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Ken Daneyko

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Ken Daneyko
Daneyko in 2011
Born (1964-04-17) April 17, 1964 (age 61)
Windsor, Ontario, Canada
Height 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight 216 lb (98 kg; 15 st 6 lb)
Position Defence
Shot Left
Played for New Jersey Devils
National team  Canada
NHL draft 18th overall, 1982
New Jersey Devils
Playing career 1983–2003

Kenneth Stephen Daneyko (born April 17, 1964) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. He played his entire career with the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League (NHL), winning three Stanley Cup championships with the team. He has been nicknamed "Mr. Devil" by Devils fans, as he currently holds both the franchise record for games played as a Devil with 1,283 games and in penalty minutes with 2,516. Daneyko now provides colour analysis alongside Don La Greca during broadcasts of Devils games on MSG Sportsnet.

Early years

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Daneyko was born on April 17, 1964, in Windsor, Ontario,[1] and spent his first seven years there.[2] He was the youngest of four children born into their immigrant family. His father immigrated from Germany and his mother immigrated from Ukraine.[3] His family moved from Windsor to Edmonton, Alberta when he was seven years old.[4] In Edmonton, he grew up alongside future NHLer Mark Messier, who, despite being four years older than him, he described as "very influential" on his career.[5][6]

Playing career

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Amateur

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Daneyko played Bantam AA hockey for the Great Falls Americans before being encouraged to leave Edmonton to play Junior hockey at the age of 15. He left with his father's permission without telling his mother, as she had opposed the move.[3][7] Daneyko spent one season with the Yorkton Terriers of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League and scored one goal and 20 assists in his rookie season. After his one-year stint with the Terriers, Daneyko joined the Spokane Flyers in the Western Hockey League.[7] He played 88 games for the Flyers before joining the Seattle Breakers in December 1981 when the WHL suspended the Spokane franchise.[8] He began to gain attention from National Hockey League (NHL) scouts while in Seattle, which rose his rankings for the 1982 NHL entry draft. While he was originally ranked 67th among all draft-eligible players in February 1982, he finished the season as one of the best prospects in junior hockey.[9] Daneyko was subsequently drafted in the first round, 18th overall, by the New Jersey Devils in the 1982 NHL entry draft.[10]

Professional

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Daneyko participated in the Devils' 1982 training camp before being returned to the Seattle Breakers.[11] He scored 17 goals and 43 assists for the Breakers in the 1982-83 season. Although his points total pleased the Devils' coaching staff, they were concerned about the quality of coaching he would receive if he returned to the Breakers for his final year of junior hockey. Their concerns were so serious that Devils General Manager and coach Billy MacMillan considered keeping Daneyko at the NHL level rather than returning him. However, following his trade to the Kamloops Junior Oilers of the WHL, the Devils felt comfortable reassigning him if necessary.[12] At the Devils 1983 training camp, Daneyko was paired with veteran defenceman Phil Russell[13] and they remained together to start the 1983–84 season.[14] He subsequently made his NHL debut on October 6 against the New York Rangers,[15] and scored his first NHL goal on October 30 against the Pittsburgh Penguins.[16] By the end of October, he ranked sixth in rookie scoring with five points through 11 games.[17] However, he fractured his fibula during a game against the Hartford Whalers in early November and missed over two months of game play. Once he recovered in February, he was reassigned to the Kamloops Junior Oilers of the WHL for the remainder of the season.[18] Upon rejoining the Kamloops Junior Oilers, Daneyko helped the team qualify for the 1984 Memorial Cup.[19]

Daneyko was reassigned to the Devils American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Maine Mariners, to start the 1984-85 season.[20] He later described his season in Maine as beneficial for his overall development, stating: "I learned a lot about the mental aspects of the game and kept developing physically. I play a physical game and I sometimes got caught out of position a lot. Now I know they want me to move the puck as quickly as possible."[21]

During the 1985 offseason, Daneyko joined Paul Messier in West Germany and spent a month attending the training camp of Adler Mannheim.[21] He also participated in four exhibition games with Mannheim. However, as he did not receive permission to do so from the Devils organisation or the NHL, he was suspended for one game and fined $500.[22] After serving his suspension, Daneyko played in only one game for the Devils before being demoted to the AHL on November 9.[23] Daneyko finished the regular season with no goals and 10 assists. He signed a two-year contract extension with the Devils on June 6, 1986.[24]

Daneyko circa 2005/2006

On March 29, 1994, Daneyko's ironman streak ended due to a shoulder injury. At the time of the injury, Daneyko held the record as the NHL's longest active ironman with 388 consecutive games.[25]

Daneyko played in his 800th career NHL game on October 18, 1996, against the Hartford Whalers.[26] This moved him into second place on the Devils' all-time games played list, behind John MacLean.[27]

