Chad Kilger ... a retrospective

I get a chance to watch a lot of Leafs games seeing as I live in Toronto, and one thing that always mystified me was how Chad Kilger ended up not being a Hab. I didn't really ever care too much, like not enough to investigate (because as soon as I don't see him I forget), but today he's playing really well and I always liked his game. He's the consummate 4th liner. He skates hard, plays with passion and he actually knows how to line someone up and finish his check. I recall the announcers saying a few games ago that he leads the Leafs in hits, a team with Peca and McCabe and Gill and Tucker, all while playing something like 10 minutes a night.

I wandered over to TSN to check out the story on Kilger just now, and wow, he's been around for a while! I always thought he was brought up with Montreal, but yeah, I was wrong. Turns out he's 30 and been in the league for his 11th season. He was a 1st round pick, 4th overall in 1995 by Anaheim. Because we are all curious, Bryan Berard, Brian McCabe and Aki Berg were the three ahead of him and Anaheim missed out on Langkow, Doan, Iginla, Giguere (I guess they got him eventually), McKee, Martin Biron (really? He's that old?), Hecht, McAuley, Toskala, Sami Kapanen and Marc Savard. Only up to Biron were in the first round, the rest are more for interest purposes.

Anyway, it seems he was quite the offensive force in junior with Kingston, totaling 42 goals and 95 points in his last season. After some time with Anaheim he was traded to Winnipeg in the deal that brought Selanne to Anaheim (Selanne and Marc Chouinard for Teverdosky and Kilger). Plays a couple years and is traded to Chicago in a deal for Keith Carney. A year in Chicago and he is traded off to Edmonton in a not so sexy deal. Finally he's moved to Montreal straight up for Sergei Zholtok.

In Montreal he played his usual game and I always liked it, he's entertaining to watch. Now this is where I'm puzzled. Montreal WAIVED him and Toronto just plucked him away! It was the year before the lockout and I guess he got squeezed in a roster move and had to be sent down to Hamilton? Seems odd that they would have picked him of all people.

Anyway...I guess there wasn't much reason for this post. I was just remembering Kilger and his fun because the Habs could probably use him right now. Imagine Begin and Kilger pounding the boards and Latendresse marauding around looking for a puck to squirt out? That'd be a positively sick 4th line.

Good 'ol Chad Kilger...