Playing career

He played for the Waterloo Black Hawks of the United States Hockey League (USHL). Collegiately, he played one year at Ferris State University before transferring the University of North Dakota, and starred on their 1996-1997 National Championship team.

Blake was signed as a free agent by the Los Angeles Kings in 1999. In January 2001, he was acquired by the New York Islanders in a trade with the Los Angeles Kings, who received a conditional pick in 2002. Blake set career highs in goals and points during the 2005-06 season with 28 and 57, respectively. The following season he topped both totals, scoring 40 goals and 69 points. The 40th goal was scored against the Toronto Maple Leafs on April 5, 2007.

Along with Islanders teammates Rick DiPietro and Mark Parrish, Blake was part of Team USA at the Winter Olympics held in Turin, Italy in February 2006. Team USA was led by Peter Laviolette, his former coach with the Islanders.

Blake scored his 99th and 100th career NHL goals against the Chicago Blackhawks at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum on October 31, 2006. The milestone 100th goal came on the power play late in the 3rd period.

Blake was named an all-star for the first time in his career during the 2006-07 NHL season. He recorded 2 assists in the 2007 NHL All-Star Game.

At the end of the 2006-07 season Blake became an unrestricted free agent. He was quoted in Newsday in February 2007 saying he would probably test the free agent market if not re-signed by the Islanders prior to the NHL trading deadline. Blake was neither traded nor re-signed before the deadline and on July 1, 2007, Blake signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs to a 5-year contract worth US $20 million.

On October 8, 2007, Blake announced that he had been diagnosed with chronic myelogenous leukemia, a rare, but highly treatable form of cancer. He continued to play for the Maple Leafs for the rest of the season.

In Blake's first season with Toronto he played in all 82 regular season games. He scored 15 goals and added 37 assists for a total of 52 points. While he managed a considerable number of points, he struggled to score goals all season, having over 300 shots on goal, easily a career high, but only 15 goals. He was awarded the Bill Masterton Trophy at the end of the season for perseverance and dedication to hockey through the difficult times he faced after being diagnosed with cancer.

In the 2009-10 season, Blake was traded to the Anaheim Ducks along with Vesa Toskala for Jean-Sébastien Giguère on January 31, 2010.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1992-93	Waterloo Black Hawks	USHL		45	24	27	51	107		—	—	—	—	—
1993-94	Waterloo Black Hawks	USHL		47	50	50	100	76		—	—	—	—	—
1994-95	Ferris State Bulldogs	CCHA		36	16	16	32	46		—	—	—	—	—
1996-97	North Dakota Fighting Sioux	WCHA		43	19	32	51	44		—	—	—	—	—
1997-98	North Dakota Fighting Sioux	WCHA		38	24	27	51	62		—	—	—	—	—
1998-99	North Dakota Fighting Sioux	WCHA		38	28	41	69	49		—	—	—	—	—
1998-99	Orlando Solar Bears	IHL		5	3	5	8	6		13	3	4	7	20
1998-99	Los Angeles Kings	NHL		1	1	0	1	0		—	—	—	—	—
1999-00	Long Beach Ice Dogs	IHL		7	3	6	9	2		—	—	—	—	—
1999-00	Los Angeles Kings	NHL		64	5	18	23	26		3	0	0	0	0
2000-01	Lowell Lock Monsters	AHL		2	0	1	1	2		—	—	—	—	—
2000-01	Los Angeles Kings	NHL		17	1	3	4	10		—	—	—	—	—
2000-01	New York Islanders	NHL		30	4	8	12	24		—	—	—	—	—
2001-02	New York Islanders	NHL		82	8	10	18	36		7	0	1	1	13
2002-03	New York Islanders	NHL		81	25	30	55	58		5	0	1	1	2
2003-04	New York Islanders	NHL		75	22	25	47	56		4	2	0	2	2
2004-05	HC Lugano	NLA		7	2	2	4	4		—	—	—	—	—
2005-06	New York Islanders	NHL		76	28	29	57	60		—	—	—	—	—
2006-07	New York Islanders	NHL		82	40	29	69	34		5	1	2	3	2
2007-08	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL		82	15	37	52	28		—	—	—	—	—
2008-09	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL		78	25	38	63	40		—	—	—	—	—
2009-10	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL		56	10	16	26	26		—	—	—	—	—
2009-10	Anaheim Ducks	NHL		26	6	9	15	10		—	—	—	—	—
2010-11	Anaheim Ducks	NHL		76	16	16	32	41		6	3	1	4	0
2011-12	Anaheim Ducks	NHL		45	7	5	12	6		—	—	—	—	—
NHL totals				871	213	263	486	455		30	6	5	11	19

International

Year	Team	Comp	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2000	United States	WC	7	1	1	2	2
2004	United States	WCH	4	1	0	1	2
2006	United States	OG	6	0	0	0	2
2009	United States	WC	9	1	3	4	4
International totals			26	3	4	7	10

Awards and honors

Award	Year
All-CCHA Rookie Team	1994-95
All-WCHA First Team	1996-97
All-WCHA First Team	1997-98
AHCA West Second-Team All-American	1997-98
WCHA All-Tournament Team	1998
All-WCHA First Team	1998-99
AHCA West First-Team All-American	1998-99

• 1993-94: Dave Tyler Junior Player of the Year Award (USHL)
• 2006-07: Played in All-Star Game (NHL)
• 2007-08: Won the Bill Masterton Trophy (NHL)

[ Source: Wikipedia ]