Born: | Dec 16, 1977 | Draft: | 1996 Kings, 96th Overall |
Hometown: | Sherbrooke, Quebec | Position: | Centre |
Known For: | 820 Career NHL Games | Shoots: | Left |
National Team: | Canada | Current Team: | Retired |
Éric Bélanger (born December 16, 1977) is a retired Canadian ice hockey player, having played his final year in the NHL with the Edmonton Oilers during the 2012-13 season. Drafted 96th overall in the 1996 NHL Entry Draft, Bélanger spent five seasons with the Los Angeles Kings, scoring a career-high 17 goals during his final year with the team in the 2005-06 season. Bélanger would spent parts of the next seven seasons with the Carolina Hurricanes, Atlanta Thrashers, Minnesota Wild, Washington Capitals, Phoenix Coyotes, and the Oilers. He was bought out of his three-year contract with the Oilers ahead of the 2013-14 season, the final year of the deal. He signed with Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) that same year but only played in seven games before opting to return to North American and retire from the sport.
Bélanger’s most notable moment in the NHL doesn’t involve any award or accolade but rather an incident involving a high stick. Acquired by the Capitals in the 2009-10 season, Bélanger was clipped by a high stick from Montreal Canadiens’ defenseman Marc-Andre Bergeron, resulting in the loss of nine teeth. Shortly after the incident, Bélanger was seen on the bench, pulling out teeth with his own hands and some gauze.
Éric Bélanger Statistics
Trade Tracker
Date | Traded From | Traded With | Traded To | Traded For |
Sept. 29, 2006 | Tim Gleason | Oleg Tverdovsky Jack Johnson | ||
Feb. 9, 2007 | Josef Vasicek | |||
Feb. 10, 2007 | Vitaly Vishnevsky | |||
Mar. 3, 2010 | Second-Round Pick 2010 (Johan Larsson) |
Deeper Dive
- Oilers Notebook: Nurse Back to Junior; Belanger Retires
- Trouble Brewing with the Oilers Young Core?
- Former Oilers Nobody Misses