Jeff Reese
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Jeffrey K. Reese (born March 24, 1966) 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 ...
goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as goalie or netminder) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their own team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays ...
who played eleven 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) for the
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 ...
,
Hartford Whalers The Hartford Whalers were a professional ice hockey team based for most of its 25-year existence in Hartford, Connecticut. The club played in the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1972 until 1979, and in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1 ...
,
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 ...
and
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 ...
. He has been 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 ...
' goaltending coach since 2015 and was the goaltending coach for the Lightning from 2001 to 2009 and for the
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 ...
from 2009 to March 2015.


Playing career

The
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 ...
drafted Reese in the fourth round, 67th overall, of the 1984 NHL Entry Draft from the
London Knights The London Knights are a junior ice hockey team from London, Ontario, Canada, playing in the Ontario Hockey League, one of the leagues of the Canadian Hockey League. The Knights started out in 1965 as the London Nationals but changed to their ...
. He spent four seasons with the Knights before turning pro with the Maple Leafs'
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 ...
farm team, the
Newmarket Saints The Newmarket Saints were a minor league hockey team in Newmarket, Ontario. It played in the American Hockey League from 1986 to 1991 as the farm team of the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Ray Twinney Complex. After the 1985–86 season, the Toront ...
, in 1986.


Toronto Maple Leafs

During his second season as a pro he made his NHL debut when he was called up to Toronto and appeared in five games. The following year he doubled his totals playing ten games with the Leafs and 37 more with Newmarket. In 1989–90 he logged 21 games with the Maple Leafs sharing duties with
Allan Bester Alan Bester (born March 26, 1964) is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey goaltender. He played in the National Hockey League with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Detroit Red Wings, and Dallas Stars between 1984 and 1996. Playing career Bester w ...
and
Mark Laforest Mark Andrew Laforest (July 10, 1962–March 31, 2025) was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender. He played 103 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Detroit Red Wings, Philadelphia Flyers, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Ottawa Se ...
. The following season he upped his totals to 30 games backing up rookie
Peter Ing Peter A. Ing (born April 28, 1969) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. He played 74 games in the National Hockey League with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Edmonton Oilers, and Detroit Red Wings between 1989 and 1993. Biography I ...
who won the starting job in Toronto. A year later, the Maple Leafs made a blockbuster trade to bring in Hall of Famer
Grant Fuhr Grant Scott Fuhr (born September 28, 1962) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender in the National Hockey League (NHL) and former goaltending coach for the Arizona Coyotes, who played for the Edmonton Oilers in the 1980s during wh ...
to handle the goaltending duties (with Ing part of the package leaving town) allowing Reese to apprentice in the crease behind Fuhr but it was a short lived arrangement because Reese himself was soon part of an enormous trade. On January 2, 1992, Reese was included in a ten-player trade that also sent
Craig Berube Craig Berube (; born December 17, 1965) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player who is the head coach for the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League (NHL). Nicknamed "Chief", Berube played 17 seasons in the NHL f ...
,
Alexander Godynyuk Oleksandr Olehovych Hodyniuk (; born January 27, 1970), known commonly as ''Alexander Godynyuk'' is a Ukrainian former professional ice hockey defenceman. He was drafted in the sixth round, 115th overall, by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1990 N ...
, Gary Leeman and Michel Petit to the Calgary Flames in exchange for
Doug Gilmour Douglas Robert Gilmour (born June 25, 1963) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for seven different teams. Gilmour was a seventh round selection, 134th overall, of the ...
, Jamie Macoun, Kent Manderville,
Ric Nattress Eric James Nattress (born May 25, 1962) is a Canadian former National Hockey League defenceman. He was drafted in the second round, 27th overall, by the Montreal Canadiens in the 1980 NHL Entry Draft. Career Nattress played three seasons in t ...
and
Rick Wamsley Richard James Wamsley (born May 25, 1959) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played in the National Hockey League for the Montreal Canadiens, St. Louis Blues, Calgary Flames and Toronto Maple Leafs. He was the goalt ...
.


Calgary Flames

With the Flames, Reese became the backup to incumbent Mike Vernon and parts of three seasons in Calgary and played 26 games in 1992-93 posting an impressive 14-4-1 record. The highlight of his time in Calgary came on February 10, 1993, when he entered the NHL record book by posting three assists in a 13-1 Flames victory. With the emergence of first round draft pick
Trevor Kidd Trevor Rodney Kidd (born March 29, 1972) is a Canadian former Ice hockey goaltender who last played for the Hannover Scorpions in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga. Throughout his 12-year National Hockey League career, Kidd played for the Calgary Flame ...
in the Flames net, Reese was out of a job and found himself on the move early in the 1993–94 season when Calgary traded him to the Hartford Whalers in exchange for defenseman
Dan Keczmer Daniel Leonard Keczmer (born May 25, 1968) is an American former professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for five teams between 1990 and 2000. Internationally he played for the American national team at two ...
.


Hartford Whalers

In Hartford, he was acquired to back up
Sean Burke Sean Burke (born January 29, 1967) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender and the current director of goaltending for the Vegas Golden Knights, with whom he won the Stanley Cup with in 2023. He played 18 seasons in the National H ...
. When Burke struggled with back issues, Reese and goaltender Frank Pietrangelo each logged 19 games in the Hartford crease. Much like in Calgary before, the emergence of a younger netminder - this time Jason Muzzatti - pushed him out and led to a trade to the Tampa Bay Lightning.


