Craig Ramsay

Lore & Background

Ramsay began his hockey career with the Peterborough Petes in 1968. He spent four seasons in Peterborough where he excelled at the game. He caught the attention of many scouts and in 1971 he was drafted 19th overall by the Buffalo Sabres in the 1971 NHL Amateur Draft. In 1971–72, Ramsay played a couple of games in the American Hockey League before being called up by the Sabres.

He was paired up with his close friend Don Luce and together, the two formed a formidable offensive-defensive line. In 1974–75, the Sabres drafted young prospect Danny Gare and he was paired up with Ramsay and Luce. The Sabres that year made it all the way to the Stanley Cup Final before being defeated by the Philadelphia Flyers. Ramsay had a total tally of 12 points during that run.

Ramsay had seven consecutive 20 goal seasons and was selected to play in the 1976 NHL All-Star Game. His linemate, Gare scored a total of 56 goals in 1979–80. Ramsay played for ten seasons for the Sabres which included playing 776 games consecutively. In 1984–85, Ramsay was awarded the Frank J. Selke Trophy for his defensive capabilities as a forward.

Ramsay retired shortly afterwards ending a 14-year career with the Sabres which included 1,070 career NHL games, 252 goals and 420 assists for 672 points. He was inducted into the Buffalo Sabres Hall of Fame in 1986 to honour his playing career with the club. Ramsay was the last player to play a full season without incurring any penalties. He did this in 1973–74, playing 78 games and recording 46 points.

Reader's Guide

Following Ramsay's retirement, he was named the assistant coach for the Buffalo Sabres in 1986–87 and served as interim head coach late in the year posting a 4–15–2 record. He also served as the team director of player personnel and assistant general manager with the Sabres. In 1992–93, Ramsay left the Sabres organization and joined the Florida Panthers as assistant coach. He stayed there until 1995 before joining the Ottawa Senators also as an assistant coach.

In 1997–98, Ramsay joined the Philadelphia Flyers. He was named interim head coach in February 2000 for Roger Neilson who was being treated for cancer. Ramsay guided the team with a 16–8–1–0 record while claiming the Atlantic Division with 105 points. He led the team all the way to the Eastern Conference Final before being eliminated by the eventual Stanley Cup champions, New Jersey Devils.

He was hired permanently by the Flyers after Neilson was dismissed for health reasons at the end of the 1999–2000 NHL season and before the 2000–01 season before being fired after 28 games as the Flyers went 12–12–4–0 to start the season. He joined the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2001 as an assistant coach. There, Ramsay won his first Stanley Cup in 2004 as the Lightning beat the Calgary Flames in seven games. In 2006–07, he joined the Boston Bruins as assistant coach.

The Bruins made the playoffs every year and finished first in the Eastern Conference in 2008–09. On June 24, 2010, he was named the head coach for the Atlanta Thrashers. He was dismissed by the team's new ownership group, True North Sports and Entertainment following the Thrasher's relocation to Winnipeg, Manitoba. Ramsay was appointed an assistant coach with the Florida Panthers under head coach Kevin Dineen following his dismissal from Atlanta.

He was fired by the Panthers along with Dineen and assistant coach Gord Murphy on November 8, 2013. Ramsay was hired by the Edmonton Oilers as assistant coach on June 10, 2014, to replace Kelly Buchberger. He was let go by the Oilers on June 4, 2015, along with fellow assistant Keith Acton. Ramsay joined the Slovakia men's national ice hockey team as head coach on a two-year deal in 2017.

He failed to lead Slovakia to the knockout stage of the 2019 IIHF World Championship held in their own country, but signed a one-year extension later that year.

Did You Know?

• Ramsay won the Frank J. Selke Trophy in 1985.
• Ramsay led Slovakia to a bronze medal at the 2022 Winter Olympics.