Paul Gordon Baxter (born October 28, 1955) is a Canadian former

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) 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. In ice hockey, two o ...

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the latter a reference t ...

who played in the

World Hockey Association The World Hockey Association (french: Association mondiale de hockey) was a professional ice hockey major league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major league to compete with the National Hockey League (NHL) ...

from 1974 to 1979, 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 ...

from 1979 to 1987. He featured in the

1986 Stanley Cup Finals The 1986 Stanley Cup Finals was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 1985–86 season, and the culmination of the 1986 Stanley Cup playoffs. It was contested between the Campbell Conference champion Calgary Flames an ...

with 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 in the Western Conference, and are the third major professional ice hockey tea ...

. He then worked as an

assistant coach A sports coach is a person coaching in sport, involved in the direction, instruction and training of a sports team or athlete. History The original sense of the word ''coach'' is that of a horse-drawn carriage, deriving ultimately from the Hung ...

for eleven seasons.

Playing career

Before his major league career, Baxter played junior ice hockey for

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749 ...

in the

Western Canada Hockey League The Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL), founded in 1921, was a major professional ice hockey league originally based in the prairies of Canada. It was renamed the Western Hockey League (WHL) in 1925 and disbanded in 1926. The WCHL's Victoria ...

(WCHL). The

Cleveland Crusaders The Cleveland Crusaders were a professional ice hockey team from Cleveland. They played in the World Hockey Association from 1972 to 1976. Their home ice was the Cleveland Arena from 1972 to 1974, and the Richfield Coliseum from 1974 to 1976. ...

of the

(WHA) drafted the Winnipeg-born Baxter in the first round as the 11th overall pick of the 1974 WHA Amateur Draft, and signed him that July. The following year he was drafted by the

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference, and have play ...

of the

(NHL) in the third round as the 49th overall pick of the

1975 NHL Amateur Draft The 1975 NHL Amateur Draft was the 13th NHL Entry Draft. It was held at the NHL office in Montreal, Quebec. The two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Philadelphia Flyers made the most noise at the draft, trading Bill Clement, Don McLean, and th ...

. Baxter joined the

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 ...

of the WHA in 1976, and when the Nordiques joined the NHL, Baxter was made a priority selection by Quebec, preventing Pittsburgh from reclaiming him. He played a year in the NHL with the Nordiques, and later spent three years with the Penguins and another four with the

. He retired from the NHL after 470 games, recording a total of 48 goals, 121 assists, 169 points, and 1564 penalty minutes. Baxter is the all-time leader in penalty minutes for the WHA with 962, and is also the single-season leader for the Pittsburgh Penguins with 409 during the 1981–82 season.

Coaching career

Baxter continued his career as a coach, joining the

Salt Lake Golden Eagles The Salt Lake Golden Eagles were a minor professional hockey team based in Salt Lake City from 1969 to 1994. History They played in the Western Hockey League from 1969 to 1974, the Central Hockey League from 1974 to 1984 and the International ...

of the International Hockey League (IHL) to 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 ...

title in 1987-88. He went on to become the assistant coach of multiple NHL clubs, including the

when they won the

1989 Stanley Cup File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...

. Baxter coached the

Wenatchee Wild The Wenatchee Wild is a Junior A ice hockey team in the British Columbia Hockey League. The team plays its home games at the 4,300-seat Town Toyota Center in Wenatchee, Washington. Initially, the team was part of the North American Hockey Lea ...

of the

North American Hockey League The North American Hockey League (NAHL) is one of the top junior hockey leagues in the United States and is in its 48th season of operation in 2022–23. It is the only Tier II junior league sanctioned by USA Hockey, and acts as an alternat ...

(NAHL) from 2008 until November 2010, leading the team to two division titles and a berth in the Robertson Cup in 2009. He then went to the

Wichita Falls Wildcats The Wichita Falls Wildcats were a Tier II junior ice hockey team in the North American Hockey League's South Division. The Wildcats played out of the 7,380-seat Kay Yeager Coliseum in Wichita Falls, Texas. After failing to find a buyer, the W ...

of the NAHL as head coach, general manager, and part owner in May 2011. He left his operational positions with the Wildcats in October 2016 while remaining part owner. The team ceased operations at the end of the season.

Coaching history

*1987–1989:

(IHL) head coach *1989–1992:

(NHL) assistant coach *1992–1995:

Chicago Blackhawks The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division i ...

(NHL) assistant coach *1995–1997:

Saint John Flames The Saint John Flames were a Canadian ice hockey team in the American Hockey League from 1993 to 2003 in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada. The Calgary Flames bought and relocated the Utica Devils, to be their AHL affiliate. History The Saint J ...

(AHL) head coach *1997–2000:

San Jose Sharks The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference, and are owned by San Jose Sports & Entertain ...

(NHL) assistant coach *2001–2003:

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

(NHL) assistant coach *2006-2008:

HIFK HIFK, the Idrottsföreningen Kamraterna, Helsingfors (IFK, Helsingfors) rf (officially abbreviated IFK Helsingfors, colloquially often Helsingfors IFK or Helsingin IFK ) is a multi-sport association based in Helsinki, Finland. Formed in 1897 on ...

SM-liiga (Finland) head coach *2008-2010:

(NAHL) head coach *2011–2014:

(NAHL) head coach

Personal life

Baxter and his wife currently live in Tennessee. Baxter has four children.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Awards and achievements

*Honoured Member of the

Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame The Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame and Museum is a hall of fame and museum for ice hockey in Manitoba, located on the main level of the Canada Life Centre in downtown Winnipeg. It was established in 1985, when the first honoured members were named ...

References

External links

*
Profile at hockeydraftcentral.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baxter, Paul 1955 births Living people Calgary Flames coaches Calgary Flames players Canadian ice hockey coaches Canadian ice hockey defencemen Cape Codders players Chicago Blackhawks coaches Cleveland Crusaders draft picks Cleveland Crusaders players Florida Panthers coaches Maine Nordiques players Pittsburgh Penguins draft picks Pittsburgh Penguins players Quebec Nordiques (WHA) players Quebec Nordiques players San Jose Sharks coaches Ice hockey people from Winnipeg Syracuse Blazers players Winnipeg Clubs players Winnipeg Monarchs players World Hockey Association first round draft picks