Matt Taormina
Matthew Angelo Taormina | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 20, 1986 |
| Occupation | Professional ice hockey defenseman (retired) |
| Known for | Playing in the NHL with New Jersey Devils and Tampa Bay Lightning |
Matthew Angelo Taormina (born October 20, 1986) is a retired American professional ice hockey defenseman. Although he was not selected in the NHL Draft, he competed at the highest level with the New Jersey Devils and Tampa Bay Lightning.
Playing career
Taormina launched his amateur journey in the North American Hockey League playing for the Texarkana Bandits, where he received accolades including Second All-Star Team, All-Rookie Team distinctions, and was honored as Rookie of the Year. He then advanced to collegiate hockey within the Hockey East conference representing Providence College, earning a spot on the Hockey East Second All-Star Team during his junior year. Upon completing his senior season, he transitioned to professional play by joining the Binghamton Senators of the American Hockey League (AHL).
Entering the 2009–10 season, Taormina signed an AHL contract as an undrafted free agent with the New Jersey Devils. He led the Lowell Devils in assists, accumulating 50 points over 75 games, which resulted in a one-year contract extension. His impressive performance during training camp secured him a position on New Jersey’s NHL roster for the 2010–11 season. Taormina recorded his inaugural NHL goal on October 15, 2010, facing off against the Colorado Avalanche.
On July 6, 2012, he agreed to a one-year two-way contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning. During the 2013–14 trade deadline, Taormina was traded alongside Dana Tyrell to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for Jonathan Marchessault and Dalton Smith.
For the 2014–15 campaign, Taormina inked a one-year AHL deal with the Worcester Sharks, where he topped their defensemen in scoring with 38 points across 72 contests. On July 1, 2015, he returned to Tampa Bay on a one-year two-way contract and made his debut in the Stanley Cup Playoffs on April 19, 2016.
Re-signing with Tampa Bay on June 28, 2016, Taormina participated in three NHL games and three playoff matches that season. He also appeared in 61 games for the Syracuse Crunch, tallying 13 goals and a total of 41 points—ranking second among defensemen in points and first in goals.
On March 17, 2017, Taormina was appointed as the permanent alternate captain for the Syracuse Crunch. His outstanding performance earned him a place on the 2016–17 AHL All-Star First Team and he was honored with the Eddie Shore Award as the league’s top defenseman.
As a free agent on July 1, 2017, Taormina signed a two-year two-way contract with the Montreal Canadiens. Early into that season, he was named alternate captain for their AHL affiliate team, the Laval Rocket.
Prior to the start of the 2018–19 season and after missing preseason due to injury, Taormina was traded along with Rinat Valiev to the Calgary Flames in exchange for Brett Kulak on October 1, 2018.
Career statistics
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2004–05 | Texarkana Bandits | NAHL | 52 | 14 | 30 | 44 | 44 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2005–06 | Providence College | HE | 36 | 1 | 10 | 11 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006–07 | Providence College | HE | 35 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | Providence College | HE | 39 | 9 | 18 | 27 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 | Providence College | HE | 34 | 5 | 15 | 20 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 | Binghamton Senators | AHL | 11 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | Lowell Devils | AHL | 75 | 10 | 40 | 50 | 45 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 4 | ||
| 2010–11 NHL season | New Jersey Devils | NHL |17 |3 |2 |5 |2 |— |— |— |— |— |- | 2011–12 NHL season | New Jersey Devils | NHL |30 |1 |6 |7 |4 |— |— |— |— |— |- bgcolor="#f0f0f0" | 2011–12 AHL season | Albany Devils | AHL |33 |6 |10 |16 |12 |— |— |— |— |— |- | 2012–13 AHL season | Syracuse Crunch | AHL |55 |4 |20 |24 |21 |18 |2 |10 |12 |4 |- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
2012–13 NHL season Tampa Bay Lightning NHL2 00000 — — — — - 2013–14 AHL season Syracuse Crunch AHL41 6 12 18 20 — — — — — - 2013–14 NHL season Tampa Bay Lightning NHL7 00000 — — — — - 2013–14 AHL season Springfield Falcons AHL17 3 5 8 2 4 0 1 1 - bgcolor="#f0f0f0" 2014–15 AHL season Worcester Sharks AHL72 11 27 38 24 4 1 0 1 0 - 2015–16 AHL season Syracuse Crunch AHL61 13 28 41 10 - - - - - - - - - - - 2015–16 NHL season Tampa Bay Lightning NHL3 00000 - 2016–17 AHL season Syracuse Crunch AHL61 15 45 60 22 22 5 15 20 11 - 2017–18 AHL season Laval Rocket AHL63 — — — — — - 2018–19 AHL season Stockton Heat AHL31 — — — — — - | |||||||||||
| "AHL totals" !533 !74 !245 !319 !192 !53 !9 !29 !38 !19 |- bgcolor="#e0e0e0" | "NHL totals" !59 !4 !8 !12 !6 !3 !0 !0 !0 !0 | |||||||||||||
Awards and distinctions
| Honor | Year |
|---|---|
| NAHL | |
| First Team All-Rookie | 2005 |
| Rookie of the Year | 2005 |
| College | |
| Hockey East Second Team All-Star | 2008 |
| AHL | |
| All-Star Game participant | 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 |
| First Team All-Star selection | 2017 |
| Eddie Shore Award | 2017 |