Paul Gardner (ice hockey)
Paul Gardner | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 5, 1956 Fort Erie, Ontario, Canada |
| Occupation(s) | Ice hockey player, coach |
| Years active | 1976–1990 (player), 1990s–2018 (coach) |
| Known for | Professional ice hockey centre and coach |
Paul Malone Gardner (born March 5, 1956) is a Canadian former centre and professional ice hockey coach, most recently serving as head coach for Löwen Frankfurt in Germany.
Born in Fort Erie, Ontario, Gardner is the son of ex-NHL player Cal Gardner and the younger sibling of Dave Gardner. His birth coincided with his father's tenure playing for the Boston Bruins.
Playing career
Gardner participated in youth hockey at the 1968 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament representing a minor team from Leaside.
Selected in the 1976 NHL Draft by the Kansas City Scouts, Gardner never suited up for the team due to their relocation to Denver that same year, where they became known as the Colorado Rockies.
Colorado Rockies
In addition to being drafted by the NHL Scouts, Gardner was also chosen by the Toronto Toros of the WHA. He launched his professional journey with the Rhode Island Reds, the Rockies’ minor league affiliate. Nevertheless, he spent most of his rookie NHL season playing for Colorado, tallying 30 goals and accumulating 59 points over 60 games, placing him second in team scoring. During his sophomore NHL season, he achieved 30 goals within just 46 games. Despite this promising performance, Gardner was traded mid-season during his third year to the Toronto Maple Leafs, a team that had shown interest in him before the March 15, 1979 trade deadline.
Toronto Maple Leafs
Gardner joined the Toronto Maple Leafs franchise where his father had previously played four seasons. He made an immediate impact by scoring seven goals and totaling nine points across eleven games to close out that season. However, his subsequent season saw a decline as he managed only eleven goals in 45 appearances. After not securing a spot on the roster for the 1980-81 season, Gardner was traded along with Dave Burrows to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for Paul Marshall and Kim Davis.
Pittsburgh Penguins
While playing for Pittsburgh, Gardner regained his offensive prowess with goal totals of 34, 36, and 28 in successive seasons, establishing himself as a key scoring threat. In his fourth season with the Penguins, however, he experienced a scoring drought over 16 games which resulted in being assigned to their AHL affiliate based in Baltimore. There, he led the team by scoring 32 goals and amassing 81 points in just 54 games.
Washington Capitals
Gardner’s impressive performance at the AHL level earned him a contract with the Washington Capitals for the 1984-85 campaign. Although he recorded only two goals and six points in twelve NHL appearances that season, he dominated their farm team by leading the AHL with an outstanding 51 goals and a total of 130 points over 64 games. Despite these remarkable statistics, Washington opted not to renew his contract.
Buffalo Sabres
As a free agent signing of the Buffalo Sabres, Gardner appeared in only two NHL games while spending most of that season excelling with their AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans, where he scored 61 goals and accumulated 112 points. Following that season, he decided to retire from professional play.
More than a decade later, while serving as an assistant coach for the Washington Capitals' AHL affiliate Portland Pirates, Gardner briefly returned to active play due to roster shortages and recorded an assist during that stint. Over his career, he played for seven different teams in the AHL and consistently maintained at least a point-per-game average.
Coaching career
Shortly after ending his playing days, Gardner transitioned into coaching. He led the Newmarket Saints (AHL) for four seasons before taking on an assistant coaching role under Barry Trotz with the Baltimore Skipjacks, who later became the Portland Pirates. Both coaches eventually moved up to NHL positions with the expansion Nashville Predators, where Gardner served as assistant coach through the 2002–03 season and subsequently worked as a professional scout.
In January 2007, Gardner accepted the head coaching position for Russian KHL club Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, guiding them to a nine-game winning streak and playoff qualification before parting ways in February 2008. He then took over coaching duties at Dynamo Minsk in Belarus and also assisted their national team but resigned in July 2008 due to personal reasons.
