Don Lever

Donald Richard Lever (born November 14, 1952) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger who played 15 seasons in the National Hockey League from 1972–73 until 1986–87. He notably helped the Calgary Flames reach the NHL playoff semifinals for the first time in club history in 1981.

Playing career Lever was drafted 3rd overall by the Vancouver Canucks in the 1972 NHL Amateur Draft. The forward reached the 20-goal mark six times in Vancouver and played for Canada at the 1978 World Championships. Lever was traded to the Atlanta Flames alongside Brad Smith in exchange for Ivan Boldirev and Darcy Rota on February 8, 1980. He was later the first captain of the New Jersey Devils. Lever scored the first goal in Devils' history. He was recognized for both his penalty killing and powerplay abilities. Lever played 1020 career NHL games, scoring 313 goals and 367 assists for 680 points. On March 9, 2009, Lever was named an assistant coach for the Montreal Canadiens by Bob Gainey after the firing of Guy Carbonneau. His contract was not renewed, and he was named head coach of the Chicago Wolves of the AHL on October 21, 2009.

Awards and achievements 1972: OHA First All-Star Team 1972: Red Tilson Trophy (OHA MVP) 1982: Played in NHL All-Star Game 1990–91: Louis A.R. Pieri Memorial Award 2006–07: Head coached the Hamilton Bulldogs to their first franchise Calder Cup, AHL championship

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1969–70 Niagara Falls Flyers OHA-Jr. 2 0 1 1 4 — — — — — 1970–71 Niagara Falls Flyers OHA-Jr. 59 35 36 71 112 — — — — — 1971–72 Niagara Falls Flyers OHA-Jr. 69 61 65 126 69 6 3 1 4 45 1972–73 Vancouver Canucks NHL 78 12 26 38 49 — — — — — 1973–74 Vancouver Canucks NHL 78 23 25 48 28 — — — — — 1974–75 Vancouver Canucks NHL 80 38 30 68 49 5 0 1 1 4 1975–76 Vancouver Canucks NHL 80 25 40 65 93 2 0 0 0 0 1976–77 Vancouver Canucks NHL 80 27 30 57 28 — — — — — 1977–78 Vancouver Canucks NHL 75 17 32 49 58 — — — — — 1978–79 Vancouver Canucks NHL 71 23 21 44 17 3 2 1 3 2 1979–80 Vancouver Canucks NHL 51 21 17 38 32 — — — — — 1979–80 Atlanta Flames NHL 28 14 16 30 4 4 1 1 2 0 1980–81 Calgary Flames NHL 62 26 31 57 56 16 4 7 11 20 1981–82 Calgary Flames NHL 23 8 11 19 6 — — — — — 1981–82 Colorado Rockies NHL 59 22 28 50 20 — — — — — 1982–83 New Jersey Devils NHL 79 23 30 53 68 — — — — — 1983–84 New Jersey Devils NHL 70 14 19 33 44 — — — — — 1984–85 New Jersey Devils NHL 67 10 8 18 31 — — — — — 1985–86 Rochester Americans AHL 29 6 11 17 16 — — — — — 1985–86 Buffalo Sabres NHL 29 7 1 8 6 — — — — — 1986–87 Rochester Americans AHL 57 29 25 54 69 18 4 3 7 14 1986–87 Buffalo Sabres NHL 10 3 2 5 4 — — — — — NHL totals 1,020 313 367 680 593 30 7 10 17 26

International Year Team Event GP G A Pts PIM 1978 Canada WC 10 4 3 7 4

Coaching statistics

Season Team Lge Type GP W L T OTL Pct Result 1987–88 Buffalo Sabres NHL Assistant coach 1988–89 Buffalo Sabres NHL Assistant coach 1990–91 Rochester Americans AHL Head coach 80 45 26 9 0 0.619 Lost in finals 1991–92 Rochester Americans AHL Head coach 80 37 31 12 0 0.537 Lost in round 3 1992–93 Buffalo Sabres NHL Assistant coach 1993–94 Buffalo Sabres NHL Assistant coach 1994–95 Buffalo Sabres NHL Assistant coach 1995–96 Buffalo Sabres NHL Associate coach 1996–97 Buffalo Sabres NHL Assistant coach 1997–98 Buffalo Sabres NHL Associate coach 1998–99 Buffalo Sabres NHL Associate coach 1999–00 Buffalo Sabres NHL Associate coach 2000–01 Buffalo Sabres NHL Assistant coach 2001–02 Buffalo Sabres NHL Assistant coach 2002–03 St. Louis Blues NHL Assistant coach 2003–04 St. Louis Blues NHL Assistant coach 2005–06 Hamilton Bulldogs AHL Head coach 80 35 41 0 4 0.463 Out of playoffs 2006–07 Hamilton Bulldogs AHL Head coach 80 43 28 0 9 0.594 Won championship 2007–08 Hamilton Bulldogs AHL Head coach 80 36 34 0 10 0.512 Out of playoffs 2008–09 Hamilton Bulldogs AHL Head coach 65 39 24 0 2 0.615 2008–09 Montreal Canadiens NHL Assistant coach

Personal life Lever and his wife Karen have three children, Michael, Sarah, and Caitlin.