Paul Holmgren

Lore & Background

Holmgren began skating at age two after his father flooded an empty lot next to their home in St. Paul, Minnesota. He played organized hockey from age six, skated for St. Paul Harding High School, and played in the Minnesota State High School Hockey Tournament. After a year of junior hockey with the St. Paul Vulcans, he was selected for the U.S. junior national team at the 1974 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships in Leningrad.

Playing career

He was drafted by the Edmonton Oilers in the 1974 WHA Amateur Draft but never played for them; his WHA rights were traded to the Minnesota Fighting Saints. He began his professional career with the Fighting Saints in 1975–76, leaving three days before the team folded due to financial problems. He signed with the Flyers and made his NHL debut a month later, playing alongside his childhood role model Gary Dornhoefer.

During his first professional season, while playing for the Richmond Robins, he suffered a scratched cornea and an allergic reaction to anesthetic nearly cost him his life. Holmgren spent eight seasons in Philadelphia, annually among the team's leaders in penalty minutes. He posted career highs in goals (30) and points (65) in 1979–80, adding ten goals and ten assists in the playoffs. His three goals in game two of the 1980 Stanley Cup Finals made him the first U.S.-born player to score a hat trick in a Cup Final game.

He was invited to the 1981 NHL All-Star Game and the United States 1981 Canada Cup team, but separated his shoulder at training camp and missed both the tournament and the start of the 1981–82 season. He was traded to the Minnesota North Stars midway through 1983–84 and retired after the 1984–85 season. Holmgren is also known for punching referee Andy Van Hellemond in 1981, which led to major rule changes regarding physical abuse of on-ice officials.

Reader's Guide

Holmgren immediately moved into coaching upon retiring, becoming an assistant coach with the Flyers under Mike Keenan. After Keenan was fired following the 1987–88 season, Holmgren became the first former Flyer to be named the team's head coach. In his first season, the Flyers made an unexpected run to the Wales Conference Finals, including a 4-games-to-3 second-round victory over Mario Lemieux's Pittsburgh Penguins, clinched in a thrilling game 7 on the road. The team missed the playoffs the next two seasons, and he was fired midway through his fourth season.

He was named head coach of the Hartford Whalers on June 15, 1992, and later assumed the general manager role when Brian Burke left in September 1993. He stepped aside as head coach in November 1994 due to frustration with player effort, then returned after Pierre McGuire was fired in May 1994. He was fired as head coach on November 6, 1995, after the Whalers won only one of their last eight games following a 4–0 start.

He returned to Philadelphia on December 30, 1995, as director of pro scouting, later becoming director of player personnel and assistant general manager under Bobby Clarke. When Clarke resigned a month into the 2006–07 season, Holmgren was named general manager. On May 7, 2014, he was promoted to president of the Flyers, with Ron Hextall replacing him as general manager. He received the Lester Patrick Award in 2014 for contributions to hockey in the United States and was inducted into the Flyers Hall of Fame in 2021.

Did You Know?

• He is a resident of Somerset, New Jersey, and the Jersey Shore community of Avalon.
• He was arrested for driving drunk in Simsbury, Connecticut, on March 30, 1994, and entered the Betty Ford Center for treatment.