Rod Buskas
Rod Buskas | |||
---|---|---|---|
Born |
Wetaskiwin, Alberta , Canada | January 7, 1961||
Height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) | ||
Weight | 206 lb (93 kg; 14 st 10 lb) | ||
Position | Defence | ||
Shot | Right | ||
Played for |
Pittsburgh Penguins Vancouver Canucks Los Angeles Kings Chicago Blackhawks | ||
NHL draft |
112th overall, 1981 Pittsburgh Penguins | ||
Playing career | 1981–1995 |
Rod Dale Buskas (born January 7, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who spent 11 seasons in the National Hockey League. A hard-nosed physical defender, Buskas is best known for his time with the Pittsburgh Penguins, where he was the club's all-time leader in penalty minutes at the time of his departure in 1990.[citation needed]
Early life
Buskas was born on January 7, 1961, in
Playing career
Buskas was selected in the 6th round (112th overall) of the
After another season split between Pittsburgh and the minors, Buskas established himself as a regular for the Penguins in 1984–85, and was a fixture on the club's blueline for the next five seasons. In 1986–87, he had his best offensive season, finishing the year with 3 goals and 15 assists for 18 points. In 1987–88, he led the Penguins with a career-high 206 penalty minutes, and midway through the 1988–89 season he broke Bryan Watson's club record of 872 penalty minutes. While the Penguins finished consistently near the bottom of the league for most of the 1980s, the maturing of superstar Mario Lemieux finally saw the team reach the playoffs in 1989, and Buskas appeared in the first 10 NHL playoff games of his career.
At the start of the
Buskas spent a year in Los Angeles, recording 3 goals and 11 points along with 182 penalty minutes in 57 games, before being dealt to the Chicago Blackhawks early in the 1991–92 season. Now a sparingly-used depth defender, he finished the year with 4 assists in 47 games between Los Angeles and Chicago. That season's playoffs would prove to be one of the highlights of his career, as Chicago reached the Stanley Cup finals before losing to his former team, the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Buskas saw his NHL career come to a close in
Following his retirement Buskas, who has obtained a pilot's license during his playing career, remained in the Las Vegas area and ran a flight school in Henderson, Nevada. He would also later serve for a time as an assistant coach with the Las Vegas Thunder.
Buskas is currently a captain with Hawaiian Airlines. He currently lives in Las Vegas and has two children: Paulina and Blake. [1]
Career statistics
Regular season
|
Playoffs | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
1977–78 | Red Deer Rustlers | AJHL | 60 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 36 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1978–79 | Red Deer Rustlers | AJHL | 37 | 13 | 22 | 35 | 63 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1978–79 | Billings Bighorns | WHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1978–79 | Medicine Hat Tigers | WHL | 34 | 1 | 12 | 13 | 60 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1979–80 | Medicine Hat Tigers | WHL | 72 | 7 | 40 | 47 | 284 | 16 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 31 | ||
1980–81 | Medicine Hat Tigers | WHL | 72 | 14 | 46 | 60 | 164 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | ||
1981–82 | Erie Blades | AHL | 69 | 1 | 18 | 19 | 78 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1982–83 | Baltimore Skipjacks | AHL | 31 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 45 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1982–83 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 41 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 102 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1982–83 | Muskegon Mohawks | IHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1983–84 | Baltimore Skipjacks | AHL | 33 | 2 | 12 | 14 | 100 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 22 | ||
1983–84 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 47 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 60 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1984–85 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 69 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 191 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1985–86 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 72 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 159 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1986–87 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 68 | 3 | 15 | 18 | 123 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1987–88 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 76 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 206 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1988–89 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 52 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 105 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | ||
1989–90 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 17 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 36 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1989–90 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1990–91 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 57 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 182 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 22 | ||
1991–92 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1991–92 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 42 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 80 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
1992–93 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1992–93 | Indianapolis Ice | IHL | 15 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 40 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1992–93 | Salt Lake Golden Eagles | IHL | 31 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 52 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1993–94 | Las Vegas Thunder | IHL | 69 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 131 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ||
1994–95 | Las Vegas Thunder | IHL | 27 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 53 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 19 | ||
AHL totals | 113 | 5 | 38 | 43 | 223 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 22 | ||||
NHL totals | 556 | 19 | 63 | 82 | 1294 | 18 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 45 | ||||
IHL totals | 143 | 4 | 17 | 21 | 285 | 15 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 21 |
Transactions
- On June 10, 1981 the 1981 NHL draft.
- On October 24, 1989 the 1990 sixth-round pick (#107-Ian Moran).
- On January 8, 1990 the Vancouver Canucks traded Rod Buskas, Tony Tanti and Barry Pederson to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for Dan Quinn, Andrew McBain and Dave Capuano.
- On October 1, 1990 the Los Angeles Kings claimed Rod Buskas from the Pittsburgh Penguins in waiver draft.
- On October 28, 1991 the Los Angeles Kings traded Rod Buskas to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for Chris Norton and future considerations.
References
- ^ Malinowski, Mark (July 12, 2015). "Getting To Know: Rod Buskas". The Hockey News. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
External links
- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database
- Profile at hockeydraftcentral.com