Brent Ashton

Brent Ashton
Brent Ashton
Born	May 18, 1960 (age 66); Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
Occupation	Professional ice hockey player (retired)
Years active	1979–1993
Known for	NHL record for highest number of trades (nine)

Brent Kenneth Ashton (born May 18, 1960) is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey player who competed in the National Hockey League for 14 seasons from 1979 to 1993. Recognized for his goal-scoring prowess as a winger, he holds the NHL record for the highest number of trades, a distinction later matched by Mike Sillinger.

Playing career

Ashton developed his skills playing junior hockey with the Saskatoon Blades, where he amassed 119 points during the 1978–79 season before being selected 26th overall in the 1979 NHL Entry Draft by the Vancouver Canucks. He entered the NHL at age 19, concluding his rookie year with 5 goals and 19 points over 47 games. The following season, he improved his output to 18 goals and 29 points and was subsequently involved in a three-team trade that sent him to the Colorado Rockies.

During the 1981–82 campaign with Colorado, Ashton led the team by recording 36 assists and totaling 64 points. After the franchise relocated to New Jersey for the next season, his production declined to 14 goals and 33 points. The Minnesota North Stars acquired him for the 1983–84 season, but he found limited playing time and managed only 7 goals and 17 points.

In the early part of the 1984–85 season with Minnesota, Ashton struggled before being traded to the Quebec Nordiques, where he revitalized his performance by scoring 27 goals and accumulating 51 points across 49 games. He started the subsequent season strongly with 25 goals in 46 games but was traded mid-season to the Detroit Red Wings. While in Detroit, Ashton reached career highs with 40 goals and 75 points and played a key role during playoff runs that took the Red Wings to back-to-back conference finals.

Ashton signed with the Winnipeg Jets for the 1988–89 season, marking his fifth consecutive year scoring at least 25 goals and setting a personal record with 37 assists. He also contributed to Canada's silver medal achievement at the 1989 World Championships. Over three seasons with Winnipeg, he maintained consistent production despite injuries gradually affecting his play.

Midway through the 1991–92 season, Ashton was traded to the Boston Bruins, where he rebounded by tallying 18 goals and 40 points; however, performance challenges in the following year led to a stint in the minor leagues. Later that season, he was traded to the Calgary Flames, finishing strongly with 19 points over 32 games.

Unable to secure an NHL contract for the 1993–94 season, Ashton joined the Las Vegas Thunder of the International Hockey League but suffered a career-ending knee injury just as he was preparing to sign with his potential tenth NHL team, the Los Angeles Kings.

Throughout nearly a thousand NHL games (998), Ashton scored a total of 284 goals and added 345 assists for an aggregate of 629 points while accumulating 635 penalty minutes. His record-setting nine trades remain a notable aspect of NHL history.

Personal life

Following his retirement from professional hockey, Ashton returned to Saskatoon where he operates Brent Ashton Sportswear and is involved in coaching youth hockey teams.

His brother, Ron Ashton, also had a professional hockey career during Winnipeg Jets' tenure in the World Hockey Association.

Ashton is married and has two sons: Taylor, who pursues folk music professionally, and Carter Ashton, who plays hockey professionally with Leksands IF in Sweden's top-tier league (SHL).

Regular season and playoffs

			Regular season					Playoffs
Season	Team	League	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1975–76	Saskatoon Olympics	SJHL	47	40	50	90	—	—	—	—	—	—
1975–76	Saskatoon Blades	WCHL	11	3	4	7	11	18	1	1	2	5
1976–77	Saskatoon Blades	WCHL	54	26	25	51	84	6	1	2	3	15
1977–78	Saskatoon Blades	WCHL	46	38	26	64	47	—	—	—	—	—
1978–79	Saskatoon Blades	WHL	62	64	55	119	80	11	14	4	18	5
1979–80	Vancouver Canucks	NHL	47	5	14	19	11	4	1	0	1	6
1980–81	Vancouver Canucks	NHL	77	18	11	29	57	3	0	0	0	0
1981–82	Colorado Rockies	NHL	80	24	36	60	26	—	—	—	—	—
1982–83	New Jersey Devils	NHL	76	14	19	33	47	—	—	—	—	—
1983–84	Minnesota North Stars	NHL	68	7	10	17	54	12	1	2	3	22
1984–85	Minnesota North Stars	NHL	29	4	7	11	15	—	—	—	—	—
1984–85	Quebec Nordiques	NHL	49	27	24	51	38	18	6	4	10	13
1985–86	Quebec Nordiques	NHL	77	26	32	58	64	3	2	1	3	9
1986–87	Quebec Nordiques	NHL	46	25	19	44	17
1986–87	Detroit Red Wings	NHL	35	15	16	31	22	16	4	9	13	6
1987–88	Detroit Red Wings	NHL	73	26	27	53	50	16	7	5	12	10
1988–89	Winnipeg Jets	NHL	75	31	37	68	36
1989–90	Winnipeg Jets	NHL	79	22	34	56	37	7	3	1	4	2
1990–91	Winnipeg Jets	NHL	61	12	24	36	58
1991–92	Winnipeg Jets	NHL	7	1	0	1	4
1991–92	Boston Bruins	NHL	61	17	22	39	47
1992–93	Boston Bruins	NHL	26	2	2	4	11
1992–93	Providence Bruins	AHL	11	4	8	12	10
1992–93	Calgary Flames	NHL	32	8	11	19	41	6	0	3;;;3;;;2
1993–94	Las Vegas Thunder	IHL	16;;;4;;;10;;;14;;;29
NHL totals			998	284	345	629	635	85	24	25	49	70

International

Year	Team	Tournament		Games Played	Goals	Assists	Points	Penalty Minutes
1989	Canada	World Championship		10	3	3	6	2

External links

Player profile at hockeydraftcentral.com