Top 100 Oilers: Paul Coffey (6)
6 years ago
Paul Coffey can’t be credited with revolutionizing the way the position of defence was played in the NHL because Bobby Orr more than took care of that a generation earlier in the late-1960s and early-1970s. Coffey simply picked up the torch and skated with it like nobody else could with the Edmonton Oilers after knee injuries cut Orr’s brilliant career short.
For my money, Orr and Coffey had and have no equals when it came to generating sheer excitement with their ability to skate and rush the puck from the back end, leaving defenders grasping at air as they zigged and zagged seemingly effortlessly up the ice. Even accounting for the great Orr, I’ve never seen a better skater than Coffey – especially the version Edmonton fans saw before he was traded away over a contract holdout complicated by some ill-timed criticism by owner Peter Pocklington.
Paul Coffey
Defense
Born Jun 1st, 1961 — Weston, ONT
Height 6.00 — Weight 200 [183 cm/91 kg]
Born Jun 1st, 1961 — Weston, ONT
Height 6.00 — Weight 200 [183 cm/91 kg]
Drafted by Edmonton Oilers
Round 1 #6 overall 1980 NHL Entry Draft
BY THE NUMBERS
| Season | Age | Tm | GP | G | A | PTS | +/- | PIM | S | S% | TOI | ATOI |
| 1980-81 | 19 | EDM | 74 | 9 | 23 | 32 | 4 | 130 | 113 | 8.0 | ||
| 1981-82 | 20 | EDM | 80 | 29 | 60 | 89 | 35 | 106 | 234 | 12.4 | ||
| 1982-83 | 21 | EDM | 80 | 29 | 67 | 96 | 52 | 87 | 259 | 11.2 | ||
| 1983-84 | 22 | EDM | 80 | 40 | 86 | 126 | 52 | 104 | 258 | 15.5 | ||
| 1984-85 | 23 | EDM | 80 | 37 | 84 | 121 | 55 | 97 | 284 | 13.0 | ||
| 1985-86 | 24 | EDM | 79 | 48 | 90 | 138 | 61 | 120 | 307 | 15.6 | ||
| 1986-87 | 25 | EDM | 59 | 17 | 50 | 67 | 12 | 49 | 165 | 10.3 | ||
| 1987-88 | 26 | PIT | 46 | 15 | 52 | 67 | -1 | 93 | 193 | 7.8 | ||
| 1988-89 | 27 | PIT | 75 | 30 | 83 | 113 | -10 | 195 | 342 | 8.8 | ||
| 1989-90 | 28 | PIT | 80 | 29 | 74 | 103 | -25 | 95 | 324 | 9.0 | ||
| 1990-91 | 29 | PIT | 76 | 24 | 69 | 93 | -18 | 128 | 240 | 10.0 | ||
| 1991-92 | 30 | TOT | 64 | 11 | 58 | 69 | 1 | 87 | 232 | 4.7 | ||
| 1991-92 | 30 | PIT | 54 | 10 | 54 | 64 | 4 | 62 | 207 | 4.8 | ||
| 1991-92 | 30 | LAK | 10 | 1 | 4 | 5 | -3 | 25 | 25 | 4.0 | ||
| 1992-93 | 31 | TOT | 80 | 12 | 75 | 87 | 16 | 77 | 254 | 4.7 | ||
| 1992-93 | 31 | LAK | 50 | 8 | 49 | 57 | 9 | 50 | 182 | 4.4 | ||
| 1992-93 | 31 | DET | 30 | 4 | 26 | 30 | 7 | 27 | 72 | 5.6 | ||
| 1993-94 | 32 | DET | 80 | 14 | 63 | 77 | 28 | 106 | 278 | 5.0 | ||
| 1994-95 | 33 | DET | 45 | 14 | 44 | 58 | 18 | 72 | 181 | 7.7 | ||
| 1995-96 | 34 | DET | 76 | 14 | 60 | 74 | 19 | 90 | 234 | 6.0 | ||
| 1996-97 | 35 | TOT | 57 | 9 | 25 | 34 | 11 | 38 | 110 | 8.2 | ||
| 1996-97 | 35 | HAR | 20 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 0 | 18 | 39 | 7.7 | ||
| 1996-97 | 35 | PHI | 37 | 6 | 20 | 26 | 11 | 20 | 71 | 8.5 | ||
| 1997-98 | 36 | PHI | 57 | 2 | 27 | 29 | 3 | 30 | 107 | 1.9 | ||
| 1998-99 | 37 | TOT | 54 | 2 | 12 | 14 | -7 | 28 | 87 | 2.3 | 1020 | 18:53 |
| 1998-99 | 37 | CHI | 10 | 0 | 4 | 4 | -6 | 0 | 8 | 0.0 | 154 | 15:22 |
| 1998-99 | 37 | CAR | 44 | 2 | 8 | 10 | -1 | 28 | 79 | 2.5 | 866 | 19:41 |
| 1999-00 | 38 | CAR | 69 | 11 | 29 | 40 | -6 | 40 | 155 | 7.1 | 1558 | 22:35 |
| 2000-01 | 39 | BOS | 18 | 0 | 4 | 4 | -6 | 30 | 28 | 0.0 | 341 | 18:57 |
| 7 yrs | EDM | 532 | 209 | 460 | 669 | 271 | 693 | 1620 | 12.9 | |||
| 5 yrs | PIT | 331 | 108 | 332 | 440 | -50 | 573 | 1306 | 8.3 | |||
| 4 yrs | DET | 231 | 46 | 193 | 239 | 72 | 295 | 765 | 6.0 | |||
| 3 yrs | CAR,HAR | 133 | 16 | 42 | 58 | -7 | 86 | 273 | 5.9 | 2424 | 21:27 | |
| 2 yrs | LAK | 60 | 9 | 53 | 62 | 6 | 75 | 207 | 4.3 | |||
| 2 yrs | PHI | 94 | 8 | 47 | 55 | 14 | 50 | 178 | 4.5 | |||
| 1 yr | BOS | 18 | 0 | 4 | 4 | -6 | 30 | 28 | 0.0 | 341 | 18:57 | |
| 1 yr | CHI | 10 | 0 | 4 | 4 | -6 | 0 | 8 | 0.0 | 154 | 15:22 | |
| Career | 1409 | 396 | 1135 | 1531 | 294 | 1802 | 4385 | 9.0 | 2919 | 20:42 |
PLAYOFFS
| Season | Age | Tm | GP | G | A | PTS | +/- | PIM | S | S% |
| 1980-81 | 19 | EDM | 9 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 5 | 22 | 26 | 15.4 |
| 1981-82 | 20 | EDM | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -3 | 6 | 9 | 11.1 |
