Jeff O'Neill
Born (1976-02-23) February 23, 1976
Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada
Height 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight 195 lb (88 kg; 13 st 13 lb)
Position Right Wing
Shot Right
Played for Hartford Whalers
Carolina Hurricanes
Toronto Maple Leafs
NHL Draft 5th overall, 1994
Hartford Whalers
Playing career 1995–2007

Jeffrey O'Neill (born February 23, 1976) is a Canadian broadcaster and former professional ice hockey player in the National Hockey League (NHL). He played 12 seasons with the Hartford Whalers, Carolina Hurricanes and the Toronto Maple Leafs. He has earned accolades for his offensive contributions on the ice and represented Canada internationally in various tournaments.[1]

Playing career

Minor hockey

O'Neill grew up in the community of King City, north of Toronto, playing minor hockey for the King City Kings MHA as a youth. He grew up with two older brothers, Don and Ryan, both of whom played hockey. O'Neill played in the 1990 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with the Richmond Hill-Vaughan Kings minor ice hockey team from the Ontario Minor Hockey Association.[2] As a 14-year-old, he played at the Midget level with his brother Ryan — almost three years younger than some of his peers. At 15, O'Neill signed with the Thornhill Thunderbirds Jr. A club (OHA), whose coach Scott McLennan stated he had the skills to make it to the Ontario Hockey League.[3] O’Neill's number was later retired by the Thunderbirds in 2004. He finished his rookie season second in the Metro Junior Hockey League in scoring.

O'Neill was the first overall selection of the Guelph Storm in the 1992 OHL Priority Selection, held at Maple Leaf Gardens in June 1992. He was named OHL Rookie of the Year that year after scoring 79 points in 65 games with the upstart Storm. His point total of 79 for a 16-year-old was the second highest total by a 16-year-old since Kirk Muller recorded 112 with the Guelph Platers in 1982–83. He also played in the American Hockey League for the Springfield Falcons. O'Neill spent three years in the OHL with the Storm before jumping to the NHL with the Hartford Whalers in 1995. Also in 1995 he represented Canada at the world junior hockey championships, winning a gold medal.

NHL

O'Neill was drafted in the first round, fifth overall by the Hartford Whalers (now Carolina Hurricanes) in the 1994 NHL Entry Draft. After joining the Whalers in 1995, he spent the next two seasons in Hartford before following the franchise to North Carolina in 1997. His point production increased after he arrived in Carolina, scoring at least 30 goals per season each year between 2000 and 2003, including a career high 41 goals during the 2000-2001 NHL season. The following year, the Hurricanes went on a Cinderella run to the Stanley Cup Finals. During that playoff run, O'Neill led his team in playoff goals, including an overtime winner in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals against his hometown team, the Toronto Maple Leafs. After eliminating the Maple Leafs, his team would advance to the final series against the Detroit Red Wings. They could not prevail however, as the Red Wings were heavily favoured with several future Hall of Famers on the roster and eliminated the Hurricanes in 5 games. The Hurricanes could not repeat their success the next season as they missed the playoffs, but O'Neill recorded his third 30-goal season and was selected to his first NHL All-Star Game

After his brother was killed in a car accident in Toronto in July 2005, O'Neill expressed a desire to play for the Maple Leafs in order to be closer to family.[4] On July 30, 2005, Carolina GM Jim Rutherford traded O'Neill to the Toronto Maple Leafs for a conditional draft pick in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft.

Re-united with former Carolina Hurricanes coach Paul Maurice, O'Neill enjoyed a resurgence early in the 2006–2007 season playing on the top line with Mats Sundin and Alexander Steen, was briefly one of the top scorers. However, despite scoring 20 goals that season, O'Neill was benched for the remaining few games due to inconsistent performances. His poor performance combined with his fear of flying led him to consider retirement at the end of the season.[5] After sitting out the following season, he was invited to the 2008-09 Training Camp by his former team, the Carolina Hurricanes. Following training camp, O'Neill played in two exhibition games with the Hurricanes, but opted to retire before the official start of the season.[6]

Broadcasting career

O'Neill is presently a sports broadcaster and hockey analyst with The Sports Network, appearing on Toronto Maple Leafs broadcasts and TSN Hockey programs.[1] He currently co-hosts OverDrive on TSN Radio 1050 with host Bryan Hayes and fellow co-host and former goaltender Jamie McLennan.[7]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1991–92 Thornhill Thunderbirds MetJHL 43 27 53 80 48 — — — — —
1992–93 Guelph Storm OHL 65 32 47 79 88 5 2 2 4 6
1993–94 Guelph Storm OHL 66 45 81 126 95 9 2 11 13 31
1994–95 Guelph Storm OHL 57 43 81 124 56 14 8 18 26 34
1995–96 Hartford Whalers NHL 65 8 19 27 40 — — — — —
1996–97 Springfield Falcons AHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
1996–97 Hartford Whalers NHL 72 14 16 30 40 — — — — —
1997–98 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 74 19 20 39 67 — — — — —
1998–99 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 75 16 15 31 66 6 0 1 1 0
1999–2000 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 80 25 38 63 72 — — — — —
2000–01 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 82 41 26 67 106 6 1 2 3 10
2001–02 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 76 31 33 64 63 22 8 5 13 27
2002–03 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 82 30 31 61 38 — — — — —
2003–04 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 67 14 20 34 60 — — — — —
2005–06 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 74 19 19 38 64 — — — — —
2006–07 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 74 20 22 42 54 — — — — —
NHL totals 821 237 259 496 670 34 9 8 17 37

International

Year Team Event   GP G A Pts PIM
1995 Canada WJC 7 2 4 6 2

References

  1. 1 2 "Talent: Jeff O'Neill". TSN. Retrieved March 4, 2020.
  2. ↑ "Pee-Wee players who have reached NHL or WHA" (PDF). Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 6, 2019. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
  3. ↑ Laskaris, Sam (October 17, 1991). "15-year-old draws raves from Lindros' old coach". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved October 3, 2014.
  4. ↑ Buffery, Steve. "NHLer turned broadcaster Jeff O'Neill tells it like it is when it comes to the Toronto Maple Leafs". Toronto Sun. Retrieved November 6, 2020.
  5. ↑ "O'Neill may hang 'em up". Sportsnet. April 11, 2006. Archived from the original on October 10, 2007.
  6. ↑ Yaneff, Jon (January 7, 2009). "O'Neill's hockey career settles down, as the former NHLer starts new life". King Township Sentinel. Archived from the original on January 27, 2013. Retrieved February 5, 2009.
  7. ↑ "OverDrive with Hayes, Noodles and The O-Dog". TSN. Retrieved March 5, 2020.

Further reading

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