Kirk Muller

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Position	Left Wing
Shot	Left
Height Weight	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 205 lb (93 kg)
Pro Clubs	New Jersey Devils Montreal Canadiens New York Islanders Toronto Maple Leafs Florida Panthers Dallas Stars
Nationality	Canada
Born	Feb 8, 1966, Kingston, ON, CAN
NHL Draft	2nd overall, 1984 New Jersey Devils
Pro Career	1984 – 2003

Kirk Christopher Muller (born Feb 8, 1966 in Kingston, ON, Canada) is a retired professional ice hockey centre who played in the National Hockey League for 19 seasons from 1984-85 until 2002-03. Muller is currently an assistant coach for the Montreal Canadiens.

Contents 1 Playing career 2 Coaching career 3 Records 4 Career statistics 5 International play 6 See also 7 References

[edit] Playing career

Muller started his junior career with the Kingston Canadians of the Ontario Hockey League, but his most successful junior seasons were with the Guelph Platers. There was a dispute in 1984 between the Platers and the Canadian Olympic Team, who wanted Muller to play with them at the 1984 Winter Olympics. The Platers owner was upset over losing Muller for so much time, but eventually they came to an agreement and Muller played in the Olympics. He was drafted second overall by the New Jersey Devils in the 1984 NHL Entry Draft behind Mario Lemieux. He became the heart and soul of the Devil's franchise, with his intensity and two-way play. However, New Jersey never became a strong Stanley Cup contender while Muller was with them, and he was traded to the Montreal Canadiens on September 20, 1991.

"Captain Kirk" quickly became a fan favourite in Montreal, and he helped them win the Stanley Cup in 1993. However his time with the Canadiens was shorter than he would have liked, as he was shocked when he was traded to the New York Islanders during the 1994-95 NHL season. Initially, he was reluctant to report to the Islanders, then played a handful of games in a disinterested manner before team management decided that his poor attitude outweighed his potential contributions on the ice and barred him from the team. Eventually, they recalled him, but Muller refused to report, freeing the Islanders from their contractual obligations to pay him. Ultimately, Muller was traded at a discount to the Toronto Maple Leafs. Muller had his last 20 goal season with the Leafs the next season, but was traded to the Florida Panthers as the Leafs fell out of the playoff picture.

Muller struggled in Florida, scoring just four goals in the whole 1998-99 NHL season. His last break came when he signed with the Dallas Stars in the middle of the 1999-2000 season. Even though his scoring touch of old almost completely evaporated, he still managed to be a strong role player with the Stars for four seasons before retiring at the end of the 2002-03 season.

[edit] Coaching career

Kirk Muller began his coaching career with the Queen's University Golden Gaels of the OUA in their 2005/06 season. On June 20, 2006, after one season as the head coach of the Gaels, Muller resigned ([1]) to become the new assistant coach for the Montreal Canadiens under newly appointed head coach Guy Carbonneau.

He is currently the Montreal Canadiens assistant coach for the 2006-2007 season. ([2])

[edit] Records

• New Jersey Devils franchise record for points in a single game (6 on Nov. 29, 1986)
• New Jersey Devils franchise record for assists in a single game (5 on Mar. 25, 1987)
• New Jersey Devils franchise record for points by a centre in a single season (94, 1987-88)

[edit] Career statistics

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1980-81	Kingston Canadians	OHL		2	0	0	0	0		-	-	-	-	-
1981-82	Kingston Canadians	OHL		67	12	39	51	27		4	5	1	6	4
1982-83	Guelph Platers	OHL		66	52	60	112	41		-	-	-	-	-
1983-84	Guelph Platers	OHL		49	31	63	94	27		-	-	-	-	-
1984-85	New Jersey Devils	NHL		80	17	37	54	69		-	-	-	-	-
1985-86	New Jersey Devils	NHL		77	25	41	66	45		-	-	-	-	-
1986-87	New Jersey Devils	NHL		79	26	50	76	75		-	-	-	-	-
1987-88	New Jersey Devils	NHL		80	37	57	94	114		20	4	8	12	37
1988-89	New Jersey Devils	NHL		80	31	43	74	119		-	-	-	-	-
1989-90	New Jersey Devils	NHL		80	30	56	86	74		6	1	3	4	11
1990-91	New Jersey Devils	NHL		80	19	51	70	76		7	0	2	2	10
1991-92	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		78	36	41	77	86		11	4	3	7	31
1992-93	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		80	37	57	94	77		20	10	7	17	18
1993-94	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		76	23	34	57	96		7	6	2	8	4
1994-95	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		33	8	11	19	33		-	-	-	-	-
1994-95	New York Islanders	NHL		12	3	5	8	14		-	-	-	-	-
1995-96	New York Islanders	NHL		15	4	3	7	15		-	-	-	-	-
1995-96	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL		36	9	16	25	42		6	3	2	5	0
1996-97	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL		66	20	17	37	85		-	-	-	-	-
1996-97	Florida Panthers	NHL		10	1	2	3	4		5	1	2	3	4
1997-98	Florida Panthers	NHL		70	8	21	29	54		-	-	-	-	-
1998-99	Florida Panthers	NHL		82	4	11	15	49		-	-	-	-	-
1999-00	Dallas Stars	NHL		47	7	15	22	24		23	2	3	5	18
2000-01	Dallas Stars	NHL		55	1	9	10	26		10	1	3	4	12
2001-02	Dallas Stars	NHL		78	10	20	30	28		-	-	-	-	-
2002-03	Dallas Stars	NHL		55	1	5	6	18		12	1	1	2	8
19 seasons	NHL career			1349	357	602	959	1223		110	23	43	66	77

[edit] International play

• Played for Team Canada in the 1984 World Junior Championships.
• Played for Team Canada in the 1984 Olympics
• Played for Team Canada in the World Championships (1985, 1986, 1987, 1989)
• Played for the NHL All-Stars in Rendez-Vous '87

International Statistics

Year	Team	Event	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1984	Canada	WJC	7	2	1	3	16
1984	Canada	Oly	6	2	1	3	0
1985	Canada	WC	10	2	2	4	12
1986	Canada	WC	9	4	3	7	12
1987	NHL All-Stars	RV	2	0	0	0	0
1987	Canada	WC	10	2	0	2	8
1989	Canada	WC	9	6	4	10	6

[edit] See also

• List of NHL players
• List of NHL seasons
• List of NHL players with 1000 games played

[edit] References

• HockeyDB
• Total Hockey (Second Edition), Editor - Dan Diamond, ISBN 1-892129-85-X
• Hockey Draft Central

Preceded by Mel Bridgman	New Jersey Devils captains 1987-91	Succeeded by Bruce Driver
Preceded by Guy Carbonneau Chris Chelios	Montreal Canadiens captains 1994-95	Succeeded by Mike Keane