Jean-Sebastien Giguere

At 46 years old, Jean-Sebastien Giguere has this physical status:

Jean-Sébastien Giguère (born May 16, 1977) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender.

He played at the major junior level with the Verdun Collège Français and Halifax Mooseheads in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), where he was drafted 13th overall by the Hartford Whalers in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft.

He played in the Calgary Flames organization for three seasons before joining the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in 2000. In the 2003 NHL playoffs, Giguère anchored the seventh-seeded Mighty Ducks into the Stanley Cup Finals, where he became the fifth and most recent player in NHL history to win the Conn Smythe Trophy despite not simultaneously winning the Stanley Cup.

Giguere ultimately won the Stanley Cup with the newly renamed Anaheim Ducks in 2007. His later career included stints in Toronto and Colorado.

Giguère holds the Anaheim Ducks' franchise record for career wins and shutouts; and was the last active NHL player who had played for the Hartford Whalers.

Personal life

Giguère was born in Montreal, Quebec, but grew up in Blainville, Quebec. Giguère's father died of cancer on December 15, 2008, and this greatly affected his performance for the rest of the season. Giguère went into the All-Star Game that year with a very weak record, with only one win in his last nine games. Giguère's mother died in late February 2013.

Giguère suffers from a rare gastric condition that causes his body to take in too much air when he drinks fluids. As a result, his body has difficulty absorbing water, leading to severe dehydration when he sweats. He would drink from a water bottle fitted with a straw while playing hockey.

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Playing career

Giégue played in the 1990 and 1991 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournaments with a minor ice hockey team from Laval, Quebec.

Gière was drafted out of the Quebec Major Hockey League (QMJHL) by the Hartford Whales in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft, with a pick for the New York Rangers in exchange for Pat Verbeek. Gierne made his NHL debut with the Whalers in 1997, playing eight games throughout the 1996–97 season after a four-year major junior career with QMJHL Second Team All-Star honors.

Following the offseason, Gibert was traded to the Calgary Flames along with centre Andrew Cassels in exchange for forward Gary Roberts and goaltender Trevor Kidd, who had moved to the Carolina Hurricanes by August 25, 1997 (by which time the Whalers had been relocated to become the Carolina Hurricanes). Giannino played the entirety of the 1997–98 season in the American Hockey League (AHL) with Calgary's minor league affiliate, the Saint John Flames. In his first season with Saint John, he scored 2.46 goals against average (GAA) and a.926 save percentage in 31 games. Gière spent a total of four seasons in the Flames organization, making brief 15- and seven-game appearances with Calgary in 1998–99, respectively, although the bulk of his time in the AHL was spent in the AHL.

Giant was traded to the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in exchange for a second-round pick in 2000 (later sold to the Washington Capitals; Capitals selected Matt Pettinger). He played for the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks' farm team from 2000-2001 before being suspended from the AHL. Dominic Roussel's back-up position was eventually taken over by Gière's starter Guy Hebert, who was eventually promoted to starter Guy Roussel. Due to only brief stints in the NHL during his stints with Hartford and Calgary, the 2000–01 season marked the beginning of Giorgio's rookie NHL debut. He appeared in 34 games, earning a 2.57 GAA and.911 save percentage.

He was re-signed by the Mighty Ducks on August 17, 2001, in the off-season. Gianni stayed to improve in 2001-02, his first full season with the Ducks, posting a 2.13 GAA and.920 save percentage in 53 games. He won his first winning season in 2002–03, as well as a career-high eight shutouts.

The Mighty Ducks advanced to the third seed in the Western Conference after having their first winning season in the NHL. As he led the team on a Cinderella run to their first Stanley Cup Finals appearance, Giguere put on one of the best playoff performances in NHL history. Giants defeated the defending Stanley Cup champions and second-seeded Detroit Red Wings in Game 1, breaking Montreal's record for the most saves by a goaltender in their playoff debut, defeating Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Ji Connors by two saves. Roberto Luongo of the Vancouver Canucks, who shot 72 shots in his playoff debut against the Dallas Stars in 2007, will break this record. In four games, the Ducks will shock the hockey world by defeating the Red Wings, with Gian Pierre dubbed the series's protagonist. The Mighty Ducks then met Dallas. In the series opener, Gianni defeated 60 of 63 Dallas shots, a five-over-time victory. In Game 4, he was his first shutout of the playoffs, taking 28 shots. In six games, the Mighty Ducks eventually defeated the Stars and advanced to the Western Conference Finals to face the Minnesota Wild. Gior dominated the Wild to an all-time, best-of-seven-series low of one goal in the entire series, which included a franchise-record shutout streak of 217 minutes and 54 seconds (later surpassed by Ilya Bryzgalov in 2006).

The Mighty Ducks' hopes of hoisting the Stanley Cup were however shattered by the New Jersey Devils, to whom Anaheim lost in a seven-game series. Gianni had been undefeated in seven overtime games, breaking a record for the longest playoff shutout streak at 168 minutes and 27 seconds. He finished with a 15-6 record, a 1.62 GAA, and.945 save percentage, as well as fewer losses than Finals rival Martin Brodeur. He was the fifth player to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as a member of the losing team and the first since Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Ron Hextall won in 1987. He was named ESPY award for Best Hockey Player in 2003, as well as Conn Smythe. Dominik Haek is the only other goalie to do so.

