Marc Crawford facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Marc Crawford |
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Crawford in 2006
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| Born | February 13, 1961 Belleville, Ontario, Canada |
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| Height | 5 ft 11 in (180 cm) | ||
| Weight | 185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb) | ||
| Played for | Vancouver Canucks | ||
| Coached for | Quebec Nordiques Colorado Avalanche Vancouver Canucks Los Angeles Kings Dallas Stars Ottawa Senators ZSC Lions |
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| NHL Draft | 70th overall, 1980 Vancouver Canucks |
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| Playing career | 1981–1989 | ||
| Coaching career | 1989–present | ||
Marc Joseph John Crawford, born on February 13, 1961, is a Canadian who used to play and coach ice hockey. He played as a forward for the Vancouver Canucks in the National Hockey League (NHL). Crawford won the Stanley Cup in 1996 as head coach of the Colorado Avalanche. He also coached other NHL teams like the Quebec Nordiques, Vancouver Canucks, Los Angeles Kings, Dallas Stars, and Ottawa Senators. Marc Crawford also coached in Switzerland for the ZSC Lions. He was even the head coach for Team Canada at the 1998 Winter Olympics. Crawford has won awards for being a great coach in both the American Hockey League (AHL) and the NHL. He is known for his many wins as a coach in the NHL.
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Early Life and Family
Marc Crawford was born in Belleville, Ontario, Canada. His father, Floyd Crawford, was also a professional hockey player. Marc has two brothers, Bob Crawford and Lou Crawford, who also played in the National Hockey League (NHL). Hockey was a big part of his family!
Playing Hockey: Marc's Journey
Marc Crawford played three seasons of junior hockey for the Cornwall Royals. This team was part of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). During his time there, the Royals won the Memorial Cup two years in a row. Marc was even named the team's captain.
Joining the NHL
The Vancouver Canucks picked Marc in the 1980 NHL Entry Draft. He was the 70th player chosen overall. He joined the Canucks for the 1981–82 season. As a new player, Marc helped the Canucks reach the Stanley Cup finals in 1982. However, they lost to the New York Islanders.
Life as a Player
For six seasons in the NHL, Marc often traveled between Vancouver and their minor league team, the Fredericton Express. These cities are very far apart! Because of all the flying, he was nicknamed "747" like the airplane. Later, fans called him "Crow" when he became a coach. In total, Marc scored 19 goals and had 31 assists in 176 NHL games, all with Vancouver. After playing one season in another league, he stopped playing professionally.
Coaching Career: From Player to Leader
Starting as a Coach
Marc Crawford began his coaching career as an assistant player-coach for the Fredericton Express in 1987. He then became an assistant coach for the Milwaukee Admirals. His first head coaching job was with the Cornwall Royals in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), where he used to play.
After two seasons with Cornwall, Marc moved to the American Hockey League (AHL). In his first year with the St. John's Maple Leafs, he led them to the 1992 Calder Cup finals. The next season, he won the Louis A. R. Pieri Memorial Award as the AHL's coach of the year.
NHL Success and the Stanley Cup
In the 1994–95 season, Crawford became a head coach in the NHL for the Quebec Nordiques. The Nordiques played much better with him as coach. He won the NHL's Jack Adams Award as coach of the year. He was the youngest and first rookie coach to win this award.
The next season, the Nordiques team moved to Colorado and became the Colorado Avalanche. In 1996, Crawford led the Avalanche to win the Stanley Cup! They beat the Florida Panthers in the finals. He resigned from the Avalanche in 1998.
Before leaving the Avalanche, Crawford also coached the Canadian Olympic hockey team at the 1998 Winter Olympics. They finished in fourth place.
Coaching the Vancouver Canucks
After working as a TV commentator for a short time, Crawford became the head coach of the Vancouver Canucks in the middle of the 1998–99 season. The Canucks were rebuilding their team at this time. Crawford helped them become a strong team again, playing a fast and offensive style of hockey.
