Brad McCrimmon

Who was Brad McCrimmon?

Byron Brad McCrimmon was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman and coach. He played over 1,200 games in the National Hockey League for the Boston Bruins, Philadelphia Flyers, Calgary Flames, Detroit Red Wings, Hartford Whalers and Phoenix Coyotes between 1979 and 1997. He achieved his greatest success in Calgary, where he was named a second team All-Star in 1987–88, played in the 1988 NHL All-Star Game and won the Plus-Minus Award with a league leading total of +48. In 1989, he helped the Flames win their first Stanley Cup championship. His career plus-minus of +444 is one of the highest totals in NHL history.

McCrimmon turned to coaching following his playing career, serving as an assistant with the New York Islanders before taking over as head coach of the Western Hockey League's Saskatoon Blades for two seasons between 1998 and 2000. He then returned to the NHL as an assistant, first with the Flames then the Atlanta Thrashers and finally the Red Wings. He left the NHL to become the head coach of Lokomotiv Yaroslavl of the Kontinental Hockey League in 2011. He never coached a regular season game however, as he was killed in the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl air disaster along with most of the team after their plane crashed en route to their first game.