Chris Taylor (ice hockey)

Chris Taylor (born March 6, 1972) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who is currently an assistant coach with the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League (NHL). He played in 149 NHL games with the New York Islanders, Boston Bruins, and Buffalo Sabres. In 2017, Taylor was named the head coach of the Rochester Americans in the American Hockey League, the affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres. In 2019, he was recalled by the Sabres as an assistant coach on an interim basis and returned to the Americans in late November,^[1] staying until June 2020.

Chris Taylor
Taylor with the Rochester Americans in 2005
Born	(1972-03-06) March 6, 1972 (age 52) Stratford, Ontario, Canada
Height	6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight	190 lb (86 kg; 13 st 8 lb)
Position	Centre
Shot	Left
Played for	New York Islanders Boston Bruins Buffalo Sabres Frankfurt Lions
NHL draft	27th overall, 1990 New York Islanders
Playing career	1992–2011

Playing career

Taylor had an impressive junior career with the London Knights, ending his tenure with the team as their all-time points leader with 378 (later surpassed by Corey Perry with 380 points) and was drafted by the New York Islanders in the 1990 NHL Entry Draft (2nd round, 27th overall) He then played for the Islanders, Boston Bruins, and Buffalo Sabres in the National Hockey League, but was frequently sent between the NHL and the minor leagues before going overseas with the Frankfurt Lions of Germany's Deutsche Eishockey Liga before the 2006–07 season.

On July 16, 2009, Taylor agreed to a two-year contract with the Rochester Americans of the American Hockey League, a team he had played for from 1999 to 2006 while he was signed to their NHL affiliate, the Buffalo Sabres.^[2]

Coaching career

On August 31, 2011, the Rochester Americans announced that Taylor had been hired as their development coach for the 2011–12 season. Later that season, he was promoted to an assistant coach. On June 6, 2016, incoming Rochester head coach, Dan Lambert, opted not to retain Taylor on the Americans' staff.^[3] Taylor subsequently joined the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, AHL affiliate of the Pittsburgh Penguins, as an assistant coach on August 2, 2016.^[4]

On June 30, 2017, Taylor was named head coach of the Rochester Americans.^[5] A few days before the start of the 2019–20 season, Taylor was called up by the Buffalo Sabres as an interim assistant coach when Don Granato was forced to take a medical leave of absence from the Sabres.^[6]

On June 16, 2020, Taylor was relieved of his duties as coach, along with Amerks general manager, Randy Sexton, and assistant coaches Gord Dineen and Toby Petersen^[7] Taylor led the Amerks to a 116-65-33 record across three seasons as head coach.

On October 23, 2020, he was hired as an assistant coach by the New Jersey Devils.^[8]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1988–89	London Knights	OHL		62	7	16	23	52		15	0	2	2	15
1989–90	London Knights	OHL		66	45	60	105	60		6	3	2	5	16
1990–91	London Knights	OHL		65	50	78	128	50		7	4	8	12	6
1991–92	London Knights	OHL		66	48	74	122	57		10	8	16	24	9
1992–93	Capital District Islanders	AHL		77	19	43	62	32		4	0	1	1	2
1993–94	Salt Lake Golden Eagles	IHL		79	21	20	41	38		—	—	—	—	—
1994–95	New York Islanders	NHL		10	0	3	3	2		—	—	—	—	—
1994–95	Denver Grizzlies	IHL		78	38	48	86	47		14	7	6	13	10
1995–96	New York Islanders	NHL		11	0	1	1	2		—	—	—	—	—
1995–96	Utah Grizzlies	IHL		50	18	23	41	60		22	5	11	16	26
1996–97	New York Islanders	NHL		1	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
1996–97	Utah Grizzlies	IHL		71	27	40	67	24		7	1	2	3	0
1997–98	Utah Grizzlies	IHL		79	28	56	84	66		4	0	2	2	6
1998–99	Providence Bruins	AHL		21	6	11	17	6		—	—	—	—	—
1998–99	Boston Bruins	NHL		37	3	5	8	12		—	—	—	—	—
1998–99	Las Vegas Thunder	IHL		14	3	12	15	2		—	—	—	—	—
1999–00	Rochester Americans	AHL		49	21	28	49	21		—	—	—	—	—
1999–00	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		11	1	1	2	2		2	0	0	0	2
2000–01	Rochester Americans	AHL		45	20	24	44	25		—	—	—	—	—
2000–01	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		14	0	2	2	6		—	—	—	—	—
2001–02	Rochester Americans	AHL		77	21	45	66	66		2	0	1	1	0
2002–03	Rochester Americans	AHL		61	12	55	67	44		3	3	1	4	2
2002–03	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		11	1	3	4	2		—	—	—	—	—
2003–04	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		54	6	6	12	22		—	—	—	—	—
2003–04	Rochester Americans	AHL		24	9	18	27	20		16	5	12	17	0
2004–05	Rochester Americans	AHL		79	21	58	79	50		9	1	8	9	4
2005–06	Rochester Americans	AHL		32	11	26	37	34		—	—	—	—	—
2006–07	Frankfurt Lions	DEL		52	12	34	46	80		8	1	9	10	8
2007–08	Frankfurt Lions	DEL		56	17	49	66	48		12	5	8	13	6
2008–09	Frankfurt Lions	DEL		52	15	34	49	60		5	0	3	3	4
2009–10	Rochester Americans	AHL		80	17	44	61	89		7	1	3	4	6
2010–11	Rochester Americans	AHL		72	10	41	51	38		—	—	—	—	—
NHL totals				149	11	21	32	48		2	0	0	0	2

Coaching record

Team	Year	Regular Season							Post Season
		G	W	L	T	OTL	Pts	Finish	Result
ROC	2017–18	76	37	22	-	17	91	3rd, North	Lost in Round 1
ROC	2018–19	76	46	23	-	7	99	2nd, North	Lost in Round 1
ROC	2019-20	62	33	20	-	9	75	2nd, North	Season Cancelled

Awards and honours

Award	Year	Notes
AHL
Fred T. Hunt Memorial Award	2004–05	[9]

References

1. "Chris Taylor leaves Sabres to resume duties as coach of Rochester". The Buffalo News. 2019-11-23. Retrieved 2019-11-26.
2. Oklobzija, Kevin (2009-07-16). "Chris Taylor is an Amerk again". Democrat and Chronicle. Archived from the original on 2011-07-09. Retrieved 2011-03-13.
3. Vogl, John. "Amerks hire two new assistant coaches, let go of Taylor". Buffalo News. Archived from the original on 13 August 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
4. "Chris Taylor, J.D. Forrest Named Penguins Assistant Coaches". WBS Penguins. Archived from the original on 6 August 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
5. "Amerks bring Chris Taylor back to Rochester as head coach". The Buffalo News. June 30, 2017.
6. "Sabres, Amerks announce coaching staff update". AHL. October 1, 2019.
7. Rochester Americans (June 16, 2020). "Sabres Announce Changes to Amerks Hockey Department".
8. New Jersey Devils (October 23, 2020). "Release: Devils Hire Two Coaches".
9. "Fred T. Hunt Memorial Award". American Hockey League. 2010-07-21. Archived from the original on 2010-09-17. Retrieved 2010-07-21.

External links

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