Erik Christensen

Erik Christensen (born December 17, 1983) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre who last played for HV71 of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL).

Playing career Christensen was drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the third round (69th overall) of the 2002 NHL entry draft. In the 2002–03 season, Christensen received the Bob Clarke Trophy for being the leading scorer of the Western Hockey League (WHL). He tallied 108 points (54 goals) in 67 games with the Kamloops Blazers.

The 2004–05 NHL lockout left the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the American Hockey League (AHL) stacked with talent, but Christensen impressed Penguins management by scoring 27 points (14 goals) in his first pro season. In the 2005–06 season, he jumped out of the gate quickly, tallying 19 points (9 goals) in only 9 games. The Pittsburgh Penguins called him up on October 31, 2005.

Christensen scored his first NHL goal on November 3, 2005, against the New York Islanders (against goaltender Rick DiPietro) at 15:43 into the 2nd period. Another promising rookie for the Penguins in 2005–06 (along with Sidney Crosby, Colby Armstrong, Ryan Whitney and others), Christensen earned 13 points (6 goals) in 33 games with the Penguins during his rookie campaign.

On February 26, 2008, the Atlanta Thrashers acquired Christensen along with Colby Armstrong, Angelo Esposito, and a first-round draft pick in a trade deadline deal that sent Marián Hossa and Pascal Dupuis to the Penguins.

On March 4, 2009, the Thrashers sent Christensen to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for Eric O'Dell. He contributed 2 goals and 7 assists to the Ducks during the remainder of the season, and contributed 2 assists during the 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Christensen was claimed off waivers by the New York Rangers on December 2, 2009.

During a game against the New Jersey Devils on December 27, 2010, Christensen sustained an injury to his right knee ligament requiring him to miss four to six weeks.

On February 3, 2012, Christensen was traded by the Rangers, along with a conditional 7th round draft pick in 2013, to the Minnesota Wild for center Casey Wellman. The Wild received the conditional pick after Christensen was not re-signed by the team following the 2011–2012 season.

On June 5, 2012, Christensen signed a two-year agreement with Czech-based HC Lev Praha, of the Kontinental Hockey League. In the midst of his final year under contract with Lev, Christensen secured a mid-season transfer to the Swedish Hockey League, with HV71, on October 22, 2013. In his fourth and final season with HV71 in the 2016–17 season, Christensen contributed with 21 points in 45 games and notched a further 5 points in 16 post-season games to help HV71 capture their 5th Le Mat Trophy. He opted to end his 13-year professional career and return home to Edmonton.

Christensen was an extremely valuable shootout specialist over his NHL career. He finished with 29 shootout goals on 55 attempts for a 52.7% shooting percentage. As of April 2026, he is 29th all-time in the NHL in shootout goals but 2nd all-time in shootout shooting percentage amongst skaters with 50 or more shootout shots, behind only Artemi Panarin.

Personal life Christensen's nickname has been "Crusher" since he was 14 years old.

Career statistics Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1999–2000 Kamloops Blazers WHL 66 9 5 14 41 4 0 0 0 2 2000–01 Kamloops Blazers WHL 72 21 23 44 36 4 1 1 2 0 2001–02 Kamloops Blazers WHL 70 22 36 58 68 4 0 0 0 4 2002–03 Kamloops Blazers WHL 67 54 54 108 60 6 1 7 8 14 2003–04 Kamloops Blazers WHL 29 10 14 24 40 — — — — — 2003–04 Brandon Wheat Kings WHL 34 17 21 38 20 11 8 4 12 8 2004–05 Wilkes–Barre/Scranton Penguins AHL 77 14 13 27 33 11 1 6 7 4 2005–06 Wilkes–Barre/Scranton Penguins AHL 48 24 22 46 50 11 2 2 4 2 2005–06 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 33 6 7 13 34 — — — — — 2006–07 Wilkes–Barre/Scranton Penguins AHL 16 12 12 24 8 — — — — — 2006–07 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 61 18 15 33 26 4 0 0 0 6 2007–08 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 49 9 11 20 28 — — — — — 2007–08 Atlanta Thrashers NHL 10 2 2 4 2 — — — — — 2008–09 Atlanta Thrashers NHL 47 5 14 19 14 — — — — — 2008–09 Anaheim Ducks NHL 17 2 7 9 6 8 0 2 2 0 2009–10 Anaheim Ducks NHL 9 0 0 0 2 — — — — — 2009–10 New York Rangers NHL 49 8 18 26 24 — — — — — 2010–11 New York Rangers NHL 63 11 16 27 18 5 1 0 1 2 2011–12 New York Rangers NHL 20 1 4 5 2 — — — — — 2011–12 Connecticut Whale AHL 5 2 1 3 8 — — — — — 2011–12 Minnesota Wild NHL 29 6 1 7 6 — — — — — 2012–13 Lev Praha KHL 41 11 10 21 18 — — — — — 2013–14 Lev Praha KHL 12 1 1 2 6 — — — — — 2013–14 HV71 SHL 38 13 14 27 22 8 4 1 5 4 2014–15 HV71 SHL 46 13 31 44 14 6 5 0 5 6 2015–16 HV71 SHL 42 9 15 24 28 1 0 1 1 0 2016–17 HV71 SHL 45 15 6 21 16 16 1 4 5 6 NHL totals 387 68 95 163 162 17 1 2 3 8 SHL totals 171 50 66 116 80 31 10 6 16 16

Awards and honors Award Year WHL CHL Top Prospects Game 2002 West First All-Star Team 2003 Bobby Clarke Trophy 2003 CHL Second All-Star Team 2003 SHL Le Mat trophy (HV71) 2017