Mike Commodore
Michael W. Commodore (born November 7, 1979) is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey player. Commodore played for several teams in the National Hockey League (NHL). In 2006, he won the Stanley Cup as part of the Carolina Hurricanes. Commodore was selected by the New Jersey Devils in the second round (42nd overall) of the 1999 NHL Entry Draft.
Mike Commodore | |||
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![]() Commodore with the Detroit Red Wings in 2012 | |||
Born |
Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, Canada | November 7, 1979||
Height | 6 ft 4 in (193 cm) | ||
Weight | 227 lb (103 kg; 16 st 3 lb) | ||
Position | Defence | ||
Shot | Right | ||
Played for |
New Jersey Devils Calgary Flames Carolina Hurricanes Ottawa Senators Columbus Blue Jackets Detroit Red Wings Tampa Bay Lightning Admiral Vladivostok | ||
National team |
![]() | ||
NHL Draft |
42nd overall, 1999 New Jersey Devils | ||
Playing career | 2000–2014 |
Playing career
Commodore played his collegiate years at the University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux, playing three years and winning the NCAA Championship in 2000. He was drafted 42nd overall by the New Jersey Devils in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft. He was traded to the Anaheim Ducks and then to the Calgary Flames,[1][2] playing in the 2004 Stanley Cup Finals. Calgary's depth on the blue line left no place for Commodore in the regular lineup, and he was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes prior to the start of the 2005–06 NHL season.[3] Commodore and the Hurricanes ended up becoming NHL champions at the 2006 Stanley Cup Finals.
![](../I/m/Mike_Commodore.jpg)
During both Final runs, Commodore became noted for his red playoff beard and afro hair.[4] As the Hurricanes were received at the White House in 2006, president George W. Bush joked that "I'm not sure what is prettier, the Stanley Cup, or Mike Commodore's hair."[5] Both times Commodore followed the finals having his hair shaved for organizations which helped the Jimmy V Foundation cancer research. The first time he had his hair shaved was at his mother's former school, Fort High.[6] The second time, Commodore held ten eBay auctions for the highest bidders which would allow them to have a chance to shave his head and keep his hair.[7] During the 2006 playoffs, Commodore also had fans copying a bathrobe he wore before the pre-game skate.[8][9]
Along with Rhett Warrener, he played a role in Paul Brandt's music video, "Convoy", as a truck driver.
In the 2006-07 regular season, Commodore tied Mike Komisarek of the Montreal Canadiens for most shorthanded goals scored among defensemen, with two.[10]
He was a member of the 2007 Canadian IIHF World Championship team that won gold in a 4–2 win against Finland in Moscow.
On February 11, 2008, Commodore was dealt to the Ottawa Senators along with Cory Stillman from Carolina for Joe Corvo and Patrick Eaves.[11]
Commodore was signed as an unrestricted free agent by the Columbus Blue Jackets on July 1, 2008 to a five-year contract worth $18.75 million. He scored five goals as well as adding 19 assists during his first season in Columbus that saw the Blue Jackets appear in their first ever Stanley Cup Playoff series against the Detroit Red Wings, who won in a sweep. Commodore recorded 18 penalty minutes during the series.
Commodore cleared waivers on January 17, 2011, and was assigned to the Springfield Falcons of the AHL.
The Detroit Red Wings signed Commodore to a one-year contract worth $1 million on July 1, 2011.[12] After signing, Commodore was offered to pick his own jersey number, which incited several Internet petitions to suggest the number 64, in reference to the Commodore 64. The idea was supported by both the team and Commodore himself, but ultimately he decided against it.[13][14]
On February 27, 2012, Commodore was traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning for a conditional seventh-round draft pick after playing only 17 games for Detroit.[15]
With the 2012 NHL lockout affecting his free agent status, Commodore was signed to a professional try-out contract midway into the 2012–13 season on November 20, 2012.[16] He was released on January 23, 2013.[17]
Commodore played in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) during the 2013–14 season.
Personal
Commodore has a brother (Matt) who also briefly played junior hockey with the AJHL's Fort Saskatchewan Traders during the 2000-01 season.
