Luke Gazdic

Luke Gazdic (born July 25, 1989) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey winger. Gazdic was selected 172nd overall in the 2007 NHL entry draft by the Dallas Stars. He played for the Edmonton Oilers and New Jersey Devils during his National Hockey League (NHL) career. Gazdic mainly played as an enforcer. Since 2023, he has served as an analyst for NHL on Sportsnet.

Playing career

After being drafted by Dallas and completing his OHL career, Gadzic mostly played for Dallas' affiliate AHL team, the Texas Stars, through 2012-13.

On September 29, 2013, Gazdic was claimed on waivers by the Edmonton Oilers from the Dallas Stars.

Gazdic made his NHL debut on opening night of the 2013–14 NHL season, October 1, 2013, and scored his first NHL goal at 2:21 of the first period past Winnipeg Jets goalie Ondrej Pavelec. In the process he recorded the first goal of the Oilers' season. Over parts of three seasons as an enforcer with the Oilers, he scored five goals and eight points in 136 games. He appeared in 11 games throughout the 2016–17 season with the Devils.

On July 2, 2017, Gazdic returned to Canada as a free agent in signing a one-year, two-way deal with the Calgary Flames. Gazdic was reassigned to their AHL affiliate the Stockton Heat for the duration of the 2017–18 season. In 61 regular season games, he contributed 1 goal and 2 points while posting 59 penalty minutes.

As a free agent from the Flames, and with no NHL contract over the summer, Gazdic joined the San Diego Gulls training camp on a tryout and later made the AHL opening night roster for the 2018–19 season. He made 20 appearances with the Gulls posting 3 goals and 7 points. In the following off-season, Gazdic opted to continue his tenure with the Gulls, agreeing to a one-year contract on August 14, 2019. In June 2021, Gazdic announced his retirement.

Personal life His brothers Benjamin and Mark are also ice hockey players. His father, Mike Gazdic, was drafted in the 1978 NHL Amateur Draft by the Buffalo Sabres.

Gazdic set up his former Oilers teammate Connor McDavid on a blind date with his then-girlfriend's cousin, Lauren Kyle.

Career statistics Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 2004–05 North York Rangers U16 AAA GTHL 38 13 16 29 24 — — — — — 2004–05 North York Rangers OPJHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 2005–06 Wexford Raiders OPJHL 47 17 16 33 105 10 0 5 5 14 2006–07 Erie Otters OHL 58 5 8 13 136 — — — — — 2007–08 Erie Otters OHL 67 17 12 29 144 — — — — — 2008–09 Erie Otters OHL 63 20 10 30 127 5 0 0 0 9 2008–09 Idaho Steelheads ECHL 2 1 0 1 14 2 0 0 0 0 2009–10 Texas Stars AHL 49 3 1 4 155 — — — — — 2009–10 Idaho Steelheads ECHL 4 1 1 2 10 — — — — — 2010–11 Texas Stars AHL 72 9 8 17 110 5 0 0 0 2 2011–12 Texas Stars AHL 76 11 12 23 102 — — — — — 2012–13 Texas Stars AHL 59 4 7 11 80 8 0 0 0 19 2013–14 Edmonton Oilers NHL 67 2 2 4 127 — — — — — 2014–15 Edmonton Oilers NHL 40 2 1 3 43 — — — — — 2014–15 Oklahoma City Barons AHL 5 2 0 2 7 — — — — — 2015–16 Edmonton Oilers NHL 29 1 0 1 24 — — — — — 2015–16 Bakersfield Condors AHL 11 1 2 3 6 — — — — — 2016–17 Albany Devils AHL 37 1 6 7 63 — — — — — 2016–17 New Jersey Devils NHL 11 0 0 0 12 — — — — — 2017–18 Stockton Heat AHL 61 1 1 2 59 — — — — — 2018–19 San Diego Gulls AHL 20 3 4 7 39 1 0 0 0 2 2019–20 San Diego Gulls AHL 7 0 0 0 2 — — — — —AHL totals 397 35 41 76 623 14 0 0 0 23NHL totals 147 5 3 8 206 — — — — —