Craig Ramsay

Craig Ramsay
Ramsay in 2014
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
Current coach	Slovakia national team
Coached for	Buffalo Sabres Philadelphia Flyers Atlanta Thrashers
NHL draft	19th overall, 1971 Buffalo Sabres
Playing career	1971–1985
Coaching career	1986–present

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.

Playing career

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.

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.

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. 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. 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.

Ramsay joined the Slovakia men's national ice hockey team in 2017. With him as Head Coach, the team beat the USA to reach the quarter final at the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing.

Awards and achievements

• Played in 1976 NHL All-Star Game.
• Frank J. Selke Trophy winner in 1985.
• Stanley Cup champion in 2004 (as assistant coach).

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

Team	Year	Regular season							Post season
		G	W	L	T	OTL	Pts	Finish	W	L	Result
BUF	1986–87	21	4	15	2	-	(64)	5th in Adams	-	-	(Interim)
PHI	1999–00	25	16	8	1	0	(105)	1st in Atlantic	11	7	Lost in Conf. Finals
PHI	2000–01	28	12	12	4	0	(100)	2nd in Atlantic	-	-	(Fired)
ATL	2010–11	82	34	36	-	12	80	4th in Southeast	-	-	Missed playoffs
Total		156	66	71	7	12	-

See also

• List of NHL players with 1,000 games played

External links

• Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database