Jason Jaffray (born June 30, 1981) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Vancouver Canucks, Calgary Flames and the Winnipeg Jets before finishing his career with EHC München of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL).

Jason Jaffray
Born (1981-06-30) June 30, 1981 (age 43)
Rimbey, Alberta, Canada
Height 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight 209 lb (95 kg; 14 st 13 lb)
Position Left wing
Shot Left
Played for Vancouver Canucks
Calgary Flames
Winnipeg Jets
EHC München
NHL draft Undrafted
Playing career 2002–2020

Playing career

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Jaffray appeared in five seasons of major junior in the Western Hockey League. He played six games for the Edmonton Ice in 1997–98 before they relocated to Cranbrook, British Columbia the following season, becoming the Kootenay Ice. In 1999–2000, Jaffray appeared in the 2000 Memorial Cup as Kootenay won the WHL Championship. He recorded 19 points in 21 WHL playoff games before Kootenay was eliminated in the round-robin of the Memorial Cup tournament.

Midway through Jaffray's final WHL season, 2000–01, he was traded to the Swift Current Broncos and accumulated a junior career-high 83 points in 73 games.

Undrafted, Jaffray turned professional in the ECHL with the Roanoke Express. Named Rookie of the Month twice (November and December),[1] he tallied 85 points in 64 games and earned the 2003 CCM Tacks Rookie of the Year Award.[2] He was also named to the ECHL First All-Star Team and All-Rookie Team.[1]

The next season, Jaffray played for the Wheeling Nailers of the ECHL and was named to the Second All-Star Team after finishing third in goal-scoring with 37. In his first two seasons in the ECHL, he appeared in several American Hockey League games as well with the Norfolk Admirals and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Jaffray began in the ECHL for a third season in 2004–05 before signing a tryout contract with the Cleveland Barons on December 14, 2004. He played on a line with San Jose Sharks prospects Ryane Clowe and Marcel Goc,[3] posting 16 points in 30 games. His tenure with the club was cut short, however, as the Barons inadvertently forgot to renew his working visa, making him ineligible to play in the United States.[3] On his way back to his hometown of Olds, Alberta, Jaffray got a phone call from Manitoba Moose general manager Craig Heisinger. Two Moose players had come down with sickness and Hisinger asked Jaffray if he could play in Hamilton, Ontario, that night for a game against the Hamilton Bulldogs. Jaffray changed direction on the highway and made it to Hamilton in time to score the lone goal for Manitoba in a 3–1 loss.[3] He signed a tryout contract with the Moose on February 26, 2005.[1]

In 2006–07, Jaffray recorded an AHL career-high 81 points in 77 games, leading the Moose in team scoring. Early in the season, on October 24, 2006, Jaffray tied a Moose franchise record for most goals in one game with four against the Chicago Wolves.[4] He went on set further Moose records with all-time franchise highs of nine game-winning goals and 16 powerplay goals (tied with Lee Goren and Scott Thomas, 1998–99).[5] As Manitoba advanced the second round of the Calder Cup playoffs, he added a team-high 13 points in 13 games. Jaffray's successful year culminated in an AHL Second Team All-Star selection and his first NHL contract, signed with the Moose's NHL affiliate, the Vancouver Canucks.[6][7]

Jaffray was called up for his first NHL game on December 12, 2007, against the Anaheim Ducks, due to an injury to Brendan Morrison. Jaffray picked up his first NHL point on a 2-on-1 with Moose teammate Mason Raymond, who was also called up. Incidentally, the assist was on Raymond's first NHL goal. Later in the game, Jaffray scored his own first goal, the eventual game winner, against J. S. Giguere as the Canucks beat Anaheim 3–2.[8] Jaffray completed 2007–08 appearing in 19 games with the Canucks.

 
Jaffray with the Canucks in 2007

The following season, Jaffray appeared in 14 more games for the Canucks, while recording 49 points in 56 games for the Moose. He helped Manitoba to the AHL's top regular season record en route to a 2009 playoff run to the Calder Cup Finals against the Hershey Bears. Jaffray notched a hat trick in game two of the Finals, scoring all 3 goals for his club to defeat the Bears 3–1. He scored the game-winning goal to break the 1–1 tie in the final minute of regulation before adding an empty netter to secure the win.[9] The Moose, however, were defeated in six games.

In the off-season, Jaffray was signed by the Calgary Flames on July 7, 2009.[10] He switched AHL clubs to the Flames' Abbotsford Heat minor league affiliate, ending his tenure with the Moose as the club's franchise all-time leader in game-winning goals (19), power-play goals (39) and plus-minus.[3][5] In five seasons, he also finished second in goals (95), behind Jimmy Roy (102), and in assists (138) and points (233), behind Brett Hauer (193 and 251, respectively).[3][5]

At season's end, Jaffray was traded by the Flames to the Anaheim Ducks for Logan MacMillan on June 30, 2010.[11]

Jaffray signed with the Winnipeg Jets on July 18, 2011, returning him to the city where he had played most of his professional career. He started the 2011–12 season with the St. John's IceCaps, the Jets' AHL affiliate, and played 15 games before being called up on November 13. After playing 13 games with the Jets, he was returned to the IceCaps on December 19. In the off-season, Jaffray signed a one-year, AHL contract, with the IceCaps.[12] Jaffray is the all-time scoring leader for the Moose/IceCaps' franchise

After a 13-year professional career in North America, Jaffray signed his first European contract on June 21, 2015, signing a one-year deal with the German club, EHC München of the DEL.[13]

Jaffray played five seasons in Germany with EHC München, claiming three consecutive championships, before ending his 18-year professional career following the 2019–20 season on March 9, 2020.[14]

