Craig Simpson

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Craig Andrew Simpson (born February 15, 1967) is a Canadian former professional hockey player who spent 10 seasons in the NHL with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Edmonton Oilers, and Buffalo Sabres. He is now a lead color commentator for Sportsnet’s Hockey Night in Canada and the Toronto Maple Leafs’ regional games.

Early life and college
Simpson was born in London, Ontario. As a youth, he played in the 1979 Quebec International Pee-Wee Tournament. He went to Michigan State University, starting college at age 16 after skipping two grades. He was the first 16-year-old to play varsity hockey in the United States and led his team in scoring as a freshman. In his second year, he had 31 goals and 84 points in 42 games and became the top prospect for the 1985 NHL Draft.

NHL career
The Toronto Maple Leafs had the first overall pick in 1985, but failed to sign with Simpson. Pittsburgh drafted him second overall. As a rookie, he scored 11 goals. In his second season he doubled that to 26 goals. In his third season he played on a line with Mario Lemieux but was traded on November 24, 1987, to Edmonton along with several players in exchange for Paul Coffey.

With the Oilers, Simpson moved to left wing and played with Mark Messier and Glenn Anderson. He set a career high with 56 goals in the 1987–88 season, becoming the first player to score 50 goals in a season while playing for two different teams (Pittsburgh and Edmonton). He added 13 playoff goals that year, and his 13th playoff goal featured an assist from Wayne Gretzky, which was Gretzky’s final point as an Oilers player. Simpson won two Stanley Cups with Edmonton in 1988 and 1990. In the 1990 playoffs he led with 16 goals in 22 games and was tied for the scoring lead with 31 points.

Injuries and later career
In 1992, Simpson missed time with a shoulder injury. In 1992–93 he was limited by a back injury that worsened over the year, ending with a protruding disc. He became a free agent in 1993 and briefly joined the San Jose Sharks on an offer sheet, but the deal was found to be illegally structured and fell through. He was then traded to the Buffalo Sabres for Jozef Cierny.

With Buffalo, Simpson teamed with Pat LaFontaine and Alexander Mogilny, but his back problems continued. He suffered a serious back injury on December 1, 1993, and after returning in March he re-aggravated it and missed the rest of the season and playoffs. He played only 22 games that year and 24 the next, and retired at age 28 after the Oilers bought out the final year of his contract. He finished with 497 career NHL points. He is known as one of the most accurate shooters in NHL history, holding the career shooting percentage record (minimum 800 shots) at 23.66% and the playoff shooting percentage record (minimum 80 shots) at 33.65%.

Post-playing career
After retiring, Simpson worked as a hockey broadcaster. He started with Fox and then joined CTV Sportsnet in 1998 for Oilers regional games and national broadcasts. He briefly served as an Oilers assistant coach in 2005 and helped them reach the 2006 Stanley Cup Final. He later returned to broadcasting with CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada and then rejoined Sportsnet when Rogers acquired NHL rights in 2014. He later teamed with Chris Cuthbert for the 2021–22 season.

Simpson was also a color commentator for the EA Sports NHL video game series and appeared in ads for Carpet Superstores in Edmonton. In 2009 he won CBC’s Battle of the Blades with Jamie Salé, his skating partner.

Honors and family
Simpson was inducted into the London (Ontario) Sports Hall of Fame in 2013. He is the son of Marion Simpson and has a sister and a brother in sports media. He married Jamie Salé in 2012, and they have a daughter born in 2013. He is a stepfather to Salé’s son and has three children from a previous marriage, including Dillon Simpson, who was drafted by the Oilers in 2011. As of 2022, Simpson and Salé were separated.