Kyle Palmieri

At 33 years old, Kyle Palmieri has this physical status:

Kyle Charles Palmieri (born February 1, 1991) is an American professional ice hockey right winger, an alternate captain for the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League (NHL).

He was drafted in the first round, 26th overall, by Anaheim in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.

Early life

Palmieri was born on February 1, 1991, in Smithtown, New York, New York to parents Bruce and Tammy. After marrying, his parents spent a few years in Smithtown, where Kyle and his three older siblings were born, before moving to Montvale, New Jersey when Kyle was four. His godfather is former shortstop Bud Harrelson, who is his father's cousin. His father worked in home construction and spent several years in North Fork, Long Island. Palmieri began playing ice hockey at a friend’s house when he was five years old. He began playing with the Kodiak Hockey Club at McKay Ice Arena under coach Gary Hess.

Personal life

Palmieri married his wife Ashlee in July 2019 at Macari Vineyards in Mattituck, New York. His older sister Taylor and brother-in-law Stephen Ficchi are both members of the United States Army. His sister is a member of the New York Army National Guard while Stephen is a United States Army Rangers. As a result of this, Palmieri launched Squad21 to offer active or veteran military service members the chance to attend a Devils home game during the 2016–17 regular season. This expanded into the Kyle Palmieri Foundation, a charitable organization that supports three military nonprofits, in 2018. He also held an annual Military Ball that included an auction. Palmieri subsequently became the Devil's 2018 nominee for the King Clancy Memorial Trophy as a player "who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community."

In 2019, Palmieri, Scott Wilson, Jeff Francoeur, and the players’ associations for NHL, MLB, and NFL players, filed a complaint against the City of Pittsburgh for their nonresident sports facility usage fee. The complaint contended that the city made out-of-state athletes pay a fee equal to 3% of their taxable earned income for the days in which they play games in publicly funded sports facilities.

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Playing career

Palmieri, a growing up, played youth hockey for the New Jersey Devils-sponsored teams at Codey Arena in West Orange, New Jersey. He also competed with the New Jersey Devils' minor ice hockey team in the 2004 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. Palmieri, a 14-year-old boy, was a member of the 16U Junior Devils team. He then attended St. Peter's Preparatory School for two years. Palmieri led the Gordon Conference in 58 points and was named first-team All-State selection during his sophomore season. He had a career-best season with the New Jersey state final, where they lost to St. Augustine Preparatory School. Palmieri earned the opportunity to compete for the USA Hockey National Team Development Program (NTDP) in Ann Arbor, Michigan, as a result of his participation.

Palmieri tallied 15 goals and 15 assists in 33 games and registered a hat-trick in the gold medal round of the 2008 Five Nations Tournament since joining the NTDP Under-18 team. Palmieri was drafted by the Guelph Storm in the sixth round of the 2008 Ontario Hockey League (OHL) Entry Draft, but he never reported to the team. He returned to the NTDP for the 2008-2009 season, ranking 20th among North American skaters by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau. Palmieri was suspended from the team for violating team rules, but he continued to play college hockey for the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish. He scored nine goals in 33 games during his first and only season with the team. Palmieri was drafted 26th overall by the Anaheim Ducks in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.

Palmieri also played in the Rookie Tournament after the 2009-10 season. He was soon re-assigned to the Syracuse Crunch, the Ducks' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, to begin the 2010-2011 season. Palmieri tallied six points in three games in his first month with the team, leading to the team's 1–1–0 record. He had scored seven goals and nine points in nine games by November, his first return to the NHL level. Palmieri made his NHL debut against the Tampa Bay Lightning on November 3, 2010, his first goal in his career was to lead the Ducks to an overtime victory. Palmieri played ten games for the Ducks before being recalled to the Syracuse Crunch. In January, he was selected to compete for Team USA in the 2011 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships. Palmieri tallied 15 goals and 20 points in his final 14 games with the Crunch, earning the AHL Rookie of the Month award for the month of March. He attributed a large part of his game to his linemate Nick Bonino, who had 14 assists and 18 points in the same stretch. Palmieri was chosen for the 2011 AHL Eastern Conference All-Star Team as a result of his offensive success.

