Steve Montador

'''Steven Richard "The Matador" He played in the 1993 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with the Toronto Marlboros minor ice hockey team.

He began his junior hockey career in 1995–96 with the St. Michael's Buzzers of the junior A Ontario Provincial Junior Hockey League (OPJHL). He moved up to the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) the following season and, through a four-year major junior career with the North Bay Centennials, Erie Otters and Peterborough Petes, scored 174 points and 429 penalty minutes in 251 games. In his final junior season, 1999–2000, Montador was the Petes' leading scorer among defencemen with 56 points. He was signed by the Calgary Flames to a professional tryout offer and joined Calgary's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Saint John Flames, where he made his professional debut on April 13, 2000, in a playoff game against the Lowell Lock Monsters.

National Hockey League Montador spent the majority of the 2001–02 season with Saint John where he scored 9 goals and 25 points in 67 games. He appeared in 11 games for Calgary and recorded three points. He was recalled to Calgary days later to replace defenceman Bob Boughner, who suffered a broken thumb. during which he scored a goal and two assists. Montador and fellow extra defenceman Mike Commodore were nicknamed "the Doors" and both became key contributors to the Flames' post-season success.

As a labour dispute ultimately led to the cancellation of the 2004–05 NHL season, Montador was one of many players who spent the season in Europe; He signed a deal to play with the Mulhouse Scorpions of France's Ligue Magnus and brought Flames teammate Steve Reinprecht over as well. Montador appeared in 15 games with Mulhouse where he scored 1 goal and added 7 assists. Montador returned to Calgary to begin the 2005–06 season after the league and players resolved their dispute, however head coach Darryl Sutter struggled to find a place in the lineup for him, and by the start of December, Montador had played only seven games. Hoping to improve his team and to give Montador a place to play regularly, Sutter and the Flames traded Montador, along with Dustin Johner, to the Florida Panthers in exchange for Kristian Huselius on December 2, 2005.

Montador played full-time on the Panthers' defence; he finished the 2005–06 season with 58 games played combined between the two teams, scored 2 goals and added 5 assists. He then recorded nine points in 72 games in 2006–07 and then set personal highs in games played (73), goals (8) and points (23). His stay in Anaheim was short lived as, after recording 20 points in 65 games for the team, the Ducks traded Montador on March 4, 2009, to the Boston Bruins in exchange for Petteri Nokelainen. He finished the regular season with an assist in 13 games, then added four points in 11 playoff games. Montador recorded 23 points in 78 games for Buffalo in 2009–10 then posted the highest totals of his career of 21 assists and 26 points, in 73 games, in 2010–11. Chicago immediately signed him to a four-year, $11 million contract.

Montador appeared in 52 games for the Blackhawks in 2011–12, scored five goals and added nine assists. However his season was ended after he suffered a serious concussion during a game.

He required almost a full year to recover from the injury and as a result missed the final weeks of the season and the playoffs for the Blackhawks and played only 14 games for Chicago's AHL affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs late in the 2012–13 season before Chicago opted to buy-out the remaining two years of his contract. Montador left the NHL to join Croatian team Medveščak Zagreb of Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). He appeared in 11 games for Medveščak and recorded three assists in what was the final season of his career.

Montador spoke openly of the depression he suffered following his concussion issues in Chicago, and according to his brother Chris, had spent a great deal of time researching the effects of head injuries. Chris noted that both he and his brother had suffered concussions as children, and that Steve had promised to donate his brain to medical researchers studying brain issues.

Death

On February 15, 2015, Montador was found dead in his Mississauga home.

Montador's death at age 35 was a shock to players throughout the NHL; many of his former teammates spoke positively of his influence and attitude. Chris Montador had also noted a change in Steve's behavior prior to his death. As a consequence of the revelation, lawyers representing his estate stated their intention to file a lawsuit against the NHL. That lawsuit was terminated in late 2020, but was renewed in October 2021.

Career statistics