Bob Gainey

Robert Michael Gainey (born December 13, 1953) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played for the Montreal Canadiens from 1973 until 1989. After retiring from active play, he became a hockey coach and later an executive with the Minnesota North Stars/Dallas Stars organization before returning to Montreal as general manager from 2003 to 2010. Currently, Gainey serves as a team consultant for the St. Louis Blues as well as a volunteer senior advisor for the Peterborough Petes of the Ontario Hockey League.^[1] He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1992. In 2017 Gainey was named one of the '100 Greatest NHL Players' in history.^[2]

Bob Gainey
Hockey Hall of Fame, 1992
Born	(1953-12-13) December 13, 1953 (age 69) 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
National team	Canada
NHL Draft	8th overall, 1973 Montreal Canadiens
WHA Draft	7th overall, 1973 Minnesota Fighting Saints
Playing career	1973–1989
Medal record Ice hockey Representing  Canada Canada Cup 1976 Canada Team World Championships 1982 Finland Team 1983 West Germany Team

Early years

Bob Gainey began his hockey career in 1972 with his hometown team, the Peterborough Petes of the Ontario Hockey League. His lack of scoring was made up by his impressive ability to shut down opposing players. This impressed many scouts in the NHL and in 1973, he was drafted eighth overall by the Montreal Canadiens. He was also drafted seventh overall by the Minnesota Fighting Saints of the WHA although he never joined the WHA.

Professional years

As a rookie, Gainey was committed to a defensive style of play. In his second year, he was paired up with stars Yvan Cournoyer and Jacques Lemaire on the second line. In 1976, Gainey was chosen to represent Team Canada at the Canada Cup tournament where he helped Team Canada win the Cup against the Czechoslovakians. A defensive specialist, Gainey played with the Montreal Canadiens from 1973–74 to 1988–89, winning four consecutive Frank J. Selke Trophies, awarded to the league's best defensive forward, and four consecutive Stanley Cups from 1976 to 1979.

In 1982, Canadiens captain Serge 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 from 1981 to 1983. 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 the New York Islanders.

Gainey lifted his last Stanley Cup as a player in 1986 against the Calgary 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 in 1988 and 1989. 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.

In total, Bob Gainey played in 1160 regular season games, scored 239 goals, and registered 263 assists. He was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1992. In 1998, Gainey was ranked number 86 on The Hockey News' list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players.

Post hockey playing years

After his retirement, Gainey moved to France where he was player/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 the Minnesota North Stars in 1990–91, 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. In 1996, 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 as Joe Nieuwendyk, Brett Hull, Ed Belfour and Sergei Zubov. The team won the Presidents' Trophy in 1998 and 1999. Dallas won the Stanley Cup in 1999.

In 1997, as Stars general manager, Gainey drafted his son Steve Gainey 77th overall in the annual NHL Entry Draft. Gainey won the Stanley Cup a sixth time in 1999 with Dallas.

Along with Bobby Clarke and Pierre Gauthier, Gainey was given the responsibility of selecting Canada's men's ice hockey squad for the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan.

Gainey became general manager of the Montreal Canadiens in May 2003.^[3] On January 13, 2006, Gainey fired Canadiens' head coach Claude Julien and stepped in as head coach on an interim basis.^[4] At the same time, he hired Guy Carbonneau to work as an associate coach, handing the coaching reins over to him for the 2006–07 season.^[5] On July 24, 2006, Montreal Canadiens president Pierre Boivin extended Gainey's contract to 2009–10.^[6]

On February 23, 2008, the Canadiens retired Gainey's #23 jersey.^[7]

On March 9, 2009, Gainey named himself the interim coach of the Montreal Canadiens after firing Guy Carbonneau.^[8][9] On June 1, 2009, he signed Jacques Martin as the new head coach.^[10] On February 8, 2010, he resigned as the Canadiens general manager for personal reasons, and was succeeded by Gauthier.^[11][12] 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 the 2011–12 season, following the firing of Pierre Gauthier, when it was mutually agreed, between Gainey and team President Geoff Molson, that he step down.^[13]

On May 9, 2012, the Dallas Stars announced Gainey's hiring as a team consultant.^[14]

On October 1, 2014, the St. Louis Blues announced Gainey's hiring as a team consultant.^[15]

Awards and achievements

• Frank J. Selke Trophy winner in 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981.
• Selected to the NHL All-Star Game in 1977, 1978, 1980, 1981.
• Conn Smythe Trophy winner in 1979.
• Stanley Cup championships in 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1986 (as Player), 1999 (as GM).
• Inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1992.
• In 1998, Gainey was ranked number 86 on The Hockey News' list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players.
• His #23 was retired by the Montreal Canadiens on February 23, 2008.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				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
NHL totals				1,160	239	262	501	585		182	25	48	73	151

