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Mike Gartner
Hockey Hall of Fame, 2001
Mike Gartner 81-82.JPG
Gartner with the Washington Capitals in 1981
Born (1959-10-29) October 29, 1959 (age 65)
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 190 lb (86 kg; 13 st 8 lb)
Position Right wing
Shot Right
Played for Cincinnati Stingers
Washington Capitals
Minnesota North Stars
New York Rangers
Toronto Maple Leafs
Phoenix Coyotes
National team Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Canada
NHL Draft 4th overall, 1979
Washington Capitals
Playing career 1978–1998
Medal record
Men's ice hockey
Representing  Canada
World Championships
Bronze 1982 Finland
Bronze 1983 West Germany
Canada Cup
Gold 1984 Canada
Gold 1987 Canada
IIHF World Junior Championship
Bronze 1978 Canada

Michael Alfred Gartner (born October 29, 1959) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He was a fast right winger who played 19 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL). He played for teams like the Washington Capitals, New York Rangers, and Toronto Maple Leafs. Before the NHL, he also played one season in the World Hockey Association (WHA). Mike Gartner won the Canada Cup twice with Team Canada.

In 2017, Gartner was named one of the 100 Greatest NHL Players in the league's history. He was added to the Hockey Hall of Fame (HHOF) in 2001. Since 2009, Gartner has been part of the HHOF Selection Committee. He became its chair in 2022.

Playing Hockey: Mike Gartner's Career

Mike Gartner was born in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. When he was young, he played in the 1972 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. He played with a minor ice hockey team from Toronto.

Starting Professional Hockey

The Washington Capitals picked Gartner in the first round of the 1979 NHL Entry Draft. He was the 4th player chosen overall. He began his professional career in the WHA with the Cincinnati Stingers in the 1978–79 season. He played on a line with future superstar Mark Messier. Gartner had a great first year, finishing second to Wayne Gretzky for the Rookie-of-the-Year award.

Time with the Washington Capitals

The WHA league closed down at the end of that season. Gartner then joined the Washington Capitals for the 1979–80 season. He played for the Capitals for almost ten years. In his first NHL game on October 11, 1979, he got an assist against the Buffalo Sabres. He wore number eleven for the Capitals.

Gartner had a strong first NHL season. He won the Capitals' Rookie of the Year and MVP awards. Fans also voted him the team's Most Promising Player. He led the team with 36 goals that year. On March 7, 1989, Gartner was traded to the Minnesota North Stars. He left the Capitals as their all-time leader in goals, assists, and points. As of November 2023, he is still third in goals and points for the team.

Moving to Other Teams

Gartner played only one season with the Minnesota North Stars. He was traded to the New York Rangers on March 6, 1990. He started strong with the Rangers, scoring two goals in his first game. He scored 11 goals and 16 points in the remaining 12 games that season.

In the 1991–92 season, Gartner made history. He became the first NHL player to reach his 500th goal, 500th assist, 1000th point, and play in his 1000th game all in the same season! The next season, he was the first Ranger to score at least 40 goals in three years in a row. He also scored four goals in the NHL All-Star Game and won the All-Star Game MVP award.

0812AJ29-Gartner
Gartner had his number retired by the Washington Capitals in 2008.

On March 21, 1994, Gartner was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs. This trade happened because the Rangers' coach, Mike Keenan, wanted a different type of player. Gartner played with the Maple Leafs until 1996. Then, he was traded to the Phoenix Coyotes. This team had just moved from Winnipeg. Gartner scored the first goal and first hat trick in Phoenix Coyotes history on October 7, 1996. He played two seasons with the Coyotes before he retired in August 1998.

Life After Playing Hockey

Gartner stayed involved with hockey after retiring. He was active with the NHL Players Association (NHLPA). He was the president of the NHLPA from 1996 until he retired in 1998. He also led the Goals & Dreams program for the NHLPA.

Since 2009, Gartner has been a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame Selection Committee. He became the chair of this committee in 2022. He is also set to become the chair of the Hall of Fame itself in June 2025.

Special Achievements and Records

Even though Mike Gartner had a long and amazing career, he never won the Stanley Cup. He also never won a major NHL award or was named to the postseason All-Star Team. Despite this, he was still inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. This shows how truly great he was.

Gartner was known for being very consistent. He led his team in goals nine times during his career. He also scored 30 or more goals for the first 15 seasons of his NHL career. This set a record that has since been tied by other players. He was only the fifth player in NHL history to score 700 goals. Gartner was also famous for his incredible speed on the ice. He could often skate past defenders easily.

The Washington Capitals honored Gartner by retiring his jersey number, #11. This happened in a ceremony on December 28, 2008.

