Craig Ramsay.
Ramsay has been in the NHL in some capacity since before the Washington Capitals existed. He was drafted by the Buffalo Sabres in 1971 and made his NHL debut in the 1971-72 season. During his 14 year NHL career Ramsay played 1,070 games (all with the Sabres), had 8 straight 20 goal seasons (1973-81), an NHL All Star game appearance (1976), and a Selke Trophy (1985). He reached the Stanley Cup once, losing to the Philadelphia Flyers in 1975, with Ramsay contributing 12 points in the 17 game playoff run.
After Ramsay retired from playing he took a year off and then joined the Sabres organization as an assistant coach in 1986-87 but was promoted to head coach before the season ended. Ramsay was also the team’s director of player development, and he’s always had a reputation as a strong teacher, particularly with younger players. In 1993-94 Ramsay took an assistant coaching position with the Florida Panthers, where he served for two seasons. His next stop was, again, as an assistant with the Ottawa Senators from 1996-98.
Immediately following the 1997-98 season Ramsay joined the Philadelphia Flyers as an assistant, but he was named the interim head coach when Roger Nielsen was fired in the middle of the 1999-2000 season. Ramsay led the Flyers to the Eastern Conference Finals, falling to the eventual Cup Champion New Jersey Devils in game 7. Ramsay was fired by the Flyers during the 2000-01 season after a poor start, but he wouldn’t remain unemployed for long. He joined the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2001-02 and would finally win a Stanley Cup with Tampa Bay in 2004.
Ramsay would remain with Tampa Bay through the lockout but was relieved of his duties after the 2006-07 season (and the rest of the coaching staff would only last one more season). Ramsay didn’t miss a season, as the Boston Bruins picked him up as an assistant for the 2007-08 season. He stayed in Boston until the end of the 2009-10 season. The Atlanta Thrashers offered Ramsay the head coaching job, and while the team didn’t make the playoffs, or have much success, Ramsay was praised for his work with the young players in Atlanta, particularly Alexander Burmistrov. Ramsay was in a tough situation, with lots of off-ice distractions and a young, thin-on-talent team. When the Thrashers moved to Winnipeg the new owners cleaned house and Ramsay once again found himself unemployed, but not for long. He spent last season working with the Florida Panthers as (of course) an assistant coach.
So Ramsay has been around the NHL, as a player and a coach. However, he’s had only limited stints as a head coach, with mixed results. Could the Capitals be the right fit for him? Could he be the right fit for the Capitals? He’s a great teacher whose had success working with young players, so theoretically there may be a match there. Plus, judging by the picture above I’m pretty sure he has telepathic powers.
Ramsay’s coaching history (via hockeydb.com) :
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Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images
