| Don Lever | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Born |
November 14, 1952 South Porcupine, Ontario, Canada | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (180 cm) | ||
| Weight | 185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb) | ||
| Position | Left wing | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for |
Vancouver Canucks Atlanta Flames Calgary Flames Colorado Rockies New Jersey Devils Buffalo Sabres | ||
| National team |
 Canada | ||
| NHL Draft |
3rd overall, 1972 Vancouver Canucks | ||
| Playing career | 1972–1987 | ||
Donald Richard Lever (born November 14, 1952) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger who played 15 seasons in the National Hockey League from 1972–73 until 1986–87. He notably helped the Calgary Flames reach the NHL playoff semifinals for the first time in club history in 1981.
Lever was drafted 3rd overall by the Vancouver Canucks in the 1972 NHL Amateur Draft. The forward reached the 20-goal mark six times in Vancouver and played for Canada at the 1978 World Championships. Lever was traded to the Atlanta Flames alongside Brad Smith in exchange for Ivan Boldirev and Darcy Rota on February 8, 1980. He was later the first captain of the New Jersey Devils. Lever scored the first goal in Devils history. He was recognized for both his penalty killing and powerplay abilities. Lever played 1020 career NHL games, scoring 313 goals and 367 assists for 680 points.[1] On March 9, 2009, Lever was named an assistant coach for the Montreal Canadiens by Bob Gainey after the firing of Guy Carbonneau.[2] His contract was not renewed, and he was named head coach of the Chicago Wolves of the AHL on October 21, 2009.
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1969–70 | Niagara Falls Flyers | OHA-Jr. | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1970–71 | Niagara Falls Flyers | OHA-Jr. | 59 | 35 | 36 | 71 | 112 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1971–72 | Niagara Falls Flyers | OHA-Jr. | 69 | 61 | 65 | 126 | 69 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 45 | ||
| 1972–73 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 78 | 12 | 26 | 38 | 49 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1973–74 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 78 | 23 | 25 | 48 | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1974–75 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 80 | 38 | 30 | 68 | 49 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 1975–76 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 80 | 25 | 40 | 65 | 93 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1976–77 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 80 | 27 | 30 | 57 | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1977–78 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 75 | 17 | 32 | 49 | 58 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1978–79 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 71 | 23 | 21 | 44 | 17 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | ||
| 1979–80 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 51 | 21 | 17 | 38 | 32 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1979–80 | Atlanta Flames | NHL | 28 | 14 | 16 | 30 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 1980–81 | Calgary Flames | NHL | 62 | 26 | 31 | 57 | 56 | 16 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 20 | ||
| 1981–82 | Calgary Flames | NHL | 23 | 8 | 11 | 19 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1981–82 | Colorado Rockies | NHL | 59 | 22 | 28 | 50 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1982–83 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 79 | 23 | 30 | 53 | 68 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1983–84 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 70 | 14 | 19 | 33 | 44 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1984–85 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 67 | 10 | 8 | 18 | 31 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1985–86 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 29 | 6 | 11 | 17 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1985–86 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 29 | 7 | 1 | 8 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1986–87 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 57 | 29 | 25 | 54 | 69 | 18 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 14 | ||
| 1986–87 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 1,020 | 313 | 367 | 680 | 593 | 30 | 7 | 10 | 17 | 26 | ||||
| Year | Team | Event | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Canada | WC | 10 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 4 |
Season Team Lge Type GP W L T OTL Pct Result 1987-88 Buffalo Sabres NHL Assistant coach 1988-89 Buffalo Sabres NHL Assistant coach 1990-91 Rochester Americans AHL Head coach 80 45 26 9 0 0.619 Lost in finals 1991-92 Rochester Americans AHL Head coach 80 37 31 12 0 0.537 Lost in round 3 1992-93 Buffalo Sabres NHL Assistant coach 1993-94 Buffalo Sabres NHL Assistant coach 1994-95 Buffalo Sabres NHL Assistant coach 1995-96 Buffalo Sabres NHL Associate coach 1996-97 Buffalo Sabres NHL Assistant coach 1997-98 Buffalo Sabres NHL Associate coach 1998-99 Buffalo Sabres NHL Associate coach 1999-00 Buffalo Sabres NHL Associate coach 2000-01 Buffalo Sabres NHL Assistant coach 2001-02 Buffalo Sabres NHL Assistant coach 2002-03 St. Louis Blues NHL Assistant coach 2003-04 St. Louis Blues NHL Assistant coach 2005-06 Hamilton Bulldogs AHL Head coach 80 35 41 0 4 0.463 Out of playoffs 2006-07 Hamilton Bulldogs AHL Head coach 80 43 28 0 9 0.594 Won championship 2007-08 Hamilton Bulldogs AHL Head coach 80 36 34 0 10 0.512 Out of playoffs 2008-09 Hamilton Bulldogs AHL Head coach 65 39 24 0 2 0.615 2008-09 Montreal Canadiens NHL Assistant coach
Lever and his wife Karen have three children, Michael, Sarah, and Caitlin.[3]