Marc Crawford

Marc Crawford
Crawford in 2006
Born	(1961-02-13) February 13, 1961 (age 63) Belleville, Ontario, Canada
Height	5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight	185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb)
Played for	Vancouver Canucks
Current NL coach	ZSC Lions
Coached for	Quebec Nordiques Colorado Avalanche Vancouver Canucks Los Angeles Kings Dallas Stars Ottawa Senators
NHL draft	70th overall, 1980 Vancouver Canucks
Playing career	1981–1989
Coaching career	1989–present

Marc Joseph John Crawford (born February 13, 1961) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player. He is currently the head coach of the ZSC Lions of the National League (NL). He played as a forward for the Vancouver Canucks in the National Hockey League (NHL). Crawford won the Stanley Cup in 1996 as head coach of the Colorado Avalanche in the NHL. He has also been the head coach of the Quebec Nordiques, Vancouver Canucks, Los Angeles Kings, Dallas Stars, and interim head coach of the Ottawa Senators. He has also coached at the international level, as head coach of Team Canada at the 1998 Winter Olympics. Crawford has won the Louis A. R. Pieri Memorial Award as coach of the year in the American Hockey League and the Jack Adams Award as coach of the year in the NHL.

Early life

Crawford was born in Belleville, Ontario. He is the son of professional hockey player Floyd Crawford. He is the brother of National Hockey League (NHL) hockey players Bob Crawford and Lou Crawford. ^[1]

Playing career

Crawford played three seasons of major junior in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) with the Cornwall Royals. During this time, the team won back-to-back Memorial Cups and was named the team's captain. ^[1] Crawford was drafted by the Vancouver Canucks in the 1980 NHL Entry Draft in the fourth round, 70th overall. He joined the Canucks in 1981–82. As a rookie, Crawford was a part of Vancouver's 1982 run to the Stanley Cup finals, in which the Canucks were defeated by the New York Islanders.

During his six seasons in the NHL, Crawford would split time between Vancouver and their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Fredericton Express. As a result of constantly flying between the two cities, which are over 5,000 kilometres (3,100 mi) apart, he earned the nickname "747", ^[2] though most contemporary Canucks fans know him as "Crow", a nickname coined during his tenure as a head coach with the team. ^[3] In total, Crawford tallied 19 goals, 31 assists and 50 points in 176 games during his NHL career, all of it with Vancouver. ^[4] After a season in the International Hockey League with the Milwaukee Admirals, Crawford retired as a professional player.

Coaching career

Early coaching career

Crawford was named a playing assistant coach with Fredericton during the 1987–88 season. During the 1988–89 season Crawford joined the Milwaukee Admirals as an assistant coach. ^[5] He became a head coach in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) with the Cornwall Royals, for whom he had previously played in the QMJHL. After two seasons with Cornwall, Crawford moved to the AHL, and in his first season with the St. John's Maple Leafs, he took his team to the 1992 Calder Cup finals, losing to the Adirondack Red Wings. The following season, Crawford was awarded the Louis A. R. Pieri Memorial Award as the AHL's coach of the year. ^[6]

In 1994–95, Crawford broke into the NHL with the Quebec Nordiques and as a result of the Nordiques' improved play, he won the NHL's Jack Adams Award as coach of the year. He is the youngest NHL coach and first rookie coach in history to win the Jack Adams. ^[5] The next season, the Nordiques franchise was relocated to Colorado as the Avalanche, and Crawford won his first and only Stanley Cup as a coach in 1996, defeating the Florida Panthers in four games in the finals. ^[6]

Crawford continued to post successful regular seasons with the Avalanche in the next two seasons, but after an early first-round exit in the 1998 playoffs, he resigned on May 27, 1998. Despite reportedly being offered a one-year contract extension by general manager Pierre Lacroix, Crawford decided to "move on and accept a new challenge". ^[7]

Before his resignation with the Avalanche, Crawford was also the head coach of the Canadian Olympic hockey team at the 1998 Olympics, where they finished a disappointing fourth. Many questioned his choice of players to take part in the semi-final shootout with the Czech Republic, in which they lost, electing not to use future Hall of Famers Wayne Gretzky or Steve Yzerman. ^[8]

Vancouver Canucks

After a brief stint as a colour commentator on Hockey Night in Canada , ^[5] Crawford replaced Mike Keenan as head coach of the Vancouver Canucks midway through the 1998–99 season. ^[9] Joining Vancouver in the midst of a rebuilding period for the franchise, Crawford slowly developed the Canucks into a successful regular season team, playing a fast-paced and offensively emphasized style of play. After one-and-a-half seasons, he led Vancouver back to the playoffs. However, the Canucks were defeated in the first round by his former team, Colorado.

