Rich Preston

Richard John "Rich" Preston (born May 22, 1952) is a Canadian ice hockey coach and former forward. He played hockey for the Houston Aeros and Winnipeg Jets of the World Hockey Association and the Chicago Black Hawks of the National Hockey League. He won the Avco World Trophy in 1975 with Houston and 1979 with Winnipeg, and his play in the 1979 WHA playoffs awarded him the WHA Playoff MVP, the last to be awarded by the league prior to the NHL-WHA merger.

Early life Preston was born in Regina, Saskatchewan. He is the son of Ken Preston, general manager of the Saskatchewan Roughriders from 1958 to 1977 and a member of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame. He studied and played with the Denver Pioneers.

Playing career

His play with teammate Rob Palmer, who was drafted by the Chicago Black Hawks, had attracted them to put him on a negotiation list to maybe consider him. He mulled it over but when Bill Dineen of the upstart Houston Aeros (which had players such as Gordie Howe) inquired about his services, Preston went with Houston, which gave him $30,000 for his first season with a $25,000 signing bonus.

Preston began his professional career in the World Hockey Association in the 1974–75 season with the Avco World Trophy champion Houston Aeros At one point, he played on the same line of Gordie Howe and Mark Howe that saw Preston play right wing that had teammates jokingly dub them "Howe, Howe and Who!"

He then played three more years with the Aeros before the team folded. Preston, along with several players, was sold to the Winnipeg Jets before the start of the 1978–79 season. The Jets won the Avco World Trophy in 1979 (the league's final year) and Preston was named Most Valuable Player of the WHA playoffs.

Preston started his National Hockey League career with the Chicago Black Hawks in 1980. He also played for the New Jersey Devils. He left the NHL after the 1987 season.

Post career Preston was an assistant coach for the Calgary Flames from the 2003-2004 NHL season until just after the 2008-2009 NHL season. Shortly after his dismissal from the Flames, Preston was hired as the WHL's Lethbridge Hurricanes head coach and general manager. After four years in Lethbridge without a single playoff game, Preston was fired from both roles before any team advanced past the first round of the 2013 WHL playoffs.

He is currently serving as a scout for the Anaheim Ducks.

Career statistics Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1969–70 Regina Pats SJHL 36 15 15 30 4 — — — — — 1970–71 University of Denver WCHA 17 0 1 1 0 — — — — — 1971–72 University of Denver WCHA 33 3 11 14 18 — — — — — 1972–73 University of Denver WCHA 39 23 25 48 24 — — — — — 1973–74 University of Denver WCHA 38 20 25 45 36 — — — — — 1974–75 Houston Aeros WHA 78 20 21 41 10 13 1 6 7 6 1975–76 Houston Aeros WHA 77 22 33 55 33 17 4 6 10 8 1976–77 Houston Aeros WHA 80 38 41 79 54 11 3 5 8 10 1977–78 Houston Aeros WHA 73 25 25 50 52 — — — — — 1978–79 Winnipeg Jets WHA 80 28 32 60 88 10 8 5 13 15 1979–80 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 80 31 30 61 70 7 0 3 3 2 1980–81 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 47 7 14 21 24 3 0 1 1 0 1981–82 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 75 15 28 43 30 15 2 4 6 21 1982–83 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 79 25 28 53 64 13 2 7 9 25 1983–84 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 75 10 18 28 50 5 0 1 1 4 1984–85 New Jersey Devils NHL 75 12 15 27 26 — — — — — 1985–86 New Jersey Devils NHL 76 19 22 41 65 — — — — — 1986–87 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 73 8 9 17 19 4 0 2 2 4 NHL totals 580 127 164 291 348 47 4 18 22 56 WHA totals 388 133 152 285 237 51 16 22 38 39