BARRASSO SIGNS WITH PENGUINS, THEN RETIRES
06/18/2003

One of the NHL's greatest goaltenders called it a career Wednesday, as Tom Barrasso announced his retirement at the age of 38. The two-time Stanley Cup champion signed a contract with the Penguins prior to his announcement, thus leaving the game as a member of the team with which he experienced his greatest success.

It is a real honor for our organization to have a player of such stature as Tom Barrasso wanting to retire as a Pittsburgh Penguin, said General Manager Craig Patrick.

Tom was an integral part of our success and our two Stanley Cups championships, said team owner Mario Lemieux. He was a tremendous goaltender and a true professional, and we are delighted that he is retiring a Penguin.

Barrasso was acquired from the Buffalo Sabres with a third round choice in the 1990 NHL draft for Doug Bodger and Darrin Shannon on Nov. 12, 1988. The Boston native posted a 226-153-53 record with and a 3.27 goals against average in 460 career regular season games with the Penguins between 1988 and 2000, and was 56-42 with a 2.93 GAA in 101 post-season contests. He is the franchise's all-time leader in nearly every goaltending statistic, including career games played, career minutes played, career wins, career saves (12,064), career shutouts (22), single-season shutouts (7), single-season wins (43), single-season GAA (2.07), playoff games, playoff wins and playoff shutouts (6).

Barrasso was a key member of the Penguins' Stanley Cup Championship teams. He led the league with a 2.60 goals against average and posted the only playoff shutout during the 1991 Cup run, and led all post-season netminders in games played (21), wins (16) and minutes played (1,233) in 1992.

Barrasso made history on Oct. 19, 1997, when he became the first American-born goaltender to record his 300th career win in a 4-1 win against the Florida Panthers. Later that season he recorded his 200th victory as a Penguin during a 4-1 win at Tampa Bay.

A high school standout, Barrasso broke into the NHL with Buffalo in 1983-84, posting a 26-12-3 record and 2.84 goals against average in his rookie season. He became just one of only four goaltenders to take home the Calder Trophy (rookie of the year) and Vezina Trophy (top goaltender) in the same season (Ed Belfour, Tony Esposito and Frank Brimsek), and was named to the All-Rookie and First All-Star teams. He followed-up his freshman campaign by leading the league with a 2.66 GAA and five shutouts in 1984-85, and was named to play in the NHL All-Star Game.

The fifth overall pick in the 1983 NHL draft, Barrasso finishes his career with a 369-277-86 record, 38 shutouts and a 3.24 record in 777 regular season games with the Sabres, Penguins, Ottawa Senators, Carolina Hurricanes, Toronto Maple Leafs and St. Louis Blues. He appeared in 119 post-season with the Sabres, Penguins and Senators, posting a 61-54 record, six shutouts and a 3.01 goals against average.

OTHER TOM BARRASSO CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
* Set the NHL record for longest playoff winning streak at 14 games (May 9, 1992 - Apr. 22, 1993).

* Is tied for the NHL record with 16 wins in one playoff year (1992).

* Has a 7-2 record and 2.47 goals against average in the Stanley Cup Finals.

* Holds the all-time NHL record for most points by a goaltender (48).

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