Martin Gélinas
Martin Gélinas ( born June 5, 1970 in Shawinigan, Quebec ) is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey player who during his career in 1989-2009 for the Edmonton Oilers, Quebec Nordiques, Vancouver Canucks, Carolina Hurricanes, Calgary Flames, Florida Panthers and Nashville Predators the National Hockey League played. Since the summer of 2012, he is assistant coach of the Calgary Flames.
Career
During his youth, he played for the Hull Olympiques in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League with Jeremy Roenick and Stephane Matteau. After good performances the Los Angeles Kings took him NHL Entry Draft in 1988 in the first round as the total Seventh.
Shortly thereafter, he was part of the package that constricted the Kings to fetch Wayne Gretzky from Edmonton. With it switched Jimmy Carson and some draft rights to the Edmonton Oilers. This also gave him the same in the 1988/89 season in six games, the opportunity to prove his skills. With a goal and two assists, he started promisingly.
After an ordinary performance in the regular season, he played in the playoffs in 1989/90 with Adam Graves and Joe Murphy in a row. Even without Gretzky succeeded the Oilers, who were now led by Mark Messier, to win the Stanley Cup.
For the 1993/94 season he moved to the Quebec Nordiques, but in his home he could not meet, and so brought him the Vancouver Canucks during the season expectations. For the Canucks, he got along better and had already reached the finals in his first year. Here the Canucks to New York Rangers were subject to the strong Pavel Bure by Mark Messier. After two seasons with over 30 goals the Canucks gave him shortly after the beginning of the season 1997/98 with Kirk McLean to the Carolina Hurricanes for Sean Burke, Geoff Sanderson and Enrico Ciccone from. Even with the Hurricanes, he reached the finals for the Stanley Cup. With a goal in extra time of the semi-finals he played a big part in the final. However, in the 2001/ 02 season, they had no chance against the Detroit Red Wings.
After five years in Carolina, he joined the 2002/03 season to the Calgary Flames. In his second year with the Flames, where he played his 1000th NHL game, his team reached almost the playoffs. Both in the first as in the second round, he brought the Flames with a goal in overtime for the most recent game in the series to the next round. Even in the semi-finals, he scored the winning goal in the last game and was so for the fourth time in his career in the final. This earned him the nickname " The Eliminator ". Against the Tampa Bay Lightning were not enough his two goals to win his second title.
The ensuing season fell by a strike and he played in Switzerland for the Forward Morges HC and HC Lugano. When the NHL resumed play activities, he played for the Florida Panthers. After two years with the Panthers, he signed for the 2007 /08 season, a one-year contract with the Nashville Predators, where he was the oldest player in the squad. From November 2008, he played in the Swiss capital for the SC Bern. After the 2008/ 09 season the Canadians ended his active career. From 2009 to 2012, he was Director of Player Development in the franchise of the Nashville Predators. Since the summer of 2012, he is assistant coach of the Calgary Flames.