Darryl Sydor

Darryl Marion Sydor (born May 13, 1972) is a Canadian-American former professional ice hockey defenceman. He won two Stanley Cups during his career: with the Dallas Stars in 1999, and with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2004. He also reached the Stanley Cup Finals in 1993 as a member of the Los Angeles Kings, in 2000 as a member of the Dallas Stars and in 2008 as a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins. As a junior, Sydor won a Memorial Cup with the Kamloops Blazers and also represented Canada at the World Junior Championships.[1]

Sydor with the Penguins, March 2008.

Darryl Sydor
Born	May 13, 1972 Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Height	6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight	211 lb (96 kg; 15 st 1 lb)
Position	Defence
Shot	Left
Played for	Los Angeles Kings Dallas Stars Columbus Blue Jackets Tampa Bay Lightning Pittsburgh Penguins St. Louis Blues
National team	Canada
NHL Draft	7th overall, 1990 Los Angeles Kings
Playing career	1991–2010

Playing career

The Los Angeles Kings selected Sydor seventh overall in the 1990 NHL Entry Draft. He played four seasons with the Kamloops Blazers of the Western Hockey League (WHL) and won a Memorial Cup championship in 1992. Sydor originally began his Memorial Cup championship season in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Kings, but was sent back to the WHL after 18 games.

In his first full season with the Kings, Sydor tallied 29 points and helped the club to their first ever Stanley Cup Finals appearance. Led by Wayne Gretzky, they were defeated by the Montreal Canadiens. Sydor developed with the Kings, but did not reach his prime until he was traded to the Dallas Stars in 1996. He recorded a career-high 40 assists and 48 points in 1996–97 with the Stars.

During his time with Dallas, Sydor became part of the team's "big four" defenceman, which included Derian Hatcher, Sergei Zubov and Richard Matvichuk. This quartet played a major role in capturing the Stanley Cup in 1999 against the Buffalo Sabres. In the regular season leading up to Sydor's first Stanley Cup championship, he matched his career-high 48 points and established a personal best 14 goals. The following year, Sydor helped the Stars to a second consecutive Finals appearance, but would suffer an injury against the New Jersey Devils. The Stars were kept from repeating as Stanley Cup champions, falling to the Devils in six games.

Sydor played in Dallas for seven-and-a-half seasons before being traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets in the summer of 2003.[2] He played only 49 games with Columbus before being traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for prospect Alexander Svitov midway through the season.[3] Bolstering the Lightning's lineup for their 2004 playoff run, Sydor won his second Stanley Cup championship as the Lightning defeated the Calgary Flames in seven games. Sydor remained with the Lightning for one more season and was then traded back to the Dallas Stars on July 2, 2006, for a 2008 fourth-round draft pick in a salary-dumping move.[4]

Returning to Dallas in 2006–07, he became an unrestricted free agent on July 1, 2007. Due to a late-season acquisition for defenceman Mattias Norström, Sydor became the odd man out on the Stars' blueline and did not receive an offer from the club.[5] He instead signed a two-year, $5 million contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins.[5] In his second season with the Penguins, he was traded back to Dallas for his third stint with the club on November 16, 2008, in exchange for Phillippe Boucher.[6]

On September 3, 2009, Sydor was invited to the St. Louis Blues training camp for the 2009–10 season.[7] On September 25, Sydor signed a one-year contract with the Blues, serving primarily as a seventh defenceman.[8] He announced his retirement from the NHL as a player on July 13, 2010.[9]

Coaching career

Sydor spent the 2010–11 season as an assistant coach of the Houston Aeros of the American Hockey League (AHL) under head coach Mike Yeo. Under their leadership, the Aeros won the Western Conference title. On June 30, 2011, Sydor was announced as one of the new assistant coaches of the NHL's Minnesota Wild,[10] again serving under Yeo. When Yeo became the head coach of the St. Louis Blues, Sydor again followed, working with the Blues' AHL affiliate Chicago Wolves in 2016–17 and as a Blues' assistant coach in 2017–18.[11] He left the Blues in 2018 to spend more time with family.[12] On January 12, 2019, Sydor was hired as the assistant coach of the Kamloops Blazers of the Western Hockey League.

Awards

• Won President's Cup (WHL champions; Kamloops Blazers) in 1990 and 1992.
• Won Memorial Cup (CHL champions; Kamloops Blazers) in 1992.
• Played in the NHL All-Star Game in 1998 and 1999.
• Stanley Cup champion in 1999 (Dallas Stars) and 2004 (Tampa Bay Lightning).

