Mark Streit

Mark Streit
Streit with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2017
Born	(1977-12-11) 11 December 1977 (age 46) Englisberg, Switzerland
Height	5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight	205 lb (93 kg; 14 st 9 lb)
Position	Defence
Shot	Left
Played for	Fribourg-Gottéron Davos ZSC Lions Montreal Canadiens New York Islanders SC Bern Philadelphia Flyers Pittsburgh Penguins
National team	Switzerland
NHL draft	262nd overall, 2004 Montreal Canadiens
Playing career	1995–2017

Mark Thomas Streit (born 11 December 1977) is a Swiss former professional ice hockey defenceman. He was formerly the captain of both the New York Islanders and the Swiss national team. Streit was one of the few swingmen in the NHL who could play both as a defenceman and as a forward. ^[1] He was inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame in 2020. ^[2]

Playing career

Switzerland

Streit while with the ZSC Lions in 2006.

Streit began his career in the Swiss Nationalliga A with Fribourg-Gottéron in 1995–96 as an 18-year-old. The following year, he transferred to Davos and improved to a 25-point campaign in 44 games in 1998–99, his third season with the team.

Garnering attention from the National Hockey League (NHL), but being undrafted at the time, he bounced around the minor leagues in the 1999–2000 season, playing the majority of the season with the Springfield Falcons of the American Hockey League (AHL).

Streit returned to the Nationalliga and spent five seasons with the ZSC Lions after his brief North American stint. He helped the ZSC Lions to a Swiss championship in 2001, as well as back-to-back IIHF Continental Cups in 2001 and 2002. After a 12-goal, 36-point season in 48 games in 2003–04, Streit was drafted in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, 262nd overall, by the Montreal Canadiens at 26 years old (players are typically drafted at the age of 18).

As the 2004–05 NHL season was cancelled due to a lockout, Streit remained with the Lions for one more season and posted a career high 14 goals, 29 assists and 43 points in 44 games.

Montreal Canadiens

In the 2005–06 season, Streit made his NHL debut with the Canadiens, appearing in 48 games and recording 11 points. On 16 March 2006, in a game against the Carolina Hurricanes, Streit was joined by two other Swiss players playing in the NHL at the time, the Canadiens' goaltender David Aebischer and the Hurricanes' goaltender Martin Gerber.

Streit continued to make strides the following season, improving to 36 points in 76 games before emerging as an elite NHL defenceman in his third season with the Canadiens. In the 2007–08 season, he finished third in league scoring among defencemen, behind Nicklas Lidström and Sergei Gonchar, with 62 points in 81 games. Streit was made the Canadiens' nomination for the Bill Masterton Trophy, awarded for perseverance and dedication to hockey. ^[3]

New York Islanders

Streit playing for the New York Islanders

Coming off a breakout campaign, Streit became an unrestricted free agent on 1 July 2008, and signed a five-year, $20.5 million contract with the New York Islanders. ^[4] Upon signing with the Islanders, Streit became the second-highest paid Swiss professional athlete, behind Roger Federer. ^[5] During his first season with the Islanders, Streit was selected to appear in his first NHL All-Star Game in 2009. ^[6] In his first season with the team, Streit led the Islanders in scoring with 56 points, becoming only the second defenseman to lead his team in scoring since the NHL lockout. The first was Ľubomír Višňovský, who led the Los Angeles Kings with 67 points in 2005–06. ^[7]

On 25 September 2010, Streit tore his shoulder labrum and rotator cuff after a routine check into the boards by teammate Matt Moulson during a scrimmage. ^[8] He was sidelined for the entire 2010–11 season.

