Quick, feisty and irritating to play against, Versteeg has frequently been in demand with his mix of grit and savvy around the net.
The forward has been well traveled since graduating to the NHL in 2007 after a four-year Western Hockey League career, winning the Stanley Cup twice, once in each of his stints with the Chicago Blackhawks. However, he did not play for the Boston Bruins, who selected him in the fifth round (No. 134) in the 2004 NHL Draft.
Quick, feisty and irritating to play against, Versteeg has frequently been in demand with his mix of grit and savvy around the net.
The forward has been well traveled since graduating to the NHL in 2007 after a four-year Western Hockey League career, winning the Stanley Cup twice, once in each of his stints with the Chicago Blackhawks. However, he did not play for the Boston Bruins, who selected him in the fifth round (No. 134) in the 2004 NHL Draft.
After being drafted, Versteeg played parts of two seasons with Providence, Boston's American Hockey League affiliate, before being traded to the Blackhawks with future considerations for Brandon Bochenski on Feb. 3, 2007. He made his NHL debut with Chicago on Nov. 22, 2007, against the Calgary Flames, and had four points in 13 NHL games that season.
In 2008-09 Versteeg was named to the NHL All-Rookie Team after scoring 22 goals and 53 points and leading all rookies with 31 assists. He became a regular for the Blackhawks by 2009-10, when he had 14 points in 22 playoff games and helped them win the Stanley Cup. Three weeks later, on June 30, 2010, Chicago traded him to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
After stops with the Philadelphia Flyers and Florida Panthers, Florida traded him to Chicago for Jimmy Hayes and Dylan Olsen on Nov. 15, 2013. He won the Stanley Cup again with the Blackhawks in 2015 before being traded to the Carolina Hurricanes on Sept. 11, 2015, and then to the Los Angeles Kings on Feb. 28, 2016.
On Sept. 9, 2016, Versteeg signed a professional tryout contract with the Edmonton Oilers, another team looking to utilize his grit and savvy.
Besides his Stanley Cup victories with the Blackhawks, Versteeg has another distinction in Chicago sports lore: With a goal March 1, 2014, against the Pittsburgh Penguins in an NHL Stadium Series game at Soldier Field, he became the first player to score at that venue, the United Center and Wrigley Field.
