Anthony Cirelli (, ; born July 15, 1997) is a Canadian 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 ...

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

who is currently playing for the

Tampa Bay Lightning The Tampa Bay Lightning (colloquially known as the Bolts) are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. The Lightning compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the ...

of the

National Hockey League 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 ...

(NHL). He was selected by the Lightning in the third round (72nd overall) of the 2015 NHL entry draft. Cirelli won 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 ...

back-to-back with the Lightning in

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

and

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

Playing career

Juniors

Cirelli started his junior career with the

Oshawa Generals The Oshawa Generals are a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League. They are based in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. The team is named for General Motors, an early sponsor (commercial), sponsor which has its Canadian headquarters in Oshawa. ...

of the

Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; ) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League, alongside the Western Hockey League and the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League. The league is for players ag ...

(OHL). Cirelli went undrafted in the OHL draft and ended up making the team as a walk-on. Cirelli scored the game-winning goal in overtime against the

Kelowna Rockets The Kelowna Rockets are a Canadian major junior ice hockey team based in Kelowna, British Columbia. The team plays in the B.C Division of the Western Hockey League's Western Conference, playing their home games at Prospera Place. The Rockets a ...

in the

2015 Memorial Cup The 2015 Memorial Cup (branded as the 2015 Mastercard Memorial Cup for sponsorship reasons) was a four-team round-robin format tournament that began on 22 May and ended on 31 May, 2015. It was the 97th Memorial Cup championship and determined ...

. On June 27, 2015, the

selected Cirelli 72nd overall in the 3rd round of the 2015 NHL entry draft. On January 28, 2016, Cirelli was named as captain of the Generals. On May 19, 2016, the Lightning signed Cirelli to a three-year entry-level contract. On January 9, 2017, Cirelli was traded by the Oshawa Generals to the

Erie Otters The Erie Otters are a major junior ice hockey team based in Erie, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Midwest division of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), one of only three American teams in the league. The team's name refers to the North Am ...

. Cirelli scored another championship clinching goal in overtime, the 2017 J. Ross Robertson Cup winning goal for the Otters in Game 5 of the OHL championship series against the

Mississauga Steelheads The Brampton Steelheads are a Canadian junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), based in Brampton, Ontario. The Steelheads play their home games at the CAA Centre in Brampton. The team relocated from nearby Mississauga in 202 ...

. However, the Otters would ultimately fall in the championship game of the 2017 Memorial Cup tournament to the host

Windsor Spitfires The Windsor Spitfires are a Canadian junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). The team is based in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1971, the franchise was promoted to the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League for the 1975� ...

Professional

On March 1, 2018, Cirelli was recalled by the

from the

Syracuse Crunch The Syracuse Crunch are a professional ice hockey team based in Syracuse, New York. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the National Hockey League's Tampa Bay Lightning. They play in they home games at the Upstate Medical Univer ...

of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...

. Prior to his recall Cirelli was enjoying a productive rookie season with the Crunch. He had appeared in 51 games where he had 14-goals and 37 points. Cirelli would make his

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 ...

debut that night against the

Dallas Stars The Dallas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Dallas. The Stars compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. The Stars ...

American Airlines Center The American Airlines Center (AAC) is a multi-purpose List of indoor arenas, indoor arena located in the Victory Park, Dallas, Victory Park neighborhood in downtown Dallas, Texas. The arena serves as the home of the Dallas Stars of the National ...

. Cirelli recorded his first career NHL goal and assist in the game, which resulted in a 5–4 overtime win. Cirelli also became only the fourth player in Lightning history to have a multiple point game in their NHL debut. On April 12, 2018, Cirelli made his NHL Stanley Cup Playoff debut in a 5–2 Lightning victory over the visiting

New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The club w ...

. On April 21, 2018, Cirelli recorded his first career playoff assist and point in a 3–1 Lightning series clinching win over the New Jersey Devils. On May 2, 2018, he recorded his first career playoff goal in a 4–1 win over 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 ...

. Building on his impressive overtime goal-scoring resume from his junior days, on September 17, 2020, he scored the winning goal in overtime of Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals against the

New York Islanders The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (N ...

. On December 24, 2020, Cirelli signed a three-year, $14.4 million contract with the Lightning. On July 13, 2022, Cirelli signed an eight-year, $50 million contract extension with the Lightning. His teammates Mikhail Sergachev and Erik Černák also signed eight-year extensions on the same day. In the 2024–25 season, Cirelli had 27 goals and 59 points in 80 games. He was named a finalist for the Frank J. Selke Trophy for the first time in his career, having previously finished in the top five in voting twice.

Personal life

Born in Canada, Cirelli is of Italian descent.

International play

On April 29, 2019, Cirelli was selected to make his full international debut after he was named to the Team Canada roster for the

2019 IIHF World Championship The 2019 IIHF World Championship was hosted from 10 to 26 May 2019 by Slovakia. It was the second time that Slovakia has hosted the event as an independent country, as was the case in 2011 IIHF World Championship, 2011. The host cities were Brati ...

, held in

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

. He helped Canada progress through to the playoff rounds before losing the final to

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

to finish with the silver medal on May 26, 2019. Cirelli finished the tournament posting 3 goals and 4 points in 10 games. Cirelli also participated in the 2017 World Junior Championship with Canada, winning a silver medal.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honours

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cirelli, Anthony 1997 births Canadian ice hockey centres Canadian people of Italian descent Erie Otters players Living people Oshawa Generals players Ice hockey people from Vaughan Stanley Cup champions Syracuse Crunch players Tampa Bay Lightning draft picks Tampa Bay Lightning players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States 21st-century Canadian sportsmen 4 Nations Face-Off players