On April 3, 1996, just under a year after being drafted, Sopel signed his first professional contract with his draft team, the Vancouver Canucks.[1] He was told by Coach Marc Crawford that he would never play in the NHL, but Sopel scored his first NHL goal on April 10, 1999, against the Edmonton Oilers' Tommy Salo.[2] In 2002, Sopel won the Fred J. Hume Award for Unsung Hero voted by the Vancouver Canucks Booster Club. On December 31, 2001, and January 21, 2002, Sopel won USA Today's NHL Player of the Week award.[citation needed]
New York Islanders
On August 3, 2005, the Canucks traded Sopel to the New York Islanders in exchange for a conditional draft pick in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft.[3] On August 16, just under a week after being traded, Sopel signed a two-year, $4.8 million contract with the Islanders.[4]
Return to Vancouver
Sopel was traded back to the Canucks during their 2006–07 season on February 1, 2007, the NHL trade deadline day. He missed the first game of the 2007 Stanley Cup playoffs against the Dallas Stars after he injured his back while picking up a cracker that was dropped by his daughter.[5] The Canucks beat the Stars in quadruple overtime, in the sixth longest game in NHL history.[6]
Chicago Blackhawks
Heading into the 2007–08 season with no contract, Sopel was invited to the Detroit Red Wings' training camp.[7] However, on September 28, 2007, Sopel left Detroit's camp, instead signing a one-year, $1.5 million contract with the Chicago Blackhawks after the Red Wings had only offered a one-year, $500,000 contract.[8][9] On January 10, 2008, Sopel signed a three-year, $7 million contract extension with the Blackhawks, keeping him in Chicago through to the 2010–11 season.[10] On December 26, 2007, in a 5–2 win over the Nashville Predators, Sopel sustained a broken finger, resulting in him missing the next seven games. He then would miss 12 more games due to a wrist injury sustained on February 20, 2008, in a 3–0 win over the Minnesota Wild.[11] He ended the season with a goal and 19 assists for 20 points in 58 contests.
After playing 23 games with the Blackhawks with two points recorded (a goal and an assist) to start the 2008–09 season, Sopel underwent elbow surgery, sidelining him for the remainder of the season.[12]
Sopel played in 73 games for the Blackhawks in the 2009–10 season recording a goal and seven assists for eight points. His resurgent season resulted in him being named the Blackhawks nominee for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy as the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey but was not named a top three finalist by the NHL.[13][14] On June 9, 2010, Brent Sopel won the Stanley Cup with the Chicago Blackhawks as the team defeated the Philadelphia Flyers in six games in the Stanley Cup Finals. He ended the 2010 playoffs with a goal and five assists for six points in all 22 playoff games. On June 22, Sopel brought the team's recently-won Stanley Cup to the 2010 Chicago Gay Pride Parade. Sopel brought the Cup to the parade in honour of the late Brendan Burke, son of his former general manager while playing for Vancouver, Brian Burke, to display it in the Chicago Gay Pride Parade,[15] stating to the press that honouring Burke's legacy and his father's example of familial support and tolerance was one of his reasons for marching in the parade.[16]
After playing 59 games for Atlanta, registering two goals and seven points, Sopel was then traded to the Montreal Canadiens, along with Nigel Dawes, in exchange for Ben Maxwell and a fourth-round draft pick in 2011 on February 24, 2011.[18] On March 8, in a 4–1 win over the Boston Bruins, Sopel sustained a broken left hand, causing him to miss the next seven games.[19] He finished out the rest of the 2010–11 season pointless in 12 games. He also played all seven games and recorded a goal in the first round of the 2011 playoffs as the Canadiens would lose the series in seven games to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins.
Kontinental Hockey League
On July 29, 2011, Sopel announced that he had signed a two-year contract with Metallurg Novokuznetsk of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL).[20] During the 2012–13 season, his second with Novokuznetsk, Sopel was traded to Salavat Yulaev Ufa for their playoff campaign on January 31, 2013. During the subsequent summer, he signed a two-year contract extension with Salavat Yulaev.[21]
After his daughter was diagnosed with dyslexia, Sopel was also diagnosed with the learning disability after the symptoms sounded similar to his struggles.[24] This inspired him to create the Brent Sopel Foundation to help promote and raise funds for youth with dyslexia.[25]
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