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| Lou Nanne | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born | (1941-06-02)June 2, 1941 (age 83) Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) | ||
| Weight | 180 lb (82 kg; 12 st 12 lb) | ||
| Position | Defense/Right Wing | ||
| Shot | Right | ||
| Played for | Minnesota North Stars | ||
| National team |  United States | ||
| Playing career | 1963–1978 | ||
Louis Vincent Anthony Nanne (born June 2, 1941) is a Canadian-born American formerNational Hockey Leaguedefenceman andgeneral manager. He played in theNational Hockey League with theMinnesota North Stars between 1968 and 1978 and then served as the general manager of the team from 1978 to 1988. He also coached the team briefly during the1978–79 season. Internationally Nanne played for theAmerican national team at the1968 Winter Olympics and the1976 and1977 World Championships, as well as1976 Canada Cup, and managed the American teams at the1981, 1984, and 1987 Canada Cup. He is a member of theUnited States Hockey Hall of Fame and of theInternational Ice Hockey Federation Hall of Fame.
Nanne grew up in Ontario where he played hockey withPhil andTony Esposito. In 1960, he enrolled at theUniversity of Minnesota to play hockey for theMinnesota Gophers while studying business administration. At Minnesota, he would be coached by the legendaryJohn Mariucci and become one of American college hockey's biggest stars during the 1960s. He is still the only defenseman to win the WCHA scoring title he accomplished in the 1962–63 season.[1] In 1967, Nanne became an American citizen which allowed him to play for and captain theU.S. national team, alongside futureMiracle on Ice coachHerb Brooks, which finished 6th at the1968 Winter Olympics inGrenoble, France.
Lou Nanne turned down a $8000 contract offer from theNational Hockey League'sChicago Blackhawks in 1963 after graduating from university, noting that he made three times as much money in his current job working as a salesman forHarvey Mackay's envelope manufacturing company.[2] Nanne finally started hisNational Hockey League career in1968 following the Olympics. He would spend his entire career inMinnesota after signing a free agent contract with the expansionMinnesota North Stars who had acquired his rights from the Blackhawks. He played 635 NHL regular season games for the North Stars through the 1977–78 season. A steady defenseman and sometime forward, he scored 21 goals in1971–72, but was mostly known for his defensive, penalty-killing abilities. Nanne played forAmerican national team in1976 and1977, and the inaugural1976 Canada Cup. Nanne also served as national team captain or alternate in both years.
Nanne also played minor pro league hockey for theRochester Mustangs andCleveland Barons.
After retiring Nanne became thegeneral manager andcoach of the North Stars. With an infusion of notable players from the merger with theCleveland Barons and through the draft, he quickly rebuilt the North Stars into a contender after his playing career ended in 1978. The Stars reached theStanley Cup Finals in1981, the conference final in1984, and made the playoffs seven consecutive seasons (1979–1986). This winning run saw the North Stars average over 35 wins per season, encompassing the North Stars sole 40-win season, and six of the organization's ten 35-plus-win seasons. In 1988, after two seasons in which the North Stars finished below .500 and had consecutive fifth-place finishes in theNorris Division, Nanne resigned from the North Stars citing health reasons, and left the organization entirely in 1991.[3][4][5][6] Nanne also served as general manager of the U.S. national team in the1981,1984, and1987 Canada Cup tournaments.[7]
CBS Sports andNHL Network enlisted his services to provide color commentary of their hockey telecast when theMinnesota North Stars were not involved. In 1979, he called Game 2 of the1979 Challenge Cup and Stanley Cup playoff games on NHL Network alongside play-by-play manDan Kelly.[8] One year later, he called Game 6 of theStanley Cup Finals between thePhiladelphia Flyers andNew York Islanders onCBS, where was worked with two play-by-play men Kelly (who called the first, third, and overtime periods) andTim Ryan (who called the second period).
