Joe Cirella

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Joe Cirella
Born (1963-05-09) May 9, 1963 (age 60)
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada[1]
Height 6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Weight 210 lb (95 kg; 15 st 0 lb)
Position Defence
Shot Right
Played for Colorado Rockies
New Jersey Devils
Quebec Nordiques
New York Rangers
Florida Panthers
Ottawa Senators
Kölner Haie
NHL Draft 5th overall, 1981
Colorado Rockies
Playing career 1981–1997

Joseph Cirella (born May 9, 1963) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played in 828 games in the National Hockey League (NHL). He has additionally served as assistant coach and assistant general manager of the Oshawa Generals of the Ontario Hockey League.[2] Cirella was born in Hamilton, Ontario, but grew up in Stoney Creek, Ontario.

Playing career[edit]

Cirella joined the Oshawa Generals of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) at the age of 17[3] and served as team captain as the Generals won the J. Ross Robertson Cup as OHL champions in 1983.[4] He was selected fifth overall in the 1981 NHL Entry Draft by the Colorado Rockies.

He was traded along with Claude Loiselle from the New Jersey Devils to the Quebec Nordiques for Walt Poddubny on June 17, 1989.[5]

Cirella played for the Rockies, Devils, Nordiques, New York Rangers, Florida Panthers and Ottawa Senators during an NHL career that lasted 14 seasons. He scored the first goal, and also registered an assist on the game-winning goal in the 36th National Hockey League All-Star Game, played in his home arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey, in 1984. He was the last former Colorado Rockies player in the NHL at the time of his final game. He retired in 1997 after playing one year in Germany with the Kölner Haie of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga.

Career statistics[edit]

Regular season and playoffs[edit]

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1979–80 Hamilton Tiger Cubs Midget 21 5 26 31
1980–81 Oshawa Generals OHL 56 5 31 36 220
1981–82 Colorado Rockies NHL 65 7 12 19 52
1981–82 Oshawa Generals OHL 3 0 1 1 10 11 7 10 17 32
1982–83 New Jersey Devils NHL 2 0 1 1 4
1982–83 Oshawa Generals OHL 56 13 55 68 110 17 4 16 20 37
1982–83 Oshawa Generals MC 5 3 8 11 10
1983–84 New Jersey Devils NHL 79 11 33 44 137
1984–85 New Jersey Devils NHL 66 6 18 24 143
1985–86 New Jersey Devils NHL 66 6 23 29 147
1986–87 New Jersey Devils NHL 65 9 22 31 111
1987–88 New Jersey Devils NHL 80 8 31 39 191 19 0 7 7 49
1988–89 New Jersey Devils NHL 80 3 19 22 155
1989–90 Quebec Nordiques NHL 56 4 14 18 67
1990–91 Quebec Nordiques NHL 39 2 10 12 59
1990–91 New York Rangers NHL 19 1 0 1 52 6 0 2 2 26
1991–92 New York Rangers NHL 67 3 12 15 121 13 0 4 4 23
1992–93 New York Rangers NHL 55 3 6 9 85
1993–94 Florida Panthers NHL 63 1 9 10 99
1994–95 Florida Panthers NHL 20 0 1 1 21
1995–96 Ottawa Senators NHL 6 0 0 0 4
1995–96 Milwaukee Admirals IHL 40 1 8 9 65 5 0 1 1 20
1996–97 Kölner Haie DEL 49 2 7 9 164 4 0 0 0 8
NHL totals 828 64 211 275 1448 38 0 13 13 98

International[edit]

Year Team Event   GP G A Pts PIM
1983 Canada WJC 7 0 0 0 6

Coaching[edit]

After retiring as a player, Cirella served as an assistant coach with the NHL's Florida Panthers during the 1997-98 season before returning to the Ontario Hockey League where he served in the same capacity with the Oshawa Generals for five seasons.[6][4] After spending the 2009–10 season in the Peterborough Petes' front office, he returned to the Generals as assistant general manager and assistant coach.

Season Team League Type
1997-98 Florida Panthers NHL Assistant Coach
1998-99 Oshawa Generals OHL Assistant Coach
1999-00 Oshawa Generals OHL Assistant Coach
2000-01 Oshawa Generals OHL Assistant Coach
2002-03 Oshawa Generals OHL Assistant Coach
2003-04 Oshawa Generals OHL Assistant Coach
2009-10 Peterborough Petes OHL Defensive Consultant
2010-11 Oshawa Generals OHL Assistant Coach/Assistant GM
2012–Present Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds OHL Assistant Coach

References[edit]

  1. ^ Cole, Stephen (2006). The Canadian Hockey Atlas. Doubleday Canada. ISBN 978-0-385-66093-8.
  2. ^ "Oshawa Generals Hockey Club - Joe Cirella". Archived from the original on 2011-07-15. Retrieved 2010-12-16.
  3. ^ "Legends of Hockey -- NHL Player Search -- Player -- Joe Cirella". www.legendsofhockey.net. Archived from the original on 2011-12-03.
  4. ^ a b "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-08-14. Retrieved 2010-07-05.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. ^ "Devils Add Poddubny in One of 3 Trades," The Associated Press (AP), Sunday, June 18, 1989. Retrieved August 7, 2023.
  6. ^ "PANTHERS HIRE EX-DEFENSEMAN". Sun Sentinel. July 30, 1997. Retrieved August 9, 2023.

External links[edit]

Preceded by Colorado Rockies first round draft pick
1980
Succeeded by