Dennis Maruk

Dennis John Maruk (born November 17, 1955) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1975 to 1989, scoring a career-high 60 goals for the Washington Capitals in 1981–82. Maruk is of Ukrainian descent.

Career

As a youth, Maruk played in the 1968 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a minor ice hockey team from Etobicoke.

Maruk played junior "A" hockey in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) for the London Knights before he was drafted in the 1975 NHL Amateur Draft by the California Golden Seals. His first goal came in Toronto at Maple Leaf Gardens to the delight of his family and friends that attended the game. While with the Seals, he became the first NHL rookie to score five shorthanded goals in a season. Maruk followed the franchise when it relocated to Cleveland to become the Cleveland Barons a year later.

Maruk's rights were later obtained by the Minnesota North Stars after the Barons merged with them in 1978, but he was traded on October 17 Washington Capitals for a first round pick. During his time with the Capitals, he scored 50 goals in 1980–81 and 60 goals in 1981–82; his mark of 76 assists and 136 points in the 1981–82 season remain franchise records for a single-season. Maruk was the first Capitals player to score 100 points in a season. Dubiously, Maruk set a new record as the first 60-goal scorer to play on a team that missed the playoffs (he would later be surpassed by Mario Lemieux in 1988). For a time, Maruk had a distinct "Fu Manchu" mustache, which was inspired by seeing Al Hrabosky on television playing with one.

In 1982–83, Maruk was one of the players instrumental in leading the Capitals to their first playoff appearance. Despite this, he was traded back to the North Stars on July 5, 1983 where he finished his career. At the time of his retirement in 1989, he was the last active NHL player to have played for the Seals/Barons franchise, although Charlie Simmer played later than him in minor leagues. Maruk was also the last Minnesota North Stars player to wear the number 9 prior to Mike Modano.

In 888 NHL games, he scored 356 goals and had 522 assists for a total of 878. For all retired players who played less than 1,000 career games, Maruk ranks 12th all-time. For a time, Maruk was a coach with Roller Hockey International and even inserted himself into a game. Ten years after his NHL career ended, at the age of 43, he was living in Lake Charles when the team in the Western Professional Hockey League (WPHL) asked him to help the team by playing a few shifts, and he decided to oblige them and wound up playing six games.

In 2017, Maruk worked with Ken Reid on a book titled Dennis Maruk: The Unforgettable Story of Hockeys Forgotten 60-Goal Man.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1971–72 Markham Waxers MetJHL — — — — — — — — — — 1971–72 Toronto Marlboros OHA-Jr. 8 2 1 3 4 — — — — — 1972–73 London Knights OHA-Jr. 59 46 67 113 54 — — — — — 1973–74 London Knights OHA-Jr. 67 47 65 112 61 — — — — — 1974–75 London Knights OMJHL 65 66 79 145 53 — — — — — 1975–76 California Golden Seals NHL 80 30 32 62 44 — — — — — 1976–77 Cleveland Barons NHL 80 28 50 78 68 — — — — — 1977–78 Cleveland Barons NHL 76 36 35 71 50 — — — — — 1978–79 Minnesota North Stars NHL 2 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 1978–79 Washington Capitals NHL 76 31 59 90 71 — — — — — 1979–80 Washington Capitals NHL 27 10 17 27 8 — — — — — 1980–81 Washington Capitals NHL 80 50 47 97 87 — — — — — 1981–82 Washington Capitals NHL 80 60 76 136 128 — — — — — 1982–83 Washington Capitals NHL 80 31 50 81 71 4 1 1 2 2 1983–84 Minnesota North Stars NHL 71 17 43 60 42 16 5 5 10 8 1984–85 Minnesota North Stars NHL 71 19 41 60 56 9 4 7 11 12 1985–86 Minnesota North Stars NHL 70 21 37 58 67 5 4 9 13 4 1986–87 Minnesota North Stars NHL 67 16 30 46 52 — — — — — 1987–88 Minnesota North Stars NHL 22 7 4 11 15 — — — — — 1988–89 Minnesota North Stars NHL 6 0 1 1 2 — — — — — 1988–89 Kalamazoo Wings IHL 5 1 5 6 4 — — — — — 1998–99 Lake Charles Ice Pirates WPHL 6 0 2 2 4 3 0 0 0 2NHL totals 888 356 522 878 761 34 14 22 36 26

International Year Team Event GP G A Pts PIM 1978 Canada WC 10 6 1 7 2 1979 Canada WC 7 1 1 2 2 1981 Canada WC 8 5 3 8 6 1983 Canada WC 10 4 3 7 4Senior totals 35 16 8 24 14