| Jim Schoenfeld | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | September 4, 1952 Galt, Ontario, Canada |
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
| Weight | 206 lb (93 kg; 14 st 10 lb) |
| Position | Defence |
| Shoots | Left |
| Played for | Buffalo Sabres Detroit Red Wings Boston Bruins |
| NHL Draft | 5th overall, 1972 Buffalo Sabres |
| Playing career | 1972–1985 |
Jim Schoenfeld (born James Grant Schoenfeld on September 4, 1952) is a Canadian professional ice hockey executive and former player in the National Hockey League (NHL)
He is currently the assistant general manager with the New York Rangers of the NHL as well as an interim assistant coach & the general manager of theHartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League (AHL).
He was previously a head coach in the NHL for several teams and prior to that he was a player in the NHL.
Playing Career[]
After a junior career with the London Knights, Hamilton Red Wings and the Niagara Falls Flyers, John was drafted by the Buffalo Sabres and would play eleven seasons with that team, including spending time as the team's captain.
He also played for the Detroit Red Wings & Boston Bruins. He retired from hockey in 1985.
Coaching & General Management Career[]
Since retirement, he has served as the head coach of several NHL teams, including the Sabres, New Jersey Devils, Washington Capitals, and Phoenix Coyotes. As an NHL head coach, Schoenfeld has compiled a record of 256–246–78 (.509). In 2007, he was promoted from the head coach of the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League to assistant general manager of the New York Rangers, the Wolf Pack's NHL affiliate. At the time, he was also assigned to be the general manager of the Wolf Pack until he was relieved of those duties in 2017.
Schoenfeld is remembered for an altercation with NHL referee Don Koharski after Game 3 of the 1988 Wales Conference Finals after his New Jersey Devils lost 6–1 to the Boston Bruins. During the argument Koharski fell down and accused Schoenfeld of pushing him. As people yelled at Schoenfeld, at least one saying "you're done", believing that he'd pushed Koharski, Schoenfeld continued arguing with Koharski who said he hoped that the entire exchange was on videotape. Schoenfeld yelled back, "Good, 'cause you fell, you fat pig! Have another doughnut! Have another doughnut!" as Koharski and the other officials headed to their dressing room.[2][3] Schoenfeld was suspended by League disciplinarian Brian O'Neill for the following game, but the Devils sought a court order to overturn the suspension. About 40 minutes before the start of the game, New Jersey Superior Court Judge James F. Madden issued a restraining order allowing Schoenfeld to coach, subsequently triggering a walkout by the scheduled Game 4 officials,: referee Dave Newell and linesmen Gord Broseker and Ray Scapinello. After more than an hour's delay, three local off-ice officials – Paul McInnis, Jim Sullivan and Vin Godleski – were tracked down to work the game. Schoenfeld was later suspended for Game 5 and the officials returned to work.
This incident was parodied later in the movie Wayne's World, when a rather large and apathetic police officer named Officer Koharski hung out at the counter of Stan Mikita's Doughnut Shop. The movie used Stan Mikita's as the name of a doughnut shop, as a parody reference to the chain Tim Hortons. Coincidentally, during the final part of his career, Tim Horton himself teamed on defense with a young Jim Schoenfeld with the Buffalo Sabres. Later, Schoenfeld often paired with Jerry Korab.
On July 23, 2007, Schoenfeld was named New York Rangers assistant general manager to Glen Sather, replacing Don Maloney (who had become general manager of the Phoenix Coyotes franchise). Ken Gernander took over the head coach position in Hartford, while Schoenfeld retained his position of general manager for the farm team. On April 26, 2009, while serving as Interim Assistant Coach for the Rangers under Coach John Tortorella, Schoenfeld stepped in to act as Head Coach for Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Quarter-Final series against the Washington Capitals following Tortorella's one-game suspension for inappropriate fan contact in Game 5 of the series.
He had a strong positive effect on teams when he arrived mid-season.
Career Statistics[]
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1969–70 | London Knights | OHA-Jr. | 16 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 81 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1969–70 | Hamilton Red Wings | OHA-Jr. | 32 | 2 | 12 | 14 | 54 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1970–71 | Hamilton Red Wings | OHA-Jr. | 25 | 3 | 19 | 22 | 120 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1970–71 | Niagara Falls Flyers | OHA-Jr. | 30 | 3 | 9 | 12 | 85 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1971–72 | Niagara Falls Flyers | OHA-Jr. | 40 | 6 | 46 | 52 | 215 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32 | ||
| 1972–73 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 66 | 4 | 15 | 19 | 178 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | ||
| 1973–74 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 28 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 56 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1973–74 | Cincinnati Swords | AHL | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1974–75 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 68 | 1 | 19 | 20 | 184 | 17 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 38 | ||
| 1975–76 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 56 | 2 | 22 | 24 | 114 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 33 | ||
| 1976–77 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 65 | 7 | 25 | 32 | 97 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | ||
| 1977–78 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 60 | 2 | 20 | 22 | 89 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 28 | ||
| 1978–79 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 46 | 8 | 17 | 25 | 67 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 1979–80 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 77 | 9 | 27 | 36 | 72 | 14 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 18 | ||
| 1980–81 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 71 | 8 | 25 | 33 | 110 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | ||
| 1981–82 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 13 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 30 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1981–82 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 39 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 69 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1982–83 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 57 | 1 | 10 | 11 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1983–84 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 39 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1984–85 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 34 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 28 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| NHL totals | 719 | 51 | 204 | 255 | 1132 | 75 | 3 | 13 | 16 | 151 | ||||
Coaching Record[]
| Team | Year | Regular season | Post season | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | L | T | Pts | Division rank | Result | ||
| BUF | 1985–86 | 43 | 19 | 19 | 5 | (80) | 5th in Adams | (Fired) |
| NJ | 1987–88 | 30 | 17 | 12 | 1 | (82) | 4th in Patrick | Lost in Third round |
| NJ | 1988–89 | 80 | 27 | 41 | 12 | 66 | 5th in Patrick | Missed Playoffs |
| NJ | 1989–90 | 14 | 6 | 6 | 2 | (83) | 2nd in Patrick | (Fired) |
| WSH | 1993–94 | 37 | 19 | 12 | 6 | (82) | 3rd in Atlantic | Lost in Second round |
| WSH | 1994–95 | 48 | 22 | 18 | 8 | 52 | 3rd in Atlantic | Lost in First round |
| WSH | 1995–96 | 82 | 39 | 32 | 11 | 89 | 4th in Atlantic | Lost in First round |
| WSH | 1996–97 | 82 | 33 | 40 | 9 | 75 | 5th in Atlantic | Missed Playoffs |
| PHX | 1997–98 | 82 | 35 | 35 | 12 | 82 | 4th in Central | Lost in First round |
| PHX | 1998–99 | 82 | 39 | 31 | 12 | 90 | 2nd in Pacific | Lost in First round |
| Total | 580 | 256 | 246 | 78 | 590 | |||
Personal Life[]
John also dabbled in music, recording two albums during his time in Buffalo (both of which were recorded in collaboration with Buffalo Music Hall of Fame singer and producer John Valby): "Schony" (in 1972) and "The Key is Love" (in 1974).