Long-time NHL coach Marc Crawford making a return behind the bench in Europe
After parting ways with the Chicago Blackhawks in May, Marc Crawford was left without a coaching job and the 61-year-old wanted to be behind a bench for a 33rd consecutive season.
Crawford was unable to land a job before the start of the 2022-23 season, but now he has and will be returning to Europe after spending the last six seasons in the NHL.
On Wednesday, the ZSC Lions, a team in Switzerland's National League, announced that they have hired Marc Crawford as their new head coach, replacing Rikard Gronberg. Crawford's contract with the ZSC Lions is for two-and-a-half years, taking him to the end of the 2024-25 season.
This will be Crawford's second stint as the bench boss with the ZSC Lions as he spent four seasons there from 2012 to 2016.
Note: the quote in this story is translated from German
The Belleville (Ontario) native had plenty of success in his first go-around as head coach with ZSC. He led them to the league title in 2014, being named the best coach by Swiss media. Then, during the 2015-16 season, he helped them win the Swiss Cup and like the 2013-14 season, was named best coach.
Trainerwechsel bei den ZSC Lions
👉 https://t.co/BXxKL0i4FM pic.twitter.com/ayomzHpqRU— ZSC Lions (@zsclions) December 28, 2022
| G | A | PTS | ||
| Kyle Connor | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Alex Tuch | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Owen Power | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Michael Bunting | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Drew Helleson | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jirí Kulich | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Isac Lundestrom | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Vladislav Namestnikov | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Nino Niederreiter | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Gabriel Vilardi | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jason Zucker | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Leo Carlsson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Nikolaj Ehlers | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Ross Johnston | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Evgeni Malkin | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Josh Morrissey | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Cole Perfetti | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Bryan Rust | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Mark Scheifele | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Trevor Zegras | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Complete stats | ||||
| STANDINGS 2024-2025 | ||||||
TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Jets | 20 | 17 | 3 | - | 34 | |
Wild | 19 | 13 | 3 | 3 | 29 | |
Hurricanes | 19 | 14 | 5 | - | 28 | |
Devils | 22 | 13 | 7 | 2 | 28 | |
Capitals | 19 | 13 | 5 | 1 | 27 | |
Golden Knights | 20 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 26 | |
Maple Leafs | 20 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 26 | |
Rangers | 18 | 12 | 5 | 1 | 25 | |
Panthers | 20 | 12 | 7 | 1 | 25 | |
Flames | 20 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 25 | |
| Conference | Cumulative | ||||||