Derek King (born February 11, 1967) is a Canadian former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

left winger A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

who currently serves as an assistant coach for the

Chicago Blackhawks The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division i ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

. King played 14 seasons in the

from 1986–87 until 1999–2000.

Playing career

King was drafted 13th overall by the

New York Islanders The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference ( ...

in the

1985 NHL Entry Draft The 1985 NHL Entry Draft was the 23rd NHL Entry Draft. It was the first draft outside Montreal. The event was held at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre in Toronto, Ontario, and attended by 7,000 fans. The National Hockey League (NHL) teams sele ...

. He played 830 career NHL games, scoring 261 goals and 351 assists for 612 points. He was a three-time 30-goal scorer, including one 40-goal season. He scored the last Maple Leafs goal in

Maple Leaf Gardens Maple Leaf Gardens is a historic building located at the northwest corner of Carlton Street and Church Street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The building was initially constructed in 1931 as an arena to host ice hockey games, though it has sinc ...

in 1999.

Coaching career

On August 21, 2009, King was named the assistant coach of the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

AHL affiliate the

Toronto Marlies The Toronto Marlies are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the American Hockey League (AHL) as a member of the North Division of the Eastern Conference. The Marlies is owned by Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment, a c ...

. In 2014, he was promoted to associate coach. On July 28, 2015, King was named assistant coach of the

Owen Sound Attack The Owen Sound Attack are a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League based in Owen Sound, Ontario, Canada. Based in Owen Sound since 1989, and operating under the current name since 2000, the Attack play their home games at the J.D. M ...

of the

Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; french: Ligue de hockey de l'Ontario (LHO)) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The league is for players aged 16–19. There are exceptions for overag ...

. However, he left the Attack on October 28, 2015. On July 7, 2016, King was named an assistant coach with the

Rockford IceHogs The Rockford IceHogs are a professional ice hockey team based in Rockford, Illinois. They are members of the American Hockey League (AHL), having begun play in the League starting in the 2007–08 season. The team plays their home games at the ...

of the American Hockey League, the minor league affiliate of the

. On November 6, 2018, King was named the interim head coach of the IceHogs when head coach

Jeremy Colliton Jeremy Colliton (born January 13, 1985) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player. He is currently serving as head coach of the Abbotsford Canucks of the American Hockey League (AHL). Colliton is a former head coach of the Chi ...

was promoted to the Blackhawks. King was named the permanent head coach of the IceHogs at the end of the 2018–19 season. On November 6, 2021, King was named interim head coach of the

of the

to replace the dismissed Colliton, who led the team to a 1–9–2 start to the 2021–22 season. On November 7, 2021 King earned his first win as an NHL head coach as the Chicago Blackhawks defeated the

Nashville Predators The Nashville Predators (commonly referred to as the Preds) are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and ha ...

by a score of 2–1 in overtime in his head coaching debut. On June 27, 2022, King was replaced as head coach of the Blackhawks by former

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

assistant and longtime NHL defenseman

Luke Richardson Luke Glen Richardson (born March 26, 1969) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach who is the head coach of the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League. Prior to his coaching career, Richardson played as a defenceman in the NHL for ...

, but rehired 14 days later as an assistant coach.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

NHL head coaching record

References

External links

* 1967 births Living people Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Germany Canadian ice hockey left wingers Grand Rapids Griffins players Hartford Whalers players Ice hockey people from Ontario Sportspeople from Hamilton, Ontario München Barons players National Hockey League first-round draft picks New York Islanders draft picks New York Islanders players Oshawa Generals players Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds players Springfield Indians players St. Louis Blues players Toronto Maple Leafs players Canadian ice hockey coaches {{Canada-icehockey-winger-1960s-stub