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| 1978 NHL DRAFT PICK |
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Craig MacTavish
Selected in ninth round
No.
153 overall by Boston Bruins
Born August 15, 1958
 | Position:
Center / Left Wing
Height: 6-0 Weight: 180
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| BEFORE THE DRAFT |
Last Team:
Lowell (ECAC Division II)
Birthplace: London, Ontario (Canada)
Hometown:
London, Ontario |
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| PRE-DRAFT
STATISTICS | | Year |
Team | League |
GP | G |
A | TP |
PIM | | 1976-77 |
London | Jr. B |
-- | -- |
-- | -- |
-- | | 1977-78 |
Lowell | ECAC-II |
21 | 26 |
19 | 45 |
-- |
|
PRE-DRAFT AWARDS AND HONORS
ECAC Division-II Rookie of Year: 1977-78 (Lowell)
ECAC
Division-II All-Star First Team: 1977-78 (Lowell)
New England
Division-II All-Star First Team: 1977-78 (Lowell) |
| NHL CAREER |
Debut: December 4, 1979 (Boston at
Philadelphia)
Numbers: 32, 27, 14 (Boston); 14 (Edmonton); 14 (N.Y.
Rangers);
14 (Philadelphia); 22 (St. Louis)
Stanley Cup: 1987, 1988, 1990,
1994. Status: Retired April 29, 1997 |
| CAREER NHL STATISTICS |
| Years | Teams |
GP | G | A | TP | PIM |
| 1979-1997 | BOS, EDM, NYR, PHI, STL |
1,093 | 213 |
267 | 480 | 891 |
|
| CAREER NHL PLAYOFF STATISTICS |
| Years | Teams |
GP | G | A | TP | PIM |
| 1980-1997 | BOS, EDM, NYR, PHI, STL |
193 | 20 |
38 | 58 | 218 |
|
NHL
AWARDS AND HONORS
All-Star Game: 1996 (Philadelphia)
Stanley Cup Finals (Lost): 2006
(Edmonton) (as head coach)
Edmonton Top First-Year Oiler: 1985-86
Edmonton Top Defensive Forward: 1987-88, 1989-90, 1990-91, 1991-92
Edmonton Captain: October 1992 until March 21, 1994.
Edmonton Records: Most consecutive games played (519 from Oct. 12,
1986, to Jan. 2, 1993)
Philadelphia Playoffs Penalty-Minutes Leader: 1995 (20)
Coaching
Career: Named N.Y. Rangers assistant coach on Aug. 14, 1997, and remained
in that position until July 15, 1999. ... Named Edmonton assistant coach on
July 15, 1999, and remained in that position until June 22, 2000. ... Named
Edmonton head coach on June 22, 2000, and remained in that position through
2006-07 season.
Miscellaneous: Had assist in his first NHL game. The assist came on his
first NHL faceoff. ... Shifted from center to left wing prior to 1982-83
season. ... Led Boston in preseason goals (5) in 1982. ... Played on line with
Peter McNab and Keith Crowder for Boston in 1982-83. ... Played on line with
Tom Fergus and Terry O'Reilly for Boston in 1983-84. ... Missed part of
1983-84 season with shoulder injury suffered in Jan., 25, 1984, automobile
accident. ... Scored goal on first shot of first game with Edmonton (Oct. 10,
1985, vs. Winnipeg). ... Missed part of 1985-86 season with shoulder injury
suffered in January 1986. ... Was Edmonton's nominee for 1985-86 Masterton
Trophy. ... Missed one game in 1986-87 season after suffering knee sprain
during Edmonton's Oct. 9, 1986, season-opener at Philadelphia. ... Named
Edmonton assistant captain on Oct. 4, 1991, and remained in that position
through 1991-92 season. ... Served as Edmonton captain while Kevin Lowe was
injured during 1991-92 season. ... Became Edmonton's all-time consecutive
games-played leader when he ran his streak to 421 games on Nov. 23, 1991. Only
Steve Larmer had a longer consecutive-games streak during MacTavish's playing
days. ... Served as Edmonton captain from start of 1992-93 season until
December 1992 while Kevin Lowe was in contract holdout before becoming
official captain after Lowe was traded in December 1992. ... Missed part of 1992-93 season with strained lower back, an injury
suffered during Edmonton's Jan. 2, 1993, game vs. Tampa Bay. The injury ended his consecutive-games streak at
519. At the time, it was the 10th longest streak in NHL history. ... Also missed one game in 1992-93 season with concussion suffered
during Edmonton's March 10, 1993, game vs. Detroit. .... Missed parts of
1993-94 season with strained wrist, an injury suffered during Edmonton's Oct.
18, 1993, game at Winnipeg and re-injured during Edmonton's Dec. 7, 1993 game
at N.Y. Islanders. Also missed parts of 1993-94 season with whiplash, suffered
during Edmonton's Dec. 15, 1993, game vs. Vancouver, and with a bruised foot,
suffered during Edmonton's Dec. 30, 1993, game at Calgary. ... Was represented
by player agent Mike Gillis during latter portion of his NHL career. ...
