Geoff Courtnall

Geoffrey Lawton Courtnall (born August 18, 1962) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1983 to 2000. He was the head coach of the Victoria Grizzlies of the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) and for the Victoria Vikes of the British Columbia Intercollegiate Hockey League (BCIHL).

Playing career
Geoff Courtnall was signed by the Boston Bruins of the NHL as an undrafted free agent on July 6, 1983. He played for the Bruins from the 1983–84 season to March 8, 1988, when he was traded, along with Bill Ranford, to the Edmonton Oilers for Andy Moog. While in Edmonton, he helped the Oilers win the Stanley Cup in 1988, after facing his old team the Bruins in the finals. About four months later, the Oilers traded Courtnall to the Washington Capitals for Greg Adams. After two seasons in Washington, Courtnall requested a trade, which was granted in the 1990 off-season when he was sent to the St. Louis Blues for Mike Lalor and Peter Zezel.

After less than a season in St. Louis and at the trade deadline, Courtnall, along with Robert Dirk, Sergio Momesso, Cliff Ronning, and future considerations, was traded to the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for Garth Butcher and Dan Quinn. This trade marked a major turning point for the Canucks as these players were among the core that would lead the Canucks on their run to the 1994 Stanley Cup Finals. Courtnall then played one more season in Vancouver after the Cup run of 1994 and went back to the St. Louis for the start of the 1995–96 season. Courtnall, in his second tenure with the Blues, scored almost 80 goals over five seasons, but only played 30 games over his final two seasons as the result of several concussions, but reached the 1,000 game mark during the 1997–98 season, in which he scored 31 goals in his last full season. After sitting out the last half of the 1998–99 season with a concussion he returned to the lineup the next season. A few games into the 1999–2000 season, he suffered another concussion, which forced his retirement as a result of post-concussion syndrome.

Personal life
Courtnall was born in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada and raised in Duncan, British Columbia. His father, Archie, had played professional hockey, and worked in the forestry industry on Vancouver Island. Archie had depression, and in 1978 killed himself. He is the brother of another former NHL player, Russ Courtnall. Geoff's son, Justin, was drafted 210th overall in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft by the Tampa Bay Lightning.

After retiring Courtnall moved back to Victoria, though later moved to Vancouver. He estimated that during his playing career he had at least 20 concussions, and it had an effect on his post-playing career. He began to drink heavily, reaching a point where his former teammate Cam Neely discussed Courtnall's drinking while at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. This led Courtnall to quit drinking; to take his mind off that Courtnall would run. He also invested in a gold mining venture in Peru, as well as commercial real estate and construction. Along with his brother, Russ, Courtnall established the Archie Courtnall Centre for emergency psychiatric care at the Royal Jubilee Hospital in Victoria.

Sexual assault allegation
In May 1990, while playing for the Capitals, Courtnall was accused of raping a 17-year-old girl outside a bar, alongside teammates Dino Ciccarelli, Scott Stevens, and Neil Sheehy. The court case fell apart, though a spokesperson for the Metropolitan police at the time – with no supporting evidence available for use at trial – stated that the police "have sufficient grounds to believe that a criminal offense did occur."

Awards and achievements

 * Stanley Cup champion – 1988