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Marty Turco
Born August 13, 1975 (1975-08-13) (age 48)
Sault Ste. Marie, ON, CAN
Height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight 184 lb (83 kg; 13 st 2 lb)
Position Goaltender
Catches Left
NHL team
Former teams
Boston Bruins
Dallas Stars
Chicago Blackhawks
EC Red Bull Salzburg
National team Flag of Canada Canada
NHL Draft 124th overall, 1994
Dallas Stars
Playing career 2001–present

Marty Vincent Turco (born August 13, 1975) is a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender, playing for the Boston Bruins. He has also played professionally with the Dallas Stars and Chicago Blackhawks. Because of his puckhandling prowess, Canadian hockey personality Don Cherry named Turco: "the smartest goalie in the NHL.".[1] Turco is also an in-studio analyst at NHL Network.

Playing career[]

Early career[]

Unlike most Canadians in the NHL, Turco did not play major junior hockey, instead playing for the University of Michigan, with whom he won two NCAA championships.

After playing minor hockey for the S.S. Marie Legion program in his hometown, Turco was undrafted by the Ontario Hockey League. He signed as a 17-year old with the Cambridge Winterhawks Jr.B. team in 1992 and played only one season with the OHA team before accepting an NCAA scholarship at U. Michigan (CCHA).

He was drafted in the fifth round of the 1994 NHL Entry Draft by the Dallas Stars, and went on to play for Michigan that fall. Turco earned many awards in his four years at Michigan, including Rookie of the Year in 1995, Tournament MVP in 1998, and nominations to the First All-Star team in 1997, the Second All-Star Team in 1998, and the All-Tournament Team in 1996 and 1998. After graduating, Turco went to play for Dallas's IHL affiliate, the Michigan K-Wings. In 1999, he was named IHL Rookie of the Year.

After two years playing for the K-Wings, Turco was given the opportunity to be a backup for Ed Belfour in Dallas. He spent the next two years in Dallas gaining experience as the backup. After the 2001–2002 season, Dallas decided to make Turco the starting goaltender, allowing Belfour to sign with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Dallas Stars[]

File:MartyTurco.jpg

Turco during his tenure with the Stars

In his first year as the starting goaltender, 2002–03, Turco's goals-against average of 1.72 set a modern NHL record. (Miikka Kiprusoff broke Turco's record the next season with a 1.69 goals against average.) Turco played in the NHL All-Star Game during the season and was named to the Second All-Star Team following the season, finishing second in Vezina Trophy voting as well (behind Martin Brodeur). His .932 save percentage was also best in the NHL that year. However, he was unable to lead the Stars past the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in the Western Conference semi-finals.

During the 2003–04 season, Turco continued to give the Stars quality goaltending, again playing (and starting) in the All-Star Game. However, when the Stars played the Colorado Avalanche in the first round of the playoffs, Turco struggled, receiving blame from some for the Stars' losing the series in five games.[citation needed]

In the 2005–06 season, Turco won a career-best 41 games, 8 of them in shootouts. Turco's experience in the 2006 playoffs was similar to the prior season, again losing in five games to the Avalanche.

On April 13, 2007, in the Stars first and only playoff series of the 2006–07 season, Turco recorded his first ever playoff shutout against the Vancouver Canucks to tie the series 1–1. After the game, he stated, "We know we can beat these guys here [Vancouver], or at home, or anywhere."[2]

Turco went on to lose against the Canucks at home in game three, dropping a 2–1 overtime victory, when Taylor Pyatt got a quick one-time shot off a feed from Bryan Smolinski. In game 4, once again the Stars could not put up a win, losing to the Canucks 2–1 off of goals from Mattias Ohlund, then the game winner from Trevor Linden. The Stars then went on to win game 5 in the series with 1–0 OT win. Brenden Morrow scored the game's only goal 6:22 into the first OT period, allowing Turco to get his second career playoff shutout. Turco followed this up with his third shutout of the series in a 2–0 win. The series ended on Monday, April 23, 2007 with a score of 4–1 in favor of Vancouver, with Trevor Linden again scoring the eventual game-winner in the 2nd period.

File:Marty Turco.jpg

Turco in 2009

The three shutouts posted by Turco in that series represent a record amount of shutouts in a single playoff series, a mark that has been tied by the New Jersey Devils' goalie Martin Brodeur, the Anaheim Mighty Ducks' goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere, and Philadelphia Flyers' goalie Michael Leighton.

Turco recorded 32 wins in the 2007–08 season, and helped the Stars to playoff wins over the defending Stanley Cup champions Anaheim Ducks and the San Jose Sharks, before losing in six games to the Detroit Red Wings in the Western Conference Finals.

