Craig MacTavish

Craig MacTavish (born August 15, 1958) is a Canadian professional ice hockey executive and former player. He played centre for 17 seasons in the National Hockey League with the Boston Bruins, Edmonton Oilers, New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers and St. Louis Blues, winning the Stanley Cup four times (1987, 1988, 1990, 1994). He is the last NHL player to not wear a helmet during games.[1][2][3]

Craig MacTavish
Born	(1958-08-15) August 15, 1958 London, Ontario, Canada
Height	6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight	195 lb (88 kg; 13 st 13 lb)
Position	Centre
Shot	Left
Played for	Boston Bruins Edmonton Oilers New York Rangers Philadelphia Flyers St. Louis Blues
NHL Draft	153rd overall, 1978 Boston Bruins
Playing career	1979–1997

MacTavish later coached the Oilers from 2000 to 2009 and also served as assistant coach with the Rangers and Oilers. He last coached Team Canada at the 2019 Spengler Cup, after a short stint with Russian team Lokomotiv Yaroslavl of the KHL.

He is currently the head coach of Lausanne HC.

Early life and education

MacTavish was born on August 15, 1958 in London, Ontario.[4]

After retiring as NHL player in 1997, MacTavish was accepted as an MBA student at the University of Alberta. He didn't start the program, following the decision to take a coaching position with the New York Rangers. In 2011, he obtained an EMBA from Queen’s School of Business.[5]

Career

Early career

MacTavish played two years of NCAA hockey with the University of Lowell Chiefs (now University of Massachusetts Lowell River Hawks) from 1977 to 1979. He was drafted by the Boston Bruins in the 1978 NHL Entry Draft with their ninth pick, 153rd overall, and spent the next several years splitting time between the Bruins and various American Hockey League teams. He finally made the Bruins for good in 1982–83 and played two full seasons with them.[5]

During his early days with the Bruins, the young MacTavish was involved in the infamous brawl between several Boston players and a group of New York Rangers fans in 1979.[6]

MacTavish missed the 1984–85 season after being convicted of vehicular homicide, having struck and killed a young woman while he was driving under the influence of alcohol. MacTavish pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide and driving under the influence of alcohol the night of January 25, 1984, in Peabody, Massachusetts. Kim Radley, 26, of West Newfield, Maine, died four days later of injuries sustained in the crash.[7] MacTavish was sentenced to a year's imprisonment for the offence. While incarcerated, he watched most of the games that were televised.

Later career

Widely viewed at the time as a personal favour from Edmonton general manager Glen Sather to his best friend, then-Bruins general manager Harry Sinden (who felt that MacTavish ought to have a fresh start away from Boston and had offered to let him out of his contract, which MacTavish had accepted), the Oilers took a chance on MacTavish and signed him for the 1985–86 season. Sather's intuition turned out to be good, as MacTavish spent eight full seasons with the Oilers, helping them to win three Stanley Cups in 1987, 1988, 1990 and serving as team captain from 1992 to 1994. MacTavish was traded to the New York Rangers in 1994, just in time to help several other former Oilers (including Kevin Lowe, Glenn Anderson, Adam Graves, Jeff Beukeboom, Esa Tikkanen and Mark Messier) win the Stanley Cup.[8]

The next season MacTavish signed with the Philadelphia Flyers as a free agent, and was traded to the St. Louis Blues during the 1995–96 season. MacTavish retired following the 1996–97 season. He was the last helmetless player, having signed a professional contract with the Bruins before the mandatory cutoff date in 1979 (then-current players were allowed to remain bare-headed under a grandfather clause); incidentally, MacTavish had worn a helmet in his earliest days as he can be seen wearing one during the aforementioned fight with Rangers fans in 1979.

Coaching career

MacTavish turned to coaching immediately after retiring as a player, signing on as an assistant with the Rangers. After two seasons in New York, he returned to the Oilers as an assistant coach in the 1999–2000 season under former teammate Kevin Lowe. He was subsequently promoted to the top job when Lowe succeeded Sather as general manager.

In the 2005–06 season, MacTavish led the Oilers on their run to the Stanley Cup Finals. In the first round of the playoffs, MacTavish shocked the hockey world by utilizing a trapping defensive system to neutralize a potent Detroit Red Wings offence. The Oilers were able to deny scoring chances by blocking shots with their bodies—something for which MacTavish was known for during his playing career. This proved effective; the eighth-seeded Oilers won the opening round 4–2, against the no. 1 seed, the Detroit Red Wings. Along the way the Oilers defeated the San Jose Sharks and the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, 4–2 and 4–1 respectively. The Oilers could not complete their run, losing a thrilling seven-game final series to the Carolina Hurricanes, though they rallied from a 3–1 series deficit to even it. The Oilers had not reached the Stanley Cup finals since their championship season of 1990 during MacTavish's playing tenure in Edmonton.

On November 4, 2006, one day after the Oilers lost to the Dallas Stars due to an apparent blown call in the last five seconds of the third period by referee Mick McGeough, MacTavish was fined $10,000 for expressing his anger after the game, referring to the call as "retarded".[9][10] After this incident, Oilers fans collected over $10,000 and gave it to MacTavish, who subsequently donated the money to charity.

