Arturs Irbe

Arturs Irbe
Born	February 2, 1967 (1967-02-02) Riga, Soviet Union
Height	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Weight	190 lb (86 kg; 13 st 8 lb)
Position	Goaltender
Catches	Left
Played for	Soviet III Latvijas Berzs Riga ShVSM Riga Soviet Dynamo Riga IHL Kansas City Blades NHL San Jose Sharks Dallas Stars Vancouver Canucks Carolina Hurricanes AHL Lowell Lock Monsters ECHL Johnstown Chiefs Belarus Extraliga HK Riga 2000 EBHL EC Red Bull Salzburg Latvia SK Rīga 20 Slovak Extraliga Hk Dynamax Oil Nitra
National team	Template:Country data LAT & Template:Country data URS
NHL Draft	196th overall, 1989 Minnesota North Stars
Playing career	1986–2008

Arturs Irbe (born on February 2, 1967) is a Latvian professional ice hockey coach and former goaltender.

Born during the Soviet era, Arturs played for various Soviet league teams and the Soviet Union national team before moving to North America in 1991.

In the NHL, he played for the San Jose Sharks, Dallas Stars, Vancouver Canucks and the Carolina Hurricanes.

In 2004, Arturs returned to Europe to play until he retired in 2007. He later returned to the NHL as goaltending coach for the Washington Capitals during the 2009-10 and 2010-11 seasons.

On June 11, 2011, Arturs left the team to spend more time with his family.

Career Statistics

Regular Season Statistics

Season	Team	League		GP	W	L	T	MIN	GA	SV	SO	GAA	SV%
1983–84	Latvijas Berzs Riga	Soviet III		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1984–85	Latvijas Berzs Riga	Soviet III		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1985–86	ShVSM Riga	Soviet III		9	—	—	—	—	20	—	—	—	—
1986–87	ShVSM Riga	Soviet III		47	—	—	—	2,643	134	—	—	3.04	—
1986–87	Dynamo Riga	Soviet		2	—	—	—	27	1	—	0	2.22	—
1987–88	Dinamo Riga	Soviet		34	—	—	—	1,870	86	—	4	2.76	—
1987–88	ShVSM Riga	Soviet III		5	—	—	—	—	11	—	—	3.31	—
1988–89	Dinamo Riga	Soviet		40	—	—	—	2,460	116	—	4	2.83	—
1989–90	Dinamo Riga	Soviet		48	—	—	—	2,880	115	—	2	2.40	—
1990–91	Dinamo Riga	Soviet		46	—	—	—	2,713	133	—	5	2.94	—
1991–92	Kansas City Blades	IHL		32	24	7	1	1,955	80	—	0	2.46	.911
1991–92	San Jose Sharks	NHL		13	2	6	3	645	48	—	0	4.47	.868
1992–93	Kansas City Blades	IHL		6	3	3	0	364	20	—	0	3.30	.876
1992–93	San Jose Sharks	NHL		36	7	26	0	2,074	142	365	1	4.11	.886
1993–94	San Jose Sharks	NHL		74	30	28	16	4,412	209	1,250	3	2.84	.899
1994–95	San Jose Sharks	NHL		38	14	19	3	2,043	111	2,064	4	3.26	.895
1995–96	Kansas City Blades	IHL		4	1	2	1	226	16	1,056	0	4.24	.843
1995–96	San Jose Sharks	NHL		22	4	12	4	1,112	85	607	0	4.59	.860
1996–97	Dallas Stars	NHL		35	17	12	3	1,965	88	825	3	2.69	.893
1997–98	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		41	14	11	6	1,999	91	982	2	2.73	.907
1998–99	Carolina Hurricanes	NHL		62	27	20	12	3,643	135	1,753	6	2.22	.923
1999–2000	Carolina Hurricanes	NHL		75	34	28	9	4,345	175	1,858	5	2.42	.906
2000–01	Carolina Hurricanes	NHL		77	37	29	9	4,406	180	1,947	6	2.45	.908
2001–02	Carolina Hurricanes	NHL		51	20	19	11	2,974	126	1,282	3	2.54	.902
2002–03	Lowell Lock Monsters	AHL		7	3	3	1	427	21	229	0	2.95	.908
2002–03	Carolina Hurricanes	NHL		34	7	24	2	1,884	100	816	0	3.18	.877
2003–04	Johnstown Chiefs	ECHL		14	10	3	1	847	30	411	1	2.13	.927
2003–04	Carolina Hurricanes	NHL		10	5	2	1	564	23	228	0	2.45	.899
2004–05	HK Riga 2000	Belarus Extraliga		29	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	2.04	—
2005–06	HK Rīga 2000	Belarus Extraliga		18	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	1.95	—
2005–06	EC Red Bull Salzburg	EBHL		17	9	6	1	1,012	35	—	0	2.08	.914
2006–07	SK Rīga 20	Latvia		4	0	4	0	240	21	—	0	5.25	—
2006–07	HK Ardo Nitra	Slovak Extraliga		6	1	2	3	249	22	—	0	5.31	.814
NHL totals				568	218	236	79	32,066	1,513	15,033	33	2.83	.899

