Anthony Cirelli (/sɪˈrɛli/, Italian: [tʃiˈrɛlli]; born July 15, 1997) is a Canadian professional ice hockey center who is currently playing for the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected by the Lightning in the third round (72nd overall) of the 2015 NHL Entry Draft. Cirelli won back-to-back Stanley Cups with the Lightning in 2020 and 2021.

Anthony Cirelli
Cirelli with the Tampa Bay Lightning in May 2018
Born (1997-07-15) July 15, 1997 (age 27)
Woodbridge, Ontario, Canada
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 189 lb (86 kg; 13 st 7 lb)
Position Center
Shoots Left
NHL team Tampa Bay Lightning
National team  Canada
NHL draft 72nd overall, 2015
Tampa Bay Lightning
Playing career 2016–present

Playing career

edit

Juniors

edit

Cirelli started his junior career with the Oshawa Generals of the Ontario Hockey League. Cirelli went undrafted in the OHL draft, and would end up making the team as a walk-on. Cirelli scored the game-winning goal in overtime against the Kelowna Rockets in the 2015 Memorial Cup.[1] On June 27, 2015, the Tampa Bay Lightning selected Cirelli 72nd overall in the 3rd round of the 2015 NHL Entry Draft.[2] On January 28, 2016, Cirelli was named as captain of the Generals.[3] On May 19, 2016, the Lightning signed Cirelli to a three-year entry-level contract.[4]

On January 9, 2017, Cirelli was traded by the Oshawa Generals to the Erie Otters.[5] Cirelli scored another championship clinching goal in overtime, the 2017 J. Ross Robertson Cup winning goal for the Otters in Game 5 of the OHL championship series against the Mississauga Steelheads .[6] However, the Otters would ultimately fall in the championship game of the 2017 Memorial Cup tournament to the host Windsor Spitfires.[7]

Professional

edit

On March 1, 2018, Cirelli was recalled by the Tampa Bay Lightning from the Syracuse Crunch of the American Hockey League. Prior to his recall Cirelli was enjoying a productive rookie season with the Crunch. He had appeared in 51 games where he had 14-goals and 37 points.[8] Cirelli would make his NHL debut that night against the Dallas Stars at American Airlines Center. Cirelli recorded his first career NHL goal and assist in the game, which resulted in a 5–4 overtime win.[9] Cirelli also became only the fourth player in Lightning history to have a multiple point game in their NHL debut.[10] On April 12, 2018, Cirelli made his NHL Stanley Cup Playoff debut in a 5–2 Lightning victory over the visiting New Jersey Devils.[11] On April 21, 2018, Cirelli recorded his first career playoff assist and point in a 3–1 Lightning series clinching win over the New Jersey Devils.[12][13] On May 2, 2018, he recorded his first career playoff goal in a 4–1 win over the Boston Bruins.[14] Building on his impressive overtime goal-scoring resume from his junior days, on September 17, 2020, he scored the winning goal in overtime of Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the New York Islanders.

On December 24, 2020, Cirelli signed a three-year, $14.4 million contract with the Lightning.

On July 13, 2022, Cirelli signed an eight-year, $50 million contract extension with the Lightning. His teammates Mikhail Sergachev and Erik Cernak also signed eight-year extensions on the same day.

International play

edit
Medal record
Ice hockey
Representing   Canada
World Championships
  2019 Slovakia
World Junior Championships
  2017 Canada

On April 29, 2019, Cirelli was selected to make his full international debut after he was named to the Team Canada roster for the 2019 IIHF World Championship, held in Slovakia.[15] He helped Canada progress through to the playoff rounds before losing the final to Finland to finish with the Silver Medal on May 26, 2019.[16] Cirelli finished the tournament posting 3 goals and 4 points in 10 games. Cirelli also participated in the 2017 World Junior Championship with Canada, winning a silver medal.

