Quick Facts
VirgoBiography
Lars Ricard Persson (born August 24, 1969) is a Swedish professional ice hockey player. Persson played in the NHL with the New Jersey Devils, St. Louis Blues, and Ottawa Senators. Persson is currently with SG Cortina of the Serie A. He has a daughter named Hannah Persson.
Playing career
Persson was drafted by the New Jersey Devils in the 2nd round, 23rd overall in the 1987 NHL Entry Draft. Rather than join the Devils though Persson chose to stay in his native Sweden where he played in the Swedish Elite League. Persson played 7 years in the SEL, 5 with Leksands IF and 2 with Malmö IF. The 1994–1995 season finally saw Persson arrive to North America when he joined the Albany River Rats of the AHL for the playoffs after finishing the regular season in Sweden.
Persson then played the majority of the following season with the River Rats but also made his NHL debut with the Devils, appearing in 12 games. The 1996–1997 season saw Persson start the year off with the River Rats, along with one game with the Devils, before he was traded to the St. Louis Blues. With the Blues Persson had a chance to crack the starting lineup. He played the majority of his NHL career with the Blues but thanks to injuries and numerous stints with the Blues minor league affiliate Worcester IceCats never played more than 54 games in a season. He recorded the primary assist of a series winning goal during the first overtime of game 7 of the Blues' first round matchup against the Phoenix Coyotes in 1999 when his shot from the top of the faceoff circle was deflected into the net by Pierre Turgeon.
Prior to the 2000–2001 season Persson signed as a free agent with the Ottawa Senators. During his first year though he missed the majority of the games due to an ankle injury, and the following season he was a healthy reserve for the majority of the season. After taking a foolish penalty for a check on Tie Domi, he was widely blamed for the Senators' losing a playoff series to the Toronto Maple Leafs, and ending the Senators hope for a Stanley Cup that season.
Following his 2 years with the Senators Persson played in Germany with the Berlin Polar Bears for 3 years. He last plays with Oji Paper in Japan previously for Klagenfurt AC in Austria, a team he joined prior to the 2005–2006 season.
Career statistics
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1987–88 | Leksands IF | SEL | 21 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 1988–89 | Leksands IF | SEL | 33 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 28 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 1989–90 | Leksands IF | SEL | 40 | 9 | 10 | 19 | 56 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 1990–91 | Leksands IF | SEL | 19 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1991–92 | Leksands IF | SEL | 21 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1992–93 | Leksands IF | SEL | 36 | 7 | 15 | 22 | 56 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 1993–94 | Malmö IF Redhawks | SEL | 40 | 11 | 9 | 20 | 38 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 12 | ||
| 1994–95 | Malmö IF Redhawks | SEL | 31 | 3 | 13 | 16 | 34 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 8 | ||
| 1994–95 | Albany River Rats | AHL | — | — | — | — | — | 9 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 7 | ||
| 1995–96 | Albany River Rats | AHL | 67 | 15 | 31 | 46 | 59 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | ||
| 1995–96 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 12 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1996–97 | Albany River Rats | AHL | 13 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1996–97 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1996–97 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 53 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 45 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27 | ||
| 1997–98 | Worcester IceCats | AHL | 32 | 2 | 16 | 18 | 58 | 10 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 24 | ||
| 1997–98 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1998–99 | Worcester IceCats | AHL | 19 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 42 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1998–99 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 54 | 1 | 12 | 13 | 94 | 13 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 17 | ||
| 1999–00 | Worcester IceCats | AHL | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1999–00 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 41 | 0 | 8 | 8 | 38 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2000–01 | Ottawa Senators | NHL | 33 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 35 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2001–02 | Ottawa Senators | NHL | 34 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 42 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | ||
| 2002–03 | Berlin Polar Bears | DEL | 42 | 11 | 24 | 35 | 80 | 9 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 2 | ||
| 2003–04 | Berlin Polar Bears | DEL | 25 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 36 | 11 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 10 | ||
| 2004–05 | Berlin Polar Bears | DEL | 52 | 4 | 14 | 18 | 40 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 2005–06 | Klagenfurt AC | EBEL | 48 | 17 | 18 | 35 | 40 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006–07 | Klagenfurt AC | EBEL | 36 | 7 | 14 | 21 | 98 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | Oji Paper | ALH | 30 | 11 | 17 | 28 | 54 | 9 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 24 | ||
| NHL totals | 229 | 10 | 44 | 54 | 262 | 26 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 59 | ||||
International play
Played for Sweden in:
- 1988 World Junior Championships
- 1989 World Junior Championships (Silver medal)
- 2000 World Championships
International statistics
| Year | Team | Comp | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Sweden | WJC | 7 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 12 |
| 1989 | Sweden | WJC | 7 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 10 |
| 2000 | Sweden | WC | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Junior int'l totals | 14 | 5 | 11 | 16 | 22 | ||
| Senior int'l totals | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||