Streit became the first Swiss-born team captain in NHL history, when the Islanders appointed him to the position on September 21, 2011. ^[9]

During the 2012–13 lockout, Streit played for SC Bern of the Swiss National League A. ^[10]

Philadelphia Flyers

Streit, who became an unrestricted free agent entering the summer of 2013, had his rights traded from the Islanders to the Philadelphia Flyers on 12 June 2013, for Shane Harper and a fourth-round draft pick in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft. ^[11] Although contract negotiations were lengthy, ^[12] Streit signed a four-year, $21 million deal with the Flyers on 28 June. ^[13] Following the signing, Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren described him as a great addition for the team for he was "a guy who can play on the power play, a guy who can provide offense [at] 5-on-5, a defenseman who gets up in the rush and joins the rush, and at times can lead the rush and make plays come out of our end." ^[14] After attending the Flyers' training camp, ^[15] Streit was named to their opening night roster for the 2013–14 season. ^[16] Although he began the season producing at a slower pace than before, he picked up by the second half and saw time on the Flyers' top power play unit. Streit finished the 2013–14 season with 10 goals and 34 assists for 44 points through 82 games. ^[17] As the Flyers qualified for the 2014 Stanley Cup playoffs, Streit continued to man the second defence pairing with Nicklas Grossmann for their first round series against the New York Rangers. ^[18]

Streit (left) and teammate Zac Rinaldo warming up before a game.

Following the 2013–14 season, Streit was named an alternate captain for the Flyers alongside Wayne Simmonds and captain Claude Giroux. ^[19] As a result of a long term injury to Kimmo Timonen, Streit stepped into a larger role on the Flyers top power play unit. ^{[20] [21]} During the pre-season, Streit led all defensemen in scoring and tied for second overall with eight points through four games. ^[22] This continued into the regular season and Streit entered the month of December leading all Flyers defensemen in goals, assists, and points, and leading the entire team in time-on-ice per-game. ^[23] By the end of December, Streit led team defensemen with 23 points and ranked 10th amongst defensemen in the league. ^[24] He also quickly became the Flyers defensemen in five years to reach and pass the 50-point milestone. He finished his second season with the team recording nine goals and 43 assists for 52 points to tie for eight among lead defensemen in points. As a result of his productive season, Streit received the Barry Ashbee Trophy as the team's most outstanding defenseman and the Yanick Dupre Memorial Class Guy Award. ^[25]

The 2014–15 season would prove to be his most productive with the Flyers as his next two seasons were marred with injuries. Although Streit began the 2015–16 season healthy, he suffered a pelvic injury in mid-November and required surgery. At the time of the injury, he had accumulated three goals and six assists. ^[26] After missing 19 games, Streit returned to Flyers lineup on 31 December for their 4–2 loss to the San Jose Sharks. ^[27] He struggled to match his previous scoring prowess and recorded only one goal and two assists in his first 24 games back. He was also replaced on the teams' top power-play unit by Shayne Gostisbehere. ^[28] As such, he was the discussion of many trade rumours leading up to the NHL Trade Deadline but was kept on the team. ^[29] On 7 March, Streit played his 700th career NHL game. ^[30] Streit and the Flyers once again qualified for the Stanley Cup playoffs and faced off against the Washington Capitals in the first round. ^[31]

Streit returned to the Flyers for what would be his final season with the team. As with his previous seasons, Streit began the season producing offensively and defensively for the Flyers. By 12 December 2016, he averaged nearly 20 minutes per game, including 2:23 on the team's power play, and led all team defencemen in goals with five. His offensive prowess helped the Flyers maintain a nine-game winning streak for the first time since they set a franchise-record 13-game winning streak in 1985. His efforts were cut short however when he suffered an upper-body injury in early December. ^[32]

Pittsburgh Penguins

On 1 March 2017, Streit was traded hours before the deadline in a deal with the Tampa Bay Lightning where the Flyers received Valtteri Filppula, a fourth-round pick in the 2017 NHL Draft, and a conditional seventh-round pick. The Tampa Bay Lightning then instantly traded him to the Pittsburgh Penguins for a fourth-round pick in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft. ^[33] Streit played 19 games for the Penguins during the regular season, scoring once and adding five assists, as the Penguins qualified for the 2017 Stanley Cup playoffs. ^[34] He remained a healthy scratch through the Penguins' first two series before making his Penguins postseason debut in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Final against the Ottawa Senators. ^[35] As injuries befell onto Justin Schultz and Trevor Daley, Streit continued to stay in the lineup. ^[36] He recorded two assists through three games as the Penguins won the Stanley Cup after defeating the Nashville Predators in the 2017 Stanley Cup Finals. ^[37]

Return to Montreal and retirement

On 25 July 2017, Streit signed as a free agent to a one-year, $700,000 deal in a return to the Montreal Canadiens. ^[38] On 12 October 2017, the Canadiens placed Streit on waivers just 4 games into the season. ^[39] He cleared waivers, but refused to report to the Canadiens' AHL affiliate, the Laval Rocket. Consequently, Streit was placed on unconditional waivers on October 15 effectively ending his NHL career. He and the Canadiens came to a mutual agreement to terminate his contract the next day. ^[7]

On 30 October 2017, Streit announced his retirement from professional hockey after 12 NHL seasons. ^[40]

International play

Streit with the Swiss national team in 2012.