Personal life

Sydor and his wife Sharlene have four sons: Parker, Braden, Dylan and Cooper.[13] At the end of 2006, Sydor was naturalized with his wife as US citizens at a Dallas elementary school.[14]

On August 21, 2015, Sydor was charged with drunken driving after police arrested him while he was driving his 12-year-old son to a hockey tournament. According to the criminal complaint filed in Anoka County District Court, Sydor's blood alcohol level tested at 0.30, more than three times the legal limit.[15]

Sydor voluntarily entered the NHL/NHL Players' Association Substance Abuse/Behavioral Health Program and admitted himself into an inpatient centre in Malibu, California, on August 22 to seek treatment for alcoholism, earning the respect of fellow Blazers' majority owner Tom Gaglardi.[16]

Sydor is a part owner of the Kamloops Blazers.[17]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1987–88	Edmonton Mets	AJHL		38	10	11	21	54		—	—	—	—	—
1988–89	Kamloops Blazers	WHL		65	12	14	26	86		15	1	4	5	19
1989–90	Kamloops Blazers	WHL		67	29	66	95	129		17	2	9	11	28
1989–90	Kamloops Blazers	MC		—	—	—	—	—		3	4	0	4	2
1990–91	Kamloops Blazers	WHL		66	27	78	105	88		12	3	22	25	10
1991–92	Kamloops Blazers	WHL		29	9	39	48	33		17	3	15	18	18
1991–92	Los Angeles Kings	NHL		18	1	5	6	22		—	—	—	—	—
1991–92	Kamloops Blazers	MC		—	—	—	—	—		5	0	2	2	6
1992–93	Los Angeles Kings	NHL		80	6	23	29	63		24	3	8	11	16
1993–94	Los Angeles Kings	NHL		84	8	27	35	94		—	—	—	—	—
1994–95	Los Angeles Kings	NHL		48	4	19	23	36		—	—	—	—	—
1995–96	Los Angeles Kings	NHL		58	1	11	12	34		—	—	—	—	—
1995–96	Dallas Stars	NHL		26	2	6	8	41		—	—	—	—	—
1996–97	Dallas Stars	NHL		82	8	40	48	51		7	0	2	2	0
1997–98	Dallas Stars	NHL		79	11	35	46	51		17	0	5	5	14
1998–99	Dallas Stars	NHL		74	14	34	48	50		23	3	9	12	16
1999–2000	Dallas Stars	NHL		74	8	26	34	32		23	1	6	7	6
2000–01	Dallas Stars	NHL		82	10	37	47	34		10	1	3	4	0
2001–02	Dallas Stars	NHL		78	4	29	33	50		—	—	—	—	—
2002–03	Dallas Stars	NHL		81	5	31	36	40		12	0	6	6	6
2003–04	Columbus Blue Jackets	NHL		49	2	13	15	26		—	—	—	—	—
2003–04	Tampa Bay Lightning	NHL		31	1	6	7	6		23	0	6	6	9
2005–06	Tampa Bay Lightning	NHL		80	4	19	23	30		5	0	1	1	0
2006–07	Dallas Stars	NHL		74	5	16	21	36		7	1	1	2	4
2007–08	Pittsburgh Penguins	NHL		74	1	12	13	26		4	0	0	0	2
2008–09	Pittsburgh Penguins	NHL		8	1	1	2	2		—	—	—	—	—
2008–09	Dallas Stars	NHL		65	2	11	13	16		—	—	—	—	—
2009–10	St. Louis Blues	NHL		47	0	8	8	15		—	—	—	—	—
NHL totals				1291	98	409	507	755		155	9	47	56	73

International

Year	Team	Event		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1992	Canada	WJC		7	3	1	4	4
1994	Canada	WC		8	0	1	1	4
1996	Canada	WC		8	0	1	1	0
2002	Canada	WC		1	0	0	0	0
Senior totals				17	0	2	2	4

See also

• List of NHL players with 1000 games played

References

1. https://www.tsn.ca/World_jrs/feature/?fid=3804
2. "Numminen to Stars in three-way trade". CBC. 2003-07-22. Retrieved 2008-11-16.
3. "Lightning give up Svitov". ESPN. 2004-01-28. Retrieved 2008-11-16.
4. "Cap-strapped Lightning deal Sydor to Stars". ESPN. 2006-07-02. Retrieved 2008-11-16.
5. "Sydor speaks". Dallas Morning News. 2008-11-16. Retrieved 2008-11-16.
6. "Stars trade defenceman for Darryl Sydor". Rogers Sportsnet. 2008-11-16. Archived from the original on January 16, 2009. Retrieved 2008-11-16.
7. "St. Louis Blues invite Darryl Sydor to training camp". Stltoday.com. 2009-09-03. Archived from the original on 2009-09-08. Retrieved 2009-09-04.
8. "BLUES BRING IN DEFENCEMAN SYDOR". TSN.ca. 2009-09-25. Retrieved 2009-09-25.
9. http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Hockey/NHL/StLouis/2010/07/13/14700861.html
10. "Yeo picks his assistants". 2011-06-30. Archived from the original on 2011-07-03. Retrieved 2011-07-01.
11. "Blues Name Sydor Assistant Coach". NHL.com. May 24, 2017.
12. "Blues name Mike Van Ryn as assistant coach". St. Louis Blues. May 30, 2018.
13. http://blues.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=534308
14. "Oilers 2, Stars 0". USA Today. 2006-04-18.
15. "Wild assistant Darryl Sydor arrested for DUI". Sportsnet. August 21, 2015. Retrieved August 21, 2015.
16. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-12-29. Retrieved 2016-01-20.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
17. http://infotel.ca/newsitem/nhl-assistant-coach-kamloops-blazer-owner-in-jail-on-drunk-driving-charges/it22327

External links

• Darryl Sydor career statistics at The Internet Hockey Database
• Darryl Sydor player profile at NHL.com