David James "Tiger" Williams (born February 3, 1954) is a Canadian former

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who work (human activity), works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the partic ...

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 ...

player 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 ...

(NHL) from

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...

to 1988. He played in the 1981 NHL All-Star Game and the

1982 Stanley Cup Finals The 1982 Stanley Cup Finals was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 1981–82 season, and the culmination of the 1982 Stanley Cup playoffs. It was played between the Campbell Conference champion Vancouver Canucks in th ...

. He is the NHL's career leader in penalty minutes. He was nicknamed "Tiger" as a 5-year-old by his minor hockey coach in Weyburn, Saskatchewan.

NHL career

Williams was drafted by 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. The Maple Leafs compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the A ...

in the second round (31st overall) of the

1974 NHL amateur draft The 1974 NHL amateur draft was the 12th NHL entry draft. It was held via conference call at the NHL office in Montreal, Quebec. In an effort to prevent the WHA from poaching players, the draft was conducted early and in secret. This failed to ...

. He was also drafted by the

Cincinnati Stingers The Cincinnati Stingers were an ice hockey team based in Cincinnati that played in the World Hockey Association from 1975 to 1979 and in the Central Hockey League during the 1979–80 season. Their home arena was Riverfront Coliseum. They are th ...

of the

World Hockey Association The World Hockey Association () was a professional ice hockey major league that operated in North America from 1972–73 WHA season, 1972 to 1978–79 WHA season, 1979. It was the first major league to compete with the National Hockey League (N ...

(WHA) in the third round (33rd overall) in the 1974 WHA Amateur Draft, but he signed with the Maple Leafs. Williams was best known as an enforcer, but he was also able to score goals. He played on five different NHL teams during his career. He made his NHL debut with the Maple Leafs on January 7,

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

against the

New York Islanders The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (N ...

. He broke many Maple Leaf and NHL records for penalty minutes and led the league twice with 338 minutes in 1976–77 and 298 in 1978–79. During his best season in Toronto, he scored 22 goals in 55 games, then on February 18,

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

he was traded to the

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

for Rick Vaive and Bill Derlago. He scored 8 more goals in 23 games that season with Vancouver for a total of 30 goals. The next season, 1980–81, in Vancouver, Williams scored a career high of 35 goals, the most among the Canucks, and 62 points. He also led the league in penalty minutes with 343, the third highest number in his career. He also earned a place in the mid-season

All-Star game An all-star game is an exhibition game that showcases the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or division, bu ...

, in which he played on a line with

Wayne Gretzky Wayne Douglas Gretzky ( ; born January 26, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for four teams from 1979 to 1999. Nicknamed "the Great One ...

and

Mike Bossy Michael Dean Bossy (January 22, 1957April 15, 2022) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player with the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League. He spent his entire NHL career, which lasted from 1977 to 1987, with the Islanders, and ...

. He played a key role in the team's surprise run to the

. Williams played in Vancouver until the end of the 1983–84 season. After Vancouver, Williams played for the

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

for most of the

1984–85 NHL season The 1984–85 NHL season was the 68th season of the National Hockey League. The Edmonton Oilers won their second straight Stanley Cup by beating the Philadelphia Flyers four games to one in the final series. League business Entry draft The 19 ...

, then was traded to 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. ...

. In Los Angeles, he set his career high of 358 penalty minutes for one season. He was traded to the

Hartford Whalers The Hartford Whalers were a professional ice hockey team based for most of its 25-year 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 1 ...

during the

1987–88 NHL season The 1987–88 NHL season was the 71st season of the National Hockey League. It was an 80-game season with the top four teams in each division advancing to the Stanley Cup playoffs. This season would see the Edmonton Oilers win their fourth Stanl ...

. After 26 games the Whalers placed him on waivers and released him on February 12, 1988. He retired shortly thereafter.

Bryan Trottier Bryan John Trottier (born July 17, 1956) is a Canadian and American former professional ice hockey centre who played 18 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the New York Islanders and Pittsburgh Penguins. He won four Stanley Cups with ...

, who had a long and illustrious career with the

, credits Williams with talking him out of quitting hockey as a youngster.

