Kirk Muller
Kirk Christopher Muller (born February 8, 1966) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey winger who played in the National Hockey League for 19 seasons from 1984–85 until 2002–03. He was also the head coach of the National Hockey League's Carolina Hurricanes from 2011 to 2014. Since 2016, he has been an associate coach with the Montreal Canadiens, where he previously served as assistant coach from 2006 to 2011.
| Kirk Muller | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Born |
February 8, 1966 Kingston, Ontario, Canada | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) | ||
| Weight | 205 lb (93 kg; 14 st 9 lb) | ||
| Position | Centre | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for |
New Jersey Devils Montreal Canadiens New York Islanders Toronto Maple Leafs Florida Panthers Dallas Stars | ||
| National team |
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| NHL Draft |
2nd overall, 1984 New Jersey Devils | ||
| Playing career | 1984–2003 | ||
| Website | http://www.kirkmuller.com | ||
Playing career
Muller started his junior career with the Kingston Canadians of the Ontario Hockey League, but his most successful junior seasons were with the Guelph Platers. There was a dispute in 1984 between the Platers and the Canadian Olympic Team, who wanted Muller to play with them at the 1984 Winter Olympics. The Platers owner was upset over losing Muller for so much time, but eventually they came to an agreement and Muller played in the Olympics. He was drafted second overall by the New Jersey Devils in the 1984 NHL Entry Draft behind Mario Lemieux. "Captain Kirk" was the heart and soul of the Devils franchise, with his intensity and strong two-way play. However, New Jersey never became a serious Stanley Cup contender while Muller was with them, and he was traded along with Roland Melanson to the Montreal Canadiens for Stéphane Richer and Tom Chorske on September 20, 1991.
Muller quickly became a fan favourite in Montreal, and he helped them win the Stanley Cup in 1993. However, his time with the Canadiens was shorter than he would have liked, when he was traded to the New York Islanders during the 1994–95 NHL season. Initially, he was reluctant to report to the Islanders, then played a handful of games in an uninterested manner before team management decided that his poor attitude outweighed his potential contributions on the ice and barred him from the team.[1] Eventually, the Islanders recalled Muller, but he refused to report, freeing the Islanders from their contractual obligations to pay him. Ultimately, Muller was traded at a discount to the Toronto Maple Leafs, in a three team trade that saw Muller and Don Beaupre go to the Maple Leafs, Martin Straka, Ken Belanger and the rights to Bryan Berard go to the Islanders while Damian Rhodes and the rights to Wade Redden went to the Ottawa Senators. Muller had his last 20 goal season with the Maple Leafs the next season, but he was traded to the Florida Panthers as the Leafs fell out of the playoff picture.[2]
Muller struggled in Florida, scoring just four goals in the whole 1998–99 NHL season. His last break came when he signed with the Dallas Stars in the middle of the 1999–2000 season. Even though his scoring touch of old almost completely evaporated, he still managed to be a strong role player with the Stars for four seasons and was part of the "grumpy old men" line that included Mike Keane and John MacLean. He retired at the end of the 2002–03 season.
Coaching career
Muller began his coaching career with the Queen's University Golden Gaels in his hometown of Kingston. During 2005-06, Muller's Golden Gaels posted an 8-13-1-2 record in the Ontario University Athletics Conference.
Muller also held the title of assistant coach to Marc Habscheid with Team Canada, winning the gold medal at the 2005 Lotto Cup Tournament in Slovakia. In March 2006, he served as assistant coach to Greg Gilbert at the Under-18 World Championship.
Muller returned to the Montreal Canadiens organization on June 20, 2006, when he was named assistant coach of the Canadiens.[3]
On June 27, 2011, the Nashville Predators announced that Muller had been hired as the head coach of their AHL affiliate, the Milwaukee Admirals.[4] On November 28, 2011, Muller became coach of the Carolina Hurricanes, taking over for Paul Maurice.[5] On May 5, 2014, Muller was relieved of his coaching duties by the Carolina Hurricanes.[6] On May 13, 2014, Muller was signed by the St. Louis Blues as an assistant coach.[7]
On June 2, 2016, the Montreal Canadiens organization rehired Muller as an associate coach.[8]
On August 13, 2020, Muller assumed the role of interim head coach of the Montreal Canadiens after current head coach Claude Julien was hospitalized with chest pains.
