Chris Kunitz
A hard-nosed, championship-winning winger whose relentless forechecking and clutch scoring made him the ultimate complementary star.
Born 1979 (age 47)·Canadian ice hockey player·Birthday: September 26·Generation X
Biography
Chris Kunitz won four Stanley Cup championships: one with the Anaheim Ducks in 2007 and three with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Undrafted out of college, he entered the NHL through sheer will and a punishing style. He became a forechecking force who disrupted defenses and scored critical goals. In Pittsburgh, his gritty compatibility with Sidney Crosby formed one of the league's most effective lines for nearly a decade. Kunitz was born in 1979.
Generation X
1965–1980
The latchkey kids. Raised during divorce, recession, and the end of the Cold War. Skeptical, self-reliant, media-literate. They invented indie culture, grunge, and the early internet — then watched the Boomers take credit.
Chris was born in 1979, placing them squarely in the Generation X. The events that shaped this generation — economic uncertainty, the end of the Cold War, and the rise of personal computing — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Chris Was Born
The biggest hits of 1979
#1 Movie
Kramer vs. Kramer
Best Picture
Kramer vs. Kramer
#1 TV Show
Laverne & Shirley
Chris's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1979Born
Iran hostage crisis begins; Three Mile Island accident
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $37,900Min wage: $2.90/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"My Sharona" — The KnackBest Picture: Kramer vs. Kramer
1984Started school
Apple Macintosh introduced
Gas: $1.13/galHome: $59,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"When Doves Cry" — PrinceBest Picture: Amadeus
1992Became a teenager
LA riots after Rodney King verdict
Gas: $1.13/galHome: $84,300Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"End of the Road" — Boyz II MenBest Picture: Unforgiven
1995Could drive
Oklahoma City bombing; Windows 95 released
Gas: $1.15/galHome: $96,500Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Gangsta's Paradise" — CoolioBest Picture: Braveheart
1997Could vote
Princess Diana dies in Paris car crash; Harry Potter published
Gas: $1.23/galHome: $104,100Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Candle in the Wind 1997" — Elton JohnBest Picture: Titanic
2000Turned 21
Y2K passes without incident; contested Bush-Gore election
Gas: $1.51/galHome: $119,600Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Breathe" — Faith HillBest Picture: Gladiator
2009Turned 30
Michael Jackson dies; Bitcoin created
Gas: $2.35/galHome: $148,500Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Boom Boom Pow" — The Black Eyed PeasBest Picture: The Hurt Locker
2019Turned 40
First image of a black hole; Hong Kong protests
Gas: $2.60/galHome: $224,400Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"Old Town Road" — Lil Nas XBest Picture: Parasite
2026Age 47 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Won the Stanley Cup four times (2007 with Anaheim, 2009, 2016, 2017 with Pittsburgh).
- Represented Canada at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, winning a gold medal.
- Scored the series-clinching double-overtime goal in Game 7 of the 2017 Eastern Conference Final.
- Played in over 1,000 regular-season NHL games, amassing over 600 points.
Did You Know?
He is one of only a handful of players to win an Olympic gold medal and a Stanley Cup in the same year (2014 & 2016).
He played college hockey at Ferris State University and was named the CCHA Player of the Year in 2003.
He went undrafted by any NHL team before signing as a free agent.
He scored a hat trick in his final regular-season home game as a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2017.
“You earn your ice time by doing the hard things in the corners.”
