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Paul Coffey
Hockey Hall of Fame, 2004
Paul Coffey in 2007.jpg
Coffey in 2007
Born (1961-06-01) June 1, 1961 (age 64)
Weston, Ontario, Canada
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 200 lb (91 kg; 14 st 4 lb)
Position Defence
Shot Left
Played for Edmonton Oilers
Pittsburgh Penguins
Los Angeles Kings
Detroit Red Wings
Hartford Whalers
Philadelphia Flyers
Chicago Blackhawks
Carolina Hurricanes
Boston Bruins
National team Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Canada
NHL Draft 6th overall, 1980
Edmonton Oilers
Playing career 1980–2001

Paul Patrick Coffey (born June 1, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played for nine teams over 21 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL). Known for his speed and scoring prowess, Coffey ranks second all-time among NHL defencemen in goals, assists, and points, behind only Ray Bourque. He won the James Norris Memorial Trophy as the NHL's best defenceman three times and was voted to eight end-of-season All-Star teams (four first-team and four second-team). He holds the record for the most goals by a defenceman in one season, 48 in 1985–86, and is the only defenceman to have scored 40 goals more than once, also doing it in 1983–84. He is also one of only two defencemen to score 100 points in a season more than one time, as he did it five times; Bobby Orr did it six times. Coffey holds or shares 33 NHL records in the regular season and playoffs.

During his NHL career, he played for the Edmonton Oilers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Los Angeles Kings, Detroit Red Wings, Hartford Whalers, Philadelphia Flyers, Carolina Hurricanes, Chicago Blackhawks, and Boston Bruins. He is a four-time Stanley Cup champion, winning three times with Edmonton and a fourth with Pittsburgh.

Coffey was born in Weston, Ontario, and grew up in Malton, Ontario. The city of Mississauga renamed Malton Arena to Paul Coffey Arena and Wildwood Park to Paul Coffey Park in a ceremony on September 23, 2016. In 2017, Coffey was named one of the 100 Greatest NHL Players in history.

Playing career

In his youth, Coffey played in the 1974 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a minor ice hockey team from Mississauga.

Coffey was drafted sixth overall by the Edmonton Oilers in the 1980 NHL entry draft. He blossomed in the 1981–82 season, scoring 89 points and was named a second-team NHL All-Star. In the Oilers' first Stanley Cup-winning season, 1983–84, he became only the second defenceman in NHL history to score 40 goals in a season and added 86 assists to finish second in point scoring. He won his first James Norris Memorial Trophy in 1984–85 while posting 37 goals and 121 points. On December 26, 1984, in a game against the Calgary Flames, Coffey became the last defenceman in the 20th century to score four goals in one game. Coffey went on to post a historic post-season in the 1985 Playoffs, setting records for most goals (12), assists (25), and points (37) in one playoff year by a defenceman on the way to another Stanley Cup. He won the Norris Trophy again in 1985–86, while breaking Bobby Orr's record for goals in a season by a defenceman, scoring 48. His 138 points that year was second only to Orr (139 in 1970–71) among defencemen.

Coffey helped Edmonton to a third Cup in 1986–87, but the deciding Game 7 of that year's Stanley Cup Finals against the Philadelphia Flyers would be his last in an Oiler uniform. Coffey had two years remaining on a contract that paid him a reported $320,000 a year, but held out at the beginning of the 1987–88 season, wanting the contract renegotiated to pay him $800,000 a year. Team owner Peter Pocklington refused to do so, and offended Coffey by suggesting he lacked courage when playing; Coffey vowed never to put on an Edmonton uniform again and demanded a trade. On November 24, 1987, the Oilers traded Coffey, along with Dave Hunter and Wayne Van Dorp, to the Pittsburgh Penguins for Craig Simpson, Dave Hannan, Moe Mantha, and Chris Joseph.

As the Penguins' Rod Buskas was already wearing uniform number 7, Coffey agreed to change his uniform number from 7 to 77. He would wear it for most of the rest of his career until his final season in Boston, where he wore 74. Coffey played four and a half seasons with Pittsburgh. On December 22, 1990, Coffey became the second defenceman to record 1,000 points, doing so in a record-breaking 770 games. Coffey won a fourth Stanley Cup in 1990–91 with Pittsburgh. During the 1992 season, Coffey passed Denis Potvin to become the career leader in goals, assists, and points by a defenceman. He was then traded to the Los Angeles Kings where he was reunited with former Oilers teammates Wayne Gretzky and Jari Kurri for parts of two seasons.

