John Murray Anderson (born March 28, 1957) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

former

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice ...

right winger. He was the head coach of the

Chicago Wolves The Chicago Wolves are a professional ice hockey team playing in the American Hockey League and are the top minor-league affiliate of the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League. The Wolves play home games at the Allstate Arena in the C ...

of the International Hockey League (IHL) and

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the lea ...

(AHL) from 1997 to 2008 and again from 2013 to 2016. In the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey sports league, league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranke ...

(NHL), he is a former head coach of the

Atlanta Thrashers The Atlanta Thrashers were a professional ice hockey team based in Atlanta. Atlanta was granted a franchise in the National Hockey League (NHL) on June 25, 1997, and became the League's 28th franchise when it began play in the 1999–2000 seaso ...

and assistant coach of the

Phoenix Coyotes The Arizona Coyotes are a professional ice hockey team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Coyotes compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and currently play at the Mull ...

and

Minnesota Wild The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Wild competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and play their home games at the Xcel Ener ...

. He played 12 seasons in the NHL for the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

Quebec Nordiques The Quebec Nordiques (french: Nordiques de Québec, pronounced in Quebec French, in Canadian English; translated "Quebec City Northmen" or "Northerners") were a professional ice hockey team based in Quebec City. The Nordiques played in the W ...

, and

Hartford Whalers The Hartford Whalers were a professional ice hockey team based for most of its existence in Hartford, Connecticut. The club played in the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1972 until 1979, and in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1979 to ...

Playing career

As a youth, Anderson played in the 1969

Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament The Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament (french: Tournoi international de hockey pee-wee de Québec) is an annual minor ice hockey event in Quebec City. The tournament was founded in 1960 to coincide with the Quebec Winter Carnival ...

with a

minor ice hockey Minor hockey is an umbrella term for amateur ice hockey which is played below the junior age level. Players are classified by age, with each age group playing in its own league. The rules, especially as it relates to body contact, vary from ...

team from

Wexford, Toronto Wexford is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the eastern part of the city, on the western end of the district of Scarborough, spanning Lawrence Avenue East between Victoria Park Avenue and Birchmount Road. There ar ...

. Anderson was the captain of his junior team, the

Toronto Marlboros The Toronto Marlborough Athletic Club, commonly known as the Toronto Marlboros, was founded in 1903. It operated junior ice hockey and senior ice hockey teams in the Ontario Hockey Association and later the Ontario Hockey League. The Marlboros ...

. Anderson was drafted in the first round, 11th overall by the

in the 1977 NHL Entry Draft. He played 814 career NHL games, scoring 282 goals and 349 assists for 631 points from 1977–78 until 1988–89. Anderson was beginning to establish himself during his third season in Toronto when the club made a four-player trade with the

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference, and play their home games at Rogers Arena. Bruce ...

that brought winger Rick Vaive and centre

Bill Derlago William Anthony Derlago (born August 25, 1958) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played in the National Hockey League from 1978 to 1987 with the Vancouver Canucks, Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins, Winnipeg Jets and Queb ...

to Toronto. Anderson was paired with the two new acquisitions to form a high scoring line for the Maple Leafs. His best statistical season was the 1982–83 season, when he set career highs with 49 assists and 80 points. Following the 1984–85 season, the fourth year in a row that Anderson had scored 30-or-more goals for the Maple Leafs, he was traded to the

for defensemen

Brad Maxwell Bradley Robert Maxwell (born July 8, 1957) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player renowned as a playmaking defenceman. He featured in the 1981 Stanley Cup Finals with the Minnesota North Stars. After having won the Memorial Cup in 19 ...

. Anderson continued to be a valued goal scorer with Quebec and had scored 21 goals when he was traded to the Hartford Whalers. Anderson then ended the 1985–86 season in Hartford with 25 points in 14 games following the trade, finishing the season with 29 goals and 74 points before scoring another 13 points in ten playoff games. The following year, his first full year with Hartford, Whalers sniper

Sylvain Turgeon Joseph Sylvain Dorilla Turgeon (born January 17, 1965) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played 669 games in the National Hockey League (NHL). Playing career Turgeon was drafted by the Hartford Whalers in the 1983 NHL En ...

battled injuries and Anderson filled in as the top left wing on the team. He hit the 30-goal plateau for the fifth and final time of his career finishing with 31 goals and 75 points, good for the third highest point total on the team. Anderson scored the winning goal against the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its ho ...

on April 4, 1987, to give the Hartford Whalers their only division championship. He played two more years in Hartford before playing the last five seasons of his career in the minor leagues, primarily the International Hockey League, where he was a solid goal scorer.

Post-playing career

Anderson coached the 1995–96

Winston-Salem Mammoths The Winston-Salem Mammoths were an American ice hockey team in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. They played in the Southern Hockey League for the 1995-96 season. The Mammoths lost in the finals to the Huntsville Channel Cats in the only season of ...

to the Southern Hockey League finals during the league's only season where they lost to the Huntsville Channel Cats. In 1996–97, Anderson coached the

Quad City Mallards The Quad City Mallards were a minor league professional ice hockey team based in the Quad Cities area of Illinois and Iowa that competed in the International Hockey League, Central Hockey League and ECHL. They were named after the Mallards team ...

to their first Colonial Hockey League championship in the franchise's second season. In 1997, Anderson was hired as the head coach of the

in the International Hockey League (IHL) and later in the

(AHL). He became the Wolves' all-time coaching leader in wins with 371 and for postseason victories with 80. Anderson led the Wolves in winning the

Turner Cup The Turner Cup was the championship trophy of the International Hockey League from 1945 to 2001 and the renamed United Hockey League from 2007 to 2010. The Cup was named for Joe Turner, a goaltender from Windsor, Ontario. Turner became professi ...

and

Calder Cup The Calder Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the playoff champions of the American Hockey League. It was first presented in 1937 to the Syracuse Stars. The cup is made of sterling silver mounted on a base of Brazilian mahogany. In its curr ...

four times in his initial eleven seasons at the team's helm. His team was crowned league champions in 1998, 2000 in the IHL and 2002 and 2008 in the AHL. Anderson coached the American gold medal-winning team in the 2007 Jewish World Cup hockey tournament in Israel. On June 20, 2008, Anderson was named as the fourth head coach of the

. On October 10, 2008, Anderson won his first game as an NHL coach 7–4 against his good friend

Bruce Boudreau Bruce Allan Boudreau (born January 9, 1955) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach currently serving as head coach of the Vancouver Canucks. He previously served as head coach of the Washington Capitals, Anaheim Ducks, and Minnesota Wild. ...

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, a ...

. On April 14, 2010, Anderson was released as head coach of the Thrashers after two seasons. On July 12, 2011, Anderson became an assistant coach for the

. On July 10, 2013, Anderson was rehired as the head coach of the Chicago Wolves. After leaving the Wolves in 2016, he joined the

as an assistant head coach until 2018. In February 2022, he agreed to join the

Bakersfield Condors The Bakersfield Condors are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) based in Bakersfield, California. The team is owned by and affiliated with the National Hockey League's Edmonton Oilers. The Condors play their hom ...

of the AHL as an assistant coach for the remainder of the 2021–22 season. For his achievements with coaching the Wolves, he was named to the AHL Hall of Fame in 2019. Anderson also helped establish John Anderson's, a diner best known for its "Banquet Burger", as well as its $4 breakfast special. The original restaurant is located at Victoria Park Ave. and Van Horne Ave. in Toronto, Ontario.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

NHL coaching statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, John 1957 births Arizona Coyotes coaches Atlanta Thrashers coaches Binghamton Whalers players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Canadian ice hockey coaches Canadian ice hockey right wingers Canadian people of Scottish descent Chicago Wolves coaches ECH Chur players Dallas Black Hawks players Fort Wayne Komets players Hartford Whalers players HC Milano players Ice hockey people from Toronto Living people Minnesota Wild coaches National Hockey League first-round draft picks New Haven Nighthawks players Quebec Nordiques (WHA) draft picks Quebec Nordiques players San Diego Gulls (IHL) players Toronto Maple Leafs draft picks Toronto Maple Leafs players Toronto Marlboros players