Dale Hunter

Dale Hunter
Dale Hunter
	Hunter (top) with the London Knights in 2010
Born	July 31, 1960 (age 64); Petrolia, Ontario, Canada
Height	5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight	200 lb (91 kg; 14 st 4 lb)
Position	Centre
Shot	Left
Played for	Quebec Nordiques; Washington Capitals; Colorado Avalanche
NHL draft	41st overall, 1979; Quebec Nordiques
Playing career	1980–1999

Dale Robert Hunter (born July 31, 1960) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and the former head coach of the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League and current co-owner, president, and head coach of the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League. He was born in Petrolia, Ontario, but grew up in nearby (13 km) Oil Springs, Ontario. He is the middle of three Hunter brothers, with older brother Dave and younger brother Mark, to play in the NHL.

NHL career

Quebec Nordiques

He was selected 41st overall by the Quebec Nordiques in the 1979 NHL Entry Draft. He would begin his NHL career a year later in 1980 and played seven years with the Nordiques.

According to his former Quebec Nordiques coach Michel Bergeron, even though Hunter was nicknamed the "Nuisance" on ice (La Petite Peste in French), he was known to be "humble" in the dressing room and a sort of "gentleman", close to all the players. He was the "perfect player", always the first to arrive at practice and ready to do all his best for the team. Thanks to his charisma, Hunter was a fan favourite in both Quebec and Washington. His leaving Quebec was seen as an obvious "mistake" linked to the team's future decline.^[1]

At the end of the 1986–87 season, Hunter was traded to the Washington Capitals along with Clint Malarchuk in return for Gaetan Duchesne, Alan Haworth, and a 1987 first-round draft pick the Nordiques then used to select future Hall of Famer Joe Sakic.

Washington Capitals

Hunter played for 12 seasons with the Washington Capitals, serving as team captain from 1994 to 1999.

In the 1988 Patrick Division Semifinals between the Capitals and Philadelphia Flyers, Hunter scored one of the biggest goals in Caps history. That goal was scored on a breakaway at 5:57 of overtime, beating Ron Hextall and gave Washington the 5–4 win in the deciding game 7.^[2]

During the 1991–92 Washington Capitals season, younger brother Mark briefly joined Hunter with the Capitals, playing seven games with the club.

In the 1993 Patrick Division Semifinals between the Capitals and New York Islanders, Hunter led his team with seven postseason goals. That performance was marred by an illegal and potentially career-ending check on Islanders' star Pierre Turgeon.^[3] This illegal check occurred after Turgeon had stolen an errant pass of Hunter's and subsequently scored. As Turgeon was celebrating, Hunter came up from behind and checked the unaware Turgeon into the boards, leading to a concussion and a separated right shoulder. As a result of the incident, Hunter was suspended for the first 21 games of the 1993–94 season as part of new commissioner Gary Bettman's effort to crack down on violent play.

He played in the 1997 NHL All-Star Game.

Hunter broke the 1,000 points barrier during the 1997–98 season, becoming the NHL record holder for requiring the most games to do so by a forward, at 1,308; the record stood until Patrick Marleau achieved the feat in his 1,349th game, during the 2015–16 season. Hunter holds the record for the player with the most penalty minutes to have scored 1,000 or more points.^[4]

In 1998, he led the fourth-seeded Capitals to their first appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals, defeating the Boston Bruins, Ottawa Senators, and Buffalo Sabres in the earlier rounds. In the finals, the Capitals were swept by the defending Cup champion Detroit Red Wings, with the first three games being decided by one goal.

In March 1999, at the trade deadline for the 1998–99 season, Hunter was traded back to his original franchise, albeit since relocated and renamed the Colorado Avalanche.

Colorado Avalanche

Hunter finished the 1998–99 season with the Colorado Avalanche, the successor to the Nordiques. He helped the team reach that season's Western Conference finals, losing in seven games to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Dallas Stars. On that team, he often played on the same line as two other renowned pest role players – Claude Lemieux and Theoren Fleury.

Hunter retired at the end of that playoff run, after 19 full seasons in the NHL.

Post-NHL

Hunter's sweater number (#32) was retired by the Capitals on March 11, 2000. During the ceremony, the Capitals presented Hunter with one of the penalty boxes from the Capital Centre (the Capitals former home arena), symbolic of his exceptional amount of time served for penalties.

In 2000, Hunter and his brother, Mark—also a former NHL player—teamed up with Dale's former teammate on the Nordiques, Basil McRae, to buy the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League. Dale became team president and head coach. He led the Knights to the 2005 and 2016 Memorial Cup. On January 1, 2006, the Hunter brothers were named to the 2006 Mayor's New Year's Honours List for Sports by the City of London, Ontario. Hunter's older brother Dave Hunter is also a former NHLer. His son Dylan Hunter is an assistant coach for the Knights and his other son Tucker also played for the London Knights before pursuing his education at the University of Western Ontario.

