Status: Unrestricted free agent. Former Columbus Blue Jackets center.
DOB: Nov. 6, 1981 In: Selkirk, Man.
First Hockey Memory: "Going on the rink back home and not being able to skate. And getting very frustrated and saying I never wanted to go back (age 4)."
Hockey Inspirations: "I would say my parents, my dad mostly. He coached me growing up and really taught me the game."
Last Book Read: "Currently reading the Andre Agassi biography (Open). It's a good book. It's neat to see other athletes behind the scenes."
Nicknames: "Mur, Mur-Dogg."
First Job: "Worked at a golf course driving range. Picking up the golf balls in the machine."
Current Car: "Yukon GMC."
Greatest Sports Moment: "Probably scoring my first NHL goal, against Anaheim, against Giguere."
Most Painful Moment: "Probably breaking my ankle in college my junior year. Going into the boards, just kind of fell awkward down on it."
Closest Hockey Friends: "I've got a few. A lot of guys I grew up with, playing in the minors and in college. A lot of great people I've met along the way."
Funniest Players Encountered: "Jason Chimera. I roomed with him and he was always a jokester."
Toughest Competitors Encountered: "A lot of guys. I think Toews in Chicago."
Funny Hockey Memory: "Just cutting guys’ skate laces, so when they're ready to go out there, they have to re-do their laces."
Embarrassing Hockey Memory: "Going out there with your skate-guards on."
Favorite Sport Outside Hockey: "Golf."
Favorite Uniforms: "Probably our blue. (Second favorite?) I don't know. There's a lot of good ones, a lot of bad ones (laughs)."
Favorite Arena: "Probably Montreal."
People Qualities Most Admired: "Honesty, hard work, dedication."
Mark 'Scoop' Malinowski is the author of "Heavyweight Armageddon: The Tyson-Lewis Championship Battle" and creator of two websites: www.thebiofile.com and www.tennis-prose.com.