Dave Lewis (ice hockey)
David Lewis | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 3, 1953 Canada |
| Occupation(s) | Ice hockey defenceman, coach |
| Years active | 1973–1988 (player), 1988–2018 (coach) |
| Known for | NHL player, head coach of Detroit Red Wings and Boston Bruins, assistant coach for Carolina Hurricanes |
David Rodney Lewis (born July 3, 1953) is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman and coach, most recently serving as an assistant coach for the Carolina Hurricanes. He holds dual citizenship in Canada and the United States.
Playing career
Lewis launched his hockey journey with the Saskatoon Blades in the Western Canada Hockey League. Selected 33rd overall in the third round of the 1973 NHL Entry Draft by the New York Islanders, he enjoyed a sixteen-season career in the NHL. Throughout his tenure, he played for the Islanders, Los Angeles Kings, New Jersey Devils, and Detroit Red Wings, accumulating 36 goals and 224 points across 1,008 games.
Coaching career
Following his retirement as a player after the 1987–88 season with Detroit, Lewis transitioned into coaching as an assistant coach with the Red Wings. During this period, he contributed to three Stanley Cup championships in 1997, 1998, and 2002. Upon Scotty Bowman's retirement in 2002, Lewis was elevated to head coach of Detroit, leading the team to back-to-back 48-win seasons and securing a Presidents' Trophy. Despite regular-season success, his teams struggled in the playoffs, posting a 6–10 record. After his contract ended post-2004–05 lockout, he returned to the organization as a scout in August 2005.
Lewis was appointed head coach of the Boston Bruins on June 29, 2006. His tenure resulted in a disappointing 35–41–6 record, placing the Bruins last in the Northeast Division. Due to inconsistent performance, he was relieved of his duties in June 2007.
He then served as an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Kings during the 2007–08 season but was not retained for subsequent seasons.
In November 2010, Lewis briefly took on coaching responsibilities for the Ukraine national team. On June 7, 2011, he joined the Carolina Hurricanes' coaching staff as an assistant coach until both he and head coach Kirk Muller were released in May 2014.
In December 2014, Lewis accepted a one-year contract to become head coach of Belarus's national team, with an option to extend through the 2018 Winter Olympics. He led Belarus at four consecutive IIHF World Championships from 2015 to 2018; however, the team narrowly missed qualifying for the Olympics. After losing all three games at the 2018 World Championships, Lewis was dismissed early into the tournament.
Regular season and playoffs
1982–83 NHL season Los Angeles Kings NHL 79 2 10 12 53 — — — — — 1983–84 NHL seasonNew Jersey Devils NHL 66 2 5 7 63 — — — — — 1984–85 NHL season New Jersey Devils NHL 74 3 9 12 78 — — — — — 1985–86 NHL season New Jersey Devils NHL 69 0 15 15 81 — — — — — Detroit Red Wings NHL 58 2 5 7 66 14 0 4 4 10 1987–88 NHL season Detroit Red Wings NHL 6 0 0 0 18 — — — — —| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1971–72 | Saskatoon Blades | WCHL | 52 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 69 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 4 | ||
| 1972–73 | Saskatoon Blades | WCHL | 67 | 10 | 35 | 45 | 89 | 16 | 3 | 12 | 15 | 44 | ||
| 1973–74 | New York Islanders | NHL | 66 | 2 | 15 | 17 | 58 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1974–75 | New York Islanders | NHL | 78 | 5 | 14 | 19 | 98 | 17 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 28 | ||
| 1975–76 | New York Islanders | NHL | 73 | 0 | 19 | 19 | 54 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 44 | ||
| 1976–77 | New York Islanders | NHL | 79 | 4 | 24 | 29 | 44 | 12 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 4 | ||
| 1977–78 | New York Islanders | NHL | 77 | 3 | 11 | 14 | 58 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 11 | ||
| 1978–79 | New York Islanders | NHL | 79 | 5 | 18 | 23 | 43 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 1979–80 | New York Islanders | NHL | 62 | 5 | 16 | 21 | 54 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1979–80 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 11 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 1980–81 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 67 | 1 | 13 | 14 | 98 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 1981–82 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 64 | 1 | 13 | 14 | 75 | 10 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 36 | ||
| WCHL totals | 119 | 12 | 44 | 56 | 158 | 24 | 5 | 15 | 20 | 48 | ||||
| NHL totals | 1,008 | 36 | 188 | 224 | 953 | 91 | 1 | 20 | 21 | 143 | ||||
Coaching record
| Team | Season | Regular Season | Playoffs | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | Wins | Losses | Ties | Overtime Losses | Points | Standing | Wins | Losses | Winning % | Outcome | ||
| DET | 2002–03 | 82 | 48 | 20 | 10 | 4 | 110 | 1st place in Central | 0 | 4 | .000 | Eliminated by Anaheim in First Round |
| DET | 2003–04 | 82 | 48 | 21 | 11 | 2 | 109 | 1st place in Central | 6 | 6 | .500 | Defeated by Calgary in Second Round |
| DET Overall | 164 | 96 | 41 | 21 | 6 | 219 | 6 | 10 | .375 | |||
| BOS | 2006–07 | 82 | 35 | 41 | – | 6 | 76 | 5th place in Northeast | – | – | – | |
| BOS Overall | 82 | 35 | 41 | – | 6 | 76 | – | – | – | |||
| Career Total | 246 | 131 | 82 | 21 | 12 | 295 | 2 Division Titles | 6 | 10 | .375 | No Stanley Cup Championships | |