| 1982-83 | 21 | EDM | 16 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 42 | 16.7 |
| 1983-84 | 22 | EDM | 19 | 8 | 14 | 22 | 21 | 21 | 66 | 12.1 |
| 1984-85 | 23 | EDM | 18 | 12 | 25 | 37 | 26 | 44 | 66 | 18.2 |
| 1985-86 | 24 | EDM | 10 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 0 | 30 | 33 | 3.0 |
| 1986-87 | 25 | EDM | 17 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 7 | 30 | 43 | 7.0 |
| 1988-89 | 27 | PIT | 11 | 2 | 13 | 15 | -7 | 31 | 48 | 4.2 |
| 1990-91 | 29 | PIT | 12 | 2 | 9 | 11 | -1 | 6 | 37 | 5.4 |
| 1991-92 | 30 | LAK | 6 | 4 | 3 | 7 | -5 | 2 | 28 | 14.3 |
| 1992-93 | 31 | DET | 7 | 2 | 9 | 11 | -3 | 2 | 24 | 8.3 |
| 1993-94 | 32 | DET | 7 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 23 | 4.3 |
| 1994-95 | 33 | DET | 18 | 6 | 12 | 18 | 4 | 10 | 74 | 8.1 |
| 1995-96 | 34 | DET | 17 | 5 | 9 | 14 | -3 | 30 | 49 | 10.2 |
| 1996-97 | 35 | PHI | 17 | 1 | 8 | 9 | -3 | 6 | 37 | 2.7 |
| 1998-99 | 37 | CAR | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Career | 194 | 59 | 137 | 196 | 59 | 264 | 613 | 9.6 |
AWARDS
1984-85 James Norris Trophy
1985-86 James Norris Trophy
1994-95 James Norris Trophy
NOTABLE
The Oilers already had a ridiculous wealth of firepower up front with the likes of Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Jari Kurri and Glenn Anderson when Coffey, selected sixth overall in the 1980 Entry Draft, arrived for the 1980-81 season. While Coffey felt his way into the NHL as a rookie with 32 points in 74 games, his sophomore season was his coming out party – he had 89 points in 80 games and, it turns out, he was just getting started.
Between 1983-84 and 1986-87, Coffey scored 100-or-more points three times (126, 121 and 138), won the Norris Trophy twice (1985 and 1986) and the Oilers claimed their first three Stanley Cups. His 48 goals in 1985-86 broke Orr’s record of 46 and still stands – he also had a 28-game points streak that season (still a record for D-men). Most often paired with reliable Charlie Huddy, Coffey was green-lighted by GM and coach Glen Sather to roar up ice and join the rush as he saw fit, and Coffey saw fit more often than not.
While Coffey never fit the traditional mold of what a blueliner should be, it really didn’t matter. Coffey was so fleet of foot that even if he coughed up the puck on one of his forays up ice, he’d simply wheel back and mitigate the damage. Nobody won a foot race with Coffey. At full speed, he’d glide past opponents skating as hard as they could to stay with him. It wasn’t even fair. Another thing about Coffey, he had an underrated first pass.
THE STORY
The beginning of the end for Coffey in Edmonton started with a contract holdout in the summer of 1987. Coffey still had two years remaining on a contract that paid him $325,000 per season. Coffey wanted something in the neighborhood of $800,000. Things went sideways when owner Pocklington chimed in, questioning Coffey’s courage and commitment to the team in what he thought was a private conversation with agent Gus Badali. Predictably, that didn’t end well, Coffey asked for a trade in September.
“When somebody attacks you on a personal level, that’s too much,” Coffey said. “He was questioning my guts, my courage. That’s what hurt me the most. I helped them win three Stanley Cups, I won two Norris Trophies, played in two Canada Cups against the best in the world. In 1985, I played in the Stanley Cup final with a cracked bone in my foot and had to have freezing in my hip before every game. That was to play hockey for him and win a Stanley Cup for Edmonton.”
Dealt to Pittsburgh with Dave Hunter and Wayne Van Dorp for Crag Simpson, Dave Hannan, Moe Mantha and Chris Joseph, Coffey would go on to win another Stanley Cup and a Norris Trophy (Detroit). By the time he retired following the 2000-01 season, Coffey sat second to Ray Bourque in career scoring for NHL defensemen with 396-1,135-1,531. Coffey’s best seasons during a HHOF career were right here in Edmonton, where his jersey No. 7 hangs at Rogers Place.
This series will look at the top 100 Edmonton Oilers from the NHL era 1979-80 to 2014-15, starting with 100 and working up.
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