Shane Churla
Canadian ice hockey player
title: "Shane Churla" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1965-births", "living-people", "arizona-coyotes-scouts", "binghamton-whalers-players", "calgary-flames-players", "canadian-expatriate-ice-hockey-players-in-the-united-states", "canadian-ice-hockey-right-wingers", "dallas-stars-players", "dallas-stars-scouts", "hartford-whalers-draft-picks", "hartford-whalers-players", "20th-century-canadian-sportsmen", "ice-hockey-people-from-british-columbia", "los-angeles-kings-players", "medicine-hat-tigers-players", "minnesota-north-stars-players", "montreal-canadiens-scouts", "new-york-rangers-players", "people-from-fernie,-british-columbia", "salt-lake-golden-eagles-(ihl)-players", "stanley-cup-champions"] description: "Canadian ice hockey player" topic_path: "science/astronomy" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shane_Churla" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Canadian ice hockey player ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox ice hockey player"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| played_for | Hartford Whalers |
| Calgary Flames | |
| Minnesota North Stars | |
| Dallas Stars | |
| Los Angeles Kings | |
| New York Rangers | |
| league | NHL |
| position | Right Wing |
| shoots | Right |
| height_ft | 6 |
| height_in | 1 |
| weight_lb | 200 |
| birth_date | |
| birth_place | Fernie, British Columbia, Canada |
| draft | 110th overall |
| draft_year | 1985 |
| draft_team | Hartford Whalers |
| career_start | 1985 |
| career_end | 1997 |
| :: |
| image = | image_size = | played_for = Hartford Whalers Calgary Flames Minnesota North Stars Dallas Stars Los Angeles Kings New York Rangers | league = NHL | position = Right Wing | shoots = Right | height_ft = 6 | height_in = 1 | weight_lb = 200 | birth_date = | birth_place = Fernie, British Columbia, Canada | draft = 110th overall | draft_year = 1985 | draft_team = Hartford Whalers | career_start = 1985 | career_end = 1997 Shane Churla (born June 24, 1965) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He was drafted in the sixth round, 110th overall, by the Hartford Whalers in the 1985 NHL Entry Draft. He is currently the director of amateur scouting for the Florida Panthers.
Playing career
After playing two seasons in the Western Hockey League with the Medicine Hat Tigers, Churla made his professional debut with the AHL's Binghamton Whalers in the 1985–86 season. He made his NHL debut with Hartford in the 1986–87 season, appearing in 20 games. After dressing for two more games with Hartford in the 1987–88 season, he was traded to the Calgary Flames in a multi-player deal.
During the 1988–89 season, the Flames traded Churla to the Minnesota North Stars. He was one of the players selected from the North Stars by the San Jose Sharks in the 1991 NHL Dispersal Draft; however, he was traded back to the North Stars only days later for Kelly Kisio.
Churla remained with the Stars franchise as it moved south to become the Dallas Stars. In the 1995–96 season, Churla moved from Dallas to the Los Angeles Kings, and then again to the New York Rangers. He retired as a Ranger after the 1996–97 season.
In his NHL career, Churla appeared in 488 games. He scored 26 goals and added 45 assists. He also appeared in 78 Stanley Cup playoff games, scoring five goals and tallying seven assists. Churla was considered a top enforcer in the NHL. He and Basil McRae were a formidable duo on the Minnesota North Stars at the end of the 1980s. He tallied 2,301 penalty minutes in his NHL career.
Churla is perhaps best remembered for receiving one of the most vicious elbows in NHL history during the 1994 Stanley Cup playoffs, courtesy of Pavel Bure. The elbow was dubbed by Don Cherry as "the mother of all elbows." He was once described by Hartford Whalers General Manager Emile Francis as "having the guts of a slaughter house".
Post-retirement
After retirement, Churla continued working in the hockey industry. In 2005, he became a scout for the Dallas Stars, identifying and evaluating draft-eligible players. In 2013, he moved to the Montreal Canadiens in a similar capacity and eventually became the director of amateur scouting. After 7 years in Montreal, Churla left to join the Florida Panthers as their director of amateur scouting.
When the Florida Panthers won the Stanley Cup in , Churla's name was engraved on the Stanley Cup for his role as the team's director of amateur scouting.
Personal life
Churla is the cousin of former National Football League quarterback Mark Rypien.
Churla's younger brother, Russ, also played in the WHL for one season, but has since retired.
Career statistics
::data[format=table]
| Regular season | Playoffs | Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | NHL totals | 488 | 26 | 45 | 71 | 2,301 | 78 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 282 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983–84 | Medicine Hat Tigers | WHL | 48 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 115 | 14 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 41 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1984–85 | Medicine Hat Tigers | WHL | 70 | 14 | 20 | 34 | 370 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 55 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1985–86 | Binghamton Whalers | AHL | 52 | 4 | 10 | 14 | 306 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1986–87 | Hartford Whalers | NHL | 20 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 78 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 42 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1986–87 | Binghamton Whalers | AHL | 24 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 249 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||
| 1987–88 | Hartford Whalers | NHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||
| 1987–88 | Binghamton Whalers | AHL | 25 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 168 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||
| 1987–88 | Calgary Flames | NHL | 29 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 132 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 17 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1988–89 | Calgary Flames | NHL | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||
| 1988–89 | Salt Lake Golden Eagles | IHL | 32 | 3 | 13 | 16 | 278 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||
| 1988–89 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 13 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 54 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||
| 1989–90 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 52 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 292 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 44 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1990–91 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 40 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 286 | 22 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 90 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1991–92 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 57 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 278 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||
| 1992–93 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 73 | 5 | 16 | 21 | 286 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||
| 1993–94 | Dallas Stars | NHL | 69 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 333 | 9 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 35 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1994–95 | Dallas Stars | NHL | 27 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 186 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1995–96 | Dallas Stars | NHL | 34 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 168 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||
| 1995–96 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 11 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 37 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||
| 1995–96 | New York Rangers | NHL | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 11 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 14 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1996–97 | New York Rangers | NHL | 45 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 106 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | ||||||||||||||||
| :: |
References
References
- (November 8, 2012). "How long would Bure have been suspended for elbowing Churla if it happened in the 2012 playoffs?".
- (July 18, 2016). "Top 15 Biggest NHL Goons Of All Time".
- (23 May 2013). "Ex-Stars enforcer Churla joining Montreal as scout". The Jamestown Sun.
- "Panthers name Shane Churla as club's new director of amateur scouting".
- Dwork, David. (July 12, 2025). "Names of Florida Panthers added to Stanley Cup for second straight year". The Hockey News.
- Molnari, David. (26 December 1993). "Everything Is Relative - Or So It Seems". [[Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]].
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