Ken Daneyko

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Daneyko was born on April 17, 1964, in Windsor, Ontario, the youngest of four children in an immigrant family. His father immigrated from Germany and his mother from Ukraine. When he was seven, his family moved to Edmonton, Alberta, where he grew up alongside future NHLer Mark Messier, who Daneyko described as "very influential" on his career. He played Bantam AA hockey for the Great Falls Americans before leaving Edmonton at age 15 to play Junior hockey, going with his father's permission without telling his mother. Daneyko spent one season with the Yorkton Terriers of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League, scoring one goal and 20 assists, then joined the Spokane Flyers in the WHL. After the WHL suspended the Spokane franchise in December 1981, he joined the Seattle Breakers. Originally ranked 67th among draft-eligible players in February 1982, he finished the season as one of the best prospects in junior hockey and was drafted in the first round, 18th overall, by the New Jersey Devils in the 1982 NHL entry draft.

In Their Own Story

Daneyko made his NHL debut on October 6, 1983, against the New York Rangers, and scored his first NHL goal on October 30 against the Pittsburgh Penguins. By the end of October, he ranked sixth in rookie scoring with five points through 11 games. However, he fractured his fibula during a game against the Hartford Whalers in early November and missed over two months. After recovering in February, he was reassigned to the Kamloops Junior Oilers of the WHL for the remainder of the season, helping them qualify for the 1984 Memorial Cup. On March 29, 1994, Daneyko's ironman streak ended due to a shoulder injury; at the time, he held the record as the NHL's longest active ironman with 388 consecutive games. He played in his 800th career NHL game on October 18, 1996, against the Hartford Whalers, moving him into second place on the Devils' all-time games played list behind John MacLean. During the 1997–98 season, Daneyko went public with his alcoholism problem in early November, becoming the first player to voluntarily enter the NHL's voluntary Substance Abuse and Behavioral Health program. He missed 45 games, was released from the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation Clinic at the end of December, and officially returned to the Devils lineup on February 25 against the Florida Panthers. Daneyko won the Bill Masterton Trophy in 2000 for his "perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey." Along with Scott Stevens, he was part of a Devils defensive core that won the Stanley Cup three times, in 1995, 2000, and 2003. From the team's first playoff game while in New Jersey in 1988, Daneyko played in every playoff game until game four of the 2003 quarterfinals. He was scratched in the first six games of the 2003 finals, but coach Pat Burns inserted him into the lineup for game seven, replacing Oleg Tverdovsky. Daneyko took the ice for the final shift of the Devils' game seven victory over the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, clinching their third Stanley Cup.

Reader's Guide

Following his retirement, Daneyko joined the Devils' broadcasts on MSGSN as a studio analyst. He spent eight years in this role before being promoted to the Devils' in-game analyst in September 2014. The Devils retired his uniform number on March 24, 2006; he was the second Devil to receive the honour, after Scott Stevens, though both were retired in the same year. In October 2009, Daneyko began competing as a pairs figure skater on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reality show Battle of the Blades. In 2010, he portrayed himself in the short film Ice Hockey, written and directed by Larry Cohen, which also featured Randy Velischek. In 2016, Daneyko was inducted into the Ukrainian Sports Hall of Fame. Daneyko has two children: a daughter and a son.

Did You Know?

• Daneyko was drafted 18th overall in the 1982 NHL entry draft, but was originally ranked 67th among draft-eligible players in February 1982.
• He fractured his fibula during a game against the Hartford Whalers in early November 1983 and missed over two months of game play.
• Daneyko held the NHL's longest active ironman streak with 388 consecutive games before a shoulder injury ended it on March 29, 1994.
• He became the first player to voluntarily enter the NHL's voluntary Substance Abuse and Behavioral Health program in 1997.
• Daneyko took the ice for the final shift of the Devils' game seven victory over the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in 2003, clinching their third Stanley Cup.

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