Craig William Hartsburg (born June 29, 1959) 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 ...

player and head coach, who currently serves as an amateur scout and defense development coach with 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 ...

of the

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

(NHL). Hartsburg played ten seasons 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 ...

of the NHL as a

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the latter a reference t ...

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 ...

until

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, 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 Exxo ...

, captaining the team for seven NHL seasons before pursuing a coaching career. Hartsburg has coached in 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 ...

, the

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior ...

, and has previously been an NHL head coach with 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 Divisio ...

Mighty Ducks of Anaheim Mighty may refer to: * ''Mighty'' (The Planet Smashers album) * ''Mighty'' (Kristene DiMarco album) * ''The Mighty'' (1929 film), a 1929 American action film *'' The Mighty'', a 1998 comedy-drama film * ''The Mighty'' (comics), a DC Comics title * ...

and

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 member ...

Playing career

Hartsburg played three seasons of junior hockey for the

Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds The Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (often shortened to Soo Greyhounds) are a major junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League. The Greyhounds play home games at the GFL Memorial Gardens. The present team was founded in 1962 as a team in th ...

, where he was a teammate of

Wayne Gretzky Wayne Douglas Gretzky ( ; born January 26, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for four teams from 1979 to 1999. Nicknamed "the Great One ...

's during the 1977–78 season. In Hartsburg's last two seasons with the Greyhounds, he averaged over a point per game. In 1977–78, Hartsburg represented Canada at the World Junior Championships, scoring five points in six games. Hartsburg skipped his fourth and final junior season, deciding instead to turn pro with the Birmingham Bulls of the

World Hockey Association The World Hockey Association (french: Association mondiale de hockey) was a professional ice hockey major league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major league to compete with the National Hockey League (NHL) ...

(WHA) in June 1978, as an underage free agent. Hartsburg amassed nine goals and 40 assists in his rookie professional season. With the collapse of the financially troubled WHA in 1979, Hartsburg was drafted sixth overall by the

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 ...

. Hartsburg played 570 NHL games, over ten seasons. He scored 98 goals and 315 assists, for 413 points. In 1981–82, his best offensive season, Hartsburg recorded 17 goals and 60 assists for 77 points, with a +11 plus-minus rating. He also finished fourth in

Norris Trophy The James Norris Memorial Trophy, or simply the Norris Trophy, is awarded annually to the National Hockey League's top " defense player who demonstrates throughout the season the greatest all-round ability in the position". It is named after Ja ...

voting. Internationally, he represented

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

at the 1981 and

1987 Canada Cup The 1987 Labatt Canada Cup was a professional international ice hockey tournament held from August 28 to September 15, 1987. The finals took place in Montreal on September 11 and Hamilton, on September 13 and September 15, and were won by Team ...

s. At the 1987

IIHF World Championships The Ice Hockey World Championships are an annual international men's ice hockey tournament organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). First officially held at the 1920 Summer Olympics, it is the sport's highest profile annual ...

he was named the tournament's top defenceman. He played in 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 ...

in 1980, 1982, and 1983. Hartsburg's seven seasons as North Stars' captain remained the franchise record for seasons of captaincy until

Derian Hatcher Derian John Hatcher (born June 4, 1972) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman who played 16 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Minnesota North Stars, Dallas Stars, Detroit Red Wings and Philadelphia Flyers. ...

broke the record at the end of the 2002-03 NHL season, after the team's move to Dallas.

Coaching career

Following two injury-riddled seasons in which Hartsburg missed 103 of a possible 160 games because of hip problems, Hartsburg retired as a player at age 30 and accepted an assistant coaching position with the North Stars for the 1989–90 season. He then became an assistant coach with 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 (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team play ...

from 1990 to 1994. He then served as head coach of the

Guelph Storm The Guelph Storm are a major junior ice hockey team based in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. They have played in the OHL since the 1991–92 season. The team plays home games at the Sleeman Centre. History The franchise started as the Toronto Marl ...

of the

(OHL) for the 1994–95 season, before returning to the NHL as the head coach from 1995 to 1998 of the

. In 1998, he was named head coach of the

before being replaced in midseason of 2000–01. He coached junior hockey with the

of the OHL for one season, before rejoining the Flyers as an assistant for two seasons. In 2004, he returned to the Greyhounds and served as the head coach until 2008. He also served as coach for the Canadian World Junior Team. He received a gold medal in the

2007 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships The 2007 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships (''2007 WJHC'') was the 2007 edition of the Ice Hockey World Junior Championship and was held in Mora and Leksand, Sweden between December 26, 2006 and January 5, 2007. The venues were FM Mattsson ...

, when Team Canada beat Russia 4–2. He was also the coach for Team Canada in the

2008 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships The 2008 IIHF World U20 Championship, commonly referred to as the 2008 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships (2008 WJHC), was the 32nd edition of the Ice Hockey World Junior Championship. The Elite group, what the IIHF refer to as the Top Divisio ...

when Canada again won gold by beating Sweden 3–2 in overtime. On June 13, 2008, he signed a three-year contract and was named head coach of the Ottawa Senators, replacing general manager Bryan Murray who had assumed interim coaching duties when John Paddock was fired on February 27, 2008. On February 1, 2009, Hartsburg was fired by the Senators, having compiled a 17–24–7 record during the 2008–09 season. On June 23, 2009, the Everett Silvertips of the

named Hartsburg its third head coach in franchise history. On June 6, 2011, Hartsburg stepped down from his coaching job in Everett to join 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 in the Western Conference, and are the third major professional ice hockey te ...

as an assistant coach. On June 7, 2012, Craig Hartsburg was released by the

, but was named associate coach of the

only 13 days later. His coaching time with the Blue Jackets came to an end on April 13, 2016 when his retirement was announced. On July 12, 2019, he returned to the Blue Jackets as an amateur scout and defense development coach.

Personal

Hartsburg and his wife, Peggy, have two children. Their son,

Chris Chris is a short form of various names including Christopher, Christian, Christina, Christine, and Christos. Chris is also used as a name in its own right, however it is not as common. People with the given name *Chris Abani (born 1966), Nige ...

, is the head coach of the OHL's

Erie Otters The Erie Otters are a Major junior ice hockey team based in Erie, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Midwest division of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), one of only three American teams in the circuit. The team name refers to the North Am ...

, while their daughter Katie, is a speech pathologist. He has 3 grandchildren: Colin, Blake and Greyson. Hartsburg lists Gretzky as the best player he has played with, and

Chris Chelios Christos Kostas Chelios (born January 25, 1962) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman. He was one of the longest tenured players in the National Hockey League, and is a three-time Stanley Cup champion—one with the Montreal ...

as the best player he has coached. Hartsburg's favorite hobby is fishing.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Coaching record

NHL

Junior hockey

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hartsburg, Craig 1959 births Living people Anaheim Ducks coaches Birmingham Bulls players Calgary Flames coaches Canadian ice hockey coaches Canadian ice hockey defencemen Chicago Blackhawks coaches Columbus Blue Jackets coaches Columbus Blue Jackets scouts Everett Silvertips coaches Guelph Storm coaches Ice hockey people from Ontario Minnesota North Stars coaches Minnesota North Stars draft picks Minnesota North Stars players National Hockey League All-Stars National Hockey League first-round draft picks Ottawa Senators coaches Philadelphia Flyers coaches Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds players Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds coaches Sportspeople from Stratford, Ontario