Bill Guerin


William Robert Guerin is an American former professional ice hockey player and the current general manager of the Minnesota Wild. He previously was the assistant general manager of the Pittsburgh Penguins and general manager of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
Guerin played 18 seasons in the National Hockey League, winning two Stanley Cup championships with the New Jersey Devils and Pittsburgh Penguins.
Internationally, Guerin represented the United States in the Olympics in 1998, 2002 and 2006, and participated in two Ice Hockey World Championships. Guerin is the first player of Hispanic descent to play in the NHL.

Playing career

Professional

Guerin was drafted in the 1989 NHL Entry Draft fifth overall by the New Jersey Devils and played with the team from 1991 to 1998, winning the Stanley Cup in 1995. Midway through the 1997–98 season, Guerin was traded to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for Jason Arnott and Bryan Muir.
After a 41-goal season in 2001–02, Guerin left the Bruins as a free agent and signed a five-year contract with the Dallas Stars. He performed below expectations during his tenure with the Stars. After a disappointing season in 2005–06 in which he recorded just 40 points, Dallas opted to buy-out the remainder of his contract. The conditions of buyouts in the NHL meant that the Stars would have to pay him two-thirds of the remaining salary on his contract spread out over twice as many years; this meant $6.7 million over one year became $4.4 million over two years.
On July 3, 2006, Guerin signed a one-year, $2 million contract with the St. Louis Blues. Playing on a line with former Oiler teammate Doug Weight, Guerin revived his career, easily eclipsing his disappointing goal-scoring mark from the 2005–06 season. He was named to the 2007 All-Star Game to represent the Blues. Despite numerous criticisms of his play during his time as a Star, Guerin received a standing ovation from the Dallas fans in recognition as his status as a longtime fan favorite.
On February 2, 2007, Guerin became the 214th NHL player to play in 1,000 games. Later that month, he was traded to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for Ville Nieminen, prospect Jay Barriball and a conditional first-round pick. During the subsequent off-season, Guerin signed a two-year contract with the New York Islanders. On July 9, 2007, he was named captain of the Islanders, making him the 11th captain in team history.
On March 4, 2009, Guerin was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for a conditional draft pick. The pick, a 2009 fourth-round pick if the Penguins made the playoffs, was later turned into a 2009 third-round pick once the Penguins advanced to the second round of the 2009 Stanley Cup playoffs. Guerin won the Stanley Cup on June 12, 2009, with the Penguins, defeating the Detroit Red Wings by a final score of 2–1 for Game 7 at Joe Louis Arena. His 14 years between Stanley Cups as a player was the third-longest wait in NHL history, behind Chris Chelios and Mark Recchi.
After vocal encouragement for his return from the crowd and teammates at Pittsburgh's Stanley Cup parade on June 15, as well as expressing his own affection for the city and team, Guerin signed a one-year contract extension with the Penguins on June 29 at a greatly reduced salary to play through the 2009–10 season. He became the first player to have a 20-goal season with seven different teams and one of only three to have a 20-goal season with five or more different teams. Ray Shero, the general manager for the Penguins opted not to offer Guerin a contract for the 2010–11 season. On September 7, 2010, the Philadelphia Flyers invited Guerin to try out at training camp, but on October 4, the Flyers released him prior to the start of the regular season.
On December 6, 2010, Guerin announced his retirement as a player from the NHL as a Pittsburgh Penguin. At the time of his retirement, Guerin ranked seventh all-time among Americans in the NHL with 429 goals.

Management career

On June 6, 2011, the Penguins hired Guerin as their player development coach. On June 6, 2014, Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford announced that Guerin would be promoted to assistant general manager of the team. Rutherford said that Guerin would be focusing on developing the analytical side of the game. Following consecutive Stanley Cup triumphs in 2016 and 2017, the Penguins announced that Guerin's duties would expand to include the role of general manager of their American Hockey League affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, made vacant via the departure of Jason Botterill to the NHL's Buffalo Sabres.
On August 21, 2019, Guerin was named the fourth general manager of the Minnesota Wild.

Personal life

Guerin was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, and raised in Wilbraham, Massachusetts. He attended Wilbraham & Monson Academy, where he played high-school hockey.
Guerin is of Nicaraguan and Irish descent. He is married to Kara and they have four children: Kayla Lyn, born on July 6, 1997; Grace Elizabeth, born in 1999; Liam, born on May 26, 2001; and Lexi Rose, born on December 2, 2002.
While playing hockey, Guerin lived in Moorestown, New Jersey, with his wife and children.

Awards and achievements

Regular season and playoffs

International

Transactions