Giannina's MVP campaign in the off-season was rewarded with a four-year deal extension, which was signed on September 10, 2003. However, his results were inconsistent throughout much of the 2003-2004 season, particularly when the Mighty Ducks failed to qualify for the 2004 playoffs. Giannine's GAA increased to 2.62 percent in 2017 after a record of 17-31–6. Gière travelled to Germany to play for the Hamburg Freezers in 2004-05, owing to the 2004-05 NHL lockout that ended the entire 2004–05 NHL season.

In 2005–06, Giote returned to an improved Mighty Ducks squad. Anaheim made it to the Western Conference Finals after being knocked out by the Edmonton Oilers. Giuguaire's rookie backup Ilya Bryzgalov took over the starting lineup in just four games, despite the fact that the post-season was limited to four games. Giant skipped the first game of the opening round against Calgary due to injury, but returned for Games 2 and 5. Giarra was suspended after three goals on eight shots, where Bryzgalov took over and reeled off three shutouts spanning the first and second rounds against Calgary and the Colorado Avalanche, tying an NHL playoff record and beating Giant's 2003 club record of consecutive shutout minutes.

Gire regained the starter's position in 2006-07 as the final season of his deal. He didn't miss a single game in regulation in the first month of the season, October 2006. He went on to win in 56 games for the first time in his career. Gianni and his wife welcomed a newborn boy before the 2007 playoffs. Gianni's suspensions ruled the Ducks' last three regular season games as well as the first three games of their opening round match against Minnesota. Gioffre came back to the Ducks late in the season and was the Ducks' starter the remainder of the way. In Game 2 of the second round against Vancouver, his eight-game overtime winning streak in the playoffs was snapped. However, Gianni and the Ducks advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2007, where they defeated the Ottawa Senators in their first-ever Stanley Cup championship in 6–2 Game 5 victory over the Ottawa Senators on June 6.

The Ducks reported on June 21, 2007 that they had re-signed Giopertin to a multi-year contract. In the 2007–08 season, Giovanni set a new record of 35–17–6 with a career-best 2.12 GAA. Despite his personal appearances, the defending champion Ducks were defeated in the first round of the 2008 playoffs by the Dallas Stars in six games.

During the 2008–09 season, Giante's average dropped from 19–18–6 with a 3.10 GAA, with a 3.10 GAA, with his backup Jonas Hiller getting more playing time. This did not stop him from being voted into the 2009 NHL All-Star Game in Montreal, Quebec. He was selected over Giovè to begin the 2009 playoffs as Hiller outplayed Gière throughout the season. In relief of Hiller in the third period of the Ducks' second round playoff series with the Detroit Red Wings, Giant's only appearance in the playoffs was in relief of him.

On October 24, 2009, Giguère suffered a groin strain early in the 2009–10 season. Giobert told L.A. Daily News on November 10 that he'd rather retire than being a back-up goalie, contributing to the team's goaltending controversy. Hiller, who was in his second game of the season, did not win in a 3–2 shootout victory over the Calgary Flames until November 23.

On January 31, 2010, Giante was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for goaltender Vesa Toskala and forward Jason Blake. Giant's first game with the Maple Leafs came as a 30-save shutout over the New Jersey Devils. In his next game against Ottawa on February 6, he shuts down his first two games in franchise history, becoming the first goalie to record shutouts. On February 8, Giannière was named the NHL's Second Star of the Week for his efforts. Since being traded, he saw a 3.14 GAA and.900 save percentage in 20 games with the Ducks before being traded.

Girou suffered a groin injury in mid-November 2010 and was sidelined for three weeks. He played in several games before re-injuring his groin. During that period, the Leafs were in need of a goaltender, prompting them to call up James Reimer of the Toronto Marlies, who took over the starter's role in Giant's absence.

Giorgio, a free agent, signed a two-year, $2.5 million deal with the Colorado Avalanche on July 1, 2011. Semyon Varlamov, the young goaltender, accepted his role in the Colorado locker room as the veteran mentor. In mid-December, Giguère's leadership was instrumental in a four-game home stand with Varlamov; Giguid had been playing all four games and gained them; Varlamov was sidelined with a back injury; Gignac also won four games, securing the Avalanche a team-record, eight-straight victories at home. It was the first home wins the franchise had seen since the Quebec Nordiques won ten-straight in 1995 before the club renamed Denver later this year to become the Avalanche. Girou was named one of the three top players of the NHL last week for late December. During a losing effort to the Vancouver Canucks on February 15, 2012, a groin pulled out the Giant. Varlamove on the other hand gave Varlamove the opportunity to redeem himself and regain the starting position in net for the remainder of the season, which Colorado did not qualify for in 2012. Gière signed a one-year, US$1.5 million contract extension from August 13, 2012-2013.

Post-playing career

According to reports, Gioffre was poised to retire and had possibly played in his last NHL game on May 26, 2014. Colorado's regular season finale in Anaheim, he received a video tribute and a warm ovation from the audience in what was to be his final NHL appearance. Gimu Selänne, a former teammate who had already declared his own retirement and was playing in his final regular season game, shared a victory lap at the end of the game. Giannin announced his resignation on August 21. He was the last active NHL player to have played for the Hartford Whalers.

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