Paul Coffey

Paul Douglas Coffey (born June 1, 1961, in Weston, Ontario) is a retired professional ice hockey defenceman in the National Hockey League. Known for his speed and scoring prowess, Coffey ranks second all-time among NHL defensemen in career goals, assists, and points.

NHL career

Coffey was drafted 6th 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, he became only the second defenseman in NHL history to score 40 goals in a season. He won his first James Norris Trophy in 1984-85 while posting 121 points. 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 defenseman 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 defenseman, scoring 48. His 138 ponts that year was second only to Orr (139 in 1970-71) among defensemen.

Coffey helped Edmonton to a third Cup in 1986-87, but the deciding Game Seven that year against Philadelphia would be his last in an Oilers' uniform. After a monetary dispute with Head Coach & General Manager Glen Sather, Coffey was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1987, where he played four and a half seasons, and won another Stanley Cup in 1990-91. He was then traded to the Los Angeles Kings where he was re-united with Wayne Gretzky and Jari Kurri for parts of two seasons.

After his brief stint with L.A., he was traded to the Detroit Red Wings where he played for four and a half seasons and enjoyed moderate success. In the lockout-shortened 1994-95 NHL season, Coffey led his team in scoring, the only time in his entire career he would accomplish that feat, while picking up his third Norris Trophy.

He was then traded to the Hartford Whalers at the start of the 1996-97 season. But before he could even get halfway into the season, he engineered a trade to the Philadelphia Flyers. He played for Philadelphia for a season and a half, most significantly helping the team to reach the 1997 Stanley Cup Finals against his former team, Detroit. Coffey's finals series was not successful (due to the tactics of Bowman in neutralizing him), and he suffered a concussion in Game Two that ended his postseason prematurely. The Flyers were swept by the Red Wings in four games.

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 would play his final season in Boston, with the Bruins.

Paul Coffey retired in 2000 with 396 goals, 1135 assists, and 1531 points, second only to Ray Bourque in all-time career scoring by a defenceman. In 2005, the Edmonton Oilers retired his uniform number 7.

Awards

• Named to the OHA Second All-Star Team — 1979-80
• Won the James Norris Memorial Trophy — 1984-85, 1985-86, 1994-95
• Named to the NHL First All-Star Team — 1984-85, 1985-86, 1988-89, 1994-95
• Named to the NHL Second All-Star Team — 1981-82, 1982-83, 1983-84, 1989-90
• Played in the NHL All-Star Game — 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997
• Named to the Canada Cup All-Star Team — 1984
• Inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2004
• In 1998, he was ranked number 28 on The Hockey News' list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players
• Currently 12th all-time in career points (was 9th when he retired in 2000, but was passed by Mario Lemieux later in the 2000-01 season, Joe Sakic on January 1, 2007, and Jaromir Jagr on October 12, 2007

Records

• NHL record for most goals in one season by a defenseman — 48 in 1985-86
• NHL record for most points in one game by a defenseman — 8 on March 14, 1986 (2G, 6A, shared with Tom Bladon)
• Most assists by a defenseman, one game — 6 (tied with 4 others) Mar. 14, 1986
• Longest point-scoring streak by a defenseman — 28 games in 1985-86
• Most goals by a defenseman, one playoff year — 12 in 1985
• Most assists by a defenseman, one playoff year — 25 in 1985
• Most points by a defenseman, one playoff year — 37 in 1985
• The most different teams played on by a 1,000 point scorer — 8 (Edmonton, Pittsburgh, Los Angeles, Detroit, Hartford/Carolina, Philadelphia, Chicago, and Boston)

International play

Played for Canada in:

• 1984 Canada Cup
• 1987 Canada Cup
• 1990 World Championships
• 1991 Canada Cup
• 1996 World Cup of Hockey