Kirk Muller

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Kirk Muller
Kirk Muller2.jpg
Born (1966-02-08) February 8, 1966 (age 58)
Kingston, ON, CAN
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 205 lb (93 kg; 14 st 9 lb)
Position Left Wing
Shot Left
Played for New Jersey Devils
Montreal Canadiens
New York Islanders
Toronto Maple Leafs
Florida Panthers
Dallas Stars
National team  Canada
NHL Draft 2nd overall, 1984
New Jersey Devils
Playing career 1984–2003

Kirk Christopher Muller (born February 8, 1966) is a retired professional ice hockey wing who played in the National Hockey League for 19 seasons from 1984–85 until 2002–03. He was also the head coach of the National Hockey League's Carolina Hurricanes from 2011 to 2014. On May 13, 2014, Kirk Muller signed a contract with the St. Louis Blues as an assistant coach.[1]

Playing career

Muller started his junior career with the Kingston Canadians of the Ontario Hockey League, but his most successful junior seasons were with the Guelph Platers. There was a dispute in 1984 between the Platers and the Canadian Olympic Team, who wanted Muller to play with them at the 1984 Winter Olympics. The Platers owner was upset over losing Muller for so much time, but eventually they came to an agreement and Muller played in the Olympics. He was drafted second overall by the New Jersey Devils in the 1984 NHL Entry Draft behind Mario Lemieux. "Captain Kirk" was the heart and soul of the Devils franchise, with his intensity and strong two-way play. However, New Jersey never became a serious Stanley Cup contender while Muller was with them, and he was traded along with Roland Melanson to the Montreal Canadiens for Stéphane Richer and Tom Chorske on September 20, 1991.

Muller quickly became a fan favourite in Montreal, and he helped them win the Stanley Cup in 1993. However his time with the Canadiens was shorter than he would have liked, as he was shocked when he was traded to the New York Islanders during the 1994–95 NHL season. Initially, he was reluctant to report to the Islanders, then played a handful of games in an uninterested manner before team management decided that his poor attitude outweighed his potential contributions on the ice and barred him from the team.[2] Eventually, they recalled him, but Muller refused to report, freeing the Islanders from their contractual obligations to pay him. Ultimately, Muller was traded at a discount to the Toronto Maple Leafs. Muller had his last 20 goal season with the Leafs the next season, but he was traded to the Florida Panthers as the Leafs fell out of the playoff picture.

Muller struggled in Florida, scoring just four goals in the whole 1998–99 NHL season. His last break came when he signed with the Dallas Stars in the middle of the 1999–2000 season. Even though his scoring touch of old almost completely evaporated, he still managed to be a strong role player with the Stars for four seasons and was part of the "grumpy old men" line that included Mike Keane and John MacLean. He retired at the end of the 2002–03 season.

Coaching career

Muller began his coaching career with the Queen's University Golden Gaels. In 2005-06, Muller was Head Coach of the Queen’s University Golden Gaels, in his hometown of Kingston, posting an 8-13-1-2 record in the Ontario University Athletics Conference.

Muller also held the title of Assistant Coach to Marc Habscheid with Team Canada, winning the gold medal at the 2005 Lotto Cup Tournament in Slovakia. In March 2006, he served as Assistant Coach to Greg Gilbert at the Under-18 World Championship.

Kirk Muller returned to the Montreal Canadiens organization on June 20, 2006, when he was named Assistant Coach of the Canadiens.[3]

On June 27, 2011, the Nashville Predators announced that Muller had been hired as the head coach of their AHL affiliate, the Milwaukee Admirals.[4]

On November 28, 2011, Muller became coach of the Carolina Hurricanes, taking over for Paul Maurice.[5]

On May 5, 2014, Muller was relieved of coaching duties by the Carolina Hurricanes.