Gartner also held a record for speed. In the 1996 Super Skills competition, he set the record for the fastest skater event. His time was 13.386 seconds. This record stood for 20 years!

Awards and Achievements

International Hockey

WHA (World Hockey Association)

NHL (National Hockey League)

  • One of only 8 players in NHL history to score 700 career goals.
  • 2017 – Named to NHL's 100th anniversary list of the 100 Greatest NHL Players.
  • NHL All-Star Game MVP (1993).
  • NHL's Fastest Skater at All-Star Game Skills Competition (1991, 1993, 1996).
  • Played in the NHL All-Star Game seven times (1981, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1993, 1996).

Team Honors

0812AK03-Gartner
Mike Gartner had his jersey retired by the Washington Capitals in 2008. The banner shown here has since been replaced.
  • He scored the last goal ever at Chicago Stadium in the 1994 playoffs.
  • His jersey number #11 was retired by the Washington Capitals on December 28, 2008.

Hockey Records

  • NHL record for most consecutive 30-goal seasons - 15 (tied with Jaromir Jagr and Alexander Ovechkin).
  • NHL record for most goals in an All-Star Game (1993) - 4 (shared with Wayne Gretzky and others).
  • NHL record for fastest two goals from the start of an All-Star Game (1993) - in 3 minutes, 37 seconds.
  • Washington Capitals record for longest point-streak - 17 games (twice).
  • Washington Capitals record for most points by a right winger in one season (1984–85) - 102 points.

Career Statistics

Regular Season and Playoffs

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1975–76 Toronto Young Nationals MTHL 26 18 18 36 46
1975–76 St. Catharines Black Hawks OMJHL 3 1 3 4 0 4 1 0 1 2
1976–77 Niagara Falls Flyers OMJHL 62 33 42 75 125
1977–78 Niagara Falls Flyers OMJHL 64 41 49 90 56
1978–79 Cincinnati Stingers WHA 78 27 25 52 123 3 0 2 2 2
1979–80 Washington Capitals NHL 77 36 32 68 66
1980–81 Washington Capitals NHL 80 48 46 94 100
1981–82 Washington Capitals NHL 80 35 45 80 121
1982–83 Washington Capitals NHL 73 38 38 76 54 4 0 0 0 4
1983–84 Washington Capitals NHL 80 40 45 85 90 8 3 7 10 16
1984–85 Washington Capitals NHL 80 50 52 102 71 5 4 3 7 9
1985–86 Washington Capitals NHL 74 35 40 75 63 9 2 10 12 4
1986–87 Washington Capitals NHL 78 41 32 73 61 7 4 3 7 14
1987–88 Washington Capitals NHL 80 48 33 81 73 14 3 4 7 14
1988–89 Washington Capitals NHL 56 26 29 55 71
1988–89 Minnesota North Stars NHL 13 7 7 14 2 5 0 0 0 6
1989–90 Minnesota North Stars NHL 67 34 36 70 32
1989–90 New York Rangers NHL 12 11 5 16 6 10 5 3 8 12
1990–91 New York Rangers NHL 79 49 20 69 53 6 1 1 2 0
1991–92 New York Rangers NHL 76 40 41 81 55 13 8 8 16 4
1992–93 New York Rangers NHL 84 45 23 68 59
1993–94 New York Rangers NHL 71 28 24 52 58
1993–94 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 10 6 6 12 4 18 5 6 11 14
1994–95 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 38 12 8 20 6 5 2 2 4 2
1995–96 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 82 35 19 54 52 6 4 1 5 4
1996–97 Phoenix Coyotes NHL 82 32 31 63 38 7 1 2 3 4
1997–98 Phoenix Coyotes NHL 60 12 15 27 24 5 1 0 1 18
NHL totals 1,432 708 627 1,335 1,159 122 43 50 93 125

International Play

Year Team Event   GP G A Pts PIM
1978 Canada WJC 6 3 3 6 4
1981 Canada WC 8 4 0 4 8
1982 Canada WC 10 3 2 5 6
1983 Canada WC 10 4 1 5 12
1984 Canada CC 8 3 2 5 10
1987 Canada CC 9 2 2 4 6
1993 Canada WC 7 3 4 7 12
Junior totals 6 3 3 6 4
Senior totals 52 19 11 30 54

Personal Life

Mike Gartner and his wife Colleen have two sons, Joshua and Dylan, and a daughter named Natalie. They live in Shanty Bay, Ontario.

Gartner is a born-again Christian. He learned about this faith from his former Washington teammate Jean Pronovost. His son, Josh, played goalie for Yale University.

Gartner and his former teammate, Wes Jarvis, are business partners. They own three skating rinks in the Greater Toronto Area. These rinks are in Newmarket, Ontario, Richmond Hill, Ontario, and Barrie, Ontario.

See also

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