In 2002–03, Vancouver continued to improve under Crawford and posted a franchise record (since surpassed) of 104 points. The following season, they took the Northwest Division title from the Avalanche, who had finished first in their division every season since they won the Northeast Division during their last season playing in Quebec. Despite Vancouver's regular season success, they only managed to win one playoff series during Crawford's tenure. After the Canucks' failure to make the playoffs in the 2005–06 season, Crawford's position as head coach was terminated by management on April 25, 2006. ^[4] He was replaced by Alain Vigneault. ^[10]

In six-and-a-half seasons' work with the Canucks, Crawford marked himself as the longest-serving and winningest head coach in franchise history at the time of his exit, coaching 529 games and 246 wins. On February 3, 2006, one of his last games in Vancouver, he also became the third-youngest head coach in NHL history to reach 400 wins. At 48 years and 342 days, this mark trails only Scotty Bowman and Glen Sather. ^[11]

Later years

Nearly one month after being fired by Vancouver, Crawford was hired by the Los Angeles Kings, a team in a similar situation to that of the Canucks when Crawford first joined them. On June 10, 2008, Crawford was fired by the Kings, although he had one year remaining on his initial contract. ^{[12] [13]} He lasted only two years with the Kings, who thought a change was necessary in the coaching position. During his two seasons with the Kings, he missed the playoffs both times. ^[14]

During the 2008–09 season, Crawford did colour commentary for Hockey Night in Canada late games alongside play-by-play announcer Mark Lee. ^{[15] [16] [17] [18]}

A year after being fired from the Los Angeles Kings, Crawford was hired by Dallas Stars general manager Joe Nieuwendyk to replace previous head coach Dave Tippett. ^[19] The Stars fired Crawford on April 12, 2011, two days after the Stars' loss to the Minnesota Wild in the last game of the season, which ultimately cost the team the opportunity to capture the eighth playoff berth in the Western Conference. Crawford's tenure again only lasted two seasons. ^[20]

In mid-2012, Crawford was named the new coach of the ZSC Lions of the Swiss National League A, having signed a two-year contract. He won the NLA championship with the Lions in the 2013–14 season. In March 2014, he signed a two-year contract extension. ^[21] In early 2015, Crawford was responsible for convincing coveted draft prospect Auston Matthews to sign and play with the Lions for the 2015–16 season. ^[22] Crawford was awed by Matthews' play during the 2015 U18 Championships and contacted Matthews' family and agent about a contract. Crawford would lead the Lions to winning the 2016 Swiss Cup. ^[23] Crawford left ZSC when his contract expired in 2016. ^[24] Besides winning the 2014 Swiss championship and 2016 Swiss Cup, he also guided the Lions to three NLA regular season championship titles, in 2013–14, 2014–15 and 2015–16.^{[ citation needed ]}

In May 2016, following the hiring of Guy Boucher, Crawford was hired as associate coach for the Ottawa Senators. ^[25] On March 1, 2019, Crawford became the interim head coach of the Senators following the firing of Guy Boucher for the rest of the 2018–19 season going 7–10–1. ^[26] D. J. Smith was then hired as the Senators head coach for the 2019–20 season. ^[27]

On June, 4, 2019 the Chicago Blackhawks announced Crawford as an assistant coach to Jeremy Colliton. ^[28] Colliton was fired by the Blackhawks during the 2021–22 season, but Crawford was retained as an assistant to interim-coach Derek King for the remainder of the season. In May 2022, Crawford was let go by the Blackhawks with a year remaining on his contract. ^[29]

In December 2022, Crawford returned to Switzerland and the ZSC Lions, replacing fired coach Rikard Grönborg. ^[30] In February 2023, Crawford was suspended for a game after an investigation by the National League into whether he had directed a homophobic slur at a referee. ^[31] In the 2023–24 season he won the Swiss championship for a second time in his career. ^[32]

Awards and achievements

• Louis A. R. Pieri Memorial Award (AHL coach of the year) – 1993
• Jack Adams Award (NHL coach of the year) – 1995
• Stanley Cup champion (Colorado Avalanche) – 1996
• Canada Olympic head coach – 1998

