Marty McSorley
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Martin James McSorley was born May 18, 1963 in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada but his home town is Cayuga, Ontario. He is a Canadian former professional hockey defenceman in the National Hockey League and current head coach in the American Hockey League.
He played for the IHL Grand Rapids Griffins, NHL Boston Bruins, Edmonton Oilers twice, San Jose Sharks, New York Rangers, Los Angeles Kings twice and Pittsburgh Penguins twice and the AHL Nova Scotia Oilers, Baltimore Skipjacks and OHL Belleville Bulls. As of June 16, 2002, he has been head coach of the AHL Springfield Falcons.
A classic "goon," McSorley is the third-most penalized player in NHL history (3,381 PM). He won two Stanley Cups in 1987 and 1988 while beating up on those who dared to interfere with Wayne Gretzky. Gretzky, in turn, refused to OK the blockbuster August 9, 1988 trade that sent him to the Los Angeles Kings unless McSorley was included. McSorley assisted on Gretzky's record-breaking 802nd NHL career goal. The Kings reached the 1993 Stanley Cup Finals, but when McSorley was caught with an illegal stick in Game 2, that effectively destroyed the team's momentum. With the Kings less than two minutes away from a victory that would have given them a two games to none lead in the series, ready to return home to Los Angeles for Games 3 and 4, the Montreal Canadiens scored on the power play awarded to them from McSorley's penalty to tie the game, and then won it in overtime. The Habs then took the next three games (the first two also in overtime) to win the Cup.
On February 21, 2000, McSorley, playing for Boston Bruins, hit Donald Brashear upside the head with his stick in the last moments of the Bruins-Vancouver Canucks game. Brashear lost consciousness and suffered a Grade 3 concussion. He has since fully recovered and continues to play. McSorley was suspended for 1 year. On October 4, 2000, a grand jury found McSorley guilty of assault with a weapon for his attack on Brashear, and was sentenced to 18 months probation. The trial was the first for an on-ice attack by an NHL player since 1988. Gretzky attended the trial as a show of support for his friend and favorite goon.