Paul Coffey
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| Position | Defense |
| Shot | Left |
| Height Weight |
6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 200 lb (91 kg) |
| Pro Clubs | Edmonton Oilers Pittsburgh Penguins Los Angeles Kings Detroit Red Wings Hartford Whalers Philadelphia Flyers Chicago Blackhawks Carolina Hurricanes Boston Bruins |
| Nationality |  Canada |
| Born | June 1, 1961, Weston, ON, CAN |
| NHL Draft | 6th overall, 1980 Edmonton Oilers |
| Pro Career | 1980 – 2000 |
| Hall of Fame | 2004 |
Paul Coffey (born June 1, 1961, in Malton, Ontario) is a retired professional ice hockey defenseman in the National Hockey League. Known for his speed and scoring prowess, Coffey scored the second-most points in a single season amongst defensemen, behind only Bobby Orr.
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[edit] NHL career
Paul Coffey was drafted sixth overall by the Edmonton Oilers in the 1980 NHL Entry Draft. He played his first seven seasons during the heyday of the Oilers in which he won three Stanley Cups with them in 1983-84, 1984-85 and 1986-87.
After a monetary dispute with General Manager Glen Sather, Coffey was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1987, where he played four and a half seasons, and won another Stanley Cup in 1990-91. He was then traded to the Los Angeles Kings where he was re-united with Wayne Gretzky and would play for half of two seasons.
After his brief stint with L.A., he was traded to the Detroit Red Wings where he played for four and a half seasons and enjoyed moderate success. In the lockout shortened 1994-95 NHL season, Coffey led the Red Wings in scoring, the ony time in his entire career he would accomplish that feat.
He was then traded to the Hartford Whalers at the start of the 1996-97 season after a falling out with Red Wings coach Scotty Bowman. But before he could even get halfway into the season, he engineered a trade to the Philadelphia Flyers. He played for Philadelphia for a season and a half, most significantly helping the team to reach the 1997 Stanley Cup finals against his former team Detroit. Coffey's finals series was not successful (due to the tactics of Bowman in neutralizing him), and he suffered a concussion in Game Two that ended his postseason prematurely. The Flyers were swept by the Red Wings in four games.
After a very brief stint (10 games) with the Chicago Blackhawks, he was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes, where he played one and a half seasons. He would play his final season in Boston, with the Boston Bruins.
Paul Coffey retired in 2000 with a very impressive 396 goals, 1135 assists, and 1531 points, ranking second all-time among defensemen. In 2005, the Edmonton Oilers retired his uniform number 7.
[edit] Awards
- Named to the OHA Second All-Star Team — 1979-80
- Won the James Norris Memorial Trophy — 1984-85, 1985-86, 1994-95
- Named to the NHL First All-Star Team — 1984-85, 1985-86, 1988-89, 1994-95
- Named to the NHL Second All-Star Team — 1981-82, 1982-83, 1983-84, 1989-90
- Played in the NHL All-Star Game — 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997
- Named to the Canada Cup All-Star Team — 1984
- Inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2004
- In 1998, he was ranked number 28 on The Hockey News' list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players.
