Harold Priestley Gill III (born April 6, 1975) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

defenseman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the l ...

who played 16

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

seasons with six different teams, winning the

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup () is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, and the International Ic ...

with the

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. The Penguins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), E ...

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

. He also played for the

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The t ...

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. The Maple Leafs compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the A ...

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal Canadiens (), officially ' ( Canadian Hockey Club) and colloquially known as the Habs, are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal. The Canadiens compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic D ...

Nashville Predators The Nashville Predators (colloquially referred to as the Preds) are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Predators compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Divisio ...

and

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team play ...

. Gill was formerly manager of player development for the

Florida Panthers The Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Panthers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team initially played it ...

. He is currently co-host of Predators Live on Bally Sports with Lyndsay Rowley and a co-host with Darren McFarland on the Smashville Live radio broadcast. Previously, Hal was the radio color commentator for the Predators on the ''Nashville Predators Radio Network''.

Playing career

Before college, Gill was a notable

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

Nashoba Regional High School Nashoba Regional High School (NRHS) is a high school (grades 9–12) that is part of the Nashoba Regional School District. It is located in Bolton, Massachusetts, United States and also serves the towns of Lancaster and Stow. As of the 2024–20 ...

Bolton, Massachusetts Bolton is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Bolton is in central Massachusetts, located 25 miles west-northwest of downtown Boston along Interstate 495. It is within Greater Boston and MetroWest regions. The population ...

. Gill was selected in the eighth round, 207th overall, by the

in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft. Following the draft, he spent four seasons at

Providence College Providence College is a Private university, private Roman Catholic university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1917 by the Dominican Order and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence, it offers 47 undergraduate Academic ...

. The team won the 1996 Hockey East Men's Ice Hockey Tournament. Gill captained the 1997 team, recording a collegiate career-high 21 points in 35 games. Gill made his NHL debut during the

1997–98 NHL season The 1997–98 NHL season was the 81st regular season of the National Hockey League (NHL). For the first time, there was a break in the regular season to allow NHL players join their respective national hockey teams competing at the Winter Olympi ...

, skating in 68 games with the Bruins. He was a regular for the Bruins for the next six seasons. During the

2004–05 NHL lockout The 2004–05 NHL lockout was a labor lockout that resulted in the cancellation of the National Hockey League (NHL) season, which would have been its 88th season of play. The main dispute was the league's desire to implement a salary cap to ...

, Gill played for

Lukko Rauman Lukko (Finnish for "lock") is a Finnish sports club based in Rauma, Finland, Rauma, Finland, best known for its men's professional ice hockey team. The club was founded as Rauma Woodin Lukko in 1936. The representative team currently pla ...

in the Finnish

SM-liiga The Liiga, colloquially called the Finnish Elite League in English or FM-ligan in Swedish, is the top professional ice hockey league in Finland. The league comprises 16 teams from all around Finland with relegation and promotion between the Mest ...

. On July 1, 2006, the

signed Gill to a three-year contract, ending his tenure in Boston following nine seasons. He appeared in 145 games for the organization over two seasons. On February 26, 2008, the Maple Leafs traded Gill to the

in exchange for a

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

second-round pick and

fifth-round pick. The team reached the

Stanley Cup Finals The Stanley Cup Finals in ice hockey (also known as the Stanley Cup Final among various media, ) is the annual championship series of the National Hockey League (NHL). The winner is awarded the Stanley Cup, North America's oldest professional spo ...

, losing in six games to the

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

. The team reached the

the following season, this time defeating the Red Wings to win the

. On July 1, 2009, Gill signed a two-year, $4.5 million contract with the

. The club reached the Eastern Conference Finals, falling in five games to the

. Gill was given credit for his performance in the first round against the

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The Capitals compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NH ...

, as he defended extremely well against the Capitals’ biggest scorers. In the 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs, Gill recorded one assist and blocked 68 shots, helping the Canadiens pull off one of the biggest playoff upsets. On May 31, 2011, the Canadiens signed Gill to a one-year, $2.25 million contract extension. On February 17, 2012, the Canadiens traded Gill (along with a

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

conditional fifth-round pick) to the

in exchange for

Blake Geoffrion Blake Daniel Geoffrion (born February 3, 1988) is an American former professional ice hockey player who last played for the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected in the second round, 56th overall, by the Nashvill ...

, Robert Slaney and a

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

second-round pick. On June 29, 2012, the Predators re-signed Gill to a two-year, $4 million contract extension. As the

2012–13 NHL lockout 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to ...

shortened the eventual season, Gill went scoreless in 30 games. On July 5, 2013, Gill's contract was bought out by the Predators after passing through unconditional waivers. On September 7, 2013, the

signed Gill to a professional try-out, allowing him to attend their training camp. On October 1, the team signed him to a one-year, $700,000 contract. Gill played in a mere six games for the Flyers, mainly serving as a healthy scratch. On April 23, 2015, Gill announced his retirement from professional hockey following 16 seasons.

Post-playing career

On October 16, 2015, the

announced they had hired Gill as their manager of player development. He departed after one season. On August 23, 2017, Gill joined 102.5 The Game and the

Nashville Predators Radio Network The Nashville Predators Radio Network is the regional sports radio network providing radio programming related to the National Hockey League's Nashville Predators. Headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the Sta ...

as a radio color analyst.

Personal life

Gill grew up in

and attended Nashoba Regional High School. He is married to Anne and has three children.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Chad Kilger and Hal Gill Maple Leafs 2008

International

References

External links

*
National Hockey League Players' Associate bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gill, Hal 1975 births American men's ice hockey defensemen Boston Bruins draft picks Boston Bruins players Ice hockey players from Massachusetts Living people Lukko players Montreal Canadiens players Nashville Predators players People from Bolton, Massachusetts Philadelphia Flyers players Pittsburgh Penguins players Providence Bruins players Providence Friars men's ice hockey players Ice hockey people from Worcester County, Massachusetts Stanley Cup champions Toronto Maple Leafs players 20th-century American sportsmen American expatriate ice hockey players in Finland