| Paul Coffey | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | June 1, 1961 Weston, York, ON, CAN |
| Height Weight |
6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 200 lb (91 kg; 14 st 4 lb) |
| Position | Defence |
| Shot | Left |
| Played for | Edmonton Oilers (1980–1987) Pittsburgh Penguins (1987–1992) Los Angeles Kings (1992–1993) Detroit Red Wings (1993–1996) Hartford Whalers (1996) Philadelphia Flyers (1996–1998) Chicago Black Hawks (1998) Carolina Hurricanes (1998–2000) Boston Bruins (2000) |
| Ntl. team |  Canada
|
| NHL Draft | 6th overall, 1980 Edmonton Oilers |
| Playing career | 1980–2001 |
| Hall of Fame, 2004 | |
Paul Douglas Coffey (born June 1, 1961) is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey defenceman in the National Hockey League. Known for his speed and scoring prowess, Coffey ranks second all-time among NHL defencemen in career goals, assists, and points.
Playing career[]
Coffey was drafted 6th overall by the Edmonton Oilers in the 1980 NHL Entry Draft. He blossomed in the 1981–82 season, scoring 89 points and was named a Second-Team NHL All-Star. In the Oilers' first Stanley Cup-winning season, 1983–84, he became only the second defenceman in NHL history to score 40 goals in a season. He won his first James Norris Trophy in 1984–85 while posting 121 points. On October 26, 1984, Coffey would be the last defenceman in the 20th century to score four goals in one game. It occurred in a game versus the Detroit Red Wings.[1] Coffey went on to post a historic post-season in the 1985 Playoffs, setting records for most goals (12), assists (25), and points (37) in one playoff year by a defenceman on the way to another Stanley Cup. He won the Norris Trophy again in 1985–86, while breaking Bobby Orr's record for goals in a season by a defenceman, scoring 48. His 138 points that year was second only to Orr (139 in 1970–71) among defencemen.[2]
Coffey helped Edmonton to a third Cup in 1986–87, but the deciding Game Seven that year against Philadelphia would be his last in an Oilers' uniform. After a monetary dispute with Head Coach and General Manager Glen Sather, Coffey was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1987.
Coffey played four and a half seasons with Pittsburgh. On December 22, 1990, Coffey became the second defenceman ever to record 1000 points, doing so in a record-breaking 770 games. Coffey won a fourth Stanley Cup in 1990–91 with Pittsburgh. During the 1992 season Coffey passed Denis Potvin to become the career leader in goals, assist, and points by a defenceman. He was then traded to the Los Angeles Kings where he was re-united with Wayne Gretzky and Jari Kurri for parts of two seasons.[3]
After his brief stint with L.A., he was traded to the Detroit Red Wings where he played for 4 1/2 seasons and enjoyed moderate success. In the lockout-shortened 1994–95 NHL season, Coffey led his team in scoring for the only time in his entire career, and was awarded the Norris Trophy for the third time. In the 1994-95 NHL Playoffs, he led all defenceman in shorthanded goals (2) while helping Detroit to the Stanley Cup Final. However, the Red Wings were shocked by the New Jersey Devils in 4 games.
After a falling out with Red Wings coach Scotty Bowman, Coffey was traded to the Hartford Whalers at the start of the 1996–97 season, a team expected to finish at the bottom of its division. Coffey was subsequently traded 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 Final against his former team, Detroit. Coffey's Final series was not successful, being on ice for six of Detroit's goals and was in the penalty box for a seventh when the Flyers conceded a power-play goal, ending up with no points and being minus-2 and minus-3 in the first two games, and a hit from Darren McCarty in game two left Coffey sidelined for the rest of a series with a concussion.[4]
Coffey in 2009.
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 Bruins.
During Coffey's last NHL season, Ray Bourque passed his career goals, assist and points records. Bourque and Coffey both retired after 2000–01 season. Paul Coffey finished with 396 goals, 1135 assists, and 1531 points. He is still second only to Ray Bourque in all-time career scoring by a defenceman. Coffey, however, averaged more points per game than did Bourque.
