John Ferguson Sr.

Lore & Background

Ferguson was born in Vancouver, British Columbia. His father died when he was 9, and he was raised by his mother near the Pacific National Exhibition grounds. He loved horses and hung around Hastings Park as a child. He also played lacrosse. His hockey career began as a stickboy for the Vancouver Canucks, then of the Western Hockey League. He became interested in the role of enforcer when he saw more talented Canucks players get hit repeatedly without teammates responding.

In Their Own Story

In the 1985–86 season, the Winnipeg Jets operated under a shared coaching arrangement featuring John Ferguson Sr. and Barry Long within the Smythe Division. The league was in a state of flux following a board vote on June 13, 1985, to eliminate 4-on-4 play for coincidental minor penalties, a move widely seen as an attempt to curb the high-flying Edmonton Oilers. While Ferguson and Long managed the Jets through this rule change, the league's narrative was dominated by Wayne Gretzky's historic performance of 215 points and Paul Coffey breaking Bobby Orr's goal record with 48 goals for a defenseman. The season concluded with the Montreal Canadiens defeating the Calgary Flames in the Stanley Cup Final, while the Oilers secured the inaugural Presidents' Trophy.

Reader's Guide

Ferguson played junior hockey with the Melville Millionaires of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League in 1956–57 and 1958–59. He played professionally with the Fort Wayne Komets of the International Hockey League in 1959–60, then moved to the American Hockey League and the Cleveland Barons in 1960. In 1963–64, he was promoted to the Canadiens as an enforcer. He led all NHL rookies in scoring in his first season and finished runner-up for the Calder Trophy. He scored the Stanley Cup-winning goal in 1969 and won the Stanley Cup five times (1965, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1971). He also coached the Sorel Titans of the Quebec Lacrosse League. After playing, he became assistant coach of Team Canada for the 1972 Summit Series, then head coach and later general manager of the New York Rangers. He later became general manager of the Winnipeg Jets in the WHA and, starting in 1979, the NHL. He worked for the Ottawa Senators as director of player personnel and was a special consultant to the general manager of the San Jose Sharks.

Did You Know?

• Ferguson was an enforcer for the Montreal Canadiens, fighting Ted Green just 12 seconds into his first NHL game.
• He scored a career-high 29 goals in the 1968–69 season with a plus-30 rating.
• Ferguson asked Bobby Clarke to slash Soviet star Valeri Kharlamov during the 1972 Summit Series.
• He lured Anders Hedberg and Ulf Nilsson from the Winnipeg Jets to the New York Rangers in 1978.
• Ferguson is credited with finding Daniel Alfredsson for the Ottawa Senators.