Espen Knutsen

Espen Knutsen (born January 12, 1972) is a Norwegian former professional ice hockey player and manager. He played five seasons in the North American-based National Hockey League (NHL), and is to date the only Norwegian to have played in the NHL All-Star Game. In his native Norway, Knutsen is also known by the nickname "Shampoo" because his father is a hairdresser, and also a former hockey player whose nickname was "The Soap" (Såpa in Norwegian).

In 2021, he resigned from Vålerenga's board of directors.

Playing career

Early career After being drafted by the Hartford Whalers in the 10th round (204th overall) in 1990, Knutsen remained in Europe until 1997, playing for his hometown team Vålerenga, and later Djurgården of the Swedish Elitserien. In 1996, the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim acquired his rights, and he made his debut with the Ducks in 1997. After a disappointing season (playing in part for the American Hockey League (AHL) Cincinnati Mighty Ducks), Knutsen returned to Djurgården. During the 1999–00 season, he was the highest paid player in the Elitserien, earning a salary of $280,000.

NHL career Knutsen got a second chance in the NHL in 2000, when he signed with the Columbus Blue Jackets on the recommendation of assistant coach George Kingston, who had previously coached the Norwegian national team. In a very good first season, Knutsen tallied 53 points (11 goals, 42 assists) in 66 games. His numbers dropped a little the next season, but he was nonetheless named to the World Team (as an injury replacement) in the 2002 All-Star Game (making him the first Norwegian ever to play in the NHL All-Star Game). The 2002–03 and 2003–04 seasons were disappointing for Knutsen, who spent large parts of the seasons on the injured list. He left the NHL in early 2004, shortly after being assigned to Columbus' AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch, and once again returned to Djurgården.

Retirement Knutsen retired because of injury in July 2005. At the news of his retirement, the general manager of Djurgården, Tommy Engström, called him one of the greatest players in the history of the club. After his retirement, Knutsen moved back to his native Oslo, where he lives with his family. He was appointed head coach of his childhood club Vålerenga in 2006, a position he held until the summer of 2016 when he became the club's general manager.

Fan death

In a March 2002 game against the Calgary Flames in Nationwide Arena, Knutsen took a shot that deflected off Flames defenseman Derek Morris' stick and accidentally struck 13-year-old Brittanie Cecil in the head, which resulted in her death 48 hours later. Knutsen later helped set up a charity in Columbus to honor Cecil's memory. Also as a result of the incident, the NHL made it mandatory to install protective nylon mesh nets above the glass behind both goals. In December 2010, Knutsen met with Cecil's family, bringing some closure to both parties.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1988–89 Vålerenga NOR 36 14 7 21 18 — — — — — 1989–90 Vålerenga NOR 40 25 28 53 44 — — — — — 1990–91 Vålerenga NOR 31 30 24 54 42 — — — — — 1991–92 Vålerenga NOR 30 28 26 54 37 — — — — — 1992–93 Vålerenga NOR 13 11 13 24 4 — — — — — 1993–94 Vålerenga NOR 38 32 26 58 20 — — — — — 1994–95 Djurgårdens IF SEL 30 6 14 20 18 3 0 1 1 0 1995–96 Djurgårdens IF SEL 32 10 23 33 50 4 1 0 1 2 1996–97 Djurgårdens IF SEL 39 16 33 49 20 4 2 4 6 6 1997–98 Cincinnati Mighty Ducks AHL 41 4 13 17 18 — — — — — 1997–98 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim NHL 19 3 0 3 6 — — — — — 1998–99 Djurgårdens IF SEL 39 18 24 42 32 4 0 1 1 2 1999–2000 Djurgårdens IF SEL 48 18 35 53 65 13 5 16 21 2 2000–01 Columbus Blue Jackets NHL 66 11 42 53 30 — — — — — 2001–02 Columbus Blue Jackets NHL 77 11 31 42 47 — — — — — 2002–03 Columbus Blue Jackets NHL 31 5 4 9 20 — — — — — 2003–04 Columbus Blue Jackets NHL 14 0 4 4 2 — — — — — 2003–04 Syracuse Crunch AHL 2 1 1 2 0 — — — — — 2003–04 Vålerenga NOR 1 0 0 0 4 — — — — — 2003–04 Djurgårdens IF SEL 6 2 3 5 4 3 0 0 0 6 2004–05 Djurgårdens IF SEL 15 0 8 8 12 — — — — — NOR totals 189 140 124 264 169 — — — — — SEL totals 209 70 140 210 201 31 8 22 30 18 NHL totals 207 30 81 111 105 — — — — —

International Year Team Event GP G A Pts PIM 1989 Norway EJC 5 8 4 12 10 1989 Norway WJC 7 0 2 2 10 1990 Norway EJC 6 6 11 17 10 1990 Norway WJC 7 2 7 9 6 1991 Norway WJC 6 1 2 3 0 1994 Norway OG 7 1 3 4 2 1994 Norway WC 6 3 2 5 0 1995 Norway WC 5 2 1 3 0 1996 Norway WC 5 3 0 3 0 1997 Norway WC 8 0 5 5 4 2003 Norway WC D1 5 4 5 9 8 2005 Norway OGQ 2 0 2 2 2 Junior totals 31 17 26 43 36 Senior totals 31 9 11 20 6