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Dave Lewis

Born:July 3, 1953Draft: 1973 Islanders, 33rd Overall
1973 Oilers, 32nd Overall
Hometown:Kindersley, SaskatchewanPosition:Defense
Known For:1,008 Career NHL GamesShoots:Left
National Team:Canada Current Status: Retired

Dave Lewis (July 3, 1953) is a retired Canadian ice hockey player, having played his final year in the NHL with the Detroit Red Wings during the 1987-88 season. Drafted 33rd overall in the 1973 NHL Entry Draft by the New York Islanders, Lewis chose to join the Islanders organization despite being drafted by the Alberta Oilers of the World Hockey Association (WHA). He quickly established himself as as a stable force on the Islanders blue line, serving the team for seven seasons and elevating them to a playoff team in five of them. Despite registering 21 games in 65 games in the 1979-80 season, the Islanders were destined to miss the playoffs and chose to trade their long-serving defenseman to the Los Angeles Kings along with winger Bill Harris for centre Butch Goring.

Lewis remained with the Kings for three full seasons after his 11-game stint post-trade. His veteran presence earned him the captaincy of the team for the 1981-82 season, a role he held for two full seasons. After making the playoffs in two of the three seasons he dressed for the team, Lewis joined the New Jersey Devils, playing in two seasons with very limited offensive results. While he remained relatively healthy throughout the later portions of his NHL career, his point production dropped off, as did his playing time. He dressed for the Red Wings in the final two seasons of his career and played a career-low 58 games in the 1986-87 season before choosing to retire the following season after appearing in three games.

A member of the 1,000 NHL games club, Lewis finished with 223 points and 953 penalty minutes. Following his playing career, he switched gears to the coaching side of the game. Lewis remained with the Red Wings organization as an assistant coach throughout the 1990s and into the early 2000s, where he transitioned to head coach. As a member of the coaching staff, he has three Stanley Cup rings with Detroit (1997, 1998, 2002).

Dave Lewis Statistics

Trade Tracker

DateTraded FromTraded WithTraded ToTraded For
March 10, 1980New York Islanders Billy HarrisLos Angeles KingsButch Goring
Oct. 3, 1983Los Angeles Kingsminnesota north starsSteve Christoff
Fred Barrett
Oct. 3, 1983minnesota north starsNew Jersey DevilsBrent Ashton

Deeper Dive

Staff History

  • Detroit Red Wings (Assistant Coach) 1987-2002
  • Detroit Red Wings (Head Coach) 2002-2005
  • Detroit Red Wings (Pro Scout) 2005-2006
  • Boston Bruins (Head Coach) 2007-2007
  • Los Angeles Kings (Assistant Coach) 2007-2008
  • Carolina Hurricanes (Assistant Coach) 2011-2014
  • Team Canada, Spengler Cup (Assistant Coach) 2006
  • Team Belarus, World Cup (Assistant Coach) 2009
  • Team Belarus, Olympic Games (Assistant Coach) 2010
  • Team Ukraine, World Cup Division 1 (Head Coach) 2011
  • Team Belarus, World Cup (Head Coach) 2015-2018
  • Team Belarus, Olympic Game Qualifiers (Head Coach) 2017
  • Team Belarus, World Junior Championships Under-20 (Assistant Coach) 2018

Achievements

  • 3x Stanley Cup Champion, Head Coach (1997, 1998, 2002)
  • World Championship (D1|B) Bronze Medal, Head Coach (2011)

Sources