Matthew Lombardi

Matthew Lombardi (born March 18, 1982) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey center who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Calgary Flames, Phoenix Coyotes, Nashville Predators, Toronto Maple Leafs and Anaheim Ducks. Lombardi made his NHL debut in 2003 and was a member of the Flames' team that went to the 2004 Stanley Cup Finals. During his career he was plagued with injuries, suffering two significant concussions. Lombardi played for Team Canada at the IIHF World Championships, winning gold in 2007 and silver in 2009. While playing in Switzerland, he was named to Team Canada and won the 2015 Spengler Cup. He retired from playing hockey in 2016.

Playing career Lombardi was born and raised in Hudson, Quebec, a suburb of Montreal, Quebec. As a youth, he played in the 1995 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with the Lac-Saint-Louis-Ouest minor ice hockey team. He later played hockey for the LaPresqu'ile minor hockey association before playing junior ice hockey for the Victoriaville Tigres in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) for four years.

Lombardi was selected in the 2000 NHL entry draft 215th overall by the Edmonton Oilers. Lombardi failed to sign with the Oilers, re-entering the draft where he was picked 90th overall by the Calgary Flames in the 2002 NHL entry draft. Lombardi was known for his speed and good two-way play. Lombardi made his NHL debut during the 2003–04 season after making the team out of training camp. He scored his first goal on October 21, 2003, against Dwayne Roloson of the Minnesota Wild in a 3–2 win while playing on the first line with Jarome Iginla and Steven Reinprecht. He finished the season scoring 16 goals and 29 points. Lombardi played in the 2004 Stanley Cup Playoffs. He played in 13 games, registering 4 points before suffering a vicious elbow to the head from Red Wings defenceman Derian Hatcher in Game 6 of the Western Conference semifinals. Lombardi finished the game but never returned in the playoffs. Hatcher received a three-game suspension.

During the locked-out 2004–05 season, he played for the Flames affiliate Lowell Lock Monsters in the American Hockey League (AHL), after he recovered fully from his head injury. Lombardi returned to the NHL and the Flames when the league resumed play in 2005–06. Lombardi registered 20 goals and 46 points with the Flames that season. During the 2008–09 season, Lombardi was slotted in as the team's second line center. Lombardi missed a month of the season with a shoulder injury. On March 4, 2009, trade deadline day in the NHL, Lombardi was traded along with Brandon Prust and a first-round draft pick to the Phoenix Coyotes in exchange for center Olli Jokinen and a third-round draft pick. At the time of the trade, Lombardi had scored nine goals and 30 points in 50 games with the Flames.

The Coyotes sought to get younger and sought ought Lombardi's speed. At the end of the season, Lombardi was among the Coyotes players that took part in the 2009 IIHF World Championship in Switzerland. Team Canada won silver at the tournament. The following season Lombardi scored a career high 19 goals and 53 points.

On July 2, 2010, as an unrestricted free agent from the Coyotes, Lombardi signed a three-year contract with the Nashville Predators. In the first year of the contract Lombardi played only two games, due to a concussion suffered during the first period of an October 13 game against the Chicago Blackhawks. Due to internal cap restrictions on July 3, 2011, he was traded along with Cody Franson by the Predators to the Toronto Maple Leafs for Brett Lebda and Robert Slaney. In the 2011–12 season, on October 6, 2011, he made his return from concussion and played in his first game as a member of the Maple Leafs, scoring the game-winning goal against the Montreal Canadiens. In 62 games with the Maple Leafs, he scored eight goals and 18 points. Again missing time due to injury due to another shoulder injury and failing to recapture his previous scoring presence with the Coyotes, Lombardi was again on the move at the trade deadline when he was dealt to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for Brandon McMillan on April 3, 2013. In 21 games with Phoenix, he had four goals and eight points. In the 2013–14 season with Geneva, Lombardi regained his scoring touch, scoring 20 goals and 50 points in only 46 games, leading his team in scoring and finishing sixth in the league.

On July 16, 2014, Lombardi returned to the NHL after gaining interest from the New York Rangers, signing a two-year deal worth $1.6 million. Lombardi failed to make the team out of training camp and was assigned to the Hartford Wolf Pack, the team's AHL affiliate, after clearing waivers. Lombardi refused to report to the Wolf Pack and was released by the organization after passing unconditional waivers.

On October 13, 2014, Genève-Servette, the team where Lombardi had played for the 2013–14 season, announced that he would be re-joining their team for the 2014–15 season. In 2015, Lombardi played for Team Canada at the Spengler Cup. Team Canada won the Spengler Cup after defeating HC Lugano 4–3 in the final.

After playing 15 professional seasons, Lombardi made his retirement official on November 24, 2016.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1997–98 Gatineau L'Intrépide QMAAA 42 10 13 23 13 4 7 11 1998–99 Victoriaville Tigres QMJHL 47 6 10 16 8 5 0 0 0 0 1999–00 Victoriaville Tigres QMJHL 65 18 26 44 28 6 0 0 0 6 2000–01 Victoriaville Tigres QMJHL 72 28 39 67 66 13 12 6 18 10 2001–02 Victoriaville Tigres QMJHL 66 57 73 130 70 22 17 18 35 18 2002–03 Saint John Flames AHL 76 25 21 46 41 — — — — — 2003–04 Calgary Flames NHL 79 16 13 29 32 13 1 5 6 4 2004–05 Lowell Lock Monsters AHL 9 3 1 4 9 11 0 3 3 16 2005–06 Omaha Ak–Sar–Ben Knights AHL 1 1 1 2 0 — — — — — 2005–06 Calgary Flames NHL 55 6 20 26 48 7 0 2 2 2 2006–07 Calgary Flames NHL 81 20 26 46 48 6 1 1 2 0 2007–08 Calgary Flames NHL 82 14 22 36 67 7 0 0 0 4 2008–09 Calgary Flames NHL 50 9 21 30 30 — — — — — 2008–09 Phoenix Coyotes NHL 19 5 11 16 14 — — — — — 2009–10 Phoenix Coyotes NHL 78 19 34 53 36 7 1 5 6 2 2010–11 Nashville Predators NHL 2 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 2011–12 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 62 8 10 18 10 — — — — — 2012–13 Phoenix Coyotes NHL 21 4 4 8 4 — — — — — 2012–13 Anaheim Ducks NHL 7 0 0 0 4 — — — — — 2013–14 Genève–Servette HC NLA 46 20 30 50 54 12 3 6 9 12 2014–15 Genève–Servette HC NLA 19 6 11 17 8 1 0 1 1 0 2015–16 Genève–Servette HC NLA 34 6 11 17 14 11 1 1 2 2 NHL totals 536 101 161 262 293 40 3 13 16 12 NLA totals 99 32 52 84 76 24 4 8 12 14

International

Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM 2007 Canada WC 9 6 6 12 4 2009 Canada WC 9 2 2 4 6 Senior totals 18 8 8 16 10