Personal

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Jaffray is married to Michelle, the daughter of his billet family with whom he lived while he played for the Kootenay Ice.[3][15] They have a daughter and a son.[3][16]

Career statistics

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    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1997–98 Edmonton Ice WHL 6 0 1 1 0
1998–99 Kootenay Ice WHL 57 14 12 26 50 7 1 2 3 6
1999–00 Kootenay Ice WHL 71 24 28 52 104 21 10 9 19 17
2000–01 Kootenay Ice WHL 70 31 42 73 108 11 5 7 12 10
2001–02 Kootenay Ice WHL 32 15 19 34 38
2001–02 Swift Current Broncos WHL 41 23 26 49 44 12 4 5 9 25
2002–03 Roanoke Express ECHL 64 34 51 85 89 4 0 3 3 4
2002–03 Norfolk Admirals AHL 2 0 0 0 0
2003–04 Wheeling Nailers ECHL 54 37 37 74 81 2 1 1 2 2
2003–04 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins AHL 5 0 1 1 0
2004–05 Wheeling Nailers ECHL 23 6 6 12 22
2004–05 Cleveland Barons AHL 30 10 6 16 23
2004–05 Manitoba Moose AHL 14 4 4 8 6 1 0 0 0 0
2005–06 Manitoba Moose AHL 73 12 35 47 58 13 6 1 7 11
2006–07 Manitoba Moose AHL 77 35 46 81 75 13 6 7 13 6
2007–08 Manitoba Moose AHL 43 21 27 48 51 3 1 4 5 0
2007–08 Vancouver Canucks NHL 19 2 4 6 19
2008–09 Manitoba Moose AHL 56 23 26 49 52 22 9 10 19 12
2008–09 Vancouver Canucks NHL 14 2 2 4 14
2009–10 Abbotsford Heat AHL 72 25 29 54 70 9 2 1 3 8
2009–10 Calgary Flames NHL 3 0 0 0 0
2010–11 Manitoba Moose AHL 6 1 1 2 2 14 3 6 9 6
2011–12 St. John's IceCaps AHL 47 17 21 38 30
2011–12 Winnipeg Jets NHL 13 0 1 1 7
2012–13 St. John's IceCaps AHL 65 15 33 48 55
2013–14 St. John's IceCaps AHL 76 18 41 59 48 20 4 8 12 32
2014–15 St. John's IceCaps AHL 36 12 10 22 20
2015–16 EHC München DEL 52 21 18 39 66 14 2 8 10 10
2016–17 EHC München DEL 45 19 20 39 56 7 1 1 2 2
2017–18 EHC München DEL 51 13 16 29 40 17 3 9 12 14
2018–19 EHC München DEL 17 2 2 4 16
2019–20 EHC München DEL 31 9 10 19 12
AHL totals 602 193 280 473 490 82 25 36 61 64
NHL totals 49 4 7 11 40

Awards

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ECHL

  • Rookie of the Month - November and December 2002
  • CCM Tacks Rookie of the Year - 2003
  • First All-Star Team - 2003
  • All-Rookie Team - 2003
  • Player of the Week - December 29 – January 4 (2003–04)[1]
  • Second All-Star Team - 2004

AHL

  • CCM Vector Player of the Week - October 30, 2006[4]
  • All-Star Classic - 2007[17]
  • Second All-Star Team - 2007

Records

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Jason Jaffray - AHL Profile". Manitoba Moose. Archived from the original on 2007-06-21. Retrieved 2007-07-18.
  2. ^ "CCM Tacks Rookie of the Year". East Coast Hockey League. Archived from the original on October 29, 2006. Retrieved 2008-07-18.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "Jaffray takes the road less travelled". BC Local News. Archived from the original on November 5, 2009. Retrieved 2009-10-31.
  4. ^ a b c "Jaffray named CCM/Vectory Player of the Week". American Hockey League. 2006-10-30. Archived from the original on 2007-07-01. Retrieved 2008-10-11.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h "All-Time Leaders - Manitoba Moose". Manitoba Moose. Archived from the original on 2009-10-22. Retrieved 2009-11-22.
  6. ^ "Jaffray deserves a two-way deal". CANOE. 2007-04-08. Archived from the original on July 24, 2012. Retrieved 2008-07-18.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  7. ^ "Tuesday's sports transactions". USA Today. 2007-07-04. Retrieved 2008-07-18.
  8. ^ "Raymond and Jaffray score 1st NHL goals". International Herald Tribune. 2007-12-13. Retrieved 2008-07-18.
  9. ^ "Manitoba Moose get much-needed win in AHL final". CBC. 2009-06-02. Retrieved 2009-06-03.
  10. ^ "Flames ink forwards Lundmark and Jaffray". TSN. 2009-07-07. Retrieved 2009-07-07.
  11. ^ "Flames acquire MacMillan from Ducks for Jaffray". TSN. 2010-06-30. Archived from the original on 2010-07-04. Retrieved 2010-06-30.
  12. ^ "Jaffray back with IceCaps". Winnipeg Free Press. 2012-08-22. Retrieved 2010-09-01.
  13. ^ "EHC Munchen sign Jason Jaffray" (in German). EHC München. 2015-06-21. Retrieved 2015-06-21.
  14. ^ "Jason Jaffray ends his career after the season" (in German). EHC München. March 9, 2020. Retrieved March 9, 2020.
  15. ^ "In Praise of Billets". HockeyAdventure.com. 2008-08-28. Retrieved 2009-01-26.
  16. ^ "Flames send Jason Jaffray to Anaheim". Abbotsford Times. July 6, 2010. Archived from the original on September 21, 2010. Retrieved December 29, 2011.
  17. ^ "Moose emerging in Western Conference". American Hockey League. Archived from the original on 2007-07-01. Retrieved 2008-10-11.
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