Tyler Seguin

BIOGRAPHY

Tyler Seguin was born January 31, 1992, in Brampton, Ontario, Canada. Going into the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, Seguin and Hall were considered the top two available players, with no consensus which one would become the first overall draft pick. Both players were tied for points scoring in the OHL for the previous season, while draft reports tended to emphasize Seguin's speed and Hall's strength. Danny Flynn of Bleacher Report referred to Seguin as an "elite playmaker" who lacked "skill on the defensive end", whereas Hall had proven his "greatness on the big stage", but had "shown a tendency to be selfish at times". Preliminary rankings from the NHL Central Scouting Bureau ranked Seguin the top OHL prospect, and Hall second. Although their positions switched during the midterm rankings, Seguin was named the No. 1 prospect in the bureau's final April rankings. Seguin ended up being selected second overall by the Boston Bruins, while Hall was taken first by the Edmonton Oilers.

Shortly after being drafted, Seguin signed a three-year, $3.75 million entry-level contract with the Bruins, the maximum allowed for a contract of that nature. He made his NHL debut on October 9, 2010, with four shots on goal in a 5–2 loss to the Phoenix Coyotes. He scored his first professional goal the next day, receiving the puck on a pass from teammate Michael Ryder in the third period and scoring on a breakaway backhanded goal against goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov in a 3–0 shutout of the Coyotes.

Seguin participated in the 2011 All-Star festivities during the Rookie Skills Competition. Late in the 2010–11 season, Seguin was quoted as having a desire to model his NHL playing style on that of teammate Patrice Bergeron.

After being a healthy scratch for the first two rounds of the 2011 Stanley Cup playoffs, Seguin was included in the Boston lineup to start Round 3, the Eastern Conference Finals, against the Tampa Bay Lightning after centreman Patrice Bergeron sustained a mild concussion. Seguin scored a goal and added an assist in his first game played, then followed that up with two goals and two assists in his second game. He became the first teenager to score four points in a Stanley Cup playoff game since Trevor Linden did so for the Vancouver Canucks in 1989. On June 15, 2011, Boston won the Stanley Cup in the Finals, prevailing over Vancouver in a 4–3 series victory.

On November 5, 2011, Seguin scored his first career NHL hat trick against the team that traded the draft pick to the Bruins, the Toronto Maple Leafs. On November 14, Seguin was named NHL's First Star of the Week for his four goals and two assists that helped the Bruins to three wins in the week. On December 8, he played in his 100th career NHL game against the Florida Panthers. On April 22, 2012, Seguin scored in overtime of Game 6 of the Bruins' Eastern Conference Quarterfinals series against the Washington Capitals that sent the series to a Game 7. However, despite another goal from Seguin in Game 7, the Bruins would go on to lose the game in overtime and were thus eliminated from the playoffs. He finished the 2011–12 season as the Bruins' leading scorer.

During the 2012–13 NHL lockout, Seguin was one of many Bruins who signed European hockey contracts, striking a deal with the EHC Biel hockey club of the Swiss National League A on September 21, 2012. He made his Swiss League debut on September 30, centreing Ahren Spylo and Eric Beaudoin on the second line and scoring an assist in a 6–3 loss to the Rapperswil-Jona Lakers. Seguin's first goal with the team came three days later, in the first period of his second appearance, a 2–1 win over EV Zug. Less than one month later, on October 24, Seguin recorded his second professional hat trick, and his first NLA hat trick, in a 5–4 shootout win over HC Ambri-Piotta. By November 27, he had accumulated 20 goals in 20 games, the most of any NHL lockout export to the NLA.

On December 28, 2012, Seguin told NBC Sports Boston that, after representing Team Canada at the 2012 Spengler Cup, he would leave EHC Biel and return to the Bruins. In 29 NLA games that season, Seguin scored 25 goals and 15 assists. He also befriended his teammate Patrick Kane, who returned to the Chicago Blackhawks upon the conclusion of the lockout.

After the lockout ended, the 2012–13 NHL season began, with 48 intra-conference games played beginning January 19, 2013. Seguin played all 48 regular-season games with the Bruins, scoring 16 goals and 16 assists while playing on a line with Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand. His performance began to waver during the 2013 Stanley Cup playoffs, however, scoring only one goal and three assists in his first 12 postseason games, and he was moved from the second to the third line with Rich Peverley and Chris Kelly, with Jaromir Jagr taking his place on the second. The Bruins advanced to the 2013 Stanley Cup finals, but ultimately fell to the Blackhawks in six games.

On July 4, 2013, shortly after the Stanley Cup finals, Seguin was part of a massive seven-player trade that sent him, Peverley, and defenceman Ryan Button to the Dallas Stars in exchange for forward Loui Eriksson and prospects Joe Morrow, Reilly Smith, and Matt Fraser. Prior to the trade, rumors had begun to circulate that the Bruins were displeased with Seguin's supposed hard-partying lifestyle, particularly when his on-ice performance began to suffer during the playoffs. General manager Peter Chiarelli spoke in a press conference on July 4 to assert that, although the trade was "not a strict on-ice decision", but that concerns of Seguin's behavior were more related to "focus, just about little things, about preparing to play, it was nothing about extracurricular activities".

The 2013–14 NHL season proved a breakout for Seguin, who became fast friends with captain Jamie Benn. On November 14, 2013, Seguin had his first career four-point game, scoring two goals and two assists in a 7–3 rout of the Calgary Flames. After reaching 30 goals for the third straight season, Seguin sustained a cut to his Achilles tendon on March 17, 2016, and was expected to miss 3–4 weeks at the end of the season. He set career highs in goals, with 34, and assists, with 47, and his 84 season points were the fourth-highest in the NHL. At the conclusion of the season, Seguin came in sixth overall in voting for the Hart Memorial Trophy, given to the "player judged most valuable to his team". He was also nominated for the King Clancy Memorial Trophy, given for leadership and humanitarianism; the award ultimately went to Andrew Ference of the Edmonton Oilers.

Seguin was named to the NHL All-Star Game for the fifth time on January 10, 2018. He was previously selected for the 2012, 2015, 2016, and 2017 NHL All-Star games. At the end of the 2017–18 season, Seguin was nominated for the King Clancy Memorial Trophy for the second time.

On September 13, 2018, Seguin signed an eight-year, $78.8 million contract extension with the Stars.

After blocking a shot on March 12, 2020, one of the final games before the suspension of the regular NHL season, Seguin suffered two tears in his right vastus lateralis muscle. He chose to refrain from lower body workouts during the league pause in the hopes that the injury would resolve itself. On July 29, during a practice before the Stars' exhibition game against the Nashville Predators, Seguin felt a "pop" in his hip that also caused pain in his knee. After playing through the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs, scoring only two goals in 26 games, Seguin was told that he had completely torn his acetabular labrum. Due to restrictions surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, Seguin's surgery was repeatedly delayed. Seguin received a right hip arthroscopy and labral repair on November 2, 2020. The expected timeline for his rehabilitation and recovery was subsequently adjusted from four to five months, due to the severity of the injury.

Seguin returned to play on May 3, 2021, scoring a goal in the Stars' 5–4 overtime loss against the Florida Panthers.