Craig Ramsay

Craig Edward Ramsay (born March 17, 1951) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger and coach. He played parts of 14 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL). He played his entire NHL career with the Buffalo Sabres. Ramsay was also a professional coach after retiring. He was the head coach for the Buffalo Sabres, Philadelphia Flyers, and Atlanta Thrashers.

He is a one-time All-Star, the winner of the Frank J. Selke Trophy in 1985, won the Stanley Cup as an assistant coach with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2004, and coached Slovakia to a bronze medal at the 2022 Winter Olympics.

Before playing in the NHL, Ramsay played four seasons with the Peterborough Petes of the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League (OMJHL).

He was selected 19th overall by the Buffalo Sabres in the 1987 NHL amateur draft. On November 21, 1971, Ramsay made his NHL debut in a 4–3 loss against the Toronto Maple Leafs.^[1] Three days later, on November 24, Ramsay recorded his first NHL point, assisting on a Chris Evans goal in a 5–3 loss against the Los Angeles Kings.^[2] On December 5, Ramsay scored his first NHL goal against Cesare Maniago. He later scored two more goals in the game to record his first NHL hat-trick as well in a 3–1 win against the Minnesota North Stars. It was also the first natural hat-trick in Sabres franchise history.^[3] He helped the Sabres during the playoffs, defeating the Chicago Black Hawks and Montreal Canadiens. They were eventually defeated by the Philadelphia Flyers four games to two in the Finals.^[4] During the 1975–76 season, Ramsay continued to play well for the Sabres and was selected to play for the All-Star Game that year.^[5] Ramsay was known for his defensive playing ability during his career and was awarded the Frank J. Selke Trophy in 1984.^[6] In 1985, Ramsay announced that he was retiring from playing professional ice hockey.

In February 2000, the Philadelphia Flyers named Ramsay as their interim head coach while Flyers coach Roger Neilson was being treated for cancer.^[7] During his time as coach, he earned a record of 16–8–1–0 and helped coach the team during the playoffs, defeating the Buffalo Sabres and Pittsburgh Penguins. They were eventually defeated by the New Jersey Devils four games to three in the Eastern Conference final.^[8] On June 8, the Flyers took the interim tag away and made Ramsay their full-time head coach.^[9] On December 11, the Flyers fired Ramsay and replaced him with Bill Barber.^[10]

On June 24, 2010, the Atlanta Thrashers named Ramsay as their new head coach. He coached 82 games for the team, recording 34 wins, 36 losses and 12 overtime losses. Ramsay was fired from the team after the Thrashers relocated to Winnipeg, Manitoba, to become the Winnipeg Jets. Ramsay was upset about the way things were handled. During an interview, he claimed that “I never got a phone call from the Winnipeg people when they apparently bought the team”.^[11]

In 2017, Ramsay became the head coach for the Slovakia national team.^[12] At the 2022 Winter Olympics, Ramsay coached Slovakia to a bronze medal after they defeated Sweden 4–0.^[13] In 2025, Ramsay contract pneumonia and was unable to coach Slovakia during the IIHF World Championship.^[14] On July 22, Slovakia fired Ramsay as head coach and replaced him with Vladimír Országh.^[15]

• Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database