Eric Weinrich
Eric Weinrich | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 19, 1966 Gardiner, Maine, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Ice hockey player, coach, scout |
| Years active | 1988–2007 (player) |
| Known for | Professional ice hockey defenseman in the NHL |
Eric John Weinrich (born December 19, 1966) is a retired American professional ice hockey defenseman who competed in the National Hockey League (NHL) for 17 seasons. Throughout his career, he played for the New Jersey Devils, Hartford Whalers, Chicago Blackhawks, Montreal Canadiens, Boston Bruins, Philadelphia Flyers, St. Louis Blues, and Vancouver Canucks. Weinrich participated in 1,157 NHL contests, accumulating 70 goals and 318 assists, totaling 388 points.
Amateur career
Raised in Gardiner, Maine, Weinrich attended North Yarmouth Academy located in Yarmouth, Maine. He pursued collegiate hockey at the University of Maine while majoring in archaeology and anthropology. Over three seasons, he appeared in 83 games and earned recognition as an NCAA East Second Team All-American during the 1986–87 campaign before joining the United States national team.
Professional career
Although initially chosen by the Buffalo Sabres during the 1984 NHL Entry Draft, this selection was voided due to age eligibility rules. Subsequently, Weinrich was drafted 32nd overall by the New Jersey Devils in the 1985 NHL Entry Draft. He began his professional journey with the Utica Devils of the AHL across the 1988–89 and 1989–90 seasons, securing the Eddie Shore Award in 1990. Weinrich split time between Utica and New Jersey before becoming a full-time NHL player in the 1990–91 season, earning a place on the NHL All-Rookie Team after recording 38 points.
In August 1992, Weinrich was traded alongside Sean Burke to the Hartford Whalers in exchange for Bobby Holik and draft selections. After slightly more than one season with Hartford, he was included in a trade package with Patrick Poulin to join the Chicago Blackhawks for Steve Larmer and Bryan Marchment. Weinrich spent multiple seasons with Chicago until an early-season trade in 1998–99 sent him to the Montreal Canadiens. Midway through the 2000–01 season, he was dealt to the Boston Bruins for Patrick Traverse—this transaction being one of the first trades between these two organizations since 1964.
As a free agent on July 5, 2001, Weinrich agreed to a three-year deal with the Philadelphia Flyers and celebrated his milestone 1,000th NHL game during the 2002–03 season. Shortly after participating in the 2004 NHL All-Star Game, he was traded to the St. Louis Blues. During the NHL lockout of 2004–05, Weinrich competed for VSV EC in Austria before returning to St. Louis for the following season. His final trade occurred in March 2006 when he joined the Vancouver Canucks.
Weinrich announced his retirement on August 4, 2006, concluding an illustrious near two-decade NHL tenure. He promptly transitioned into coaching as an assistant with the AHL’s Portland Pirates and briefly resumed playing under a professional tryout contract during the 2006–07 season. After completing two seasons with Portland, he permanently ended his playing career.
Following retirement from active play, Weinrich worked as a professional scout for the Buffalo Sabres over three years. In 2015, he took on a development coaching role with the New Jersey Devils and currently holds an interim assistant coaching position with their AHL affiliate team, the Utica Comets.
Awards and honors
| Award | Year |
|---|---|
| All-Hockey East First Team | 1986–87 |
| AHCA East Second-Team All-American | 1986–87 |
| Hockey East All-Tournament Team | 1987 |
- AHL First All-Star Team (1990)
- Eddie Shore Award (1990)
- NHL All-Rookie Team (1991)
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1983–84 | North Yarmouth Academy | HS-ME | 17 | 23 | 33 | 56 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1984–85 | North Yarmouth Academy | HS-ME | 20 | 6 | 21 | 27 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1985–86 | University of Maine | HE | 34 | 0 | 14 | 14 | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1986–87 | University of Maine | HE | 41 | 12 | 32 | 44 | 59 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1987–88 | University of Maine | HE | 8 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1987–88 | United States National Team | Intl | 38 | 3 | 9 | 12 | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1988–89 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1988–89 | Utica Devils | AHL | 80 | 17 | 27 | 44 | 70 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 1989–90 | Utica Devils | AHL | 57 | 12 | 48 | 60 | 38 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1989–90 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 19 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 11 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 17 | ||
| 1990–91 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 76 | 4 | 34 | 38 | 48 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | ||
| 1991–92 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 76 | 7 | 25 | 32 | 55 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 1992–93 | Hartford Whalers | NHL | 79 | 7 | 29 | 36 | 76 | |||||||
| 1993–94 | Hartford Whalers / Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 62 | 4 | 24 | 28 | 33 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 1994–95 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 48 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 33 | 16 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 4 | ||
| 1995–96 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 77 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 65 | 10 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 10 | ||
| 1996–97 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 81 | 7 | 25 | 32 | 62 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 1997–98 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 82 | 2 | 21 | 23 | 106 | |||||||
| 1998–99 | Chicago Blackhawks / Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 80 | 7 | 15 | 22 | 89 | |||||||
| 1999–00 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 77 | 4 | 25 | 29 | 39 | |||||||
| 2000–01 | Montreal Canadiens / Boston Bruins | NHL | 82 | 7 | 24 | 31 | 44 | |||||||
| 2001–02 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 80 | 4 | 20 | 24 | 26 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |||
| 2002–03 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 81 | 2 | 18 | 20 | 40 | 13 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 12 | ||
| 2003–04 | Philadelphia Flyers / St. Louis Blues | NHL | 80 | 4 | 15 | 19 | 46 | |||||||
| 2004-05 Austrian Hockey League season | EC VSV | EBEL | 10 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 8 | |||||||
| 2005-06 NHL season#St. Louis Blues and Vancouver Canucks seasons | St. Louis Blues / Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 75 | 1 | 16 | 17 | 52 | |||||||
| _2006-07 AHL Season_ | _Portland Pirates_ | _AHL_ | _2_ |_12_ |_14_ |_34_ | |||||||||||
| _2007-08 AHL Season_ | _Portland Pirates_ | _AHL_ | _1_ |_7_ |_8_ |_68_ | |||||||||||
| Career totals in the NHL | 1,157 | 70 | 318 | 388 | 825 | 81 | 6 | 23 | 29 | 67 | ||||
International
| Year | Team | Competition | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | United States | WJC | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | |
| 1986 | United States | WJC | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | |
| 1988 | United States | OG | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1991 | United States | WC | 10 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | |
| 1991 | United States | CC | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| 1993 | United States | WC | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| 1994 | United States | WC | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| 1997 | United States | WC | 6 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 2 | |
| 1998 | United States | WC | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 16 | |
| 1999 | United States | WC | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | |
| 2000 | United States | WC | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | |
| 2001 | United States | WC | 9 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 8 | |
| 2002 | United States | WC | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| 2004 | United States | WC | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | |
| 2004 | United States | WCH | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Junior career totals | 14 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 12 | |||
| Senior career totals | 79 | 3 | 16 | 19 | 50 | |||