Chris Taylor (ice hockey)

Chris Taylor (born March 6, 1972) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who is currently an assistant coach with the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League (NHL). He played in 149 NHL games with the New York Islanders, Boston Bruins, and Buffalo Sabres. In 2017, Taylor was named the head coach of the Rochester Americans in the American Hockey League, the affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres. In 2019, he was recalled by the Sabres as an assistant coach on an interim basis and returned to the Americans in late November,[1] staying until June 2020.

Chris Taylor
Born (1972-03-06) March 6, 1972
Stratford, Ontario, Canada
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 190 lb (86 kg; 13 st 8 lb)
Position Centre
Shot Left
Played for New York Islanders
Boston Bruins
Buffalo Sabres
Frankfurt Lions
NHL Draft 27th overall, 1990
New York Islanders
Playing career 1992–2011

Playing career

Taylor had an impressive junior career with the London Knights, ending his tenure with the team as their all-time points leader with 378 (later surpassed by Corey Perry with 380 points) and was drafted by the New York Islanders in the 1990 NHL Entry Draft (2nd round, 27th overall) He then played for the Islanders, Boston Bruins, and Buffalo Sabres in the National Hockey League, but was frequently sent between the NHL and the minor leagues before going overseas with the Frankfurt Lions of Germany's Deutsche Eishockey Liga before the 2006–07 season.

On July 16, 2009, Taylor agreed to a two-year contract with the Rochester Americans of the American Hockey League, a team he had played for from 1999 to 2006 while he was signed to their NHL affiliate, the Buffalo Sabres.[2]

Coaching career

On August 31, 2011, the Rochester Americans announced that Taylor had been hired as their development coach for the 2011–12 season. Later that season, he was promoted to an assistant coach. On June 6, 2016, incoming Rochester head coach, Dan Lambert, opted not to retain Taylor on the Americans' staff.[3] Taylor subsequently joined the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, AHL affiliate of the Pittsburgh Penguins, as an assistant coach on August 2, 2016.[4]

On June 30, 2017, Taylor was named head coach of the Rochester Americans.[5] A few days before the start of the 2019–20 season, Taylor was called up by the Buffalo Sabres as an interim assistant coach when Don Granato was forced to take a medical leave of absence from the Sabres.[6]

On June 16, 2020, Taylor was relieved of his duties as coach, along with Amerks general manager, Randy Sexton, and assistant coaches Gord Dineen and Toby Petersen[7] Taylor led the Amerks to a 116-65-33 record across three seasons as head coach.

On October 23, 2020, he was hired as an assistant coach by the New Jersey Devils.[8]

Career statistics
Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1988–89 London Knights OHL 62 7 16 23 52 15 0 2 2 15
1989–90 London Knights OHL 66 45 60 105 60 6 3 2 5 16
1990–91 London Knights OHL 65 50 78 128 50 7 4 8 12 6
1991–92 London Knights OHL 66 48 74 122 57 10 8 16 24 9
1992–93 Capital District Islanders AHL 77 19 43 62 32 4 0 1 1 2
1993–94 Salt Lake Golden Eagles IHL 79 21 20 41 38 — — — — —
1994–95 New York Islanders NHL 10 0 3 3 2 — — — — —
1994–95 Denver Grizzlies IHL 78 38 48 86 47 14 7 6 13 10
1995–96 New York Islanders NHL 11 0 1 1 2 — — — — —
1995–96 Utah Grizzlies IHL 50 18 23 41 60 22 5 11 16 26
1996–97 New York Islanders NHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
1996–97 Utah Grizzlies IHL 71 27 40 67 24 7 1 2 3 0
1997–98 Utah Grizzlies IHL 79 28 56 84 66 4 0 2 2 6
1998–99 Providence Bruins AHL 21 6 11 17 6 — — — — —
1998–99 Boston Bruins NHL 37 3 5 8 12 — — — — —
1998–99 Las Vegas Thunder IHL 14 3 12 15 2 — — — — —
1999–00 Rochester Americans AHL 49 21 28 49 21 — — — — —
1999–00 Buffalo Sabres NHL 11 1 1 2 2 2 0 0 0 2
2000–01 Rochester Americans AHL 45 20 24 44 25 — — — — —
2000–01 Buffalo Sabres NHL 14 0 2 2 6 — — — — —
2001–02 Rochester Americans AHL 77 21 45 66 66 2 0 1 1 0
2002–03 Rochester Americans AHL 61 12 55 67 44 3 3 1 4 2
2002–03 Buffalo Sabres NHL 11 1 3 4 2 — — — — —
2003–04 Buffalo Sabres NHL 54 6 6 12 22 — — — — —
2003–04 Rochester Americans AHL 24 9 18 27 20 16 5 12 17 0
2004–05 Rochester Americans AHL 79 21 58 79 50 9 1 8 9 4
2005–06 Rochester Americans AHL 32 11 26 37 34 — — — — —
2006–07 Frankfurt Lions DEL 52 12 34 46 80 8 1 9 10 8
2007–08 Frankfurt Lions DEL 56 17 49 66 48 12 5 8 13 6
2008–09 Frankfurt Lions DEL 52 15 34 49 60 5 0 3 3 4
2009–10 Rochester Americans AHL 80 17 44 61 89 7 1 3 4 6
2010–11 Rochester Americans AHL 72 10 41 51 38 — — — — —
NHL totals 149 11 21 32 48 2 0 0 0 2

Coaching record
TeamYearRegular SeasonPost Season
GWLTOTLPtsFinishResult
ROC2017–18 763722-17913rd, NorthLost in Round 1
ROC2018–19 764623-7992nd, NorthLost in Round 1
ROC2019-20 623320-9752nd, NorthSeason Cancelled

Awards and honours
Award Year Notes
AHL
Fred T. Hunt Memorial Award 2004–05 [9]

References
  1. "Chris Taylor leaves Sabres to resume duties as coach of Rochester". The Buffalo News. 2019-11-23. Retrieved 2019-11-26.
  2. Oklobzija, Kevin (2009-07-16). "Chris Taylor is an Amerk again". Democrat and Chronicle. Archived from the original on 2011-07-09. Retrieved 2011-03-13.
  3. Vogl, John. "Amerks hire two new assistant coaches, let go of Taylor". Buffalo News. Archived from the original on 13 August 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  4. "Chris Taylor, J.D. Forrest Named Penguins Assistant Coaches". WBS Penguins. Archived from the original on 6 August 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  5. "Amerks bring Chris Taylor back to Rochester as head coach". The Buffalo News. June 30, 2017.
  6. "Sabres, Amerks announce coaching staff update". AHL. October 1, 2019.
  7. Rochester Americans (June 16, 2020). "SABRES ANNOUNCE CHANGES TO AMERKS HOCKEY DEPARTMENT".
  8. New Jersey Devils (October 23, 2020). "RELEASE: Devils Hire Two Coaches".
  9. "Fred T. Hunt Memorial Award". American Hockey League. 2010-07-21. Archived from the original on 2010-09-17. Retrieved 2010-07-21.


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