Randy Carlyle

Randolph Robert Carlyle (born April 19, 1956) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player.

He is the former head coach of the National Hockey League (NHL)'s Toronto Maple Leafs and the Anaheim Ducks.

Carlyle appeared in 12 games with the Sudbury Wolves in the 1973–74 OHA season, earning eight assists.

He played in four playoff games with Sudbury, going pointless, as the Wolves were swept by the Kitchener Rangers in the first round.

Carlyle became a regular on the Wolves' blueline in 1974–75, as he scored 17 goals and 64 points in 67 games to finish tied with Dave Farrish in points among defencemen on the Wolves.

In the playoffs, Carlyle scored 3 goals and 9 points in 15 games as Sudbury were eliminated by the Toronto Marlboros in the second round.

Carlyle continued to improve offensively: during the 1975–76 season, he scored 15 goals and 79 points in 60 games to lead the Wolves defence, and finish fourth in team scoring.

Carlyle also had an impressive playoff, scoring 6 goals and 19 points in 17 games as the Wolves were eliminated by the Hamilton Fincups in the final round.

Carlyle was drafted into the National Hockey League (NHL) by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the second round, 30th overall, of the 1976 NHL Entry Draft.

In his first professional season, 1976–77, he spent the majority of the year with the Maple Leafs in the NHL, scoring 5 assists in 45 games in his rookie season.

In nine Stanley Cup playoff games with the Leafs, Carlyle had one assist as the Maple Leafs were eliminated by the Philadelphia Flyers in the quarter-finals.

Carlyle had also spent some time of the 1976–77 season with the Dallas Black Hawks of the Central Hockey League (CHL), scoring 2 goals and 9 points in 27 games with the club.

Carlyle split the 1977–78 season between the Dallas Black Hawks and the Toronto Maple Leafs.

In 21 games with Dallas, he scored 3 goals and 17 points.

With Toronto, he scored 2 goals and 13 points in 47 games, helping the Leafs into the 1978 playoffs.

In seven playoff games, he recorded one assist as the Maple Leafs were eliminated by the Montreal Canadiens in the semi-finals.

On June 14, 1978, Carlyle (alongside George Ferguson) was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for Dave Burrows.

Carlyle joined the Penguins for the 1978–79 season, where in 70 games he had significant improvement offensively, scoring 13 goals and 47 points to lead all Penguins defencemen in scoring.

However, in seven playoff games, Carlyle went pointless as the Penguins were eliminated by the Boston Bruins in the quarter-finals.

Carlyle saw his offensive production slip in the 1979–80 season, when he scored 8 goals and 36 points in 67 games, although he still led the Penguins defence in scoring.

In five playoff games, Carlyle scored one goal as the Penguins were again eliminated by Boston, this time in the preliminary round.

As a player, Carlyle dressed for over 1,000 games between the Maple Leafs, Pittsburgh Penguins and Winnipeg Jets, winning the James Norris Memorial Trophy as the NHL's best defenceman in the 1980–81 season and serving as a captain of both the Penguins and Jets.

Carlyle is partially of Finnish descent, and was raised in Azilda, just northwest of Sudbury, Ontario.

Carlyle had the best season of his career in the 1980–81 season: in 76 games, he scored 16 goals and 83 points to lead all NHL defencemen in scoring.

In the 1981 playoffs, Carlyle scored four goals and nine points in five games as the Penguins were eliminated by the St. Louis Blues in the preliminary round.

Carlyle had another very successful season in 1981–82, when he scored 11 goals and 75 points in 73 games, helping Pittsburgh into the 1982 playoffs.

In five playoff games, he scored a goal and four points, as the Penguins were eliminated by the New York Islanders in the Patrick Division semi-finals.

Carlyle ran into injuries in the 1982–83 season, as he appeared in only 61 games.

However, his offensive production remained impressive, as he scored 15 goals and 56 points to lead the Penguins blue line.

The Penguins struggled during the season, and missed the playoffs.

Carlyle struggled in the 1983–84 season, scoring only 3 goals and 26 points in 50 games, his lowest totals since joining the club in 1978.

Carlyle finished the 1983–84 season with the Jets.

However, due to injuries, he appeared in only five games with the club, earning three assists.

With the Penguins rebuilding, on March 5, Carlyle was traded to the Winnipeg Jets in exchange for the Jets' first-round draft pick in the 1984 NHL Entry Draft (which the Penguins used to select Doug Bodger) and future considerations, which was completed on May 1 when the Jets sent Moe Mantha to the Penguins.

In three 1984 playoff games, Carlyle recorded two assists as the Jets were swept by the Edmonton Oilers in the Smythe Division semi-final.

In his first full season with the Jets, in 1984–85, Carlyle's offensive production went up, as he scored 13 goals and 51 points in 71 games.

In eight playoff games, Carlyle had one goal and six points as the Jets were eliminated by Edmonton in the division final.

After the season, Carlyle finished seventh in voting for the Norris Trophy.

He won the Stanley Cup in 2007 with the Ducks during his first stint with the team.

After the season, Carlyle was awarded the James Norris Memorial Trophy for the NHL's best defenceman in the regular season; he was also named to the NHL First All-Star Team and finished 11th in Hart Memorial Trophy voting as the NHL's most valuable player during the regular season.