Gary Suter

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Suter was born on June 24, 1964, in Madison, Wisconsin. He is the youngest of five children. He followed his three elder brothers, John, Bob and Steve into hockey, while his sister was a figure skater. Their father Marlow was a senior player in the 1950s, and helped found and coach the Madison Capitols minor hockey system. Gary idolized his brother Bob, who was a member of the American 'Miracle on Ice' team that won the gold medal at the 1980 Winter Olympics. After playing his junior and senior seasons of high school hockey with the Culver Military Academy, Suter joined the Dubuque Fighting Saints program in the USHL. He appeared in 18 games in 1981–82, scoring 3 goals and 7 points. He was eligible for the 1982 NHL entry draft, but listed at five feet, nine inches tall by the Central Scouting Bureau, was considered too small for the NHL and went undrafted. He improved to 39 points in 41 games in 1982–83 and led Dubuque to the Clark Cup championship. He was again passed over in the 1983 Draft, but accepted a full scholarship to the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He appeared in 34 games in 1983–84, scoring 22 points. Ian McKenzie, coordinator of scouting for the Calgary Flames, noticed Suter's play at Wisconsin and that he had added over two inches of height. The Flames picked Suter with their ninth round selection, 180th overall, in the 1984 Draft. Suter, who had been working in a beer factory, was initially disappointed. Following his sophomore season of 1984–85, in which he recorded 51 points in 39 games for Wisconsin, Suter left Wisconsin to turn professional.

In Their Own Story

The knee injury from the 1986 playoffs hampered Suter throughout much of the 1986–87 season; he attempted to play through it, but ultimately missed 12 games. Nonetheless, he still scored 49 points in 68 games played. Healthy for 1987–88, he tallied 70 assists and 91 points, the highest single-season totals he would record in his career. He played in his second All-Star Game, was named a second team All-Star and was a finalist for the James Norris Memorial Trophy as the NHL's top defenseman. Suter appeared in his third All-Star Game in 1988–89, but missed 16 games after undergoing an emergency appendectomy. He had 62 points in 63 games. As had happened in 1986, Suter was injured in the early stages of a deep post-season run by the Flames. He missed most of the 1989 Stanley Cup playoffs after suffering a broken jaw in Calgary's opening round series against the Vancouver Canucks. He watched as the team won the Stanley Cup in six games over Montreal. Suter reached the 70-point mark in the next two seasons, finishing with 76 in 1989–90 and 70 in 1990–91. His latter campaign earned him his fourth All-Star Game appearance. A knee injury caused Suter to miss ten games in 1991–92, but he scored his 100th career goal on February 25, 1992, against the Buffalo Sabres, and played in his 500th game on March 12 against the Philadelphia Flyers. A career-high 23 goals led Suter's 81-point campaign in 1992–93, but he again struggled with a pair of knee injuries that caused him to miss three months of the 1993–94 season and limited him to 25 games for the Flames. His tenure with Calgary ended on March 10, 1994, when the team included him in a six-player trade to the Hartford Whalers. The move surprised Suter: 'Calgary's meant a great deal to me. You always hear how trades are part of the game and that you don't have any control over them. When it happens, it's a shock. It just blows me away.'

Reader's Guide

Suter's tenure with Calgary ended on March 10, 1994, when the team included him in a six-player trade. The Flames sent Suter (along with Paul Ranheim and Ted Drury) to the Hartford Whalers in exchange for James Patrick, Zarley Zalapski and Michael Nylander. Suter's tenure with the Whalers lasted only one day, as Hartford immediately traded him to the Chicago Blackhawks (along with Randy Cunneyworth and a draft pick) in exchange for František Kučera and Jocelyn Lemieux. Suter appeared in 16 regular season games with the Blackhawks, finishing the season with 41 games played and 18 points combined between Calgary and Chicago. He quickly established a place alongside Chris Chelios as the team's top defensive pair. In his first full season in Chicago, Suter was looked upon to serve as a team leader and played a key role with the team's power play. He appeared in all 48 games of the lockout-shortened 1994–95 season, scoring 37 points, but missed several playoff games after suffering a broken hand against the Vancouver Canucks. With 67 points in 1995–96, Suter was named to an All-Star team for the fifth time, but a knee injury prevented him from participating. The 1996–97 season was one of frustration, as he finished with 28 points. In the final year of his contract with Chicago, Suter improved to 42 points in 1997–98. Prior to the Olympic break, Suter received a four-game suspension for cross-checking the Anaheim Mighty Ducks' Paul Kariya. Following Suter's return from suspension, NHL Senior Vice President Brian Burke was reported by Ducks head coach Pierre Pagé to have said he would have given Suter a longer ban if the extent of Kariya's injuries were immediately known.

Did You Know?

• Suter won the Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL's top rookie in 1986.
• He was a member of Calgary's Stanley Cup championship team in 1989.
• Suter represented the United States internationally, winning a silver medal at the 2002 Olympics.
• He is an honored member of the United States Hockey Hall of Fame, inducted in 2011.