Dan Cloutier

Daniel Cloutier (born April 22, 1976) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender.

In his 10-year National Hockey League (NHL) career, Cloutier played with the New York Rangers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Vancouver Canucks and Los Angeles Kings, spending the majority of his career in Vancouver.

He employed a combination of both butterfly and stand-up goaltending and was known for wearing the uncommon birdcage style helmet.

He recorded a 5.83 goals against average (GAA) over 14 games in his lone season with the team in 1991–92.

The following season, Cloutier began a four-year career in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), debuting with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds.

He played in 12 games (4–6–0) with the Greyounds, recording a 4.62 GAA in the regular season.

Cloutier played junior hockey in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) for four seasons with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds and Guelph Storm, making two Memorial Cup appearances in 1993 and 1996.

In the 1993 OHL playoffs, Cloutier appeared in an additional four games, winning one and losing two, as part of the Greyhounds' run to the J. Ross Robertson Cup Finals.

Although they lost the league championship to the Peterborough Petes four-games-to-one, the Greyhounds still qualified for the 1993 Memorial Cup as the tournament's host team.

The Greyhounds met the Petes again in the Memorial Cup final, defeating them by a 4–2 score.

Cloutier did not appear in any Memorial Cup games, in lieu of starter Kevin Hodson.

During his rookie season in the OHL, he also played in five games at the Junior A level with the Timmins Golden Bears of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey Association.

Cloutier assumed the starting position with the Greyhounds in 1993–94, posting 28 wins, 14 losses and 6 ties, along with a 3.56 GAA and .890 save percentage.

Appearing in an additional 14 playoff games, he led the Greyhounds to the OHL semifinals, where they were defeated by the Detroit Jr. Red Wings.

Following his second OHL season, he was selected 26th overall by the Rangers in the 1994 NHL Entry Draft.

In the off-season, Cloutier was selected by the New York Rangers 26th overall in the 1994 NHL Entry Draft.

He was the third-ranked goaltender playing in North America by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau and the fourth goaltender taken in the draft.

Appearing in his first NHL training camp in September 1994, he was returned to the OHL by the middle of the month.

During his third junior season in 1994–95, Cloutier recorded a 4.41 GAA in 45 games (15–26–2).

As a team, the Greyhounds struggled and finished out of the playoffs.

He won a gold medal at the 1995 World Junior Championship and was a fourth-string goaltender at the 2001 IIHF World Championship.

After his time with the Kings, Cloutier served as an assistant coach to his older brother, Sylvain, with the Corpus Christi IceRays of the Central Hockey League for one season.

Following his retirement, he became a goaltending coach for the Barrie Colts of the OHL.

As a 15-year-old, Cloutier played Junior B with the St. Thomas Stars of the Western Ontario Hockey League (WOHL).

In the off-season, Cloutier was signed by the Rangers to an NHL contract on July 7, 1995.

Despite his NHL contract, Cloutier remained in the OHL for the 1995–96 season.

During his return to the lineup in a game against the Windsor Spitfires on January 2, 1996, he reaggravated the injury.

While continuing to recover, he was dealt to the Guelph Storm at the trade deadline on January 10 in exchange for goaltender Andy Adams and two draft picks.

Splitting the campaign between the Greyhounds and Storm, he recorded a 2.85 GAA in 30 games.

As the Storm finished the season with lowest GAA in the league, Cloutier and backup Brett Thompson were jointly awarded the Dave Pinkney Trophy.

He began his professional career spending time in the minor leagues with the Rangers' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliates, before joining the NHL team full-time in 1998–99.

After three seasons playing within the Rangers organization, he was traded to the Lightning, where he spent one-and-a-half years.

In February 2001, he was acquired by the Canucks.

Cloutier enjoyed his most successful years as an NHL goaltender with Vancouver, recording three consecutive 30-win seasons between 2001–02 and 2003–04.

In the 2006 off-season, he was dealt to Los Angeles, where he struggled with injuries and a decline in play.

His contract was bought out by the team following the 2007–08 season.

As part of an attempted comeback in 2009, he first signed a deal to try out with the Detroit Red Wings at the team's training camp, then played briefly with the AHL's Rockford IceHogs, before retiring due to chronic injury problems.

Internationally, Cloutier was part of two Canadian teams.

In his 12th game of the season with Sault Ste.

Marie, he suffered a shoulder injury that sidelined him for two months.