On December 18, 2008, Gardner was named head coach of Germany’s DEL team Hamburg Freezers. In his initial season, he led them to reach the playoff quarterfinals; however, they failed to qualify for postseason play during his second year. His contract concluded following the 2009-10 campaign.
Gardner coached the Mississippi RiverKings (CHL) during the 2010-11 season but was relieved of duties prior to the next season. In September 2011, he assumed head coaching responsibilities with CHL’s Bloomington Blaze. By January 2013, he took over as head coach of Scotland’s Braehead Clan (EIHL), steering them to win the Gardiner Conference Championship and reach playoff quarterfinals before his contract was not renewed.
In May 2013, Gardner signed a two-year contract with Dutch Eredivisie club Tilburg Trappers, where he secured consecutive Dutch championship titles along with cup victories.
On January 1, 2016, German second-tier side Lausitzer Füchse appointed him as head coach; he remained through that season’s conclusion. Subsequently, on June 29, 2016, Gardner joined fellow DEL2 outfit Löwen Frankfurt, working alongside sporting director Rich Chernomaz. Under his leadership, Löwen Frankfurt captured the DEL2 championship in 2017. However, during playoff quarterfinals on March 17, 2018, after initial defeats, Gardner was dismissed from his position.
In recognition of his contributions to sport, Gardner was inducted into the Leaside Sports Hall of Fame in 2019; notably both his brother Dave and father Cal have also been honored with induction.
Career statistics
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1973–74 | St. Michael's Buzzers | MetJHL | 44 | 87 | 44 | 131 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1974–75 | Oshawa Generals | OMJHL | 64 | 27 | 36 | 63 | 54 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | ||
| 1975–76 | Oshawa Generals | OMJHL | 65 | 69 | 75 | 144 | 75 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 2 | ||
| 1976–77 | Rhode Island Reds | AHL | 14 | 10 | 4 | 14 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1976–77 | Colorado Rockies | NHL | 60 | 30 | 29 | 59 | 25 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1977–78 | Colorado Rockies | NHL | 46 | 30 | 22 | 52 | 29 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1978–79 | Colorado Rockies | NHL | 64 | 23 | 26 | 49 | 32 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1978–79 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 11 | 7 | 2 | 9 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 1979–80 | New Brunswick Hawks | AHL | 20 | 11 | 16 | 27 | 14 | 15 | 10 | 5 | 15 | 5 | ||
| 1979–80 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 45 | 11 | 13 | 24 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1980–81 | Springfield Indians | AHL | 14 | 9 | 12 | 21 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1980–81 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 62 | 34 | 40 | 74 | 59 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 8 | ||
| 1981–82 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 59 | 36 | 33 | 69 | 28 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 2 | ||
| 1982–83 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 70 | 28 | 27 | 55 | 12 | — | — | — | — | |||
| 1983–84 | Baltimore Skipjacks | AHL |54 |32 |49 |81 |14 |10 |12 |10 |22 |0 | ||||||||||||||
| 1983–84 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL |16 |0 |5 |5 |6 |— |— |— |— |— | ||||||||||||||
| 1984–85 | Binghamton Whalers | AHL |64 |51 |79 |130 |10 |5 |3 |9 |12 |0 | ||||||||||||||
| 1984–85 | Washington Capitals | NHL |12 |2 |4 |6 |6 |— |— |— |— |— | ||||||||||||||
| 1985–86 | Rochester Americans | AHL |71 |61 |51 |112 |16 |- |- |- |- |- | ||||||||||||||
| 1985–86 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL |2 |0 |0 |0 |0 |- |- |- |- |- | ||||||||||||||
| 1996–97 | Portland Pirates | AHL |1 |0 |1 |1 |0 |- |- |- |- |- | ||||||||||||||
| NHL totals | 447 | 201 | 201 | 402 | 207 | 16 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 14 | ||||
| AHL totals | 238 | 174 | 212 | 386 | 72 | 30 | 25 | 24 | 49 | 5 | ||||
See also
External links
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- 1956 births
- Binghamton Whalers players
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- Living people
- Nashville Predators coaching staff
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- New Brunswick Hawks players
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