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1978–79	Cornwall Royals	QMJHL		70	28	41	69	206		7	4	2	6	36
1979–80	Cornwall Royals	QMJHL		54	27	36	63	127		18	8	20	28	48
1980–81	Cornwall Royals	QMJHL		63	42	58	100	242		19	20	15	35	27
1981–82	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		40	4	8	12	29		14	1	0	1	11
1981–82	Dallas Black Hawks	CHL		34	13	21	34	71		—	—	—	—	—
1982–83	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		41	4	5	9	28		3	0	1	1	25
1982–83	Fredericton Express	AHL		30	15	9	24	59		9	1	3	4	10
1983–84	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		19	0	1	1	9		—	—	—	—	—
1983–84	Fredericton Express	AHL		56	9	22	31	96		7	4	2	6	23
1984–85	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		1	0	0	0	4		—	—	—	—	—
1984–85	Fredericton Express	AHL		65	12	29	41	173		5	0	1	1	10
1985–86	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		54	11	14	25	92		3	0	1	1	8
1985–86	Fredericton Express	AHL		26	10	14	24	55		—	—	—	—	—
1986–87	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		21	0	3	3	67		—	—	—	—	—
1986–87	Fredericton Express	AHL		25	8	11	19	21		—	—	—	—	—
1987–88	Fredericton Express	AHL		43	5	13	18	90		2	0	0	0	14
1988–89	Milwaukee Admirals	IHL		53	23	30	53	166		11	2	5	7	26
AHL totals				245	59	98	157	494		23	5	6	11	57
NHL totals				176	19	31	50	229		20	1	2	3	44

International

Year	Team	Event		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1981	Canada	WJC		5	1	3	4	4
Junior totals				5	1	3	4	4

Head coaching record

Team	Year	Regular season							Postseason
		G	W	L	T	OTL	Pts	Finish	W	L	Win%	Result
Quebec Nordiques	1994–95	48	30	13	5	—	65	1st in Northeast	2	4	.333	Lost in Conference quarterfinals
Colorado Avalanche	1995–96	82	47	25	10	—	104	1st in Pacific	16	6	.615	Won Stanley Cup
Colorado Avalanche	1996–97	82	49	24	9	—	107	1st in Pacific	10	7	.588	Lost in Conference finals
Colorado Avalanche	1997–98	82	39	26	17	—	95	1st in Pacific	3	4	.429	Lost in Conference quarterfinals
Vancouver Canucks	1998–99	37	8	23	6	—	22	4th in Northwest	—	—	—	Missed playoffs
Vancouver Canucks	1999–2000	82	30	29	15	8	83	4th in Northwest	—	—	—	Missed playoffs
Vancouver Canucks	2000–01	82	36	28	11	7	90	4th in Northwest	0	4	.000	Lost in Conference quarterfinals
Vancouver Canucks	2001–02	82	42	30	7	3	94	2nd in Northwest	2	4	.333	Lost in Conference quarterfinals
Vancouver Canucks	2002–03	82	45	23	13	1	104	2nd in Northwest	7	7	.500	Lost in Conference semifinals
Vancouver Canucks	2003–04	82	43	24	10	5	101	1st in Northwest	3	4	.429	Lost in Conference quarterfinals
Vancouver Canucks	2005–06	82	42	32	—	8	92	4th in Northwest	—	—	—	Missed playoffs
Los Angeles Kings	2006–07	82	27	41	—	14	68	4th in Pacific	—	—	—	Missed playoffs
Los Angeles Kings	2007–08	82	32	43	—	7	71	5th in Pacific	—	—	—	Missed playoffs
Dallas Stars	2009–10	82	37	31	—	14	88	5th in Pacific	—	—	—	Missed playoffs
Dallas Stars	2010–11	82	42	29	—	11	95	5th in Pacific	—	—	—	Missed playoffs
Ottawa Senators	2018–19	18	7	10	—	1	15	8th in Atlantic	—	—	—	Missed playoffs
Quebec Nordiques/Colorado Avalanche totals		294	165	88	41	—	371	—	31	21	.596	4 playoff appearances 1 Stanley Cup win
Vancouver Canucks totals		529	246	189	62	32	583	—	12	19	.387	4 playoff appearances
Los Angeles Kings totals		164	59	84	—	21	139	—	—	—	—	—
Dallas Stars totals		164	79	60	—	25	183	—	—	—	—	—
Ottawa Senators totals		18	7	10	—	1	15	—	—	—	—	—
NHL totals		1,169	556	431	103	79	1,294	—	43	40	.518	8 playoff appearances 1 Stanley Cup win

