Brett Connolly, born on May 2, 1992, is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player whose career has been marked by both high expectations and notable achievements. Connolly was highly ranked for the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.
Brett Connolly with the Washington Capitals
Early Career and WHL Dominance
During his major junior career with the Prince George Cougars, he was named Western Hockey League (WHL) and Canadian Hockey League (CHL) Rookie of the Year for the 2008-09 season.
Connolly's second full WHL season was marred with hip problems. There was a time -- before his hip injury at the 2009 Ivan Hlinka Memorial tourney -- that Connolly was seen as the best player in the 2010 draft class. He slipped to sixth based on injury fears and it looks like the Bolts struck gold.
Connolly is an elite talent who can take over games with his speed, smarts and skill. His hockey IQ is better than most guys already in the NHL. And his sniping is phenomenal (he scored 46 goals in just 57 junior games last season).
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Connolly wears an elite tool belt. He’s one of the best pure goal scorers in the draft and he’s an absolutely effortless skater. But serious hip flexor injuries at such a young age do concern us, just the same way they’ve concerned a lot of scouts. He needs to put some muscle on his 6-foot-2, 180-pound frame to withstand the pounding he’ll take along the walls in the NHL. And he's already taken the advice of his new general manager Steve Yzerman and worked on his core strength and speed.
Tampa Bay Lightning
Selected sixth overall by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, he joined the team in 2011-12. Attending his first NHL training camp in September 2010, Connolly was returned to the Cougars to continue developing at the major junior level for the 2010-11 season. Connolly made the Lightning's NHL roster in October 2011 out of training camp.
2011-12: Played in 68 games for Tampa Bay (NHL), tallying four goals and 11 assists for 15 points...recorded 1st career pro/NHL goal on Nov. 1, 2011 against Carolina...First career pro/NHL point with assist in third game on Oct. 11, 2011 vs. Washington... Pro/NHL debut on Oct. 7, 2011 vs. Carolina.
On September 14, 2012, the Tampa Bay Lightning assigned Connolly, as well as 17 others, to the American Hockey League (AHL)'s Syracuse Crunch during the 2012-13 NHL lockout. On April 4, 2013, Tampa recalled Connolly from the Crunch. In the AHL, he appeared in 67 games, registering 27 goals and 57 points to go along with a +15 plus-minus rating and 51 penalty minutes.
2012-13: Finished regular season second in team points, 63 (ninth in AHL), and goals, 31 (tied for third in AHL); third in assists, 32, and power-play points, 21 (9g, 13a)... Tied for league lead with eight game-winning goals... Six points (4g, 2a) in three games, Apr. 13-20... Multi-point game (15) Apr. 20 vs. WOR (1g, 1a)... First career hat trick (team’s fifth) w/ game-winning goal (8) Apr. 13 vs. RCH in return to AHL... Reassigned to Syracuse Apr. 12 after five games with Tampa Bay, recording one goal Apr. 11 vs. PIT... Recalled by Lightning Apr. 3... First four-point game (team’s third) w/ 2g, 2a Mar. 16 vs. ALB; 13th multi-point game... Seventh game-winning goal Mar. 9 at STJ... Shootout game-winning goal (1) Mar. 8 at STJ... CCM/AHL Player of the Month for Feb. w/ 15 points and plus-6... Nine-game scoring streak (7g, 4a) Feb. 1-18 w/ three multi-point efforts: 12th (1g, 1a) Feb. 18 at ALB, 11th (1g, 1a) Feb. 15 at BNG, 10th (2g) Feb. 8 vs. ADK... Eighth and ninth multi-point games (1g, 1a each) Jan. 5 at NOR and Jan. 9 at RCH... One assist in each of four games (Dec. 26-31)... Ten points (4g, 6a) in seven games, Nov. 16-Nov. 30...
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In preparation for the upcoming 2013-14 season, Connolly had a strong training camp with the Lightning, scoring four goals during the pre-season. However, on September 29, Tampa Bay assigned Connolly to Syracuse as the team finalized its NHL roster. Connolly's demotion was in large part due to the impressive play of rookies Tyler Johnson, Ondřej Palát and Richard Pánik, who as a line had posted five goals and ten points in four pre-season games; the line was expected to serve as Tampa's third line, thereby relegating Connolly to limited fourth line minutes.
Explaining the demotion, Lightning General Manager Steve Yzerman stated, "I don't want Brett playing on the fourth line. I want him playing a lot of minutes, he's got to go [to Syracuse] and be our top guy, be a leader and carry the team, if need be. That's another step for him.
On October 17, however, the Lightning recalled Connolly from Syracuse, appearing in one game with the team before again being reassigned on October 20. On October 31, the Tampa recalled Connolly, where he played in six games, scoring game-winning goal against the St.
