Colin Campbell (ice hockey)

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Position	Defence
Shoots	Right
Nickname(s)	The Sheriff
Height Weight	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg/13 st 8 lb)
Pro clubs	Pittsburgh Penguins Colorado Rockies Edmonton Oilers Vancouver Canucks Detroit Red Wings Vancouver Blazers (WHA)
Nationality	Canada
Born	January 28, 1953 (1953-01-28) (age 55), London, ON, CAN
NHL Draft	27th overall, 1973 Pittsburgh Penguins
WHA draft	5th overall, 1973 Vancouver Blazers
Pro career	1973 – 1985

Colin Campbell (b. January 28, 1953 in London, Ontario), nicknamed "The Sheriff", is a former professional ice hockey defenceman, coach and the current Senior Vice President and Director of Hockey Operations for the National Hockey League.

Campbell's son, Gregory Campbell, currently plays in the NHL with the Florida Panthers.

1 Playing career
2 Coaching career
3 NHL executive
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] Playing career

Campbell spent his junior career with the Peterborough Petes of the Ontario Hockey Association (later the Ontario Hockey League). He was taken in the second round of the 1973 NHL Amateur Draft, 27th overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins, and also in the first round of the 1973 WHA Amateur Draft, 5th overall, by the Vancouver Blazers. After one season with the Blazers, Campbell signed on with Pittsburgh.

Campbell went on to play for the Penguins, Edmonton Oilers, Vancouver Canucks, and Detroit Red Wings. A scrappy, physical defender, Campbell scored just 25 goals in 11 NHL seasons while accumulating almost 1500 penalty minutes. However, he had a knack for scoring key goals in the playoffs, scoring the series-clinching goal in Pittsburgh's first-round win over the St. Louis Blues in 1975, and posting a two-goal game for the Canucks in a win against the Chicago Blackhawks en route to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1982 (he scored just 1 goal in two full regular seasons for the Canucks).

In his 11-year NHL career, Campbell appeared in 636 NHL games, posting 25 goals and 103 assists for 128 points, along with 1292 penalty minutes. He also played 78 games in the WHA, recording 3 goals and 23 points along with 191 PIM.

Following his retirement in 1985, Campbell joined the Red Wings coaching staff.

[edit] Coaching career

Team              Season  Wins/Losses/Ties
New York Rangers  1994-95     22-23-3****
New York Rangers  1995-96     41-27-14****
New York Rangers  1996-97     38-24-10****
New York Rangers  1997-98     17-24-16
        **** - Qualified for NHL Playoffs
        NHL Coaching Record - 118-108-43

PLAYOFFS
94-95 - Beat Que 4-2 Lost Phi 0-4
95-96 - Beat Mtl 4-2 Lost Pit 1-4
96-97 - Beat Fla 4-1 Beat NJ  4-1 Lost Phi 1-4

        NHL Playoff Record - 18-18

Campbell stayed with the Red Wings for five seasons as an assistant coach, before moving into the same position with the New York Rangers. With the Rangers, Campbell was an assistant coach for two and a half seasons, including their 1994 Stanley Cup win. He also served as head coach of their American Hockey League affiliate, the Binghamton Rangers for 42 games.

During the 1994–95 NHL season, Campbell took over the head coaching job of the Rangers from Mike Keenan, who had a tumultuous relationship with General Manager Neil Smith. Campbell held the position for the next three and a half years, before being fired late in 1998. The 1997–98 NHL season was the first time Campbell's team failed to reach the playoffs.

[edit] NHL executive

Shortly after being fired by the Rangers, Campbell was hired by the NHL as the league's Senior Vice President and Director of Hockey Operations, taking over from the departed Brian Burke. During Campbell's tenure, the NHL has faced a number of high-profile incidents that required Campbell's attention, most notably the Marty McSorley/Donald Brashear stick-swinging incident, which resulted in a year-long suspension for McSorley, and the Todd Bertuzzi hit on Steve Moore.

During the 2004–05 NHL lockout, Campbell chaired a committee that looked into adjusting NHL rules, resulting in major changes for the 2005–06 NHL season.

On November 1st, 2006, Colin Campbell rejected a 5 year, $7.5 million offer from the Philadelphia Flyers to be their general manager. Speculation is that he may be holding out for the general manager job with the Toronto Maple Leafs after general manager John Ferguson Jr.'s contract was terminated in January of 2008.