John Gruden

John Daniel Gruden (born June 4, 1970) is an American professional ice hockey coach and former player. He is currently an assistant coach for the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was most recently head coach for the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League (AHL). Prior to Toronto, he served as an assistant coach for the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League during the 2022–23 season. He also served as an assistant coach for the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League (NHL) from 2018 to 2022. He previously served as the head coach of the Hamilton Bulldogs and inaugural head coach of the Flint Firebirds of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL).

Playing career Gruden played high school hockey in Hastings, Minnesota in the late 1980s. Drafted 168th overall in the 1990 NHL entry draft by the Boston Bruins, Gruden played for the Bruins, Ottawa Senators and Washington Capitals, playing a total of 92 regular season games, scoring one goal and eight assists for nine points and collecting 46 penalty minutes. He also had a spell in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga in Germany for the Eisbären Berlin.

Coaching career Gruden has worked as an assistant coach for the Detroit Little Caesars AAA hockey club, coaching for their Squirt 2000 squad. He coached for a short stint for the storied Brother Rice JV prep squad (1–16). He also spends time doing work on behalf of the Red Wings Alumni Association. Gruden coached the Stoney Creek High School Cougars hockey team in Rochester, Michigan along with fellow NHL alumnus Greg Johnson.

More recently, Gruden served as an assistant coach for the USA Hockey National Team Development Program, helping lead the United States to a gold medal at the 2014 IIHF World U18 Championships.

On March 26, 2015, it was announced that Gruden would serve as the inaugural head coach for the Flint Firebirds of the Ontario Hockey League during the 2015–16 season. Following a successful player walkout, Gruden was reinstated as the Firebirds head coach and given a three-year contract extension. On February 17, 2016, Gruden was again fired by the Firebirds. On June 3, 2016, Gruden was named head coach of the Hamilton Bulldogs. Following the 2017–18 regular season, he led the Bulldogs as the OHL playoff champions.

On July 18, 2018, the New York Islanders hired Gruden as an assistant coach. On June 9, 2022, Gruden was relieved from his duties.

On July 20, 2022, the Boston Bruins hired Gruden as an assistant coach. Following the season, helping the Bruins to the most successful regular season in league history,

On July 4, 2023, the Toronto Marlies hired Gruden as head coach. In the 2025-26 season, Gruden coached the Marlies to their second Calder Cup in franchise history.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1989–90 Waterloo Black Hawks USHL 47 7 39 46 35 — — — — — 1990–91 Ferris State University CCHA 39 4 11 15 29 — — — — — 1991–92 Ferris State University CCHA 37 9 14 23 24 — — — — — 1992–93 Ferris State University CCHA 41 16 14 30 58 — — — — — 1993–94 Ferris State University CCHA 38 11 25 36 52 — — — — — 1993–94 Boston Bruins NHL 7 0 1 1 2 — — — — — 1994–95 Providence Bruins AHL 1 0 1 1 0 — — — — — 1994–95 Boston Bruins NHL 38 0 6 6 22 — — — — — 1995–96 Providence Bruins AHL 39 5 19 24 29 — — — — — 1995–96 Boston Bruins NHL 14 0 0 0 4 3 0 1 1 0 1996–97 Providence Bruins AHL 78 18 27 45 52 — — — — — 1997–98 Detroit Vipers IHL 76 13 42 55 74 23 1 8 9 16 1998–99 Ottawa Senators NHL 13 0 1 1 8 — — — — — 1998–99 Detroit Vipers IHL 59 10 28 38 52 10 0 1 1 6 1999–00 Ottawa Senators NHL 9 0 0 0 4 — — — — — 1999–00 Grand Rapids Griffins IHL 50 5 17 22 24 12 1 4 5 8 2000–01 Grand Rapids Griffins IHL 34 2 6 8 18 10 1 4 5 8 2001–02 Grand Rapids Griffins AHL 57 3 14 17 48 5 1 0 1 2 2002–03 Eisbären Berlin DEL 38 6 25 31 34 9 2 6 8 4 2003–04 Washington Capitals NHL 11 1 0 1 6 — — — — — NHL totals 92 1 8 9 46 3 0 1 1 0

International Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM 2003 United States WC 13th 6 0 1 1 4 Senior totals 6 0 1 1 4

Awards and honors Award Year USHL Defenseman of the Year 1990 College All-CCHA First Team 1994 AHCA West First-Team All-American 1994 CCHA Best Offensive Defenseman 1994 IHL Second All-Star Team 1998 AHL All-Star Game 2002 First All-Star Team 2002