On November 28, 2011, Hunter resigned his position as head coach of the Knights to take the same position with the Washington Capitals, succeeding Bruce Boudreau.^[5] His brother Mark then took over as Knights coach. Hunter's defense oriented system caused some conflict with star Alexander Ovechkin but it helped the struggling Capitals make the playoffs, where they upset the defending Stanley Cup champions Boston Bruins in the first round before being eliminated by the New York Rangers, both postseason series going to seven games. On May 14, 2012, Hunter announced he was not returning to coach the Capitals in the 2012-2013 season, choosing instead to return to the London Knights.^[6]

On May 14, 2019, Hockey Canada named Hunter as the head coach for Canada’s National Junior Team at the 2020 IIHF World Junior Championship.^[7] Hunter guided the team to the gold medal with a dramatic come-from-behind victory over Russia in the final game.^[8]

Accolades and controversy

With amassing a staggering 3565 penalty minutes, Hunter currently has the second-most penalty minutes in NHL history, after Dave "Tiger" Williams (although Hunter played 1,407 games to Williams' 962). He also holds the NHL record for most penalty minutes in the playoffs, at 731. The Capitals retired his No. 32 jersey. Hunter is the only NHL player ever to score over 1,000 points and rack up over 3,000 penalty minutes (1,020 points and 3,565 PIMs over 1,407 NHL games).

He scored in overtime for Quebec in Game 5 of their 1982 opening round best-of-five series vs. the Montreal Canadiens, and in 1988 scoring against Ron Hextall on a breakaway in overtime for Washington in Game 7 of their opening round best-of-7 series vs. the Philadelphia Flyers, making Hunter the first player in NHL history to score two overtime series-clinching goals in the playoffs.

In July 2006, Hunter was arrested and charged with DUI.^[9] The charges were dropped when the presiding judge ruled that his rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms were violated for unlawful detention and being denied his right to his lawyer.

In September 2005, Hunter was suspended by the Ontario Hockey League for four games after a player left the bench to initiate a fight in an exhibition game.

On January 20, 2006, Hunter was suspended for two games and his team was fined $5,000 for Hunter's off ice abuse of the officials. In May 2006, Hunter was fined $5,000 by the OHL for criticizing officials after the Knights were eliminated from the playoffs in four straight games. In September 2006, Hunter was suspended by the OHL for two games after forward Matt Davis left the bench to engage in a fight during a game; OHL rules state that there is an automatic suspension for both the player and the coach if a player leaves the bench to become involved in an altercation.

Pierre Turgeon incident

Late in the deciding Game 6 of the 1993 Patrick Division Semifinals between the Capitals and New York Islanders, Pierre Turgeon stole the puck from Hunter and scored, putting the game out of reach. Hunter, who was trailing Turgeon on the play, checked Turgeon from behind well after the goal as he started to celebrate. Turgeon sustained a separated shoulder from the hit, causing him to miss all but Game 7 against the Pittsburgh Penguins in the second round, as well as most of the series against the Montreal Canadiens in the conference finals. New NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, who had earlier promised to crack down on violence, suspended Hunter for the first 21 games of the 1993–94 season—at the time, the longest suspension in league history for an on-ice incident (in terms of games missed).

Career statistics

Bold italics indicates NHL record

Playing career

			Regular season					Playoffs
Season	Team	League	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1977–78	Kitchener Rangers	OMJHL	68	22	42	64	115	9	1	0	1	32
1978–79	Sudbury Wolves	OMJHL	59	42	68	110	188	10	4	12	16	47
1979–80	Sudbury Wolves	OMJHL	61	34	51	85	189	9	6	9	15	45
1980–81	Quebec Nordiques	NHL	80	19	44	63	226	5	4	2	6	34
1981–82	Quebec Nordiques	NHL	80	22	50	72	272	16	3	7	10	52
1982–83	Quebec Nordiques	NHL	80	17	46	63	206	4	2	1	3	24
1983–84	Quebec Nordiques	NHL	77	24	55	79	232	9	2	3	5	41
1984–85	Quebec Nordiques	NHL	80	20	52	72	209	17	4	6	10	99
1985–86	Quebec Nordiques	NHL	80	28	42	70	265	3	0	0	0	15
1986–87	Quebec Nordiques	NHL	46	10	29	39	135	13	1	7	8	56
1987–88	Washington Capitals	NHL	79	22	37	59	240	14	7	5	12	98
1988–89	Washington Capitals	NHL	80	20	37	57	219	6	0	4	4	29
1989–90	Washington Capitals	NHL	80	23	39	62	233	15	4	8	12	61
1990–91	Washington Capitals	NHL	76	16	30	46	234	11	1	9	10	41
1991–92	Washington Capitals	NHL	80	28	50	78	205	7	1	4	5	16
1992–93	Washington Capitals	NHL	84	20	59	79	198	6	7	1	8	35
1993–94	Washington Capitals	NHL	52	9	29	38	131	7	0	3	3	14
1994–95	Washington Capitals	NHL	45	8	15	23	101	7	4	4	8	24
1995–96	Washington Capitals	NHL	82	13	24	37	112	6	1	5	6	24
1996–97	Washington Capitals	NHL	82	14	32	46	125	—	—	—	—	—
1997–98	Washington Capitals	NHL	82	8	18	26	103	21	0	4	4	30
1998–99	Washington Capitals	NHL	50	0	5	5	102	—	—	—	—	—
1998–99	Colorado Avalanche	NHL	12	2	4	6	17	19	1	3	4	38
NHL totals			1,407	323	697	1,020	3,565	186	42	76	118	731

