July 11 NHL History
1963: Defenseman Al MacInnis, a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, is born in Inverness, Nova Scotia. The Calgary Flames take MacInnis with the No. 15 pick in the 1981 NHL Draft and he makes his NHL debut as an 18-year-old by playing two games in the 1981-82 season. MacInnis becomes a regular two seasons later and quickly becomes known for his exceptional slap shot; he goes on to win the hardest shot competition during All-Star weekend seven times during his NHL career.
MacInnis finishes with 74 points (16 goals, 58 assists) in 1988-89, then wins the Conn Smythe Trophy as MVP of the Stanley Cup Playoffs following Calgary’s six-game victory against the Montreal Canadiens in the Final. Two seasons later, he finishes with 103 points, becoming the fourth defenseman in NHL history to break the 100-point mark. The Flames trade MacInnis to the St. Louis Blues in 1994 and he remains a Blue until he retires after playing three games in 2003-04. He’s inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2007.
2001: Jaromir Jagr, a five-time NHL scoring champion, is traded to the Washington Capitals by the Pittsburgh Penguins for three prospects.
Jagr goes to Washington with 1,079 points (439 goals, 640 assists) in 806 NHL games during his 11 seasons with the Penguins, and plays on Pittsburgh’s Stanley Cup-winning teams in 1991 and 1992. In what turns out to be his final season with the Penguins, he wins his fourth consecutive Art Ross Trophy with 121 points (52 goals, 69 assists).
Jagr’s offensive numbers plummet in his first season with the Capitals. He spends less than three seasons with Washington before being traded to the New York Rangers.
None of the three prospects received by the Penguins — Kris Beech, Michal Sivek and Ross Lupaschuk — make an impact in the NHL.
