Brenden Dillon
Brenden Dillon | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 13, 1990 Surrey, British Columbia, Canada |
| Occupation | Professional ice hockey defenseman |
| Years active | 2011–present |
| Known for | Playing for New Jersey Devils, Dallas Stars, San Jose Sharks, Washington Capitals, Winnipeg Jets in the NHL |
Brenden Dillon (born November 13, 1990) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenseman currently playing for the New Jersey Devils in the National Hockey League (NHL). His previous NHL experience includes stints with the Dallas Stars, San Jose Sharks, Washington Capitals, and Winnipeg Jets. Undrafted, Dillon developed his skills over four seasons in the Western Hockey League (WHL) with the Seattle Thunderbirds before embarking on his professional career.
Early life
Hailing from Surrey, British Columbia, Canada, Dillon is the son of Debbie and a father who originates from Portugal. He is multilingual, fluent in French and Portuguese. Additionally, his younger sister competed in beach volleyball at York University.
Amateur
During his upbringing in Surrey, Dillon engaged in various sports such as volleyball, basketball, soccer, and track and field. He attended a private Catholic elementary institution where he earned accolades as an outstanding sprinter and long jumper. At age 15, he began summer training with Impact Hockey Development and joined the junior B Hope Icebreakers of the Pacific Junior Hockey League (PIJHL). Despite being only five-foot-two at that time and not being selected in the WHL draft, he spent one season competing in the PIJHL before signing with the Seattle Thunderbirds.
Over four seasons with the Thunderbirds, Dillon accumulated 85 points across 271 games. On March 1, 2011, as an undrafted NHL free agent, he secured a three-year entry-level contract with the Dallas Stars.
Dallas Stars
Following his signing with Dallas, Dillon was assigned to their AHL affiliate, the Texas Stars, to finish out the 2010–11 season. He appeared in 10 games without recording points but accrued eight penalty minutes. After attending Dallas's training camp ahead of the 2011–12 season, he was reassigned to Texas on September 28. In 31 games there, he tallied two goals and 11 assists before being called up to replace injured defenseman Sheldon Souray; however, he did not play before returning to Texas. Dillon made his NHL debut on April 8, 2012, facing the St. Louis Blues, where he played nearly 20 minutes while registering six shots on goal, four hits, and three blocked shots. He concluded that season tied for most assists among Texas defensemen despite the team missing out on the Calder Cup playoffs.
During the 2012–13 NHL lockout, Dillon began with Texas before joining Dallas once play resumed. On February 1, 2013, he recorded his first Gordie Howe hat trick—combining a fight, an assist, and a goal—in a 4–3 shootout victory over the Phoenix Coyotes. That same year marked his international debut representing Canada at the 2013 IIHF World Championship; he scored one goal in eight appearances as Canada was eliminated in the quarterfinals.
In the 2013–14 campaign, Dillon appeared in all 80 games for Dallas, establishing personal bests with 17 points and placing fourth among NHL defensemen in plus-minus rating. He missed only two contests due to injury and secured a one-year contract extension on October 2, 2014. Having initially played alongside Stephane Robidas on left defense since his rookie season, Dillon transitioned to right-side defense following Robidas's trade to Anaheim.
San Jose Sharks
Dillon was traded to the San Jose Sharks on November 21, 2014, in exchange for defenceman Jason Demers and a third-round selection in the 2016 NHL entry draft. Prior to the trade, Dillon had contributed three assists over 20 games. Upon joining San Jose, he was paired alongside seasoned player Brent Burns and returned to playing on his preferred side. Dillon completed the 2014–15 season with two goals and seven assists across 60 games. On June 29, 2015, as a restricted free agent approaching contract expiration, he agreed to a five-year extension worth $16.35 million, averaging $3.27 million annually through the 2019–20 season. During the initial year of this contract, Dillon tallied 11 points in 79 contests.
In his third full campaign with the Sharks, Dillon achieved new personal bests in assists and total points. On December 5, 2017, he received a one-game suspension due to a slashing incident involving Washington Capitals' Madison Bowey.
Following the 2018–19 season, Dillon was honored with the Sharks' first-ever "Media Good Guy" Award recognizing his cooperative and considerate interactions with the media. Additionally, he earned a nomination for the King Clancy Memorial Trophy for his leadership and humanitarian efforts through activism with the Sharks Foundation's Stick To Fitness and Blacktop Resurfacing initiatives.
Washington Capitals
After the conclusion of the 2019–20 season, with San Jose missing the playoffs and Dillon in the final year of his contract, he was traded to the Washington Capitals on February 18, 2020. The trade involved Washington sending a 2020 second-round pick and a conditional third-round pick in 2021 to San Jose. At that point, Dillon ranked ninth in franchise history for games played and seventh for penalty minutes. Prior to being traded, he had expressed a strong preference to continue his tenure with San Jose.
