Paul Cyr Explained

Position:Left wing
Shoots:Left
Height Ft:5
Height In:11
Weight Lb:185
Played For:Buffalo Sabres
New York Rangers
Hartford Whalers
Ntl Team:CAN
Birth Date:October 31, 1963
Birth Place:Port Alberni, British Columbia, Canada
Death Place:Nakusp, British Columbia, Canada
Draft:9th overall
Draft Year:1982
Draft Team:Buffalo Sabres
Career Start:1982
Career End:1993

Paul Andre Cyr (October 31, 1963 – May 12, 2012)[1] [2] was a Canadian professional ice hockey left wing who played for the Buffalo Sabres, New York Rangers and Hartford Whalers in the National Hockey League (NHL).

Career

Cyr began his career with the Nanaimo Clippers of the British Columbia Hockey League, for whom he played the 1979–80 season, and then the Victoria Cougars of the Western Hockey League from 1980 to 1982.[2] He was a member of the first Canadian team to win a gold medal at the World Junior Hockey Championship in 1982. Cyr only made the team after being recalled due to another player's injury.[3] He scored in the Boxing Day game versus the Soviet Union.[4] In the tournament, he scored a total of four goals and ten points in the ten games he played.[3]

The Buffalo Sabres drafted Cyr ninth overall in the 1982 NHL Entry Draft. He made his debut for the Sabres that year, and played the next six seasons for the team, before being traded midway through the 1987–88 season to the New York Rangers in exchange for Mike Donnelly and a fifth round draft pick. After two injury-plagued seasons with the Rangers, Cyr signed as a free agent with the Hartford Whalers before the 1990–91 season. He had one successful year with the Whalers, appearing in 70 games and scoring 25 points.[5] He was demoted to the Springfield Indians of the American Hockey League the subsequent year, where remained until his retirement in 1993.[2]

Cyr played in a total of 470 games in the NHL over nine seasons, scoring 101 goals and 140 assists.[5]

Personal life and death

In 1987, Cyr was shot in the stomach while vacationing in the Dominican Republic. He recovered. His house burned down during his retirement, which he rebuilt himself.[2] Cyr died of heart failure in May 2012.[6]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular seasonPlayoffs
SeasonTeamLeagueGPGAPtsPIMGPGAPtsPIM
1979–80Nanaimo ClippersBCHL60285280202
1979–80Victoria CougarsWHL70004
1980–81Victoria CougarsWHL643622588514651146
1981–82Victoria CougarsWHL585256108167432512
1982–83Victoria CougarsWHL2021224361
1982–83Buffalo SabresNHL3615122759101346
1983–84Buffalo SabresNHL711627435230110
1984–85Buffalo SabresNHL7122244663522415
1985–86Buffalo SabresNHL71203151120
1986–87Buffalo SabresNHL73111627122
1987–88Buffalo SabresNHL2011238
1987–88New York RangersNHL404131741
1988–89New York RangersNHL10002
1990–91Hartford WhalersNHL70121325107610110
1991–92Hartford WhalersNHL1703319
1991–92Springfield IndiansAHL43111829301103312
1992–93Springfield IndiansAHL4171421441532512
NHL totals 47010114024162324461031

International

YearTeamEventGPGAPtsPIM
1982CanadaWJC7461012
1983CanadaWJC713419
Junior totals 14591431

Awards

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Paul Cyr Stats . NHL.com . November 7, 2022.
  2. Web site: Former Alberni NHLer passes away . Alberni Valley News . May 23, 2012 . November 7, 2022.
  3. Web site: Alberni hockey player honoured for World Junior Hockey Championship appearance . Alberni Valley News . December 24, 2018 . November 7, 2022.
  4. Web site: Canada's golden anniversary . The Globe and Mail . Wharnsby . Tim . December 22, 2001 . November 7, 2022.
  5. Web site: Former Sabre Cyr Dead at 48 . Snow . Keith . NHL.com . November 7, 2022.
  6. Web site: Former NHLer Cyr dead at 48. Times Colonist. 19 May 2012. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20120523172212/http://www.timescolonist.com/sports/Former+NHLer+dead/6649793/story.html. 23 May 2012.