Christopher T. Kontos (born December 10, 1963) is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

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 ...

player. Kontos is best known for his nine goals in 11 playoff games while he was a member of the

Los Angeles Kings The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The Kings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. ...

and his franchise opening night four-goal performance (with 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 ...

) against that season's

Vezina Trophy The Vezina Trophy ( ) is awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) goaltender who is "adjudged to be the best at this position". At the end of each season, the thirty-two List of NHL general managers, NHL general managers vote to dete ...

winner Ed Belfour.

Career

Born in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Kontos played junior hockey for the

Sudbury Wolves The Sudbury Wolves are an Ontario Hockey League (OHL) ice hockey team based in Greater Sudbury, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. Sudbury has had various hockey teams competing at the Junior ice hockey, junior and senior ice hockey levels of the game k ...

and

Toronto Marlboros The Toronto Marlborough Athletic Club, commonly known as the Toronto Marlboros, was an ice hockey franchise in Toronto, Canada. Founded in 1903, it operated junior ice hockey and senior ice hockey teams in the Ontario Hockey Association and la ...

. During the 1981–82 OHL season he scored 42 goals, and after the season was drafted with the 15th selection in the first round of the 1982 NHL Entry Draft by the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in New York City. The Rangers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team plays ...

. He split his time in both the NHL and minor leagues in his first two seasons. He was member of the Tulsa Oilers ( CHL) team that suspended operations on February 16, 1984, playing only road games for final six weeks of 1983–84 season. Despite this adversity, the team went on to win the league's championship. Kontos spent the first half of 1985–86 playing in Finland before returning to finish the year in the AHL. On January 21, 1987, Kontos was traded to 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 ...

for Ron Duguay, finishing his tenure with the Rangers with 38 points in 78 games. He would score 25 points in 67 games with the Penguins over two seasons before being dealt to the

on February 5, 1988. He played only six regular season games for the Kings in 87–88 tallying 12 points (another career highlight was a 6-point game against Chicago where Kontos had 1 goal and 5 assists), and scored a goal in his first NHL playoffs. The following year, after returning from playing in

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

he scored three points in seven games, and his 9 playoff goals would help the Kings advance to the second round. He played only 11 games (6 regular season, 5 playoff) with Los Angeles after the 1988–89 playoff run, and decided to join the Canadian National Team in 1991–92. When the

started play in 1992–93, Kontos signed on as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

. His surprising 4-goal performance led the upstart

to a 7–3 shocker of the

Chicago Blackhawks The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (N ...

on October 7, 1992, and remains tied for the team record for goals scored in a single game. He scored 27 goals in 66 games, second on the team only to Brian Bradley. He would return to the National Team in 93–94, and helped Canada win a silver medal at the 1994 Olympics. Kontos would never return to the NHL, and continued to play in Sweden, the IHL and Germany before retiring in 1998.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards

He won the 1983-84 CHL Championship (Adams Cup) as a member of the Tulsa Oilers team coached by Tom Webster.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kontos, Chris 1963 births Canadian ice hockey left wingers Cincinnati Cyclones (IHL) players Canadian people of Greek descent Sportspeople of Greek descent Courmaosta HC players Ice hockey people from Toronto Ice hockey players at the 1994 Winter Olympics Ilves players EHC Kloten players Living people Los Angeles Kings players Manitoba Moose (IHL) players Medalists at the 1994 Winter Olympics Muskegon Lumberjacks players NHL first-round draft picks New Haven Nighthawks players New York Rangers draft picks New York Rangers players Olympic ice hockey players for Canada Olympic medalists in ice hockey Olympic silver medalists for Canada Phoenix Roadrunners (IHL) players Pittsburgh Penguins players Quebec Rafales players Revier Löwen players Skellefteå AIK players Sudbury Wolves players Tampa Bay Lightning players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Toronto Marlboros players Tulsa Oilers (1964–1984) players Expatriate ice hockey players in Germany 20th-century Canadian sportsmen