Paul Gardner (ice hockey)

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Paul Gardner (full name Paul Malone Gardner) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and coach. Born March 5, 1956, in Fort Erie, Ontario, he is the son of NHL player Cal Gardner and the younger brother of Dave Gardner. As a youth, he played in the 1968 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament.

Gardner was drafted 11th overall in the 1976 NHL Draft by the Kansas City Scouts (the franchise moved to Denver and became the Colorado Rockies). He was also selected 24th overall in the 1976 WHA Draft by the Toronto Toros. He started his pro career with the Rockies’ system and had a standout rookie NHL season, scoring 30 goals and 59 points in 60 games. In his second NHL season he scored 30 goals in 46 games. Midway through his third season he was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs, where he began playing for the team his father once played for.

With the Maple Leafs, Gardner had a strong start after the trade, but his scoring declined the following season. He was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1980, where he enjoyed three productive seasons with 34, 36, and 28 goals, before a drop in his fourth season led to a move to the minor leagues. He led the AHL in scoring for the Penguins’ affiliate, then joined the Washington Capitals for the 1984-85 season, where he played 12 NHL games but again excelled in the AHL, leading the league with 51 goals and 130 points in 64 games. The Capitals did not re-sign him, and he signed with the Buffalo Sabres, appearing in two NHL games while continuing to star in the AHL with 61 goals and 112 points for the Rochester Americans that season before retiring from playing in 1986.

After retiring, Gardner moved into coaching. He led the Newmarket Saints (AHL) for four seasons, then served as an assistant coach for the Baltimore Skipjacks/Portland Pirates under Barry Trotz. The two later moved to the NHL with the Nashville Predators in various roles. In 2007 he became head coach of Lokomotiv Yaroslavl in Russia, and in 2008 he coached Dynamo Minsk in Belarus before taking the helm of the Hamburg Freezers in Germany’s DEL later that year. He guided Hamburg to the playoffs in his first season, but they missed the playoffs in his second season.

Gardner then coached in North America’s minor leagues, including the Mississippi RiverKings (CHL) and the Bloomington Blaze (CHL), before moving to Europe again. He led the Braehead Clan in Scotland’s EIHL in 2013 and then coached the Tilburg Trappers in the Netherlands, winning Dutch championships. In 2016 he became head coach of Lausitzer Füchse in Germany’s DEL2, and then took over Löwen Frankfurt in the DEL2, winning the 2017 DEL2 title. He was dismissed by Frankfurt in March 2018.

In 2019, Gardner was inducted into the Leaside Sports Hall of Fame, joining his father Cal and brother Dave in the honors.