Robert Michael Gainey (born December 13, 1953) 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 h ...

player who played for the

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 ...

from 1973 until 1989. After retiring from active play, he became a hockey coach and later an executive with the

Minnesota North Stars The Minnesota North Stars were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL) for 26 seasons, from 1967 to 1993. The North Stars played their home games at the Met Center in Bloomington, Minnesota, and the team's colors for ...

Dallas Stars The Dallas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Dallas. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and were founded during the 1967 NHL expansion as the Minne ...

organization before returning to Montreal as general manager from 2003 to 2010. Currently, Gainey serves as a team consultant for the

St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the ...

as well as a volunteer senior advisor for the

Peterborough Petes The Peterborough Petes are a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League. The team has played at the Peterborough Memorial Centre in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, since 1956, and is the oldest continuously operating team in the league. ...

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 overa ...

. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1992. In 2017 Gainey was named one of the '

100 Greatest NHL Players In 2017, the National Hockey League commemorated its 100th anniversary with a list of the 100 Greatest NHL Players. The list was made through voting compiled by a panel of 58 people, including media members, NHL alumni and NHL executives.Greg Wys ...

' in history.

Early years

Bob Gainey began his hockey career in

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using mean solar tim ...

with his hometown team, the

of the

. His lack of scoring was made up by his impressive ability to shut down opposing players. This impressed many scouts in the NHL and in

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: ...

, he was drafted eighth overall by the

. He was also drafted seventh overall by the

Minnesota Fighting Saints The Minnesota Fighting Saints was the name of two professional ice hockey teams based in Saint Paul, Minnesota, that played in the World Hockey Association. The first team was one of the WHA's original twelve franchises, playing from 1972 to 19 ...

of the WHA although he never joined the WHA.

Professional years

As a rookie, Gainey was committed to a defensive style of play. In his second year, he was paired up with stars

Yvan Cournoyer Yvan Serge Cournoyer (born November 22, 1943) is a Canadian former professional hockey right winger who played in the National Hockey League for the Montreal Canadiens from 1963 to 1979. In 1972, Cournoyer scored the tying goal in the deciding ...

and

Jacques Lemaire Jacques Gerard Lemaire (born September 7, 1945) is a Canadian former ice hockey forward and head coach who was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1984. He spent his entire twelve-year National Hockey League (NHL) playing career with the Mo ...

on the second line. In

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 ...

, Gainey was chosen to represent Team Canada at the

Canada Cup The Canada Cup (french: Coupe Canada) was an invitational international ice hockey tournament held on five occasions between 1976 and 1991. The brainchild of Toronto lawyer Alan Eagleson, the tournament was created to meet demand for a true worl ...

tournament where he helped Team Canada win the Cup against the Czechoslovakians. A defensive specialist, Gainey played with the

from 1973–74 to 1988–89, winning four consecutive Frank J. Selke Trophies, awarded to the league's best defensive forward, and four consecutive Stanley Cups from

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the '' International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the '' Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the so ...

. In 1982, Canadiens captain Serge Savard retired from hockey and Gainey was named as his successor. The Canadiens remained successful in the regular season but in the playoffs, they were defeated in the first round three consecutive times from

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning ...

. Next season, the Canadiens earned a disappointing record finishing with 75 points only. Despite that, they embarked on a surprising playoff run before being eliminated in the semifinals by the New York Islanders. Gainey lifted his last Stanley Cup as a player in

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 **Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal enter ...

against the

Calgary Flames The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...

, and scored a playoff total of 5 goals and 10 points. Under Gainey's leadership, the Canadiens posted back to back 100 point seasons in

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...

and

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxon Valdez oil tanker runs ...

. In 1989, the Canadiens reached the finals again against the Calgary Flames, a rematch from 1986. This time, the Flames won the Stanley Cup in 6 games. Following the loss, Gainey announced his retirement. In total, Bob Gainey played in 1160 regular season games, scored 239 goals, and registered 263 assists. He was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1992. In 1998, Gainey was ranked number 86 on ''The Hockey News list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players.

Post hockey playing years

After his retirement, Gainey moved to France where he was player/coach for the Epinal Écureuils (Squirrels) of the French Nationale 1B division. His unexpected appearance on the French hockey scene created quite a stir as curious fans attended games to see the famous star in action for Epinal. He finished second in scoring for Epinal during the regular season and 18th overall in the Nationale 1B division. Gainey returned to North America a year later and became head coach of the

1990–91 Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 '' Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since t ...