He led Vancouver back to the playoffs. In the 2002–03 season, the Canucks had a record-breaking 104 points. The next season, they won their division title. Despite their regular season success, the Canucks only won one playoff series during Crawford's time as coach. He was let go by the Canucks in April 2006.
Marc Crawford was the longest-serving and winningest head coach in Canucks history at that time. He coached 529 games and had 246 wins. He also became one of the youngest NHL coaches to reach 400 wins.
Later Coaching Roles
About a month after leaving Vancouver, Crawford was hired by the Los Angeles Kings. He coached the Kings for two seasons but they did not make the playoffs. He was let go in 2008.
He then worked as a TV commentator again for a season. In 2009, he was hired by the Dallas Stars. He coached the Stars for two seasons. They missed the playoffs in 2011, and Crawford was fired.
In 2012, Crawford became the coach of the ZSC Lions in Switzerland. He signed a two-year contract. He led the Lions to win the Swiss championship in the 2013–14 season. He also helped convince future NHL star Auston Matthews to play for the Lions in 2015. Crawford guided the Lions to win the 2016 Swiss Cup. He left the ZSC Lions in 2016 after his contract ended.
In May 2016, Crawford joined the Ottawa Senators as an associate coach. In March 2019, he became the interim head coach for the rest of the 2018–19 season.
In June 2019, the Chicago Blackhawks hired Crawford as an assistant coach. He stayed with the Blackhawks until May 2022.
In December 2022, Crawford returned to Switzerland to coach the ZSC Lions again. In the 2023–24 season, he won the Swiss championship for a second time with the Lions. On December 30, 2024, Crawford announced he was leaving the ZSC Lions, citing personal health reasons.
Awards and Achievements
- Louis A. R. Pieri Memorial Award (AHL coach of the year) – 1993
- Jack Adams Award (NHL coach of the year) – 1995
- Stanley Cup champion (Colorado Avalanche) – 1996
- Canada Olympic head coach – 1998
Career Statistics
Regular Season and Playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1978–79 | Cornwall Royals | QMJHL | 70 | 28 | 41 | 69 | 206 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 36 | ||
| 1979–80 | Cornwall Royals | QMJHL | 54 | 27 | 36 | 63 | 127 | 18 | 8 | 20 | 28 | 48 | ||
| 1980–81 | Cornwall Royals | QMJHL | 63 | 42 | 58 | 100 | 242 | 19 | 20 | 15 | 35 | 27 | ||
| 1981–82 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 40 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 29 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 11 | ||
| 1981–82 | Dallas Black Hawks | CHL | 34 | 13 | 21 | 34 | 71 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1982–83 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 41 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 28 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 25 | ||
| 1982–83 | Fredericton Express | AHL | 30 | 15 | 9 | 24 | 59 | 9 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 10 | ||
| 1983–84 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 19 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 9 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1983–84 | Fredericton Express | AHL | 56 | 9 | 22 | 31 | 96 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 23 | ||
| 1984–85 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1984–85 | Fredericton Express | AHL | 65 | 12 | 29 | 41 | 173 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 10 | ||
| 1985–86 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 54 | 11 | 14 | 25 | 92 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 | ||
