Craig Simpson
Encyclopedia
Craig Andrew Simpson is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey
winger
who played 10 seasons in the National Hockey League
for the Pittsburgh Penguins
, Edmonton Oilers
and the Buffalo Sabres
. He is currently a broadcaster, involved in Hockey Night in Canada
telecasts.
of the NCAA from 1983–84 to 1984–85.
He was drafted in the 1st Round, 2nd overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins
in the 1985 NHL Entry Draft
. Midway through his third NHL season, he was traded as part of a package to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for Paul Coffey
. Simpson blossomed in Edmonton, playing on a line with future Hall of Famers
Mark Messier
and Glenn Anderson
. He scored a career high 56 regular season goals during the 1987–88 season, and won two Stanley Cup
s with the Oilers, in 1988 and 1990. He would be dealt to the Buffalo Sabres prior to the 1993-94
season.
Simpson suffered a serious back injury in a game against the Tampa Bay Lightning
on December 1, 1993. Though he continued to play, the injury would eventually end his playing career at age 28. He retired as a player in 1996, finishing with 497 career NHL points. He holds the record for best career shooting percentage (minimum 800 shots) with 23.66%. He also holds the record for best career playoff shooting percentage (minimum 80 shots) with 33.65%, well ahead of second place Ken Linseman
(23.21%).
as a colour commentator for Edmonton Oilers
regional games, as well as the network's weekly national broadcasts. He left in 2003 to become an assistant coach with the Oilers. After the 2006–07 season, he resigned from his position with the club to take a job as a colour commentator for CBC Television
, alongside former Sportsnet partner Jim Hughson
. Beginning in the 2008-09 season, Hughson and Simpson are the primary Hockey Night in Canada broadcast team and call the Stanley Cup Finals.
Simpson is also the colour commentator man in the EA Sports NHL franchise, along with play-by-play partner Hughson. Simpson also appears in TV commercials and print ads for Carpet Superstores of Edmonton.
On March 22, 2008, Hughson and Simpson called the NHL game between the Edmonton Oilers and the Colorado Avalanche at 1 p.m. MDT. They then boarded a chartered plane to Calgary where the pair then announced the third game of the Hockey Night in Canada triple-header between the Calgary Flames and the Minnesota Wild at 8 p.m. MDT. This is believed to be a first in the National Hockey League.
On January 30, 2010 during Hockey Day in Canada Simpson was given the opportunity to do the colour commentating along side Jim Hughson
in the Canucks at Leafs marquee game.
in the 2005–06 season.
", a made-for-TV figure-skating competition that paired eight former NHL stars with female figure skaters. Simpson and his partner, Jamie Salé
, won the competition on Monday November 16, 2009.
Dave Simpson and Rogers Sportsnet reporter Christine Simpson
. He and his wife Christine separated in 2010 after his affair with Jamie Sale, his partner in Battle of the Blades. The Simpsons have 3 teenage children. He is also the son of Canadian Olympic
athlete Marion Simpson.
Simpson's son, Dillon Simpson, was drafted by the Edmonton Oilers
in the 4th round of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft
. He is currently a defenseman at the University of North Dakota
.
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
winger
Winger (ice hockey)
Winger, in the game of hockey, is a forward position of a player whose primary zone of play on the ice is along the outer playing area. They typically work by flanking the centre forward. Originally the name was given to forward players who went up and down the sides of the rink...
who played 10 seasons in the National Hockey League
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
for the Pittsburgh Penguins
Pittsburgh Penguins
The Pittsburgh Penguins are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the first expansion teams during the league's original...
, Edmonton Oilers
Edmonton Oilers
The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division in the Western Conference of the National Hockey League ....
and the Buffalo Sabres
Buffalo Sabres
The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League .-Founding and early success: 1970-71—1980-81:...
. He is currently a broadcaster, involved in Hockey Night in Canada
Hockey Night in Canada
Hockey Night in Canada is the branding used for CBC Sports' presentations of the National Hockey League...
telecasts.