Career statistics

edit

Regular season and playoffs

edit
Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2014–15 Oshawa Generals OHL 68 13 23 36 22 21 2 8 10 0
2015–16 Oshawa Generals OHL 62 21 38 59 27 5 2 3 5 0
2015–16 Syracuse Crunch AHL 3 0 0 0 0
2016–17 Oshawa Generals OHL 26 13 21 34 8
2016–17 Erie Otters OHL 25 12 18 30 4 22 15 16 31 4
2016–17 Syracuse Crunch AHL 6 0 0 0 6
2017–18 Syracuse Crunch AHL 51 14 23 37 14
2017–18 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 18 5 6 11 6 17 2 1 3 4
2018–19 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 82 19 20 39 34 4 1 1 2 0
2019–20 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 68 16 28 44 30 25 3 6 9 2
2020–21 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 50 9 13 22 10 23 5 7 12 20
2021–22 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 76 17 26 43 70 23 3 5 8 8
2022–23 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 58 11 18 29 33 6 3 3 6 4
2023–24 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 79 20 25 45 38 5 0 2 2 0
NHL totals 431 97 136 233 221 103 17 25 42 38

International

edit
Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2017 Canada WJC   7 3 4 7 2
2019 Canada WC   10 3 1 4 6
Junior totals 7 3 4 7 2
Senior totals 10 3 1 4 6

Awards and honours

edit
Award Year
CHL
Memorial Cup champion 2015
Memorial Cup Most Sportsmanlike player 2017
NHL
NHL All-Rookie Team 2019 [17]
Stanley Cup champion 2020, 2021 [18][19]

References

edit
  1. ^ "Oshawa Generals win 2015 MasterCard Memorial Cup". mastercardmemorialcup.ca. Canadian Hockey League. May 31, 2015. Archived from the original on June 18, 2018. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
  2. ^ Alexander, Kyle (June 27, 2015). "2015 NHL Draft: Tampa Bay Lightning draft recap". SB Nation: Raw Charge. Archived from the original on March 26, 2019. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
  3. ^ "Anthony Cirelli Named Captain Of The Oshawa Generals". oshawagenerals.com. Canadian Hockey League. January 28, 2016. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
  4. ^ "Lightning sign forward Anthony Cirelli". nhl.com. Tampa Bay Lightning. May 19, 2016. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
  5. ^ "Generals trade Anthony Cirelli to Erie". oshawagenerals.com. Oshawa Generals. January 9, 2017. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
  6. ^ "Otters Win Robertson Cup In Overtime". ottershockey.com. Erie Otters. May 12, 2017. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
  7. ^ Cicerella, Kyle (May 29, 2018). "Spitfires hang on to win thrilling Memorial Cup final". CBC Sports. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
  8. ^ Smith, Joe (1 March 2018). "Anthony Cirelli called up by the Lightning". The Tampa Tribune. Archived from the original on 1 September 2018. Retrieved 2019-12-24.
  9. ^ Miller, Jeff (March 1, 2018). "Conacher lifts Lightning past Stars in OT". National Hockey League. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
  10. ^ @PR_NHL (1 March 2018). "Anthony Cirelli is the fourth player in Lightning history to record multiple points in their NHL debut" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  11. ^ Mooney, Roger (April 12, 2018). "Tony Cirelli makes his playoff presence felt immediately for Lightning". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved April 15, 2018.
  12. ^ @BBurnsNHL (22 April 2018). "Cirelli earns his 1st career playoff point" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  13. ^ Long, Corey (April 21, 2018). "Lightning defeat Devils, advance to second round". National Hockey League. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
  14. ^ Hass, Trevor (May 2, 2018). "Lightning's Tony Cirelli gets first playoff goal in gritty Game 3 effort vs. Bruins". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved May 10, 2018.
  15. ^ "Hockey Canada names 22 players to 2019 IIHF World Championship roster". Hockey Canada. April 29, 2019. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
  16. ^ "Finland defeats Canada for Gold Medal at World Championship". The Sports Network. May 26, 2019. Retrieved May 26, 2019.
  17. ^ "NHL announces 2018-19 All-Rookie Team". National Hockey League. June 20, 2019. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  18. ^ "Tampa Bay Lightning win Stanley Cup in Pandemic Bubble". New York Times. September 28, 2020. Retrieved September 28, 2020.
  19. ^ "Tampa Bay close out Montreal Canadiens to win second straight Stanley Cup". ESPN. July 7, 2021. Retrieved July 8, 2021.
edit