Boston Bruins
On March 2, 2015, at the NHL trade deadline, Connolly was traded to the Boston Bruins in exchange for two second-round draft picks in 2015 and 2016. On March 4, he fractured his hand in his second skate with the Bruins.
With the B’s having parted ways with forwards Carl Soderberg, Milan Lucic, and Reilly Smith this offseason, Connolly -- in his first full campaign with the B’s -- will be relied upon along with newcomers Matt Beleskey and Jimmy Hayes to fill spots on the team’s top three lines. While it's too early to get a great read on how the B's trios might shake out, Connolly has a solid shot to land a top-six role, and in such a scenario, he could quickly emerge on the fantasy radar.
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The 6-foot-2, 181-pounder is coming off a 2014-15 campaign in which he recorded a modest total of 12 goals and 17 points in 55 NHL games, including five in a Boston uniform following his trade from Tampa Bay.
Unable to live up to his draft expectations with the Lightning and the Bruins, Connolly, a restricted free agent, was not tendered a contract by Boston.
Washington Capitals
On July 1, 2016, Connolly signed with the Washington Capitals. In his first season with Washington, Connolly recorded a career-high 15 goals while appearing in 68 games. The following season, in 2017-18, he equaled that career best in goals while also recording a career-high 27 points.
Connolly was one of the more effective players for the Capitals during the 2018-19 season. Despite a third-line role and logging just 13:20 of average ice time, the sixth overall pick from the 2010 draft managed a career high of 22 goals and 46 points in 81 games.
The sixth overall pick from the 2010 NHL Entry Draft continues to revive his career in the nation's capital. Connolly posted his second consecutive 15-goal campaign with the Caps and posted a career-high 27 points in 70 games while showing great chemistry with Lars Eller on the third line. The talented winger is blocked by the likes of TJ Oshie and Tom Wilson on the depth chart, but has a home in the bottom six and should enjoy another 20-30 point season if he can stay healthy - with room to grow if he can claw his way onto one of the top scoring lines.
A perennial disappointment since being taken sixth overall by the Lightning in 2010, Connolly fit in pretty well as a bottom-six role player for the Capitals last season, notching career highs in goals (15) and rating (plus-20). Unfortunately, he also recorded only eight assists and saw extremely limited ice time -- just 10:41 per game.
However, the 25-year-old has room for growth in 2017-18, as the Caps will presumably give him a chance to win and hold a second-line slot on the wing alongside Evgeny Kuznetsov. he'll have to beat out a few other players, including the high-upside Jakub Vrana, but there’s a clear path to solid playing time for Connolly if he performs.
Washington Capitals | Road to the Stanley Cup 2018
Florida Panthers
On July 1, 2019, having left the Capitals as a free agent after three seasons, Connolly signed a four-year, $14 million contract with the Florida Panthers. In his first year with the Panthers in the 2019-20 season, Connolly contributed with 19 goals and 33 points through 69 regular season games.
Connolly recorded 19 goals and 33 points in 69 contests for the Panthers in 2019-20, his first year with the team. While he couldn't match the 46-point effort he had in 2018-19, it was an expected decline in production. The 28-year-old remains one of the league's better bottom-six scorers -- he's had at least 23 points in each of the last five seasons, and he hasn't shot lower than 9.5 percent over that span.
Connolly will compete with Vinnie Hinostroza for third-line minutes in 2020-21, but Connolly's the better of the two players.
Later Career
In the following 2021-22 season, after attending training camp, Connolly was placed on waivers and re-assigned to begin the year with AHL affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs. Connolly made just 9 appearances throughout the season with the Blackhawks, unable to register a goal.
International Play
Connolly made his international debut with Hockey Canada, representing Team Pacific at the 2009 World U-17 Hockey Challenge. He helped the team to the gold medal game, where they lost 5-1 to Team Ontario. Connolly recorded eight points (three goals and five assists) over six games.
Several months later, he joined Team Canada for the 2009 IIHF World U18 Championships. He scored six points in six games as Canada placed fourth. Connolly remained with the national under-18 team for the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament in August 2009.
Connolly returned to the under-18 team the following year for the 2010 IIHF World U18 Championships in Minsk and Bobruisk, Belarus. Moving on to the under-20 level, Connolly joined Canada's junior team for the 2011 World Junior Championships in Buffalo, New York. He recorded three assists over seven games, as Canada won silver. They lost in the gold medal game to Russia.
In 2022, Connolly represented Team Canada for the first time at the senior level at the 2022 Spengler Cup.
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011-12 | Tampa Bay Lightning | NHL | 68 | 4 | 11 | 15 |
| 2012-13 | Syracuse Crunch | AHL | 67 | 27 | 32 | 59 |
| 2016-17 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 68 | 15 | 8 | 23 |
| 2017-18 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 70 | 15 | 12 | 27 |
| 2018-19 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 81 | 22 | 24 | 46 |
| 2019-20 | Florida Panthers | NHL | 69 | 19 | 14 | 33 |