Tampa Bay Lightning

Tampa Bay had a solid starting goalie in
Daren Puppa Daren James Puppa (born March 23, 1965) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender in the NHL. During his career, he played for the Buffalo Sabres, Tampa Bay Lightning, and the Toronto Maple Leafs. He won the 1985 NCAA Championship w ...
but his backup,
Jean-Claude Bergeron Jean-Claude Joseph "J. C." Bergeron (born October 14, 1968) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. He played 72 games in the National Hockey League with the Montreal Canadiens, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Los Angeles Kings between ...
was struggling for the Lightning so the veteran Reese took over the duties and acquitted himself well with a 7-7-1 record in 19 appearances. During the off-season, he was on the move again when he was sent to New Jersey in a swap for goaltender
Corey Schwab Corey Schwab (born November 4, 1970) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. He was drafted in the 10th round, 200th overall in the 1990 NHL Entry Draft by the New Jersey Devils. Schwab won the 2003 Stanley Cup with the New Jersey ...
.


New Jersey Devils

With the Devils, Reese was slotted behind
Martin Brodeur Martin Pierre Brodeur (; born May 6, 1972) is a Canadian–American former professional ice hockey goaltender and current team executive. He played 22 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL), 21 of them for the New Jersey Devils, with whom ...
but quickly lost his backup job to rookie
Mike Dunham Michael Francis Dunham (born June 1, 1972) is an American former professional ice hockey goaltender. Dunham is the Boston Bruins goalie development coach, and the former head goaltending coach for the New York Islanders of the National Hockey Le ...
and instead spent the majority of the 1996–97 season with the
Detroit Vipers The Detroit Vipers were a professional ice hockey team that competed in the International Hockey League (IHL). Originally founded in 1969 as the Salt Lake Golden Eagles in Salt Lake City, the team was purchased by Palace Sports & Entertainment ...
of the International Hockey League, splitting time with starting goaltender Rich Parent. The duo combined to win the
James Norris Memorial Trophy The James Norris Memorial Trophy, or simply the Norris Trophy, is awarded annually to the National Hockey League's top " defense player who demonstrates throughout the season the greatest all-round ability in the position". It is named after Ja ...
, allowing the fewest goals in the league. The Vipers went on to win the 1997
Turner Cup The Turner Cup was the championship trophy of the International Hockey League from 1945 to 2001 and the renamed United Hockey League from 2007 to 2010. The Cup was named for Joe Turner, a goaltender from Windsor, Ontario. Turner became professi ...
. Reese was the starting goaltender for the Vipers during the 1997–98 season. He was named to the All-IHL Second Team in both 1997 and 1998.


Return to the Toronto Maple Leafs

As an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 1998, Reese's career went full-circle when he signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs organization. The Maple Leafs signed goaltender
Curtis Joseph Curtis Shayne Joseph (né Munro; born April 29, 1967) is a Canadian ice hockey coach and former professional player. Nicknamed "Cujo", Joseph was immediately recognizable on the ice for his masks featuring a snarling dog, drawing inspiration from ...
that summer as well and had planned to deal incumbent Felix Potvin away, but when that trade did not transpire, that started the season with both Joseph and Potvin on the roster pushing Reese down to the minors. He would play his final two NHL games with the Maple Leafs while also playing 27 games with the
St. John's Maple Leafs The St. John's Maple Leafs were a minor ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They played in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, at Memorial Stadium from 1991 to 2001, and at Mile One Stadium from 2001 to 2005. The team was ...
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 ...
. He was traded back to Tampa Bay in the off-season so they would have a veteran goalie to expose in the 1999 NHL Expansion Draft. He was not selected by the
Atlanta Thrashers The Atlanta Thrashers were a professional ice hockey team based in Atlanta. Atlanta was granted a franchise in the National Hockey League (NHL) on June 25, 1997, and became the League's 28th franchise when it began play in the 1999–2000 NHL sea ...
and retired that summer.


Coaching career

After retiring Reese worked as a goalie coach with the Lightning organization and won the Stanley Cup with them in 2004. On June 25, 2009, he was hired by the
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 ...
as their goalie coach, replacing
Réjean Lemelin Réjean M. "Reggie" Lemelin (born November 19, 1954) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender and coach. Lemelin played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Atlanta Flames, Calgary Flames and Boston Bruins. He is perhaps bes ...
. On March 6, 2015, Reese and the Flyers management mutually agreed to part ways. On June 15, 2015, he joined 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 ...
as their goaltending coach.


Career statistics


Regular season and playoffs


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Reese, Jeff 1966 births Calgary Flames players Canadian ice hockey goaltenders Dallas Stars coaches Detroit Vipers players Hartford Whalers players 20th-century Canadian sportsmen Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Living people London Knights players New Jersey Devils players Newmarket Saints players Philadelphia Flyers coaches St. John's Maple Leafs players Ice hockey people from Brantford Stanley Cup champions Tampa Bay Lightning coaches Tampa Bay Lightning players Toronto Maple Leafs draft picks Toronto Maple Leafs players Canadian ice hockey coaches