After the NHL

In 1984 Williams published his autobiography, ''Tiger: A Hockey Story'', co-written by James Lawton. In 1987, he released a cookbook entitled ''Done Like Dinner: Tiger In the Kitchen'', co-written with Kasey Wilson. It included many hockey-inspired recipes, including ''Habs Tourtière'', ''

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 ...

Bars'', and '' Luc Robitaille's Lasagna Omelette''. Williams re-emerged briefly as an

inline hockey Inline hockey or roller hockey is a variant of hockey played on a hard, smooth surface, with players using inline skates to move and ice hockey sticks to shoot a hard, plastic puck into their opponent's goal to score points. The sport is a v ...

player in 1993, appearing in one game and scoring two points for the Vancouver Voodoo of

Roller Hockey International Roller Hockey International was a professional inline hockey league that operated in North America from 1993 to 1999. It was the first major professional league for inline hockey. History League president Dennis Murphy had been involved in ...

. In 1996, Canadian punk rock band The Hanson Brothers spearheaded a campaign to agitate for Williams' induction into the

Hockey Hall of Fame The Hockey Hall of Fame () is a museum and hall of fame located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dedicated to the history of ice hockey, it holds exhibits about players, teams, National Hockey League (NHL) records, memorabilia and National Hockey Le ...

. They included a mail-in postcard in their album ''Sudden Death'' which purchasers could send to the Hall. As a guest on Tony Gallagher's phone-in radio program, Williams claimed that Canucks manager Pat Quinn attempted to have his jersey number 22 sweater retired by the team. However, rules at the time required the Canucks to ask permission from the previous player who wore it, Bob Manno. Manno refused, even, according to Williams, when the team offered him money to grant permission. Number 22 was later worn by (and retired in honour of) Canucks alternate captain and

Art Ross Arthur Howey Ross (January 13, 1885 – August 5, 1964) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player and corporate officer, executive from 1905 until 1954. Regarded as one of the best defenders of his era by his peers, he was one of the first t ...

trophy winner,

Daniel Sedin Daniel Hans Sedin (born 26 September 1980) is a Swedish ice hockey executive and former winger who played his entire 17-season National Hockey League (NHL) career with the Vancouver Canucks from 2000 to 2018. Born and raised in Örnsköldsvik ...

. At the 2002 NHL All-Star Game in Los Angeles, the NHL held the NHL All-Star Celebrity Challenge. The home team all wore number 22 in honour of Williams. On February 9, 2018, Williams was charged with

sexual assault Sexual assault is an act of sexual abuse in which one intentionally Physical intimacy, sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or Coercion, coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their w ...

while on a military trip to Latvia. These charges were withdrawn by Crown attorney Meaghan Cunningham after he issued an apology. Williams was arrested and charged with one count of uttering a threat to cause death and one count of assault stemming from an April 10, 2023 incident in Beaver Flat, Saskatchewan. Police said the other man involved did not sustain injuries or require medical attention. On Sept 6, 2023, the charges were dropped. He appeared as himself in the first episode of the Canadian

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

'' Rent-a-Goalie''.

Records

records: **Most NHL career regular season penalty minutes: 3,971 **Most NHL penalty minutes, career, including playoffs: 4,426 *

records: **Most playoff penalty minutes: 240 **Most penalty minutes in one season by a left wing: 351 in

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...

records: **Most playoff penalty minutes: 181 **Most penalty minutes in one playoff year: 116 in

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...

**Most penalty minutes in one playoff series: 51 vs.

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

in 1982

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

''Bold italics'' indicate NHL record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Tiger 1954 births Living people Adirondack Red Wings players Canadian ice hockey left wingers Canadian people of British descent Cincinnati Stingers draft picks Detroit Red Wings players Hartford Whalers players 20th-century Canadian sportsmen Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Los Angeles Kings players National Hockey League All-Stars Oklahoma City Blazers (1965–1977) players Ice hockey people from Weyburn Swift Current Broncos players Toronto Maple Leafs draft picks Toronto Maple Leafs players Vancouver Canucks players Vancouver VooDoo players Vernon Vikings players Canadian inline hockey players