Marc Crawford

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Template:Short description Template:Infobox ice hockey biography

Marc Joseph John Crawford (born February 13, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and coach. 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 in the NHL. He has also been the head coach of the Quebec Nordiques, Vancouver Canucks, Los Angeles Kings, Dallas Stars, and interim head coach of the Ottawa Senators. He has also coached in Switzerland, having two tenures at the helm of the ZSC Lions, at the international level, as head coach of Team Canada at the 1998 Winter Olympics. Crawford has won the Louis A. R. Pieri Memorial Award as coach of the year in the American Hockey League and the Jack Adams Award as coach of the year in the NHL. His 556 wins as coach is 26th best among all NHL coaches.

Early life

Crawford was born in Belleville, Ontario. He is the son of professional hockey player Floyd Crawford. He is the brother of National Hockey League (NHL) hockey players Bob Crawford and Lou Crawford.<ref name="belleville">Template:Cite web</ref>

Playing career

Crawford played three seasons of major junior in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) with the Cornwall Royals. During this time, the team won back-to-back Memorial Cups and Crawford was named the team's captain.<ref name="belleville"/> Crawford was drafted by the Vancouver Canucks in the 1980 NHL Entry Draft in the fourth round, 70th overall. He joined the Canucks in 1981–82. As a rookie, Crawford was a part of Vancouver's 1982 run to the Stanley Cup finals, in which the Canucks were defeated by the New York Islanders.

During his six seasons in the NHL, Crawford would split time between Vancouver and their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Fredericton Express. As a result of constantly flying between the two cities, which are over Template:Convert apart, he earned the nickname "747",<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> though most contemporary Canucks fans know him as "Crow", a nickname coined during his tenure as a head coach with the team.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In total, Crawford tallied 19 goals, 31 assists and 50 points in 176 games during his NHL career, all of it with Vancouver.<ref name="canucksfire">Template:Cite web</ref> After a season in the International Hockey League with the Milwaukee Admirals, Crawford retired as a professional player.

Coaching career

Early coaching career

Crawford was named a playing assistant coach with Fredericton during the 1987–88 season. During the 1988–89 season Crawford joined the Milwaukee Admirals as an assistant coach.<ref name="autogenerated2001">Template:Cite web</ref> He became a head coach in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) with the Cornwall Royals, for whom he had previously played in the QMJHL. After two seasons with Cornwall, Crawford moved to the AHL, and in his first season with the St. John's Maple Leafs, he took his team to the 1992 Calder Cup finals, losing to the Adirondack Red Wings. The following season, Crawford was awarded the Louis A. R. Pieri Memorial Award as the AHL's coach of the year.<ref name="nhl">Template:Cite web</ref>

In 1994–95, Crawford broke into the NHL with the Quebec Nordiques and as a result of the Nordiques' improved play, he won the NHL's Jack Adams Award as coach of the year. He is the youngest NHL coach and first rookie coach in history to win the Jack Adams.<ref name="autogenerated2001"/> The next season, the Nordiques franchise was relocated to Colorado as the Avalanche, and Crawford won his first and only Stanley Cup as a coach in 1996, defeating the Florida Panthers in four games in the finals.<ref name="nhl"/>

Crawford continued to post successful regular seasons with the Avalanche in the next two seasons, but after an early first-round exit in the 1998 playoffs, he resigned on May 27, 1998. Despite reportedly being offered a one-year contract extension by general manager Pierre Lacroix, Crawford decided to "move on and accept a new challenge".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Before his resignation with the Avalanche, Crawford was also the head coach of the Canadian Olympic hockey team at the 1998 Olympics, where they finished a disappointing fourth. Many questioned his choice of players to take part in the semi-final shootout with the Czech Republic, in which they lost, electing not to use future Hall of Famers Wayne Gretzky or Steve Yzerman.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Vancouver Canucks

After a brief stint as a colour commentator on Hockey Night in Canada,<ref name="autogenerated2001" /> Crawford replaced Mike Keenan as head coach of the Vancouver Canucks midway through the 1998–99 season.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Joining Vancouver in the midst of a rebuilding period for the franchise, Crawford slowly developed the Canucks into a successful regular season team, playing a fast-paced and offensively emphasized style of play. After one-and-a-half seasons, he led Vancouver back to the playoffs. However, the Canucks were defeated in the first round by his former team, Colorado.

In 2002–03, Vancouver continued to improve under Crawford and posted a franchise record (since surpassed) of 104 points. The following season, they took the Northwest Division title from the Avalanche, who had finished first in their division every season since they won the Northeast Division during their last season playing in Quebec. Despite Vancouver's regular season success, they only managed to win one playoff series during Crawford's tenure. After the Canucks' failure to make the playoffs in the 2005–06 season, Crawford's position as head coach was terminated by management on April 25, 2006.<ref name="canucksfire"/> He was replaced by Alain Vigneault.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In six-and-a-half seasons' work with the Canucks, Crawford marked himself as the longest-serving and winningest head coach in franchise history at the time of his exit, coaching 529 games and 246 wins. On February 3, 2006, one of his last games in Vancouver, he also became the third-youngest head coach in NHL history to reach 400 wins. At 48 years and 342 days, this mark trails only Scotty Bowman and Glen Sather.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Later years

Nearly one month after being fired by Vancouver, Crawford was hired by the Los Angeles Kings, a team in a similar situation to that of the Canucks when Crawford first joined them. On June 10, 2008, Crawford was fired by the Kings, although he had one year remaining on his initial contract.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He lasted only two years with the Kings, who thought a change was necessary in the coaching position. During his two seasons with the Kings, he missed the playoffs both times.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

