Baumgartner played
junior hockey for the
Prince Albert Raiders of the
Western Hockey League and minor league hockey for the
New Haven Nighthawks of the
American Hockey League as well as one season for
EHC Chur of the Swiss League. He has Swiss citizenship and played there as a non-import player. With the Prince Albert Raiders, he was selected to the league's All-Scholastic Team in 1984 and won a
Memorial Cup in 1985. Drafted 245th overall by the
Buffalo Sabres in the
1985 NHL entry draft, Baumgartner made his
NHL debut with the
Los Angeles Kings during the 1987–88 season. A defenseman until he reached the NHL, he would go on to play for the
New York Islanders,
Toronto Maple Leafs,
Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and the
Boston Bruins until his retirement in 2000. Baumgartner's primary role was an
enforcer and in his 12 NHL seasons, he tallied 2242
penalty minutes in 696 regular season games. He recorded 13 goals and 41 assists for 54 career points. He is the only player in the history of the NHL to play a full 82-game season and record only 1 point. Throughout his playing career, Baumgartner attended
Long Island's
Hofstra University during offseasons, where he earned a
degree in business and finance. In 1994, while still a member of the Maple Leafs, Baumgartner was elected vice president of the
NHL Players Association. Here, he played a role in establishing the
collective bargaining agreement between the NHLPA and the NHL during the 1994–95 season. Following his retirement as a player, Baumgartner joined the coaching staff of the Bruins as an assistant coach for the 1999–2000 season, before attending an
MBA program through
Harvard University. His daughter Alexa was also a player at the East Coast Wizards, having played on both U14 Major and U16 Major teams. She now plays for Bowdoin College's field hockey team. ==Career statistics==