Marty Turco

Player

Birthday August 13, 1975

Birth Sign Leo

Birthplace Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada

Age 48 years old

Nationality Ontario

Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)

Weight 184 lb (83 kg; 13 st 2 lb)

#45820 Most Popular

1924

On February 9, he again broke yet another of Maniago's records by starting in his 24th consecutive game in goal.

However, the Stars failed to qualify for the playoffs.

1975

Marty Vincent Turco (born August 13, 1975) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played 11 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL).

He played nine seasons with the Dallas Stars and one season each with the Chicago Blackhawks and Boston Bruins.

Due to his puck-handling prowess, Canadian hockey personality Don Cherry named Turco "the smartest goalie in the NHL".

Turco currently serves as an in-studio analyst at NHL Network.

After playing minor hockey for the S.S. Marie Legion program in his hometown, Turco was undrafted by the Ontario Hockey League (OHL).

1992

He signed as a 17-year-old with the Cambridge Winterhawks Jr. B. team in 1992 and played two seasons with the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) team before accepting an NCAA scholarship to play college hockey for the University of Michigan, a member of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA).

At Michigan, Turco won two NCAA championships.

1994

Turco was drafted in the fifth round of the 1994 NHL Entry Draft by the Dallas Stars and went on to play for Michigan that fall.

1995

Turco earned many awards in his four years at Michigan, including Rookie of the Year in 1995, Tournament MVP in 1998 and nominations to the first All-Star team in 1997, the second All-Star team in 1998 and the All-Tournament Team in 1996 and 1998.

After graduating, Turco went to play for Dallas' International Hockey League (IHL) affiliate, the Michigan K-Wings.

1999

In 1999, he was named IHL Rookie of the Year.

After two years playing for the K-Wings, Turco was given the opportunity to be a backup for Ed Belfour in Dallas.

He spent the next two years with the Stars gaining experience as the team's backup.

2001

After the 2001–02 season, Dallas decided to make Turco the starting goaltender, allowing Belfour to sign with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

2002

In his first year as the starting goaltender, 2002–03, Turco's goals against average (GAA) of 1.72 set a modern NHL record.

(Miikka Kiprusoff broke Turco's record the next season with a 1.69 GAA.) Turco played in the NHL All-Star Game during the season and was named to the second All-Star team following the season, finishing second in Vezina Trophy voting as well, behind Martin Brodeur, for the NHL's top regular season goaltender.

His .932 save percentage was also best in the NHL that year.

2003

However, he was unable to lead the Stars past the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in the Western Conference Semifinals of the 2003 Stanley Cup playoffs.

During the 2003–04 season, Turco continued to give the Stars quality goaltending, again playing (and starting) in the All-Star Game.

2004

The Stars lost to the Colorado Avalanche in the first round of the 2004 playoffs.

2005

In the 2005–06 season, Turco won a career-best 41 games, eight of them in shootouts.

2006

Turco's experience in the 2006 playoffs was similar to the prior season, again losing in five games to the Avalanche.

2007

On April 13, 2007, in the Stars' first and only playoff series of the 2006–07 season, Turco recorded his first ever playoff shutout against the Vancouver Canucks to tie the series 1–1.

After the game, he said, "We know we can beat these guys here [Vancouver], or at home, or anywhere."

Turco went on to lose against the Canucks at home in Game 3, dropping a 2–1 overtime victory, when Taylor Pyatt got a quick one-time shot off a feed from Bryan Smolinski.

In Game 4, once again the Stars could not put up a win, losing to the Canucks 2–1 off of goals from Mattias Öhlund, then the game winner from Trevor Linden.

The Stars then went on to win Game 5 in the series with 1–0 overtime win.

Brenden Morrow scored the game's only goal 6:22 into the first overtime period, allowing Turco to earn his second career playoff shutout.

Turco followed this up with his third shutout of the series in a 2–0 win.

The series ended on April 23, 2007, with a score of 4–1 in favor of Vancouver, with Trevor Linden again scoring the eventual game-winner in the second period.

The three shutouts posted by Turco in that series represent a record amount of shutouts in a single playoff series, a mark that has been tied by the New Jersey Devils' Martin Brodeur, Anaheim's Jean-Sébastien Giguère and the Philadelphia Flyers' Michael Leighton.

Turco recorded 32 wins in the 2007–08 season and helped the Stars to playoff wins over the defending Stanley Cup champions Anaheim and the San Jose Sharks, before losing in six games to the Detroit Red Wings in the Western Conference Finals.

2009

On January 15, 2009, Turco recorded his 421st game for the Stars, becoming the franchise's all-time leader in games played by a goaltender, surpassing Cesare Maniago's near 33-year old record of 420.

He would also pass Maniago later that month in total minutes played, on January 29, while also winning his first regular season game at Joe Louis Arena in 11 tries against the Detroit Red Wings.

2010

On April 13, 2010, it was reported Turco would not be re-signed by Dallas, ending his nine years with the Stars.

On August 2, 2010, Turco signed a one-year contract as a free agent with the reigning Stanley Cup champion, the Chicago Blackhawks, replacing Antti Niemi as their starting goaltender.

The Blackhawks had previously beaten the Philadelphia Flyers in six games in the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals.

His first win with Chicago came on October 15, a 5–2 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets.