Tyler Pitlick (born November 1, 1991) is an American professional ice hockey forward for the Iowa Wild in the American Hockey League (AHL) while under contract to the Minnesota Wild of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected in the second round, 31st overall, by the Edmonton Oilers in the 2010 NHL entry draft. Pitlick has also previously played for the Dallas Stars, Philadelphia Flyers, Arizona Coyotes, Calgary Flames, Montreal Canadiens, St. Louis Blues and New York Rangers.
Early life
Pitlick was born on November 1, 1991, in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
He grew up in Champlin, Minnesota, but moved to Lino Lakes and later Centerville in middle school to be with his mother Amy.
His father John worked as a researcher in Minneapolis and served as a local hockey coach, but he chose not to coach his son.
Playing career
Junior
After playing a freshman season with Minnesota State University, Mankato and a single season of major junior hockey with the Medicine Hat Tigers of the Western Hockey League, on April 13, 2011 the Edmonton Oilers signed Pitlick to a three-year entry-level contract.
Professional
Edmonton Oilers
The
Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League (NHL) selected Pitlick in the second round, 31st overall, of the 2010 NHL entry draft. He signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the team on April 13, 2011.
He was assigned to the Oklahoma City Barons, the Oilers' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, for the 2011-12 season, and, after a handful of early-season benchings to allow all the Barons forwards to receive playing time, Pitlick established himself as a regular member of the roster. Just like
Philippe Cornet the year before, Pitlick went through an adjustment period in the first part of the season before starting on a hot streak in February.
In his rookie AHL season, Pitlick scored seven goals and 23 points in 62 games, and was second among Edmonton prospects with 130 shots on goal.
Pitlick struggled during the 2012-13 season with the Barons, scoring only two assists and no goals in his first 14 games before suffering a concussion at the end of November.
After starting the 2013-14 season with the Barons, Pitlick was called up to Edmonton on October 22, 2013, after Oilers forward Taylor Hall suffered a knee injury and was expected to be out for four weeks.
Dallas Stars
Pitlick became a free agent after the 2016-17 season, and on July 1, 2017, he signed a three-year, $3 million contract with the
Dallas Stars.
He had a strong start to the 2017-18 season, serving on a line with center
Radek Faksa and left wing
Antoine Roussel. In his first nine games with the Stars, Pitlick scored two goals and two assists, and general manager
Jim Nill praised his speed and energy on the ice.
Pitlick enjoyed playing on the defensive forward line, telling
The Dallas Morning News that it was "fun to play with guys that want to work and want to grind it out down low".
In his first full season with the NHL, Pitlick appeared in 80 of the Stars' 82 games, putting up 14 goals and 13 assists with a +9 rating.
Many of those points came in hot streaks that were accompanied by long scoring droughts; in the middle of the season, Pitlick had a 29-game stretch with six goals and no assists.
Pitlick continued to play on the Stars' third line for the 2018-19 season, with an emphasis on blocking shots and on the penalty kill.
Philadelphia Flyers
On June 24, 2019, the Stars traded Pitlick to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for right winger
Ryan Hartman.
He missed the start of the Flyers' training camp after undergoing wrist surgery at the end of August, with an expected recovery time of four weeks.
He had a slow beginning to the season, putting up two goals in 26 games, but began to receive more ice time, and when
Travis Konecny was forced to miss a game in December with a concussion, Pitlick was chosen over James van Riemsdyk to play on the top line.
In the limited minutes that he played across 63 games before the NHL was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Pitlick focused his energy on the
penalty kill while putting up eight goals, 12 assists and a +11 rating.
When the NHL resumed for the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs in
Toronto, Pitlick was one of 31 Flyers selected for the "bubble".
He saw time during the playoffs on both the third and fourth lines, playing a critical role with
Michael Raffl and
Nate Thompson in a round-robin victory over the
Boston Bruins.
In a total of 16 playoff games, Pitlick scored two goals and one assist.
Arizona Coyotes
Pitlick, who became a free agent after the 2019-20 season, signed a two-year deal with the
Arizona Coyotes on the first day of the free agent market, with an annual cap hit of $1.75 million.
General manager Bill Armstrong was interested in the physicality of Pitlick's play, and he drew praise throughout the 2020-21 season for his energy, speed, and strength, particularly on the
forecheck. On March 6, 2021, Pitlick scored two goals against the
Minnesota Wild; it was his first multi-goal game since December 2017.
Later in the season, however, Pitlick missed playing time, first with an undisclosed injury in late March followed by a lower body injury in April. In 38 games with Arizona, Pitlick scored six goals and five assists, as well as 81 hits and 41 blocked shots.
Calgary Flames
On July 21, 2021, Pitlick was the
Seattle Kraken's selection from the Coyotes at the 2021 NHL expansion draft.
The following day, Seattle traded Pitlick to the
Calgary Flames in exchange for a fourth-round pick in the 2022 NHL entry draft.
Montreal Canadiens
On February 14, 2022, Pitlick was traded along with
Emil Heineman and draft picks to the Montreal Canadiens for winger
Tyler Toffoli, joining his cousin
Rem Pitlick.
After recovering from an injury prior to the trade, Pitlick played out the remainder of the season with the bottom placed Canadiens, registering 3 points in 14 games.
St. Louis Blues
As a free agent from the Canadiens, Pitlick went un-signed over the summer before accepting a professional try-out contract with the St. Louis Blues on September 1, 2022.
Pitlick was then signed to a one-year contract on October 25, 2022, after Blues forward
Pavel Buchnevich was placed on injured reserve.
Pitlick featured in 61 regular season games, contributing with 7 goals and 16 points, as the Blues missed the post-season.
New York Rangers
On July 1, 2023, Pitlick as a free agent was signed to his eighth NHL team, agreeing to a one-year, $787,500 contract with the New York Rangers for the season.
On February 13, 2024, the Rangers placed him on waivers after he produced only 1 goal and 4 points in 34 games.
He was assigned to Hartford after clearing waivers, but after Hartford was eliminated from the
Calder Cup playoffs, he was recalled to the Rangers roster for the
Stanley Cup playoffs.
Boston Bruins
As a free agent over the summer from the Rangers and leading into the season, Pitlick was belatedly signed to a professional tryout (PTO) with the Providence Bruins of the AHL, the primary affiliate to the Boston Bruins, on October 16, 2024.
Pitlick contributed offensively with 33 points through 43 appearances with Providence before he was signed for the remainder of the season to a two-way contract with the Boston Bruins on March 6, 2025.
Minnesota Wild
On July 1, 2025, having concluded his contract with the Bruins, Pitlick signed as a free agent to a two-year, two-way contract with hometown team, the Minnesota Wild.
Personal life
Pitlick comes from a hockey playing family; his uncle
Lance Pitlick played 339 games in the NHL with the
Florida Panthers and
Ottawa Senators.
His cousin
Rem Pitlick was drafted 76th overall by the Nashville Predators in the 2016 NHL entry draft and last played for the Chicago Blackhawks in 2024.
Another cousin, Rhett Pitlick, the younger brother of Rem, has committed to play NCAA hockey for the University of Minnesota and was drafted 131st overall by the Montreal Canadiens in the 2019 NHL entry draft.
Career statistics
|
|
|
| 2007–08 | Centennial High School | HS-MN | 21 | 23 | 23 | 46 | 12 | 2
| 1
| 4
| 5
| 2 |
| 2008–09 | Centennial High School | HS-MN | 22 | 37 | 31 | 58 | 10 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 2 |
| 2009–10 | Minnesota State Mavericks | WCHA | 38 | 11 | 8 | 19 | 27 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2010–11 | Medicine Hat Tigers | WHL | 56 | 27 | 35 | 62 | 31 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2011–12 | Oklahoma City Barons | AHL | 62 | 7 | 16 | 23 | 28 | 13 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 2 |
| 2012–13 | Oklahoma City Barons | AHL | 44 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 10 | 16 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 |
| 2013–14 | Oklahoma City Barons | AHL | 39 | 8 | 14 | 22 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2013–14 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2014–15 | Oklahoma City Barons | AHL | 14 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2014–15 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 17 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2015–16 | Bakersfield Condors | AHL | 37 | 7 | 14 | 21 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2016–17 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 31 | 8 | 3 | 11 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2017–18 | Dallas Stars | NHL | 80 | 14 | 13 | 27 | 34 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2018–19 | Dallas Stars | NHL | 47 | 8 | 4 | 12 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 2019–20 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 63 | 8 | 12 | 20 | 12 | 16 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 2020–21 | Arizona Coyotes | NHL | 38 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2021–22 | Calgary Flames | NHL | 25 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2021–22 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 14 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2022–23 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 61 | 7 | 9 | 16 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2023–24 | New York Rangers | NHL | 34 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2023–24 | Hartford Wolf Pack | AHL | 22 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 2 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| 2024–25 | Providence Bruins | AHL | 59 | 21 | 25 | 46 | 34 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
|
External links
