Jamal David Mayers (born October 24, 1974) 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 ...

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 ...

winger who played 15 seasons in 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 spent time playing for the

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

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 ...

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

San Jose Sharks The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. The Sharks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Con ...

and 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 ...

with 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 ...

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 ...

. He is currently an analyst for

Sportsnet Sportsnet is a Television in Canada, Canadian English-language Discretionary service, discretionary sports broadcasting, sports specialty channel owned by Rogers Sports & Media. It was established in 1998 as CTV Sportsnet, a joint venture betw ...

Playing career

Prior to being drafted in the NHL, Mayers was a star player at

Western Michigan University Western Michigan University (Western Michigan, Western or WMU) is a Public university, public research university in Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States. It was initially established as Western State Normal School in 1903 by Governor Aaron T. B ...

from 1992-96. Mayers was drafted 89th overall by the

in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft and played 10 seasons for the Blues until he was traded to the

in exchange for a third round pick in the

2008 NHL Entry Draft The 2008 NHL entry draft was the 46th entry draft for the National Hockey League. It was hosted by the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Place in Ottawa, Ontario, on June 20–21, 2008. The Senators were originally awarded the 2005 NHL entry draft ...

on June 19, 2008, one day before the draft. On January 31, 2010, Mayers was traded along with Matt Stajan,

Niklas Hagman Niklas Hagman (born December 5, 1979) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey forward. He was a third round pick of the Florida Panthers, 70th overall, at the 1999 NHL Entry Draft and made his National Hockey League (NHL) debut with Florid ...

and Ian White to the

for

Dion Phaneuf Dion Phaneuf (born 10 April 1985) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defence (ice hockey), defenseman who played for the Calgary Flames, Toronto Maple Leafs, Ottawa Senators and Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League (NHL). H ...

, Fredrik Sjöström and prospect

Keith Aulie Keith Aulie (born June 11, 1989) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. He played in the National Hockey League for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Edmonton Oilers. Aulie was drafted by the Calgary Flames 116th ...

. Mayers signed with the

as a free agent at the end of the season for a one-year contract. On June 20, 2011, Sharks General Manager Doug Wilson announced that Mayers would not be re-signed for the 2011–12 season. On July 1, 2011, Mayers signed with the

to a one-year contract worth $550,000. The Blackhawks re-signed Mayers to a one-year contract worth $600,000 for the 2012–13 season. On April 5, 2012, late in the 2011–12 season, Mayers was headbutted by the

Minnesota Wild The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Wild compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Confer ...

's Nate Prosser during a scrum in front of the net. Prosser apologized to Mayers after the game, and was given a one-game suspension for his actions by the NHL. On June 24, 2013, Mayers won the

as a member of the Chicago Blackhawks when they defeated 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 ...

in Game 6 of the

2013 Stanley Cup Finals The 2013 Stanley Cup Finals was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) season, and the conclusion of the 2013 Stanley Cup playoffs. The Western Conference playoff champion Chicago Blackhawks defeated the Eastern Confe ...

. This was Mayers' first Stanley Cup win in his 15 seasons in the NHL. Him being the oldest player on the team and his wait to hoist the trophy was recognized by his teammates, as he was the third person to hoist it, after captain

Jonathan Toews Jonathan Bryan Toews ( born April 29, 1988) is a Canadian professional ice hockey Centre (ice hockey), centre who last played for the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL), where he served as the team's captain between 2008 an ...

and Michal Handzus. Despite him not playing in the 2013 playoffs and playing in 19 games in the 48 game lockout-shortened regular season (four games short from the 23 game requirement for the abbreviated season), the Blackhawks were successful in petitioning to have Mayers' name engraved on the Stanley Cup. On December 13, 2013, Mayers officially announced his retirement from the NHL.

International play

Mayers was a member of the

2007 IIHF World Championship The 2007 IIHF World Championship was held between 27 April and 13 May 2007 in Moscow, Russia. It was the 71st annual world championship event run by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). The tournament was won by Canada with Rick Na ...

team that won gold in a 4–2 win against

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, ...

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

. He was also a member of the Canadian

2008 IIHF World Championship The 2008 IIHF World Championship was played between May 2 and May 18, 2008 in the Canadian cities of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Halifax (Nova Scotia) and Quebec City (Quebec). The two venues were the Halifax Metro Centre and the Colisée Pepsi. T ...

team, helping Canada take home the silver medal.

Broadcasting

Mayers has been a pre-game, post-game, and intermission commentator for the Chicago Blackhawks on

NBC Sports Chicago NBC Sports Chicago (formerly Comcast SportsNet Chicago) was an American regional sports network that broadcast regional coverage of professional sports teams in the Chicago Chicago metropolitan area, metropolitan area, as well as college sports ...

since the 2014-15 season while also serving as a community liaison for the Blackhawks. He also works with Rogers

, providing analysis and has done colour commentary during games.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mayers, Jamal 1974 births Living people Black Canadian ice hockey players Black Canadian sportsmen Calgary Flames players Canadian ice hockey centres Canadian ice hockey right wingers Canadian sportspeople of Barbadian descent Chicago Blackhawks players Hammarby Hockey (1921–2008) players Ice hockey people from Toronto Missouri River Otters players St. Louis Blues draft picks St. Louis Blues players San Jose Sharks players Stanley Cup champions Toronto Maple Leafs players Western Michigan Broncos men's ice hockey players Worcester IceCats players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States