On October 6, 2020, Dillon committed to a four-year contract worth $15.6 million with Washington, opting to sign before reaching free agency.
Winnipeg Jets
Dillon was traded from the Capitals to the Winnipeg Jets on July 26, 2021, in exchange for second-round draft picks in both 2022 and 2023. On December 17, 2021, during his first game facing Washington since the trade, Dillon scored his inaugural goal as a member of Winnipeg against his former team.
New Jersey Devils
After spending three seasons with Winnipeg, Dillon inked a three-year deal valued at $12 million with the New Jersey Devils on July 1, 2024.
Personal life
Dillon serves as an ambassador for HEROS, a youth hockey non-profit organization based in Western Canada. He also played an instrumental role in establishing a HEROS branch in his hometown of Surrey, British Columbia.
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2006–07 | Hope Icebreakers | PIJHL | 45 | 4 | 27 | 31 | 38 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2007–08 | Seattle Thunderbirds | WHL | 71 | 1 | 10 | 11 | 54 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 21 | ||
| 2008–09 | Seattle Thunderbirds | WHL | 70 | 0 | 10 | 10 | 68 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 2009–10 | Seattle Thunderbirds | WHL | 67 | 2 | 12 | 14 | 101 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 | Seattle Thunderbirds | WHL | 72 | 8 | 51 | 59 | 139 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 | Texas Stars | AHL | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 7 | ||
| 2011–12 | Texas Stars | AHL | 76 | 6 | 23 | 29 | 97 | — | — | — | — | |||
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
|2011–12 NHL season |Dallas Stars |National Hockey League |1 |0 |0 |0 |0 |— |— |— |— |—
|-
|2012–13 AHL season |Texas Stars |AHL |37 |3 |11 |14 |45 |— |— |— |— |—
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
|2012–13 NHL season |Dallas Stars |NHL |48 |3 |5 |8 |65 |— |— |— |— |—
|-
|2013–14 NHL season |Dallas Stars |NHL |80 |6 |11 |17 |86 |2 |0 |0 |0 |0
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
||2014–15 NHL season ||Dallas Stars ||NHL ||20 ||0 ||1 ||1 ||23 |- ||2014–15 ||San Jose Sharks ||NHL ||60 ||2 ||7 ||9 ||54 |- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
||2015–16 NHL season ||San Jose Sharks ||NHL ||76 ||2 ||9 ||11 ||61 ||24 ||0 ||2 ||2 ||11 |- ||2016–17 NHL season ||San Jose Sharks ||NHL ||81 ||2 ||8 ||10 ||60 ||6 ||0 ||1 ||1 ||4 |- bgcolor="#f0f0f0" ||2017–18 NHL season ||San Jose Sharks ||NHL ||81 ||5 ||17 ||22 ||60 ||10 ||0 ||4 ||4 ||32 |-
||2018–19 NHL season ||San Jose Sharks ||NHL ||82 ||1 ||21 ||22 ||61 ||20 ||0 ||2 ||2 ||24 |- bgcolor="#f0f0f0" ||2019–20 NHL season ||San Jose Sharks ||NHL ||59 ||1 ||13 ||14 ||83 |- ||2019–20 ||Washington Capitals ||NHL ||10 ||0 ||0 ||0 ||21 ||8 ||0 ||1 ||1 ||8 |- bgcolor="#f0f0f0" ||2020–21 NHL season ||Washington Capitals ||NHL ||56 ||2 ||17 ||19 ||49 ||5 ||1 ||0 ||1 ||0 |- ||2021–22 NHL season ||Winnipeg Jets ||NHL ||79 ||3 ||17 ||20 ||67 |- bgcolor="#f0f0f0" ||2022–23 NHL season ||Winnipeg Jets ||NHL ||82 ||2 ||21 ||23 ||76 ||5 ||0 ||1 ||1 │9 |-
||2023–24 NHL season ||Winnipeg Jets ||NHL ||77 ||8 ||12 ||20 ||92 │3 │││││││││││││││ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │││││││││││││││││││││││≥≥≥≥≥≥≥≥≥≥≥≥≥≥≥≥≥≥≥≥≥≥≥≥≥≥≥≥≥≥≥≥≥≥≥≥≥≥ ≥ ≥ ≥ ≥ ≥ ≥ ≥ ≥ ≥ ≥ ≥ ≥ ≥ ≥ ≥ ≥ ≥ ≥ ≥ ≥ ≥ ≥ ≥ ≥ ≥ ≥ ≥ ≥ ≥ ≥ ≥ ≥ > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > |- bgcolor="#eaeaea"
! colspan="3" style="text-align:right;" rowspan="99"| NHL Totals !974 !39 !173 !212 !925 !84 !1 !14 !15 !94 |
}
International
| Year | Team | Event | Outcome | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Canada | WC | 5th place | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Senior career totals | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||||