Craig Janney

Craig Janney
Janney in 1987
Born	(1967-09-26) 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

Craig Harlan Janney (born September 26, 1967) is an American former professional ice hockey center who played twelve seasons in the National Hockey League from 1987–88 until 1998–99, when blood clots ended his career prematurely.

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.

In 1992, the Boston Bruins traded Janney with Stephane Quintal to the St. Louis Blues for Adam Oates. Two years later, 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 Craig Janney. Both teams were not satisfied with the decision and the Canucks traded Janney back for Jeff Brown, Bret Hedican and Nathan LaFayette. In 1995, the St. Louis Blues traded Janney to the San Jose Sharks for Jeff Norton and a conditional draft pick. One year later, Janney was traded to the Winnipeg Jets for Darren Turcotte and a second round draft pick. 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.

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.

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

International

Year	Team	Event		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1985	United States	WJC		7	4	2	6	0
1986	United States	WJC		3	1	1	2	2
1987	United States	WC		10	1	0	1	0
1988	United States	OG		6	3	1	4	2
1991	United States	CC		8	4	2	6	0
1994	United States	WC		7	2	5	7	0
Junior totals				10	5	3	8	2
Senior totals				31	10	8	18	2

Awards and honors

Award	Year
All-Hockey East First Team	1986–87
AHCA East First-Team All-American	1986–87
Hockey East All-Tournament Team	1987

External links

• Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database