Rob Ramage

Lore & Background

Ramage played junior hockey for the London Knights, sharing the OHL's Max Kaminsky Trophy as most outstanding defenceman with teammate Brad Marsh in his final season. His sweater number 5 was later retired by the Knights. Ineligible for the NHL draft due to his birth date, he signed with the WHA's Birmingham Bulls, becoming part of the 'Baby Bulls' group of young players. He was named a First Team All-Star in his WHA rookie season. After the WHA folded, Ramage entered the 1979 NHL entry draft and was selected first overall by the Colorado Rockies.

In his first NHL season, Ramage inadvertently made history when a blind pass from the corner boards sailed into his own net, giving New York Islanders goaltender Billy Smith the first goal ever credited to an NHL goalie. After three seasons with the Rockies, he was traded to the St. Louis Blues, where he posted a career-best 66 points in 1985–86, a Blues team record for a defenceman. In 1988, he was traded to the Calgary Flames, adding to a defensive core that included Al MacInnis, Gary Suter and Brad McCrimmon, and won the Stanley Cup the following year.

Ramage was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs and named the 13th captain in franchise history, the only player to be named captain before playing a game for the team. He was left unprotected in the 1991 Expansion and Dispersal Drafts and selected by the Minnesota North Stars. After a knee injury, he was again left unprotected and taken by the Tampa Bay Lightning. He was traded to the Montreal Canadiens and won his second Stanley Cup in 1993. He finished his career with the Philadelphia Flyers.

Reader's Guide

Rob Ramage's career is notable for its longevity across multiple NHL teams and his role in two Stanley Cup championships. His selection first overall in the 1979 NHL entry draft marked him as a top prospect, and he developed into a steady, skilled defenceman, setting a Blues team record for points by a defenceman. His trade to the Calgary Flames in 1988 was a blockbuster that gave the team enviable defensive depth, contributing directly to their first Stanley Cup in 1989. Ramage's unique distinction as the only Toronto Maple Leafs captain named before playing a game for the team underscores his immediate leadership role. His second Stanley Cup with the Montreal Canadiens in 1993 added to his legacy as a winner. Off the ice, Ramage's later life was marked by a conviction for impaired driving causing death, resulting in a four-year prison sentence, a case noted as the harshest ever handed out in Ontario to a motorist with no previous drinking and driving record. He later returned to hockey as an assistant coach for the London Knights and as a player development coach for the Canadiens organization.

Did You Know?

• He was part of a blind pass that resulted in the first NHL goal credited to a goaltender, Billy Smith.
• Ramage is the only player in Toronto Maple Leafs history to be named team captain before playing a game for the team.