Matt Pettinger

Matthew Pettinger (born October 22, 1980) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger. He played in the National Hockey League with the Tampa Bay Lightning, Vancouver Canucks and the Washington Capitals. Pettinger was born in Edmonton, Alberta and raised in Victoria, British Columbia.

Playing career As a youth, Pettinger played in the 1994 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a minor ice hockey team from Victoria, British Columbia.

Pettinger was drafted in the 2nd round, 43rd overall, by the Washington Capitals in the 2000 NHL entry draft. Before his professional career, Pettinger played a season and a half for the University of Denver Pioneers before joining the Calgary Hitmen of the Western Hockey League (WHL) midway through the 1999–00 season.

Pettinger spent his first few seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) splitting time between the Washington Capitals and their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Portland Pirates, before earning a full-time roster spot with the Capitals in 2003–04. Pettinger played eight games for HDD Olimpija Ljubljana in Slovenia during the 2004–05 NHL lockout, then recorded a career-high 20 goals, 18 assists and 38 points as NHL play resumed the following season.

On February 26, 2008, at the trade deadline, Pettinger was dealt from the Washington Capitals to the Vancouver Canucks for forward Matt Cooke. Beginning the 2008–09 season back in the AHL with the Canucks' minor league affiliate, the Manitoba Moose, Pettinger was claimed on re-entry waivers by the Tampa Bay Lightning on October 21, 2008. He completed the season with 15 points in 59 games with the Lightning.

Unable to sign with an NHL team in the 2009 off-season, Pettinger returned to the Manitoba Moose, signing a professional try-out contract on October 14, 2009. Before long, however, injuries to the Vancouver Canucks resulted in him re-signing with his former NHL club on November 2 to a one-year, two-way deal worth the league-minimum $500,000 at the NHL level. Seven games later, he was sent back to the Moose in expectation of forward Daniel Sedin's return from injury after clearing waivers on November 21. On April 6, 2010 Pettinger was recalled by the Vancouver Canucks. After 422 NHL regular-season games, Pettinger finally made his post-season debut, playing a single game with the Canucks in a 3-2 victory over the Los Angeles Kings in the Western Conference Quarterfinals on April 15, 2010.

On August 6, 2010, Pettinger left North America and signed a one-year contract with German team Kölner Haie of the DEL. After completing a second season with the Sharks, Pettinger opted to remain in the DEL for a third season; however, he signed a one-year deal with the Hamburg Freezers on April 9, 2012.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1996–97 Victoria Salsa BCHL 49 22 14 36 31 — — — — — 1997–98 Victoria Salsa BCHL 55 20 22 42 56 7 5 1 6 8 1998–99 University of Denver WCHA 38 6 14 20 52 — — — — — 1999–2000 University of Denver WCHA 19 2 6 8 49 — — — — — 1999–2000 Calgary Hitmen WHL 27 14 6 20 41 11 2 6 8 30 2000–01 Portland Pirates AHL 64 19 17 36 92 2 0 0 0 4 2000–01 Washington Capitals NHL 10 0 0 0 2 — — — — — 2001–02 Portland Pirates AHL 9 3 3 6 24 — — — — — 2001–02 Washington Capitals NHL 61 7 3 10 44 — — — — — 2002–03 Portland Pirates AHL 69 14 13 27 72 3 0 2 2 2 2002–03 Washington Capitals NHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 2003–04 Washington Capitals NHL 71 7 5 12 37 — — — — — 2004–05 HDD Olimpija Ljubljana IEHL 7 2 4 6 41 — — — — — 2004–05 HDD Olimpija Ljubljana SVN 1 0 1 1 0 — — — — — 2005–06 Washington Capitals NHL 71 20 18 38 39 — — — — — 2006–07 Washington Capitals NHL 64 16 16 32 22 — — — — — 2007–08 Washington Capitals NHL 56 2 5 7 25 — — — — — 2007–08 Vancouver Canucks NHL 20 4 2 6 11 — — — — — 2008–09 Manitoba Moose AHL 2 3 0 3 0 — — — — — 2008–09 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 59 8 7 15 24 — — — — — 2009–10 Manitoba Moose AHL 54 14 16 30 31 — — — — — 2009–10 Vancouver Canucks NHL 9 1 2 3 6 1 0 0 0 0 2010–11 Kölner Haie DEL 44 14 31 45 32 5 1 2 3 2 2011–12 Kölner Haie DEL 52 14 23 37 40 6 2 4 6 6 2012–13 Hamburg Freezers DEL 49 9 20 29 42 6 1 3 4 2 2013–14 Hamburg Freezers DEL 47 12 16 28 18 12 3 1 4 4 2014–15 Hamburg Freezers DEL 38 8 11 19 32 7 2 0 2 0 AHL totals 198 53 49 102 219 5 0 2 2 6 NHL totals 422 65 58 123 210 1 0 0 0 0 DEL totals 230 57 101 158 164 36 9 10 19 14

International

Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM 1997 Canada Western U17 4th 4 2 1 3 4 1999 Canada WJC 2 1 0 1 2 2000 Canada WJC 7 4 0 4 4 2006 Canada WC 4th 8 1 0 1 4 Junior totals 13 7 1 8 10 Senior totals 8 1 0 1 4