Marc Crawford
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Marc Crawford (b. February 13, 1961 in Belleville, Ontario, Canada) is a Canadian National Hockey League head coach and former forward for the Vancouver Canucks. He was drafted by the Vancouver Canucks in the 1980 NHL Entry Draft, 4th round, 70th overall. Standing 5'11" (1.80 m) tall, and weighing 185 lbs (84 kg).
As a rookie left winger with the Canucks, Crawford played in the 1982-83 Stanley Cup finals where Vancouver was defeated by the New York Islanders in four straight.
Crawford would spend the next six years flying between Vancouver and Fredericton, New Brunswick, alternating between the Canucks and their farm team, the Fredericton Express of the AHL. All this flying would eventually earn him the nickname "747", though most contemporary Canucks fans now know him as "Crow".
As head coach of the Colorado Avalanche, he successfully led his team to victory of the 1996 Stanley Cup championship by sweeping the Florida Panthers 4-0 in the finals on a goal by Uwe Krupp. This in the first year after the team had relocated from Quebec City (See Quebec Nordiques). The following two years would see the Avalanche bow out early in the playoffs. General manager Pierre Lacroix would offer him a one-year contract extension, but feeling that he was deserving of a more lucrative and long-term contract, Crawford resigned as Colorado coach on May 27, 1998, and proceeded to sign on as head coach of the Canucks in January, 1999.
Crawford was also the head coach of the 1998 Canadian olympic hockey team where they finished 4th, to the disappointment of many Canadians. Many fans blame him for using Ray Bourque in the shoot-out against Dominik Hašek instead of Wayne Gretzky as the reason why Canada did so poorly. However, he continues to be considered one of the elite coaches in the NHL.
In 1995, he won the NHL's Jack Adams Award as Coach of the Year.
Preceded by: Pierre Page | Head Coaches of the Quebec Nordiques 1994–1995 | Succeeded by: none |
Preceded by: none | Head Coaches of the Colorado Avalanche 1995–1999 | Succeeded by: Bob Hartley |
Preceded by: Mike Keenan | Head Coaches of the Vancouver Canucks 2002–2004 | Succeeded by: none |