Turned down offer from Edmonton general manager Glen Sather to become Oilers
head coach in 1994 because he wanted to continue his playing career. Sather
had offered a three-year contract worth more than $500,000. ... Missed parts of
1995 season with foot injury suffered during Philadelphia's Jan. 24, 1995,
game at N.Y. Islanders, and with bruised right foot, an injury suffered during
Philadelphia's April 14, 1995, game vs. Tampa Bay. ... Named Philadelphia
alternate captain on Feb. 9, 1995, and remained in that position until March
15, 1996. ... Missed start of 1995-96 season while recovering from knee
surgery performed on Sept. 25, 1995. ... Was last NHL
player to play regularly without a helmet, although he did wear a helmet
during the years he played in Boston. ... Got into scuffle with Calgary mascot
Harvey the Hound while coaching Edmonton on Jan. 20, 2003. MacTavish pulled
the mascot's floppy tongue off his costume and threw it into the crowd.
MacTavish's Season in Prison:
MacTavish did not play during the 1984-85 season because he was under
suspension from the NHL. The suspension came as a result of MacTavish's criminal conviction and imprisonment for vehicular homicide.
The conviction stemmed from a Jan. 25, 1984, automobile accident in which
MacTavish's 1983 Datsun collided with a 1976 Ford Pinto station wagon driven
by 26-year-old Kim Lea Radley of West Newfield, Mass. The accident took place at
approximately 7:30 p.m. while MacTavish, then 25, was driving on Route 1
north of Boston to his home in Tewksbury, Mass. Before getting into his car, MacTavish had been drinking at the Golden Banana Club, where employees said he
had behaved in a drunken and loud fashion. Minutes after leaving the
nightclub, MacTavish's car struck
Radley's from behind, sending the station wagon 100 feet into a restaurant parking lot.
Police estimated MacTavish's speed at 60-85 mph. The station wagon hit two
parked cars and landed on its side. Radley was
removed from the crushed vehicle alive, but she was unconscious from severe
head injuries. She was taken to Salem Hospital, where she died three days
later. MacTavish survived the crash with an injured shoulder and deep facial
cuts that resulted from his head hitting the windshield. Essex County
authorities charged MacTavish with vehicular homicide, which carried a
mandatory sentence of one year in jail. He already faced charges for driving
under the influence of alcohol, driving to endanger and driving without a
Massachusetts driver's license. MacTavish pleaded innocent to the vehicular
homicide charge, and the case was scheduled for trial. After recovering from
his injuries, MacTavish completed the 1983-84 season and then went to trial.
After learning of the evidence against him (mostly testimony from Golden
Banana Club employees), he opted to plead guilty to the vehicular homicide
charge under the advice of his attorney, former Boston University hockey player Bob Murray. MacTavish was sentenced to
one year in prison without the possibility of parole. He began serving his time behind bars on May 14, 1984,
at the Essex County House of Correction, a minimum security facility. In
addition to the criminal conviction, MacTavish faced a $10 million suit from
the husband of Kim Radley. The suit was settled out of court. |
| NON-NHL CAREER |
Post-Draft Teams: Lowell (ECAC D-II);
Binghamton (AHL); Springfield (AHL); Erie (AHL)
World Championships: 2005 (as assistant coach)
NON-NHL
AWARDS AND HONORS
NCAA Division II Championship: 1979 (Lowell)
NCAA Division II All-America First
Team: 1978-79 (Lowell)
ECAC Division II Player of Year:
1978-79 (Lowell)
ECAC Division II
All-Star First Team: 1978-79 (Lowell)
New England Division II
All-Star First Team: 1978-79 (Lowell)
Lowell/UMass-Lowell Records: Most points in one season (88 in 1978-79),
most points in one game (11 vs. Bryant on Feb. 17, 1979), most points in one
period (7 in third period vs. Bryant on Feb. 17, 1979), most points in one season by a center (88 in 1978-79), most assists in
a season (52 in
1978-79), most assists in season by center (52 in 1978-79), most assists
in game (8 vs. Bryant on Feb. 17, 1979), most assists in period (5 vs.
Bryant in third period on Feb. 17, 1979)
ECAC Division II Points Leader: 1978-79 (Lowell) (88 points)
Miscellaneous: Was leading scorer
in 1979 NCAA Division II championship tournament. ... Trained with Team
Canada in Calgary during summer of 1985 after his release from prison so that
he could get back into shape for 1985-86 NHL season. ... Became active in
charitable work after his prison sentence, including local police efforts to
limit drunken driving in Edmonton. Also served as honorary chairman of
Northern Alberta Children's Hospital Foundation. |
| HOW HE GOT AWAY |
| FREE AGENCY: Boston dropped MacTavish from
its roster while he was suspended from the NHL and incarcerated in the 1984-85
season, making him an unrestricted free agent. While still behind bars, he signed a two-year
contract with Edmonton on Feb. 1, 1985. |
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|
SNAPSHOT '78 | | Total Selected: |
234 | | Forwards: |
143 | | Defense: |
67 | | Goaltenders: |
24 | | Major Junior: |
127 | | College Players: |
80 |
| Canadian: |
170 |
| Euro-Canadian: |
0 | | USA Citizens: |
47 | | U.S.-Born: |
47 |
| European: |
17 |
| Reached NHL: |
95 |
| Won Stanley Cup: |
16 | | Hall of Fame: |
1 |
| All-Star Game: |
18 |
| Year-end All-Star: |
1 |
| Olympians: |
16 |
| Picks Traded: |
46 |
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