Post Hockey Playing Years
After his retirement, Gainey moved to France where he was player/coach for the Epinal Dolphins. Gainey returned to North America a year later and became head coach of the Minnesota North Stars in 1990–91, guiding his team to the sixth game of the Stanley Cup finals in his first season. In January 1992, Gainey also was named general manager. In 1996, a few seasons after the franchise relocated to Dallas, he stepped down as head coach to focus solely on his general manager duties. Gainey turned the franchise into a powerhouse by acquiring players such as Joe Nieuwendyk, Brett Hull, Ed Belfour and Sergei Zubov. The team won the Presidents' Trophy in 1998 and 1999. Dallas won the Stanley Cup in 1999.
In 1997, as Stars general manager, Gainey drafted his son Steve Gainey 77th overall in the annual NHL Entry Draft. Gainey's name went on the Stanley Cup a 6th time in 1999 as General Manager with Dallas.
Along with Bobby Clarke and Pierre Gauthier, Gainey was given the responsibility of selecting Canada's men's ice hockey squad for the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan.
Gainey became general manager of the Montreal Canadiens in May 2003. On January 13, 2006, Gainey fired Canadiens' head coach Claude Julien and stepped in as head coach on an interim basis. At the same time, he hired Guy Carbonneau to work as an associate coach, handing the coaching reins over to him for the 2006–07 season. On July 24, 2006, Montreal Canadiens president Pierre Boivin extended Gainey's contract to 2009–2010.
On February 23, 2008, the Canadiens retired Gainey's #23 jersey.
On March 9, 2009, Gainey named himself the interim coach of the Montreal Canadiens after firing Guy Carbonneau. On June 1, 2009, he signed Jacques Martin as the new head coach. On February 8, 2010, he resigned as the Canadiens general manager for personal reasons, and was succeeded by Gauthier. The Canadiens were 28-26-6 at the time of his resignation. He remained on as a consultant to the team until the end of the 2011-12 season, following the firing of Pierre Gauthier, when it was mutually agreed, between Gainey and team President Geoff Molson, that he step down.
On May 9, 2012 the Dallas Stars announced Gainey's hiring as a team consultant.
Read more about this topic: Bob Gainey
Famous quotes containing the words post, playing and/or years:
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When the snows begin, and the blasts denote
I am nearing the place,
The power of the night, the press of the storm,
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Where he stands, the Arch Fear in a visible form,
Yet the strong man must go:”
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