Lyle Theodore Odelein (born July 21, 1968) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played for eight National Hockey League (NHL) teams in 16 seasons, and was the inaugural captain of the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Playing career
Odelein played junior hockey for the Moose Jaw Warriors before being drafted by the Montreal Canadiens in the seventh round (141st overall) in 1986.
His playing style adapted through his career; primarily used as a defensive defenceman early in his career (as well as an enforcer), but became more of a two-way threat when former Montreal Canadiens coach Jacques Demers used him on the power play.
His first NHL goal was a highlight-reel end-to-end rush against Chicago Blackhawks goalie Ed Belfour on December 19, 1991.
Odelein won the Stanley Cup with the Montreal Canadiens in 1993.
The 1993–94 NHL season marked Odelein's career highlight. He scored 11 goals, 29 assists and 40 points, all career highs, scoring 24 of those points in 26 games in February and March that season. For the first—and only—time in his career, Odelein stayed healthy for the full season and played in all 82 games for the Panthers. The Panthers' general manager Rick Dudley expressed interest in retaining Odelein on September 2, 2005. However, he managed just 27 games before injuring his knee, gaining just a single assist, and retired from professional hockey.
Odelein finished his NHL career with 184 fights and 2,316 career penalty minutes, placing him 30th all-time.
Personal
Odelein's brother Selmar lives in Saskatchewan also and played briefly for the Edmonton Oilers before playing for Team Canada and moving to Europe. Another brother, Lee, played professionally in Europe. After retirement, Odelein spent time on his family farm in Saskatchewan and also maintains a home in Pittsburgh. Odelein has three children, Paulyna, Dylan and Mackenzy, from a previous marriage, Andrea Scott. His ex wife, Andrea, is well known for her successful modeling and acting career in the 90s. Her top roles include Austin Powers and Baywatch.
In March 2018, Odelein was hospitalized and diagnosed with critical illness polyneuropathy, after falling into a coma and suffering paralysis. Odelein underwent a heart valve, liver, and kidney transplant at Allegheny General Hospital in Pennsylvania. He was released from a rehabilitation facility in July 2018 and was walking unaided by September 2018.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
{| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" style="text-align:center; width:60em"
|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! colspan="3" bgcolor="#ffffff" |
! rowspan="99" bgcolor="#ffffff" |
! colspan="5" | Regular season
! rowspan="99" bgcolor="#ffffff" |
! colspan="5" | Playoffs
|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! Season
! Team
! League
! GP
! G
! A
! Pts
! PIM
! GP
! G
! A
! Pts
! PIM
|- ALIGN="center"
| 1985–86
| Moose Jaw Warriors
| WHL
| 67
| 9
| 37
| 46
| 117
| 13
| 1
| 6
| 7
| 34
|- ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1986–87
| Moose Jaw Warriors
| WHL
| 59
| 9
| 50
| 59
| 70
| 9
| 2
| 5
| 7
| 26
|- ALIGN="center"
| 1987–88
| Moose Jaw Warriors
| WHL
| 63
| 15
| 43
| 58
| 166
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|- ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1988–89
| Peoria Rivermen
| IHL
| 36
| 2
| 8
| 10
| 116
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|- ALIGN="center"
| 1988–89
| Sherbrooke Canadiens
| AHL
| 33
| 3
| 4
| 7
| 120
| 3
| 0
| 2
| 2
| 5
|- ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1989–90
| Sherbrooke Canadiens
| AHL
| 68
| 7
| 24
| 31
| 265
| 12
| 6
| 5
| 11
| 79
|- ALIGN="center"
| 1989–90
| Montreal Canadiens
| NHL
| 8
| 0
| 2
| 2
| 33
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|- ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1990–91
| Montreal Canadiens
| NHL
| 52
| 0
| 2
| 2
| 259
| 12
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 54
|- ALIGN="center"
| 1991–92
| Montreal Canadiens
| NHL
| 71
| 1
| 7
| 8
| 212
| 7
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 11
|- ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1992–93
| Montreal Canadiens
| NHL
| 83
| 2
| 14
| 16
| 205
| 20
| 1
| 5
| 6
| 30
|- ALIGN="center"
| 1993–94
| Montreal Canadiens
| NHL
| 79
| 11
| 29
| 40
| 276
| 7
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 17
|- ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1994–95
| Montreal Canadiens
| NHL
| 48
| 3
| 7
| 10
| 152
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|- ALIGN="center"
| 1995–96
| Montreal Canadiens
| NHL
| 79
| 3
| 14
| 17
| 230
| 6
| 1
| 1
| 2
| 6
|- ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1996–97
| New Jersey Devils
| NHL
| 79
| 3
| 13
| 16
| 110
| 10
| 2
| 2
| 4
| 19
|- ALIGN="center"
| 1997–98
| New Jersey Devils
| NHL
| 79
| 4
| 19
| 23
| 171
| 6
| 1
| 1
| 2
| 21
|- ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1998–99
| New Jersey Devils
| NHL
| 70
| 5
| 26
| 31
| 114
| 7
| 0
| 3
| 3
| 10
|- ALIGN="center"
| 1999–00
| New Jersey Devils
| NHL
| 57
| 1
| 15
| 16
| 104
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|- ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1999–00
| Phoenix Coyotes
| NHL
| 16
| 1
| 7
| 8
| 19
| 5
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 16
|- ALIGN="center"
| 2000–01
| Columbus Blue Jackets
| NHL
| 81
| 3
| 14
| 17
| 118
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|- ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 2001–02
| Columbus Blue Jackets
| NHL
| 65
| 2
| 14
| 16
| 89
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|- ALIGN="center"
| 2001–02
| Chicago Blackhawks
| NHL
| 12
| 0
| 2
| 2
| 4
| 4
| 0
| 1
| 1
| 25
|- ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 2002–03
| Chicago Blackhawks
| NHL
| 65
| 7
| 4
| 11
| 76
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|- ALIGN="center"
| 2002–03
| Dallas Stars
| NHL
| 3
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 6
| 2
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 0
|- ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 2003–04
| Florida Panthers
| NHL
| 82
| 4
| 12
| 16
| 88
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|- ALIGN="center"
| 2005–06
| Pittsburgh Penguins
| NHL
| 27
| 0
| 1
| 1
| 50
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! colspan="3" | NHL totals
! 1,056
! 50
! 202
! 252
! 2,316
! 86
! 5
! 13
! 18
! 209
|}
International
{| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" ID="Table3" style="text-align:center; width:40em"
|- ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! Year
! Team
! Event
! Result
! rowspan="99" bgcolor="#ffffff" |
! GP
! G
! A
! Pts
! PIM
|-
| 1996
| Canada
| WCH
|
| 2
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 0
|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! colspan="4" | Senior totals
! 2
! 0
! 0
! 0
! 0
|}
Awards and honours
{| class="wikitable"
! Award
! Year
|- ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
| colspan="3" | NHL
|-
| Stanley Cup (Montreal Canadiens)
| 1992–93
|}
See also
- Fighting in ice hockey
- List of NHL players with 1,000 games played
- List of NHL players with 2,000 career penalty minutes