Palmieri returned to the Ducks organization the following season and spent time in their training camp. He was welcomed back to the AHL to begin the season, where he appeared on their top line with Nick Bonino and Patrick Maroon. Palmieri started the season strong and scored six points, including a hat-trick, in his first two games of the 2011–12 season. As such, he was named AHL Player of the Week for the week ending October 16, 2011. Palmieri continued to produce as the season progressed, and he reached 26 points before his NHL recall on December 9. He led the league in goals, was fourth in scoring, co-led in game-winning goals, and ranked second in plus-minus at the time of his recall. Palmieri had been back to the AHL after appearing in seven games for the Ducks, where he was selected for the 2012 AHL All-Star Classic. Palmieri's sophomore season brought him new career highs after collecting 54 points in 42 games. He was with the Crunch until March 12, when he was recalled to the NHL level. Palmieri was the first Anaheim rookie since Matt Beleskey's debut in a game to score two goals in a game. Before being re-assigned to the AHL, he participated in seven tournaments with the Ducks. Palmieri finished the AHL regular season with 33 goals and 25 assists in 51 games, qualifying for the 2012 Calder Cup playoffs.

Palmieri split the 2012-2013 season between the Ducks and their current AHL affiliate, the Norfolk Admirals, as a result of the 2012–13 NHL lockout. Palmieri, a fan of the Admirals, scored 13 goals and 12 assists for 25 points before being promoted to the NHL level after the lockout was ended. Palmieri defeated the Nashville Predators 5–1 on February 28, becoming the second-newest Ducks player to earn a hat-trick. He finished the season with 21 points in 42 regular-season games before appearing in all seven Western Conference Quarterfinal games against the Detroit Red Wings. Palmieri sustained a shoulder injury during the playoffs, according to the team's reporter. Despite this, Bruce Boudreau called his season "adequete." Palmieri announced on July 26 that he had signed a three-year contract extension to continue with the Ducks organization.

Palmieri's first full-time NHL campaign came in 2013-2014, with record-breaking goals, assists, and points. Palmieri was drafted on the Ducks' top line after Dustin Penner's injury mid-game, and Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf were drafted on the Ducks' top line. Palmieri's fourth multi-goal game helped the Ducks bounce back from a 2–0 deficit against the Philadelphia Flyers on October 30, 2013. Palmieri scored the game-winning goal at 9:09 in his first game in his hometown New Jersey on November 4 and was named the game's third star. As the Ducks qualified for the 2014 Stanley Cup playoffs, he finished the season with 31 points in 71 games. Palmieri scored one goal against the Dallas Stars in Round 1 before being booted out of the lineup in Game 4. He didn't make it to the Ducks' lineup until Game 3 against the Los Angeles Kings in Round 2. Palmieri, the Ducks, were evicted by the Kings in Game 7 of Game 7, and Palmieri finished the post-season with three goals and 14 penalty minutes in nine games.

Palmieri missed the majority of the Ducks' pre-season games due to a high ankle sprain in the second year of his new deal. However, he was fit enough to attend two complete practices with the Ducks before the season began. Palmieri made his season debut by playing two goals in four games after missing 18 games. He had scored five goals and nine points in 15 games before being put on injured reserve due to his shoulder pains. He scored his sixth goal of the season on January 2 when he returned to the bench to beat the St. Louis Blues 4-3.

Palmieri was traded by the Ducks to the New Jersey Devils in exchange for second- and third-round picks in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft. Palmieri recalled coach John Hynes, who had worked with the UNTDP from 2007 to 2009. Palmieri had career-highs and led the Devils with 30 goals and 57 points in his first season with the Devils. Palmieri also signed a five-year contract extension to remain with the Devils organization on July 7, 2016.

Palmieri began signing and spent time with Team USA at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, where they failed to medal. He then returned to the Devils organization and spent time in training camp. He played alongside Taylor Hall and Travis Zajac throughout the season, while still maintaining a 13.5 percent shooting percentage. Palmieri continued his scoring streak throughout the season, scoring 18 goals in 33 games out of 13 regular-season games remaining. He then finished the season with a team-leading 26 goals and 27 assists.

Palmieri migrated to Boston for his offseason training with Jimmy Hayes, Brian Boyle, Nick Lappin, and Brian Gibbons during the 2017 offseason. He started the season with the Devils but suffered with an injury against the Colorado Avalanche in the season opener. Palmieri slid into his old spot on the top line with Taylor Hall and Pavel Zacha after returning to the Devils' lineup after missing just one game. Palmieri scored his 100th goal of his career in a 5–2 loss to the Washington Capitals on October 13. Palmieri slid into the boards during practice and took almost three weeks to recover. During that period, the Devils won three games and lost two, with one game going to overtime. On November 9, he returned to the lineup and continued to produce offensively. In 13 games before suffering a broken foot during a match against the Minnesota Wild in late November, he had accumulated four goals and five assists in 13 games before coming home from a game against the Minnesota Wild. Palmieri stayed out of the Devils lineup until after the Christmas break for precautionary reasons. Palmieri played his 10th multi-point game of the season on March 27, leading the team in power play goals with 11. Palmieri helped the Devils win 40 regular season games for the first time since 2011–12. Following a 2–1 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on April 5, the Toronto Maple Leafs eventually qualified for the 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs. In the first round, the Devils competed with the Tampa Bay Lightning, but they were ruled out of playoff contention after falling 3–1 in Game 5.