Feud with Mike Babcock
Commodore has been very open over his disapproval of former Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings head coach Mike Babcock. Commodore has stated he was "screwed over" by Babcock while with the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks of the AHL, claiming Babcock refused to play him in favour of new addition Kurt Sauer.[18] The relationship worsened nine years later, after Commodore signed with the Red Wings, who Babcock was coaching. Commodore states this signing is what ended his career in the NHL.[18] Commodore claimed that Babcock misled him by telling him he was wanted as a physical presence; Commodore would remain a healthy scratch for a month and a half to start the season before playing in two games, and was then scratched again until December, only reentering the line up when, according to Commodore, Red Wings general manager Ken Holland ordered Babcock to play him.[18] Commodore would go on to say he was traded out of Detroit "because Holland felt bad [for me]", referring to his lack of playing time.[18]
Commodore (along with Hall of Fame defenseman Chris Chelios[19]) also held against Babcock the fact that he healthy scratched Mike Modano when he had 1,499 games played. Modano retired following that season and never reached the 1,500 games played milestone. [20]
Following his retirement, Commodore has lashed out at Babcock multiple times, particularly on Twitter where he constantly refers to the coach as a "piece of shit."[21] Commodore has also said he hopes Babcock "gets hit by a truck."[22]
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
1997–98 | North Dakota Fighting Sioux | WCHA | 29 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 74 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1998–99 | North Dakota Fighting Sioux | WCHA | 39 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 154 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1999–00 | North Dakota Fighting Sioux | WCHA | 38 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 154 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2000–01 | Albany River Rats | AHL | 41 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 59 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2000–01 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 20 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2001–02 | Albany River Rats | AHL | 14 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 31 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2001–02 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 37 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 30 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2002–03 | Cincinnati Mighty Ducks | AHL | 61 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 210 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2002–03 | Saint John Flames | AHL | 7 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2002–03 | Calgary Flames | NHL | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 19 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2003–04 | Lowell Lock Monsters | AHL | 37 | 5 | 11 | 16 | 75 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2003–04 | Calgary Flames | NHL | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 20 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 19 | ||
2004–05 | Lowell Lock Monsters | AHL | 73 | 6 | 29 | 35 | 175 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 18 | ||
2005–06 | Carolina Hurricanes | NHL | 72 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 138 | 25 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 33 | ||
2006–07 | Carolina Hurricanes | NHL | 82 | 7 | 22 | 29 | 113 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2007–08 | Carolina Hurricanes | NHL | 41 | 3 | 9 | 12 | 74 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2007–08 | Ottawa Senators | NHL | 26 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 26 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | ||
2008–09 | Columbus Blue Jackets | NHL | 81 | 5 | 19 | 24 | 100 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | ||
2009–10 | Columbus Blue Jackets | NHL | 57 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 62 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2010–11 | Columbus Blue Jackets | NHL | 20 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 44 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2010–11 | Springfield Falcons | AHL | 11 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2011–12 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 17 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 21 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2011–12 | Tampa Bay Lightning | NHL | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2012–13 | Hamilton Bulldogs | AHL | 17 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2012–13 | Texas Stars | AHL | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
2013–14 | Admiral Vladivostok | KHL | 27 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 20 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | ||
NHL totals | 484 | 23 | 83 | 106 | 683 | 53 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 70 |
Medal record | ||
---|---|---|
Representing ![]() | ||
Ice hockey | ||
World Championships | ||
![]() | 2007 Moscow |
International
Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2007 | Canada | WC | ![]() |
9 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 14 | |
Senior totals | 9 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 14 |
Awards and honors
Award | Year | |
---|---|---|
College | ||
All-NCAA All-Tournament Team | 2000 | [23] |
NHL | ||
Stanley Cup (Carolina Hurricanes) | 2006 | |
References
- "Devils trade Sykora to Ducks for 3 players". New York Times. July 7, 2002. Retrieved July 7, 2002.
- "Trade deadline deals recapped". ESPN. March 9, 2003. Retrieved March 9, 2003.
- https://www.tsn.ca/story/print/?id=131826
- http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/playoffs2006/news/story?id=2484543
- President Bush Welcomes Stanley Cup Champion Carolina Hurricanes
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on July 23, 2013. Retrieved July 23, 2013.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on July 23, 2013. Retrieved July 23, 2013.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/page.htm?id=46082
- http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Hockey/NHL/Playoffs/Carolina/2006/05/19/1588247-sun.html
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on November 21, 2008. Retrieved November 25, 2013.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- Allen, Kevin (February 11, 2008). "Sens get Commodore, Stillman from 'Canes for Corvo, Eaves". USA Today. Retrieved August 4, 2009.
- "NHL Free Agent Tracker". The Sports Network. Archived from the original on June 29, 2011. Retrieved July 1, 2011.
- "Red Wings give blessing, pledges surging". Yahoo! Sports. July 11, 2011. Retrieved July 13, 2011.
- "Mike Commodore 64 update: The Dream ends as Commie picks 22". Yahoo! Sports. July 28, 2011. Retrieved July 28, 2011.
- Yahoo! Sports Staff (February 27, 2012). "2012 NHL deadline day: Trade tracker & analysis". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved February 27, 2012.
- "AHL's Bulldogs sign Commodore to try-out contract". The Sports Network. November 21, 2012. Retrieved November 21, 2012.
- "Hamilton Bulldogs release Mike Commodore". The Hamilton Spectator. January 23, 2013. Retrieved January 23, 2013.
- "Mike Commodore rips Mike Babcock, claims Columbus coach waived him over jealousy". Yahoo Sports. December 6, 2013. Retrieved February 14, 2016.
- https://twitter.com/WGNMorningNews/status/1107625043956256768
- https://twitter.com/commie22/status/834270244151582721?lang=en
- "Mike Commodore rips Mike Babcock in angry Twitter rant". Yahoo Sports. October 9, 2015. Retrieved February 14, 2016.
- "Mike Commodore tweets he hopes Mike Babcock 'gets hit by a truck". SB Nation. October 9, 2015. Retrieved February 14, 2016.
- "NCAA Frozen Four Records" (PDF). NCAA.org. Retrieved June 19, 2013.
External links
- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database