| Bob Gainey | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hockey Hall of Fame, 1992 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Gainey with the Epinal Squirrels in 1989 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1953-12-13)December 13, 1953 (age 71) Peterborough, Ontario, Canada | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (188 cm) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 190 lb (86 kg; 13 st 8 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Left wing | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Shot | Left | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Played for | Montreal Canadiens | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coached for | Minnesota North Stars Dallas Stars Montreal Canadiens | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National team |  Canada | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| NHL draft | 8th overall,1973 Montreal Canadiens | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| WHA draft | 7th overall,1973 Minnesota Fighting Saints | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Playing career | 1973–1990 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coaching career | 1989–2009 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Robert Michael Gainey (born December 13, 1953) is a Canadian former professionalice hockey player who played for theMontreal Canadiens from 1973 until 1989. After retiring from active play, he became a hockey coach and later an executive with theMinnesota North Stars/Dallas Stars organization before returning to Montreal as general manager from 2003 to 2010. Currently, Gainey serves as a team consultant for theSt. Louis Blues as well as a volunteer senior advisor for thePeterborough Petes of theOntario Hockey League.[1] He was inducted into theHockey Hall of Fame in 1992. In 2017 Gainey was named one of the '100 Greatest NHL Players' in history.[2]
Bob Gainey began his hockey career in1972 with his hometown team, thePeterborough Petes of theOntario Hockey League. His lack of scoring was made up for by his impressive ability to shut down opposing players. This impressed many scouts in theNHL and in1973, he was drafted eighth overall by theMontreal Canadiens. He was also drafted seventh overall by theMinnesota Fighting Saints of theWHA although he never joined the WHA.
As a rookie, Gainey was committed to a defensive style of play. In his second year, he was paired up with starsYvan Cournoyer andJacques Lemaire on the second line. In1976, Gainey was chosen to representTeam Canada at theCanada Cup tournament where he helped Team Canada win the Cup against theCzechoslovakians.A defensive specialist, Gainey played with theMontreal Canadiens from1973–74 to1988–89, winning four consecutiveFrank J. Selke Trophies, awarded to the league's best defensive forward, and four consecutiveStanley Cups from1976 to1979.
In1982, CanadienscaptainSerge Savard retired from hockey and Gainey was named as his successor. The Canadiens remained successful in the regular season but in the playoffs, they were defeated in the first round three consecutive times from1981 to1983.Next season, the Canadiens earned a disappointing record finishing with 75 points only. Despite that, they embarked on a surprising playoff run before being eliminated in the semifinals by theNew York Islanders.
Gainey lifted his last Stanley Cup as a player in1986 against theCalgary Flames, and scored a playoff total of 5 goals and 10 points. Under Gainey's leadership, the Canadiens posted back to back 100 point seasons in1988 and1989. In 1989, the Canadiens reached the finals again against the Calgary Flames, a rematch from 1986. This time, the Flames won the Stanley Cup in 6 games. Following the loss, Gainey announced his retirement.[3]
In total, Bob Gainey played in 1160 regular season games, scored 239 goals, and registered 263 assists. He was elected to theHockey Hall of Fame in 1992. In 1998, Gainey was ranked number 86 onThe Hockey News' list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players.
After his retirement, Gainey moved to France where he wasplayer-coach for the Epinal Écureuils (Squirrels) of the French Nationale 1B division. His unexpected appearance on the French hockey scene created quite a stir as curious fans attended games to see the famous star in action for Epinal. He finished second in scoring for Epinal during the regular season and 18th overall in the Nationale 1B division.
Gainey returned to North America a year later and became head coach of theMinnesota North Stars in1990–91, guiding his team to the sixth game of the Stanley Cup finals in his first season. In January 1992, Gainey also was named general manager. In1996, a few seasons after the franchise relocated to Dallas and became the Dallas Stars, he stepped down as head coach to focus solely on his general manager duties. Gainey turned the franchise into a powerhouse by acquiring players such asJoe Nieuwendyk,Brett Hull,Ed Belfour andSergei Zubov. The team won thePresidents' Trophy in1998 and1999. Dallas won theStanley Cup in 1999.
In 1997, as Stars general manager, Gainey drafted his sonSteve Gainey 77th overall in the annualNHL Entry Draft. Gainey won the Stanley Cup a sixth time in 1999 with Dallas.
Along withBobby Clarke andPierre Gauthier, Gainey was given the responsibility of selecting Canada's men'sice hockey squad for the1998 Winter Olympics inNagano,Japan.