| 1985–86 | Fredericton Express | AHL | 26 | 10 | 14 | 24 | 55 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1986–87 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 21 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 67 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1986–87 | Fredericton Express | AHL | 25 | 8 | 11 | 19 | 21 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1987–88 | Fredericton Express | AHL | 43 | 5 | 13 | 18 | 90 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | ||
| 1988–89 | Milwaukee Admirals | IHL | 53 | 23 | 30 | 53 | 166 | 11 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 26 | ||
| AHL totals | 245 | 59 | 98 | 157 | 494 | 23 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 57 | ||||
| NHL totals | 176 | 19 | 31 | 50 | 229 | 20 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 44 | ||||
International Play
| Year | Team | Event | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | Canada | WJC | 5 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 4 | |
| Junior totals | 5 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 4 | |||
Head Coaching Record
| Team | Year | Regular season | Postseason | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | L | T | OTL | Pts | Finish | W | L | Win % | Result | |||
| QUE | 1994–95 | 48 | 30 | 13 | 5 | — | 65 | 1st in Northeast | 2 | 4 | .375 | Lost in conference quarterfinals (NYR) | |
| COL | 1995–96 | 82 | 47 | 25 | 10 | — | 104 | 1st in Pacific | 16 | 6 | .727 | Won Stanley Cup (FLA) | |
| COL | 1996–97 | 82 | 49 | 24 | 9 | — | 107 | 1st in Pacific | 10 | 7 | .588 | Lost in conference finals (DET) | |
| COL | 1997–98 | 82 | 39 | 26 | 17 | — | 95 | 1st in Pacific | 3 | 4 | .429 | Lost in conference quarterfinals (EDM) | |
| QUE/COL total | 294 | 165 | 88 | 41 | — | 31 | 21 | .596 | 4 playoff appearances 1 Stanley Cup |
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| VAN | 1998–99 | 37 | 8 | 23 | 6 | — | 22 | 4th in Northwest | — | — | — | Missed playoffs | |
| VAN | 1999–2000 | 82 | 30 | 29 | 15 | 8 | 83 | 4th in Northwest | — | — | — | Missed playoffs | |
| VAN | 2000–01 | 82 | 36 | 28 | 11 | 7 | 90 | 4th in Northwest | 0 | 4 | .000 | Lost in conference quarterfinals (COL) | |
| VAN | 2001–02 | 82 | 42 | 30 | 7 | 3 | 94 | 2nd in Northwest | 2 | 4 | .333 | Lost in conference quarterfinals (DET) | |
| VAN | 2002–03 | 82 | 45 | 23 | 13 | 1 | 104 | 2nd in Northwest | 7 | 7 | .500 | Lost in conference semifinals (MIN) | |
| VAN | 2003–04 | 82 | 43 | 24 | 10 | 5 | 101 | 1st in Northwest | 3 | 4 | .429 | Lost in conference quarterfinals (CGY) | |
| VAN | 2005–06 | 82 | 42 | 32 | — | 8 | 92 | 4th in Northwest | — | — | — | Missed playoffs | |
| VAN total | 529 | 246 | 189 | 62 | 32 | 12 | 19 | .387 | 4 playoff appearances | ||||
| LAK | 2006–07 | 82 | 27 | 41 | — | 14 | 68 | 4th in Pacific | — | — | — | Missed playoffs | |
| LAK | 2007–08 | 82 | 32 | 43 | — | 7 | 71 | 5th in Pacific | — | — | — | Missed playoffs | |
| LAK total | 164 | 59 | 84 | — | 21 | — | — | — | |||||
| DAL | 2009–10 | 82 | 37 | 31 | — | 14 | 88 | 5th in Pacific | — | — | — | Missed playoffs | |
| DAL | 2010–11 | 82 | 42 | 29 | — | 11 | 95 | 5th in Pacific | — | — | — | Missed playoffs | |
| DAL total | 164 | 79 | 60 | — | 25 | — | — | — | |||||
| OTT | 2018–19 | 18 | 7 | 10 | — | 1 | 15 | 8th in Atlantic | — | — | — | Missed playoffs | |
| OTT total | 18 | 7 | 10 | — | 1 | — | — | — | |||||
| Total | 1,169 | 556 | 431 | 103 | 79 | 43 | 40 | .518 | 8 playoff appearances 1 Stanley Cup |
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Lawsuit and Resolution
In 2004, when Crawford coached Vancouver, a player from the Colorado team, Steve Moore, was injured during a game. This led to a lawsuit against Crawford, another player, and the Canucks team. The lawsuit claimed that Crawford had encouraged his players to seek revenge, which contributed to Moore's injury. The Canucks team was fined by the NHL for not preventing an atmosphere that might have led to the incident. The lawsuit was settled confidentially in August 2014, meaning the details were not made public.
