Marc Crawford

At 63 years old, Marc Crawford has this physical status:

Marc Joseph Crawford (born February 13, 1961) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach.

While coaching the Colorado Avalanche in 1996, he has won the Stanley Cup.

Crawford is also a former ice hockey forward who competed for the Vancouver Canucks.

Early life

Crawford attended Nicholson Catholic College in Belleville, Ontario, during his adolescence. He is the son of professional hockey player Floyd Crawford. He is the brother of NHL hockey players Bob Crawford and Lou Crawford.

Source

Playing career

Crawford was a major junior with the Cornwall Royals for three seasons. The team won back-to-back Memorial Cups during this period. Crawford was drafted by the Vancouver Canucks in the 1980 NHL Entry Draft, ranking him 70th overall in the fourth round. In 1981–82, he was with the Canucks. Crawford was a rookie in Vancouver's 1982 appearance in the Stanley Cup finals, in which the Canucks were defeated by the New York Islanders.

Crawford will split time between Vancouver and their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Fredericton Express, during his six seasons in the NHL. He earned the nickname "747" as a result of consistently flying between the two cities, which are over 5,000 kilometers apart, although most modern Canucks fans know him as "Crow," a term coined during his tenure as a head coach with the team. Crawford played in 176 games over his NHL career, scoring 19 goals, 31 assists, and 50 points. Crawford resigned as a professional after spending a season with the Milwaukee Admirals in the International Hockey League.

Coaching career

Crawford became a head coach with the Cornwall Royals in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), for whom he had previously competed in the QMJHL. Crawford played in the AHL for two seasons, and with the St. John's Maple Leafs his first season in the AHL, losing to the Adirondack Red Wings in the 1992 Calder Cup finals. Crawford was named AHL's coach of the year after the 2012 season.

Crawford made a quick return to the NHL with the Quebec Nordiques in 1994-95, which was a huge success. As a result, he was named coach of the year by the NHL's Jack Adams Award. He is the youngest NHL coach to win the Jack Adams award in history. Crawford won his first and only Stanley Cup as a coach in 1996, defeating the Florida Panthers in four games in the finals, next season.

Crawford will continue to play well in the Avalanche's first two seasons, but he resigned on May 27, 1998, after an early first-round exit in the 1998 playoffs. Despite being offered a one-year deal extension by general manager Pierre Lacroix, Crawford decided to "go forward and accept a new challenge."

Crawford served as the head coach of the Canadian Olympic hockey team in 1998, where they finished fourth, which was disappointing. Many fans questioned whether his pick of players to play in the semi-final shootout with the Czech Republic, which they lost, choosing not to use future Hall of Famers Wayne Gretzky or Steve Yzerman.

Crawford recalled Mike Keenan as the head coach of the Vancouver Canucks midway through the 1999–99 season after a brief stint as an analyst on Hockey Night in Canada. Crawford gradually developed the Canucks into a strong regular season squad after joining Vancouver in the middle of a rebuilding period for the franchise, playing a fast-paced and offensively emphasized style of play. He led Vancouver back to the playoffs after one-and-a-half seasons. However, the Canucks were defeated in the first round by his former team, Colorado.

Vancouver continued to grow under Crawford in 2002-03, putting up a franchise record (since not exceeded) of 104 points. They earned the Northwest Division crown from the Avalanche in the following season, the first time they had finished first in their division every season since winning the Northeast Division in Quebec during their last season. Despite Vancouver's regular season triumph, the team only managed to win one playoff series during Crawford's tenure. Crawford's position as head coach was ended by management on April 25, 2006, following the Canucks' inability to make the playoffs in the 2005–06 season. Alain Vigneault had him replace him.

Crawford ranked himself as the longest-serving and winning head coach in franchise history, with 529 games and 246 wins. He also became the third-youngest head coach in NHL history to reach 400 wins on February 3, 2006, one of his last games in Vancouver. This record carries only Scotty Bowman and Glen Sather, who are 48 years old and 342 days old.

Crawford was fired by Vancouver almost a month after being fired by Vancouver, a Los Angeles Kings team in a similar situation to the Canucks when Crawford first joined them. Crawford was fired by the Kings on June 10, 2008, although he had one year remaining on his first deal. He was with the Kings for only two years, and felt a change was needed in the coaching role. He missed the playoffs both times during his two seasons with the Kings, as well as the 2004 playoffs as his last playoff appearance as a head coach.

Crawford provided color commentary for Hockey Night in Canada during the 2008-09 season, as well as play-by-play announcer Mark Lee.

Crawford was hired by Dallas Stars general manager Joe Nieuwendyk to replace current head coach Dave Tippett a year after being fired from the Los Angeles Kings. Crawford was fired by the Stars on April 12, 2011, two days after the Stars' loss to the Minnesota Wild in the team's last game of the season, which cost the team the opportunity to capture their eighth playoff spot in the Western Conference. Crawford's tenure in Dallas lasted just two seasons, much as in LA.

Crawford was appointed the new head coach of the ZSC Lions of the Swiss National League A in the summer of 2012. He had signed a two-year deal. In the 2013–14 season, he was a member of the Lions in the NLA championship. He signed a two-year contract extension in March 2014. Crawford was instrumental in persuading Auston Matthews, the coveted draft prospect, to sign and play with the Lions for the 2015–16 season. Crawford was awed by Matthews' appearance in the 2015 U18 Championships and reached out to Matthews' family and agent about a work. Crawford will lead the Lions to victory in the 2016 Swiss Cup. Crawford left ZSC after his deal came to an end in 2016. In addition to winning the 2014 Swiss championship and 2016 Swiss Cup, he also helped the Lions win three NLA regular season championship titles between 2013–14, 2014–15, and 2015–16.

Crawford was hired as assistant coach for the Ottawa Senators in May 2016, following Guy Boucher's hire as assistant coach. Crawford became the interim head coach of the Senators on March 1, 2019, after Guy Boucher's dismissal for the remainder of the 2018–19 season, where he went 7–10–1. In the 2019–20 season, D. J. Smith was fired as the Senators' head coach.

Crawford was named as an assistant coach to Jeremy Colliton on June 4, 2019.

Source

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