For the 2018 NHL World Series, Palmieri and the Devils began their 2018-19 season in Sweden against the Edmonton Oilers. Palmieri scored two goals for his 15th multi-goal game and the Devils' 10th. Palmieri made history by becoming the first player in franchise history to score at least two goals in each of their first two games of a season. He repeated the feat against the San Jose Sharks the next week in an NHL appearance in multiple games. Palmieri was the first player in NHL history to score the opening goal in four straight games to start a season, despite that his two-goal streak came to an end in the fourth game of the season. He was also the third player to score a power-play goal in each of his team's first four games in a season. Palmieri continued to contribute offensively during Taylor Hall's and Nico Hischier's wing during the 2018-19 season. He led New Jersey with 22 goals and 38 points by January, as a member of the Devils' top line. Palmieri was appointed as a replacement after Hall departed from the 2019 National Hockey League All-Star Game due to an injury. Palmieri returned to their top line with Marcus Johansson and Nico Hischier after rejoining the Devils. With 26 goals and 22 assists in 63 games, he continued to lead the team in scoring before suffering a lower-body injury in a game against the Montreal Canadiens. He returned to the lineup on March 8 and competed against the Capitals on a line with Travis Zajac and Kenny Agostino. Palmieri had 27 goals and 23 assists for 50 points in 74 games this season.

Palmieri, who played for the Devils in the 2019-20 season, hit the 500-game plateau to become one of three active players on New Jersey's roster. In an overtime loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning, Palmieri tallied his first hat-trick with the Devils on October 30, 2019. Palmieri led all Devils in scoring by December with 27 points in 38 games, while playing alongside Jesper Bratt and Nico Hischier. He was selected to his second All-Star Game in a row. Palmieri was later dismissed by Hischier after suffering an injury blocking a shot during a Tampa Bay Lightning victory. While Palmieri stayed in four games to recover from the injury, the Devils struggled offensively and won only one game during his absence. Palmieri finished the regular season with a team-leading 25 goals and 45 points in 65 games despite his injury. During this period, he also completed 11 power play goals and 18 power-play points, while still averaging 17:07 minutes.

Palmieri, who was back to play in January, returned to the Devils to play in his 11th NHL appearance. Palmieri was placed on the NHL's COVID protocol list on January 31, and he missed a matinee game against the Buffalo Sabres on the road. The Devils went on a 14-day absence from NHL COVID (CoVID) protocols before returning on February 16. As many other teammates tested positive for COVID, they took a 14-day break to comply with NHL COVID–19 policies.

Palmieri, a former 17 points in 34 games, was traded to the New York Islanders and Travis Zajac in exchange for a first-round pick in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, conditional 2022 fourth-round pick, and forwards A. J. Greer and Mason Jobst. Palmieri was reunited with former teammate Andy Greene after joining the Islanders. Palmieri and teammate Mathew Barzal tied a goal each 37 seconds apart in the third period to win 5–1 over the Devils in the Islanders' final regular-season game on May 8. Palmieri, a former Islander, scored two goals and two assists in the Islanders' qualifying for the 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs.

Palmieri appeared on the right-wing of Jean-Gabriel Pageau and rookie Oliver Wahlstrom during Game 1 of the 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Palmieri scored two goals in Game 1, including the overtime game-winner, to lead the Islanders 4–3 over the Penguins. As a result, he became the first Long Island-born player to score a postseason goal for the Islanders and the first Islander to score two goals in his playoff debut. Palmieri and the Islanders qualified for the Second Round against the Boston Bruins after beating the Penguins 6–3. Palmieri's four goals and six points were tied for the team's lead in scoring during a series against the Boston Bruins. Palmieri extended his point streak to five games in Game 6 by scoring seven goals in his first 12 playoff games. Palmieri and the Islanders met the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Semifinals after the Islanders defeated the Bruins in six games. Palmieri played on the Islanders third line alongside Pageau and Zajac in most of their series against the Lightning, but not on Game 4 until Game 4. Despite this, the Islanders were eventually kicked out of playoff contention in seven games by the Lightning.

Palmieri was re-signed by the Islanders to a four-year, $20 million contract on September 1, 2021. Palmieri sustained a lower body injury in 25 games and tallying seven points on December 16. On January 3, he returned to action, but the day was still listed as day-to-day.

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