Matt Gilroy

Matthew J. Gilroy (born July 20, 1984) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman who last played for the SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers of the National League (NL). Gilroy played in National Hockey League (NHL) with the New York Rangers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Ottawa Senators and the Florida Panthers. He represented the United States in the 2018 Winter Olympics. He played NCAA hockey with Boston University of the Hockey East conference. Gilroy is a Hobey Baker Award winner and NCAA champion with the Terriers in his senior year; he is also a three-time All-American.

Playing career Amateur Gilroy played in the 1998 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with the New Jersey Devils minor ice hockey team. He later played junior ice hockey in the Eastern Junior Hockey League (EJHL) with the Walpole Jr. Stars (currently known as South Shore Kings), The next day, the Terriers competed for the NCAA championship against the Miami RedHawks. Trailing 3–1 late in the third period, the Terriers rallied with two goals in the final minute to force overtime. Gilroy earned an assist on Nick Bonino's game-tying goal with 17 seconds left.

Professional On April 17, 2009, Gilroy signed a two-year, $3.5-million contract with the New York Rangers. He had initially been linked to both the Toronto Maple Leafs and Vancouver Canucks in contract negotiations.

On October 7, 2012, with the 2012–13 NHL lockout in place, Gilroy was signed to an American Hockey League (AHL) contract with the Connecticut Whale, marking a potential return to the New York Rangers organization. At the conclusion of the labor dispute, Gilroy was signed to a one-year contract with the Rangers on January 13, 2013.

Gilroy was released to free agency by the Rangers in the off-season and, on July 8, 2013, was signed to a one-year contract with the Florida Panthers, his fourth NHL club. In the 2013–14 season, Gilroy appeared in only 16 games with the struggling Panthers before he was reassigned to the team's AHL affiliate, the San Antonio Rampage, for the remainder of the season.

With limited NHL interest, Gilroy opted to forgo free agency to sign his first European contract on a one-year deal with Russian club Atlant Moscow Oblast of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) on June 25, 2014. After one year with Atlant, and partly due to fact that Atlant would not participate in the KHL from the 2015–16 season, he signed with Spartak Moscow.

As a free agent from Finnish KHL club, Jokerit following the 2017–18 season, Gilroy opted to sign a one-year deal with Swiss club, SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers of the National League on May 15, 2018.

Personal life Gilroy was born in North Bellmore, New York, to Frank and Peggy Ann Gilroy. Matt Gilroy is one of eight children. His father is a member of the St. John's Basketball Hall of Fame, who was drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers. He graduated in 2003 from St. Mary's High School in Manhasset, captaining the hockey team to two New York state championships.

Gilroy wears the number 97 in remembrance of his deceased brother Timmy, who died as the result of a bicycle accident at eight years old. Separated by 13 months, Matt and Timmy played on the same hockey teams growing up and wore the numbers 98 and 97, respectively, in homage to Wayne Gretzky. Traditional team policy with the Boston University Terriers does not permit players to wear high numbers deemed flamboyant and self-endorsing by head coach Jack Parker. However, given the circumstances, Gilroy was allowed by Parker to wear 97. Gilroy is married to Jenny Taft, lead sideline reporter for Fox College Football.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 2001–02 New York Apple Core Ind 74 25 28 53 8 — — — — — 2002–03 New York Apple Core EmJHL 24 15 25 40 2 6 1 5 6 4 2003–04 New York Apple Core EJHL 65 13 25 38 28 — — — — — 2004–05 Walpole Stars EJHL 55 24 29 53 20 — — — — — 2005–06 Boston University HE 36 2 6 8 8 — — — — — 2006–07 Boston University HE 39 9 17 26 14 — — — — — 2007–08 Boston University HE 40 6 15 21 12 — — — — — 2008–09 Boston University HE 45 8 29 37 12 — — — — — 2009–10 New York Rangers NHL 69 4 11 15 23 — — — — — 2009–10 Hartford Wolf Pack AHL 5 0 4 4 4 — — — — — 2010–11 New York Rangers NHL 58 3 8 11 14 5 1 0 1 2 2011–12 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 53 2 15 17 16 — — — — — 2011–12 Ottawa Senators NHL 14 1 2 3 2 3 0 0 0 0 2012–13 Connecticut Whale AHL 34 6 9 15 14 — — — — — 2012–13 New York Rangers NHL 15 0 0 0 6 — — — — — 2013–14 Florida Panthers NHL 16 1 1 2 6 — — — — — 2013–14 San Antonio Rampage AHL 42 10 11 21 0 — — — — — 2014–15 Atlant Moscow Oblast KHL 60 9 24 33 14 — — — — — 2015–16 Spartak Moscow KHL 49 6 9 15 12 — — — — — 2016–17 Spartak Moscow KHL 57 7 31 38 8 — — — — — 2017–18 Jokerit KHL 55 7 20 27 10 9 1 10 11 0 2018–19 SC Rapperswil–Jona Lakers NL 13 1 3 4 2 — — — — — NHL totals 225 11 37 48 67 8 1 0 1 2 KHL totals 221 29 84 113 44 9 1 10 11 0

International Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM 2010 United States WC 13th 6 3 1 4 0 2018 United States OG 7th 5 0 1 1 2 Senior totals 11 3 2 5 2

Awards and honors Award Year All-Hockey East First Team 2006–07 AHCA East Second-Team All-American 2006–07 All-Hockey East First Team 2007–08 AHCA East First-Team All-American 2007–08 All-Hockey East First Team 2008–09 AHCA East First-Team All-American 2008–09 Hockey East All-Tournament Team 2009 Hobey Baker Award 2009