Gainey became general manager of the Montreal Canadiens in May 2003.[4] On January 13, 2006, Gainey fired Canadiens' head coachClaude Julien and stepped in as head coach on an interim basis.[5] At the same time, he hiredGuy Carbonneau to work as an associate coach, handing the coaching reins over to him for the2006–07 season.[6] On July 24, 2006,Montreal Canadiens presidentPierre Boivin extended Gainey's contract to2009–10.[7]
On February 23, 2008, the Canadiens retired Gainey's #23 jersey.[8]
On March 9, 2009, Gainey named himself the interim coach of the Montreal Canadiens after firing Guy Carbonneau.[9][10] On June 1, 2009, he signedJacques Martin as the new head coach.[11] On February 8, 2010, he resigned as the Canadiens general manager for personal reasons, and was succeeded by Gauthier.[12][13] The Canadiens were 28-26-6 at the time of his resignation. He remained on as a consultant to the team until the end of the2011–12 season, following the firing of Pierre Gauthier, when it was mutually agreed, between Gainey and team PresidentGeoff Molson, that he step down.[14]
On May 9, 2012, the Dallas Stars announced Gainey's hiring as a team consultant.[15]
On October 1, 2014, theSt. Louis Blues announced Gainey's hiring as a team consultant.[16]
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1971–72 | Peterborough Petes | OHA-Jr. | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1972–73 | Peterborough Petes | OHA-Jr. | 52 | 22 | 21 | 43 | 99 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1973–74 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 66 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 34 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 1973–74 | Nova Scotia Voyageurs | AHL | 6 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1974–75 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 80 | 17 | 20 | 37 | 49 | 11 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 4 | ||
| 1975–76 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 78 | 15 | 13 | 28 | 57 | 13 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 20 | ||
| 1976–77 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 80 | 14 | 19 | 33 | 41 | 14 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 25 | ||
| 1977–78 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 66 | 15 | 16 | 31 | 57 | 15 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 14 | ||
| 1978–79 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 79 | 20 | 18 | 38 | 44 | 16 | 6 | 10 | 16 | 10 | ||
| 1979–80 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 64 | 14 | 19 | 33 | 32 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 1980–81 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 78 | 23 | 24 | 47 | 36 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 1981–82 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 79 | 21 | 24 | 45 | 24 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 | ||
| 1982–83 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 80 | 12 | 18 | 30 | 43 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 1983–84 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 77 | 17 | 22 | 39 | 41 | 15 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 9 | ||
| 1984–85 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 79 | 19 | 13 | 32 | 40 | 12 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 13 | ||
| 1985–86 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 80 | 20 | 23 | 43 | 20 | 20 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 12 | ||
| 1986–87 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 47 | 8 | 8 | 16 | 19 | 17 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 6 | ||
| 1987–88 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 78 | 11 | 11 | 22 | 14 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 1988–89 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 49 | 10 | 7 | 17 | 34 | 16 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 8 | ||
| 1989–90 | Epinal Squirrels | France-2 | 18 | 14 | 12 | 26 | 16 | 10 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 14 | ||
| NHL totals | 1,160 | 239 | 262 | 501 | 585 | 182 | 25 | 48 | 73 | 151 | ||||
| Year | Team | Event | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | Canada | CC | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | |
| 1981 | Canada | CC | 7 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | |
| 1982 | Canada | WC | 10 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | |
| 1983 | Canada | WC | 10 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 2 | |
| Senior totals | 32 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 6 | |||
| Team | Year | Regular season | Post season | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | L | T | OTL | Pts | Finish | Result | ||
| MIN | 1990–91 | 80 | 27 | 39 | 14 | - | 68 | 4th inNorris | Lost inStanley Cup Finals |
| MIN | 1991–92 | 80 | 32 | 42 | 6 | - | 70 | 4th in Norris | Lost in first round |
| MIN | 1992–93 | 84 | 36 | 38 | 10 | - | 82 | 5th in Norris | Missed playoffs |
| DAL | 1993–94 | 84 | 42 | 29 | 13 | - | 97 | 3rd inCentral | Lost in second round |
| DAL | 1994–95 | 48 | 17 | 23 | 8 | - | 42 | 5th in Central | Lost in first round |
| DAL | 1995–96 | 39 | 11 | 19 | 9 | - | (66) | 6th in Central | (Stepped Down) |
| MTL | 2005–06 | 41 | 23 | 15 | - | 3 | (93) | 3rd inNortheast | Lost in first round |
| MTL | 2008–09 | 16 | 6 | 6 | - | 4 | (93) | 2nd in Northeast | Lost in first round |
| Total | 472 | 194 | 211 | 60 | 7 | ||||
Bob Gainey, with his wife Cathy, were parents to one son and three daughters:Steve (whom he drafted in the1997 NHL Entry Draft), Colleen,Anna (the former president of theLiberal Party of Canada and Canadianmember of parliament (MP) forNotre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount),[17] and Laura.
Gainey's wife Cathy died in June 1995 at age 39 ofbrain cancer.[18][19] Gainey's daughter, Laura, died at age 25 in December 2006, when she was swept overboard while sailing in theNorth Atlantic on thebarquePicton Castle, a sail-trainingtall ship based out ofLunenburg,Nova Scotia, registered in theCook Islands and destined forGrenada.[20] Laura's body was never recovered, and theU.S. Coast Guard called off the search on December 11, three days after she was swept overboard. During this time, Gainey temporarily passed his general manager duties on to Montreal Canadiens assistant manager (and eventual successor)Pierre Gauthier for four weeks. On January 3, 2007, officials in the Cook Islands named Captain Andrew Scheer to head an investigation into Laura's death. Captain Scheer interviewed the 30-strong crew and examined the ship's logs, emergency equipment and crew qualifications. Laura's death and the subsequent investigations received considerable press attention in Canada, including a documentary produced by theCBC News programThe Fifth Estate, which was highly critical of safety standards onPicton Castle.[21][22]
| Preceded by | Montreal Canadiens first round draft pick 1973 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Award created | Winner of theFrank J. Selke Trophy 1978–1981 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Winner of theConn Smythe Trophy 1979 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Montreal Canadiens captain 1981–89 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Headcoach of theMinnesota North Stars/Dallas Stars 1990–95 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | General manager of the Minnesota North Stars/Dallas Stars 1992–2002 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | General manager of the Montreal Canadiens 2003–10 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Claude Julien Guy Carbonneau | Head Coach of the Montreal Canadiens 2006 (interim) 2009 (interim) | Succeeded by |