Paul Coffey was voted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2004 and the Edmonton Oilers retired his uniform number 7 in 2005.
Awards[]
Paul Coffey's plaque in the hockey hall of fame.
- 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
- Stanley Cup Champion 1984, 1985, 1987 (with Edmonton), 1991 (with Pittsburgh)
- Lost in Finals 1983 (with Edmonton), 1995 (with Detroit), 1997 (with Philadelphia)
- 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
- Currently 13th all-time in career points (was 9th when he retired in 2000, but was passed by Mario Lemieux later in the 2000–01 season, Joe Sakic on January 1, 2007, Jaromir Jagr on October 12, 2007, and Mark Recchi on March 29, 2011 [5][6][7]
- Was inducted into the Penguins Hall of Fame on November 15, 2007
Records[]
- NHL record for most goals in one season by a defenceman — 48 in 1985–86
- NHL record for most shorthanded goals in one season by a defenceman — 9 in 1985–86
- NHL record for most points in one game by a defenceman — 8 on March 14, 1986 (2G, 6A, shared with Tom Bladon)
- Most assists by a defenceman, one game — 6 (tied with 4 others) March 14, 1986
- Longest point-scoring streak by a defenceman — 28 games in 1985–86
- Most goals by a defenceman, one playoff year — 12 in 1985
- Most assists by a defenceman, one playoff year — 25 in 1985
- Most points by a defenceman, one playoff year — 37 in 1985
- Most shorthanded goals by a defenceman, one playoff year — 2 in 1983 and in 1996
- Most different teams played on by a 1,000 point scorer — 8 (Edmonton, Pittsburgh, Los Angeles, Detroit, Hartford/Carolina, Philadelphia, Chicago, and Boston)
- Most PIM by a 1000 point defenceman
Career statistics[]
Figures in boldface italics are NHL records.
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM | ||
| 1977-78 | North York Rangers | OPJHL | 50 | 14 | 33 | 47 | — | 64 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1977–78 | Kingston Canadians | OMJHL | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | — | 11 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1978–79 | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds | OMJHL | 68 | 17 | 72 | 89 | — | 103 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1979–80 | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds | OMJHL | 23 | 10 | 21 | 31 | — | 63 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1979–80 | Kitchener Rangers | OMJHL | 52 | 19 | 52 | 71 | — | 130 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1980–81 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 74 | 9 | 23 | 32 | +4 | 130 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 7 | +5 | 22 | ||
| 1981–82 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 80 | 29 | 60 | 89 | +35 | 106 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -4 | 6 | ||
| 1982–83 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 80 | 29 | 67 | 96 | +52 | 87 | 16 | 7 | 7 | 14 | +15 | 14 | ||
| 1983–84 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 80 | 40 | 86 | 126 | +52 | 104 | 19 | 8 | 14 | 22 | +19 | 21 | ||
| 1984–85 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 80 | 37 | 84 | 121 | +55 | 97 | 18 | 12 | 25 | 37 | +26 | 44 | ||
| 1985–86 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 79 | 48 | 90 | 138 | +61 | 120 | 10 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 0 | 30 | ||
| 1986–87 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 59 | 17 | 50 | 67 | +12 | 49 | 17 | 3 | 8 | 11 | +7 | 30 | ||
| 1987–88 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 46 | 15 | 52 | 67 | -1 | 93 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1988–89 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 75 | 30 | 83 | 113 | -10 | 195 | 11 | 2 | 13 | 15 | -7 | 31 | ||
| 1989–90 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 80 | 29 | 74 | 103 | -25 | 95 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1990–91 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 76 | 24 | 69 | 93 | -18 | 128 | 12 | 2 | 9 | 11 | -1 | 6 | ||
| 1991–92 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 54 | 10 | 54 | 64 | +4 | 62 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1991–92 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 10 | 1 | 4 | 5 | -3 | 25 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 7 | -5 | 2 | ||