On January 15, 2009, Turco recorded his 421st game for the Dallas Stars becoming the franchise's all-time leader in games played by a netminder, surpassing Cesare Maniago's near 33-year[3] old record of 420. He would also pass Maniago later that month in total minutes played, on January 29 while also winning his first regular-season game at Joe Louis Arena in 11 tries against the Detroit Red Wings. Again on February 9 he broke yet another of Maniago's records by starting in his 24th consecutive game in goal. Ultimately, the Stars failed to qualify for the postseason. On April 13, 2010, it was reported that Turco would not be resigned by Dallas, ending his nine years with the Stars.[4]

Chicago Blackhawks[]

On August 2, 2010, Turco signed a one-year contract as a free agent with the reigning Stanley Cup champions, the Chicago Blackhawks, replacing Antti Niemi as their starting goaltender. The Blackhawks had previously swept San Jose in the Western Conference Finals in the playoffs. His first win with Chicago came on October 15, a 5–2 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets. Later in the season, he was benched by the team, and was replaced by Corey Crawford as the starting goaltender. He ultimately saw action in 29 games, compiling an 11-11-3 record.

EC Red Bull Salzburg[]

In December 2011, Turco signed a deal with the EC Red Bull Salzburg of the Erste Bank Hockey League in Austria. It was only a short-term deal, however, and Turco was only expected to play December 16 and 18 in the European Trophy Finals/Red Bull Salute.[5] However, the following month, in January, he signed a deal with EC Salzburg through the end of the EBHL season, including an NHL-out clause that lasted until the NHL trade deadline, which occurred on February 27.[6]

Boston Bruins[]

On March 5, 2012 Turco was signed by the Boston Bruins. Turco cleared waivers on March 7 and joined the Bruins. He was signed after it was learned that Boston Bruins back-up goalie Tuukka Rask would be out 4-6 weeks with a lower abdominal strain. Since he was signed after the NHL trade deadline, he is not playoff eligible.

Television[]

Turco, before signing with EC Salzburg, worked as an analyst for the NHL Network, providing in-studio analysis during the show "On The Fly".[7] Turco joined NHL Network's team after the Blackhawks were eliminated by the Vancouver Canucks during the 2011 NHL playoffs.[8] Turco says a full-time job in television might be in his future, but he would like to play again and is not ready to retire.[9] Turco joined Team Canada for the 2011 Spengler Cup after not playing for nine months.[10]

Turco also appeared in two commercials for the National Hockey League. In a 2006 commercial for the NHL's "Game On!" promotion,[11] Turco can be seen in back of a family's car to remind the father that the NHL season is starting. Turco can also be seen in the NHL's "Road Trip" commercial, which was debuted during the 2007 NHL All-Star game in Dallas. Turco can be seen sleeping as fellow goaltenders Roberto Luongo and Ryan Miller set him to cover himself in shaving cream as a result of a prank.

Awards[]

NCAA[]

  • 1994-95, CCHA Rookie Of The Year, Michigan Wolverines
  • 1995-96, CCHA Championship, Michigan
  • 1995-96, NCAA National Championship, Michigan
  • 1996-97, CCHA Championship, Michigan

NHL[]

  • 2000-01, Roger Crozier Saving Grace Award, Dallas Stars
  • 2002-03, Roger Crozier Saving Grace Award, Dallas
  • 2002-03, NHL Second All-Star Team, Dallas
  • 2004-05, Silver Medal, IIHF World Championships, Team Canada
  • 2006-07, "First Star of the Week" (October 4–15), Dallas

Records[]

League records[]

Franchise records[]

Dallas Stars Template:Div col

  • most wins
  • most shutouts
  • most games played
  • most minutes played by a goaltender
  • most consecutive games played by a goaltender
  • most assists by a goalie

Template:Div col end

Personal life[]

Turco and his wife Kelly have two daughters, Hailey (born early 2002)[13] and Katelyn (born May 2004),[14] and one son, Finley (born August 2008)[15] with the family residing in Highland Park, Texas. He also owns a home in his home town of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, where he spends much of his summer.

Equipment[]

Turco is known for his use of Reebok's Revoke series, from which he has a glove, blocker, and leg pads. He uses bold colors from the team he was with, (Gold with Dallas, red with Chicago, and yellow with Boston).

Career statistics[]

Regular season[]

   
Season Team League GP W L T OTL MIN GA SO GAA SV%
1994–95 Michigan CCHA 37 27 7 1 2063 95 1 2.76
1995–96 Michigan CCHA 42 34 7 1 2335 84 5 2.16
1996–97 Michigan CCHA 41 33 4 4 2296 87 4 2.27 .893
1997–98 Michigan CCHA 45 33 10 1 2639 95 4 2.16 .887
1998–99 Michigan K-Wings IHL 54 24 17 10 3127 136 1 2.61 .899
1999–00 Michigan K-Wings IHL 60 23 27 7 3399 139 7 2.45 .901
2000–01 Dallas Stars NHL 26 13 6 1 1266 40 3 1.90 .925
2001–02 Dallas Stars NHL 31 15 6 2 1519 53 2 2.09 .921
2002–03 Dallas Stars NHL 55 31 10 10 3203 92 7 1.72 .932
2003–04 Dallas Stars NHL 73 37 21 13 4359 144 9 1.98 .913
2004–05 Djurgården SEL 6 356 12 1 2.02 .932
2005–06 Dallas Stars NHL 68 41 19 5 3910 166 3 2.55 .898
2006–07 Dallas Stars NHL 67 38 20 5 3763 140 6 2.23 .910
2007–08 Dallas Stars NHL 62 32 21 6 3628 140 3 2.31 .909
2008–09 Dallas Stars NHL 74 33 31 10 4327 203 3 2.81 .898
2009–10 Dallas Stars NHL 53 22 20 11 3088 140 4 2.72 .913
2010–11 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 29 11 11 3 1631 82 1 3.02 .897
2011–12 Red Bull Salzburg EBEL 10 6 2 0 2 250 12 0 2.88 .918
NHL totals 538 273 165 26 40 30,695 1200 41 2.35 .910
CCHA totals 165 127 28 17 9333 361 14 2.18
IHL totals 114 47 44 17 6526 275 8 2.53 .918

