Rolston, a center who played for five teams during 17 NHL seasons, owned one of the biggest slap shots in the League and was one of the few players who would use it regularly in shootouts and on penalty shots. He was 10-for-27 in the tiebreaker and scored on two of his three penalty shots.
The New Jersey Devils selected the Flint, Michigan, native in the first round (No. 11) of the 1991 NHL Draft. He played two seasons of college hockey at Lake Superior State and played for the United States at the 1994 Lillehammer Olympics before joining the Devils in 1994-95, just in time to become a Stanley Cup champion for the only time in his career when New Jersey swept the Detroit Red Wings in the Final.
Rolston, a center who played for five teams during 17 NHL seasons, owned one of the biggest slap shots in the League and was one of the few players who would use it regularly in shootouts and on penalty shots. He was 10-for-27 in the tiebreaker and scored on two of his three penalty shots.
The New Jersey Devils selected the Flint, Michigan, native in the first round (No. 11) of the 1991 NHL Draft. He played two seasons of college hockey at Lake Superior State and played for the United States at the 1994 Lillehammer Olympics before joining the Devils in 1994-95, just in time to become a Stanley Cup champion for the only time in his career when New Jersey swept the Detroit Red Wings in the Final.
Rolston played the next four seasons with the Devils, scoring 24 goals in 1998-99. But the Devils traded him to the Colorado Avalanche on Nov. 3, 1999, and the Avalanche sent him to the Boston as part of the package that brought future Hall of Fame defenseman Ray Bourque to Colorado on March 6, 2000.
He spent the next four seasons with the Bruins, becoming a 30-goal scorer for the first time when he scored 31 in 2001-02, before signing with the Minnesota Wild as a free agent on July 8, 2004. Rolston scored 34, 31 and 31 goals in his three seasons with Minnesota and had an NHL career-high 79 points in 2005-06. His two penalty-shot goals came with Minnesota after coach Jacques Lemaire, who had one of the NHL's best slap shots during his Hall of Fame career as a player, encouraged him to use it in shootouts and on penalty shots.
The Devils, seeking more offense, signed him as a free agent on July 1, 2008. But Rolston wasn't the same offensively as he'd been in Minnesota, though he scored 20 goals for the final time in the NHL in 2009-10. He retired after splitting the 2011-12 season with the New York Islanders and Boston Bruins, finishing with 761 points (342 goals, 419 assists) in 1,256 NHL games, and 34 points (20 goals, 14 assists) in 77 playoff games. He also helped the United States win the silver medal at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics and played in the 2006 Torino Olmypics.
NOTES & TRANSACTIONS
- NCAA Championship All-Tournament Team (1992, 1993)
- CCHA First All-Star Team (1993)
- NCAA West Second All-American Team (1993)
- Played in NHL All-Star Game (2007)
- Traded to Colorado by New Jersey with New Jersey's 1st round choice (later traded to Boston, Boston selected Martin Samuelsson) in 2000 Entry Draft for Claude Lemieux and Colorado's 1st (David Hale) and 2nd (Matt DeMarchi) round choices in 2000 Entry Draft, November 3, 1999.
- Traded to Boston by Colorado with Martin Grenier, Samuel Pahlsson and New Jersey's 1st round choice (previously acquired, Boston selected Martin Samuelsson) in 2000 Entry Draft for Raymond Bourque and Dave Andreychuk, March 6, 2000.
- Signed as a free agent by Minnesota, July 8, 2004.
- Traded to Tampa Bay by Minnesota for Dallas' 4th round choice (previously acquired, later traded to Edmonton, Edmonton selected Kyle Bigos) in 2009 Entry Draft, June 29, 2008.
- Signed as a free agent by New Jersey, July 1, 2008.
- Traded to NY Islanders by New Jersey for Trent Hunter, July 28, 2011.
- Traded to Boston by NY Islanders with Mike Mottau for Marc Cantin and Yannick Riendeau, February 27, 2012.