Playing career
Simpson played Collegiate hockey for the Michigan State SpartansMichigan State Spartans
The Michigan State Spartans are the athletic team that represent Michigan State University. The school's athletic program includes 25 varsity sports teams. Their mascot is a Spartan warrior named Sparty, and the school colors are green and white...
of the NCAA from 1983–84 to 1984–85.
He was drafted in the 1st Round, 2nd overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins
Pittsburgh Penguins
The Pittsburgh Penguins are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the first expansion teams during the league's original...
in the 1985 NHL Entry Draft
1985 NHL Entry Draft
The 1985 NHL Entry Draft was the first draft outside of Montreal. The event was held at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre in Toronto, Ontario, and attended by 7,000 fans. The National Hockey League teams selected 252 players eligible for entry into professional ranks, in the reverse order of the...
. Midway through his third NHL season, he was traded as part of a package to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for Paul Coffey
Paul Coffey
Paul Douglas Coffey is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey defenceman in the National Hockey League. Known for his speed and scoring prowess, Coffey ranks second all-time among NHL defencemen in career goals, assists, and points, behind Ray Bourque.-Playing career:Coffey was drafted 6th...
. Simpson blossomed in Edmonton, playing on a line with future Hall of Famers
Hockey Hall of Fame
The Hockey Hall of Fame is located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dedicated to the history of ice hockey, it is both a museum and a hall of fame. It holds exhibits about players, teams, National Hockey League records, memorabilia and NHL trophies, including the Stanley Cup...
Mark Messier
Mark Messier
Mark Douglas Messier is a former Canadian professional ice hockey centre of the National Hockey League and current special assistant to the president and general manager of the New York Rangers. He spent a quarter of a century in the NHL with the Edmonton Oilers, New York Rangers, and Vancouver...
and Glenn Anderson
Glenn Anderson
Glenn Christopher Anderson is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey right winger in the National Hockey League who played for the Edmonton Oilers, Toronto Maple Leafs, New York Rangers, and St. Louis Blues...
. He scored a career high 56 regular season goals during the 1987–88 season, and won two Stanley Cup
Stanley Cup
The Stanley Cup is an ice hockey club trophy, awarded annually to the National Hockey League playoffs champion after the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Finals. It has been referred to as The Cup, Lord Stanley's Cup, The Holy Grail, or facetiously as Lord Stanley's Mug...
s with the Oilers, in 1988 and 1990. He would be dealt to the Buffalo Sabres prior to the 1993-94
1993-94 NHL season
-Final:The Final pitted the New York Rangers, seeking to win their first Cup since 1940, versus the Vancouver Canucks, looking for their first-ever Cup win. The series was hard-fought and went the full seven games. The Rangers took a 3–1 series lead, but the Canucks won the next two to force a game...
season.
Simpson suffered a serious back injury in a game against the Tampa Bay Lightning
Tampa Bay Lightning
The Tampa Bay Lightning are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . They have one Stanley Cup championship in their history, in 2003–04. They are often referred to as the...
on December 1, 1993. Though he continued to play, the injury would eventually end his playing career at age 28. He retired as a player in 1996, finishing with 497 career NHL points. He holds the record for best career shooting percentage (minimum 800 shots) with 23.66%. He also holds the record for best career playoff shooting percentage (minimum 80 shots) with 33.65%, well ahead of second place Ken Linseman
Ken Linseman
Kenneth "The Rat" Linseman is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre who played 15 seasons in the National Hockey League for the Philadelphia Flyers, Edmonton Oilers, Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs...
(23.21%).
Broadcasting career
After retiring as a player, Simpson joined FOX television as a hockey analyst. In 1998, Simpson joined CTV SportsnetRogers Sportsnet
Sportsnet was launched on October 9, 1998 as CTV Sportsnet. The name was chosen to match the regional "Fox Sports Net" operations across the United States...
as a colour commentator for Edmonton Oilers
Edmonton Oilers
The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division in the Western Conference of the National Hockey League ....
regional games, as well as the network's weekly national broadcasts. He left in 2003 to become an assistant coach with the Oilers. After the 2006–07 season, he resigned from his position with the club to take a job as a colour commentator for CBC Television
CBC Television
CBC Television is a Canadian television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster.Although the CBC is supported by public funding, the television network supplements this funding with commercial advertising revenue, in contrast to CBC Radio which are...
