Jonas Hiller (born 12 February 1982) is a Swiss former professional ice hockey goaltender. Hiller played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Anaheim Ducks and the Calgary Flames. He began his NHL career with the Ducks in 2007 after going undrafted in any NHL Entry Draft. Hiller also played in the National League (NL) for HC Davos and EHC Biel.

Jonas Hiller
Hiller in 2017
Born (1982-02-12) 12 February 1982 (age 42)
Felben-Wellhausen, Switzerland
Height6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight192 lb (87 kg; 13 st 10 lb)
PositionGoaltender
CaughtRight
Played forHC Davos
HC Lausanne
HC La Chaux-de-Fonds
Anaheim Ducks
Calgary Flames
EHC Biel
National team  Switzerland
NHL draftUndrafted
Playing career2001–2020

Playing career

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As a youth, Hiller played in the 1996 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a team from Zürich.[1]

While playing for HC Davos, Hiller won Switzerland's championship in 2002, 2005 and 2007, as well as the Spengler Cup in 2004 and 2006. In 2006–07, Hiller set a career-high win record with 28–16–0 in 44 games. Following the conclusion of the season, he was signed as an undrafted free agent by the NHL's Anaheim Ducks in May 2007.[citation needed]

Hiller with the Ducks in 2012

Hiller made his debut for the Ducks on 30 September 2007, defeating the Los Angeles Kings 4–1 in London, England. He allowed 1 goal on 23 shots for the win.[citation needed]

Ducks general manager Brian Burke quickly felt Hiller was ready to become full-time backup to Jean-Sébastien Giguère, and as a result, placed backup Ilya Bryzgalov on waivers, where he was claimed by the Phoenix Coyotes. Hiller went on to record a 2.06 goals against average (GAA) and .926 save percentage in 23 games in his first NHL season, 2007–08.[citation needed]

Hiller recorded his first career NHL shutout in the 2008–09 season, defeating the Los Angeles Kings, 2–0. Following his strong regular season play, the Ducks named Hiller their starting goaltender for the 2009 Stanley Cup playoffs over incumbent starter Giguère. Hiller started his first career playoff game on 16 April 2009, recording a shutout over the San Jose Sharks in a 35-save performance. He and the Ducks ousted the Presidents' Trophy-winning Sharks in six games, marking only the fourth time in NHL history that the Presidents' Trophy-winning team had been eliminated in the playoffs' first round. The Ducks next matchup was the second-seeded Detroit Red Wings, a series which Detroit won in seven games. Nonetheless, many felt that it was only due to Hiller's goaltending that the Ducks were able to take the defending Stanley Cup champions to seven games.[citation needed]

Midway through the next season, on 30 January 2010, Hiller signed a four-year contract extension with the Ducks going through to the 2013–14 season. The next day, the Ducks traded Giguère to the Toronto Maple Leafs, cementing Hiller's status as the Ducks' starting goaltender.[citation needed] Hiller earned a spot in the 2011 NHL All-Star Game, held in Raleigh, North Carolina, on 30 January. On 2 February, after his first game returning from the All-Star weekend, Hiller felt lightheaded and was slow to react, allowing three goals on ten shots in the opening period of a 4–3 loss against the visiting San Jose Sharks. He sat out the next four games before shutting out the Edmonton Oilers 4–0 on 13 February, but the symptoms reappeared. Hiller then sat out another 15 games, making what would be his last appearance of the season during a 5–4 loss to the Nashville Predators on 24 March.[citation needed] In August 2011, Hiller said he was symptom-free.[2]

During the lockout-shortened 2012–13 season, Hiller helped the Ducks place second overall in the Western Conference. During the 2013 playoffs, however, the Ducks were eliminated in a seven-game series against the Detroit Red Wings for the second time in five years.[citation needed]

On 1 July 2014, after his contract had expired with Anaheim, Hiller signed a two-year contract as an unrestricted free agent with the Calgary Flames at an annual average of $4.5 million.[3] In his first season in Calgary, 2014–15, he emerged as the Flames' starting goaltender, partaking in most of the Flames' regular season games and 7 of the Flames' 11 2015 playoff games. In Game 6 in the first round of the playoffs, he was pulled in favour of backup Karri Rämö after conceding two goals on three shots. Hiller started Game 1 of the second round against his former team, the Ducks, but was again pulled in favour of Rämö. Rämö remained in goal for the rest of the series, which the Flames lost in five games.[citation needed]

Hiller struggled throughout the 2015–16 season, recording a 9–11–1 record with a 3.51 GAA. Calgary opted not to re-sign Hiller or Rämö, instead acquiring Brian Elliott from the St. Louis Blues after the season to replace them.[citation needed]

On 19 April 2016, Hiller agreed to a three-year contract with EHC Biel of the Swiss National League A (NLA) worth CHF 2.1 million.[4] On 27 August 2018 Hiller was signed to an early one-year contract extension by EHC Biel, through the 2019-20 season. Before the 2019-20 season, Hiller announced his intention to retire from professional hockey at the conclusion of the season, after a 4-year stint with EHC Biel.

