Uwe Gerd Krupp (born 24 June 1965) is a German former professional hockey defenceman and former coach of the German national ice hockey team. Widely considered one of the greatest German players of all time, he was the second German-born player to win the Stanley Cup, and the second German-born professional to play in an National Hockey League All-Star Game.
Krupp spent his formative years in Germany, and arrived in North America as a young but experienced professional. Krupp scored the Stanley Cup clinching goal in triple overtime of Game 4 of the 1996 Stanley Cup Finals against the Florida Panthers. In retirement, Krupp was head coach of Kölner Haie. His son Björn Krupp is a professional ice hockey player.
Krupp was inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame in 2017, and inducted into the German Ice Hockey Hall of Fame.
Playing career
One of the few natives of Cologne to play for Kölner Haie in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga, Krupp was spotted by Scotty Bowman, the coach and general manager of the Buffalo Sabres, who chose him as the 214th pick in the 1983 NHL Entry Draft. After Kölner Haie won the German Championship in 1986, the team released Krupp to allow him to play in the NHL. He made his NHL debut against the Montreal Canadiens, but spent the latter part of the season with the Rochester Americans of the American Hockey League, where he was a member of the Americans team that won the Calder Cup. Krupp scored an overtime goal in Buffalo's final game the 1989–90 season against the Pittsburgh Penguins that eliminated the Penguins from playoff contention.
Krupp steadily improved as a mobile, puck-moving defenceman, increasing his point totals each year with the Sabres. In the 1990–91 season, he participated in the NHL All-Star game, the second German-born player to do so after Walt Tkaczuk. On 25 October 1991, the Sabres traded Krupp and Pierre Turgeon to the New York Islanders for Pat LaFontaine and Randy Wood. Krupp quickly settled with the Islanders, finishing second in scoring among defencemen behind Tom Kurvers, with 35 points in 59 games.
Krupp spent the next two seasons as one of the Islanders' top defenders, helping the team eliminate the defending Stanley Cup Champions Pittsburgh Penguins in the 1993 playoffs, and reach the Conference Finals against the heavily favoured Montreal Canadiens, which the Islanders lost. On 28 June 1994, the Islanders traded Krupp along with their first-round selection in the 1994 entry draft, who would become Wade Belak, to the Quebec Nordiques for Ron Sutter and their own first-round pick selection, used to select Brett Lindros. Krupp recorded 6 goals and 23 points for the Nordiques in the lockout-shortened 1994–95 season, and remained with the team after they relocated to Denver to become the Colorado Avalanche.
In the 1995–96 season, Krupp was injured in the first game in Colorado Avalanche history, tearing the ACL, MCL and lateral meniscus in his left knee; he returned for the final five games of the regular season and playoffs, in which he scored 16 points in 22 playoff games. Krupp scored the winning goal of the 1996 Stanley Cup Finals, in the third overtime period of the fourth game, becoming the first German-trained player on a Stanley Cup-winning team. He would later sign with the Detroit Red Wings. He missed the entirety of both the 1999–00 and 2000–01 seasons because of a back injury, and was suspended without pay by the Red Wings as he apparently contravened their medical advice by dogsledding while injured. He returned to play the following season and was a member of the Red Wings when they won the Stanley Cup in 2002. However, because he did not appear in enough games in the season, his name was not engraved on the Cup. After Detroit's cup win, Krupp was signed by the Atlanta Thrashers on July 19, 2002, to add size, leadership and veteran experience to the team's blueline, but would only play four games for the club throughout the season (October 11, 2002 and three games in February 2003) before retiring.
In his NHL career, Krupp played 729 games for the Buffalo Sabres, New York Islanders, Quebec Nordiques/Colorado Avalanche, Detroit Red Wings and Atlanta Thrashers before his retirement in 2003.