Murray Dean Craven (born July 20, 1964) is a
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
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 ...
centre
Center or centre may refer to:
Mathematics
*Center (geometry), the middle of an object
* Center (algebra), used in various contexts
** Center (group theory)
** Center (ring theory)
* Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...
who played 18 seasons 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 ...
between
1982–83 and
1999–2000 and former vice president of 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
Craven played his junior hockey with his hometown
Medicine Hat Tigers
The Medicine Hat Tigers are a junior ice hockey team in the Western Hockey League (WHL) who play in Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada. Established in 1970, the team has won two national Memorial Cups, five WHL League Championships and seven Divis ...
, and his success there saw him selected 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 ...
with their first-round pick (17th overall) in the
1982 NHL Entry Draft
The 1982 NHL Entry Draft was the 20th NHL Entry Draft. It was held at the Montreal Forum in Montreal, Quebec. The National Hockey League (NHL) teams selected 252 players eligible for entry into professional ranks, in the reverse order of the 1981 ...
. He proceeded to make the Wings' NHL squad out of training camp at age 18, and recorded 4 goals and 11 points in 31 games before being returned to Medicine Hat. He would see 15 more games of NHL action in
1983–84, again splitting the year between Detroit and Medicine Hat. By this time he was dominating the WHL, recording 94 points in just 46 games.
Philadelphia Flyers
On the eve of the
1984–85 season, Craven was dealt to the
Philadelphia Flyers
The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games in Wells ...
as the centrepiece of a deal for aging superstar
Darryl Sittler
Darryl Glen Sittler (born September 18, 1950) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League from 1970 until 1985 for the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Philadelphia Flyers and the Detroit Red Wings. He was ...
. The deal proved to be an absolute heist for Philadelphia, as Sittler struggled through one final season before retiring while Craven stepped straight into the Flyers' lineup as one of their top forwards. In his first full season, Craven finished 5th in team scoring with 61 points and added 10 more points in the playoffs helping lead the Flyers to the
Stanley Cup Finals
The Stanley Cup Finals in ice hockey (also known as the Stanley Cup Final among various media, french: Finale de la Coupe Stanley) is the National Hockey League's (NHL) championship series to determine the winner of the Stanley Cup, North America ...
, where they lost to the
Edmonton Oilers
The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...
.
Craven would spend 7+ successful seasons in Philadelphia, establishing himself as a top-notch two-way forward. He again helped the Flyers to the
Stanley Cup Finals in 1987, although he missed a large portion of the playoffs that year with a broken foot. In
1987–88, Craven had one of his finest seasons, reaching the 30-goal plateau for the only time in his career and leading the Flyers with 76 points. After an injury-plagued
1988–89 season, Craven recorded his first 50-assist campaign in
1989–90.
Post-Flyers career
However, by the early 1990s the Flyers' success of the 1980s was well behind them and they were in the midst of a stretch of five consecutive years out of the playoffs. Despite still playing well, Craven was a casualty of this period and was dealt to the
Hartford Whalers
The Hartford Whalers were a professional ice hockey team based for most of its existence in Hartford, Connecticut. The club played in the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1972 until 1979, and in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1979 to ...
for
Kevin Dineen
Kevin William Dineen (born October 28, 1963) is a Canadians, Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player. , Dineen is the head coach of the Utica Comets in the American Hockey League (AHL). Dineen previously served as the head coach ...
12 games into the
1991–92 season. Craven would finish the season with 60 points, second on the Whalers.
Craven was again amongst the Whalers' leading scorers in
1992–93, but with the team about to miss the playoffs he was dealt to the
Vancouver Canucks
The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference, and play their home games at Rogers Arena. Bruce B ...
at the trade deadline. He finished the year setting career highs in assists (52) and points (77), and provided an offensive boost to the Canucks, although they were outed in the second round of the playoffs. In
1993–94, he scored 55 points for the Canucks and added 13 more in the playoffs en route to the
finals
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
*Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event
** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...
, where he came out on the losing end for the third time. He also had the unfortunate distinction of being on the losing end of the only two Cup finals between
1971 *
The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6).
The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history.
Events
Ja ...
and
2001
The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...
to go the full 7 games. The winning coach of the 1994 Finals,
Mike Keenan
Michael Edward Keenan (born October 21, 1949) is a Canadian professional hockey coach who most recently coached the Kunlun Red Star of the Kontinental Hockey League. Previously, he served as head coach and/or general manager with several NHL teams ...
, was coach of the Flyers in 1987.
Following the
1994–95 NHL lockout
The 1994–95 NHL lockout was a lockout that came after a year of National Hockey League (NHL) hockey that was played without a collective bargaining agreement. The lockout was a subject of dispute as the players sought collective bargaining and ...
, Craven endured a lengthy holdout as a result of uncertainty over his free agency status. Eventually he was traded to 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 ...
for
Christian Ruuttu, although he was able to play in only 16 games. In the playoffs, he scored 10 points to help the Blackhawks to the Conference Finals, defeating Vancouver along the way.
Craven scored 47 points in his first full season in Chicago, but by the
1996–97 season he was being used primarily in a defensive role, and he finished the year with full-season career lows of just 8 goals and 35 points. Following that season, he was dealt to the
San Jose Sharks
The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference, and are owned by San Jose Sports & Entertainm ...
. In San Jose, he continued to be a solid defensive forward, although he was increasingly hobbled by injuries. In
1998–99 he was limited to just 43 games and 13 points. Following a poor start (just 2 assists in 19 games) and a hernia surgery, he was released by San Jose midway through the
1999–2000 season, effectively ending his career.
Craven finished his NHL career with 266 goals and 493 assists for 759 points in 1071 games. He also added 27 goals and 70 points in 118 career playoff games.
Post-playing career
Craven was the former vice president of 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 ...
. He had significant input on the design of
City National Arena, the team's headquarters and practice facility.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
International
Awards
* WHL East Second All-Star Team – 1984
See also
*
List of NHL players with 1,000 games played
The National Hockey League (NHL) is a major professional ice hockey league which operates in Canada and the United States. Since its inception in , 357 players have played at least 1,000 regular season games, varying in amounts between Patrick ...
References
External links
*
Profile at hockeydraftcentral.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Craven, Murray
1964 births
Living people
Canadian ice hockey centres
Chicago Blackhawks players
Detroit Red Wings draft picks
Detroit Red Wings players
Hartford Whalers players
Ice hockey people from Alberta
Medicine Hat Tigers players
National Hockey League first-round draft picks
Philadelphia Flyers players
San Jose Sharks players
Sportspeople from Medicine Hat
Vancouver Canucks players
Vegas Golden Knights executives
People from Whitefish, Montana