, guiding his team to the sixth game of the Stanley Cup finals in his first season. In January 1992, Gainey also was named general manager. In 1996, a few seasons after the franchise relocated to Dallas and became the Dallas Stars, he stepped down as head coach to focus solely on his general manager duties. Gainey turned the franchise into a powerhouse by acquiring players such as

Joe Nieuwendyk Joseph Nieuwendyk ( ; born September 10, 1966) is a Canadian former National Hockey League (NHL) player. He was a second round selection of the Calgary Flames, 27th overall, at the 1985 NHL Entry Draft and played 20 seasons for the Flames, Dall ...

Brett Hull Brett Andrew Hull (born August 9, 1964) is a Canadian–American former ice hockey player and general manager, and currently an executive vice president of the St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey League (NHL). He played for the Calgary Flames, ...

Ed Belfour Edward John Belfour (born April 21, 1965) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. Belfour was born in Carman, Manitoba and grew up playing hockey. He played junior hockey for the Winkler Flyers before going to the University of ...

and

Sergei Zubov Sergei Alexandrovich Zubov ( Russian: Сергей Александрович Зубов; born 22 July 1970) is a Russian professional ice hockey coach and former defenceman. He is the former head coach for the Dinamo Riga of the Kontinental Hock ...

. The team won the

Presidents' Trophy The Presidents' Trophy (french: Trophée des présidents) is an award presented by the National Hockey League (NHL) to the team that finishes with the most points (i.e. best record) during the NHL regular season. If two teams are tied for the mo ...

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

and 1999. Dallas won the Stanley Cup in 1999. In 1997, as Stars general manager, Gainey drafted his son Steve Gainey 77th overall in the annual

NHL Entry Draft The NHL Entry Draft (french: Repêchage d'entrée dans la LNH) is an annual meeting in which every franchise of the National Hockey League (NHL) systematically select the rights to available ice hockey players who meet draft eligibility requirem ...

. Gainey won the Stanley Cup a sixth time in 1999 with Dallas. Along with Bobby Clarke and

Pierre Gauthier Pierre Gauthier (born May 28, 1953) is a former General Manager of the Montreal Canadiens, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, and Ottawa Senators. He is currently the director of player personnel of the Chicago Blackhawks. Hockey career Gauthier started ou ...

, Gainey was given the responsibility of selecting Canada's men's

squad for the

1998 Winter Olympics The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially known as the and commonly known as Nagano 1998 ( ja, 長野1998), was a winter multi-sport event held from 7 to 22 February 1998, mainly in Nagano, Japan, with some events taking place in the ...

Nagano Nagano may refer to: Places * Nagano Prefecture, a prefecture in Japan ** Nagano (city), the capital city of the same prefecture *** Nagano 1998, the 1998 Winter Olympics *** Nagano Olympic Stadium, a baseball stadium in Nagano *** Nagano Universi ...

, Japan. Gainey became general manager of the Montreal Canadiens in May 2003. On January 13, 2006, Gainey fired Canadiens' head coach Claude Julien and stepped in as head coach on an interim basis. At the same time, he hired

Guy Carbonneau Joseph Harry Guy Carbonneau (born March 18, 1960) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player, coach and executive in the National Hockey League. He was also the president of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League Chicoutimi Saguenéens. ...

to work as an associate coach, handing the coaching reins over to him for the 2006–07 season. On July 24, 2006,

president

Pierre Boivin Pierre Boivin, OC (born October 28, 1953) is a French Canadian businessman and was president of the Montreal Canadiens from September 2, 1999, through June 30, 2011, succeeding Ronald Corey. Business At the age of 25, Boivin founded Norvinca ...

extended Gainey's contract to 2009–10. On February 23, 2008, the Canadiens retired Gainey's #23 jersey. On March 9, 2009, Gainey named himself the interim coach of the Montreal Canadiens after firing Guy Carbonneau. On June 1, 2009, he signed Jacques Martin as the new head coach. On February 8, 2010, he resigned as the Canadiens general manager for personal reasons, and was succeeded by Gauthier. The Canadiens were 28-26-6 at the time of his resignation. He remained on as a consultant to the team until the end of the 2011–12 season, following the firing of Pierre Gauthier, when it was mutually agreed, between Gainey and team President

Geoff Molson Geoffrey Eric Molson (born July 23, 1971), is a Canadian businessman and current president and chief executive officer and co-owner of the National Hockey League's Montreal Canadiens, Evenko, Bell Centre and L'Équipe Spectra alongside his bro ...

