Assistant Coach
John Slaney begins his first season as assistant coach of the Portland Pirates, the Coyotes' top minor league affiliate in the American Hockey League (AHL). Slaney joins the Pirates after finishing his playing career during the 2010-11 season with Plzen HC in the Czech Republic.
During his career in the NHL, Slaney totaled 91 points (22-69-91) in 268 games with the Washington Capitals (1993-95), Colorado Avalanche (1995-96), Los Angeles Kings (1995-97), Phoenix Coyotes (1997-98), Nashville Predators (1998-99), Pittsburgh Penguins (1999-00), and Philadelphia Flyers (2001-02; 2003-04). Slaney also skated in 14 games for the Capitals (1993-94), Penguins (1999-00), and Flyers (2001-02) during the Stanley Cup playoffs where he netted two goals and registered an assist. The 39-year old native of St. John's, Newfoundland was originally drafted by Washington in the first round (ninth overall pick) of the 1990 NHL Entry Draft.
Leaving his mark as one of the best defensemen in AHL history, Slaney joins the Pirates coaching staff with a wealth of accolades. The accomplished veteran was a two-time recipient of the Eddie Shore Award (given annually to the league's top defenseman) with the Philadelphia Phantoms in the 2000-01 and 2001-02 seasons, and also won a Calder Cup championship with the Phantoms in 2005.
During the 2005-06 season, he became the AHL's All-Time leading scorer as a defenseman until his mark (519 career points) was surpassed last season by Oklahoma City's Bryan Helmer. Following a post-junior league call-up (six games in 1991-92) and rookie campaign (79 games in 1992-93) for the AHL's Baltimore Skipjacks in the team's final seasons before moving to Portland, Slaney played in 37 games for the Pirates during their 1993-94 Calder Cup championship season and the following 1994-95 season where he registered 17 goals and 23 assists (17-23-40).
He and his wife, Brenda, have a son, Tyler, and daughter, Julia.
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