A prototypical
stay-at-home defenceman, Rouse was drafted in 1982 by the
Minnesota North Stars. After playing parts of six seasons with the North Stars, Rouse was traded to the
Washington Capitals at the trade deadline of the
1988–89 NHL season in the deal that also sent
Dino Ciccarelli to the Capitals. His steady and tough style of defensive play helped guide the Capitals to their first semifinals appearance, in
1990. During the middle of the
1990–91 season he was traded to the
Toronto Maple Leafs, along with
Peter Zezel, in exchange for
Al Iafrate. Rouse joined the
Detroit Red Wings in 1994 as a free agent. He had arthroscopic surgery in February 1994 but returned and helped them in two of their
Stanley Cup wins (
1997 and
1998), one of which involved topping one of his former clubs, the Capitals. Rouse moved on to play with the
San Jose Sharks in
1998–99 and retired during the
1999–2000 season after the Sharks released him. In 1,061 NHL games, Rouse had 37 goals, 181 assists, and 1,559 penalty minutes. He served as a full-time
alternate captain with the Maple Leafs, and as part-time alternate captain with the Capitals and Red Wings. ==Career statistics==