Streit made his international debut at the 1995 European Junior Championships, then appeared in his first of two World Junior Championships in 1996. He scored one goal in five games as Switzerland finished ninth. In 1997, he scored two goals and Switzerland improved to seventh.

In 1998, Streit appeared in his first of ten consecutive World Championships. Playing as the host nation, Switzerland finished a surprising fourth, falling to the Czech Republic in the bronze-medal game. He scored an international career-best seven points in seven games in 2005, as Switzerland advanced to the quarter-finals, losing to Sweden 2–1.

Streit competed in his first Winter Olympics in 2002 in Salt Lake City. He scored two points in four preliminary games as Switzerland finished 11th.

As Streit was named team captain at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, ^[41] Switzerland improved to sixth, topping international giants Czech Republic and Canada in their preliminary games. Streit scored the game-winning goal against the Czechs to defeat them 3–2 in the Swiss' second round-robin game, ^[42] then assisted on the second goal of a 2–0 upset against Canada two days later. ^[43] Following the stunning Swiss victory over Canada, an incredulous Streit admitted, "I never thought we could do that." ^[41] In the quarter-finals, Streit scored in the first period to tie the game 1–1, but the Swiss were overpowered by Sweden 6–2. ^[44]

Off the ice

Streit and his wife Fabienne have one daughter together. ^[45]

Streit was featured on the front cover of the Swiss versions of the NHL series of hockey games, from NHL 08 to NHL 11 .

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1994–95	HC Fribourg–Gottéron	SUI U20		30	5	10	15	—		2	0	0	0	—
1995–96	HC Fribourg–Gottéron	SUI U20		9	4	8	12	—		3	0	1	1	—
1995–96	HC Fribourg–Gottéron	NDA		34	2	2	4	6		—	—	—	—	—
1996–97	HC Davos	SUI U20		4	1	1	2	14		—	—	—	—	—
1996–97	HC Davos	NDA		46	2	9	11	18		6	0	0	0	0
1997–98	HC Davos	NDA		38	4	10	14	14		18	1	5	6	20
1998–99	HC Davos	NDA		44	7	18	25	42		6	3	3	6	8
1999–00	Tallahassee Tiger Sharks	ECHL		14	0	5	5	16		—	—	—	—	—
1999–00	Utah Grizzlies	IHL		1	0	1	1	2		—	—	—	—	—
1999–00	Springfield Falcons	AHL		43	3	12	15	18		5	0	0	0	2
2000–01	ZSC Lions	NLA		44	5	11	16	48		16	2	5	7	37
2001–02	ZSC Lions	NLA		28	7	16	23	36		14	0	6	6	10
2002–03	ZSC Lions	NLA		37	4	20	24	62		12	1	7	8	2
2003–04	ZSC Lions	NLA		48	12	24	36	78		13	5	2	7	14
2004–05	ZSC Lions	NLA		44	14	29	43	46		15	4	11	15	20
2005–06	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		48	2	9	11	28		1	0	0	0	0
2006–07	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		76	10	26	36	14		—	—	—	—	—
2007–08	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		81	13	49	62	28		11	1	3	4	8
2008–09	New York Islanders	NHL		74	16	40	56	62		—	—	—	—	—
2009–10	New York Islanders	NHL		82	11	38	49	48		—	—	—	—	—
2011–12	New York Islanders	NHL		82	7	40	47	46		—	—	—	—	—
2012–13	SC Bern	NLA		32	7	19	26	30		—	—	—	—	—
2012–13	New York Islanders	NHL		48	6	21	27	22		6	2	3	5	4
2013–14	Philadelphia Flyers	NHL		82	10	34	44	44		7	1	2	3	0
2014–15	Philadelphia Flyers	NHL		81	9	43	52	36		—	—	—	—	—
2015–16	Philadelphia Flyers	NHL		62	6	17	23	18		6	0	1	1	6
2016–17	Philadelphia Flyers	NHL		49	5	16	21	22		—	—	—	—	—
2016–17	Pittsburgh Penguins	NHL		19	1	5	6	6		3	0	2	2	0
2017–18	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		2	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
NDA/NLA totals				395	64	158	222	380		100	16	39	55	111
NHL totals				786	96	338	434	374		34	4	11	15	18