, that he step down. On May 9, 2012, the Dallas Stars announced Gainey's hiring as a team consultant. On October 1, 2014, the

announced Gainey's hiring as a team consultant.

Awards and achievements

Frank J. Selke Trophy The Frank J. Selke Trophy, or simply the Selke Trophy, is awarded annually to the National Hockey League forward who demonstrates the most skill in the defensive component of the game. The winner is selected by a poll of the Professional Hockey W ...

winner in 1978,

, 1980,

. *Selected to the

NHL All-Star Game The National Hockey League All-Star Game (french: Match des Étoiles de la Ligue Nationale de Hockey, links=no) is an exhibition ice hockey game that is traditionally held during the regular season of the National Hockey League (NHL), with many o ...

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democrat ...

, 1978, 1980,

. *

Conn Smythe Trophy The Conn Smythe Trophy (french: Trophée Conn Smythe) is awarded annually to the most valuable player (MVP) of his team during the National Hockey League's (NHL) Stanley Cup playoffs. It is named after Conn Smythe, the longtime owner, general ma ...

winner in

. * Stanley Cup championships in

, 1978,

(as Player), 1999 (as GM). *Inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1992. *In 1998, Gainey was ranked number 86 on ''The Hockey News list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players. *His #23 was retired by the

on February 23, 2008.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

* Stanley Cup Champion.

International

NHL coaching record

Personal life

Bob Gainey, with his wife Cathy, were parents to one son and three daughters: Steve (whom he drafted in the

1997 NHL Entry Draft The 1997 NHL Entry Draft was the 35th NHL Entry Draft. It was held at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on June 21, 1997. As of 2022, the only remaining active player in the NHL from the 1997 draft class is Joe Thornton. Selections ...

), Colleen, Anna (the president of the Liberal Party of Canada), and Laura. Gainey's wife Cathy died in June 1995 at age 39 of brain cancer. Gainey's daughter, Laura, died at age 25 in December 2006, when she was swept overboard while sailing in the North Atlantic on the

barque A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing vessel with three or more masts having the fore- and mainmasts rigged square and only the mizzen (the aftmost mast) rigged fore and aft. Sometimes, the mizzen is only partly fore-and-aft rigged, b ...

Picton Castle Picton Castle ( cy, Castell Pictwn) is a medieval castle near Haverfordwest in the community of Uzmaston, Boulston and Slebech, Pembrokeshire, Wales. Originally built at the end of the 13th century by a Flemish knight, it later came into the ha ...

'', a sail-training tall ship based out of Lunenburg,

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

, registered in the

Cook Islands ) , image_map = Cook Islands on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , capital = Avarua , coordinates = , largest_city = Avarua , official_languages = , lan ...

and destined for Grenada. Laura's body was never recovered, and the U.S. Coast Guard called off the search on December 11, three days after she was swept overboard. During this time, Gainey temporarily passed his general manager duties on to Montreal Canadiens assistant manager (and eventual successor)

for four weeks. On January 3, 2007, officials in the Cook Islands named Captain Andrew Scheer to head an investigation into Laura's death. Captain Scheer interviewed the 30-strong crew and examined the ship's logs, emergency equipment and crew qualifications. Laura's death and the subsequent investigations received considerable press attention in Canada, including a documentary produced by the

CBC News CBC News is a division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the news gathering and production of news programs on the corporation's English-language operations, namely CBC Television, CBC Radio, CBC News Network, and CBC.ca ...

program '' The Fifth Estate'', which was highly critical of safety standards on the ''Picton Castle''.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gainey, Bob 1953 births Living people Canadian expatriate sportspeople in France Canadian ice hockey left wingers Conn Smythe Trophy winners Dallas Stars coaches Dallas Stars executives Dallas Stars personnel Frank Selke Trophy winners Hockey Hall of Fame inductees Ice hockey people from Ontario Minnesota Fighting Saints draft picks Minnesota North Stars coaches Minnesota North Stars executives Montreal Canadiens coaches Montreal Canadiens draft picks Montreal Canadiens executives Montreal Canadiens players National Hockey League executives National Hockey League first-round draft picks National Hockey League general managers Peterborough Petes (ice hockey) players Sportspeople from Peterborough, Ontario Stanley Cup champions Canadian ice hockey coaches