Quick Facts
Biography
Robert E. Carpenter, Jr. (born July 13, 1963) is an American former professional ice hockey center who played in the National Hockey League for 18 seasons from 1981–82 until 1998–99. In his NHL career that spanned 18 years, Carpenter played 1,178 games, scoring 320 goals and 408 assists for 728 points. He has the distinction of being the first American-born hockey player to be selected in the first round of the National Hockey League Draft, and the first player to play in the NHL directly from high school after being drafted. Carpenter was born in Beverly, Massachusetts, but grew up in Peabody, Massachusetts.
Playing career
Bobby Carpenter was selected third overall in the 1981 NHL Entry Draft out of St. John's Preparatory School in Danvers, Massachusetts. In the February 23, 1981 issue of Sports Illustrated, Carpenter was featured in a cover story that chronicled his potential. He was the first U.S. born hockey player to be featured on the cover of SI. During his first tour with the Capitals, he would have his best statistical season during 1984-85 when he scored 53 goals and 42 assists and was the first US-born player to score 50 goals in a season. He was invited to play in the 1985 NHL All-Star game and he also participated in the 1984 and 1987 Canada Cup tournaments as a member of Team USA.
Primarily due to his clashes with head coach Bryan Murray, the Capitals traded Carpenter to the New York Rangers in the deal that sent Mike Ridley and Kelly Miller to Washington during the middle of the 1986–87 NHL season. Later in the season, he would be dealt again, to the Los Angeles Kings in the trade that sent Marcel Dionne to the Rangers. He finished the 1986–87 season with the United States team at the 1987 Ice Hockey World Championship tournament in Moscow after the Kings were eliminated in the first round of the 1987 Stanley Cup playoffs. Carpenter represented the US nationals for the final time in the 1987 Canada Cup.
Carpenter was traded to the Boston Bruins during the 1988–89 NHL season, and a year later he would help guide the Bruins to the NHL Stanley Cup Finals. By this stage of his career, Carpenter was contributing more as a defensive-minded center than the high-scoring superstar whom he was once projected to be.
Carpenter signed with the Capitals in 1992 and spent one season in his second tour with the team that originally drafted him. In 1993, he signed with the New Jersey Devils, where he would play for the final six seasons of his NHL career. It was during his time with the Devils that he would help the team win their first Stanley Cup in the lockout-shortened 1994–95 NHL season. After retirement, Bobby Carpenter stayed on as an assistant coach, winning two more cups with New Jersey in 2000 and 2003.
Awards and achievements
- Played in NHL All-Star Game (1985)
- Scored an assist on a goal by Ryan Walter after only 12 seconds of his debut game against the Buffalo Sabres on 7 October 1981. This is still the quickest assist by a player in their first game.
- Stanley Cup Champion: 1995 (player); 2000, 2003 (coach)
Career statistics
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1981–82 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 80 | 32 | 35 | 67 | 69 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1982–83 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 80 | 32 | 37 | 69 | 64 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 1983–84 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 80 | 28 | 40 | 68 | 51 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 25 | ||
| 1984–85 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 80 | 53 | 42 | 95 | 87 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 8 | ||
| 1985–86 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 80 | 27 | 39 | 56 | 105 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 12 | ||
| 1986–87 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 22 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 21 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1986–87 | New York Rangers | NHL | 28 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1986–87 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | ||
| 1987–88 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 71 | 19 | 33 | 52 | 84 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 1988–89 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 39 | 11 | 15 | 26 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1988–89 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 18 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 10 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 1989–90 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 80 | 25 | 31 | 56 | 97 | 21 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 39 | ||
| 1990–91 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 29 | 8 | 8 | 16 | 22 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 1991–92 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 60 | 25 | 23 | 48 | 46 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 1992–93 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 68 | 11 | 17 | 28 | 65 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 6 | ||
| 1993–94 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 76 | 10 | 23 | 33 | 51 | 20 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 20 | ||
| 1994–95 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 41 | 5 | 11 | 16 | 19 | 17 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 6 | ||
| 1995–96 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 52 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1996–97 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 62 | 4 | 15 | 19 | 14 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | ||
| 1997–98 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 66 | 9 | 9 | 18 | 22 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 1998–99 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 56 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 36 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| NHL totals | 1178 | 320 | 408 | 728 | 919 | 140 | 21 | 38 | 59 | 136 | ||||
Post-retirement
He is currently the Director of Program Development for the Valley Jr. Warriors of the Eastern Junior Hockey League. His work for the Toronto Maple Leafs since the fall of 2009 consists of being a development coach for players from the time they were drafted into the organization until they turn professional, scouting US College and QMJHL hockey, and steering free agents Toronto's way.
He lives with his wife and has three children, all of whom participate in sports. His oldest child, his daughter Alexandra Carpenter, is a member of the United States national women's hockey team and Boston Pride, winning Olympic silver in 2014 and three women's world hockey championship gold medals. His son Bobo plays at Boston University as of 2017.
In 2016, Carpenter ran the Boston Marathon in three hours and 47 minutes, having taken up training for the event after leaving a job with the Toronto Maple Leafs. In 2017 he ran the event a second time, pushing Denna Laing, women's hockey player who was paralyzed in the 2016 Outdoor Women's Classic game, in a special racing wheelchair; they finished with a time of 4:32:30.