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Craig Ramsay

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Craig Ramsay
Ramsay in 2024
Born (1951-03-17)March 17, 1951(age 73)
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
Coached for Buffalo Sabres
Philadelphia Flyers
Atlanta Thrashers
NHL draft 19th overall,1971
Buffalo Sabres
Playing career 1971–1985
Coaching career 1985–present

Craig Edward Ramsay(born March 17, 1951) is a Canadian professionalice hockeycoach and former player. He played in theNHLfrom1971to1985for theBuffalo Sabres,notably featuring in the1975 Stanley Cup Finalswith the Sabres. After his playing career, he became a coach with the Sabres and later served as the final head coach of theAtlanta Thrashers.Since 2017, he is the head coach of theSlovakia men's national ice hockey team.

Playing career

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Ramsay began his hockey career with thePeterborough Petesin1968.Ramsay spent four seasons in Peterborough where he excelled at the game. He caught the attention of many scouts and in1971he was drafted 19th overall by theBuffalo Sabresin the1971 NHL Amateur Draft.

In1971–72,Ramsay played a couple of games in theAmerican Hockey Leaguebefore being called up by the Sabres. He was paired up with his close friendDon Luceand together, the two formed a formidable offensive-defensive line that shut out many of theNHL's top lines.

In1974–75,the Sabres drafted young prospectDanny Gareand he was paired up with Ramsay and Luce. The Sabres that year made it all the way to theStanley Cup Finalsbefore being defeated by thePhiladelphia 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 the1976 NHL All-Star Game.His linemate, Gare scored a total of 56 goals in1979–80.Ramsay played for ten seasons for the Sabres which included playing 776 games consecutively.

In1984–85,Ramsay was awarded theFrank J. Selke Trophyfor 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 honour his playing career with the club.[1]

Ramsay was the last player to play a full season without incurring anypenalties.He did this in1973–74,playing 78 games and recording 46 points.[2]

Coaching career

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Following Ramsay's retirement, he was named the assistant coach for theBuffalo Sabresin1986–87and 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. In1992–93,Ramsay left the Sabres organization and joined theFlorida Panthersas assistant coach. He stayed there until1995before joining theOttawa Senatorsalso as an assistant coach.

In1997–98,Ramsay joined thePhiladelphia Flyers.He was named interim head coach in February 2000 forRoger Neilsonwho was being treated for cancer.[3][4]Ramsay guided the team with a 16–8–1–0 record while claiming theAtlantic Divisionwith 105 points. He led the team all the way to theEastern Conference Finalsbefore being eliminated by the eventualStanley Cupchampions,New Jersey Devils.He was hired permanently by the Flyers after Neilson was dismissed for health reasons at the end of the1999–2000 NHL seasonand before the2000–01 season[5][6]before being fired after 28 games as the Flyers went 12–12–4–0 to start the season.[7][8][9]

He joined theTampa Bay Lightningin 2001 as an assistant coach. There, Ramsay won his first Stanley Cup in2004as the Lightning beat theCalgary Flamesin seven games. In2006–07,he joined theBoston Bruinsas assistant coach.[10]The Bruins made the playoffs every year and finished first in theEastern Conferencein2008–09.On June 24, 2010, he was named the head coach for theAtlanta Thrashers.[11]He was dismissed by the team's new ownership group, True North Sports and Entertainment following the Thrasher's relocation toWinnipeg,Manitoba.[12]Ramsay was appointed an assistant coach with theFlorida Panthersunder head coachKevin Dineenfollowing his dismissal from Atlanta. He was fired by the Panthers along with Dineen and assistant coachGord Murphyon November 8, 2013. Ramsay was hired by the Edmonton Oilers as assistant coach on June 10, 2014, to replaceKelly Buchberger.He was let go by the Oilers on June 4, 2015, along with fellow assistantKeith Acton.[13]

Ramsay joined theSlovakia men's national ice hockey teamas head coach on a two-year deal in 2017.[14]He failed to lead Slovakia to the knockout stage of the2019 IIHF World Championshipheld in their own country, but signed a one-year extension later that year.[15]After guiding Slovakia to a second 9th-place finish in as many years at the 2020 World Championship, he extended his tenure to the end of the 2021/22 season.[16]His emphasis on offensive play bore fruit when the team won the bronze medal at the2022 Winter Olympicsin Beijing, defeating Sweden 4–0.

