Kyle McLaren
McLaren with the San Jose Sharks in 2008
Born (1977-06-18) June 18, 1977
Humboldt, Saskatchewan, Canada
Height 6 ft 4 in (193 cm)
Weight 230 lb (104 kg; 16 st 6 lb)
Position Defence
Shot Left
Played for Boston Bruins
San Jose Sharks
National team  Canada
NHL Draft 9th overall, 1995
Boston Bruins
Playing career 1995–2009

Kyle Edgar McLaren (born June 18, 1977) is a[1] Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played 12 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Boston Bruins and San Jose Sharks.

Playing career

McLaren was drafted by the Boston Bruins in the first round, ninth-overall, during the 1995 NHL Entry Draft. He played his first NHL season when he was just eighteen in the 1995–96 season, and was the youngest player on an NHL roster that year. Kyle later became a Bruins Assistant Captain.

In Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals on April 25 in the 2002 playoffs, McLaren injured Richard Zednik of the Montreal Canadiens with an elbow to the face. McLaren received a three-game suspension from the league. Despite Boston winning the game 5–2, they would lose the series to the Canadiens in six games.

By July 2002 McLaren was dissatisfied with his perceived role in the Bruins organization. That summer, McLaren had been offered a two-way contract by Bruins general manager Mike O'Connell, meaning that McLaren could be made to report to the minor league affiliate of the Bruins, the Providence Bruins of the AHL, where he would earn but a small fraction of his NHL salary. An established NHL player at that point, McLaren was insulted and demanded a trade.[2]

In a three-way deal, San Jose traded their 1999 first-round pick Jeff Jillson and goaltender Jeff Hackett, previously acquired from Montreal for Niklas Sundstrom and a third-round pick, to Boston for McLaren and a fourth-round selection in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft.

During the 2003 season he was struck in the face by a slapshot from Vancouver's Sami Salo and missed 6 games due to his injury. For the remainder of the season he played with a clear visor. He stopped wearing a visor until partway through his 2005 season, when he returned with a yellow tinted visor because its color helped prevent glare of the ice from affecting him. McLaren switched back to a clear one during the 2007–08 season.

In 2006, McLaren signed a three-year contract worth US $7.5 million; the deal expired in June 2009. McLaren signed that deal citing how happy he was in San Jose and how much his family loved it there.

On October 7, 2008, McLaren was placed on waivers by San Jose Sharks' general manager Doug Wilson so that the team could accommodate the salaries of newly acquired defencemen Brad Lukowich, Dan Boyle, and Rob Blake within the constraints of the NHL salary cap. He played the season for the Sharks' AHL affiliate Worcester Sharks; his salary did not affect the San Jose Sharks' salary cap as he remained in Worcester.

On March 4, 2009, he was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers for a 2009 sixth-round draft pick, but that deal was later nixed as the Flyers reported that McLaren failed his physical.[3]

McLaren received an invitation to attend training camp with the New York Rangers for the 2009–10 season, but did not make the team after failing a physical.

McLaren received another training camp invite by the Atlanta Thrashers for the 2010–11 NHL season on August 24, 2010, but was released on September 22, 2010.

Awards

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1992–93 Lethbridge Y's Men AAA AMHL 60 28 28 56 84 — — — — —
1993–94 Tacoma Rockets WHL 62 1 9 10 53 6 1 4 5 6
1994–95 Tacoma Rockets WHL 47 13 19 32 68 4 1 1 2 4
1995–96 Boston Bruins NHL 74 5 12 17 73 5 0 0 0 14
1996–97 Boston Bruins NHL 58 5 9 14 54 — — — — —
1997–98 Boston Bruins NHL 66 5 20 25 56 6 1 0 1 4
1998–99 Boston Bruins NHL 52 6 18 24 48 12 0 3 3 10
1999–2000 Boston Bruins NHL 71 8 11 19 67 — — — — —
2000–01 Boston Bruins NHL 58 5 12 17 53 — — — — —
2001–02 Boston Bruins NHL 38 0 8 8 19 4 0 0 0 20
2002–03 San Jose Sharks NHL 33 0 8 8 30 — — — — —
2003–04 San Jose Sharks NHL 64 2 22 24 60 16 0 3 3 10
2005–06 San Jose Sharks NHL 77 2 21 23 66 11 0 3 3 4
2006–07 San Jose Sharks NHL 67 5 12 17 61 11 0 4 4 10
2007–08 San Jose Sharks NHL 61 3 8 11 84 5 0 0 0 6
2008–09 Worcester Sharks AHL 22 1 6 7 19 7 0 1 1 2
NHL totals 719 46 161 207 671 70 1 13 14 78

International

Year Team Event   GP G A Pts PIM
2001 Canada WC 7 0 2 2 2

References

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