Pierre McGuire | |
|---|---|
 McGuire in 2009 | |
| Born | Regis Pierre McGuire (1961-08-08)August 8, 1961 (age 64) Englewood, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Hobart College |
| Occupation | Ice hockey executive |
| Spouse | Melanie |
| Children | 2 |
| Parent(s) | Rex McGuire Sally McGuire |
Regis Pierre McGuire[1] (born August 8, 1961) is an American-Canadianice hockey executive who currently works forSportsnet; he last served as senior vice-president of player development for theOttawa Senators of the National Hockey League (NHL). He previously worked as a television analyst forNHL on NBC broadcasts in the United States and onThe Sports Network (TSN) in Canada. McGuire has also been a player, coach, and scout.
McGuire was born in Englewood Hospital inEnglewood, New Jersey, the son of Rex, an Irish-American and Sally, a French-Canadian.[2][3][4][5] He grew up in theMontreal area (in Mount Royal, Westmount and Sainte-Adèle) and attendedLower Canada College.[5][6]
In 1977, his family moved toCresskill, New Jersey, because of anti-anglophone sentiment in Montreal that made it difficult for McGuire's father to run his car dealership.[7][8] McGuire attendedBergen Catholic High School, where he played football and hockey.[7]
McGuire was a standout hockey defenceman atHobart College from 1979 to 1982. He also pitched for Hobart's baseball team and played quarterback on the football team for two years.[9] He graduated from Hobart with an English degree.[5] After college, McGuire played one season of hockey in the Netherlands. In 1984, he attended theNew Jersey Devils' training camp, but he did not make the team.[6]
McGuire began his coaching career at his alma mater, Hobart College, in 1984.[9] He was paid only $500 a season; he made ends meet by working as a substitute English, math and physical education teacher in theGeneva, New York, school district.[10] In 1985, he was named assistant hockey and lacrosse coach atBabson College.[11] At Babson, he coached hockey under futureNew York Islanders head coachSteve Stirling.[9] After three seasons at Babson, he moved toSt. Lawrence University, where he was an assistant hockey coach from 1988 to 1990. While at St. Lawrence, McGuire metScotty Bowman, who frequently visited his daughter at the school. When Bowman became director of player development and recruitment for thePittsburgh Penguins in 1990, he offered McGuire a job as a special assignment scout.[10][12][13] When Bowman became interim head coach in 1991, McGuire was named an assistant coach.[14] McGuire won aStanley Cup as an assistant coach with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1992.
McGuire joined theHartford Whalers on August 28, 1992, as an assistant coach; on September 8, 1993, he became the team's assistant general manager.[15] On November 16, 1993, McGuire was namedhead coach of the Whalers, replacingPaul Holmgren. Holmgren had stepped aside due to frustration with insufficient effort from his players and a desire to focus on his role as the team'sgeneral manager.[16] At age 32, McGuire was the youngest head coach in the NHL. Before becoming coach of the Whalers, McGuire had never been a head coach on any level. During his six months as the Whalers' head coach, McGuire coached the team to a 23–37–7 record.[17] He was fired as head coach on May 19, 1994. After this termination, captainPat Verbeek called it the best thing that could have happened to the Whalers. He said that his teammates had no respect for McGuire, and that McGuire was mocked by other teams.[18][19] In 1995,NHL commissionerGary Bettman ruled that McGuire would forfeit half of his remaining salary due from the Whalers for providing confidential coaching evaluations to theEdmonton Oilers. These evaluations had been prepared while McGuire was employed by Hartford.[20]
Following his departure from the Whalers, McGuire became a scout with theOttawa Senators. On November 22, 1995, he was promoted to the position of assistant coach.[21] On January 23, 1996, McGuire was fired, along with head coachDave Allison and goaltending coachChico Resch.[22]
On August 27, 1996, McGuire was named the inaugural head coach of theECHL'sBaton Rouge Kingfish.[23] He was given a three-year contract. McGuire led the team to a 31–33–6 record and a seventh-place finish in the South Division. On July 12, 1997, McGuire exercised an escape clause in his contract to become the radio analyst forCJAD's broadcasts ofMontreal Canadiens games.[24]
From1997–98 to2001–02, McGuire served as colour commentator for the Montreal Canadiens' English-language radio broadcasts on CJAD 800, along with Dino Sisto. He also worked on some of the team's regional television broadcasts on The Sports Network (TSN) when primary colour analystGary Green was unavailable, and was a contributor to TSN'sThat's Hockey.
When TSN re-acquired the Canadian national cable rights to NHL hockey in 2002, McGuire was hired as its lead colour commentator.[25] With TSN, McGuire called the games along withplay-by-play announcerGord Miller orChris Cuthbert.[26] He also handled special hockey events for TSN, including theNHL Entry Draft and international events such as theIIHF World Junior Championships.[27] In addition, he hosted a segment known as "McGuire's Monsters" where he covered a player who had significant impact through a combination of skills.
McGuire joinedNBC Sports after they acquired the rights to NHL games in 2006. There he worked as an "Inside the Glass" reporter with the lead broadcast team ofMike Emrick andEddie Olczyk.[28][29] Not only did he extend that role with TSN beginning in 2006,[30] but he also worked for both networks at the time, including theIce Hockey - 2010 Winter Olympics.[31][32]
After the2011 NHL Entry Draft, McGuire left TSN to work full-time for NBC Sports, but he continues to appear onTSN Radio.[33] From 2018 to 2021, he rotated withBrian Boucher on the broadcast team forNBC Sports.[34][35][36]
McGuire also writes forSports Illustrated and provides frequent audio commentary:
Beyond hockey, McGuire served as a reporter on water polo at the 2012 and 2016Summer Olympic Games for NBC; he worked with NHL colleague Mike "Doc" Emrick in 2012, and with Kenny Albert in 2016.
In 2025, McGuire joinedCBS Sports HQ as an NHL analyst.[38]
On July 12, 2021, theOttawa Senators hired McGuire as the team's senior vice-president of player development.[39] At that time, McGuire had not held a managerial job with the NHL for nearly three decades. On May 9, 2022, it was announced that McGuire had been let go from this position.[40]
McGuire has been an outspoken advocate of removing thered line, which would allow skilled players to avoid the impediments of clutching and grabbing. In addition, he has campaigned for all players to wear partial visors. McGuire's outspoken personality led to an interesting story during the2004–05 NHL lockout. McGuire claimed that more than 70% of NHL players, if asked to vote privately, would accept an owner-imposedsalary cap; in response, NHL playerTie Domi said that McGuire was completely off-base. McGuire later retracted part of his claim, by saying that he should never have mentioned a percentage, but that he still strongly believed in his assertion.[41] Ultimately, the players accepted a salary cap arrangement in theNHL Collective Bargaining Agreement that was ratified in 2005.
McGuire is a dual citizen of the United States and Canada.[3] He has previously lived in Mount Royal, Quebec; Westmount, Quebec; Sainte-Adèle, Quebec; Cresskill, New Jersey; Alpine, New Jersey; Fort Lee, New Jersey; Hingham, Massachusetts; and Montreal. He currently lives inNew Canaan, Connecticut.[4][6][9][24][42][43] He has been married twice and has two children, both by his second wife.[10][42]
| Team | Year | Regular season | Postseason | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | L | T | OTL | Pts | Finish | Result | ||
| HFD | 1993–94 | 67 | 23 | 37 | 7 | — | (53) | 6th inNortheast | Missed playoffs |
| Preceded by | Head coach of the Hartford Whalers 1993–94 | Succeeded by Paul Holmgren |