Playoffs[]

   
Season Team League GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV%
1998–99 Michigan K-Wings IHL 5 2 3 300 14 0 2.80
2002–03 Dallas Stars NHL 12 6 6 798 25 0 1.87 .919
2003–04 Dallas Stars NHL 5 1 4 325 18 0 3.32 .849
2005–06 Dallas Stars NHL 5 1 4 319 18 0 3.38 .868
2006–07 Dallas Stars NHL 7 3 4 509 11 3 1.30 .952
2007–08 Dallas Stars NHL 18 10 8 1152 40 1 2.08 .922
NHL totals 47 21 26 3103 112 4 2.17 .914
IHL totals 5 2 3 300 14 0 2.80

International play[]

References[]

  1. "Marty Turco is the smartest goalie in the NHL". CBC.ca. April 4, 2008. Archived from the original on April 27, 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080427230444/http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/hnic/coachscorner/2008/04/marty_turco_is_the_smartest_go.html. Retrieved April 4, 2008. 
  2. "Video Highlights, Interviews, Stories". sportsnet.ca. February 20, 2009. http://www2.sportsnet.ca/video/latest/20070413_Canucks_Stars_set_for_Game_2. Retrieved January 7, 2011. 
  3. "Marty Turco – Chicago Blackhawks". Yahoo! Sports. August 13, 1975. http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/players/1894/news;_ylt=Ap9YjHhWepcH8ifm19bXb0hivLYF. Retrieved January 7, 2011. 
  4. Gardner, Brad (April 13, 2010). "Stars Will (Officially) Not Re-Sign Marty Turco". Defending Big D. http://www.defendingbigd.com/2010/4/13/1419061/stars-will-officially-not-re-sign. Retrieved January 7, 2011. 
  5. "Report: Marty Turco signs short-term deal with EC Salzburg". sports.yahoo.com. December 11, 2011. http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy/post/Report-Marty-Turco-signs-short-term-deal-with-E?urn=nhl-wp19565. Retrieved February 9, 2012. 
  6. "Marty Turco signs with EC Salzburg; has NHL-out clause". sports.yahoo.com. January 17, 2012. http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/marty-turco-signs-ec-salzburg-nhl-clause-152507839.html. Retrieved February 9, 2012. 
  7. NHL Press Release (May 12, 2011). "Marty Turco to provide analysis on NHL Network during conference final". NHL.com. http://blackhawks.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=562646. Retrieved November 6, 2011. 
  8. Adam L. Jahns (August 3, 2011). "Marty Turco showing he can hack it on TV". Suntimes.com. http://www.suntimes.com/sports/hockey/5871674-419/turco-showing-he-can-hack-it-on-tv.html. Retrieved November 6, 2011. 
  9. Jesse Rogers (September 6, 2011). "Marty Turco still looking for a team". ESPNChicago.com. http://espn.go.com/chicago/nhl/story/_/id/6935890/ex-chicago-blackhawks-goalie-marty-turco-not-ready-retire. Retrieved November 6, 2011. 
  10. "Team Canada Roster". Spenglercup.ch. http://www.spenglercup.ch/spenglercup/en/team.html?83. Retrieved December 26, 2011. 
  11. "NHL Opens Season with Game On! Campaign.". AllBusiness.com. http://www.allbusiness.com/marketing-advertising/advertising/3928242-1.html. Retrieved November 6, 2011. 
  12. Brian Daccord (2008). Hockey Goaltending. Human Kinetics. ISBN 0-7360-7427-9. http://books.google.com/books?id=9wKR1B3iJDMC&pg=PA223&d=turco+shutouts+playoff+series&hl=en&ei=SKAmTdPbA4Gs8AaU-fDBAQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCUQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=turco%20shutouts%20playoff%20series&f=false. Retrieved January 7, 2011. 
  13. http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-1669896/Metroplex-Women-Find-Internet-Snacking.html
  14. http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=1790581
  15. "Dallas Stars Goaltender Marty Turco Welcomes a Son". people.com. August 27, 2008. http://celebritybabies.people.com/2008/08/27/marty-turco-wel/. Retrieved January 7, 2011. 

External links[]

Preceded by
Ed Belfour
Winner of the Crozier Award
2001
Succeeded by
José Théodore
Preceded by
José Théodore
Winner of the Crozier Award
2003
Succeeded by
Dwayne Roloson
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