After his brief stint with Los Angeles, he was traded to the Detroit Red Wings where he played for three and a half seasons. In the lock-out shortened 1994–95 NHL season, Coffey led his team in scoring for the only time in his entire career and was awarded the Norris Trophy for the third time. In the 1995 playoffs, he led all defencemen in scoring while helping Detroit to the Stanley Cup Finals. However, the favoured Red Wings were swept by the New Jersey Devils in four games. Coffey would then help the Red Wings to an astounding 62 regular season wins the following year, though the team would ultimately get eliminated by the Colorado Avalanche in the Western Conference Finals. During Game 1 of that series, Coffey scored two goals but also accidentally scored on his own net after Colorado's Stephane Yelle attempted to pass the puck into the slot but it instead ended up on Coffey's stick.

After a falling-out with Red Wings coach Scotty Bowman, Coffey was traded to the Hartford Whalers at the start of the 1996–97 season as part of a package to acquire Brendan Shanahan – a move that Coffey was unhappy with.

Coffey only played 20 games for the Whalers before being traded to the Flyers. He played for Philadelphia for a season and a half, reaching the 1997 Stanley Cup Finals, his seventh, against his former team, Detroit. Coffey's Final series was not successful, being on the ice for six of Detroit's goals and was in the penalty box for a seventh when the Flyers conceded a power-play goal, ending up with no points and being minus-2 and minus-3 in the first two games, and a hit from Darren McCarty in game two left Coffey sidelined for the rest of the series with a concussion.

Paul Coffey
Coffey in 2009.
Paul Coffey and Larry Murphy Mellon Arena Final Game 2010-04-08
Coffey (right) and Larry Murphy are introduced during a pregame ceremony honouring the final regular season game at Mellon Arena, April 8, 2010.

After a very brief stint (10 games) with the Chicago Blackhawks, he was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes, where he played one and a half seasons. He played his final season in 2000–01 with the Boston Bruins.

During Coffey's last NHL season, Ray Bourque passed his career goal, assist, and point records, and Bourque and Coffey both retired after the 2000–01 season. Coffey finished with 396 goals, 1135 assists, and 1531 points, and remains second only to Bourque in all-time career scoring by a defenceman. Coffey, however, averaged more points per game than did Bourque, having played 203 fewer games but lagging by only 48 points.

Paul Coffey was voted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2004, his first year of eligibility, and the Edmonton Oilers retired his uniform number 7 in 2005.

Mario Lemieux and Paul Coffey 2010 Alumni Game 2010-12-31
Coffey skated with former Pittsburgh Penguins teammate Mario Lemieux in the NHL Legends Game, December 31, 2010.

Post-playing career

While coaching a game for the Toronto Marlboros midget 'AAA' team in February 2014, Coffey was assessed a gross misconduct penalty for a "discriminatory slur". The Greater Toronto Hockey League investigated the misconduct penalty and Coffey was handed a three-game suspension. Coffey is a co-owner of the OJHL's Pickering Panthers.

On November 12, 2023, Coffey returned to the Edmonton Oilers as the assistant coach.

Personal life

Coffey was the owner of a car dealership in Bolton, Ontario. Coffey and his wife have three children.

Awards

He is one of the 2016 inductees into Legends Row: Mississauga Walk of Fame.

NHL records

  • Most goals by a defenceman regular season and playoffs combined – 455

Regular season

  • Most goals in one season by a defenceman – 48 in 1985–86
  • Most shorthanded goals in one season by a defenceman – 9 in 1985–86
  • Most assists in one game by a defenceman – 6 on March 14, 1986
  • Most points in one game by a defenceman – 8 on March 14, 1986 (2 goals, 6 assists; shared with Tom Bladon 4 goals, 4 assists)
  • Most seasons leading the league in scoring by a defenceman – 8
  • Fastest defenceman in NHL history to score 1,000 points – 770 games
  • Fastest defenceman to score 100 points (59 games) in a single season (shared with Bobby Orr)
  • Longest point-scoring streak by a defenceman – 28 games in 1985–86 (point totals during streak 16 goals and 39 assists for 55 points)
  • Most 40-goal seasons by a defenceman career – 2
  • Most 50-assist seasons by a defenceman career – 14
  • Most 60-assist seasons by a defenceman career – 11
  • Most 70-assist seasons by a defenceman career – 6 (shared with Bobby Orr)
  • Most 80-point seasons by a defenceman career – 8
  • Highest goals per game average by a defenceman in one season – 0.608
  • Highest career assist per game average by a defenceman – 0.806 (minimum 750 games)
  • Highest career points per game average by a defenceman – 1.087 (minimum 750 games)
  • Only defenceman in NHL history to be selected first-team All-Star playing for three different teams
  • Most PIM by a 1,000-point defenceman – 1,802
  • Most different teams played on by a 1,000-point scorer – 9 (tied with Jaromír Jágr)

