Quick Facts
Biography
Matthew William Bradley (born June 13, 1978) is a former Canadian professional hockey Right Winger. He played in the National Hockey League for the San Jose Sharks, Pittsburgh Penguins, Washington Capitals and the Florida Panthers.
Playing career
Bradley grew up in the rural Ottawa suburb of Stittsville, Ontario and played most of his minor hockey for the local Stittsville Rams "C" teams as well as AA for the Ottawa Valley Titans of the ODHA.
After a solid Bantam season in 1993-94 with the Titans, Bradley was drafted and signed with the Cumberland Grads of the Central Junior Hockey League (CJHL). He spent the 1994-95 season with the Grads before being selected in the 2nd round (31st overall) of the 1995 OHL Priority Selection by the Kingston Frontenacs.
Bradley was drafted by the San Jose Sharks in the 1996 NHL Entry Draft, in the fourth round, 102nd overall. Prior to signing with the Washington Capitals, he also played for the Pittsburgh Penguins and San Jose Sharks.
Though he is not an offensive powerhouse, Bradley effectively carved out a niche for himself as a tough, checking line winger. In the 2007–08 season, Bradley doubled his fight total from the previous year, had a career-high 111 shots on goal, and was third among Capitals forwards in hits, even though he had the second lowest amount of ice time. Bradley improved his plus/minus rating in every season from 2003 to 2008.
Bradley was re-signed by the Capitals on May 27, 2008 to a three-year contract at $1,000,000 per season.
On July 3, 2011, Bradley signed a two-year, one-way contract with the Florida Panthers. In the 2011–12 season, Bradley appeared in only 45 games, his lowest since his rookie season, recording 8 points. With a limited role and dwindling future prospects in June 2012, the Panthers placed Bradley on waivers and subsequently bought out his remaining year on his contract.
With the 2012 NHL lockout in effect, and with limited interest, Bradley signed a month-by-month contract with Finnish second division club, TuTo Hockey on October 29, 2012. After just one game with TuTo, Bradley suffered another concussion and opted to end his agreement and return to Canada for rehabilitation on November 5, 2012.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1993–94 | Ottawa Valley Titans | ODHA | 32 | 26 | 22 | 48 | 46 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1994–95 | Cumberland Grads | CJHL | 41 | 13 | 22 | 35 | 62 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1995–96 | Kingston Frontenacs | OHL | 55 | 10 | 14 | 24 | 17 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 1996–97 | Kingston Frontenacs | OHL | 65 | 24 | 24 | 48 | 41 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 2 | ||
| 1996–97 | Kentucky Thoroughblades | AHL | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1997–98 | Kingston Frontenacs | OHL | 55 | 33 | 50 | 83 | 24 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 7 | ||
| 1998–99 | Kentucky Thoroughblades | AHL | 79 | 23 | 20 | 43 | 57 | 10 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 4 | ||
| 1999–00 | Kentucky Thoroughblades | AHL | 80 | 22 | 19 | 41 | 81 | 9 | 6 | 3 | 9 | 9 | ||
| 2000–01 | Kentucky Thoroughblades | AHL | 22 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 16 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | ||
| 2000–01 | San Jose Sharks | NHL | 21 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 19 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2001–02 | San Jose Sharks | NHL | 54 | 9 | 13 | 22 | 43 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2002–03 | San Jose Sharks | NHL | 46 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 37 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2003–04 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 82 | 7 | 9 | 16 | 65 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2004–05 | Dornbirner EC | AUT | 6 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2005–06 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 74 | 7 | 12 | 19 | 72 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006–07 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 57 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 47 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 77 | 7 | 11 | 18 | 74 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 2008–09 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 81 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 59 | 14 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 0 | ||
| 2009–10 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 77 | 10 | 14 | 24 | 47 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | ||
| 2010–11 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 61 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 68 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 2011–12 | Florida Panthers | NHL | 45 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 31 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | TuTo | Mestis | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 675 | 59 | 90 | 149 | 562 | 47 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 8 | ||||
International
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Canada | WJC | 8th | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | |
| Junior totals | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | ||||
Awards and honours
| Award | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| OHL | ||
| William Hanley Trophy | 1998 | |