International

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

NHL coaching record

Team	Year	Regular season							Post season
		G	W	L	T	OTL	Pts	Finish	Result
MIN	1990–91	80	27	39	14	-	68	4th in Norris	Lost in Stanley 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 in Central	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 in Northeast	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

Personal life

Bob Gainey, with his wife Cathy, were parents to one son and three daughters: Steve (whom he drafted in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft), Colleen, Anna (the former president of the Liberal Party of Canada and Canadian member of parliament (MP) for Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount),^[16] and Laura.

Gainey's wife Cathy died in June 1995 at age 39 of brain cancer.^[17][18] Gainey's daughter, Laura, died at age 25 in December 2006, when she was swept overboard while sailing in the North Atlantic on the barque Picton Castle, a sail-training tall ship based out of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, registered in the Cook Islands and destined for Grenada.^[19] Laura's body was never recovered, and the U.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 the CBC News program The Fifth Estate, which was highly critical of safety standards on the Picton Castle.^[20][21]

References

1. Stubbs, Dave (June 20, 2018). "Gainey named adviser with Peterborough of OHL". NHL.com.
2. "100 Greatest NHL Players". NHL.com. January 27, 2017. Retrieved January 27, 2017.
3. "Habs hire Gainey as GM". London Free Press. June 3, 2003. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
4. "Canadiens fire coach Claude Julien". CBC Sports. January 14, 2006. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
5. "GM Gainey takes over as coach, then Carbonneau". ESPN. January 15, 2006. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
6. "Canadiens extend GM Bob Gainey's contract". USA Today. July 24, 2006. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
7. . The Hockey News. February 23, 2008. Archived from the original on December 22, 2015. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
8. "Bob Gainey: Change of direction was needed". Toronto Star. March 9, 2009. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
9. "Canadiens fire Carbonneau". The Globe and Mail. March 10, 2009. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
10. "Canadiens name Martin as head coach". CBC Sports. June 1, 2009. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
11. "Gainey steps down as Habs GM". CBC Sports. February 8, 2010. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
12. "Canadiens GM Bob Gainey resigns". Toronto Star. February 8, 2010. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
13. "Canadiens fire GM Gauthier, part ways with Gainey". CBC Sports. March 29, 2012. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
14. "Bob Gainey going back to work for the Dallas Stars". CBC Sports. May 10, 2012. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
15. "Former Hab Bob Gainey now working for St. Louis Blues". The Gazette. Montreal. October 1, 2014. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
16. Delacourt, Susan (February 22, 2014). "Liberals elect Anna Gainey, a Trudeau confidante, as new party president". Toronto Star. Retrieved February 23, 2014.
17. "Habs' thoughts with Gainey family". CBC Sports. December 12, 2006. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
18. MacGregor, Roy (May 3, 2007). "The hole in Bob Gainey's heart". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
19. "Search ongoing for Bob Gainey's daughter lost at sea". The Globe and Mail. December 10, 2006. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
20. "Overboard – The Fifth Estate". CBC News. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
21. "Gainey dismisses report into death of daughter as 'coverup'". CBC Sports. November 27, 2007. Retrieved December 15, 2015.

External links

• Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or Legends of Hockey, or The Internet Hockey Database
• Bob Gainey at Canada's Sports Hall of Fame  

Preceded by John Van Boxmeer	Montreal Canadiens first round draft pick 1973	Succeeded by Cam Connor
Preceded by Award created	Winner of the Frank J. Selke Trophy 1978–1981	Succeeded by Steve Kasper
Preceded by Larry Robinson	Winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy 1979	Succeeded by Bryan Trottier
Preceded by Serge Savard	Montreal Canadiens captain 1981–89	Succeeded by Guy Carbonneau Chris Chelios
Preceded by Pierre Pagé	Head coach of the Minnesota North Stars/Dallas Stars 1990–95	Succeeded by Ken Hitchcock
Preceded by Bobby Clarke	General manager of the Minnesota North Stars/Dallas Stars 1992–2002	Succeeded by Doug Armstrong
Preceded by André Savard	General manager of the Montreal Canadiens 2003–10	Succeeded by Pierre Gauthier
Preceded by Claude Julien Guy Carbonneau	Head Coach of the Montreal Canadiens 2006 (interim) 2009 (interim)	Succeeded by Guy Carbonneau Jacques Martin