Craig William Hartsburg (June 29, 1959 ? ) is the head coach of the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League. He has also been an NHL head coach with the Chicago Blackhawks and Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. He played defence for ten seasons with the Minnesota North Stars of the National Hockey League from 1979 until 1989.

Early life

Hartsburg was born in Stratford, Ontario. He played junior hockey for the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds for three seasons, from the 1975?76 until the 1977?78 season. Wayne Gretzky was Hartsburg's teammate when they played for the Greyhounds.^[1] In Hartsburg's two last seasons with the Greyhounds, he averaged over an assist per game. In the 1977?78 season, Hartsburg represented Canada at the World Junior Championships, scoring five points in six games.

Playing career

Birmingham Bulls

Instead of playing his fourth and final junior season, Hartsburg signed with the Birmingham Bulls of the World Hockey Association (WHA) in June 1978, as an underage free agent.^[2] Harstburg amassed nine goals and 40 assists in his first professional season.^[2] With the WHA collapsing, and four franchises, the Edmonton Oilers, Hartford Whalers, Quebec Nordiques, and the Winnipeg Jets, joining the NHL,^[3] he was drafted 6th overall by the Minnesota North Stars in the 1979 NHL Entry Draft.^[4]

Minnesota North Stars

Hartsburg played 570 NHL games, over 10 seasons. He scored 98 goals and 315 assists, for 413 points.^[5] In the 1981-82 NHL season, his best offensive season, Hartsburg had 17 goals, 60 assists for 77 points, with a +11 plus-minus rating. Internationally, he represented Canada at the 1981 and 1987 Canada Cups. At the 1987 IIHF World Championships he was named the tournament's top defenseman. He played in the NHL All-Star game in 1980, 1982, and 1983.^[6]

Coaching career

After retiring as a player, Hartsburg immediately accepted an assistant coaching position with the North Stars for the 1989?90 season. He then became an assistant coach with the Philadelphia Flyers from 1990 to 1994. Longing for a head coaching position and in need of experience, he then accepted the head coaching position with the Guelph Storm of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) for the 1994-95 season, before returning to the NHL as the head coach from 1995 to 1998 of the Chicago Blackhawks, ironically, one of the most bitter rivals of his longtime team in Minnesota. In 1998, he was named head coach of the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim for the better part of three seasons before being replaced midseason in 2000-01.

He returned to coach junior hockey with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the OHL for one season, before returning to the Flyers as an assistant for two seasons. In 2004, he returned to the Greyhounds and served as the head coach until 2008. He also served as coach for the Canadian World Junior Team.^[7] He received a gold medal in the 2007 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, when Team Canada beat Russia 4-2. He was also the coach for Team Canada in the 2008 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships when Canada again won gold by beating Sweden 3-2 in overtime.

On Friday, June 13, 2008, he signed a three-year contract and was named head coach of the Ottawa Senators, replacing general manager Bryan Murray who had assumed the coaching duties when John Paddock was fired on February 27, 2008.^[8][9]

Personal

Hartsburg and his wife, Peggy, have two children. Their son, Chris, 28, is a coach with the Colorado Eagles in the Central Hockey League, while their daughter Katie, 26, is a speech pathologist.^[10] Harstburg lists Gretzky as the best player he has played with, and Chris Chelios as the best player he has coached. Hartsburg's favorite hobby is fishing.^[11]

Statistics

Playing career

Coaching record

References

External links

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