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Sam Lafferty

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Sam Lafferty
Lafferty with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2019
Born (1995-03-06) March 6, 1995 (age 29)
Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Height 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight 195 lb (88 kg; 13 st 13 lb)
Position Right wing
Shoots Right
NHL team
Former teams		 Buffalo Sabres
Pittsburgh Penguins
Chicago Blackhawks
Toronto Maple Leafs
Vancouver Canucks
National team  United States
NHL draft 113th overall, 2014
Pittsburgh Penguins
Playing career 2018–present

Sam Lafferty (born March 6, 1995) is an American professional ice hockey forward for the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League (NHL). He has previously played with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Chicago Blackhawks, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Vancouver Canucks.

Born and raised in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania, Lafferty attended Hollidaysburg Area High School before a spot opened at Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts. During his time at Deerfield, Lafferty tallied 38 goals and 57 assists for a total of 95 points in 74 games. Following his graduation in 2014, Lafferty was drafted by the Penguins in the 2014 NHL entry draft and began his collegiate hockey career with the Brown Bears men's ice hockey team. Throughout his four seasons at Brown, Lafferty was selected for the All-ECAC Third Team and named to the Second and Third Team All-Ivy League. Lafferty concluded his collegiate career on March 7, 2018, and joined the Penguins organization.

Early life

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Lafferty was born on March 6, 1995, in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania[1] to parents Jill and Andy. His parents later divorced and his mother re-married to Dave Weaver, who coached Lafferty growing up.[2] He was inspired to begin playing hockey following the 2000–01 NHL season where Mario Lemieux returned to the Pittsburgh Penguins.[3] After attending a skating clinic run by Dave, Lafferty and his younger brother Charlie played for the Mid-State Mustangs and the Altoona Trackers of the Pittsburgh Area Hockey League.[4]

Playing career

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Amateur

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Lafferty spent his freshman and most of his sophomore year at Hollidaysburg Area High School before applying to prep schools. He originally committed to attend Shady Side Academy before a spot opened at Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts.[4] During the 2013–14 season, Lafferty tallied a career-best 21 goals and 34 assists for 55 points in 25 games and was named to the 2014 Prep School All-New England team. Over his three seasons with the Deerfield Academy, Lafferty tallied 38 goals and 57 assists for a total of 95 points in 74 games.[5] Following his graduation in 2014, Lafferty was drafted by the Penguins in the 2014 NHL entry draft.[6]

Collegiate

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In spite of being drafted, Lafferty played four seasons of college hockey with the Brown Bears men's ice hockey team[7] from 2014 to 2018. During his freshman season, Lafferty played in all 31 games and finished fourth on the team with eight assists and fifth with four goals.[8] While playing hockey as a freshman, Lafferty also competed in Division I golf[9] and qualified for the 2015 Ivy League Men's Golf Championship.[10] The following year, Lafferty decreased offensively and finished the season with four goals and six assists for 10 points.[8]

Lafferty returned to the Brown Bears for his junior season and experienced a breakout year. By January 2017, his eight goals and 19 assists ranked fourth in ECAC in scoring and third in points per game.[11] He finished the season leading the Bears in scoring with 35 points in all 31 games played and ranked first on the team in assists.[8] Lafferty also posted nine multiple-point games which included two four-point performances. At the conclusion of the season, Lafferty was selected for the All-ECAC Third Team and named to the Third Team All-Ivy League.[12] He was also named Team MVP and selected as a semifinalist for the Walter Brown Award as the best American-born college hockey player in New England.[13]

Lafferty's scoring prowess continued through his senior season as he recorded eight goals and 14 assists for 22 points.[8] As a second-time assistant captain,[14] he began the season being named one of 20 candidates for the 2017–18 Senior CLASS Award.[15] Following this, Lafferty was named the ECAC Player of the Week in February after he recorded four points in two games to help Brown to sweep Harvard and Dartmouth.[16] In the same month, Lafferty also scored his first collegiate hat-trick on February 23, 2018, against Harvard.[17] He finished the 2017–18 season being selected for the Second Team All-Ivy[18] and ECAC All-Academic Team.[19]

