Playing Career
After being drafted by the Tampa Bay Lightning, Cross went on to spend time with the Toronto Maple Leafs, New York Rangers, Edmonton Oilers, Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit Red Wings. A physically imposing player with a powerful shot, Cross was considered a sub-par skater by NHL standards. This became especially apparent after the 2004–05 NHL lockout, since which he played only 56 games at the NHL level.
After spending three seasons on defence for the University of Alberta, Cross made his professional debut with Atlanta of the IHL. He saw spot duty with the Lightning for two seasons before playing his first full season in the NHL during the 1995–96 season.
After spending parts of six seasons in Tampa Bay, Cross, along with a seventh-round draft pick, was dealt in the off-season to the Toronto Maple Leafs, in exchange for Fredrik Modin. After three relatively good seasons with the Leafs, Cross was signed as an unrestricted free agent by the New York Rangers. Cross played only 26 games in New York before being traded again, this time to the Edmonton Oilers, along with Radek Dvorak in exchange for Anson Carter and Ales Pisa. Cross played 113 games for Edmonton before being traded along with Jani Rita to the Pittsburgh Penguins for Dick Tarnstrom. Cross was relentlessly criticized in Edmonton for his inability to adapt to the "New NHL". On March 9, 2006, Cross was traded from the Penguins to the Detroit Red Wings for fourth round draft pick in 2007.
Cross signed with the Hamburg Freezers of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga in July 2006. Cross played one season with Hamburg. Cross formally retired as an active player in September 2009.
Read more about this topic: Cory Cross
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