, alongside former Sportsnet partner Jim Hughson
Jim Hughson
Jim Hughson is a Canadian sportscaster, best known for his play-by-play of professional ice hockey and baseball.-Biography:...
. Beginning in the 2008-09 season, Hughson and Simpson are the primary Hockey Night in Canada broadcast team and call the Stanley Cup Finals.
Simpson is also the colour commentator man in the EA Sports NHL franchise, along with play-by-play partner Hughson. Simpson also appears in TV commercials and print ads for Carpet Superstores of Edmonton.
On March 22, 2008, Hughson and Simpson called the NHL game between the Edmonton Oilers and the Colorado Avalanche at 1 p.m. MDT. They then boarded a chartered plane to Calgary where the pair then announced the third game of the Hockey Night in Canada triple-header between the Calgary Flames and the Minnesota Wild at 8 p.m. MDT. This is believed to be a first in the National Hockey League.
On January 30, 2010 during Hockey Day in Canada Simpson was given the opportunity to do the colour commentating along side Jim Hughson
Jim Hughson
Jim Hughson is a Canadian sportscaster, best known for his play-by-play of professional ice hockey and baseball.-Biography:...
in the Canucks at Leafs marquee game.
Coaching career
Simpson joined his former team, the Edmonton Oilers, in 2005 and served as an assistant coach of the team. He helped lead the team to the Stanley Cup Finals2006 Stanley Cup Finals
The 2006 Stanley Cup Final was a best-of-seven playoff series that determined the National Hockey League champion for the 2005–06 season. As a culmination of the 2006 Stanley Cup playoffs, the Eastern Conference champion Carolina Hurricanes defeated the Western Conference champion Edmonton Oilers...
in the 2005–06 season.
Battle of the Blades
In 2009, Simpson participated in the first season of CBC's "Battle of the BladesBattle of the Blades
Battle of the Blades is a Canadian figure skating reality show and competition that airs on CBC Television. It was first broadcast before a live audience at the historic Maple Leaf Gardens. With Maple Leaf Gardens under renovation however, the show was filmed at Pinewood Toronto Studios in season two...
", a made-for-TV figure-skating competition that paired eight former NHL stars with female figure skaters. Simpson and his partner, Jamie Salé
Jamie Salé
Jamie Rae Salé is a Canadian pair skater. With partner David Pelletier, she is a 2002 Olympic Champion and the 2001 World Champion. Salé & Pelletier's Olympic gold medal was shared with the Russian pair Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze after the 2002 Olympic Winter Games figure skating...
, won the competition on Monday November 16, 2009.
Family
Simpson is the younger brother of former CHL Player of the YearCHL Player of the Year
The CHL Player of the Year award is given out annually to the player judged to be the most outstanding in the Canadian Hockey League. It is selected from the winners of the Red Tilson Trophy , Michel Briere Memorial Trophy , and the Four Broncos Memorial Trophy .-Winners:* 2010-11 Ryan Ellis,...
Dave Simpson and Rogers Sportsnet reporter Christine Simpson
Christine Simpson
Christine Laura Simpson is a Canadian television personality, best known as a hockey reporter, host and interviewer. She is a graduate of the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario....
. He and his wife Christine separated in 2010 after his affair with Jamie Sale, his partner in Battle of the Blades. The Simpsons have 3 teenage children. He is also the son of Canadian Olympic
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
athlete Marion Simpson.
Simpson's son, Dillon Simpson, was drafted by the Edmonton Oilers
Edmonton Oilers
The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division in the Western Conference of the National Hockey League ....
in the 4th round of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft
2011 NHL Entry Draft
The 2011 NHL Entry Draft was the 49th NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 24–25, 2011, at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota. It was the first time the Draft was held in the state of Minnesota since the Minnesota North Stars hosted the 1989 NHL Entry Draft.The top three picks consisted...