Professional

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On March 7, 2018, Lafferty concluded his collegiate career by signing an amateur tryout agreement with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the American Hockey League (AHL) for the remainder of the 2017–18 season.[20] He also signed a two-year, entry-level contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League (NHL) that began in the 2018–19 season.[21] Upon joining Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Lafferty recorded his first professional goal on April 3, 2018, against the Hershey Bears.[22]

After attending Pittsburgh's 2018 training camp, he was re-assigned to their AHL affiliate in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.[23] In his first professional season, Lafferty scored 49 points in 70 games to become the teams' second-leading scorer.[4] Lafferty made his NHL debut on October 8, 2019, in Pittsburgh's game against the Winnipeg Jets.[3] Lafferty scored his first NHL goal and assist a few days later on October 12, 2019, in a 7–4 win over the Minnesota Wild.[24]

On January 5, 2022, Lafferty was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for Alexander Nylander.[25]

During the following 2022–23 NHL season, while in the midst of breakout season in establishing new offensive highs, Lafferty was traded by the rebuilding Blackhawks to the Toronto Maple Leafs, along with Jake McCabe, and two future draft selections in exchange for Toronto's 2025 first-round pick (conditional), Toronto's second-round pick in 2026, Joey Anderson and Pavel Gogolev on February 27, 2023.[26] He finished the season with 12 goals and 27 points in 70 games between the Blackhawks and the Maple Leafs. In the playoffs, Lafferty added a goal in nine games.[27]

At the end of the Maple Leafs 2023 training camp, Lafferty was traded to the Vancouver Canucks for a fifth-round selection in the 2024 NHL entry draft on October 8, 2023.[27][28]

On June 26, 2024, as a pending unrestricted free agent, the Canucks traded Lafferty back to the Blackhawks, alongside Ilya Mikheyev and a second-round pick in 2027, in exchange for a fourth-round pick in 2027.[29] Unable to agree to terms with the Blackhawks, on July 1, 2024, Lafferty signed as a free agent to a two-year, $4 million contract with the Buffalo Sabres.[30]

Career statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2009–10 Hollidaysburg Area High USHS 19 19 26 45 14 — — — — —
2010–11 Hollidaysburg Area High USHS 18 34 35 69 26 — — — — —
2011–12 Deerfield Academy USHS 25 8 8 16 4 — — — — —
2012–13 Deerfield Academy USHS 24 9 15 24 6 — — — — —
2013–14 Deerfield Academy USHS 25 21 34 55 14 — — — — —
2014–15 Brown University ECAC 31 4 8 12 16 — — — — —
2015–16 Brown University ECAC 31 4 6 10 4 — — — — —
2016–17 Brown University ECAC 31 13 22 35 32 — — — — —
2017–18 Brown University ECAC 31 8 14 22 34 — — — — —
2017–18 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins AHL 9 1 2 3 4 — — — — —
2018–19 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins AHL 70 13 36 49 94 — — — — —
2019–20 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins AHL 6 3 0 3 10 — — — — —
2019–20 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 50 6 7 13 23 1 0 0 0 0
2020–21 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 34 0 6 6 25 — — — — —
2021–22 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 10 0 2 2 12 — — — — —
2021–22 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 46 5 6 11 21 — — — — —
2022–23 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 51 10 11 21 28 — — — — —
2022–23 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 19 2 4 6 9 9 1 2 3 2
2023–24 Vancouver Canucks NHL 79 13 11 24 32 11 0 0 0 2
NHL totals 289 36 47 83 154 21 1 2 3 4

International

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Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2022 United States WC 4th 10 1 2 3 6
Senior totals 10 1 2 3 6

Awards and honors

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Award Year
College
ECAC Third Team 2017
All-Ivy League Third Team 2017
All-Ivy League Second Team 2018