International

Year	Team	Event		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1995	Switzerland	EJC		5	1	2	3	6
1996	Switzerland	WJC		5	1	0	1	4
1997	Switzerland	WJC		6	2	0	2	31
1997	Switzerland	OGQ		4	0	0	0	2
1998	Switzerland	WC		9	0	0	0	2
1999	Switzerland	WC		6	4	0	4	2
2000	Switzerland	WC		7	0	1	1	4
2001	Switzerland	WC		6	0	3	3	2
2002	Switzerland	OG		4	1	1	2	0
2002	Switzerland	WC		6	0	3	3	4
2003	Switzerland	WC		7	0	4	4	10
2004	Switzerland	WC		7	1	1	2	2
2005	Switzerland	OGQ		3	1	2	3	8
2005	Switzerland	WC		7	1	6	7	4
2006	Switzerland	OG		6	2	1	3	6
2006	Switzerland	WC		6	0	3	3	6
2007	Switzerland	WC		7	1	3	4	6
2009	Switzerland	WC		6	1	4	5	8
2010	Switzerland	OG		5	0	3	3	0
2012	Switzerland	WC		7	2	2	4	6
2014	Switzerland	OG		4	0	1	1	2
2015	Switzerland	WC		8	0	2	2	6
2016	Team Europe	WCH		6	0	0	0	4
Junior totals				16	4	2	6	41
Senior totals				114	13	38	51	74

• All statistics taken from NHL.com ^[46]

Awards and honors

Award	Year
NHL
All-Star Game	2009	[47]
Stanley Cup champion	2017	[48]
International
IIHF Hall of Fame	2020	[49] [50]
IIHF All-Time Switzerland Team	2020