. He is currently a defenseman at the University of North Dakota
University of North Dakota
The University of North Dakota is a public university in Grand Forks, North Dakota, USA. Established by the Dakota Territorial Assembly in 1883, six years before the establishment of the state of North Dakota, UND is the oldest and largest university in the state and enrolls over 14,000 students. ...
.
Awards and achievements
- 1987–88 - NHLNational Hockey LeagueThe National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
- Stanley CupStanley CupThe Stanley Cup is an ice hockey club trophy, awarded annually to the National Hockey League playoffs champion after the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Finals. It has been referred to as The Cup, Lord Stanley's Cup, The Holy Grail, or facetiously as Lord Stanley's Mug...
(EdmontonEdmonton OilersThe Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division in the Western Conference of the National Hockey League ....
) - 1989–90 - NHL - Stanley Cup (Edmonton)
Career statistics
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season Season (sports) In an organized sports league, a season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session. For example, in Major League Baseball, one season lasts approximately from April 1 through October 1; in Association football, it is generally from August until May In an... |
Team | League | GP | G Goal (ice hockey) In ice hockey, a goal is scored when the puck completely crosses the goal line between the two goal posts and below the goal crossbar. A goal awards one point to the team attacking the goal scored upon, regardless of which team the player who actually deflected the puck into the goal belongs to... |
A Assist (ice hockey) In ice hockey, an assist is attributed to up to two players of the scoring team who shot, passed or deflected the puck towards the scoring teammate, or touched it in any other way which enabled the goal, meaning that they were "assisting" in the goal. There can be a maximum of two assists per goal... |
Pts Point (ice hockey) Point in ice hockey has three official meanings:* A point is awarded to a player for each goal scored or assist earned. The total number of goals plus assists equals total points. In some European leagues, a goal counts as two points, and an assist counts as one... |
PIM Penalty (ice hockey) A penalty in ice hockey is a punishment for inappropriate behavior. Most penalties are enforced by detaining the offending player within a penalty box for a set number of minutes, during which, the player can not participate in play. The offending team usually may not replace the player on the ice,... |
GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1983–84 | Michigan State University Michigan State University Michigan State University is a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan, USA. Founded in 1855, it was the pioneer land-grant institution and served as a model for future land-grant colleges in the United States under the 1862 Morrill Act.MSU pioneered the studies of packaging,... |
NCAA | 46 | 14 | 43 | 57 | 38 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1984–85 | Michigan State University | NCAA | 42 | 31 | 53 | 84 | 33 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1985–86 | Pittsburgh Penguins Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the first expansion teams during the league's original... |
NHL National Hockey League The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States... |
76 | 11 | 17 | 28 | 49 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1986–87 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 72 | 26 | 25 | 51 | 34 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1987–88 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 21 | 13 | 13 | 26 | 34 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1987–88 | Edmonton Oilers* | NHL | 59 | 43 | 21 | 64 | 43 | 19 | 13 | 6 | 19 | 26 | ||
| 1988–89 | Edmonton Oilers Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division in the Western Conference of the National Hockey League .... |
NHL | 66 | 35 | 41 | 76 | 80 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 10 | ||
| 1989–90 | Edmonton Oilers* | NHL | 80 | 29 | 32 | 61 | 180 | 22 | 16 | 15 | 31 | 8 | ||
| 1990–91 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 75 | 30 | 27 | 57 | 66 | 18 | 5 | 11 | 16 | 12 | ||
| 1991–92 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 79 | 24 | 37 | 61 | 80 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1992–93 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 60 | 24 | 22 | 46 | 36 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1993–94 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 22 | 8 | 8 | 16 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1994–95 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 24 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 634 | 247 | 250 | 497 | 659 | 67 | 36 | 32 | 68 | 56 | ||||
- *-Stanley CupStanley CupThe Stanley Cup is an ice hockey club trophy, awarded annually to the National Hockey League playoffs champion after the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Finals. It has been referred to as The Cup, Lord Stanley's Cup, The Holy Grail, or facetiously as Lord Stanley's Mug...
champion