Tom Renney facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Tom Renney
Renney in 2011
Born	(1955-03-01) March 1, 1955 (age 70) Cranbrook, British Columbia, Canada
Coached for	Vancouver Canucks New York Rangers Edmonton Oilers Detroit Red Wings
Coaching career	1996–2014

Thomas "Tom" Renney (born March 1, 1955) is a Canadian former ice hockey coach and leader. He was the chief executive officer (CEO) of Hockey Canada from 2014 to 2022. Before that, he was an associate coach for the National Hockey League's Detroit Red Wings. He also served as the head coach for the Vancouver Canucks, New York Rangers, and Edmonton Oilers.

Renney started his coaching journey in the Western Hockey League (WHL). He even won a big championship called the Memorial Cup during his two years with the Kamloops Blazers. He has also coached Canada's national hockey teams many times. He won a silver medal as the head coach at the 1994 Winter Olympics.

Tom Renney's Coaching Journey

Starting with the Kamloops Blazers

Tom Renney began his coaching career in junior hockey with the Kamloops Blazers in the Western Hockey League (WHL) during the 1990–91 season. He quickly found success, leading his team to win the President's Cup twice in a row as WHL champions. They also won the Memorial Cup, which is a championship for all of Canada's top junior hockey teams.

In his two seasons with the Blazers, Renney's teams had an amazing record of 101 wins, 37 losses, and 6 ties. This means his teams won 71.4% of their games, which is the highest winning percentage ever in the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) history!

Coaching the Vancouver Canucks

Renney got his first chance to coach in the National Hockey League (NHL) in the 1996–97 season with the Vancouver Canucks. He took over from Pat Quinn. In his first full season with the Canucks, his team had 35 wins, 40 losses, and 7 ties. He was let go after only 19 games into the next season, the 1997–98 season.

Time with the New York Rangers

Tom Renney first joined the New York Rangers team as the Director of Player Personnel. In this role, he helped manage how the team found and chose new young players. He also helped with scouting professional players. Later, in 2002, he was promoted to Vice President of Player Development. He helped set up special training camps for young Rangers players to improve their skills.

Renney became the head coach of the Rangers with 20 games left in the 2003–04 season. He took over from Glen Sather, who wanted to focus on being the team's general manager. Renney led the Rangers to the playoffs for three seasons in a row after the 2004–05 NHL lockout. The team made it as far as the second round of the playoffs in 2007 and 2008.

In 2009, some fans created a funny website called "The Ranger Line Generator." It made fun of how Renney often changed his player combinations during games. The website let users create their own random player lines for the team.

The Rangers were not playing well in 2009, and Renney was fired on February 23, 2009. He was replaced by John Tortorella. Renney left the Rangers as the fourth-winningest head coach in the team's history, with 164 wins.

Leading the Edmonton Oilers

Tom Renney with associate coach Ralph Krueger at the 2011 Edmonton Oilers training camp.

On May 26, 2009, Renney became an associate coach for the Edmonton Oilers. Then, on June 22, 2010, he was named the head coach of the Oilers, taking over from Pat Quinn again. However, on May 17, 2012, the Oilers decided not to renew his contract for the next season.

With the Detroit Red Wings

Renney was named an associate coach for the Detroit Red Wings on July 5, 2012. He worked under head coach Mike Babcock.

International Coaching Success

Tom Renney has had a very successful career coaching Canada's national hockey teams. He was the head coach of the men's national team that won a silver medal at the 1994 Winter Olympics. He also helped as an assistant coach when the team won a gold medal at the 1994 World Championships.

As head coach of the national team, he won a bronze medal at the 1995 World Championships and a silver medal at the 1996 World Championships. He also won a silver medal as head coach of the Canada men's national junior team at the 1999 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships. Later, he was an assistant coach for the men's national team that won silver medals at the 2004 IIHF World Championship and the 2005 IIHF World Championship.

From 2015 to 2022, Renney was the chairman of the International Ice Hockey Federation's coaching committee.

Leading Hockey Canada

Tom Renney worked as the vice-president of hockey operations for Hockey Canada from 1998 to 2000. He then became the president and chief executive officer (CEO) in July 2014. In 2017, he appointed Scott Smith as president, while Renney remained CEO. Renney retired as CEO on July 1, 2022.

During his time as CEO, Renney helped guide Canada's national hockey teams to great success. The men's, women's, and para ice hockey teams won a total of 28 medals in international competitions. This included nine gold medals, fifteen silver medals, and four bronze medals.

Personal Life

Tom Renney studied physical education at the University of North Dakota. He is married to Glenda Gare, who is the sister of former NHL player Danny Gare. They first met when Tom owned a clothing store. Tom and Glenda have two daughters.

Coaching Record