Moore incident

Further information: Todd Bertuzzi–Steve Moore incident

On February 16, 2004, when Crawford was coach of Vancouver, Colorado player Steve Moore concussed Vancouver captain Markus Näslund on a questionable hit. No penalty was called on the play, and the NHL later reviewed the incident and decided no penalty was warranted. However, Crawford was vocal about the incident and the failure of the NHL to respond. ^[33] During another game against Colorado on March 8, 2004, Todd Bertuzzi grabbed and punched Moore from behind, and rode him into the ice, causing Moore to suffer three broken vertebrae and multiple facial lacerations, which ultimately ended his career. According to a Colorado player, Crawford was laughing at the situation at the time it occurred and was the subject of substantial criticism following the incident. ^[34]

Crawford, along with Bertuzzi and the Canucks organization, were named as defendants in a $19+ million (US) lawsuit by Moore. According to the suit, following the February 16 incident, Crawford encouraged his players to seek revenge, which led in part to the injury to Moore. Specifically, Moore alleged that Crawford, Bertuzzi and former general manager Brian Burke entered into "an unlawful plan and agreement to assault, batter and injure Moore at a future date for the injuries that Näslund had suffered during the Feb. 16 game". ^[35] The Canucks were fined US$250,000 by the NHL for "...failure to prevent the atmosphere that may have led to the incident". As the case approached trial in 2014, Moore increased the damages claim to $68 million. In August 2014, the lawsuit concluded with all parties agreeing to a confidential settlement. ^[36]

Abuse of players and apology

In December 2019, multiple former players Crawford coached in the past came forward with stories of abuse, including Brent Sopel, ^[37] Patrick O'Sullivan, ^[38] Harold Druken ^[39] and Sean Avery. ^[40] Sopel clarified it was not his intention "to make any allegations against anyone or any organization", and Avery also offered support for Crawford. ^[37]

The Chicago Blackhawks suspended Crawford from his role as assistant coach following these allegations and opened an investigation. ^[41] Crawford subsequently issued an apology to past players that brought forward stories of abuse. ^[42]

