NHL Trivia: Who has played for the most NHL teams?

Getting traded in the NHL is a big deal for players. They are forced to relocate their lives, and the lives of their family in a new city, and sometimes country. Here’s some NHL trivia – which player has played for the most teams?

Want to impress your friends with some NHL trivia? Ask them which player has played for the most NHL teams. The answer to that question? Mike Sillinger. For him, getting traded in the NHL was just another day at work. Sillinger has played for the most NHL teams in the history of the league and was traded a whopping nine times. Here is his remarkable story.

Born and raised in Regina, Saskatchewan, Sillinger always dreamed of playing in the NHL. After two dominant seasons in the WHL, the Detroit Red Wings drafted him in the first round with the 11th overall pick in the 1989 NHL Entry Draft. He then played two more seasons in the WHL and even won gold with Team Canada at the 1991 World Junior Championships before he made his professional debut with the Red Wings. He played three regular season games as well as three playoff games and recorded an assist.

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Sillinger spent four seasons up and down between Detroit’s AHL affiliate, the Adirondack Red Wings, and their NHL team. Detroit’s team was extremely hard to crack and he did not get many chances to fully immerse himself in the NHL, so he requested a trade to head coach Scotty Bowman.

The 1994-95 season was shortened by a lockout, but on April 4th, 1995, Sillinger got his wish and was traded to the Anaheim Ducks along with Jason York for Stu Grimson, Mark Ferner, and Anaheim’s sixth-round choice in the 1996 Draft.

He played the rest of that season and 62 more games with the Ducks before getting traded to the Vancouver Canucks for Roman Oksiuta.

In Vancouver, he found a somewhat permanent home, and played there for three seasons, recording a total of 60 points (28 goals, 32 assists). At that point, Sillinger was already married an just had a son. All the trades and moving around was taking a toll on his family, especially his wife.

"“She does have some good so-called hockey friends but outside of hockey, that was the toughest thing for my wife. She couldn’t really get close to anyone.”"

People often forget that when players get traded, their families are affected as well. Karla Sillinger had to endure a lot of change with her husband’s career taking him everywhere. However, she and their children supported him, which was a big reason why he played 1049 NHL games.

In 1998, he was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers, but that same calendar year, he went to the Tampa Bay Lightning. He played two seasons there and in his second season, he recorded a career-high (at the time) 44 points (19 goals and 55 assists).

Sillinger’s numbers were not legendary. He was more of a typical third-fourth line center, but a great faceoff guy. In Sillinger’s career, he has taken 8,333 faceoffs and has a winning percentage of 57.2 percent.

After Tampa, he played for the Florida Panthers for two seasons before he was then acquired by the Ottawa Senators in the 2000-01 trade deadline to help them with their Stanley Cup run. They ended up getting swept by the Toronto Maple Leafs and he ended up as a free agent.

In the 2001 offseason, Sillinger signed with the Columbus Blue Jackets and had two 43 point seasons with them. Then, on July 22 2003, he was traded twice on the same day. First from Columbus to the Dallas Stars, and then from Dallas to the Phoenix Coyotes.

March of that same year, he was traded yet again to the St. Louis Blues where he had the best season of his career.

"“I was having one my best seasons ever in St. Louis. I had 22 goals (in 48 games) and I was on to a 30-goal season at the age of 34. There was speculation that I was going to sign in St. Louis. “They’re not going to trade Mike Sillinger, blah blah blah.” Long story short, that’s what happened.”"

Despite 41 points in 48 games, Sillinger was traded from St. Louis to the Nashville Predators in January of 2006.

Even though the constant trades might discourage most people, Mike had a different perspective. He didn’t see trades as a personal attack and viewed the NHL as a business. Every new team was a new opportunity and he approached each one with a positive attitude.

In the summer of 2006, Mike signed with the New York Islanders and played there for three seasons, one of the longest stints with a single team in his illustrious career. In his second season, he produced a career-high 59 points in 82 games but soon after, he decided to put up his skates.

At 37 years old, Mike Sillinger decided that it was time to retire.

When his career ended, he had played 1049 NHL games, recorded 240 goals and 308 assists, and still holds the record for most NHL teams played for. His statistics might not be eye-catching, but his resilience and positive attitude make him one special hockey player.