Starting in 2019, he served as the rotating color commentator forMinnesota Wild broadcasts onBally Sports North, alternating in that role withWes Walz andRyan Carter.[9]
Nanne, along withUSA Hockey'sWalter Bush, spearheaded the campaign to haveHerb Brooks named head coach of the U.S. Olympic Hockey Team leading up to the1980 Winter Games. Nanne, who had just been named the General Manager of the North Stars, offered Brooks, who was then the head coach at theUniversity of Minnesota, the North Stars' head coaching job. Still, Brooks declined, saying that it was instead his goal to coach the Olympic team. After legendaryBoston University coachJack Parker turned down the head coach position of Team USA, Nanne, and Bush became involved in the Olympic Team selection process and pushed for Brooks to be named coach. Brooks did later coach under Nanne in Minnesota during the1987–88 season, but was fired following a 19–48–13 season.[10]
Nanne had been the TV color commentator for the Minnesota State High School Boys Hockey tournament since 1964, a total of 60 years.[11][12] His last year calling the tournament was in 2024.[13] Nanne opened "Lou Nanne's Steakhouse" inEdina, Minnesota in March 2016.[14] It has since been renamed Tavern23 as a tribute to Nanne's jersey number.
His sonMarty Nanne, was selected by theChicago Blackhawks in the eighth round of the1986 NHL Entry Draft.[15] Nanne's grandsonVinni Lettieri played in the NHL.
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1960–61 | University of Minnesota | WCHA | 30 | 4 | 12 | 16 | 52 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1961–62 | University of Minnesota | WCHA | 22 | 4 | 11 | 15 | 37 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1962–63 | University of Minnesota | WCHA | 29 | 14 | 29 | 43 | 30 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1962–63 | Rochester Mustangs | USHL | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1963–64 | Rochester Mustangs | USHL | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1964–65 | Rochester Mustangs | USHL | — | 14 | 21 | 35 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1965–66 | Rochester Mustangs | USHL | 24 | 23 | 22 | 45 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1966–67 | Rochester Mustangs | USHL | 24 | 11 | 12 | 23 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1967–68 | United States National Team | Intl | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1967–68 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1968–69 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 41 | 2 | 14 | 47 | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| 1968–69 | Cleveland Barons | AHL | 10 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1968–69 | Memphis South Stars | CHL | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1969–70 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 74 | 3 | 20 | 23 | 75 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 1970–71 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 68 | 5 | 11 | 16 | 22 | 12 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 4 | ||
| 1971–72 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 78 | 21 | 28 | 49 | 27 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1972–73 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 74 | 15 | 20 | 35 | 39 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 1973–74 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 76 | 11 | 21 | 32 | 46 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1974–75 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 49 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 35 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1975–76 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 79 | 3 | 14 | 17 | 45 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1976–77 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 68 | 2 | 20 | 22 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 1977–78 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 26 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 635 | 68 | 157 | 225 | 356 | 32 | 4 | 10 | 14 | 8 | ||||
| Year | Team | Event | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1968 | United States | OLY | 7 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 12 | |
| 1976 | United States | WC | 10 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 26 | |
| 1976 | United States | CC | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | |
| 1977 | United States | WC | 10 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 19 | |
| Senior totals | 32 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 63 | |||
| Team | Year | Regular season | Postseason | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | L | T | Pts | Finish | Result | ||
| Minnesota North Stars | 1977–78 | 29 | 7 | 18 | 4 | 18 | 5th inSmythe | Missed playoffs |
| Award | Year |
|---|---|
| All-WCHAFirst Team | 1962–63 |
| AHCAWest All-American | 1962–63 |
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | WCHA Most Valuable Player 1962–63 | Succeeded by |
| Sporting positions | ||
| Preceded by | Head coach of the Minnesota North Stars 1978 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | General manager of the Minnesota North Stars 1978–88 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | NHL Network/USA Network guest color commentator 1978–1980 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | American network television color commentator 1980 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minnesota Wild color commentator 2019–present | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
