Craig Ramsay

Craig Edward Ramsay (born March 17, 1951) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player. He played in the NHL from 1971 to 1985 before beginning an NHL coaching career, serving as the final head coach of the Atlanta Thrashers. He is currently the Head Coach of the Slovakia men's national ice hockey team.

Craig Ramsay
Ramsay at the 2014 Edmonton Oilers training camp
Born (1951-03-17) March 17, 1951
Weston, Ontario, Canada
Height 5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight 175 lb (79 kg; 12 st 7 lb)
Position Left Wing
Shot Left
Played for Buffalo Sabres
NHL Draft 19th overall, 1971
Buffalo Sabres
Playing career 19711985

Playing career

Craig Ramsay began his hockey career with the Peterborough Petes in 1968. Ramsay spent four seasons in Peterborough where he excelled at the game. He caught the attention of many scouts and in 1971 he was drafted 19th overall by the Buffalo Sabres in the 1971 NHL Amateur Draft.

In 1971–72, Ramsay played a couple of games in the American Hockey League before being called up by the Sabres. He was paired up with his close friend Don Luce and together, the two formed a formidable offensive-defensive line that shut out many of the NHL's top lines.

In 1974–75, the Sabres drafted young prospect Danny Gare and he was paired up with Ramsay and Luce. The Sabres that year made it all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals before being defeated by the Philadelphia Flyers. Ramsay had a total tally of 12 points during that run. With the addition of Danny Gare, Ramsay's line became not only a threat defensively but also offensively.

Ramsay had eight consecutive 20 goal seasons and was selected to play in the 1976 NHL All-Star Game. His linemate, Gare scored a total of 56 goals in 1979–80. Ramsay played for ten seasons for the Sabres which included playing 776 games consecutively.

In 1984–85, Ramsay was awarded the Frank J. Selke Trophy for his defensive capabilities as a forward. Ramsay retired shortly afterwards ending a 14-year career with the Sabres which included 1,070 career NHL games, 252 goals and 420 assists for 672 points. He was inducted into the Buffalo Sabres Hall of Fame in 1986 to honor his playing career with the club.[1]

Ramsay was the last player to play a full season without incurring any penalties. He did this in 1973–74, playing 78 games and recording 46 points.[2]

His +/- of +324 is 22nd best all-time, and 2nd best (behind Brad McCrimmon's +448) among players who have not been inducted in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Coaching career

Following Ramsay's retirement, he was named the assistant coach for the Buffalo Sabres in 1986–87 and served as interim head coach late in the year posting a 4–15–2 record. He also served as the team director of player personnel and assistant general manager with the Sabres. In 1992–93, Ramsay left the Sabres organization and joined the Florida Panthers as assistant coach. He stayed there until 1995 before joining the Ottawa Senators also as an assistant coach.

In 1997–98, Ramsay joined the Philadelphia Flyers. He was named interim head coach in February 2000 for Roger Neilson who was being treated for cancer. Ramsay guided the team to a 16–8–1–0 mark while claiming the Atlantic Division with 105 points. He led the team all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals before being eliminated by the eventual Stanley Cup champions, New Jersey Devils. Neilson was dismissed by the Flyers for health reasons at the end of the 1999–2000 NHL season and Ramsay started the 2000–01 season as head coach before being fired after 28 games as the Flyers went 12–12–4–0 to start the season.

He joined the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2001 as an assistant coach. There, Ramsay won his first Stanley Cup ever in 2004 as the Lightning beat the Calgary Flames in seven games. In 2006–07, he joined the Boston Bruins as another assistant coach.[3] The Bruins made the playoffs every year and finished first in the Eastern Conference in 2008–09. On June 24, 2010, he was named the head coach for the Atlanta Thrashers. He was dismissed by the team's new ownership group, True North Sports and Entertainment following the Thrasher's relocation to Winnipeg, Manitoba.[4] Ramsay was appointed an assistant coach with the Florida Panthers under head coach Kevin Dineen following his dismissal from Atlanta. He was fired by the Panthers along with Dineen and assistant coach Gord Murphy on November 8, 2013. Ramsay was hired by the Edmonton Oilers as assistant coach on June 10, 2014 replacing Kelly Buchberger. He was let go by the Oilers on June 4, 2015, along with fellow assistant Keith Acton.[5]

He joined the Slovakia men's national ice hockey team in 2017.

Awards and achievements

Career statistics

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1967–68 Peterborough Petes OHA-Jr. 40 6 13 19 21 5 0 0 0 4
1968–69 Peterborough Petes OHA-Jr. 54 11 28 39 20 10 1 2 3 9
1969–70 Peterborough Petes OHA-Jr. 54 27 41 68 18 6 1 3 4 7
1970–71 Peterborough Petes OHA-Jr. 58 30 76 106 25 5 2 2 4 2
1971–72 Cincinnati Swords AHL 19 5 7 12 4
1971–72 Buffalo Sabres NHL 57 6 10 16 0
1972–73 Buffalo Sabres NHL 76 11 17 28 15 6 1 1 2 0
1973–74 Buffalo Sabres NHL 78 20 26 46 0
1974–75 Buffalo Sabres NHL 80 26 38 64 26 17 5 7 12 2
1975–76 Buffalo Sabres NHL 80 22 49 71 34 9 1 2 3 2
1976–77 Buffalo Sabres NHL 80 20 41 61 20 6 0 4 4 0
1977–78 Buffalo Sabres NHL 80 28 43 71 18 8 3 1 4 9
1978–79 Buffalo Sabres NHL 80 26 31 57 10 3 1 0 1 2
1979–80 Buffalo Sabres NHL 80 21 39 60 18 10 0 6 6 4
1980–81 Buffalo Sabres NHL 80 24 35 59 12 8 2 4 6 4
1981–82 Buffalo Sabres NHL 80 16 35 51 8 4 1 1 2 0
1982–83 Buffalo Sabres NHL 64 11 18 29 7 10 2 3 5 4
1983–84 Buffalo Sabres NHL 76 9 17 26 17 3 0 1 1 0
1984–85 Buffalo Sabres NHL 79 12 21 33 16 5 1 1 2 0
NHL totals 1070 252 420 672 201 89 17 31 48 27

NHL coaching record

TeamYearRegular seasonPost season
GWLTOTLPtsFinishWLResult
BUF1986–87 214152-(64)5th in Adams--(Interim)
PHI1999–00 2516810(105)1st in Atlantic117Lost in Conf. Finals
PHI2000–01 28121240(100)2nd in Atlantic--(Fired)
ATL2010–11 823436-12804th in Southeast--Missed playoffs
Total1566671712-

See also

  • List of NHL players with 1000 games played

References

  1. "Buffalo Sabres Hall of Fame". sabresalumni.com. Archived from the original on June 18, 2012.
  2. Weekes, Don (2003). The Best and Worst of Hockey's Firsts: The Unofficial Guide. Canada: Greystone Books. pp. 240. ISBN 9781550548600.
  3. Bruins Website Archived August 13, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  4. "Keith Acton, Craig Ramsay, assistant coaches, let go by Oilers". CBC Sports. The Canadian Press. June 4, 2015. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
Preceded by
Doug Jarvis
Winner of the Frank J. Selke Trophy
1985
Succeeded by
Troy Murray
Preceded by
Scotty Bowman
Head coach of the Buffalo Sabres
1986–87
Succeeded by
Ted Sator
Preceded by
Roger Neilson
Head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers
2000–01
Succeeded by
Bill Barber
Preceded by
John Anderson
Head coach of the Atlanta Thrashers
2010–11
Succeeded by
Claude Noel
(Winnipeg Jets)
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