Playoffs

  • Most career goals by a defenceman in NHL playoff history – 59
  • Most career points by a defenceman in NHL playoff history – 196
  • Most goals by a defenceman, one playoff year – 12 in 1985
  • Most assists by a defenceman, one playoff year – 25 in 1985 (broken by Evan Bouchard in 2024)
  • Most points by a defenceman, one playoff year – 37 in 1985
  • Most points by a defenceman, one playoff series – 11 in 1985
  • Most assists by a defenceman, five game series – 8 in 1985
  • Most assists in one period – 3 in 1985
  • Most career short-handed goals by a defenceman in NHL playoff history – 6
  • Most short-handed goals by a defenceman, one playoff year – 2 in 1983 and 1996
  • Highest Plus/Minus by a defenceman, one playoff year – +26 in 1985
  • Highest goals per game average in one playoff year by a defenceman – 0.667 in 1985 (minimum 10 playoff games)
  • Highest assists per game average in one playoff year by a defenceman – 1.389 in 1985 (minimum 5 playoff games)
  • Highest points per game average in one playoff year by a defenceman – 2.056 in 1985
  • Highest career goals per game average in playoffs by a defenceman – 0.304 (minimum 75 games)
  • Highest career assists per game average in playoffs by a defenceman – 0.706 (minimum 100 games)
  • Highest career points per game average in playoffs by a defenceman – 1.010 (minimum 100 games)

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Figures in boldface italics are NHL records for defencemen.

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1977–78 North York Rangers OPJHL 50 14 33 47 64 — — — — —
1977–78 Kingston Canadians OMJHL 8 2 2 4 11 5 0 0 0 0
1978–79 Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds OMJHL 68 17 72 89 103 — — — — —
1979–80 Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds OMJHL 23 10 21 31 63 — — — — —
1979–80 Kitchener Rangers OMJHL 52 19 52 71 130 — — — — —
1980–81 Edmonton Oilers NHL 74 9 23 32 130 9 4 3 7 22
1981–82 Edmonton Oilers NHL 80 29 60 89 106 5 1 1 2 6
1982–83 Edmonton Oilers NHL 80 29 67 96 87 16 7 7 14 14
1983–84 Edmonton Oilers NHL 80 40 86 126 104 19 8 14 22 21
1984–85 Edmonton Oilers NHL 80 37 84 121 97 18 12 25 37 44
1985–86 Edmonton Oilers NHL 79 48 90 138 120 10 1 9 10 30
1986–87 Edmonton Oilers NHL 59 17 50 67 49 17 3 8 11 30
1987–88 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 46 15 52 67 93 — — — — —
1988–89 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 75 30 83 113 195 11 2 13 15 31
1989–90 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 80 29 74 103 95 — — — — —
1990–91 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 76 24 69 93 128 12 2 9 11 6
1991–92 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 54 10 54 64 62 — — — — —
1991–92 Los Angeles Kings NHL 10 1 4 5 25 6 4 3 7 2
1992–93 Los Angeles Kings NHL 50 8 49 57 50 — — — — —
1992–93 Detroit Red Wings NHL 30 4 26 30 27 7 2 9 11 2
1993–94 Detroit Red Wings NHL 80 14 63 77 106 7 1 6 7 8
1994–95 Detroit Red Wings NHL 45 14 44 58 72 18 6 12 18 10
1995–96 Detroit Red Wings NHL 76 14 60 74 90 17 5 9 14 30
1996–97 Hartford Whalers NHL 20 3 5 8 18 — — — — —
1996–97 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 37 6 20 26 20 17 1 8 9 6
1997–98 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 57 2 27 29 30 — — — — —
1998–99 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 10 0 4 4 0 — — — — —
1998–99 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 44 2 8 10 25 5 0 1 1 2
1999–2000 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 69 11 29 40 40 — — — — —
2000–01 Boston Bruins NHL 18 0 4 4 30 — — — — —
NHL totals 1,409 396 1,135 1,531 1,802 194 59 137 196 264

International

Medal record
Representing Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Canada
Ice hockey
Canada Cup
Gold 1991 Canada
Gold 1987 Canada
Gold 1984 Canada
World Cup
Silver 1996 Canada
Year Team Event   GP G A Pts PIM
1984 Canada CC 8 3 8 11 4
1987 Canada CC 9 2 4 6 0
1990 Canada WC 10 1 6 7 10
1991 Canada CC 8 1 6 7 8
1996 Canada WCH 8 0 7 7 12
Senior totals 43 7 31 38 34

See also

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