References

1. "Inductees: 2000–2009". Belleville Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved December 17, 2023.
2. "Crawford enjoys Switzerland, but ..." The Belleville Intelligencer. February 14, 2015. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
3. Brennan, Don (May 11, 2016). "Ottawa Senators' new associate coach Marc Crawford right at home in capital region". Ottawa Sun. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
4. "Crawford out after Canucks fail to make playoffs". ESPN. Associated Press. April 25, 2006. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
5. "Marc Crawford". National Hockey League. Archived from the original on August 15, 2000. Retrieved April 19, 2008.
6. "Coach Card – Marc Crawford". National Hockey League. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
7. "Coach Crawford resigns". The New York Times. Associated Press. May 28, 1998. Retrieved April 19, 2008.
8. Brophy, Mike (February 3, 2017). "'98 problems: How it all went wrong for Canada's Olympic hockey team in Nagano". CBC Sports. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
9. Elliott, Helene (January 25, 1999). "Canucks Fire Keenan and Hire Crawford". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
10. Willis, Jonathan (March 12, 2012). "Profiles in Coaching: Marc Crawford". Edmonton Journal. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
11. "On This Day". Vancouver Canucks. Archived from the original on April 28, 2008. Retrieved April 19, 2008– via NHL.com.
12. "Kings fire head coach Marc Crawford". CBC Sports. June 10, 2008. Retrieved December 17, 2023.
13. "Kings fire head coach Marc Crawford". TSN. June 10, 2008. Archived from the original on July 17, 2012. Retrieved June 11, 2009.
14. "Crawford Is Fired by the Kings". The New York Times. Associated Press. June 11, 2008. Retrieved December 17, 2023.
15. Houston, William (July 31, 2008). "Hockey Night in Canada turns to Crawford". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved December 17, 2023.
16. "Marc Crawford joining Hockey Night in Canada". CBC Sports . July 31, 2008. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
17. "Marc Crawford joins Hockey Night in Canada". The Globe and Mail. 2008-07-31. Retrieved 2023-02-01.
18. "Marc Crawford returns to Hockey Night in Canada". Toronto Star. 2008-07-31. Retrieved 2023-02-01.
19. "Stars hire Marc Crawford". CBC Sports. June 11, 2009. Retrieved June 11, 2009.
20. Hunt, Steve (April 12, 2011). "Dallas Stars fire coach Marc Crawford". National Hockey League. Retrieved June 10, 2011.
21. "Crawford bleibt bis 2016 ZSC-Trainer". www.eishockey.ch (in German). Archived from the original on March 12, 2016. Retrieved 2016-03-11.
22. Kennedy, Ryan. "Lights, Camera, Action". The Hockey News . Vol. 69, no. 15. TVA Group. pp. 13–17.
23. "ZSC Lions zum dritten Mal Cupsieger". Neue Zürcher Zeitung (in German). 4 February 2016. Retrieved 2016-03-11.
24. "Actualité - Marc Crawford et les ZSC Lions, c'est fini". Planète Hockey (in French). Archived from the original on March 12, 2016. Retrieved 2016-03-11.
25. "News Release: Marc Crawford named Ottawa Senators associate coach". Ottawa Senators. May 9, 2016. Archived from the original on May 12, 2016. Retrieved May 13, 2016– via NHL.com.
26. "Marc Crawford named interim head coach of rebuilding Ottawa Senators". Ottawa Senators. March 1, 2019. Retrieved March 4, 2019– via NHL.com.
27. "Smith hired by Senators as coach". National Hockey League. May 23, 2019. Retrieved December 17, 2023.
28. "Release: Blackhawks announce Crawford as Assistant Coach". Chicago Blackhawks. 4 June 2019. Retrieved 2019-06-07– via NHL.com.
29. Pope, Ben (May 1, 2022). "Blackhawks part ways with Marc Crawford, Rob Cookson as coaching changes begin". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved December 17, 2023.
30. "Marc Crawford, former Avalanche and Canucks coach, to coach ZSC Lions for second time". The Athletic. December 28, 2022. Retrieved December 17, 2023.
31. Grant, Paul D. (February 13, 2023). "Marc Crawford suspended, under investigation by Swiss league for homophobic phrase". Sportsnet. Retrieved December 17, 2023.
32. "Playoff-Final: Die ZSC Lions gewinnen Spiel 7 gegen Lausanne und sind Schweizer Meiser". Watson (in German). Retrieved 2024-05-01.
33. Kerr, Grant (February 18, 2004). "Naslund hit sparks fury". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
34. "Police investigate Canucks' Bertuzzi for hit on Moore". CBC Sports. March 10, 2004. Retrieved April 18, 2021.
35. "Moore files lawsuit against Bertuzzi, Canucks". CBC Sports. February 18, 2005. Retrieved April 18, 2021.
36. Strang, Katie (August 20, 2014). "Canucks settle with Steve Moore". ESPN. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
37. "Brent Sopel says stories about Marc Crawford meant 'to entertain the listener'". CBC Sports. The Canadian Press. December 5, 2019. Retrieved December 17, 2023.
38. Pankiw, Colton (December 17, 2019). "Patrick O'Sullivan Not Buying Crawford's Apology". Marker Zone. Retrieved December 17, 2023.
39. Johnston, Patrick (4 December 2019). "Patrick Johnston: Add Harold Druken to the crowd decrying Marc Crawford's coaching past". Saltwire. Postmedia News.
40. Allen, Kevin (December 1, 2019). "Retired NHL player Sean Avery said former coach Marc Crawford kicked him when he played for Kings". USA Today. Retrieved December 17, 2023.
41. Blackburn, Pete (December 16, 2019). "Blackhawks assistant coach Marc Crawford apologizes for past behavior, will return to bench in January". CBS Sports. Retrieved December 17, 2023.
42. "Patrick Johnston: Crawford returns to Hawks' bench after apologizing for past behaviour". Saltwire. Postmedia News. January 2, 2020. Retrieved December 17, 2023.

External links

• Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com , or  Eliteprospects.com , or  Hockey-Reference.com , or  The Internet Hockey Database

Preceded by Pierre Pagé	Head coach of the Quebec Nordiques 1994–95	Succeeded by Himself Colorado Avalanche head coach
Preceded by Himself Quebec Nordiques head coach	Head coach of the Colorado Avalanche 1995–99	Succeeded by Bob Hartley
Preceded by Jacques Lemaire	Winner of the Jack Adams Award 1995	Succeeded by Scotty Bowman
Preceded by Mike Keenan	Head coach of the Vancouver Canucks 1999–2006	Succeeded by Alain Vigneault
Preceded by John Torchetti	Head coach of the Los Angeles Kings 2006–2008	Succeeded by Terry Murray
Preceded by Dave Tippett	Head coach of the Dallas Stars 2009–2011	Succeeded by Glen Gulutzan
Preceded by Guy Boucher	Head coach of the Ottawa Senators 2019 (interim)	Succeeded by D. J. Smith