Joe Sacco (ice hockey)
| Joseph Sacco | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 4, 1969 Medford, MA, USA |
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
| Weight | 195 lb (88 kg; 13 st 13 lb) |
| Position | Right Wing |
| Shot | Left |
| Played for | Toronto Maple Leafs Mighty Ducks of Anaheim New York Islanders Washington Capitals Philadelphia Flyers |
| National team |  United States |
| NHL Draft | 71st overall, 1987 Toronto Maple Leafs |
| Playing career | 1990–2003 |
Joseph William Sacco (born February 4, 1969) is a retired National Hockey League player and current head coach of the NHL's Colorado Avalanche. His younger brother David Sacco also played in the NHL.
Contents |
[edit] Career
[edit] Playing career
Drafted in the 1987 NHL Entry Draft by the Toronto Maple Leafs, Sacco played for Boston University before joining the Leafs. Sacco also played for the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, New York Islanders, Washington Capitals, and Philadelphia Flyers. In 738 NHL games, he had 94 goals and 119 assists.
[edit] Coaching career
In the 2005–06 season, two years into retirement from playing, Sacco was hired as an assistant coach for the Lowell Lock Monsters, affiliate of the Colorado Avalanche. On May 7, 2007, after two years as an assistant, Sacco was named head coach of the Colorado Avalanche's new AHL franchise, the Lake Erie Monsters.[1] Sacco then led the Monsters for the next two seasons and while recording somewhat unimpressive season's numbers with limited resources was credited with helping development of younger players to the NHL.[2]
On June 4, 2009, a day after Avalanche head coach Tony Granato was fired, Sacco was promoted and later introduced as the new head coach of the Colorado Avalanche for the 2009–10 season, a job former Avs great Patrick Roy turned down days prior.[3] After being projected finishing 15th in the Western Conference by most hockey pundits, Sacco coached the Avalanche to the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs posting a record of 43–30–9 in his rookie year of coaching in the NHL. With a 26 point improvement on the Avalanche's previous season's efforts, this marks the greatest single year turnaround the NHL has seen since the 2000 expansion of the league. His team would end up being eliminated in the first round after six games by the San Jose Sharks. On April 28, 2010, Sacco was named a finalist for the Jack Adams Award for NHL coach of the year along side Dave Tippett of the Phoenix Coyotes and Barry Trotz of the Nashville Predators.
[edit] Career statistics
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1987–88 | Boston University | HE | 34 | 14 | 22 | 36 | 38 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1988–89 | Boston University | HE | 33 | 21 | 19 | 40 | 66 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1989–90 | Boston University | HE | 44 | 28 | 24 | 52 | 70 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1990–91 | Newmarket Saints | AHL | 49 | 18 | 17 | 35 | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1990–91 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 20 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1991–92 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 17 | 7 | 4 | 11 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1991–92 | St. John's Maple Leafs | AHL | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 1992–93 | St. John's Maple Leafs | AHL | 37 | 14 | 16 | 30 | 45 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 2 | ||
| 1992–93 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 23 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1993–94 | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | NHL | 84 | 19 | 18 | 37 | 61 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1994–95 | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | NHL | 41 | 10 | 8 | 18 | 23 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1995–96 | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | NHL | 76 | 13 | 14 | 27 | 40 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1996–97 | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | NHL | 77 | 12 | 17 | 29 | 35 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 1997–98 | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | NHL | 55 | 8 | 11 | 19 | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1997–98 | New York Islanders | NHL | 25 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1998–99 | New York Islanders | NHL | 73 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 45 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1999–00 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 79 | 7 | 16 | 23 | 50 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 2000–01 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 69 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 48 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2001–02 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 65 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 51 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2002–03 | Philadelphia Phantoms | AHL | 6 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2002–03 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 34 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 20 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| NHL totals | 738 | 94 | 119 | 213 | 421 | 26 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 8 | ||||
[edit] Coaching record
| Team | Year | Regular season | Post season | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | L | OTL | Pts | Division rank | Result | — | |||
| LEM | 2007–08 | 80 | 26 | 41 | 13 | 65 | 6th in North | Did not qualify | — | |
| LEM | 2008–09 | 80 | 34 | 38 | 8 | 76 | 6th in North | Did not qualify | — | |
| COL | 2009–10 | 82 | 43 | 30 | 9 | 95 | 2nd in Northwest | 8 Seed in Western Conference | Lost in First round (SJ) | |
| COL | 2010–11 | 82 | 30 | 44 | 8 | 68 | 4th in Northwest | Did not qualify | — | |
| AHL total | 160 | 60 | 79 | 21 | 141 | — | — | |||
| NHL total | 164 | 73 | 74 | 17 | 163 Pts. | — | — | 1 playoff berth | ||
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Dater, Adrian (2009-06-05). "Spotlight turns to new Avs coach Sacco". Denver Post. http://www.denverpost.com/avalanche/ci_12524372. Retrieved 2009-06-06.
- ^ Dater, Adrian (2009-06-05). "Former players praise Avs' choice for coach". Denver Post. http://www.denverpost.com/avalanche/ci_12523849. Retrieved 2009-06-06.
- ^ Dater, Adrian (2009-06-04). "Avs hire Sacco as head coach". Denver Post. http://www.denverpost.com/ci_12519305. Retrieved 2009-06-04.
[edit] External links
| Preceded by Tony Granato |
Head coach of the Colorado Avalanche 2009–present |
Incumbent |
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- 1969 births
- Living people
- American ice hockey coaches
- American ice hockey right wingers
- American people of Italian descent
- Boston University Terriers men's ice hockey players
- Colorado Avalanche coaches
- Ice hockey people from Massachusetts
- Ice hockey players at the 1992 Winter Olympics
- Mighty Ducks of Anaheim players
- New York Islanders players
- Newmarket Saints players
- Olympic ice hockey players of the United States
- People from Medford, Massachusetts
- Philadelphia Flyers players
- Philadelphia Phantoms players
- St. John's Maple Leafs players
- Toronto Maple Leafs players
- Washington Capitals players