On May 13, 2014, Muller was signed by the St. Louis Blues as an assistant coach.[1]

Records

  • New Jersey Devils franchise record for points in a single game (6 on Oct. 29, 1986)
  • New Jersey Devils franchise record for assists in a single game (5 on Mar. 25, 1987)
  • New Jersey Devils franchise record for points by a centre in a single season (94, 1987–88)

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1980–81 Kingston Voyageurs OHA-B 42 17 37 54 5 — — — — —
1980–81 Kingston Canadians OMJHL 2 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
1981–82 Kingston Canadians OHL 67 12 39 51 27 4 5 1 6 4
1982–83 Guelph Platers OHL 66 52 60 112 41 — — — — —
1983–84 Guelph Platers OHL 49 31 63 94 27 — — — — —
1983–84 Team Canada Nat-Tm 15 2 2 4 16 — — — — —
1984–85 New Jersey Devils NHL 80 17 37 54 69 — — — — —
1985–86 New Jersey Devils NHL 77 25 41 66 45 — — — — —
1986–86 New Jersey Devils NHL 79 26 50 76 75 — — — — —
1987–88 New Jersey Devils NHL 80 37 57 94 114 20 4 8 12 37
1988–89 New Jersey Devils NHL 80 31 43 74 119 — — — — —
1989–90 New Jersey Devils NHL 80 30 56 86 74 6 1 3 4 11
1990–91 New Jersey Devils NHL 80 19 51 70 76 7 0 2 2 10
1991–92 Montreal Canadiens NHL 78 36 41 77 86 11 4 3 7 31
1992–93 Montreal Canadiens NHL 80 37 57 94 77 20 10 7 17 18
1993–94 Montreal Canadiens NHL 76 23 34 57 96 7 6 2 8 4
1994–95 Montreal Canadiens NHL 33 8 11 19 33 — — — — —
1994–95 New York Islanders NHL 12 3 5 8 14 — — — — —
1995–96 New York Islanders NHL 15 4 3 7 15 — — — — —
1995–96 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 36 9 16 25 42 6 3 2 5 0
1996–97 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 66 20 17 37 85 — — — — —
1996–97 Florida Panthers NHL 10 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4
1997–98 Florida Panthers NHL 70 8 21 29 54 — — — — —
1998–99 Florida Panthers NHL 82 4 11 15 49 — — — — —
1999–2000 Dallas Stars NHL 47 7 15 22 24 23 2 3 5 18
2000–01 Dallas Stars NHL 55 1 9 10 26 10 1 3 4 12
2001–02 Dallas Stars NHL 78 10 20 30 28 — — — — —
2002–03 Dallas Stars NHL 55 1 5 6 18 12 1 1 2 8
NHL totals 1349 357 602 959 1223 127 33 36 69 153

International

Year Team Event   GP G A Pts PIM
1984 Canada WJC 7 2 1 3 16
1984 Canada Oly 6 2 1 3 0
1985 Canada WC 10 2 2 4 12
1986 Canada WC 9 4 3 7 12
1987 NHL All-Stars RV-87 2 0 0 0 0
1987 Canada WC 10 2 0 2 8
1989 Canada WC 9 6 4 10 6
Senior totals 44 16 10 26 38

NHL coaching record

Team Year Regular Season Post Season
Games Won Lost OT/SO Points Finish Won Lost Result
CAR 2011-12 57 25 20 12 (62) 5th in Southeast Division - - Failed To Qualify
CAR 2012-13 48 19 25 4 42 3rd in Southeast Division - - Failed To Qualify
CAR 2013-14 82 36 35 11 83 7th in Metropolitan Division - - Failed to Qualify
Total 187 80 80 27 .500 0 Division
Championships		 0 0 0 Stanley Cups

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Montréal Canadiens - Team - Montreal Canadiens Team
  4. ↑ http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=567432
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

Preceded by Jack Ferguson Award
1982		 Succeeded by
Trevor Stienburg
Preceded by New Jersey Devils first round draft pick
1984		 Succeeded by
Craig Wolanin
Preceded by New Jersey Devils captain
1987–91		 Succeeded by
Bruce Driver
Preceded by Montreal Canadiens captain
1994–95		 Succeeded by
Mike Keane
Preceded by Head coach of the Carolina Hurricanes
2011–14		 Succeeded by
Bill Peters
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