While Daneyko began the 1997–98 season with the Devils, his play was affected by personal issues.[28] After missing three games due to these issues, Daneyko went public with his alcoholism problem in early November.[29][30] He became the first player to voluntarily enter the NHL's voluntary Substance Abuse and Behavioral Health program and subsequently missed 45 games.[31] Although he had been released from the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation Clinic at the end of December, Daneyko trained privately with the team's trainers until February 3. He officially returned to the Devils lineup on February 25 for their game against the Florida Panthers.[32] Daneyko won the Bill Masterton Trophy in 2000 in recognition of his "perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey."[33]

Along with Scott Stevens, he was part of a Devils defensive core that won the Stanley Cup three times, in 1995, 2000 and 2003. From the team's first playoff game while in New Jersey, in 1988, Daneyko played in every playoff game until game four of the 2003 quarterfinals. He also was scratched in the first six games of the 2003 finals, but, looking for a spark, coach Pat Burns inserted Daneyko into the lineup for game seven, replacing Oleg Tverdovsky. Daneyko took the ice for the final shift of the Devils' game seven victory over the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, which clinched their third Stanley Cup victory, in 2003.[citation needed]

Post-playing career

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Daneyko's No. 3 hanging in between Scott Niedermayer's No. 27 and Scott Stevens' No. 4 at the Prudential Center

Following his retirement, Daneyko joined the Devils' broadcasts on MSGSN as a studio analyst. He spent eight years in this role before being promoted to the Devils' in-game analyst in September 2014.[34]

Legacy and honours

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The Devils retired his uniform number on March 24, 2006. He was the second Devil to receive the honour, after Scott Stevens, although both were retired in the same year.[35]

In October 2009, Daneyko began competing as a pairs figure skater on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reality show Battle of the Blades.[36] In 2010, Daneyko portrayed himself in the short film Ice Hockey, written and directed by Larry Cohen. The film also featured Randy Velischek.[37]

In 2016, Daneyko was inducted into the Ukrainian Sports Hall of Fame.[citation needed]

Personal life

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Daneyko has two children; a daughter and a son.[34]

Career statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1979–80 Yorkton Terriers SJHL 60 2 24 26 102 — — — — —
1979–80 Great Falls Americans WHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
1980–81 St. Albert Saints AJHL 1 0 0 0 4 — — — — —
1980–81 Spokane Flyers WHL 62 6 13 19 140 4 0 0 0 0
1981–82 St. Albert Saints AJHL 1 0 2 2 2 — — — — —
1981–82 Spokane Flyers WHL 26 1 11 12 147 — — — — —
1981–82 Seattle Breakers WHL 38 1 22 23 151 10 1 9 10 42
1982–83 Seattle Breakers WHL 69 17 43 60 150 4 1 3 4 14
1983–84 Kamloops Junior Oilers WHL 19 6 28 34 52 17 4 9 13 28
1983–84 New Jersey Devils NHL 11 1 4 5 17 — — — — —
1983–84 Kamloops Junior Oilers MC — — — — — 4 2 2 4 10
1984–85 Maine Mariners AHL 80 4 9 13 206 11 1 3 4 36
1984–85 New Jersey Devils NHL 1 0 0 0 10 — — — — —
1985–86 Maine Mariners AHL 21 3 2 5 75 — — — — —
1985–86 New Jersey Devils NHL 44 0 10 10 100 — — — — —
1986–87 New Jersey Devils NHL 79 2 12 14 183 — — — — —
1987–88 New Jersey Devils NHL 80 5 7 12 239 20 1 6 7 83
1988–89 New Jersey Devils NHL 80 5 5 10 283 — — — — —
1989–90 New Jersey Devils NHL 74 6 15 21 216 6 2 0 2 21
1990–91 New Jersey Devils NHL 80 4 16 20 249 7 0 1 1 10
1991–92 New Jersey Devils NHL 80 1 7 8 170 7 0 3 3 16
1992–93 New Jersey Devils NHL 84 2 11 13 236 5 0 0 0 8
1993–94 New Jersey Devils NHL 78 1 9 10 176 20 0 1 1 45
1994–95 New Jersey Devils NHL 25 1 2 3 54 20 1 0 1 22
1995–96 New Jersey Devils NHL 80 2 4 6 115 — — — — —
1996–97 New Jersey Devils NHL 77 2 7 9 70 10 0 0 0 28
1997–98 New Jersey Devils NHL 37 0 1 1 57 6 0 1 1 10
1998–99 New Jersey Devils NHL 82 2 9 11 63 7 0 0 0 8
1999–2000 New Jersey Devils NHL 78 0 6 6 98 23 1 2 3 14
2000–01 New Jersey Devils NHL 77 0 4 4 87 25 0 3 3 21
2001–02 New Jersey Devils NHL 67 0 6 6 60 6 0 0 0 8
2002–03 New Jersey Devils NHL 69 2 7 9 33 13 0 0 0 2
NHL totals 1,283 36 142 178 2,516 175 5 17 22 296

International

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Year Team Event GP G A Pts PIM
1986 Canada WC 7 0 0 0 0
1989 Canada WC 8 0 0 0 4
Senior totals 15 0 0 0 4

