Jeff Hackett

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Jeff Hackett bigraphy, stories - Canadian ice hockey goaltender

Jeff Hackett : biography

June 1, 1968 –

Jeffrey D. Hackett (born June 1, 1968) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played 15 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the New York Islanders, San Jose Sharks, Chicago Blackhawks, Montreal Canadiens, Boston Bruins and Philadelphia Flyers. He served as the Colorado Avalanche’s goaltending coach for three seasons following his playing career.

Post-playing career

On July 12, 2006, Hackett was hired as the goaltending coach for the Colorado Avalanche. After three seasons in that role, Hackett was fired on June 3, 2009. Hackett now resides in his hometown of London, Ontario and has turned his attention to minor hockey. His nephew is the NHL goaltender Matt Hackett.

Playing career

Hackett grew up studying Tony Esposito, his idol, and patterned his game after him. He was drafted by the New York Islanders in the second round of the 1987 NHL Entry Draft after playing in juniors for the London Diamonds and the Oshawa Generals. Behind Billy Smith and Kelly Hrudey on the Islanders’ goaltending depth chart, Hackett split his first two seasons with New York and the Saint John Flames of the AHL. He led the Screech Owls to a Calder Cup win in 1990 and was awarded the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy, annually given to the most valuable player of the playoffs.

After spending the entirety of 1990–91 with the Islanders, the San Jose Sharks claimed him in the 1991 NHL Expansion Draft. During his first season in San Jose, Hackett was named team MVP for his play. However after winning only two games in 1992-93, one of them a Shark record 57 save effort over the Kings, Hackett was dealt to the Chicago Blackhawks prior to 1993–94 and he backed up Ed Belfour for several seasons. His excellent play in 1996–97 allowed the Blackhawks to trade Belfour to San Jose during mid-season. His only full season as Chicago’s top goaltender, 1997–98, was highlighted by a career-high eight shutouts.

A month into 1998–99, Hackett was involved in a six-player trade which sent him to the Montreal Canadiens. He quickly became a fan favorite in Montreal as he recorded career highs in games played (63) and wins (26). After another solid season in 1999–2000, Hackett was limited to 15 games in 2000–01 and 18 games in 2001–02 due to a shoulder injury and lost the starter’s job to 2002 Vezina Trophy winner José Théodore in the process. This signaled the end of his career with Montreal as mid-way through 2002–03 he was involved in a three-way trade which sent him back to San Jose temporarily and then on to the Boston Bruins.

The Bruins, who had been looking for a number one goaltender, threw Hackett into that role. After shutting out Philadelphia in his Boston debut, Hackett played well until a broken finger caused him to miss time including the start of the Bruins’ playoff series with New Jersey, forcing Boston to go with Steve Shields.

Hackett signed on the first day of free agency with the Philadelphia Flyers during the off-season. He started his Flyers career by posting two shutouts in his first two games, also accumulating a record of 9 wins, 2 losses and 6 ties in his first 17 games. However, in December he lost six starts in a row and following a win in early January, lost his next two starts. He was diagnosed with vertigo on January 22 and after a one game rehab stint with the AHL’s Philadelphia Phantoms on February 6, Hackett retired on February 9, 2004. Hackett finished his career after appearing in 500 NHL regular season games.

Awards

  • 1986–87 – F. W. "Dinty" Moore Trophy (OHL)
  • 1986–87 – Dave Pinkney Trophy (OHL)
  • 1989–90 – Jack A. Butterfield Trophy (AHL)

Career statistics

Regular season

Season Team League GP W L T MIN GA SO GAA SV%
1984–85 London Diamonds WOJBHL 18 1078 73 1 4.06
1985–86 London Diamonds WOJBHL 19 1150 66 0 3.44
1986–87 Oshawa Generals OHL 31 18 9 2 1672 85 2 3.05
1987–88 Oshawa Generals OHL 53 30 21 2 3165 205 0 3.89
1988–89 Springfield Indians AHL 29 12 14 2 1677 116 0 4.15 .872
1988–89 New York Islanders NHL 13 4 7 0 662 39 0 3.53 .881
1989–90 Springfield Indians AHL 54 24 25 3 3045 187 1 3.68 .887
1990–91 New York Islanders NHL 30 5 18 1 1508 91 0 3.62 .877
1991–92 San Jose Sharks NHL 42 11 27 1 2314 148 0 3.84 .892
1992–93 San Jose Sharks NHL 36 2 30 1 2000 176 0 5.28 .856
1993–94 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 22 2 12 3 1084 62 0 3.43 .890
1994–95 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 7 1 3 2 328 13 0 2.38 .913
1995–96 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 35 18 11 4 2000 80 4 2.40 .916
1996–97 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 41 19 18 4 2473 89 2 2.16 .927
1997–98 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 58 21 25 11 3441 126 8 2.20 .917
1998–99 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 10 2 6 1 524 33 0 3.78 .871
1998–99 Montreal Canadiens NHL 53 24 20 9 3091 117 5 2.27 .914
1999–00 Montreal Canadiens NHL 56 23 25 7 3301 132 3 2.40 .914
2000–01 Montreal Canadiens NHL 19 4 10 2 998 54 0 3.25 .887
2001–02 Montreal Canadiens NHL 15 5 5 2 717 38 0 3.18 .904
2002–03 Montreal Canadiens NHL 18 7 8 2 1063 45 0 2.54 .926
2002–03 Boston Bruins NHL 18 8 9 0 991 53 1 3.21 .894
2003–04 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 27 10 10 6 1630 65 3 2.39 .905
2003–04 Philadelphia Phantoms AHL 1 1 0 0 60 2 0 2.00 .889
NHL totals 500 166 244 56 28125 1361 26 2.90 .902
AHL totals 84 37 39 5 4782 305 1 3.83
OHL totals 84 48 30 4 4837 290 2 3.60
WOJBHL totals 37 2228 139 1 3.74