Matt Taormina

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Matt Taormina
Matt Taormina (39060949195) (cropped2).jpg
Taormina with the Laval Rocket in 2018
Born (1986-10-20) October 20, 1986 (age 37)
Warren, Michigan, U.S.
Height 5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight 185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb)
Position Defense
Shot Left
Played for New Jersey Devils
Tampa Bay Lightning
NHL draft Undrafted
Playing career 2009–2019

Matthew Angelo Taormina (born October 20, 1986) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman. Originally undrafted by teams in the National Hockey League (NHL), he played for the New Jersey Devils and Tampa Bay Lightning.

Contents

Playing career

As a youth, Taormina played in the 2000 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with the Detroit Honeybaked minor ice hockey team. [1]

Taormina began his amateur career playing in the North American Hockey League with the Texarkana Bandits. Earning a place in the Second All-Star Team, the All-Rookie Team and winning the NAHL's Rookie of the year, Matt then committed to play collegiate hockey in the Hockey East with Providence College. With a selection to the Hockey East Second All-Star Team as a junior, Matt progressed to join the Binghamton Senators of the American Hockey League after completing his senior year at the end of the 2008–09 season.[ citation needed ]

As an undrafted free agent, Taormina was signed to an AHL contract for the 2009–10 season by the New Jersey Devils on August 20, 2009. [2] Taormina scored 50 points in 75 games to lead the Lowell Devils in assists and signed a one-year contract extension with the Devils on February 26, 2010.[ citation needed ]

With an impressive training camp and with the advantage of familiarity under head coach John MacLean with Lowell, Matt opened the 2010–11 season on the New Jersey Devils roster. [3] In his fifth game, Matt scored his first NHL goal on October 15, 2010, a powerplay goal, against Craig Anderson of the Colorado Avalanche in a 3-2 defeat. [4]

Taormina signed a one-year two-way contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning of the NHL on July 6, 2012. [5]

In his second season with Tampa Bay, at the 2013–14 trade deadline, Taormina was traded by the Lightning, along with Dana Tyrell, to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for Jonathan Marchessault and Dalton Smith on March 5, 2014. [6]

On September 26, 2014, the Worcester Sharks announced they had signed Taormina to a one-year AHL contract. [7] In the 2014–15 season, Taormina returned to form to lead the Sharks in scoring from the blueline with 38 points in 72 games.[ citation needed ]

On July 1, 2015, Taormina returned to the Tampa Bay Lightning, in signing a one-year, two-way contract as a free agent. [8] On April 19, 2016, Taormina played in first career Stanley Cup Playoffs game, which was a 3-2 Lightning win over the Detroit Red Wings. [9]

On June 28, 2016 the Lightning announced the re-signing of Taormina to a one-year, two-way contract. Taormina skated in three games with the Lighting that season. Taormina also skated in three Stanley Cup playoff games in 2016. He also appeared in 61 games with the Crunch last season, recording 13 goals and 41 points. This ranked Taormina second among Crunch defensemen for points and led all defensemen for goals with 13. [10]

On March 17, 2017, Taormina was named a permanent alternate captain of the Syracuse Crunch. [11] On April 6, 2017, Taromina was named to the 2016–17 AHL All-Star First Team. [12] On April 7, 2017, Taromina was awarded the Eddie Shore Award as the AHL's outstanding defenseman for the 2016–17 season. [13]

On July 1, 2017, Taormina left the Lightning as a free agent and signed a two-year, two-way deal with the Montreal Canadiens. [14] Near the beginning of the season, Taormina was named an alternate captain of the Laval Rocket along with Chris Terry, with Byron Froese being the first captain in the team’s history. [15]

Prior to the 2018–19 season, and having missed pre-season through injury, on October 1, Taormina and Rinat Valiev were traded by the Canadiens to the Calgary Flames in exchange for Brett Kulak. [16]

