Brett Steven Lebda (born January 15, 1982) 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, ...

former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) 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. In ice hockey, two o ...

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

, who last played with the

Binghamton Senators The Binghamton Senators were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) that played from 2002 to 2017. Nicknamed the B-Sens, they played in Binghamton, New York, at the Floyd L. Maines Veterans Memorial Arena. The B-Sen ...

of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the le ...

(AHL). He has played in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey sports league, league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranke ...

with 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 ...

Columbus Blue Jackets The Columbus Blue Jackets (often simply referred to as the Jackets) are a professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Ohio. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conferenc ...

and

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. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Divi ...

. He was a member of the Stanley Cup winning Red Wings team of 2007-08.

Playing career

As a youth, Lebda played in the 1996

Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament The Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament (french: Tournoi international de hockey pee-wee de Québec) is an annual minor ice hockey event in Quebec City. The tournament was founded in 1960 to coincide with the Quebec Winter Carnival, ...

with the Chicago Young Americans

minor ice hockey Minor hockey is an umbrella term for amateur ice hockey which is played below the junior age level. Players are classified by age, with each age group playing in its own league. The rules, especially as it relates to body contact, vary from c ...

team. Lebda attended

Buffalo Grove High School Buffalo Grove High School (BGHS) is a public high school located in Buffalo Grove, Illinois, a northwest suburb of Chicago. It is one of six four-year comprehensive high schools in Township High School District 214, serving portions of the villa ...

Buffalo Grove, Illinois Buffalo Grove, officially the Village of Buffalo Grove, is a Village (United States)#Illinois, village in Lake County, Illinois, Lake and Cook County, Illinois, Cook County, Illinois. A suburb of Chicago, it lies about northwest of Downtown Chi ...

for two years. In addition to hockey, he also played

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping ...

and

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

. He then relocated to Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he was a participant on the USA National Under-18 Team. Lebda graduated from Pioneer High School. Lebda played college hockey at the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic university, Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend, Indiana, South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin fo ...

. He was signed as an undrafted free agent by the

in 2004, and was assigned to the

Grand Rapids Griffins The Grand Rapids Griffins are a professional hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and play home games at Van Andel Arena. They are the AHL affiliate to the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey Lea ...

, the Wings' minor league affiliate in the

. Lebda was unable to suit up for a NHL game until the 2005–06 NHL season due to the

NHL lockout The NHL lockout may refer to any of the four labour actions in the history of the National Hockey League: * The 1992 NHL strike, which postponed 30 games of the 1991–92 season * The 1994–95 NHL lockout, which cancelled many of the games of ...

. He became the first Red Wing since Greg Johnson in 1993 to score his first NHL goal on opening night. He played in 46 games that regular season and all of Detroit's six opening round playoff games. He played in 76 games during the 2006–07 NHL season to go with 12 games that

playoff The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

year. He set a career high in points with 18, and participated in the only fight of his career when he squared off against Mikael Holmqvist. In the

2007–08 NHL season The 2007–08 NHL season was the 91st season of operation (90th season of play) of the National Hockey League (NHL). It began on September 29, 2007, and the regular season ended April 6, 2008. The Stanley Cup playoffs ended on June 4, with the ...

, Lebda suited up for 78 games, as well as 19 playoff games as the Red Wings won the

2008 Stanley Cup The 2008 Stanley Cup playoffs of the National Hockey League (NHL) began on April 9, 2008, after the 2007–08 regular season. The 16 teams that qualified, eight from each conference, played best-of-seven series for conference quarterfinals, se ...

. Due to sub-par play to start the

2008–09 NHL season The 2008–09 NHL season was the 92nd season of operation (91st season of play) of the National Hockey League (NHL). It was the first season since prior to the 2004–05 lockout in which every team played each other at least once during the sea ...

, Lebda found himself a healthy scratch for three straight games before returning to the lineup. During his career with the Red Wings, Lebda was often paired with

Chris Chelios Christos Kostas Chelios (born January 25, 1962) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman. He was one of the longest tenured players in the National Hockey League, and is a three-time Stanley Cup champion—one with the Montreal ...

, a fellow Chicago suburban native who is 20 years his elder. While growing up in suburban Chicago, Lebda considered Chelios an idol, and modeled his game after his. On July 7, 2010, Lebda signed a two-year contract with the

. However, he struggled during his time in Toronto, playing only 41 games and posting a career-worst -14. His one and only goal came against the

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

on February 24, 2011. Lebda and Robert Slaney were traded to the

Nashville Predators The Nashville Predators (commonly referred to as the Preds) are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and ha ...

for

Cody Franson Cody Franson (born August 8, 1987) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who is currently an unrestricted free agent. He most recently played for the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League (AHL). Franson was drafted in the third r ...

and

Matthew Lombardi Matthew Lombardi (born March 18, 1982) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey center who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Calgary Flames, Phoenix Coyotes, Nashville Predators, Toronto Maple Leafs and Anaheim Ducks. ...

on July 3, 2011. On August 10, 2011, the Predators bought out Lebda's contract. Following the

2010–11 NHL season The 2010–11 NHL season was the 94th season of operation (93rd season of play) of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Boston Bruins defeated the Vancouver Canucks in the Stanley Cup Finals four games to three, being the sixth Cup win in Bruin ...

Lebda became a free agent, and on November 7, 2011, the

Springfield Falcons The Springfield Falcons were a former ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) and played in Springfield, Massachusetts, at the MassMutual Center. In 2016, the Falcons' franchise was purchased by the National Hockey League (NHL)'s Ari ...

of the

signed Lebda to a professional tryout agreement. With NHL affiliate, the Columbus Blue Jackets, suffering injuries on the defense he was subsequently signed to a one-year deal for the remainder of the season with the Jackets on January 19, 2012. On February 5, 2013, Lebda signed a professional try-out contract with the

of the

International play

Lebda made his international debut for

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

at the 2002 World Junior Championships, where he recorded two goals in seven games.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honors

References

External links

*
Brett Lebda Notre Dame player bio
at CSTV.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Lebda, Brett 1982 births Living people American men's ice hockey defensemen Binghamton Senators players Columbus Blue Jackets players Detroit Red Wings players Grand Rapids Griffins players Ice hockey players from Illinois Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's ice hockey players People from Buffalo Grove, Illinois Rockford IceHogs (AHL) players Springfield Falcons players Stanley Cup champions Toronto Maple Leafs players Undrafted National Hockey League players