On 16 March 2020 Hiller officially announced his retirement from professional hockey.

International play

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Hiller with Switzerland during the 2010 Winter Olympics

Hiller played in goal for Switzerland at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia. Switzerland finished in eighth place, losing to the United States in the quarterfinal round. He also played goalie for Switzerland in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, where Switzerland finished in ninth place, losing to Latvia in the qualification playoffs.[citation needed]

Personal life

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Hiller is fluent in English, German and French.[citation needed] He is a butterfly-style goaltender.[citation needed]

Career statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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Regular seasonPlayoffs
SeasonTeamLeagueGPWLTOTLMINGASOGAASV%GPWLMINGASOGAASV%
1998–99SC HerisauSUI U17
1998–99SC HerisauSUI U20
1999–00SC HerisauSUI U20
1999–00SC HerisauSUI.320.65
2000–01HC DavosSUI U20
2000–01HC DavosNLA10.001.000
2001–02HC DavosSUI U20
2001–02EHC Lenzerheide-ValbellaSUI.334.51
2002–03HC DavosSUI U20
2002–03HC DavosNLA22.63
2002–03EHC Lenzerheide-ValbellaSUI.3102.44
2003–04HC LausanneNLA133717094213.55
2003–04HC La Chaux-de-FondsSUI.2101060404.00
2004–05HC DavosNLA432612425239482.24151239323402.19
2005–06HC DavosNLA422215525519842.3015969004513.00
2006–07HC DavosNLA4428160265611532.601912711383932.05
2007–08Anaheim DucksNHL23107112234202.06.927
2007–08Portland PiratesAHL63213701302.11.929
2008–09Anaheim DucksNHL462315124869942.39.91913768073022.23.943
2009–10Anaheim DucksNHL5930234333815222.73.918
2010–11Anaheim DucksNHL4926163267211452.56.924
2011–12Anaheim DucksNHL73293012425318242.57.910
2012–13Anaheim DucksNHL26156414985912.36.9137344391812.46.917
2013–14Anaheim DucksNHL5029137290912052.48.911622219802.19.906
2014–15Calgary FlamesNHL5226194287111312.36.9187333221402.61.919
2015–16Calgary FlamesNHL26911113517913.51.879
2016–17EHC BielNLA4722223280312722.72.9165143071402.74.924
2017–18EHC BielNL4724153280510922.33.92611656173103.01.887
2018–19EHC BielNL4422200262711242.56.91212747122612.19.931
2019–20EHC BielNL391811623679812.48.918
NL totals319165118101219,041795252.51774729460618952.46
NHL totals3781881293621,249881222.49.91733151517877032.35.930
  • NLA/NL totals do not include numbers from the 2000–01 and 2002–03 seasons.

International

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YearTeamEventGPWLMINGASOGAASV%
2005SwitzerlandOGQDNP
2006SwitzerlandWCDNP
2007SwitzerlandWC6333591502.51.910
2008SwitzerlandWC312151702.79.915
2010SwitzerlandOG5233161302.47.918
2014SwitzerlandOG321179220.67.971
2017SwitzerlandWC20071605.04.818
2018SwitzerlandOG412211411.14.956
Senior totals2391112874732.19.920

Awards and honours

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AwardYear
NLA
Jacques Plante Trophy2005, 2007
Champion (HC Davos)2005, 2007
MVP2007
NHL
All-Star Game2011

Records

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  • Shares record for most consecutive wins in one NHL regular season – 14 (6 December 2013 to 12 January 2014)

References

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  1. ^ "Pee-Wee players who have reached NHL or WHA" (PDF). Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. 2018. Retrieved 11 February 2019.
  2. ^ "Ducks Jonas Hiller says he's free of vertigo symptoms, ready for training camp". The Hockey News. 29 August 2011. Retrieved 30 August 2011.
  3. ^ "Calgary Flames sign forward Mason Raymond". Calgary Sun. 1 July 2014. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 1 July 2014.
  4. ^ "Deal done – Jonas Hiller signs three-year deal with EHC Biel". swisshockeynews.ch. 19 April 2016. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
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