References

1. "Streit hopes to cash in on success". Montreal Gazette . Archived from the original on 16 June 2008.
2. Podnieks, Andrew (4 February 2020). "Legends join IIHF Hall of Fame". International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 4 February 2020.
3. "Koivu sits as Habs enter final week". The Sporting News . Retrieved 19 September 2008.^{[ dead link ]}
4. "Islanders power up with D Mark Streit". New York Islanders . 1 July 2008. Archived from the original on 3 August 2008. Retrieved 19 September 2008.
5. Klein, Jeff Z. (30 March 2009). "Betts, Clemmensen and Streit Are Metro Masterton Nominees". The New York Times . Retrieved 2 June 2024.
6. "For Islanders' Mark Streit, an All-Star return to Montreal". Sporting News . 8 January 2009. Retrieved 14 January 2009.^{[ dead link ]}
7. "Habs, Streit agree to terminate contract - Article - TSN". TSN. 16 October 2017. Retrieved 17 October 2017.
8. "Isles' Streit out indefinitely despite reports of torn labrum". 26 September 2010. Archived from the original on 18 February 2013.
9. Compton, Brian (21 September 2011). "Islanders make Streit first Swiss-born captain". New York Islanders.
10. Sherman, Rodger. "2012 Swiss Hockey standings: Yannick Weber and Logan Couture's Geneva in first". sbnation.com. 8 October 2012. Retrieved 11 October 2012.
11. "Press Release: Flyers Acquire D Mark Streit". Philadelphia Flyers . 12 June 2013. Retrieved 28 June 2013.
12. "Flyers Statement on Mark Streit". National Hockey League. 17 June 2013. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
13. "Flyers ink Streit to multi-year contract". Philadelphia Flyers . 28 June 2013. Retrieved 28 June 2013.
14. Kimelman, Adam (28 August 2013). "30 in 30: Flyers add veterans, expect better season". National Hockey League. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
15. "Flyers Groups for Training Camp". National Hockey League. 11 September 2013. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
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17. Parent, Rob (20 September 2014). "Flyers' Mark Streit doesn't mind taking leadership role". The Times Herald. Archived from the original on 4 December 2021. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
18. "A breakdown of the Flyers-Rangers First Round". National Hockey League. 14 April 2014. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
19. "Flyers announce opening night roster; leadership group". National Hockey League. 7 October 2014. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
20. Isaac, David (22 September 2014). "Streit leading Flyers' effortless power play". Courier Post. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
21. Greenberg, Jay (27 September 2014). "Streit to have larger role on the power-play unit". National Hockey League. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
22. "FIVE THINGS: Flyers at Boston Bruins". National Hockey League. 8 October 2014. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
23. "5 THINGS: Flyers at New York Rangers". National Hockey League. 29 November 2014. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
24. "FIVE THINGS: Flyers at Colorado Avalanche". National Hockey League. 31 December 2014. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
25. "FIVE THINGS: Flyers at New Jersey Devils". National Hockey League. 8 March 2015. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
26. "Flyers' Mark Streit set for surgery". ESPN. 14 November 2015. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
27. Carchidi, Sam (31 December 2015). "Flyers' Mark Streit returns to lineup". Erie Times-News . Retrieved 7 March 2023.
28. Kimelman, Adam (25 February 2016). "Flyers' Streit blocking out trade rumors". National Hockey League. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
29. Neiburg, Jeff (29 February 2016). "Flames, Flyers move on from deadline". National Hockey League. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
30. Isaac, David (7 March 2016). "Size no longer a factor, Mark Streit hits 700 NHL games". Courier Post. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
31. Brown, Katie; Kimelman, Adam (11 April 2016). "Flyers vs. Capitals First Round series preview". National Hockey League. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
32. "OTF: Streit out two weeks". National Hockey League. 12 December 2016. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
33. "Lightning announce trade deadline roster moves". National Hockey League. 1 March 2017. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
34. Berkshire, Andrew (17 May 2017). "How Mark Streit could help the Penguins' offence against Ottawa". Sportsnet. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
35. Benjamin, Amalie (19 May 2017). "Injuries leave Penguins undermanned for Game 4 against Senators". National Hockey League. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
36. Gulitti, Tom (26 May 2017). "Stanley Cup Final matchups: Penguins vs. Predators". National Hockey League. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
37. Mackey, Jason (25 October 2017). "Nearing retirement, Mark Streit recalls last year's 'special' Stanley Cup run". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Archived from the original on 31 October 2017. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
38. "Canadiens agree to terms with Mark Streit". Montreal Canadiens . 25 July 2017. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
39. "Canadiens place Mark Streit on waivers".
40. "Streit announces retirement from hockey". NHL.com. 30 October 2017. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
41. Jenkins, Lee; Kiefer, Peter (19 February 2006). "Do you believe in Switzerland? Canada does". New York Times . Retrieved 25 September 2008.
42. "Men's hockey: only three left unbeaten". Sporting News . Retrieved 25 September 2008.^{[ dead link ]}
43. "Men's Team Canada summary". San Diego Union-Tribune . Archived from the original on 10 September 2012. Retrieved 25 September 2008.
44. "Wednesday's Olympic Capsules". ESPN. Retrieved 25 September 2008.
45. Cudzinowski, Matt (13 August 2017). "Worth the wait". National Hockey League. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
46. NHL.com (2009). "Mark Streit's NHL Profile". NHL.com. Retrieved 7 April 2009.
47. Gormley, Chuck (16 January 2009). "Streit's persistence pays off with All-Star nod". NHL.com. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
48. "Penguins repeat as Stanley Cup champions". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 11 June 2017. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
49. Potts, Andy (29 May 2022). "Hall of Fame celebrates new recruits". International Ice Hockey Federation . Retrieved 29 May 2022.
50. "Mark Streit and Mathias Seger inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame". Swiss Hockey News. Zurich, Switzerland. 29 May 2022. Retrieved 14 June 2023.

External links

• Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com , or  Eliteprospects.com , or  Eurohockey.com , or  Hockey-Reference.com , or  The Internet Hockey Database

Preceded by Doug Weight	New York Islanders captain 2011–13	Succeeded by John Tavares