During the 2008–09 season, Crawford did colour commentary for Hockey Night in Canada late games alongside play-by-play announcer Mark Lee.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

A year after being fired from the Los Angeles Kings, Crawford was hired by Dallas Stars general manager Joe Nieuwendyk to replace previous head coach Dave Tippett.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The Stars fired Crawford on April 12, 2011, two days after the Stars' loss to the Minnesota Wild in the last game of the season, which ultimately cost the team the opportunity to capture the eighth playoff berth in the Western Conference. Crawford's tenure again only lasted two seasons.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In mid-2012, Crawford was named the new coach of the ZSC Lions of the Swiss National League A, having signed a two-year contract. He won the NLA championship with the Lions in the 2013–14 season. In March 2014, he signed a two-year contract extension.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In early 2015, Crawford was responsible for convincing coveted draft prospect Auston Matthews to sign and play with the Lions for the 2015–16 season.<ref name="THN_Matthews_Draft_Bio">Template:Cite magazine</ref> Crawford was awed by Matthews' play during the 2015 U18 Championships and contacted Matthews' family and agent about a contract. Crawford would lead the Lions to winning the 2016 Swiss Cup.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Crawford left ZSC when his contract expired in 2016.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Besides winning the 2014 Swiss championship and 2016 Swiss Cup, he also guided the Lions to three NLA regular season championship titles, in 2013–14, 2014–15 and 2015–16.Template:Citation needed

In May 2016, following the hiring of Guy Boucher, Crawford was hired as associate coach for the Ottawa Senators.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On March 1, 2019, Crawford became the interim head coach of the Senators following the firing of Guy Boucher for the rest of the 2018–19 season going 7–10–1.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> D. J. Smith was then hired as the Senators head coach for the 2019–20 season.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

On June, 4, 2019 the Chicago Blackhawks announced Crawford as an assistant coach to Jeremy Colliton.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Colliton was fired by the Blackhawks during the 2021–22 season, but Crawford was retained as an assistant to interim-coach Derek King for the remainder of the season. In May 2022, Crawford was let go by the Blackhawks with a year remaining on his contract.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In December 2022, Crawford returned to Switzerland and the ZSC Lions, replacing fired coach Rikard Grönborg.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In February 2023, Crawford was suspended for a game after an investigation by the National League into whether he had directed a homophobic slur at a referee.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In the 2023–24 season he won the Swiss championship for a second time in his career.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The Lions were again leading the National League standings on December 30, 2024, when Crawford suddenly announced his resignation from the club, citing mental health reasons.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Awards and achievements

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

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 Template:Winning percentage Lost in conference quarterfinals (NYR)
COL 1995–96 82 47 25 10 — 104 1st in Pacific 16 6 Template:Winning percentage Won Stanley Cup (FLA)
COL 1996–97 82 49 24 9 — 107 1st in Pacific 10 7 Template:Winning percentage Lost in conference finals (DET)
COL 1997–98 82 39 26 17 — 95 1st in Pacific 3 4 Template:Winning percentage Lost in conference quarterfinals (EDM)
QUE/COL total 294 165 88 41 —     31 21 Template:Winning percentage 4 playoff appearances
1 Stanley Cup
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 Template:Winning percentage Lost in conference quarterfinals (COL)
VAN 2001–02 82 42 30 7 3 94 2nd in Northwest 2 4 Template:Winning percentage Lost in conference quarterfinals (DET)
VAN 2002–03 82 45 23 13 1 104 2nd in Northwest 7 7 Template:Winning percentage Lost in conference semifinals (MIN)
VAN 2003–04 82 43 24 10 5 101 1st in Northwest 3 4 Template:Winning percentage 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 Template:Winning percentage 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 Template:Winning percentage 8 playoff appearances
1 Stanley Cup

Moore incident

Template:More information On February 16, 2004, when Crawford was coach of Vancouver, Colorado player Steve Moore concussed Vancouver captain Markus Näslund on a questionable hit. No penalty was called on the play, and the NHL later reviewed the incident and decided no penalty was warranted. However, Crawford was vocal about the incident and the failure of the NHL to respond.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> During another game against Colorado on March 8, 2004, Todd Bertuzzi grabbed and punched Moore from behind, and rode him into the ice, causing Moore to suffer three broken vertebrae and multiple facial lacerations, which ultimately ended his career. According to a Colorado player, Crawford was laughing at the situation at the time it occurred and was the subject of substantial criticism following the incident.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Crawford, along with Bertuzzi and the Canucks organization, were named as defendants in a $19+ million (US) lawsuit by Moore. According to the suit, following the February 16 incident, Crawford encouraged his players to seek revenge, which led in part to the injury to Moore. Specifically, Moore alleged that Crawford, Bertuzzi and former general manager Brian Burke entered into "an unlawful plan and agreement to assault, batter and injure Moore at a future date for the injuries that Näslund had suffered during the Feb. 16 game".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The Canucks were fined US$250,000 by the NHL for "...failure to prevent the atmosphere that may have led to the incident". As the case approached trial in 2014, Moore increased the damages claim to $68 million. In August 2014, the lawsuit concluded with all parties agreeing to a confidential settlement.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Abuse of players and apology

In December 2019, multiple former players Crawford coached in the past came forward with stories of abuse, including Brent Sopel,<ref name="sopel">Template:Cite web</ref> Patrick O'Sullivan,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Harold Druken<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Sean Avery.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Sopel clarified it was not his intention "to make any allegations against anyone or any organization", and Avery also offered support for Crawford.<ref name="sopel"/>

The Chicago Blackhawks suspended Crawford from his role as assistant coach following these allegations and opened an investigation.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Crawford subsequently issued an apology to past players that brought forward stories of abuse.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

References

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