On April 15, 2009, Oilers general manager Steve Tambellini announced that MacTavish had been relieved of his duties as head coach of the club. The Oilers had failed to reach the playoffs for the third year in a row.[11] He finished his tenure with the Oilers at 36th on the all-time NHL list with 301 wins, and second on the Oilers' all-time wins list behind only Sather.

During the 2011–12 season, MacTavish coached the Chicago Wolves, the American Hockey League affiliate of the Vancouver Canucks. After the season, MacTavish left the Canucks organization, returned to the Oilers as Sr VP of Hockey operations and was named GM on Apr 15 2013.

On December 15, 2014, MacTavish fired head coach Dallas Eakins from his duties as head coach of the Oilers. MacTavish named himself Interim coach with the intention of transitioning minor league coach Todd Nelson in to the role of interim head coach in the near future.

On May 16, 2019, he returned to coaching, signing a two-year contract with the Russian KHL team Lokomotiv Yaroslavl.[12]

On September 24, 2019, it was announced that Lokomotiv Yaroslav fired MacTavish after only 8 games.[13] In December 2019, he served as head coach of Team Canada and led the squad to the title at the Spengler Cup.[14] He took over the head coaching job at Swiss team Lausanne HC on February 27th, 2020.[15]

TSN commentator

Failing to be picked up by another team in the coaching department, on September 21, 2009, MacTavish began the first of twenty-five in-studio appearances with TSN as a hockey commentator.[16][16][17]

Management career

On June 11, 2012, Edmonton Oilers general manager Steve Tambellini announced that Craig McTavish was added to the club's hockey operations management team as senior vice-president of hockey operations.[18]

On April 15, 2013, general manager Steve Tambellini was relieved of his position, and the Oilers named MacTavish as the new general manager. Former Columbus Blue Jackets GM Scott Howson replaced MacTavish as the vice-president of hockey operations.[19] After two seasons, MacTavish was relieved of his position as general manager, and the Oilers named Peter Chiarelli the new general manager and president of hockey operations.

On April 24, 2015, Oilers Entertainment Group CEO, Bob Nicholson announced that Peter Chiarelli had been hired as the new general manager and president of hockey operations. Nicholson did not provide details on what MacTavish's new position would be within the Oilers organization.[20]

On September 12, 2015, general manager Peter Chiarelli revealed in an interview with TSN's Bob McKenzie that MacTavish had been given the title of Vice President of Hockey Operations; most of his duties would circulate around the Oilers' new affiliate team the Bakersfield Condors, his other main focus will be on pro scouting.[1]

Personal life

While playing with the Flyers, MacTavish was a resident of Voorhees Township, New Jersey.[21]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1977–78	University of Massachusetts Lowell	ECAC II		24	26	19	45	—		—	—	—	—	—
1978–79	University of Massachusetts Lowell	ECAC II		31	36	52	88	—		—	—	—	—	—
1979–80	Binghamton Dusters	AHL		34	17	15	32	20		—	—	—	—	—
1979–80	Boston Bruins	NHL		46	11	17	28	8		10	2	3	5	7
1980–81	Springfield Indians	AHL		53	19	24	43	89		7	5	4	9	8
1980–81	Boston Bruins	NHL		24	3	5	8	13		—	—	—	—	—
1981–82	Erie Blades	AHL		72	23	32	55	37		—	—	—	—	—
1981–82	Boston Bruins	NHL		2	0	1	1	0		—	—	—	—	—
1982–83	Boston Bruins	NHL		75	10	20	30	18		17	3	1	4	18
1983–84	Boston Bruins	NHL		70	20	23	43	35		1	0	0	0	0
1985–86	Edmonton Oilers	NHL		74	23	24	47	70		10	4	4	8	11
1986–87	Edmonton Oilers	NHL		79	20	19	39	55		21	1	9	10	16
1987–88	Edmonton Oilers	NHL		80	15	17	32	47		19	0	1	1	31
1988–89	Edmonton Oilers	NHL		80	21	31	52	55		7	0	1	1	8
1989–90	Edmonton Oilers	NHL		80	21	22	43	89		22	2	6	8	29
1990–91	Edmonton Oilers	NHL		80	17	15	32	76		18	3	3	6	20
1991–92	Edmonton Oilers	NHL		80	12	18	30	98		16	3	0	3	28
1992–93	Edmonton Oilers	NHL		82	10	20	30	110		—	—	—	—	—
1993–94	Edmonton Oilers	NHL		66	16	10	26	80		—	—	—	—	—
1993–94	New York Rangers	NHL		12	4	2	6	11		23	1	4	5	22
1994–95	Philadelphia Flyers	NHL		45	3	9	12	23		15	1	4	5	20
1995–96	Philadelphia Flyers	NHL		55	5	8	13	62		—	—	—	—	—
1995–96	St. Louis Blues	NHL		13	0	1	1	8		13	0	2	2	6
1996–97	St. Louis Blues	NHL		50	2	5	7	33		1	0	0	0	2
NHL totals				1093	213	267	480	891		193	20	38	58	218