| 1992–93 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 50 | 8 | 49 | 57 | +9 | 50 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1992–93 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 30 | 4 | 26 | 30 | +7 | 27 | 7 | 2 | 9 | 11 | -3 | 2 | ||
| 1993–94 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 80 | 14 | 63 | 77 | +28 | 106 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 7 | +6 | 8 | ||
| 1994–95 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 45 | 14 | 44 | 58 | +18 | 72 | 18 | 6 | 12 | 18 | +4 | 10 | ||
| 1995–96 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 76 | 14 | 60 | 74 | +19 | 90 | 17 | 5 | 9 | 14 | -3 | 30 | ||
| 1996–97 | Hartford Whalers | NHL | 20 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 0 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1996–97 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 37 | 6 | 20 | 26 | +11 | 20 | 17 | 1 | 8 | 9 | -3 | 6 | ||
| 1997–98 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 57 | 2 | 27 | 29 | +3 | 30 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1998–99 | Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 10 | 0 | 4 | 4 | -6 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1998–99 | Carolina Hurricanes | NHL | 44 | 2 | 8 | 10 | -1 | 25 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 1999–2000 | Carolina Hurricanes | NHL | 69 | 11 | 29 | 40 | -6 | 40 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2000–01 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 18 | 0 | 4 | 4 | -6 | 30 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 1409 | 396 | 1135 | 1531 | +294 | 1802 | 194 | 59 | 137 | 196 | +56 | 264 | ||||
International play[]
Played for Canada in:
- 1984 Canada Cup
- 1987 Canada Cup
- 1990 World Championships
- 1991 Canada Cup
- 1996 World Cup of Hockey
Trivia[]
Template:Trivia
- Coffey preferred his skates to fit as tightly as possible, and wore 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. Also, he preferred to grind the blades of his skates to a very dull finish resulting in him "gliding" over the surface of the ice.
- He is currently the owner of a Toyota dealership named Paul Coffey's Bolton Toyota in Bolton, Ontario.
- He is currently the owner of a Kia dealership named Paul Coffey's Bolton Kia in Bolton, Ontario.
- He is the owner of Paul Coffey Nissan, located in Kitchener, Ontario.
- He lives with his wife and 3 children.
- He is one of three members of the Hockey Hall of Fame to have switched from jersey number 7 to 77 during his career; Phil Esposito and Ray Bourque are the other two. Coffey made the switch when he was traded from Edmonton to Pittsburgh; he continued to wear 77 for the rest of his career until his last stop, Boston, where he wore #74 (Ray Bourque's #77 had been unofficially retired at the time).[8]
See also[]
- Hockey Hall of Fame
- James Norris Memorial Trophy
- List of NHL statistical leaders
- List of NHL players with 1000 points
- List of NHL players with 1000 games played
References[]
- ↑ Hockey’s Book of Firsts, p.27, James Duplacey, JG Press, ISBN 978-1-57215-037-9
- ↑ Legends of Hockey - The Legends - Honoured Player - Coffey, Paul - Biography
- ↑ Paul Coffey's profile at hockeydb.com
- ↑ [1]
- ↑ Colorado Avalanche - Team: Joe Sakic Official Player Page
- ↑ http://www.newyorkrangers.com/pressbox/pressreleases.asp?id=3061
- ↑ http://espn.go.com/blog/boston/bruins/post/_/id/4556/teammates-want-to-win-one-for-recchi
- ↑ Legends of Hockey - NHL Player Search - Player Gallery - Paul Coffey
External links[]
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Paul Coffey |
- Paul Coffey's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database
- Paul Coffey's biography at Legends of Hockey
- Hockey-Fans profile
| Preceded by Kevin Lowe |
Edmonton Oilers first round draft pick 1980 |
Succeeded by Grant Fuhr |
| Preceded by Rod Langway |
Winner of the Norris Trophy 1985, 1986 |
Succeeded by Ray Bourque |
| Preceded by Ray Bourque |
Winner of the Norris Trophy 1995 |
Succeeded by Chris Chelios |
cs:Paul Coffey de:Paul Coffey fr:Paul Coffey ja:ポール・コフィー pl:Paul Coffey ru:Коффи, Пол sk:Paul Coffey fi:Paul Coffey sv:Paul Coffey uk:Пол Коффі