Quick Facts
VirgoBiography
Paul D. Ranger (born September 12, 1984) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who is currently an unrestricted free agent. He has spent the majority of his professional career with the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League before leaving the sport at the professional level for almost three years due to unspecified personal reasons. Ranger returned to professional hockey at the American Hockey League with the Toronto Marlies during the 2012–13 season, and subsequently signed a one-year contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs on July 24, 2013 to return to the NHL.
Playing career
Ranger played his junior career with the Oshawa Generals of the OHL. After being drafted by the Tampa Bay Lightning 183rd overall in 2002, he played 2 more seasons with the Generals before signing with the Springfield Falcons of the AHL for the 2004–05 NHL lockout. After the lockout, he played 76 games with the Lightning, scoring 18 points.
In October 2009, Ranger approached Lightning team personnel before practice and requested a leave of absence without pay, which the team agreed to.
During his time away from professional hockey, he attended the University of Ottawa and coached bantam hockey in his hometown. Two of the players he coached were the sons of David Branch, commissioner of the Ontario Hockey League.
On August 21, 2012, after almost three seasons removed from competitive hockey, Ranger signed a minor league deal with the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League. His agent approached the team to inquire about his return to the NHL. Even after his return, Ranger has declined to talk about the specific details about why he chose to return to professional hockey. After a successful return to professional hockey with the Marlies, Ranger signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs for the 2013–14 season.
On July 15, 2014, after a single season with the Maple Leafs, Ranger opted to continue his career abroad, signing a two-year contract to help solidify the defense of Genève-Servette HC in the Swiss NLA. He played only 23 games in his first season with Geneva and was a healthy scratch for most of the 2014/15 season. He was released at the end of the season. He would join the Kloten Flyers for four games.
Career statistics
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2000–01 | Oshawa Generals | OHL | 32 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2001–02 | Oshawa Generals | OHL | 62 | 0 | 9 | 9 | 49 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 2002–03 | Oshawa Generals | OHL | 68 | 10 | 28 | 38 | 70 | 13 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 10 | ||
| 2003–04 | Oshawa Generals | OHL | 62 | 12 | 31 | 43 | 72 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 10 | ||
| 2004–05 | Springfield Falcons | AHL | 69 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 46 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2005–06 | Springfield Falcons | AHL | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2005–06 | Tampa Bay Lightning | NHL | 76 | 1 | 17 | 18 | 58 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 0 | ||
| 2006–07 | Tampa Bay Lightning | NHL | 72 | 4 | 24 | 28 | 42 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 2007–08 | Tampa Bay Lightning | NHL | 72 | 10 | 21 | 31 | 56 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 | Tampa Bay Lightning | NHL | 42 | 2 | 11 | 13 | 56 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | Tampa Bay Lightning | NHL | 8 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | Toronto Marlies | AHL | 51 | 8 | 17 | 25 | 54 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 14 | ||
| 2013–14 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 53 | 6 | 8 | 14 | 36 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | Genève-Servette HC | NLA | 23 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | Kloten Flyers | NLA | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 323 | 24 | 82 | 106 | 254 | 11 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 4 | ||||