Brian Boyle

Brian Boyle
Born	Brian Paul Boyle (1984-12-18) December 18, 1984 Hingham, Massachusetts, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Professional ice hockey player (retired), NHL Network analyst
Years active	2007–2023
Known for	NHL career as center for multiple teams; Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy winner (2018)

Brian Paul Boyle (born December 18, 1984) is a retired American professional ice hockey center who currently serves as an analyst for NHL Network. Throughout his NHL career, Boyle represented the Los Angeles Kings, New York Rangers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Toronto Maple Leafs, New Jersey Devils, Nashville Predators, Florida Panthers, and Pittsburgh Penguins. He was educated at St. Sebastian's School in Needham, Massachusetts, and later attended Boston College. Boyle was raised in Hingham, Massachusetts.

Los Angeles Kings

Selected 26th overall by the Los Angeles Kings in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft, Boyle spent four years competing at Boston College before turning professional. He began his pro career in 2007 with the Manchester Monarchs, the Kings’ AHL affiliate.

Boyle’s NHL debut came during the 2007–08 season on February 2, 2008, facing off against the New Jersey Devils. Despite a 6–3 defeat, he scored his first NHL goal that night against goaltender Martin Brodeur. In his initial seven NHL appearances, Boyle netted four goals.

New York Rangers

On June 27, 2009, at the NHL Entry Draft, Boyle was traded to the New York Rangers in exchange for a third-round pick in 2010, which was later used to select Jordan Weal.

During the 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs, Boyle sustained a concussion following a hit from Ottawa Senators forward Chris Neil, causing him to miss three games. Earlier in that series, Senators defenseman Matt Carkner received a one-game suspension for repeatedly punching Boyle as retaliation for Boyle’s unprovoked strike on defenseman Erik Karlsson in Game 1.

Tampa Bay Lightning

Boyle departed from the Rangers after five seasons and signed a three-year contract worth $6 million with the Tampa Bay Lightning on July 1, 2014. He switched his jersey number from 22 to 11 to honor a late college teammate. On December 12, 2015, Boyle marked his 500th NHL game during a loss to the Washington Capitals. In the 2016 Stanley Cup playoffs, he achieved his first two-goal game on May 24 and reached his 100th playoff game just two days later.

Toronto Maple Leafs

Confronted with salary cap challenges and outside playoff contention, the Lightning traded Boyle to the Toronto Maple Leafs on February 27, 2017. In return, Tampa Bay acquired forward Byron Froese and a conditional second-round draft pick. At that time, Boyle was in the final year of his contract and was on track for his best offensive season.

Toronto pursued Boyle due to his physical presence, penalty killing ability, faceoff expertise, and significant playoff experience—having played more postseason games than any other player since 2011. With number 11 already worn by Zach Hyman, Boyle adopted number 24. Primarily centering the fourth line alongside Matt Martin and Nikita Soshnikov, his offensive output declined because of limited ice time. Nevertheless, his strong faceoff skills contributed to the Maple Leafs securing their first playoff berth in four years. Boyle added two assists during their six-game series defeat against the top-seeded Washington Capitals.

New Jersey Devils

As an unrestricted free agent on July 1, 2017, Boyle inked a two-year deal worth $5.1 million with the New Jersey Devils. He made his Devils debut on November 1 against the Vancouver Canucks—his first game since being diagnosed with chronic myelogenous leukemia—just over a week after returning to practice. On November 9, he scored his inaugural goal with New Jersey and first since diagnosis against Edmonton Oilers goalie Cam Talbot; Boyle described this achievement as profoundly emotional.

Boyle replaced Taylor Hall in the NHL All-Star Game on January 25, 2018, after Hall suffered an injury. During the All-Star Skills Competition, he earned second place in the Accuracy Shooting event. At season’s end, the Devils nominated him for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy. On April 16, Boyle engaged in a fight with Tampa Bay defenseman Mikhail Sergachev and made threatening remarks afterward. Subsequently, on April 21 he was named a finalist for the Masterton Trophy and ultimately won it on June 20.

The next season saw Boyle reach his 700th NHL game milestone on October 25. On November 5—during Hockey Fights Cancer night—he recorded his first career NHL hat trick in a commanding 5–1 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Nashville Predators

Boyle was traded to the Nashville Predators on February 6, 2019, in exchange for a second-round pick in the 2019 NHL Draft.

Florida Panthers

Following the conclusion of his contract with Nashville, Boyle entered free agency but remained unsigned throughout the summer despite NHL teams showing interest. He eventually agreed to a one-year deal worth $940,000 with the Florida Panthers on October 21, 2019.

Pittsburgh Penguins

After sitting out the entire 2020–21 season, Boyle signed a professional tryout agreement (PTO) with the Pittsburgh Penguins on September 3, 2021. He later secured a one-year contract valued at $750,000 on October 12, 2021, and marked his return to NHL play by scoring in his first game since August 2020, helping Pittsburgh to a 6–2 victory against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Broadcasting career

Boyle announced his retirement from professional hockey on March 22, 2023, subsequently joining NHL Network as an analyst.

Personal life

As the seventh child among thirteen siblings, Boyle’s family is notably large. His younger brother Timothy was selected by the Ottawa Senators in the 2012 NHL Draft.

