Montréal Canadiens. Booming shot to receive Andrei Markov's perfect passes. Grit. Fights. Before Shea Weber, there was Sheldon Souray.
Who knew a New Jersey Devils draft pick (third round, 71st overall in 1994) would one day set the Habs' record for powerplay goals for a defenseman (19, for 26 total goals, in 2006-07)? He'd been traded for Vladimir Malakhov, one of the most talented yet laziest defensemen ever to play in the NHL, so it was 50/50 as to whether Souray would pan out.
And because the Canadiens needed grit first and foremost at the time, in his first three seasons with the team, Souray - who had just scored 4 goals in 182 games with the Devils - scored three goals per, but averaged more than a pair of PIMs per as well.
After sitting out the 2002-03 season entirely to recover from multiple hand surgeries, he scored 15 in 2003-04, then 12 more in 2005-09.
Following his record-setting season with the Habs, however, fresh off an eighth-place finish in the Norris Trophy race, he signed as a free agent with his hometown Edmonton Oilers. Although it didn't end well for him in Edmonton, his contract buried in the AHL with the Hersey Bears because of a disagreement with management over medical issues, he still managed a 23-goal, 53-point season with the Oil in 2008-09.
He had a decent bounce-back season with the Dallas Stars in 2011-12 (6 goals, 15 assists,21 points and 73 penalty minutes in 64 games), he signed a three-year contract with the Anaheim Ducks, but was sidelined for two of them. He did manage a career-best +19 rating in his last season, in 2012-13 before, essentially, waiting at home for his contract to expire so he could officially retire.
He married model Barbie Blank - also known as WWE Diva Kelly Kelly - earlier this year. Things had not ended particularly well with his first wife, Baywatch, Playboy and Fantasy star Angelica Bridges.
Here he is wearing the Canadiens' white (then-home) uniform, on card #258 from Upper Deck's 2005-06 Parkhurst set:
He signed it in (fading) blue sharpie.
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