Michael Anthony Foligno (; born January 29, 1959) 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 ...

right 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 played in 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 ...

for fifteen seasons from 1979–80 until 1993–94. He is a scout for the

Vegas Golden Knights The Vegas Golden Knights are a professional ice hockey team based in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference. Founded in 2017 as an expan ...

Playing career

Foligno was born in

Sudbury Sudbury may refer to: Places Australia * Sudbury Reef, Queensland Canada * Greater Sudbury, Ontario (official name; the city continues to be known simply as Sudbury for most purposes) ** Sudbury (electoral district), one of the city's federal e ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, but spent his early years in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

where he took up the sport of soccer, participating as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

. When Foligno returned to Canada with his family at the age of 10, he was introduced to hockey. Foligno was drafted 3rd overall by the

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

in the

1979 NHL Entry Draft The 1979 NHL Entry Draft was the 17th NHL Entry Draft. It took place on August 9, 1979, at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, Quebec. The National Hockey League (NHL) teams selected 126 players eligible for entry into professional ranks, in ...

. He played 1018 career NHL games, scoring 355 goals and 372 assists for 727 points, while adding 2049

penalty minutes A penalty in ice hockey is a punishment for an infringement of the rules. Most penalties are enforced by sending the offending player to a penalty box for a set number of minutes. During the penalty the player may not participate in play. Penaltie ...

. His best offensive season was the 1985–86 season with the

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team was established in 1970, along w ...

, when he scored 41 goals and 80 points, both career highs. On December 23, 1991, while with the Maple Leafs, he broke his foot while playing against Winnipeg, causing him to miss a majority of the season. Foligno is perhaps best known for his trademark jump, dubbed the "Foligno Leap", after scoring a goal. Both of his two sons have carried on the tradition of the Foligno Leap. Foligno is also known for the custom helmet he was required to wear throughout his career due to his fontanel not fully developing.

Coaching and management career

Foligno has worked as an assistant coach for 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 ...

Colorado Avalanche The Colorado Avalanche (colloquially known as the Avs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The Avalanche play thei ...

Anaheim Ducks The Anaheim Ducks are a professional ice hockey team based in Anaheim, California. The Ducks compete in the Western Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division, and play their home games at Honda Center. ...

, and New Jersey Devils. He was previously the general manager of the

Sudbury Wolves The Sudbury Wolves are an Ontario Hockey League (OHL) ice hockey team based in Greater Sudbury, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. Sudbury has had various hockey teams competing at the Junior ice hockey, junior and senior ice hockey levels of the game k ...

, and was also the head coach of the club, including the time when both of his sons,

Nick Nick may refer to: * Nick (given name) * A cricket term for a slight deviation of the ball off the edge of the bat * British slang for being arrested * British slang for a police station * British slang for stealing * Short for nickname Place ...

and Marcus, played prior to playing in the NHL. On September 21, 2016, it was announced that Foligno was hired as a scout for the expansion

Transactions

December 2, 1981: Traded to the

along with

Dale McCourt Dale Allen McCourt, (born January 26, 1957), is a former professional ice hockey forward. He was drafted first overall by the Detroit Red Wings in the 1977 NHL amateur draft. Junior hockey McCourt played major junior in the Ontario Hockey Assoc ...

and

Brent Peterson Brent Ronald Peterson (born February 15, 1958) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and coach. He played 11 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with four clubs, primarily as a low-scoring checker with a reputation as a st ...

in exchange for

Danny Gare Daniel Mirl Gare (born May 14, 1954) is a Canadian broadcaster, ice hockey coach and former National Hockey League (NHL) player, most notably of the Buffalo Sabres. During a 13-year professional career, Gare also played for the Detroit Red Wings a ...

Jim Schoenfeld James Grant Schoenfeld (born September 4, 1952) is a Canadian professional ice hockey executive and former player. He most recently was the assistant general manager with the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL), as well as an inte ...

and Derek Smith.
December 17, 1990: Traded to the

along with Buffalo's 8th round pick in the 1991 Draft (

Tomas Kucharcik Tomas may refer to: People * Tomás (given name), a Spanish, Portuguese, and Gaelic given name * Tomas (given name), a Swedish, Dutch, and Lithuanian given name * Tomáš, a Czech and Slovak given name * Tomas (surname), a French and Croatian surna ...

) in exchange for

Brian Curran Brian Phillip Curran (born November 5, 1963) is a Canadian ice hockey, coach, executive and former player. He is the current head coach and general manager of the Drumheller Dragons of the Alberta Junior Hockey League. Curran was born in Toronto, ...

and

Lou Franceschetti Louis Carlo Franceschetti (born March 28, 1958) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played in the National Hockey League with the Washington Capitals, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Buffalo Sabres between 1981 and 1991. He was selec ...

.
November 5, 1993: Traded to the

Florida Panthers The Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern ...

in exchange for cash.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Coaching record

Personal life

Foligno was married to wife Janis until her death in 2009 during his time as coach in Sudbury. They have four children, Cara (teacher in Buffalo and formerly in the Dufferin-Peel Catholic school board, Lisa (lacrosse player at

Canisius College Canisius College is a private Jesuit college in Buffalo, New York. It was founded in 1870 by Jesuits from Germany and is named after St. Peter Canisius. Canisius offers more than 100 undergraduate majors and minors, and around 34 master's ...

and Marcus. Nick was drafted in the first round of the

2006 NHL Entry Draft The 2006 NHL Entry Draft was the 44th NHL Entry Draft. It was held at General Motors Place in Vancouver, British Columbia, on June 24, 2006. The draft order for the first 14 picks was decided during a lottery held on April 20, 2006. The draft was ...

by the

Ottawa Senators The Ottawa Senators (french: Sénateurs d'Ottawa), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a membe ...

, made the 2007–08 Senators team and was the captain of the

Columbus Blue Jackets The Columbus Blue Jackets (often simply referred to as the Jackets) are a professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Ohio. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, ...

from 2015 until April 11, 2021 when he was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs, one of Mike's former NHL teams, and signed as a free agent with the

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making t ...

. Marcus was drafted 104th overall in the

2009 NHL Entry Draft The 2009 NHL Entry Draft was the 47th Entry Draft. It was held on June 26–27, 2009, at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec. The Draft was part of the Montreal Canadiens' centennial celebrations. National Hockey League teams took turns select ...

by the Buffalo Sabres. Marcus won a silver medal with Team Canada at the

2011 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships The 2011 IIHF World U20 Championship, commonly referred to as the 2011 World Junior Hockey Championships (''2011 WJHC''), was the 35th edition of the Ice Hockey World Junior Championship and was hosted by the United States. The games were played ...

and joined the Sabres in the 2011–12 season, and currently plays for the

Minnesota Wild The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Wild competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and play their home games at the Xcel Ener ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Foligno, Mike 1959 births Living people Anaheim Ducks coaches Buffalo Sabres captains Buffalo Sabres players Canadian ice hockey right wingers Canadian people of Italian descent Colorado Avalanche coaches Detroit Red Wings draft picks Detroit Red Wings players Florida Panthers players Hershey Bears coaches Ice hockey people from Ontario National Hockey League first-round draft picks New Jersey Devils coaches Sportspeople from Greater Sudbury Sudbury Wolves coaches Sudbury Wolves players Toronto Maple Leafs coaches Toronto Maple Leafs players Toronto Maple Leafs scouts Vegas Golden Knights scouts Canadian ice hockey coaches