Former Sabres captain Brian Gionta has joined the Niagara University hockey coaching staff as director of player development, Niagara announced Thursday.
An Olympian in 2006 and 2018, Gionta is a Rochester native who played 16 seasons in the NHL with the New Jersey Devils, Montreal Canadiens, Sabres and Boston Bruins. In 1,026 games, he had 291 goals and 304 assists for 595 points.
"Brian's commitment to developing players and helping them reach their full potential is his priority," Niagara coach Jason Lammers said in a news release. "Brian's strong leadership skills and passion for the game are Uncommon and will bring a new level of development for our student-athletes both on and off the ice to the program."
Gionta retired in 2018 after playing the final 20 games of his career with the Boston Bruins. At the time, he was the 43rd American in NHL history to skate in more than 1,000 games, a milestone he reached with the Sabres on March 27, 2017.
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Gionta was a seven-time 20-goal scorer in the NHL and was a Stanley Cup winner in New Jersey in 2003. He holds the Devils' single-season record with 48 goals in 2005-06. Gionta had 40 goals and 63 assists in his three seasons with Buffalo from 2014 to 2017.
In 2018, Gionta stepped away from the NHL to train with the Rochester Amerks for the season and even played one game for his hometown team before heading overseas.
He was selected to the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in 2019.