[edit] Records
- NHL record for most goals in one season by a defenseman — 48 in 1985-86
- NHL record for most points in one game by a defenseman — 8 on March 14, 1986 (2G, 6A, shared with Tom Bladon)
- NHL record for longest point-scoring streak by a defenseman — 28 games in 1985-86
[edit] Career statistics
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1977-78 | Kingston | OHA | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 11 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1978-79 | Sault Ste. Marie | OHA | 68 | 17 | 72 | 89 | 103 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1979-80 | Sault Ste. Marie | OHA | 23 | 10 | 21 | 31 | 63 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1979-80 | Kitchener | OHA | 52 | 19 | 52 | 71 | 130 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1980-81 | Edmonton | NHL | 74 | 9 | 23 | 32 | 130 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 22 | ||
| 1981-82 | Edmonton | NHL | 80 | 29 | 60 | 89 | 106 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 1982-83 | Edmonton | NHL | 80 | 29 | 67 | 96 | 87 | 16 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 14 | ||
| 1983-84 | Edmonton | NHL | 80 | 40 | 86 | 126 | 104 | 19 | 8 | 14 | 22 | 21 | ||
| 1984-85 | Edmonton | NHL | 80 | 37 | 84 | 121 | 97 | 18 | 12 | 25 | 37 | 44 | ||
| 1985-86 | Edmonton | NHL | 79 | 48 | 90 | 138 | 120 | 10 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 30 | ||
| 1986-87 | Edmonton | NHL | 59 | 17 | 50 | 67 | 49 | 17 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 30 | ||
| 1987-88 | Pittsburgh | NHL | 46 | 15 | 52 | 67 | 93 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1988-89 | Pittsburgh | NHL | 75 | 30 | 83 | 113 | 195 | 11 | 2 | 13 | 15 | 31 | ||
| 1989-90 | Pittsburgh | NHL | 80 | 29 | 74 | 103 | 95 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1990-91 | Pittsburgh | NHL | 76 | 24 | 69 | 93 | 128 | 12 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 6 | ||
| 1991-92 | Pittsburgh | NHL | 54 | 10 | 54 | 64 | 62 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1991-92 | Los Angeles | NHL | 10 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 25 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 2 | ||
| 1992-93 | Los Angeles | NHL | 50 | 8 | 49 | 57 | 50 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1992-93 | Detroit | NHL | 30 | 4 | 26 | 30 | 27 | 7 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 2 | ||
| 1993-94 | Detroit | NHL | 80 | 14 | 63 | 77 | 106 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 8 | ||
| 1994-95 | Detroit | NHL | 45 | 14 | 44 | 58 | 72 | 18 | 6 | 12 | 18 | 10 | ||
| 1995-96 | Detroit | NHL | 76 | 14 | 60 | 74 | 90 | 17 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 30 | ||
| 1996-97 | Hartford | NHL | 20 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 18 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1996-97 | Philadelphia | NHL | 37 | 6 | 20 | 26 | 20 | 17 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 6 | ||
| 1997-98 | Philadelphia | NHL | 57 | 2 | 27 | 29 | 30 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1998-99 | Chicago | NHL | 10 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1998-99 | Carolina | NHL | 44 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 25 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 1999-00 | Carolina | NHL | 69 | 11 | 29 | 40 | 40 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 2000-01 | Boston | NHL | 18 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 30 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| NHL totals | 1409 | 396 | 1135 | 1531 | 1802 | 194 | 59 | 137 | 196 | 264 | ||||
[edit] International Play
Played for Canada in:
- 1984 Canada Cup
- 1987 Canada Cup
- 1990 World Championships
- 1991 Canada Cup
- 1996 World Cup of Hockey
[edit] Trivia
- Coffey preferred his skates to fit as tightly as possible, and were two sizes smaller than his shoes. They were tied with two sets of laces, one laced from the bottom to half way up, and the other from the halfway point to the top. The skates were so tight that rather than untying them trainers cut the laces to remove his skates after every game.
- He is currently the owner of a Toyota dealership named Paul Coffey's Bolton Toyota in Bolton, Ontario.
- He lives with his wife and 3 children.
[edit] See also
- Hockey Hall of Fame
- Norris Trophy
- List of NHL statistical leaders
- List of retired NHL players
- List of NHL seasons
- List of NHL players with 1000 points
| Preceded by: Ray Bourque |
Winner of the Norris Trophy 1995 |
Succeeded by: Chris Chelios |
| Preceded by: Rod Langway |
Winner of the Norris Trophy 1985, 1986 |
Succeeded by: Ray Bourque |
[edit] References
Categories: 1961 births | Boston Bruins players | Canadian ice hockey players | Carolina Hurricanes players | Chicago Blackhawks players | Detroit Red Wings players | Edmonton Oilers draft picks | Edmonton Oilers players | Hartford Whalers players | Hockey Hall of Fame | Kingston Canadians alumni | Kitchener Rangers alumni | Living people | Los Angeles Kings players | National Hockey League 100-point seasons | National Hockey League players with retired numbers | Norris Trophy winners | Ontario sportspeople | Philadelphia Flyers players | Pittsburgh Penguins players | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds alumni | Stanley Cup champions | People from Toronto | National Hockey League first round draft picks