Career statistics

Regular season Playoffs
Season TeamLeagueGP G A Pts PIM GPGAPtsPIM
2004–05 Texarkana Bandits NAHL 5214304444—————
2005–06 Providence College HE 361101116—————
2006–07 Providence CollegeHE355276—————
2007–08 Providence CollegeHE399182712—————
2008–09 Providence CollegeHE345152016—————
2008–09 Binghamton Senators AHL 112354—————
2009–10 Lowell Devils AHL751040504551344
2010–11 New Jersey Devils NHL 173252—————
2011–12 New Jersey DevilsNHL301674—————
2011–12 Albany Devils AHL336101612—————
2012–13 Syracuse Crunch AHL55420242118210124
2012–13 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL20000—————
2013–14 Syracuse CrunchAHL416121820—————
2013–14 Tampa Bay LightningNHL70000—————
2013–14 Springfield Falcons AHL17358240110
2014–15 Worcester Sharks AHL761127382441010
2015–16 Syracuse CrunchAHL6113284110—————
2015–16 Tampa Bay LightningNHL3000030000
2016–17 Syracuse CrunchAHL7015456022225152011
2017–18 Laval Rocket AHL634485218—————
2018–19 Stockton Heat AHL3107714—————
AHL totals53374245319192539293819
NHL totals594812630000

Awards and honors

AwardYearRef
NAHL
All-Rookie First Team2005
Rookie of the Year2005
College
All-Hockey East Second Team 2008
AHL
All-Star Game 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 [17] [18]
First Team All-Star2017 [19]
Eddie Shore Award 2017 [20]

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References

  1. ↑ "Pee-Wee players who have reached NHL or WHA" (PDF). Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 6, 2019. Retrieved February 15, 2019.
  2. ↑ "Devils sign 5 players to AHL contracts". New Jersey Devils. August 20, 2009. Retrieved October 19, 2010.
  3. ↑ "Rookie defenseman Matt Taormina won't forget his first goal for Devils". NJ.com. September 27, 2010. Retrieved October 19, 2010.
  4. ↑ "Devils lose to Avalanche 3-2, now 1-3-1 to start season". NJ.com. October 15, 2010. Retrieved October 19, 2010.
  5. ↑ "Lightning sign defenseman Matt Taormina". Tampa Bay Lightning. July 6, 2012. Retrieved July 6, 2012.
  6. ↑ "Lightning shake up Crunch with trades of Tyrell, Taormina". Syracuse.com. March 5, 2014. Retrieved March 5, 2014.
  7. ↑ "Worcester Sharks sign defenseman Matt Taormina". Archived from the original on September 30, 2014. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
  8. ↑ Tampa Bay Lightning (July 1, 2015). "Tampa Bay bring back Taormina". Twitter . Retrieved July 1, 2015.
  9. ↑ Harris, Paul (April 19, 2016). "Power play gives Lightning Game 4 win". NHL.com. Retrieved April 20, 2016.
  10. ↑ Tampa Bay, Lightning (June 28, 2016). "Lightning Re-Sign Forward Tye McGinn, Defenseman Matt Taromina to One-Year Contracts". Tampa Bay Lightning. Retrieved July 4, 2016.
  11. ↑ "Erik Condra named Syracuse Crunch captain". syracusecrunch.com. Syracuse Crunch. March 17, 2017. Retrieved March 17, 2017.
  12. ↑ "Matt Taormina, Cory Conacher named to 2016-17 AHL All-Star Teams". syracusecrunch.com. Syracuse Crunch. April 6, 2017. Retrieved April 6, 2017.
  13. ↑ "Taromina Named AHL's Top Defenseman For 2016-17". theahl.com. American Hockey League. April 6, 2017. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
  14. ↑ "Canadiens agree to terms with defenseman Matt Taormina". Montreal Canadiens. July 1, 2017. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
  15. ↑ "Byron Froese named captain of Laval Rocket, with Chris Terry and Matt Taormina as assistants". Montreal Gazette. November 3, 2017. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
  16. ↑ "Flames acquire Taormina, Valiev from Montreal". National Hockey League . October 1, 2018. Retrieved October 1, 2018.
  17. ↑ "Canadiens sign Taormina, Froese". American Hockey League. July 1, 2017. Retrieved September 6, 2024. Taormina has made...three appearances in the AHL All-Star Classic (2015, 2016, 2017).
  18. ↑ "Rosters announced for 2018 AHL All-Star Classic". American Hockey League. January 4, 2018. Retrieved September 6, 2024.
  19. ↑ "Matt Taormina, Cory Conacher named to 2016-17 AHL All-Star Teams". syracusecrunch.com. Syracuse Crunch. April 6, 2017. Retrieved April 6, 2017.
  20. ↑ "Taromina Named AHL's Top Defenseman For 2016-17". theahl.com. American Hockey League. April 6, 2017. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
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