No More Silly Sillinger

August 27, 2009   ·   Derek Felix   ·   Jump to comments

Spanning two decades, Mike Sillinger seemed to always pack a suitcase. The well traveled gritty center ended those days where hockey fans wondered who would be the next team to add him to a wild list that included his final home here in New York for the Islanders.

Without looking, we’re going to try to name the teams:

Detroit. Anaheim. Vancouver. Winnipeg. Philadelphia. Tampa Bay. Florida. Ottawa. Columbus. Phoenix. St. Louis. Nashville. Islanders.

What we’ll now do is see how we did. Anything that’s crossed out is self-explanatory. But are there any teams we missed? We’ll bold those in red.

The results show that only one of our guesses was wrong but we also forgot four of his NHL record 12 teams including a 13-game stint with the Senators along with stops in Vancity, Nashville and Florida. To be honest, I actually thought about putting down Ottawa and Florida but was 50/50. And the Canucks/Preds I just forgot. I thought he played for both Winnipeg and Phoenix which was why I separated them. So, you can’t always be right.

While we did miss on a third, the eight show that we have a pretty solid knowledge of a player who was often overlooked due to all the travel. Truth be told, Sillinger was a solid checking pivot who could fill a nice role on a team which was why he lasted as long as he did. People forget that two decades ago, Detroit selected him in the first round 11th overall. So, he was actually more highly thought of than Nick Lidstrom (Rd.3-53rd), Sergei Fedorov (Rd.4-74th), Dallas Drake (Rd.6-116th) and Vladimir Konstantinov (Rd.11-221st). The Wings also tabbed rugged defenseman Bob Boughner with their second pick.

Not bad company. Silly Sillinger is what we referred to him in our fantasy hockey league. While never a star, the kid from Regina, Saskatoon could fit on a roster taking key draws as well as injecting energy. Hard to believe that one of his finest seasons came in Year One on the Island producing 26 goals, a career high 33 assists and 52 points in 82 games. Solid numbers following a career best 63 (32-31-63 in 79 GP) between St. Louis and Nashville. Many laughed when the Islanders signed him figuring how much could a guy 35 have left. But he sure silenced critics including us with a tremendous year helping the club to the postseason where he netted a goal and helper in a first round defeat to Buffalo.

Unfortunately, injuries did him in the final two years where he played 59 games registering 16 goals and 12 assists for 28 points. That included just seven games scoring twice in 2008-09.

After 17 years, Sillinger at age 38 calls it a career. He leaves having played with 12 different teams while compiling respectable numbers including 240 goals, 308 assists totaling 548 points while racking up 644 penalty minutes over 1,049 career games. He also got into 43 postseason games tallying 11 goals and seven assists for 18 points.

“To play the sport of hockey, something I’ve had a passion for all my life, at the professional level for the past 17 years and to be able to support my family has been a dream come true,” said Sillinger.  “From playing this game I have met some of my best friends and will cherish the memories we made forever.”

“Mike has and always will be a tremendous ambassador for this game,” said Islander GM Garth Snow.  “He is a born leader in everything he does and on behalf of the New York Islanders I wish him and his family the very best in the future.”