| Birth date | July 25, 1989 (age 37) |
|---|---|
| Birth place | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Height | 6 ft |
| Height in | 4 |
| Weight lb | 225 |
| Position | Left wing |
| Shoots | Left |
| Played for | Edmonton Oilers New Jersey Devils |
| Draft (2007) | 172nd overall |
| Draft team | Dallas Stars |
| Career start | 2009 |
| Career end | 2020 |
Luke Gazdic (born July 25, 1989) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey winger. Gazdic was selected 172nd overall in the 2007 NHL entry draft by the Dallas Stars. He played for the Edmonton Oilers and New Jersey Devils during his National Hockey League (NHL) career. Gazdic mainly played as an enforcer.[1] Since 2023, he has served as an analyst for NHL on Sportsnet.[2][3]
Playing career
After being drafted by Dallas and completing his OHL career, Gadzic mostly played for Dallas' affiliate AHL team, the Texas Stars, through 2012-13.
On September 29, 2013, Gazdic was claimed on waivers by the Edmonton Oilers from the Dallas Stars.[4]
Gazdic made his NHL debut on opening night of the 2013–14 NHL season,[5] October 1, 2013, and scored his first NHL goal at 2:21 of the first period past Winnipeg Jets goalie Ondrej Pavelec. In the process he recorded the first goal of the Oilers' season.[6] Over parts of three seasons as an enforcer with the Oilers, he scored five goals and eight points in 136 games.[1]
On July 5, 2016, having left the Oilers as a free agent, Gazdic agreed to a one-year, two-way deal with the New Jersey Devils.[7] He appeared in 11 games throughout the 2016–17 season with the Devils.
On July 2, 2017, Gazdic returned to Canada as a free agent in signing a one-year, two-way deal with the Calgary Flames.[8] Gazdic was reassigned to their AHL affiliate the Stockton Heat for the duration of the 2017–18 season. In 61 regular season games, he contributed 1 goal and 2 points while posting 59 penalty minutes.
As a free agent from the Flames, and with no NHL contract over the summer, Gazdic joined the San Diego Gulls training camp on a tryout and later made the AHL opening night roster for the 2018–19 season.[9] He made 20 appearances with the Gulls posting 3 goals and 7 points. In the following off-season, Gazdic opted to continue his tenure with the Gulls, agreeing to a one-year contract on August 14, 2019.[10] In June 2021, Gazdic announced his retirement.[11][12]
Personal life
His brothers Benjamin and Mark are also ice hockey players. His father, Mike Gazdic, was drafted in the 1978 NHL Amateur Draft by the Buffalo Sabres.
Gazdic set up his former Oilers teammate Connor McDavid on a blind date with his then-girlfriend's cousin, Lauren Kyle.[13]
Career statistics
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2004–05 | North York Rangers U16 AAA | GTHL | 38 | 13 | 16 | 29 | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2004–05 | North York Rangers | OPJHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2005–06 | Wexford Raiders | OPJHL | 47 | 17 | 16 | 33 | 105 | 10 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 14 | ||
| 2006–07 | Erie Otters | OHL | 58 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 136 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | Erie Otters | OHL | 67 | 17 | 12 | 29 | 144 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 | Erie Otters | OHL | 63 | 20 | 10 | 30 | 127 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | ||
| 2008–09 | Idaho Steelheads | ECHL | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2009–10 | Texas Stars | AHL | 49 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 155 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | Idaho Steelheads | ECHL | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 | Texas Stars | AHL | 72 | 9 | 8 | 17 | 110 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2011–12 | Texas Stars | AHL | 76 | 11 | 12 | 23 | 102 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | Texas Stars | AHL | 59 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 80 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | ||
| 2013–14 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 67 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 127 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 40 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 43 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | Oklahoma City Barons | AHL | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 7 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2015–16 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 29 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2015–16 | Bakersfield Condors | AHL | 11 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2016–17 | Albany Devils | AHL | 37 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 63 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2016–17 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2017–18 | Stockton Heat | AHL | 61 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 59 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2018–19 | San Diego Gulls | AHL | 20 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 39 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2019–20 | San Diego Gulls | AHL | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| AHL totals | 397 | 35 | 41 | 76 | 623 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | ||||
| NHL totals | 147 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 206 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
References
- ^ Staples, David (2015-03-16). "Luke Gazdic playing best hockey of his career, but is it enough for him to stick?". Edmonton Journal. Retrieved 2024-05-30.
- ^ Augurusa, Felicia (2024-04-19). "Sportsnet Announces 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs First Round Coverage Details, Beginning April 20". Rogers Sports & Media. Retrieved 2024-06-01.
- ^ "What it was like living with a rookie Connor McDavid". Daily Faceoff. Retrieved 2024-06-01.
- ^ "Oilers claim Gazdic". Edmonton Oilers. 2013-09-29. Retrieved 2013-09-29.
- ^ Edmonton Oilers Hockey Club. "Schedule". NHL. Retrieved 30 September 2013.
- ^ "Jets spoil Eakins' debut with win over Oilers". National Hockey League. 2013-10-02. Archived from the original on October 4, 2013. Retrieved 2013-10-02.
- ^ "Gazdic inks one-year contract with Devils". NHL. 2016-07-05. Retrieved 2016-07-05.
- ^ "Flames sign forward Luke Gazdic to one-year deal". Sportsnet.ca. 2017-07-02. Retrieved 2017-07-02.
- ^ "Gulls announces training camp roster". San Diego Gulls. 2018-10-02. Retrieved 2018-10-02.
- ^ "Gulls sign six players to one-year contracts". San Diego Gulls. August 14, 2019. Retrieved August 14, 2019.
- ^ "Luke Gazdic: Hangs up skates". CBSSports.com. June 4, 2021. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
- ^ "Luke Gazdic looks back fondly on days with Edmonton Oilers". theworldnews.net. June 4, 2021. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
- ^ "Edmonton Oilers Captain's Wife Lauren Kyle McDavid Is All Business". Forbes. Retrieved June 25, 2025.