Coaching record

Team	Year	Regular season							Post season
		G	W	L	T	OTL	Pts	Finish	W	L	Win %	Result
Edmonton Oilers	2000–01	82	39	28	12	3	93	2nd in Northwest	2	4	.333	Lost in 1st round
Edmonton Oilers	2001–02	82	38	28	12	4	92	3rd in Northwest	–	–	–	Missed playoffs
Edmonton Oilers	2002–03	82	36	26	11	9	92	4th in Northwest	2	4	.333	Lost in 1st round
Edmonton Oilers	2003–04	82	36	29	12	5	89	4th in Northwest	–	–	–	Missed playoffs
Edmonton Oilers	2005–06	82	41	28	–	13	95	3rd in Northwest	15	9	.625	Lost in Stanley Cup Final
Edmonton Oilers	2006–07	82	32	43	–	7	71	5th in Northwest	–	–	–	Missed playoffs
Edmonton Oilers	2007–08	82	41	35	–	6	88	4th in Northwest	–	–	–	Missed playoffs
Edmonton Oilers	2008–09	82	38	35	–	9	85	4th in Northwest	–	–	–	Missed playoffs
Career total		656	301	252	47	56	694	–	19	17	.528

Awards and achievements

• 1979 – Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA Division II Men's Ice Hockey Championship
• 1986–87 – Stanley Cup (Edmonton)
• 1987–88 – Stanley Cup (Edmonton)
• 1989–90 – Stanley Cup (Edmonton)
• 1993–94 – Stanley Cup (New York)
• 1995–96 – played in NHL All-Star Game

See also

• List of NHL players with 1000 games played

Notes

1. "Video". TSN. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
2. McGran, Kevin (June 5, 2013). "Place in trivia history awaits NHL's last visor-less player". The Toronto Star. Retrieved December 21, 2017.
3. Johnston, Chris (November 27, 2015). "Visor-less NHLers an increasingly rare sight". Sportsnet.ca. Sportsnet. Retrieved December 21, 2017.
4. "Edmonton Oilers Heritage Website - Craig MacTavish". archive.is. April 7, 2004. Archived from the original on April 7, 2004. Retrieved March 9, 2020.
5. Holloway, Andy (February 28, 2011). "MBA All-Stars: Craig MacTavish". ISSN 1486-8008. Retrieved March 9, 2020.
6. Rotter, Adam (May 15, 2013). "Flashback: When The Bruins and Mike Milbury Went Into The Stands". sny.tv. SportsNet New York. Retrieved December 21, 2017.
7. "SPORTS PEOPLE; MacTavish Is Free". New York Times. May 14, 1985. Retrieved September 14, 2009.
8. Cole, Stephen (2004). The Best of Hockey Night in Canada. Toronto: McArthur & Company. p. 128. ISBN 978-1-55278-408-2.
9. "Oilers' MacTavish fined". cbc.ca. November 4, 2006. Retrieved December 21, 2017.
10. http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app?articleid=282409&page=NewsPage&service=page%5B%5D
11. "404". TSN.
12. "КРЭЙГ МАКТАВИШ – ГЛАВНЫЙ ТРЕНЕР "ЛОКОМОТИВА"" [Craig MacTavish is the head coach of Lokomotiv] (in Russian). Lokomotiv Yaroslavl. May 16, 2019.
13. "Craig MacTavish fired after eight games as coach of KHL's Lokomotiv - Sportsnet.ca".
14. Beaud, Grégory; Davos (December 31, 2019). "Le Team Canada détient le record de Coupes Spengler". TDG (in French). ISSN 1010-2248. Retrieved January 2, 2020.
15. "Zwei Runden vor Quali-Ende: Lausanne trennt sich per sofort von Trainer und Sportchef". Eishockey Schweiz: Hockey News und Resultate für die Schweiz. Retrieved July 8, 2020.
16. Staples, David (September 15, 2009). "Witty MacTavish finds "safe haven" at TSN". Edmonton Journal. Archived from the original on September 24, 2009. Retrieved November 1, 2009.
17. Staples, David (September 30, 2007). "Behind the man behind the bench". Edmonton Journal. Archived from the original on May 23, 2012. Retrieved November 1, 2009.
18. "Oilers Add MacTavish to Hockey Operations Management Team". NHL.com.
19. "404". TSN.
20. Spector, Mark (April 24, 2015). "Oilers set to announce Peter Chiarelli hire". Sportsnet.ca. Sportsnet. Retrieved December 21, 2017.
21. Anderson, Dave. "Sports of The Times; MacT's Muscular Art: The Crucial Face-Off", The New York Times, May 22, 1995. Accessed March 17, 2011. "Despite their age difference, MacTavish and the 22-year-old Lindros are roommates on Flyer road trips, and the Flyer captain often hangs out at the MacTavish home in nearby Voorhees, N.J."

External links

• Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database
• Oilers Heritage – Craig MacTavish