References

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  1. ^ "Sam Lafferty". eliteprospects.com. Elite Prospects. Retrieved April 6, 2021.
  2. ^ "Lafferty's shining moment". Altoona Mirror. July 12, 2014. Retrieved July 3, 2024.
  3. ^ a b Crechiolo, Michelle (October 9, 2019). "Lafferty's childhood dream comes true". Pittsburgh Penguins. Retrieved November 11, 2021 – via NHL.com.
  4. ^ a b c Rorabaugh, Seth (October 19, 2019). "From Hollidaysburg to Pittsburgh, Penguins rookie Sam Lafferty writing 'awesome story'". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Retrieved November 11, 2021.
  5. ^ "Getting to Know: Sam Lafferty". National Hockey League. August 1, 2014. Retrieved November 11, 2021.[dead link‍]
  6. ^ Crechiolo, Michelle (June 28, 2014). "Meet Pittsburgh's 2014 NHL Draft Class". National Hockey League. Retrieved November 11, 2021.[dead link‍]
  7. ^ "Men's Hockey Adds Lafferty to Incoming Recruiting Class". Brown University. July 31, 2014. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
  8. ^ a b c d "Sam Lafferty". Brown University. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
  9. ^ Crechiolo, Michelle (August 16, 2021). "Two-Sport Athlete". Pittsburgh Penguins. Retrieved November 13, 2021 – via NHL.com.
  10. ^ "Men's Golf Seventh At Ivy Championship After Day One". Brown University. April 24, 2015. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
  11. ^ Seguin, Joshua (January 31, 2017). "Lafferty Emerges As Bright Spot for Brown". College Hockey News. Retrieved November 14, 2021.
  12. ^ "Men's Hockey's Lafferty Named Third Team All-ECAC". Brown University. March 17, 2017. Retrieved November 14, 2021.
  13. ^ "Men's Hockey Announces 2016-17 Team Awards, Lafferty Named MVP". Brown University. May 1, 2017. Retrieved November 14, 2021.
  14. ^ "McArdle Named Men's Hockey Captain for 2017-18". Brown University. April 6, 2017. Retrieved November 14, 2021.
  15. ^ "Lafferty Named Men's Hockey Candidate for Senior CLASS Award". Brown University. November 2, 2017. Retrieved November 14, 2021.
  16. ^ "Men's Hockey's Lafferty, Kania Collect ECAC Weekly Awards". Brown University. February 28, 2018. Retrieved November 14, 2021.
  17. ^ "Lafferty Nets Hat Trick, Men's Hockey Tops Harvard, 6-4". Brown University. February 23, 2018. Retrieved November 14, 2021.
  18. ^ "Men's Hockey's Gottlieb, Lafferty Earn All-Ivy Honors". Brown University. March 1, 2018. Retrieved November 14, 2021.
  19. ^ "Men's Hockey Places All 27 Student-Athletes on ECAC All-Academic Team". Brown University. July 10, 2018. Retrieved November 14, 2021.
  20. ^ Hart, Nick (March 7, 2018). "Penguins Sign Sam Lafferty to ATO". Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Retrieved November 11, 2021.
  21. ^ "Penguins Sign Forward Sam Lafferty to a Two-Year Entry-Level Contract". Pittsburgh Penguins. March 7, 2018. Retrieved November 11, 2021 – via NHL.com.
  22. ^ Hart, Nick (April 3, 2018). "Lafferty Nets First Pro Goal in Penguins' 5-3 Defeat of Bears". Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Retrieved November 11, 2021.
  23. ^ "Penguins Announce Roster Moves". Pittsburgh Penguins. September 23, 2018. Retrieved November 11, 2021 – via NHL.com.
  24. ^ Kasan, Sam (October 13, 2019). ""AHL guys" lead Pens to victory". Pittsburgh Penguins. Retrieved November 14, 2021 – via NHL.com.
  25. ^ "Release: Blackhawks Acquire Sam Lafferty from Penguins". Chicago Blackhawks. January 5, 2022. Retrieved January 5, 2022 – via NHL.com.
  26. ^ "Maple Leafs acquire McCabe, Lafferty from Blackhawks". TSN. February 27, 2023. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
  27. ^ a b "Maple Leafs trade Sam Lafferty to Canucks for 2024 fifth-round draft pick". Sportsnet. October 8, 2023. Retrieved October 8, 2023.
  28. ^ "Canucks Acquire Sam Lafferty from Toronto". Vancouver Canucks. October 8, 2023. Retrieved November 24, 2023 – via NHL.com.
  29. ^ "Mikheyev, Lafferty traded to Blackhawks by Canucks". National Hockey League. June 26, 2024. Retrieved July 3, 2024.
  30. ^ Lysowski, Lance (July 1, 2024). "Sabres sign forward Sam Lafferty to two-year contract worth $4 million". The Buffalo News. Retrieved July 3, 2024.
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