Tom Lysiak

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Tom Lysiak (l.) celebrates with Atlanta Flames teammates in 1978
Tom Lysiak (l.) celebrates with Atlanta Flames teammates in 1978

Thomas James Lysiak (born April 22, 1953 in High Prairie, Alberta) is a former professional ice hockey player. He was selected as the second overall pick in Round 1 of the 1973 NHL Amateur Draft by the Atlanta Flames, and was selected by the Houston Aeros in Round 2 of the WHA Amateur Draft (23rd overall).

In each of his last two seasons at Medicine Hat, Lysiak was awarded the Bob Clarke Trophy as the Western Canada Hockey League's leading scorer (with a total of 297 points in 135 games).

Lysiak joined the Flames for the 1973–74 NHL season, just the second year for the franchise, and scored a team-high 64 points. He helped the team to its first playoff berth and finished second in the voting for the Calder Memorial Trophy (top rookie).

Lysiak led the Flames in scoring in each of his five full seasons with the team and represented the Flames in three consecutive NHL All-Star Games (1975, 1976, 1977). He served as the Flames' team captain during the 1977–78 and 1978–79 seasons, but was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks in an unpopular multiplayer deal (eight players were involved, the largest number in NHL history at the time) midway through the 1978–79 season. He is the Atlanta Flames' all-time leader for assists with 276 and points with 431 and ranks second in goals with 155. He had 21 two-goal games with Flames and one Hat-trick.

Lysiak played seven full seasons for Chicago and in 1980–81 led the team in scoring with 76 points, including a career-high 55 assists. The next season, 1981–82, he matched his top point-scoring season in Atlanta with 82 points and scored a career-high 32 goals.

On October 30, 1983, while a member of the Blackhawks, Lysiak tripped linesman Ron Foyt during a game against the Hartford Whalers. For the incident, the NHL imposed a 20-game suspenion, one of the longest in league history.

Since his retirement, Lysiak has worked in the landscaping, real estate and construction industries in the Atlanta area.

[edit] Career statistics

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM +/- GP G A Pts PIM
1970–71 Medicine Hat Tigers WCJHL 60 14 16 30 112 -- -- -- -- -- --
1971–72 Medicine Hat Tigers WCJHL 68 46 97 143 96 -- 7 7 5 12 18
1972–73 Medicine Hat Tigers WCJHL 67 58 96 154 104 -- 17 12 27 39 48
1973–74 Atlanta Flames NHL 77 19 45 64 54 -15 4 0 2 2 0
1974–75 Atlanta Flames NHL 77 25 52 77 73 23 -- -- -- -- --
1975–76 Atlanta Flames NHL 80 31 51 82 60 2 2 0 0 0 2
1976–77 Atlanta Flames NHL 79 30 51 81 52 3 3 1 3 4 8
1977–78 Atlanta Flames NHL 80 27 42 69 54 -3 2 1 0 1 2
1978–79 Atlanta Flames NHL 52 23 35 58 36 16 -- -- -- -- --
1978–79 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 14 0 10 10 14 3 4 0 0 0 2
1979–80 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 77 26 43 69 31 -7 7 4 4 8 0
1980–81 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 72 21 55 76 20 7 3 0 3 3 0
1981–82 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 71 32 50 82 84 -8 15 6 9 15 13
1982–83 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 61 23 38 61 27 13 13 6 7 13 8
1983–84 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 54 17 30 47 35 -13 5 1 1 2 2
1984–85 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 74 16 30 46 13 -16 15 4 8 12 10
1985–86 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 51 2 19 21 14 -19 3 2 1 3 2
NHL Totals 919 292 551 843 567 -14 76 25 38 63 49
WCJHL Totals 195 118 209 327 312 -- 24 19 32 51 66

[edit] See also

[edit] References

Preceded by
Pat Quinn
Atlanta Flames captains
1977-79
Succeeded by
Jean Pronovost
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