Craig Edward Ramsay (born March 17, 1951) is a Canadian professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

coach and former player. He played in the

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

from

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

for the

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Con ...

, notably featuring in the

1975 Stanley Cup Finals The 1975 Stanley Cup Finals was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 1974–75 season, and the culmination of the 1975 Stanley Cup playoffs. It was contested between the Buffalo Sabres and the defending champion Philad ...

with the Sabres. After his playing career, he became a coach with the Sabres and later served as the final 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 NHL sea ...

. Since 2017, he is the head coach of the Slovakia men's national ice hockey team.

Playing career

Ramsay began his hockey career with the

Peterborough Petes The Peterborough Petes are a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League. The team has played at the Peterborough Memorial Centre in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, since 1956, and is the oldest continuously operating team in the league. ...

1968 Events January–February * January 1968, January – The I'm Backing Britain, I'm Backing Britain campaign starts spontaneously. * January 5 – Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Cze ...

. Ramsay spent four seasons in Peterborough where he excelled at the game. He caught the attention of many scouts and in

he was drafted 19th overall by the

in the

1971 NHL Amateur Draft The 1971 NHL amateur draft was the ninth NHL entry draft. It was held on June 10, 1971, at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, Quebec. The last active player in the NHL from this draft class was Larry Robinson, who retired after the 1991� ...

. In 1971–72, Ramsay played a couple of games in the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...

before being called up by the Sabres. He was paired up with his close friend

Don Luce Donald Harold Luce (born October 2, 1948) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre, executive and scout. Luce played 13 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the New York Rangers, Detroit Red Wings, Buffalo Sabres, Los Angel ...

and together, the two formed a formidable offensive-defensive line that shut out many of the

's top lines. In 1974–75, the Sabres drafted young prospect

Danny Gare Daniel Mirl Gare (born May 14, 1954) is a Canadians, Canadian broadcaster, ice hockey coach and former National Hockey League (NHL) player, most notably of the Buffalo Sabres. During a 13-year professional career, Gare also played for the Detroit ...

and he was paired up with Ramsay and Luce. The Sabres that year made it all the way to the

Stanley Cup Finals The Stanley Cup Finals in ice hockey (also known as the Stanley Cup Final among various media, ) is the annual championship series of the National Hockey League (NHL). The winner is awarded the Stanley Cup, North America's oldest professional spo ...

before being defeated by the

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team play ...

. Ramsay had a total tally of 12 points during that run. With the addition of Danny Gare, Ramsay's line became not only a threat defensively but also offensively. Ramsay had eight consecutive 20 goal seasons and was selected to play in the 1976 NHL All-Star Game. His linemate, Gare scored a total of 56 goals in 1979–80. Ramsay played for ten seasons for the Sabres which included playing 776 games consecutively. In 1984–85, Ramsay was awarded the Frank J. Selke Trophy for his defensive capabilities as a forward. Ramsay retired shortly afterwards ending a 14-year career with the Sabres which included 1,070 career NHL games, 252 goals and 420 assists for 672 points. He was inducted into the Buffalo Sabres Hall of Fame in 1986 to honour his playing career with the club. Ramsay was the last player to play a full season without incurring any penalties. He did this in 1973–74, playing 78 games and recording 46 points.

Coaching career

Following Ramsay's retirement, he was named the assistant coach for the

in 1986–87 and served as interim head coach late in the year posting a 4–15–2 record. He also served as the team director of player personnel and assistant general manager with the Sabres. In 1992–93, Ramsay left the Sabres organization and joined the

Florida Panthers The Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Panthers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team initially played it ...

as assistant coach. He stayed there until

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

before joining the

Ottawa Senators The Ottawa Senators (), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. The Senators compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Di ...

also as an assistant coach. In 1997–98, Ramsay joined the

. He was named interim head coach in February 2000 for

Roger Neilson Roger Paul Neilson, (June 16, 1934 – June 21, 2003) was a Canadian professional ice hockey coach, most notably in the NHL, where he served with eight teams. Known as Captain Video because of his technological contributions to the game, he is ...

who was being treated for cancer. Ramsay guided the team with a 16–8–1–0 record while claiming the Atlantic Division with 105 points. He led the team all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals before being eliminated by the eventual

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup () is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, and the International Ic ...

champions,

New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The club w ...

. He was hired permanently by the Flyers after Neilson was dismissed for health reasons at the end of the

1999–2000 NHL season The 1999–2000 NHL season was the 83rd regular season of the National Hockey League. With the addition of the expansion Atlanta Thrashers, 28 teams each played 82 games. This was the first season played in which teams were awarded a point for ...

and before the 2000–01 season before being fired after 28 games as the Flyers went 12–12–4–0 to start the season. He joined the

Tampa Bay Lightning The Tampa Bay Lightning (colloquially known as the Bolts) are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. The Lightning compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the ...

in 2001 as an assistant coach. There, Ramsay won his first Stanley Cup in

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

as the Lightning beat the

Calgary Flames The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. The ...

in seven games. In 2006–07, he joined the

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The t ...

as assistant coach. The Bruins made the playoffs every year and finished first in the Eastern Conference in 2008–09. On June 24, 2010, he was named the head coach for the

. He was dismissed by the team's new ownership group, True North Sports and Entertainment following the Thrasher's relocation to

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

, Manitoba. Ramsay was appointed an assistant coach with the

under head coach Kevin Dineen following his dismissal from Atlanta. He was fired by the Panthers along with Dineen and assistant coach Gord Murphy on November 8, 2013. Ramsay was hired by the Edmonton Oilers as assistant coach on June 10, 2014, to replace Kelly Buchberger. He was let go by the Oilers on June 4, 2015, along with fellow assistant Keith Acton. Ramsay joined the Slovakia men's national ice hockey team as head coach on a two-year deal in 2017. He failed to lead Slovakia to the knockout stage of the

2019 IIHF World Championship The 2019 IIHF World Championship was hosted from 10 to 26 May 2019 by Slovakia. It was the second time that Slovakia has hosted the event as an independent country, as was the case in 2011 IIHF World Championship, 2011. The host cities were Brati ...

held in their own country, but signed a one-year extension later that year. After guiding Slovakia to a second 9th-place finish in as many years at the 2020 World Championship, he extended his tenure to the end of the 2021/22 season. His emphasis on offensive play bore fruit when the team won the bronze medal at the

2022 Winter Olympics The 2022 Winter Olympics, officially called the XXIV Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Beijing 2022 (2022), were an international winter multi-sport event held from 4 to 20 February 2022 in Beijing, China, and surrounding areas wit ...

in Beijing, defeating Sweden 4–0. A biography of Ramsay was published in

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

in November 2022. Titled ''Šťastný chlapec'' (Happy Boy), it was written by Peter Jánošík and Tomáš Kyselica, two members of the

Slovak Ice Hockey Federation The Slovak Ice Hockey Federation (, SZĽH) is the Sport governing body, governing body that oversees ice hockey in Slovakia. Paul Loicq Award recipient Juraj Okoličány served as chairman and vice-president of the federation from 1990 to 2003. ...

public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. Pu ...

team.

Awards and achievements

*Played in

1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...

NHL All-Star Game The National Hockey League All-Star Game () is an exhibition ice hockey tournament that is traditionally held during the regular season of the National Hockey League (NHL), with many of the League's star players playing against each other. The ga ...

* Frank J. Selke Trophy winner in

champion in

(as assistant coach) *Bronze medal at the

as head coach of the Slovak national team

Career statistics

NHL coaching record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ramsay, Craig 1951 births Living people Atlanta Thrashers coaches Boston Bruins coaches Buffalo Sabres coaches Buffalo Sabres draft picks Buffalo Sabres executives Buffalo Sabres players Canadian expatriate sportspeople in Slovakia Canadian ice hockey coaches Canadian ice hockey left wingers Cincinnati Swords players Dallas Stars scouts Edmonton Oilers coaches Florida Panthers coaches Florida Panthers scouts Frank Selke Trophy winners Ice hockey coaches at the 2018 Winter Olympics Ice hockey coaches at the 2022 Winter Olympics Ice hockey people from Toronto Medalists at the 2022 Winter Olympics Montreal Canadiens coaches Olympic bronze medalists for Slovakia Olympic medalists in ice hockey Ottawa Senators coaches People from Weston, Toronto Peterborough Petes (ice hockey) players Philadelphia Flyers coaches Slovakia men's national ice hockey team coaches Stanley Cup champions Tampa Bay Lightning coaches 20th-century Canadian sportsmen