Coaching career

NHL

Team	Year	Regular season						Post season
Team	Year	G	W	L	OTL	Pts	Division rank	Result
Washington Capitals	2011-12	60	30	23	7	(92)	2nd in Southeast	Won in conference quarter-finals (4-3 vs. BOS) Lost in conference semi-finals (3-4 vs. NYR)
NHL totals		60	30	23	7	67		7-7 (0.500)

OHL

Team	Year	Regular season							Post season
Team	Year	G	W	L	T	OTL	Pts	Finish	Result
London Knights	2001–02	50	19	19	6	6	50	5th in West	Won in conference quarter-finals (4-2 vs. PLY) Lost in conference semi-finals (2-4 vs. ERI)
London Knights	2002–03	68	31	27	7	3	72	2nd in Midwest	Won in conference quarter-finals (4-3 vs. WSR) Lost in conference semi-finals (3-4 vs. PLY)
London Knights	2003–04	68	53	11	2	2	110	1st in Midwest	Won in conference quarter-finals (4-0 vs. WSR) Won in conference semi-finals (4-0 vs. ERI) Lost in conference finals (3-4 vs. GUE)
London Knights	2004–05	68	59	7	2	0	120	1st in Midwest	Won in conference quarter-finals (4-0 vs. GUE) Won in conference semi-finals (4-0 vs. WSR) Won in conference finals (4-1 vs. KIT) Won J. Ross Robertson Cup (4-1 vs. OTT) Finished first in round-robin at Memorial Cup (3-0) Won Memorial Cup (4-0 vs. RIM)
London Knights	2005–06	68	49	15	-	4	102	1st in Midwest	Won in conference quarter-finals (4-0 vs. SSM) Won in conference semi-finals (4-2 vs. OS) Won in conference finals (4-1 vs. GUE) Lost in J. Ross Robertson Cup finals (0-4 vs. PBO)
London Knights	2006–07	68	50	14	-	4	104	1st in Midwest	Won in conference quarter-finals (4-0 vs. OS) Won in conference semi-finals (4-3 vs. SSM) Lost in conference finals (1-4 vs. PLY)
London Knights	2007–08	68	38	24	-	6	82	2nd in Midwest	Lost in conference quarter-finals (1-4 vs. GUE)
London Knights	2008–09	68	49	16	-	3	101	1st in Midwest	Won in conference quarter-finals (4-1 vs. ERI) Won in conference semi-finals (4-0 vs. SAG) Lost in conference finals (1-4 vs. WSR)
London Knights	2009–10	68	49	16	-	3	101	1st in Midwest	Won in conference quarter-finals (4-1 vs. GUE) Lost in conference semi-finals (3-4 vs. KIT)
London Knights	2010–11	68	34	29	-	5	73	5th in Midwest	Lost in conference quarter-finals (2-4 vs. OS)
London Knights	2011–12	26	20	5	-	1	(99)	1st in Midwest	(left to take Capitals coaching job)
London Knights	2012–13	68	50	13	-	5	105	1st in Midwest	Won in conference quarter-finals (4-0 vs. SAG) Won in conference semi-finals (4-1 vs. KIT) Won in conference finals (4-1 vs. PLY) Won J. Ross Robertson Cup (4-3 vs. BAR) Finished third in round-robin at Memorial Cup (1-2) Won Memorial Cup tie-breaker game (6-1 vs. SAS) Lost Memorial Cup semi-finals (1-2 vs. POR)
London Knights	2013–14	68	49	14	-	5	103	3rd in Midwest	Won in conference semi-finals (4-0 vs. WSR) Lost in conference semi-finals (1-4 vs. GUE) Finished fourth in round-robin at Memorial Cup (0-3)
London Knights	2014–15	68	40	24	-	4	84	3rd in Midwest	Won in conference quarter-finals (4-2 vs. KIT) Lost in conference semi-finals (0-4 vs. ERI)
London Knights	2015–16	68	51	14	-	3	105	2nd in Midwest	Won in conference quarter-finals (4-2 vs. OS) Won in conference semi-finals (4-0 vs. KIT) Won in conference finals (4-0 vs. ERI) Won J. Ross Robertson Cup (4-0 vs. NIA) Finished first in round-robin at Memorial Cup (3-0) Won Memorial Cup (3-2 vs. ROU)
London Knights	2016–17	68	46	15	-	7	99	3rd in Midwest	Won in conference quarter-finals (4-3 vs. WSR) Lost in conference semi-finals (3-4 vs. ERI)
London Knights	2017–18	68	39	25	-	4	82	3rd in Midwest	Lost in conference quarter-finals (0-4 vs. OS)
London Knights	2018–19	68	46	15	-	7	99	1st in Midwest	Won in conference quarter-finals (4-0 vs. WSR) Lost in conference semi-finals (3-4 vs. GUE)
London Knights	2019–20	62	45	15	-	2	92	1st in Midwest	Post-season cancelled due to COVID-19
London Knights	2021–22	68	39	22	-	7	85	1st in Midwest	Lost in conference quarter-finals (3-4 vs. KIT)
London Knights	2022–23	68	45	21	-	2	92	1st in Midwest	Won in conference quarter-finals (4-0 vs. OS) Won in conference semi-finals (4-1 vs. KIT) Won in conference finals (4-2 vs. SAR) Lost in J. Ross Robertson Cup finals (2-4 vs. PBO)
London Knights	2023–24	68	50	14	-	4	104	1st in Midwest	Won in conference quarter-finals (4-0 vs. FLI) Won in conference semi-finals (4-0 vs. KIT) Won in conference finals (4-2 vs. SAG) Won J. Ross Robertson Cup (4-0 vs. OSH) Finished 1st in round-robin at Memorial Cup (3-0) Lost Memorial Cup (3-4 vs. SAG)
Total		1430	951	375	17	87	2006	13 Division Titles	4 J. Ross Robertson Cups (168-96, 0.636) 2 Memorial Cups (13-7, 0.650)

