Paul Gardner

Paul Malone Gardner (born March 5, 1956 in Fort Erie, Ontario) is a retired Canadian centre. He is the son of former NHL player Cal Gardner and younger brother of Dave Gardner.

Playing career
Drafted in 1976 by both the Kansas City Scouts of the National Hockey League and Toronto Toros of the World Hockey Association, Gardner followed the Scouts franchise when it relocated to Colorado, where he played for parts of three seasons. He would also play for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Pittsburgh Penguins, Washington Capitals, and Buffalo Sabres. Gardner was an effective presence in front of the net, and was a skilled scorer. He led the American Hockey league in scoring twice (1985 and 1986). A popular player, his limited skating skills curtailed a promising career.

Coaching career
Shortly after his playing career ended, Gardner immediately jumped in to the coaching profession, becoming head coach of the Newmarket Saints of the American Hockey League for four seasons. He would later become an assistant coach for the Baltimore Skipjacks (later Portland Pirates after their relocation) under coach Barry Trotz. Both Trotz and Gardner would later be promoted to the NHL level when they moved to Nashville to work for the expansion Predators. Gardner would be assistant coach through the 2002–03 season.

Gardner recently landed a head coaching job at Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, a team in the Russian Super League.

On December 18, 2008, he became the coach of the Hamburg Freezers of the German Hockey League.