 |
Marc Joseph John CrawfordCanadian professional hockey coach
Date of Birth: 13.02.1961
Country:  Canada |
Content:
Biography of Marc Joseph John Crawford
Canadian professional ice hockey coach Marc Joseph John Crawford was born on February 13, 1961. He is currently affiliated with the Dallas Stars of the National Hockey League. Crawford has previously coached three other teams, including the Colorado Avalanche, which won the Stanley Cup in 1996. He also played as a forward for the Vancouver Canucks.
Early Career
In 1980, Crawford was selected by the Vancouver Canucks in the NHL Draft. As a rookie, he played for the Canucks during the 1982 Stanley Cup Finals, where his team lost to the New York Islanders. Throughout his six seasons in the NHL, Crawford frequently traveled by plane as he played for both the Vancouver Canucks and their American Hockey League affiliate, the Fredericton Express. Due to his frequent flights, Crawford earned the nickname "747", although he is known simply as "Crow" among Vancouver Canucks fans. He scored 19 goals, had 31 assists, and accumulated 156 points during his NHL career.
Coaching Career
After retiring as a player, Crawford became the coach of the Cornwall Royals in the Ontario Hockey League. Following two seasons, he joined the St. John's Maple Leafs in the American Hockey League and led them to a Calder Cup championship in his first season. Crawford was honored with the Louis A. R. Pieri Memorial Award as the AHL Coach of the Year.
In 1994, Crawford began coaching the Quebec Nordiques in the NHL, and they experienced immediate success. He won the Jack Adams Award as the NHL Coach of the Year. The following season, the team relocated to Colorado and became the Avalanche. In 1996, Crawford led the Avalanche to their first and only national championship, defeating the Florida Panthers in a four-game series. Crawford continued to coach the Avalanche for two more successful seasons, reaching the final series of games in 1998. On May 28, 1998, Crawford resigned from his position despite having a favorable contract offer from the team's manager, Pierre Lacroix.
Olympic Coaching and Recent Career
Before leaving the Avalanche, Crawford also served as the head coach of the Canadian Olympic ice hockey team in 1998. However, the team only managed to secure fourth place, which left many fans dissatisfied with the player selection for the Olympics that year.
From 2002 to 2003, Crawford achieved impressive results as the coach of the Vancouver Canucks, earning a record number of points. However, despite a successful season overall, the team could only win in the playoffs.
Crawford became the most consistent and successful coach in the history of the Vancouver Canucks franchise, having worked with the team for six and a half seasons. He collaborated with the team for 529 games, 246 of which resulted in Canucks victories. On February 3, 2006, Crawford coached his final series of games in Vancouver and became the third coach in NHL history to achieve 400 wins.
It is known that Crawford and the Canucks organization faced a $19 million lawsuit from Steve Moore due to an injury the player sustained during one of the games.