In 1998, Boyle’s father Arthur received a diagnosis of terminal kidney cancer; however, after undertaking a pilgrimage to Medjugorje in Bosnia and Herzegovina, he experienced significant remission. By 2015, Arthur remained free of cancer and organized annual trips back to Medjugorje.

Boyle entered marriage in 2014 and is a father to two children.

On September 19, 2017, Boyle revealed he had been diagnosed with chronic myelogenous leukemia, which accounted for his absence from summer training. By October 24, 2018, he reported achieving full molecular remission while continuing his prescribed treatment.

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2000–01	Saint Sebastian's School	HS-Prep		25	20	19	39	23		—	—	—	—	—
2001–02	Saint Sebastian's School	HS-Prep		28	21	26	47	22		—	—	—	—	—
2002–03	Saint Sebastian's School	HS-Prep		31	32	31	63	46		—	—	—	—	—
2003–04	Boston College	HE		35	5	3	8	36		—	—	—	—	—
2004–05	Boston College	HE		40	19	8	27	64		—	—	—	—	—
2005–06	Boston College	HE		42	22	30	52	90		—	—	—	—	—
2006–07	Boston College	HE		42	19	34	53	104		—	—	—	—

|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"

| 2006–07 AHL season 
| Manchester Monarchs 
| American Hockey League 
|2 
|0 
|0 
|0 
|2 
|16 
|3 
|5 
|8 
|13 

|-

| 2007–08 AHL season 
| Manchester Monarchs 
| AHL 
|70 
|31 
|31 
|62 
|87 
|— 
|— 
|— 
|— 
|— 

|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"

| 2007–08 NHL season 
| Los Angeles Kings 
| National Hockey League 
|8 
|4 
|1 
|5 
|4 
|— 
|— 
|— 
|— 
|— 

|-

| 2008–09 NHL season  
| Los Angeles Kings  
| NHL  
|28  
|4  
|1  
|5  
|42  
|—  
|—  
|—  
|—  
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 2008–09 NHL season  
| Manchester Monarchs  
| AHL  
|42  
|10  
|11  
|21  
|73  
|-  
| 2009–10 NHL season  
| New York Rangers  
| NHL  
|71  
|4  
|2  
|6  
|47  
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
|| 2010–11 NHL season || New York Rangers || NHL ||82 ||21 ||14 ||35 ||74 ||5 ||0 ||0 ||0 ||6 |-  

|| 2011–12 NHL season || New York Rangers || NHL ||82 ||11 ||15 ||26 ||59 ||17 ||3 ||3 ||6 ||15 |- bgcolor="#f0f0f0" || 2012–13 NHL season || New York Rangers || NHL ||38 ||2 ||3 ||5 ||29 ||11 ||3 ||2 ||5 ||2 |- || 2013–14 NHL season || New York Rangers || NHL ||82 ||6 ||12 ||18 ||56 ||25 ||3 ||5 ||8 ||19 |- bgcolor="#f0f0f0" || 2014–15 NHL season||Tampa Bay Lightning||NHL||82||15||9||24||54||25||1||1||2||10 |- || 2015–16 NHL season|| Tampa Bay Lightning||NHL||76||13||7||20||57||17||5||0||5||20 |- bgcolor="#f0f0f0" || 2016–17 NHL season|| Tampa Bay Lightning||NHL||54||13||9||22||48|||—|||—|||—|||—|||— |- |||2016–17|||Toronto Maple Leafs|||NHL|||21|||0|||3|||3|||18|||6|||0|||2|||2|||6 |- bgcolor="#f0f0f0" |||2017–18 NHL season|||New Jersey Devils|||NHL|||69|||13|||10|||23|||45|||5|||0|||0|||0|||14 |- |||2018–19 NHL season|||New Jersey Devils|||NHL|||47|||13|||6|||19|||22|||—|||—|||—|||—|||— |- bgcolor="#f0f0f0" |||2018–19|||Nashville Predators|||NHL|||26|||5|||0|||5|||16|||3|||0|||2|||2|||2 |- ||||2019–20 NHL season||||Florida Panthers||||NHL||||39||||6||||9||||15||||17||||4||||1||||0||||1||||12 |- bgcolor="#f0f0f0" ||||2021–22 NHL season||||Pittsburgh Penguins||||NHL||||66||||11||||10||||21||||27||||6||||0||||2||||2||||0 |-bgcolor="#e0e0e0" ! colspan="3"|NHL totals !871 !141 !111 !252 !615 !124 !16 !17 !33 !106 | |}

International

Year	Team	Tournament	Achievement		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2021	United States	WC	Template:Bronze3		10	2	1	3	4
Senior career totals					10	2	1	3	4

Awards and honors

Award	Year
Collegiate
Hockey East All-Tournament Team	2005, 2006, 2007
Hockey East Tournament Most Valuable Player	2005
All-Hockey East First Team	2005–06, 2006–07
AHCA East Second-Team All-American	2005–06
AHCA East First-Team All-American	2006–07
All-NCAA All-Tournament Team	2007
AHL
AHL All-Rookie Team	2007–08
NHL
NHL All-Star Game	2018
Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy	2018