A biography of Ramsay was published inSlovakiain November 2022. TitledŠťastný chlapec(Happy Boy), it was written by Peter Jánošík and Tomáš Kyselica, two members of theSlovak Ice Hockey Federation'spublic relationsteam.[17][18]

Awards and achievements

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Career statistics

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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 1,070 252 420 672 201 89 17 31 48 27

NHL coaching record

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Team Year Regular season Playoffs
G W L T OTL Pts Finish W L Result
BUF 1986–87 21 4 15 2 — (10) 5th inAdams — — Missed playoffs
PHI 1999–00 25 16 8 1 0 (33) 1st inAtlantic 11 7 Lost in Conference Finals (NJD)
PHI 2000–01 28 12 12 4 0 (28) (fired) — — —
ATL 2010–11 82 34 36 — 12 80 4th inSoutheast — — Missed playoffs
Total 156 66 71 7 12 11 7

See also

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References

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  1. ^"Buffalo Sabres Hall of Fame".sabresalumni.Archived fromthe originalon June 18, 2012.
  2. ^Weekes, Don (2003).The Best and Worst of Hockey's Firsts: The Unofficial Guide.Canada: Greystone Books. pp.240.ISBN9781550548600.
  3. ^Alex, Rachel (February 20, 2000)."Suffering From Cancer, Neilson Leaves Flyers".Washington Post.ISSN0190-8286.RetrievedSeptember 10,2023.
  4. ^"One thing after the other".Newspapers.RetrievedSeptember 10,2023.
  5. ^"Ramsay to coach the Flyers".Tampa Bay Times.RetrievedSeptember 10,2023.
  6. ^"Ramsay named Flyers head coach".bizjournals.RetrievedSeptember 11,2023.
  7. ^Maadi, Rob (December 10, 2000)."Flyers fire Ramsay; promote Barber".New Bedford Standard-Times.Associated Press.RetrievedSeptember 10,2023.
  8. ^Archives, L. A. Times (December 11, 2000)."Flyers Fire Ramsay, Then Win for Barber".Los Angeles Times.RetrievedSeptember 10,2023.
  9. ^Kellner, Jenny (December 11, 2000)."HOCKEY; Flyers Fire Their Coach Before Beating the Isles".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.RetrievedSeptember 10,2023.
  10. ^Bruins WebsiteArchivedAugust 13, 2007, at theWayback Machine
  11. ^"Sports in Brief: Craig Ramsey named to coach Atlanta Thrashers".inquirer.June 25, 2010.RetrievedSeptember 11,2023.
  12. ^"Ramsay informed he will not coach Winnipeg franchise".tsn.ca.Archived fromthe originalon June 22, 2011.
  13. ^"Keith Acton, Craig Ramsay, assistant coaches, let go by Oilers".CBC Sports. The Canadian Press. June 4, 2015.RetrievedJune 4,2015.
  14. ^Harrington, Mike (August 9, 2017)."Craig Ramsay named Slovakian national coach".The Buffalo News. The Buffalo News.RetrievedFebruary 16,2022.
  15. ^"Šatan sa s Ramsayom dohodol hneď:" Išlo to ľahko ""(in Slovak). Hockey Slovakia. September 4, 2019.RetrievedMay 11,2023.
  16. ^Merk, Martin (October 21, 2020)."Slovakia continues with Ramsay".International Ice Hockey Federation.RetrievedMay 11,2023.
  17. ^"Craig Ramsay: Šťastný chlapec".goodreads.RetrievedSeptember 6,2022.
  18. ^"Craig Ramsay ako Šťastný chlapec: Vychádza kniha o trénerovi Slovenska".sport7.sk.TASR.October 14, 2022.RetrievedSeptember 6,2022.
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Preceded by Winner of theFrank J. Selke Trophy
1985 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Head coach of the Buffalo Sabres
1986–87 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers
2000–01 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Head coach of the Atlanta Thrashers
2010–11 		Succeeded by
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