| Keith Primeau | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | November 24, 1971 Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Height | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) |
| Weight | 220 lb (100 kg; 15 st 10 lb) |
| Position | Centre |
| Shoots | Left |
| Played for | Detroit Red Wings Hartford Whalers Carolina Hurricanes Philadelphia Flyers |
| National team |  Canada
|
| NHL Draft | 3rd overall, 1990 Detroit Red Wings |
| Playing career | 1990–2006 |
Keith Primeau (born Keith David Primeau on November 24, 1971) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre who played for 15 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL).
He has played for the Detroit Red Wings (whom he was drafted 3rd overall in the 1990 NHL Entry Draft) Hartford Whalers, Carolina Hurricanes and the Philadelphia Flyers.
Playing Career[]
Keith was drafted third overall in the 1990 NHL Entry Draft by the Detroit Red Wings after playing two years with the Niagara Falls Thunder of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL).
He split his first two professional seasons with Detroit and their then-American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Adirondack Red Wings. He set career highs in assists (42), points (73) and plus/minus (+34) in 1993–94.
Keith made his only Stanley Cup Finals appearance while with the Red Wings in 1995, losing in a sweep to the New Jersey Devils. He held out after the club signed Igor Larionov.
After playing for Canada in the 1996 World Cup of Hockey, Detroit traded him (along with Paul Coffey and a 1997 first-round draft pick, ultimately used to select Nikos Tselios) to the Hartford Whalers in exchange for Brendan Shanahan and Brian Glynn a few days following the start of the 1996–97 season.
Keith became a leader with his new team when the franchise moved to North Carolina and became the Carolina Hurricanes, being named the team captain in the 1998–99 season. However, he missed the majority of the 1999–2000 NHL season after holding out.
On January 23, 2000, he was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers (along with a 2000 fifth-round draft pick, ultimately used to select Kristofer Ottosson) in exchange for Rod Brind'Amour, Jean-Marc Pelletier and a 2000 second-round draft pick (Agris Saviels) on January 23, 2000.
On May 5, 2000, Keith scored the game-winning goal in the longest game in modern NHL playoff history (five overtime periods for a total of 152 minutes and one second) against Ron Tugnutt of the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Only two games, in 1933 and 1936, were longer.
In his first full season with the Flyers, Keith led the team in goals (34) and tied his career-high in points (73). Early in the following season, he was named team captain after defenceman Eric Desjardins resigned from the position.
After posting nearly identical seasons statistically in the 2001–02 and 2002–03 seasons, he was given the task of centering a more defense-oriented line in 2003–04.
Keith did well enough to earn a place in the 2004 NHL All-Star Game, the second of his career. In the 2004 Stanley Cup playoffs, Primeau recorded nine goals and seven assists for a total of 16 points; it was the best playoff year of his career and his play carried the team to within a game of the Stanley Cup finals.
In Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals, against the Tampa Bay Lightning, he scored the game-tying goal with 1:49 left in regulation. The Flyers won the game, 5–4 in overtime, sending the series back to Tampa for Game 7.
The Flyers went on to lose that game by a score of 2–1. Hockey legend Phil Esposito later told Primeau that, "During the '04 playoffs, when you and the Flyers took the Lightning to seven games, you were the most dominating player I ever saw. More than Orr, Howe, Gretzky, or anyone."
Nine games into the 2005–06 season, Keith suffered a concussion which ended his season. As a result of ongoing post-concussion syndrome, he officially announced his retirement on September 14, 2006.
On February 12, 2007, the Flyers honoured him before a game against the Detroit Red Wings, the team which originally drafted him. An emotional Keith thanked the fans for welcoming him back.
Post-Playing Career[]
Keith was recently the special assistant to the general manager and director of player development of the Las Vegas Wranglers of the ECHL.
He is currently an assistant hockey coach at Bishop Eustace Preparatory School, the coach of Revolution in the Revolution Ice gardens, and the owner of a franchise of Bain's Deli in Philadelphia.
Career Statistics[]
Regular season and playoffs[]
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1987–88 | Hamilton Steelhawks | OHL | 47 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 69 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 1988–89 | Niagara Falls Thunder | OHL | 48 | 20 | 35 | 55 | 56 | 17 | 9 | 6 | 15 | 12 | ||
| 1989–90 | Niagara Falls Thunder | OHL | 65 | 57 | 70 | 127 | 97 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 33 | 49 | ||
| 1990–91 | Adirondack Red Wings | AHL | 6 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1990–91 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 58 | 3 | 12 | 15 | 106 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 25 | ||
| 1991–92 | Adirondack Red Wings | AHL | 42 | 21 | 24 | 45 | 89 | 9 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 27 | ||
| 1991–92 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 35 | 6 | 10 | 16 | 83 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | ||
| 1992–93 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 73 | 15 | 17 | 32 | 152 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 26 | ||
| 1993–94 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 78 | 31 | 42 | 73 | 173 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 1994–95 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 45 | 15 | 27 | 42 | 99 | 17 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 45 | ||
| 1995–96 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 74 | 27 | 25 | 52 | 168 | 17 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 28 | ||
| 1996–97 | Hartford Whalers | NHL | 75 | 26 | 25 | 51 | 161 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1997–98 | Carolina Hurricanes | NHL | 81 | 26 | 37 | 63 | 110 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1998–99 | Carolina Hurricanes | NHL | 78 | 30 | 32 | 62 | 75 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 6 | ||
| 1999–00 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 23 | 7 | 10 | 17 | 31 | 18 | 2 | 11 | 13 | 13 | ||
| 2000–01 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 71 | 34 | 39 | 73 | 76 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 6 | ||
| 2001–02 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 75 | 19 | 29 | 48 | 128 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 2002–03 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 80 | 19 | 27 | 46 | 93 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 14 | ||
| 2003–04 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 54 | 7 | 15 | 22 | 80 | 18 | 9 | 7 | 16 | 22 | ||
| 2005–06 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 9 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 909 | 266 | 353 | 619 | 1541 | 128 | 18 | 39 | 57 | 213 | ||||
International[]
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Canada | WCH | 2nd | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | |
| 1997 | Canada | WC | Template:Goca | 11 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 14 | |
| 1998 | Canada | OG | 4th | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | |
| 1998 | Canada | WC | 6th | 6 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 4 | |
| Senior int'l totals | 28 | 8 | 5 | 13 | 43 | ||||
All-Star Games[]
| Year | Location | G | A | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Tampa Bay | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2004 | Minnesota | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| All-Star totals | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
Accolades[]
- 1989–90: Second All-Star Team OHL
- 1989–90: OHL Most Goals (57)
- 1989–90: Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy Leading Scorer OHL
- 1998–99: Played in All-Star Game NHL
- 2000–01: Yanick Dupre Memorial (Philadelphia Flyers)
- 2002–03: Toyota Cup (Philadelphia Flyers)
- 2003–04: Played in the 2004 NHL All-Star Game
Records
- May 5, 2000: Ended the longest game in modern NHL playoff history with his goal at 92:01 of overtime.
Personal Life[]
Keith's son, Cayden was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens in the 7th round of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft. He plays hockey for Northeastern University.
Keith (along with his brother, Wayne and Las Vegas Wranglers general manager, Ryan Mougenel) own and operate the Toronto-based Durham Hockey Institute.
The three of them are also part-owners of the Whitby Fury, a team in the Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL).