Davis Payne (born September 24, 1970) is a Canadian former 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 ...

winger who played in the

National Hockey League 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 ...

for 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 ...

, and is the former head coach of the

St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. Th ...

. He was an assistant coach with the

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

, but was fired on April 11, 2017. He was an associate coach under D. J. Smith with 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 ...

. He currently serves as an assistant coach for the

Winnipeg Jets The Winnipeg Jets are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. The Jets compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. The te ...

Playing career

Payne was drafted 140th overall by the

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

in the

1989 NHL Entry Draft The 1989 NHL entry draft was the 27th NHL entry draft. It was held on June 17 at the Met Center in Bloomington, Minnesota. The Detroit Red Wings' 1989 draft has been noted as exceptionally successful, with 5,955 total NHL games played by the p ...

. He turned pro in 1992 and joined the Greensboro Monarchs of the East Coast Hockey League. He then had spells in the International Hockey League with the Phoenix Roadrunners and 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 ...

with the

Rochester Americans The Rochester Americans (colloquially known as the Amerks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Rochester, New York. They are the American Hockey League affiliate of the National Hockey League's Buffalo Sabres. The team plays its home g ...

before returning to the Monarchs for a second spell. After playing two games with the

Providence Bruins The Providence Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Providence, Rhode Island. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL). They play at the Amica Mutual Pavilion. Hi ...

, Payne signed with the Boston Bruins. While spending most of his time playing in Providence, he managed to play 22 games for Boston over two seasons, scoring an assist while collecting 14 penalty minutes. He moved to the San Antonio Dragons before returning to the ECHL to spend his final two seasons with the Greenville Grrrowl. Payne also played for

Michigan Technological University Michigan Technological University (Michigan Tech, MTU, or simply Tech) is a public research university in Houghton, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1885 as the Michigan Mining School, the first post-secondary institution in the Uppe ...

in his collegiate career.

Coaching career

ECHL: Pee Dee and Alaska

In 2000, Payne became the head coach of the Pee Dee Pride in the ECHL. Payne coached there through the 2003 season, attaining a regular season record of 104–67–17. The team also made the playoffs all three seasons, advancing to the second round each year. After the 2002–2003 season, Payne began coaching the

Alaska Aces (ECHL) The Alaska Aces, known as the Anchorage Aces until 2003, were a professional ice hockey team in Anchorage, Alaska. Home games were played at Sullivan Arena in Anchorage. The Aces won three Kelly Cup championships, with their last championshi ...

. Payne coached in Alaska from 2003 to 2007, leading the team to the playoffs every year, including a

Kelly Cup The Patrick J. Kelly Cup goes to the playoff champion of the ECHL. The Kelly Cup has been awarded to teams since 1997. Prior to 1997, the playoff winner was awarded the Riley Cup, named after former American Hockey League president Jack Riley. Th ...

Championship in 2005–2006 season. He ended his tenure at the Aces with a regular season record of 185–75–28 and a playoff record of 38–21. Payne is also one of two coaches to lead his team to back-to-back 100-point seasons, winning the Brabham Cup in 2005–06 with 113 points and finishing second in 2006–07 with 105 points.

NHL: St. Louis Blues

On January 2, 2010, Payne was named the interim head coach of the St. Louis Blues following the club's dismissal of

Andy Murray Sir Andrew Barron Murray (born 15 May 1987) is a British former professional tennis player and coach. He was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professio ...

. On April 14, 2010, the St. Louis Blues removed the interim tag from Davis' title, and he became the full-time head coach of the team. He was fired on November 6, 2011, after his team got off to a 6–7 start and was replaced by former

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

head coach

Ken Hitchcock Kenneth S. Hitchcock (born December 17, 1951) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey coach. Hitchcock coached the Dallas Stars, Philadelphia Flyers, Columbus Blue Jackets, St. Louis Blues and Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League ...

NHL assistant coaching career

On July 26, 2012,

General Manager Dean Lombardi announced that Davis Payne was hired as assistant coach to Darryl Sutter. On July 5, 2017, 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 ...

announced Payne was hired as associate coach to

Phil Housley Phillip Francis Housley (born March 9, 1964) is an American professional ice hockey coach and former defenseman in the National Hockey League (NHL). He previously served as assistant coach for the Arizona Coyotes of the NHL from 2019 to 2022, a ...

, a position Payne held for two seasons. In June 2019, it was announced that Payne had become an assistant coach for the

. When head coach D. J. Smith was dismissed in December 2023, Payne was also dismissed. On June 17, 2024, the

announced that Payne was hired as an assistant coach to Scott Arniel.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

NHL coaching record

Personal life

Payne is married to Jane, and has two daughters, Allison and Lydia.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Payne, Davis 1970 births Living people Boston Bruins players Buffalo Sabres coaches Canadian ice hockey coaches Canadian ice hockey right wingers Edmonton Oilers draft picks Greensboro Monarchs players Greenville Grrrowl players Ice hockey people from British Columbia Michigan Tech Huskies men's ice hockey players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States New Jersey Rockin' Rollers players Sportspeople from Port Alberni Phoenix Roadrunners (IHL) players Providence Bruins players Rochester Americans players Los Angeles Kings coaches San Antonio Dragons players St. Louis Blues coaches Canadian inline hockey players