Playoff Statistics

Season	Team	League		GP	W	L	MIN	GA	SO	GAA	SV%
1991–92	Kansas City Blades	IHL		15	12	3	914	44	0	2.89
1993–94	San Jose Sharks	NHL		14	7	7	806	50	0	3.72	.875
1994–95	San Jose Sharks	NHL		6	2	4	369	32	0	5.20	.848
1996–97	Dallas Stars	NHL		1	0	0	12	0	0	0.00	1.000
1998–99	Carolina Hurricanes	NHL		6	2	4	408	15	0	2.21	.917
2000–01	Carolina Hurricanes	NHL		6	2	4	360	20	0	3.34	.900
2001–02	Carolina Hurricanes	NHL		18	10	8	1,078	30	1	1.67	.938
2005–06	EC Red Bull Salzburg	EBHL		11	—	—	—	—	—	2.53	.897
NHL totals				51	23	27	2,981	142	1	2.86	.902

International Statistics

Year	Team	Event		GP	W	L	T	MIN	GA	SV	SO	GAA	SV%
1985	Soviet Union	EJC		5	—	—	—	300	5	—	—	1.00	—
1989	Soviet Union	WC		3	—	—	—	—	0	—	—	1.71	—
1990	Soviet Union	WC		6	4	0	1	315	5	—	—	0.95	.950
1996	Latvia	WC-B		4	3	0	1	240	7	—	0	1.75	—
1997	Latvia	WC		5	4	0	1	300	10	—	1	2.00	—
1998	Latvia	WC		6	3	2	1	358	17	—	1	2.85	—
1999	Latvia	WC		4	2	2	0	238	12	86	0	3.02	.860
2000	Latvia	WC		5	3	1	1	420	17	163	0	2.43	.907
2001	Latvia	WC		6	3	2	1	360	13	159	2	2.17	.924
2002	Latvia	Oly		1	0	1	0	60	4	29	0	4.00	.862
2003	Latvia	WC		3	2	1	0	180	9	82	0	3.00	.901
2004	Latvia	WC		5	2	1	2	300	9	111	0	1.80	.925
2005	Latvia	WC		6	2	3	1	124	7	117	2	1.48	.944
2006	Latvia	Oly		3	0	2	1	148	14	—	0	5.68	.833
Olympic totals				4	0	3	1	208	18	—	0	4.84	.848

Super Series Statistics

The Super Series were exhibition games between an NHL team and Soviet teams (usually a club from the Soviet Championship League). Arturs competed in two such series.

Year	Team	Event		GP	W	L	T	MIN	GA	SO	GAA
1988–89	Dynamo Riga	Super-S		7	2	4	1	425	23	0	3.25
1990	CSKA Moscow	Super-S		4	3	1	0	300	18	1	2.50
Super Series totals				11	5	5	1	725	41	1	2.88

Coaching Career

In 2008, Arturs signed a three year deal with Dinamo Riga and worked as the goaltending coach for the club.

In August of 2009, he cut ties with Riga and decided to go back to North America to be the goaltending coach of the NHL Washington Capitals after former goaltending coach Dave Prior stepped down due to family reasons.

Personal Life

Arturs is also a member of board of directors of the Kids First Fund, a non-profit organization based in the United States that raises money for projects assisting abused and abandoned children in Latvia.

At the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, he was Latvia's flag-bearer in the opening ceremonies.