Ted Nolan
Indigenous Canadian NHL player and Jack Adams-winning coach.
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Ted Nolan is an Indigenous Canadian former professional ice hockey player and coach. He played as a left winger in the NHL for the Detroit Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins, and later served as head coach for the Buffalo Sabres, New York Islanders, and the Latvia and Poland men's national teams. He is notable for winning the Jack Adams Award as the NHL's top coach in 1996–97 and for leading the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds to the Memorial Cup championship in 1993.
Background
Nolan played three NHL seasons in the early to mid-1980s for the Detroit Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins. His playing career also included stints in the AHL with the Adirondack Red Wings, Rochester Americans, and Baltimore Skipjacks, as well as the CHL's Kansas City Red Wings. After retiring, he became head coach of the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds in 1988, leading them to three consecutive Memorial Cup berths and a national junior championship in 1993.
He then served as an assistant coach for the Hartford Whalers before becoming head coach of the Buffalo Sabres in 1995. In his second season, he won the Jack Adams Award after leading the Sabres to the Northeast Division title. However, strained relationships with goaltender Dominik Hašek and general manager John Muckler led to a toxic situation; Muckler was fired, and Nolan rejected a one-year contract extension from new GM Darcy Regier, after which the offer was pulled and Lindy Ruff was hired.
Nolan later reported that his role in Muckler's firing was the reason he was not offered another NHL coaching job for eight years. During that period, he coached in the QMJHL, where in 2005 he was subjected to racial harassment from fans.
He returned to the NHL as head coach of the New York Islanders in 2006, leading them to a playoff berth in his first season, but was fired after two seasons. He later coached the Latvia national team, guiding them to an eighth-place finish at the 2014 Winter Olympics—their best-ever Olympic result—and returned to the Buffalo Sabres as interim head coach in 2013, signing a three-year extension before being fired in 2015 after a last-place finish. He also coached the Poland national team in 2017–18.
Career statistics and honours
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 1975–76 | Kenora Thistles | MJHL | 51 | 24 | 32 | 56 | 86 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1976–77 | OMJHL | 60 | 8 | 16 | 24 | 109 | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 1977–78 | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds | OMJHL | 66 | 14 | 30 | 44 | 106 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1978–79 | Kansas City Red Wings | CHL | 73 | 12 | 38 | 50 | 66 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| 1979–80 | Adirondack Red Wings | AHL | 75 | 16 | 24 | 40 | 106 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 1980–81 | Adirondack Red Wings | AHL | 76 | 22 | 28 | 50 | 86 | 18 | 6 | 10 | 16 | 11 |
| 1981–82 | Adirondack Red Wings | AHL | 39 | 12 | 18 | 30 | 81 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1981–82 | Detroit Red Wings | 41 | 4 | 13 | 17 | 45 | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 1982–83 | Adirondack Red Wings | AHL | 78 | 24 | 40 | 64 | 106 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 14 |
| 1983–84 | Adirondack Red Wings | AHL | 31 | 10 | 16 | 26 | 76 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 18 |
| 1983–84 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 19 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 26 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1984–85 | AHL | 65 | 28 | 34 | 62 | 152 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 18 | |
| 1985–86 | Baltimore Skipjacks | AHL | 10 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 19 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1985–86 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 18 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 34 | — | — | — | — | — |
| NHL Totals | 78 | 6 | 16 | 22 | 105 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| AHL Totals | 374 | 116 | 164 | 280 | 626 | 41 | 14 | 19 | 33 | 61 | ||
Tables copied from the source article, totals included as the source gives them: Wikipedia: Ted Nolan (CC BY-SA 4.0). Wide tables scroll sideways.
Did You Know?
- Ted Nolan was raised with 11 siblings in poverty on the Garden River reserve near Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, in a house with no electricity or running water.
- He was the victim of racial harassment during a QMJHL road game in 2005, when fans shouted slurs and made 'tomahawk chop' gestures.
More in Detroit Red Wings Players
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Ted Nolan (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Statistics, medals and awards: the tables of the source article.
- Word definitions: the , each quoted from its Wikipedia article.
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