Notre Dame CCHA 34 6 8 14 54 — — — — —
2002–03 University of Notre Dame CCHA 40 7 14 21 48 — — — — —
2003–04 University of Notre Dame CCHA 39 6 18 24 42 — — — — —
2003–04 Grand Rapids Griffins AHL 6 0 1 1 0 4 0 0 0 2
2004–05 Grand Rapids Griffins AHL 80 2 10 12 34 — — — — —
2005–06 Grand Rapids Griffins AHL 25 4 14 18 42 11 1 4 5 8
2005–06 Detroit Red Wings NHL 46 3 9 12 20 6 0 0 0 4
2006–07 Detroit Red Wings NHL 74 5 13 18 61 12 0 2 2 8
2007–08 Detroit Red Wings NHL 78 3 11 14 48 19 0 2 2 6
2008–09 Detroit Red Wings NHL 65 6 10 16 48 23 0 6 6 22
2009–10 Detroit Red Wings NHL 63 1 7 8 24 2 0 0 0 0
2010–11 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 41 1 3 4 14 — — — — —
2011–12 Springfield Falcons AHL 26 1 9 10 18 — — — — —
2011–12 Columbus Blue Jackets NHL 30 1 3 4 14 — — — — —
2012–13 Rockford IceHogs AHL 27 0 11 11 18 — — — — —
2012–13 Binghamton Senators AHL 32 3 15 18 23 3 0 0 0 12
AHL totals 196 10 60 70 135 18 1 4 5 22
NHL totals 397 20 56 76 229 62 0 10 10 40

International
Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2002 United States WJC 5th 7 2 0 2 6
Junior totals 7 2 0 2 6

Awards and honors
Award Year
All-CCHA Rookie Team 2000-01
All-CCHA Second Team 2003-04
Stanley Cup (Detroit Red Wings) 2007–08

References
  1. "Pee-Wee players who have reached NHL or WHA" (PDF). Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. 2018. Retrieved 2019-02-11.
  2. Mike G. Morreale (January 1, 2009). "Lebda returns home to haunt Hawks at Winter Classic". NHL.com. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
  3. Bradley Holland (December 31, 2008). "Can't get much better for Wings' Lebda". NHL.com. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
  4. "Lebda signs 2-year deal with Toronto". ESPN.com. July 7, 2010. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
  5. "Kessel productive as Maple Leafs rally to beat Habs". cbssports.com. February 24, 2011. Retrieved January 7, 2019. James Reimer made 31 saves and Brett Lebda scored his first goal of the season for Toronto, which is on an 8-2-2 run.
  6. "Nashville Predators buy out Brett Lebda". sportingnews.com. August 10, 2011. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
  7. "Leafs acquire Lombardi and Franson in swap". NHL.com. National Hockey League. Retrieved 3 July 2011.
  8. "Springfield Falcons Sign Lebda To PTO contract". Springfield Falcons. 2011-11-07. Archived from the original on 2011-11-09. Retrieved 2011-11-07.
  9. "Blue Jackets Radek Martinek to miss rest of season; sign defenseman Brett Lebda". Columbus Blue Jackets. 2012-01-19. Retrieved 2012-01-19.
  10. "B-SENS SIGN BRETT LEBDA". February 5, 2013.
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