Brendan Morrison

Brendan Morrison (born August 15, 1975) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre.

He has played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the New Jersey Devils, Vancouver Canucks, Anaheim Ducks, Dallas Stars, Washington Capitals, Calgary Flames and Chicago Blackhawks.

Morrison played one season with the Penticton Panthers of the British Columbia Junior Hockey League (BCJHL) in 1992–93, recording 94 points (35 goals and 59 assists) over 56 games.

He ranked second in team scoring, behind Marcel Sakáč, and was awarded the Bruce Allison Memorial Trophy as the Interior Conference's rookie of the year.

Morrison was selected 39th overall in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft by the Devils after a season in the British Columbia Junior Hockey League (BCJHL); he had won rookie of the year honours for the Interior Conference as a member of the Penticton Panthers.

Following his draft, he joined the college ice hockey ranks with the Michigan Wolverines of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA).

In the off-season, Morrison was selected by the New Jersey Devils 39th overall in the second round of the 1993 NHL Entry Draft.

Upon being drafted, he joined the Michigan Wolverines of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA).

He had also been approached by the Denver Pioneers and the Maine Black Bears to join their school teams, but ultimately chose Michigan.

Registering 48 points (20 goals and 28 assists) over 38 games as a freshman, Morrison was named the CCHA Rookie of the Year for the 1993–94 season.

He played on a line with fellow freshman Jason Botterill; the two played together throughout their college career.

In the 1994 playoffs, he helped the Wolverines to a CCHA championship.

Playing in his sophomore year (1994–95), Morrison improved to 76 points (23 goals and 43 assists) over 39 games and received his first of three consecutive CCHA First Team All-Star selections.

With 72 points over 45 games in 1995–96, Morrison received his first of back-to-back CCHA Player of the Year awards.

He added 15 points in seven postseason games to capture his second CCHA championship with the Wolverines.

During his four-year collegiate career, he was named the NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player while leading the Wolverines to a national championship in 1996 and won the Hobey Baker Award as the NCAA's player of the year in 1997.

Advancing to the 1996 NCAA Tournament, Michigan advanced to the final against the Colorado College Tigers.

Morrison scored the championship-winning goal 3:35 into overtime to win the game 3–2.

It was the Wolverines' first national title in 32 years.

Michigan's championship-winning team that year included five future NHL players—Morrison, Botterill, Blake Sloan, John Madden, Marty Turco and Bill Muckalt.

In addition to receiving NCAA Tournament MVP honours, Morrison was named to the NCAA West Regional and NCAA All-Tournament Teams.

Morrison was named team captain in his senior year.

He totalled college personal bests that season of 31 goals, 57 assists and 88 points over 43 games, culminating in a Hobey Baker Award as the NCAA's most outstanding player; Morrison had been a finalist for the award the previous two years.

The Wolverines repeated as CCHA champions, but lost to the Boston University Terriers in the NCAA semifinal.

Morrison completed his four-year college career as the Wolverines' all-time points leader with 284, surpassing Denny Felsner.

His points total also ranked seventh all-time among NCAA players.

Turning professional in 1997–98, Morrison was named to the American Hockey League (AHL) All-Rookie Team as a member of the Albany River Rats.

Prior to the Devils' training camp, Morrison was signed by the team to a multi-year contract on September 9, 1997.

He was seen as an unlikely candidate to secure a roster spot with the Devils; ahead of Morrison on the depth chart were numerous centres, including Doug Gilmour, Bobby Holík and Petr Sýkora.

As such, he played the majority of the 1997–98 season in the American Hockey League (AHL) with the Devils' minor league affiliate, the Albany River Rats.

He scored 35 goals and 84 points over 72 games in the AHL, ranking first in team scoring and eighth in the League overall.

He finished second among League rookies in scoring, eight points behind Daniel Brière of the Springfield Falcons, and was named to the AHL All-Rookie Team.

His AHL season included a five-goal game against the Hartford Wolfpack on April 1, 1998; two of his goals came short handed into an empty net, as part of a 5–2 Albany win.

The feat was one goal shy of the AHL's single-game record.

He played his rookie season in the NHL the following season with the New Jersey Devils before being traded to the Vancouver Canucks in March 2000.

He played seven full seasons with the Canucks, which included a club-record 534 consecutive regular season games played.

As a member of the team's "West Coast Express" line (alongside Markus Näslund and Todd Bertuzzi), Morrison enjoyed the most successful years of his career, posting three consecutive 60-point seasons.

During the 2004–05 NHL lockout, he played one season with Linköpings HC of the Swedish Elite League.

Internationally, Morrison has competed for Canada in three World Championships, winning gold in 2004 and silver in 2005.

Beginning in 2008, he played stints with the Anaheim Ducks, Dallas Stars and Washington Capitals before joining the Calgary Flames in 2010.