He started out as a prospect with the high-flying Red Wings and ended with the Islanders, but that was just part of the game for the Sasketchwan native
"I think the way you have to look at it is it's a business," he told BlueJackets.com for the most recent edition of Where Are They Now?, a 20th-anniversary season series presented by Huntington Bank. "Every time I got traded or moved as a free agent, it was a new beginning. My wife and I learned that very early in my career. I asked for a trade in Detroit, actually. I wasn't getting any playing time, I was up and down in the minors. I remember Jason York was in the same situation and we kind of asked for a trade at the same time, and boom, I was granted a trade within the week and the ball didn't stop rolling.
"Longevity in the NHL, playing 18 years, playing wth 300 teammates and living in all different cities, it's a great lifestyle. We've enjoyed every moment of it."
Oddly, though Sillinger would play just two years in Columbus after signing a free-agent deal in the summer of 2001, his 155 games in Columbus is the most he played for any NHL team. He was someone who could get on the board for a franchise that needed it early on, notching 20 goals his first season and 18 his second year with the Jackets while scoring 43 points each season.
"We really enjoyed Columbus," Sillinger said as he looks back. "We still have very good friends outside of hockey that live in Columbus. The best memories is meeting the best people and staying attached to them."
Watch the entire episode of Where Are They Now? presented by Huntington Bank above, as Sillinger talks about his life in hockey, his favorite Blue Jackets teammates, chirps Jody Shelley and talks about being a hockey dad now as two of his sons play college hockey at Bemidji State and another is a potential first-round pick this upcoming draft.
