Paul Coffey

• Born: June 1, 1961
• Place of Birth: Weston, Ontario, Canada

SPORT: Ice hockey

Early Life

Fast-skating Paul Douglas Coffey impressed the hockey community from a young age. He started skating at the age of four, and by the time he was ten years old, he was playing all-star hockey. At this age, he was moved to defense, which disappointed him. His father told him defensemen get more time on the ice, an idea that Coffey embraced. His father also encouraged him to respect the game of hockey and to never take it for granted.

The Road to Excellence

By the age of fifteen, Coffey was playing junior hockey against players as old as twenty years. When he played his first year of A-level hockey, he scored seventeen goals and had seventy-two assists for a total of eighty-nine points, playing for a last place team. The following year, after he was traded, he led his team in scoring with 102 points, an incredible total for a defenseman. He was chosen sixth overall in the 1980 National Hockey League (NHL) entry draft by the Edmonton Oilers. In his first NHL season, 1980–1, he had a modest thirty-two points. With an encouraging coach who allowed him to play to his strengths, he recorded eighty-nine points in his second year. He was selected for the all-star team the next several years. He continued to record an unprecedented number of points, highlighted by his total of 126, on forty goals in 1983–4. Coffey, a fast-skating, high-scoring defenseman, drew comparisons to the great defenseman Bobby Orr, and he was producing numbers equal to Orr’s records. He recorded his career-best 138 points, one point less than Orr’s record, on forty-eight goals, an NHL record, in the 1985–6 season.

The Emerging Champion

While playing on the powerful Edmonton Oilers for seven seasons, from 1981 to 1987, Coffey helped the team win three Stanley Cups. He had a brilliant 1985 playoff series, in which he scored twelve goals and had twenty-five assists in eighteen playoff games. He set playoff records for most goals, most assists, and most points by a defenseman. He was traded to the last-place Pittsburgh Penguins in 1987. There, in 1991, he helped Pittsburgh win its first Stanley Cup in franchise history.

In 2000–1, Coffey retired with seven NHL records. He had amassed 396 goals, 1,135 assists, and 1,531 points, the second-highest scoring total for a defenseman in NHL history. He won the Norris Trophy as the league’s best defenseman three times, in 1985, 1986, and 1995. He played in the NHL all-star game fourteen times and played for Canada five times. During an overtime game against the Russians in the 1984 Canada Cup championship, Coffey, with his amazing speed, broke up a Russian two-on-one break. This defensive stop helped Canada win the championship. His game-saving defensive move against the Russians is considered one of hockey’s most memorable moments. However, his defense was not always the strong point of his game.

Continuing the Story

After helping Pittsburgh win the Stanley Cup in 1991, Coffey moved around the league from one team to another until his retirement in 2001. He played on nine different teams during his twenty-one-year NHL career, a league record for a player with more than 1,000 points. He had some good years after his last Stanley Cup, including winning the Norris trophy in 1994–5. During that season, he led his team, the Detroit Red Wings, in scoring, which was a first for him and also a rarity for defensemen in NHL history.

After retirement, Coffey lived outside Toronto with his wife and three children and opened a car dealership. He has also spent time coaching in the junior hockey leagues, including teaching one of his sons during his time with the Toronto Marlboros. In 2015, he became co-owner of the Ontario Junior Hockey League team, the Pickering Panthers, after serving for a short time as the team's head coach. In 2023, Coffey became an assistant coach for the Edmonton Oilers and helped the team improve defensively. He also served as a special advisor to the team’s owner and chairperson. His time with the Oilers staff was not without controversy. In 2024, Coffey was investigated by the NHL for allegedly making a racist gesture toward a fan during a Stanley Cup playoff game versus the Vancouver Canucks. 

Summary

Paul Coffey ended his twenty-one-season NHL career as the highest-scoring skater in league history and the highest-scoring defenseman in NHL playoff history. He revolutionized his position with high-scoring, fast-skating play. He was one of the fastest skaters in NHL history, a technically skilled playmaker, and an exceptional scorer. He wore his skates several sizes smaller than his foot size and tied his skates extremely tight. He tied them so tight the trainer had to cut the laces after each game to get his foot out of his skates. In 2004, he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, a fitting tribute to one of the most unique defensemen in NHL history. In 2015, he was also inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame.

Bibliography

Buffery, Steve. "Ex-Oiler and New Canadian Sports Hall of Famer Paul Coffey Stands up for Edmonton." Toronto Sun, 22 Apr. 2015, www.torontosun.com/2015/04/22/ex-oiler-and-new-canadian-sports-hall-of-famer-paul-coffey-stands-up-for-edmonton. Accessed 13 June 2024.

Carroll, Michael. The Concise Encyclopedia of Hockey. Greystone Books, 2001.

Doucette, Chris. "Paul Coffey Disciplined by GTHL for 'Discriminatory Slur.'" Toronto Sun, 12 Feb. 2014, www.torontosun.com/2014/02/12/paul-coffey-disciplined-by-gthl-for-discriminatory-slur. Accessed 13 June 2024.

Hunter, Douglas. The Glory Barons: The Saga of the Edmonton Oilers. Penguin Books Canada, 1999.

Mackinnon, John. "Paul Coffey: 100 Greatest NHL Players." NHL.com, 1 Jan. 2017, www.nhl.com/news/paul-coffey-100-greatest-nhl-hockey-players/c-285170776. Accessed 13 June 2024.

Tucker, TJ. “NHL and Oilers Looking into Alleged Incident Involving Paul Coffey.” BladeOfSteel.com, 10 May 2024, www.bladeofsteel.com/nhl-team/edmonton-oilers/nhl-and-oilers-looking-into-alleged-incident-involving-paul-coffey. Accessed 13 June 2024.