References

^ "Les Nordiques, notre équipe", video documentary (French), Imavision, 1998 (see also DVD reed. 2006).
^ Steinberg, Dan (November 28, 2011). "Dale Hunter and the biggest goal in Caps history". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
^ Crothers, Tim (December 6, 1993). "Sports People | Dale Hunter". Sports Illustrated. Vol. 79, no. 23. p. 50. Archived from the original on June 22, 2021. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
^ Oliver, Nathaniel (July 31, 2022). "Dale Hunter's Unbreakable Record". The Hockey Writers. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
^ "Capitals Name Dale Hunter Head Coach". November 28, 2011. Archived from the original on November 30, 2011. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
^ "Hunter won't return as Capitals coach". The Washington Times. May 14, 2012.^{[permanent dead link]}
^ Canada’s National Junior Team and Canada’s National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team at the 2020 IIHF World Junior Championship
^ "Game Summary".
^ Kemick, April (July 29, 2006). "Knights coach charged with drunk driving". The London Free Press. Archived from the original on September 5, 2006. Retrieved January 4, 2024.

External links

Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database

Sporting positions
Preceded by Kevin Hatcher	Washington Capitals captain 1994–99	Succeeded by Adam Oates
Preceded by Lindsay Hofford	Head coach of the London Knights 2001–11	Succeeded by Mark Hunter
Preceded by Bruce Boudreau	Head coach of the Washington Capitals 2011–12	Succeeded by Adam Oates
Preceded by Mark Hunter	Head coach of the London Knights 2012–present	Succeeded by incumbent

[1] "Les Nordiques, notre équipe", video documentary (French), Imavision, 1998 (see also DVD reed. 2006).

[2] Steinberg, Dan (November 28, 2011). "Dale Hunter and the biggest goal in Caps history". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 3, 2020.

[3] Crothers, Tim (December 6, 1993). "Sports People | Dale Hunter". Sports Illustrated. Vol. 79, no. 23. p. 50. Archived from the original on June 22, 2021. Retrieved January 31, 2023.

[4] Oliver, Nathaniel (July 31, 2022). "Dale Hunter's Unbreakable Record". The Hockey Writers. Retrieved January 31, 2023.

[5] "Capitals Name Dale Hunter Head Coach". November 28, 2011. Archived from the original on November 30, 2011. Retrieved January 4, 2024.

[6] "Hunter won't return as Capitals coach". The Washington Times. May 14, 2012.^{[permanent dead link]}

[7] Canada’s National Junior Team and Canada’s National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team at the 2020 IIHF World Junior Championship

[8] "Game Summary".

[9] Kemick, April (July 29, 2006). "Knights coach charged with drunk driving". The London Free Press. Archived from the original on September 5, 2006. Retrieved January 4, 2024.

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