Craig Janney
American ice hockey player (born 1967)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Craig Harlan Janney (born September 26, 1967) is an American former professional ice hockey center who played twelve seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1987–88 until 1998–99, when blood clots ended his career prematurely.
| Craig Janney | |||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Janney in 1987 | |||
| Born |
September 26, 1967 Hartford, Connecticut, U.S. | ||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) | ||
| Weight | 200 lb (91 kg; 14 st 4 lb) | ||
| Position | Center | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for |
Boston Bruins St. Louis Blues San Jose Sharks Winnipeg Jets Phoenix Coyotes Tampa Bay Lightning New York Islanders | ||
| National team |
 United States | ||
| NHL draft |
13th overall, 1986 Boston Bruins | ||
| Playing career | 1987–1999 | ||
Playing career
Known as an excellent puck-distributing center, Janney averaged nearly one point per game in his NHL career. Janney was drafted in the first round, 13th overall by the Boston Bruins in the 1986 NHL entry draft, and also played in the 1987 World Ice Hockey Championships, 1991 Canada Cup and the 1994 World Ice Hockey Championships for Team USA.
Prior to his NHL career, Janney attended Enfield High School in Enfield, Connecticut before attending Deerfield Academy. Janney played for the Boston College Eagles during his collegiate years, and he also played on the 1988 U.S. Olympic Team that finished seventh at the Calgary Olympic Games, where he had six points in five Olympic contests. He is a member of the Varsity Club Hall of Fame, having been inducted in 2009.[1]
Janney played in just 15 games in his rookie season for Boston but he was a healthy presence for the team during their run in the 1988 Stanley Cup playoffs that saw him play in 23 games and record six goals with 10 assists as the Bruins lost in the Stanley Cup Final. Janney was second in assists for the 1990 Stanley Cup playoffs with 19 (second only to Rick Middleton for one postseason and not matched since) as the Bruins once again reached (and lost) the Stanley Cup Final.[2] On February 7, 1992, the Boston Bruins traded Janney with Stephane Quintal to the St. Louis Blues for Adam Oates.[3] In the 1992-93 season, Janney had 24 goals and a career-high 82 assists for a total of 106 points to become the fifth Blues player to record 100 points in a season.[4] In March 1994, the St. Louis Blues signed restricted free agent Petr Nedvěd, who was in a contract dispute with the Vancouver Canucks. An arbitrator awarded the Canucks a second-round draft pick along with Janney.[5] Janney refused to play for Vancouver due to being unwilling to leave St. Louis or his family. As such, the Canucks (who had demanded Brendan Shanahan in the first place) traded Janney back to the Blues for Jeff Brown, Bret Hedican and Nathan LaFayette.[6] In the middle of the 1994-95 season, Janney saw his playing time decrease and he left the team on February 18. On March 6, he was traded to the San Jose Sharks for Jeff Norton and a conditional draft pick.[7] He recorded 82 points in 98 games with the Sharks while later expressing his fond memories of playing in San Jose.[8] One year later, Janney was traded to the Winnipeg Jets for Darren Turcotte and a second-round draft pick.[9][10] Janney joined the team when it relocated to become the Phoenix Coyotes, before being traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning on June 11, 1998, along for the rights to Louie DeBrusk and a fifth round pick in 1998.[11] Janney suffered a blood clot in his right leg on March 23, 1999 that saw him committed to the hospital. He would recover from the clot but never played hockey again.[12][13][14] When he retired, he was 23rd in playoff assists with 86.[15]
In 2004, Craig Janney was honored as having "The Softest Hands in Hockey" by the NHL Alumni Board. On February 13, 2007 Janney was named the interim head coach of the Lubbock Cotton Kings of the CHL. He would finish the season, but the Lubbock Cotton Kings would cease operations at the end of the 2007 season.
Recently, Janney has been appearing on NESN for Hockey East coverage. He currently resides in Scottsdale, Arizona with his wife, former model Kim Janney and daughter Barrette Janney.
Janney is a 1996 inductee of the Enfield Athletic Hall of Fame.[16]
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1984–85 | Deerfield Academy | HS-Prep | 17 | 35 | 33 | 68 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1985–86 | Boston College | HE | 34 | 13 | 14 | 27 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1986–87 | Boston College | HE | 37 | 28 | 55 | 83 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1987–88 | United States | Intl | 52 | 26 | 44 | 70 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1987–88 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 15 | 7 | 9 | 16 | 0 | 23 | 6 | 10 | 16 | 11 | ||
| 1988–89 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 62 | 16 | 46 | 62 | 12 | 10 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 21 | ||
| 1989–90 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 55 | 24 | 38 | 62 | 4 | 18 | 3 | 19 | 22 | 2 | ||
| 1990–91 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 77 | 26 | 66 | 92 | 8 | 18 | 4 | 18 | 22 | 11 | ||
| 1991–92 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 53 | 12 | 39 | 51 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1991–92 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 25 | 6 | 30 | 36 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 0 | ||
| 1992–93 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 84 | 24 | 82 | 106 | 12 | 11 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 0 | ||
| 1993–94 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 69 | 16 | 68 | 84 | 24 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | ||
| 1994–95 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 8 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1994–95 | San Jose Sharks | NHL | 27 | 5 | 15 | 20 | 10 | 11 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 4 | ||
| 1995–96 | San Jose Sharks | NHL | 71 | 13 | 49 | 62 | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1995–96 | Winnipeg Jets | NHL | 13 | 7 | 13 | 20 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 1996–97 | Phoenix Coyotes | NHL | 77 | 15 | 38 | 53 | 26 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 4 | ||
| 1997–98 | Phoenix Coyotes | NHL | 68 | 10 | 43 | 53 | 12 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 1998–99 | Tampa Bay Lightning | NHL | 38 | 4 | 18 | 22 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1998–99 | New York Islanders | NHL | 18 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 760 | 188 | 563 | 751 | 170 | 120 | 24 | 86 | 110 | 53 | ||||