Chris Gratton

Christopher Allan Gratton (born July 5, 1975) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who last played with the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League (NHL). He is the cousin of Josh Gratton, who had also briefly played in the NHL as a member of the Philadelphia Flyers and the Phoenix Coyotes.

Early life Gratton's father coached him for one season during his youth.

Playing career

Junior hockey Gratton played his minor hockey in his hometown of Brantford, Ontario, playing for such programs as the Brantford Nodrofsky Steelers (the same program Wayne Gretzky played in many years earlier) and the Brantford CKPC Knights. As a 15-year-old, he played one season with the Jr B Brantford Classics.

In 1991, Gratton was selected third overall in the OHL Priority Selection by the Kingston Frontenacs. After his rookie year in the OHL, Gratton received the Emms Family Award as rookie of the year. In 1993, he was selected third overall in the NHL Draft by the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Tampa Bay Lightning Gratton made his NHL debut for the Lightning on October 6, 1993, against the New Jersey Devils. He recorded his first career NHL point (a powerplay assist on a Bob Beers goal) in his second game against the New York Rangers the next night. He scored his first career NHL goal against Robb Stauber of the Los Angeles Kings in a 4–3 Lightning loss on October 20, 1993

Philadelphia Flyers In 1997, Gratton signed with the Philadelphia Flyers as a free agent after four seasons with the Lightning, earning a $9 million signing bonus. In 1997–98, Gratton matched his career-high of 62 points and recorded a career-best plus/minus rating of +11. Gratton was traded back to Tampa Bay the next season.

Second stint with Lightning Gratton served as Tampa Bay's captain during the 1999–2000 season until his trade in March, 2000, when Tampa Bay traded him to the Buffalo Sabres.

Buffalo Sabres Gratton arrived in Buffalo, along with Doug Gilmour, near the trade deadline of the 1999–2000 season. Buffalo added both with the hope that they could revive the team's fortunes and propel them to the Stanley Cup playoffs. The Sabres eventually did qualify for the 2000 playoffs, but were eliminated in five games by the Philadelphia Flyers in the first round.

Gratton eventually played three seasons with the Sabres, scoring at least 15 goals in each year. In his first full season with Buffalo, he recorded 19 goals and again helped the Sabres reach the playoffs. He notched five goals in helping the Sabres beat the Flyers in the first round, though his production dipped to a single goal in the next round against the Pittsburgh Penguins as the Sabres were eliminated in seven games.

Gratton would still be productive in his final two years in Buffalo, though the team failed to reach the playoffs. His final year in Buffalo was his most productive, reaching 44 points and 15 goals in 66 games, good enough for second in team scoring behind Miroslav Šatan.

Phoenix Coyotes Gratton would play for the Sabres until March 2003, when the Sabres traded him to the Phoenix Coyotes in exchange for Daniel Brière. One year later, on March 9, 2004, Phoenix traded Gratton (along with Ossi Väänänen and a second-round draft pick that was ultimately used to select Paul Stastny in the 2005 NHL entry draft) to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for Derek Morris and Keith Ballard.

Florida Panthers After the 2004–05 NHL lockout, Gratton signed a one-year contract with the Florida Panthers. Gratton signed a two-year contract extension with the Panthers in March 2006. He was traded back to the Tampa Bay Lightning again on June 13, 2007, in exchange for a second-round draft pick (ultimately used to select Jacob Markström).

Return to Tampa Bay Lightning During the 2007–08 season, Gratton scored 21 points in 60 games before tearing the acetabular labrum in his left hip which required season-ending surgery. Gratton re-signed with the Lightning for the 2008–09 season but was waived in December and was assigned to Tampa Bay's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Norfolk Admirals.

Columbus Blue Jackets Gratton was claimed off of re-entry waivers on February 21, 2009, by the Columbus Blue Jackets. He played in six games for Columbus, recording an assist, before retiring from professional hockey in 2009.

Personal life Gratton lives in Ancaster, Ontario, and has one son, Zachary, who plays hockey, and three daughters. He has coached his son in minor hockey, first in house league in Ancaster, then for AA and eventually with the Hamilton AAA Jr. Bulldogs' bantam team.

Gratton is co-owner of the Florida Jr. Blades Organization (in the 29-team Empire Junior Hockey League).

Gratton is the head coach of the Welland Jr. Canadians Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1989–90 Brantford Classics MWJHL 1 0 2 2 2 — — — — — 1990–91 Brantford Classics MWJHL 31 30 30 60 28 — — — — — 1991–92 Kingston Frontenacs OHL 62 27 39 66 37 — — — — — 1992–93 Kingston Frontenacs OHL 58 55 54 109 125 16 11 18 29 42 1993–94 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 84 13 29 42 123 — — — — — 1994–95 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 46 7 20 27 89 — — — — — 1995–96 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 82 17 21 38 105 6 0 2 2 27 1996–97 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 82 30 32 62 201 — — — — — 1997–98 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 82 22 40 62 159 5 2 0 2 10 1998–99 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 26 1 7 8 41 — — — — — 1998–99 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 52 7 19 26 102 — — — — — 1999–2000 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 58 14 27 41 121 — — — — — 1999–2000 Buffalo Sabres NHL 14 1 7 8 15 5 0 1 1 4 2000–01 Buffalo Sabres NHL 82 19 21 40 102 13 6 4 10 14 2001–02 Buffalo Sabres NHL 82 15 24 39 75 — — — — — 2002–03 Buffalo Sabres NHL 66 15 29 44 86 — — — — — 2002–03 Phoenix Coyotes NHL 14 0 1 1 21 — — — — — 2003–04 Phoenix Coyotes NHL 68 11 18 29 93 — — — — — 2003–04 Colorado Avalanche NHL 13 2 1 3 18 11 0 0 0 27 2005–06 Florida Panthers NHL 76 17 22 39 104 — — — — — 2006–07 Florida Panthers NHL 81 13 22 35 94 — — — — — 2007–08 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 60 10 11 21 77 — — — — — 2008–09 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 18 0 2 2 10 — — — — — 2008–09 Norfolk Admirals AHL 24 3 12 15 8 — — — — — 2008–09 Columbus Blue Jackets NHL 6 0 1 1 2 — — — — — NHL totals 1,092 214 354 568 1,638 40 8 7 15 82

International Year Team Event GP G A Pts PIM 1993 Canada WJC 7 2 2 4 6 1997 Canada WC 11 0 5 5 14 1998 Canada WC 4 1 0 1 4 Senior totals 15 1 5 6 18