Awards and honours

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Award Year Ref
National Hockey League
Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy 2000 [33]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Duff, Bob (June 22, 1995). "Name game". The Windsor Star. Retrieved October 4, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "'Homecoming' for Daneyko". Asbury Park Press. November 28, 2002. Retrieved October 4, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  3. ^ a b Daneyko, Ken (June 25, 1995). "Sweetest feeling in my life". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved October 5, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  4. ^ Shea, Kevin (September 10, 2003). "Stanley Cup journal". Hockey Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on March 10, 2023. Retrieved October 5, 2025.
  5. ^ Malinowski, Mark (April 11, 2010). "Ken Daneyko". The Hockey News. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
  6. ^ Klein, Jeff (May 17, 2012). "Remembering 1994: Q. and A. With Ken Daneyko". The New York Times. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
  7. ^ a b Friesen, Kelly (February 13, 2013). "One-on-one with Ken Daneyko". sasktoday.ca. Archived from the original on October 5, 2025. Retrieved October 5, 2025.
  8. ^ "Locally: Former Spokane youth hockey player Ken Daneyko honored by New Jersey Devils". The Spokesman-Review. November 8, 2022. Retrieved October 5, 2025.
  9. ^ MacPeek, Walt (July 24, 1982). "Daneyko may become Devils' gem of draft". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved October 5, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  10. ^ Mifflin, Laurie (June 10, 1982). "New Jersey Trades Ramage and Chooses a Trottier in Draft". The New York Times. Retrieved April 7, 2010.(subscription required)
  11. ^ "Devils demote three". Standard-Freeholder. October 2, 1982. Retrieved October 5, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  12. ^ MacPeek, Walt (September 16, 1983). "Devils pondering Daneyko's status". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved October 5, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  13. ^ Pakutka, Will (September 23, 1983). "Devils' defensive duo is like fire on ice". The Herald-News. Retrieved October 5, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  14. ^ Pakutka, Will (October 3, 1984). "Daneyko still fighting back". The Herald-News. Retrieved October 5, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  15. ^ Coffey, Phil (October 7, 1983). "Devils stumble in opener". The News. Retrieved October 5, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  16. ^ "Devils tumble, 5–3, to Pens; Mulvey hurt". The Star-Ledger. October 31, 1983. Retrieved October 5, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  17. ^ Chere, Rich (November 4, 1983). "Mac hopes Devils' spirit high". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved October 5, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  18. ^ "Hockey". Daily Record. February 7, 1984. Retrieved October 5, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  19. ^ "Devils open minus Muller". The Star-Ledger. September 13, 1984. Retrieved October 5, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  20. ^ Pakutka, Will (October 3, 1984). "Daneyko fights back". The Herald-News. Retrieved October 5, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  21. ^ a b Coffey, Phil (October 5, 1985). "Daneyko shapes up". The News. Retrieved October 5, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  22. ^ Coffey, Phil (October 10, 1985). "Daneyko draws NHL suspension". The News. Retrieved October 5, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  23. ^ "Broten flub helps Isles nip Devils, 3–2". The Star-Ledger. November 10, 1985. Retrieved October 5, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  24. ^ "Sports People". The Central New Jersey Home News. June 7, 1986. Retrieved October 5, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  25. ^ Chere, Rich (March 31, 1994). "Daneyko hopes to streak back for playoffs". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved October 10, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  26. ^ "Devils report". Asbury Park Press. October 19, 1996. Retrieved October 10, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  27. ^ Ross, Sherry (October 18, 1996). "Devils' Daneyko in line to join 800 club". Daily News. Retrieved October 10, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  28. ^ Hirsch, Steve (November 4, 1997). "Olympic distraction concerns Lemaire". The Record. Retrieved October 10, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  29. ^ Zurkowsky, Herb (March 17, 1998). "Sobering times for Daneyko". The Windsor Star. Retrieved October 10, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  30. ^ "Devils' Daneyko heads to rehab". Citizen Register. November 7, 1997. Retrieved October 10, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  31. ^ "NHL Substance Abuse History". ESPN. February 28, 2001. Retrieved August 3, 2023.
  32. ^ Ross, Sherry (February 25, 1998). "Daneyko has Ken-do attitude". Daily News. Retrieved October 10, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  33. ^ a b "Pronger named MVP". Columbia Daily Tribune. June 16, 2000. Retrieved October 10, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  34. ^ a b "Ken Daneyko". msgnetworks.com. April 21, 2024. Archived from the original on April 21, 2024. Retrieved October 5, 2025.
  35. ^ "New Jersey Devils to Honor Scott Stevens & Ken Daneyko". New Jersey Devils. 2006. Archived from the original on January 10, 2006. Retrieved October 5, 2025.
  36. ^ Dixon, Ryan (October 28, 2009). "Top Shelf: Dashing Ken Daneyko still a Devil at heart". The Hockey News. Retrieved October 5, 2025.
  37. ^ "Ice Hockey". IMDb. April 28, 2011.
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Preceded by New Jersey Devils first round draft pick
1982 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Bill Masterton Trophy
2000 		Succeeded by
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