Dave Barr (ice hockey)

David Barr
Born	(1960-11-30) November 30, 1960 Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Occupation(s)	Ice hockey player, coach
Years active	1981–1997 (player), 2000–2019 (coach)
Known for	NHL right winger for seven franchises; assistant coach for multiple NHL teams

David Angus Barr (born November 30, 1960) is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey right winger who competed in the National Hockey League for thirteen seasons, representing seven different franchises: the Boston Bruins, New York Rangers, St. Louis Blues, Hartford Whalers, Detroit Red Wings, New Jersey Devils, and Dallas Stars. Following his playing career, he took on assistant coaching roles with multiple NHL organizations, including the Florida Panthers (2016–2017), Buffalo Sabres (2015–2016), New Jersey Devils (2011–2014), Minnesota Wild (2009–2011), Colorado Avalanche (2008–2009), and San Jose Sharks (2017–2019).

Early life

Born in Toronto, Ontario, Barr was raised in Edmonton, Alberta. He honed his hockey talents in the junior leagues of the Western Hockey League, playing for squads such as the Billings Bighorns, Edmonton Oil Kings, and Portland Winter Hawks.

Playing career

Throughout his thirteen-season tenure in the NHL, Barr participated in 614 regular season contests, registering 128 goals, 204 assists, and a total of 332 points, while accumulating 520 penalty minutes. Recognized for both his skill set and dedication, he was a dependable journeyman across seven NHL teams. His active playing days concluded in the International Hockey League with the Kalamazoo Wings, and he also took on dual responsibilities as a player and assistant coach with the Orlando Solar Bears.

Coaching

After retiring from playing, Barr transitioned into coaching, initially taking the helm as head coach of the Houston Aeros in the International Hockey League during the 2000–2001 season. He expanded his role to general manager from 2001 to 2003, guiding the team to a Calder Cup championship in 2003 after they joined the American Hockey League following the IHL's dissolution. Between 2003 and 2008, Barr served as both general manager and head coach for the OHL's Guelph Storm, capturing the OHL title in 2003–04 and earning the Matt Leyden Trophy as Coach of the Year during the 2005–06 season. Additionally, he coached Canada’s National Men's Summer Under-18 Team at the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament in 2007.

Barr entered NHL coaching as an assistant with the Colorado Avalanche for the 2008–09 season but was released after an underwhelming campaign. In July 2009, he joined the Minnesota Wild as an assistant coach but was let go in April 2011 amid staff changes. He was appointed assistant coach for the New Jersey Devils under Peter DeBoer in July 2011, remaining until December 2014 when both were dismissed. In June 2015, Barr became an assistant coach for the Buffalo Sabres alongside Dan Bylsma. He later reunited with DeBoer as assistant coach of the San Jose Sharks starting July 2017 until their coaching staff was relieved of duties in December 2019.

Regular season and playoffs

 1989–90 NHL season    Detroit Red Wings    NHL                                                                                             62|||10|||25|||35|||45 —|||—|||—|||—|||—  1989–90 AHL seasonAdirondack Red Wings AHL                                                                                9|||1|||14|||15|||17 —|||—|||—|||—|||— 1990–91 NHL season Detroit Red Wings NHL 70|||18|||22|||40|||55 —|||—|||—|||—|||— 1991–92 NHL seasonNew Jersey Devils NHL 41|||6|||12|||18|||32 —|||—|||—|||—|||— 1991–92 AHL seasonUtica Devils AHL 1|||00||||00||||00||||07 —||||---||||---||||---||||---||||--- 1992-93 NHL season New Jersey Devils NHL 62||||6||||8||||14||||61 5||||01||||00||||01||||06 [1993-94 NHL season] Dallas Stars NHL 20||||2||||5||||7||||21 3||||00||||01||||01||||04 [1993-94 IHL season] Kalamazoo Wings (1974-200) IHL 4||||3||||2||||5||||5 --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - [1994-95 IHL season] Kalamazoo Wings IHL 66||||18||||41||||59||||77 16||||01||||04||||05||||08 [1995-96 IHL season] Orlando Solar Bears IHL 82||||38||||62||||100||||87 23||||08||||13||||21||||14 [1996-97 IHL season] Orlando Solar Bears IHL 50||||15||||29||||44||||29 9||||02||||03||||05||||08

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1977–78	Pincher Creek Panthers	AJHL		60	16	32	48	53		—	—	—	—	—
1977–78	Billings Bighorns	WCHL		2	0	1	1	0		—	—	—	—	—
1978–79	Edmonton Oil Kings	WHL		72	16	19	35	61		8	4	0	4	2
1979–80	Great Falls Americans	WHL		3	0	1	1	10		—	—	—	—	—
1979–80	Portland Winterhawks	WHL		27	4	12	16	18		—	—	—	—	—
1979–80	Lethbridge Broncos	WHL		30	12	25	37	29		—	—	—	—	—
1980–81	Lethbridge Broncos	WHL		72	26	62	88	106		10	4	10	14	4
1981–82	Boston Bruins	NHL		2	0	0	0	0		5	1	0	1	0
1981–82	Erie Blades	AHL		76	18	48	66	29		—	—	—	—	—
1982–83	Boston Bruins	NHL		10	1	1	2	7		10	0	0	0	2
1982–83 AHL season	Baltimore Skipjacks	AHL		72	27	51	78	67		—	—	—	—	—
1983–84 NHL season	New York Rangers	NHL		6	0	0	0	2		—	—	—	—	—
1983–84	St. Louis Blues	NHL		1	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
1983–84 CHL season	Tulsa Oilers (1964–1984)	CHL		50	28	37	65	24		—	—	—	—	—
1984–85 NHL season	St. Louis Blues	NHL		75	16	18	34	32		2	0	0	0	2
1985–86 NHL season	St. Louis Blues	NHL		72	13	38	51	70		11	1	1	2	14
1986–87 NHL season	St. Louis Blues	NHL		2	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
1986–87	Hartford Whalers	NHL		30	2	4	6	19		—	—	—	—	—
1986–87	Detroit Red Wings	NHL		37	13	13	26	49		13	1	00	01	14
1987–88 NHL season	Detroit Red Wings	NHL		51	14	26	40	58		16	5	7	12	22
1988–89 NHL season   Detroit Red Wings     NHL     73  27  32  59  69     6  3  1  4  6
colspan=3 ! NHL totals !614	128	204		332	520 !71	12	10	22		70

Coaching record

Team	Season	Regular Season							Playoffs
		GP	W	L	T	OTL	Pts	Standing	Outcome
HOU	2000–01	82	42	32	–	8	92	2nd place in West	Eliminated in first round
GUE	2004–05	68	23	34	10	1	57	5th place in Midwest	Defeated in first round
GUE	2005–06	68	40	24	–	4	84	3rd place in Midwest	Exited in third round
GUE	2006–07	68	33	23	–	12	78	3rd place in Midwest	Lost in opening round
GUE	2007–08	68	34	25	–	9	77	3rd place in Midwest	Eliminated in second round

Awards and achievements

• Member of the 1983–84 CHL Adams Cup-winning Tulsa Oilers squad coached by Tom Webster.
• Secured the Calder Cup title during the 2002–03 season.
• Honored with the Matt Leyden Trophy for the 2005–06 season.