Records
- New Jersey Devils franchise record for points in a single game (6 on Oct. 29, 1986)
- New Jersey Devils franchise record for assists in a single game (5 on Mar. 25, 1987)
- New Jersey Devils franchise record for points by a centre in a single season (94, 1987–88)
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1980–81 | Kingston Voyageurs | MetJHL | 42 | 17 | 37 | 54 | 5 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1980–81 | Kingston Canadians | OMJHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1981–82 | Kingston Canadians | OHL | 67 | 12 | 39 | 51 | 27 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 4 | ||
| 1982–83 | Guelph Platers | OHL | 66 | 52 | 60 | 112 | 41 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1983–84 | Guelph Platers | OHL | 49 | 31 | 63 | 94 | 27 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1983–84 | Canada | Intl | 15 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1984–85 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 80 | 17 | 37 | 54 | 69 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1985–86 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 77 | 25 | 41 | 66 | 45 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1986–87 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 79 | 26 | 50 | 76 | 75 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1987–88 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 80 | 37 | 57 | 94 | 114 | 20 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 37 | ||
| 1988–89 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 80 | 31 | 43 | 74 | 119 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1989–90 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 80 | 30 | 56 | 86 | 74 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 11 | ||
| 1990–91 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 80 | 19 | 51 | 70 | 76 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 10 | ||
| 1991–92 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 78 | 36 | 41 | 77 | 86 | 11 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 31 | ||
| 1992–93 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 80 | 37 | 57 | 94 | 77 | 20 | 10 | 7 | 17 | 18 | ||
| 1993–94 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 76 | 23 | 34 | 57 | 96 | 7 | 6 | 2 | 8 | 4 | ||
| 1994–95 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 33 | 8 | 11 | 19 | 33 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1994–95 | New York Islanders | NHL | 12 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1995–96 | New York Islanders | NHL | 15 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 15 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1995–96 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 36 | 9 | 16 | 25 | 42 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 0 | ||
| 1996–97 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 66 | 20 | 17 | 37 | 85 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1996–97 | Florida Panthers | NHL | 10 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | ||
| 1997–98 | Florida Panthers | NHL | 70 | 8 | 21 | 29 | 54 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1998–99 | Florida Panthers | NHL | 82 | 4 | 11 | 15 | 49 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1999–2000 | Dallas Stars | NHL | 47 | 7 | 15 | 22 | 24 | 23 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 18 | ||
| 2000–01 | Dallas Stars | NHL | 55 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 26 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 12 | ||
| 2001–02 | Dallas Stars | NHL | 78 | 10 | 20 | 30 | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2002–03 | Dallas Stars | NHL | 55 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 18 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | ||
| NHL totals | 1349 | 357 | 602 | 959 | 1223 | 127 | 33 | 36 | 69 | 153 | ||||
NHL coaching record
| Team | Year | Regular Season | Post Season | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Games | Won | Lost | OT/SO | Points | Finish | Won | Lost | Result | |||
| CAR | 2011–12 | 57 | 25 | 20 | 12 | (62) | 5th in Southeast Division | – | – | Failed to Qualify | |
| CAR | 2012–13 | 48 | 19 | 25 | 4 | 42 | 3rd in Southeast Division | – | – | Failed to Qualify | |
| CAR | 2013–14 | 82 | 36 | 35 | 11 | 83 | 7th in Metropolitan Division | – | – | Failed to Qualify | |
| Total | 187 | 80 | 80 | 27 | .500 | 0 Division Championships | 0 | 0 | 0 Stanley Cups | ||
See also
- List of NHL players with 1000 games played
References
- Associated Press (November 13, 1995). "Muller sent packing". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
- "Traded Leaf Muller eyes title in Florida". Las Vegas Sun. 1997-03-19. Retrieved 2019-02-01.
- "http://canadiens.nhl.com/team/app?service=page&page=NHLPage&bcid=eng_tea_redirect_hOD_1996". nhl.com. Archived from the original on 25 June 2009. Retrieved 4 June 2016. External link in
|title=(help) - "Milwaukee Admirals name Kirk Muller coach". nhl.com. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
- TSN.ca staff (Nov 28, 2011). "Hurricanes replace head coach Maurice with Muller". TSN.ca. Retrieved Nov 28, 2011.
- Associated Press (May 7, 2014). "Hurricanes fire coach Kirk Muller". ESPN. Retrieved Aug 15, 2017.
- "Kirk Muller Joins Blues as Assistant Coach". NHL.com. May 13, 2014.
- "Muller de retour à Montréal". TVA Sports. June 2, 2016. Retrieved June 4, 2016.
External links
- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database
- Total Hockey (Second Edition), Editor - Dan Diamond, ISBN 1-892129-85-X
- Kirk Muller Official Website
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Dan Quinn |
Jack Ferguson Award 1982 |
Succeeded by Trevor Stienburg |
| Preceded by John MacLean |
New Jersey Devils first round draft pick 1984 |
Succeeded by Craig Wolanin |
| Sporting positions | ||
| Preceded by Mel Bridgman |
New Jersey Devils captain 1987–91 |
Succeeded by Bruce Driver |
| Preceded by Guy Carbonneau |
Montreal Canadiens captain 1994–95 |
Succeeded by Mike Keane |
| Preceded by Paul Maurice |
Head coach of the Carolina Hurricanes 2011–14 |
Succeeded by Bill Peters |