Yesterday in the history of hockey: July 5
Tomorrow in the history of hockey: July 7
Some of the best players of the 1990s were rewarded for their performance on this date. There were also several coach changes on July 6, the moves of the roster and the birth of two players who left behind a huge National Hockey League career in the game.
1995 Playoff Award
The NHL presented the playoff award on July 6, 1995, with some future hockey halls of fame receiving some coveted hardware. Eric Lindros, who belonged to Philadelphia Flyer that day. Since Bobby Clarke in 1976, he has become the first flyer to win Hart Trophy because he was named the league’s most valuable player by the writer.
Lindros also won the Lester B. Pearson Award for being the most outstanding player for his fellow voting. The award is known today as the TED Lindsay Award. He was also named No. 1 All-Star team.
Jaromir Jagr of the Pittsburgh Penguins won the Art Rose Trophy with a leading league score. He tied for the most 70 points in the regular season lockdown season, but Jagr scored three goals nods than his rivals in Philadelphia.
Peter Forsberg won the Calder Trophy as he was named the league’s top rookie, scoring 15 goals and 50 points for Quebec’s Nordic. Forsberg was part of the reward when the Nordic traded Lindros to the flyer in 1992.
Other winners since this date include Paul Coffey who won his third Norris Trophy (Best Defensive Player), Dominik Hasek who won his second consecutive Vezina Trophy (Best Goalkeeper) and Ron Francis and Ron Francis who won Selke Trophy (Best Defensive Forward).
Coach movements
On July 6, 1978, the flyer was named Bob McCammon as their new head coach. His mission was undaunted to replace Fred Shero, who led Philadelphia to a row of Stanley Cup titles in 1975 and 1976. However, he returned to his second head coach between 1982 and 1984, during which time he served as general manager at the time for less than a year.
Minnesota Polaris Pierre Page named the new head coach on July 6, 1988. He is the team’s fifth head coach in many seasons, replacing Herb Brooks, who was fired last April. Page has been in the work for two seasons, losing in the first round of each Stanley Cup playoffs.
Marc Crawford was hired as the new Nordiques head coach on July 6, 1994, strangely replacing the page. In his first season, he won the Jack Adams Award 30-13-5 in 48 regular season games. The team relocated and became a Colorado Avalanche the following season, with Crawford leading them to the 1996 Stanley Cup title.
Odd number and ending
The Boston Bruins signed unsigned free agent Geoff Courtnall on July 6, 1983 after a successful junior high school career in the Western Hockey League. He played the first 259 NHL games in his 17-season career. In the 1987-88 season, he was traded to the Edmonton Oilers with Bill Ranford for Andy Moog, a team that beat the Bruins in the Stanley Cup final that spring. He also spent some time with the Washington Capitals, the Vancouver Canucks and St. Louis Blues before retiring in 2000, retiring with 367 goals and 799 career points.
On the same date, Detroit Red Wings began their long-term relationship with Ken Holland when they began signing free agent goalkeepers with Ken Holland. He only played three games with the team, but was hired as general manager in 1997, a job he held in 2019. Under his guidance, the team won three Stanley Cups. The Netherlands recently served in the Edmonton Oilers and has been GM since 2019.
The Nashville Predators signed free agent Tom Fitzgerald on July 6, 1998, and appointed him their first captain in franchise history. This is his second time in his inaugural season for the expansion team. He was a member of the Florida Panthers when he first went on ice in 1993. He is now the general manager of the devil.
On July 6, 2001, Minnesota signed free agent Andrew Brunette in the field. In the 2001-02 season, he scored a new career-high 69 points, which not only led the field, but also led the entire 2001 free agent class.
Happy birthday to you
Hall of Fame member George Armstrong was born on July 6, 1930 in Skead, Ontario. He has played all 1,188 games in his career and has spanned 21 seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs. In the 1949-50 season, his teenage NHL debuted. He was appointed captain before the 1957-58 season and wore a “C” for the next 12 seasons.
Armstrong won four Stanley Cup championship teams again in 1962, 1963, 1964 and 1967. Although he has never been known for his highly offensive work, Armstrong is respected as one of the best two-way forwards of his generation. In 1975, he was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Another Hall of Fame Brad Park was born in Toronto in 1948. He was selected by the New York Rangers, the second pick in the 1966 NHL amateur draft. He played for eight seasons with the Rangers and quickly became the team’s greatest defensive player.
On November 7, 1975, Parker sold to the Brown Bears with Jean Ratelle and Joe Zanussi, one of the biggest deals in NHL history as Phil Esposito and Carol Vadnais. After eight seasons in Boston, he has run two strong campaigns with red wings in his career, including 53 assists in the 1983-84 season. He retired with 213 goals and 896 points in 1113 games and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1988.
Other current and former NHL players celebrating their birthday today include Ron Duguay (68), Steve Sullivan (51), Christian Ehrhoff (43), Justin Schultz (35), Eric Comrie (30), and Jesperi Kotkaniemi (25).
*Originally built by Greg Boysen
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