Paul Holmgren

Paul Howard Holmgren (born December 2, 1955) is a retired American professional player and is the current President of the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Playing Career
Holmgren was selected by the Edmonton Oilers 67th overall in the 1974 WHA Amateur Draft. He never played for Edmonton as his WHA rights were traded to the Minnesota Fighting Saints. A year later he was selected by the Philadelphia Flyers 108th overall in the 1975 NHL Amateur Draft. He began his professional career with the Fighting Saints in 1975–76, but left the team three days before it folded on February 28, 1976, because of financial problems. He signed with the Flyers shortly after and made his NHL debut a month later. Holmgren's hectic first professional season nearly ended in tragic fashion. While playing for the Richmond Robins, the Flyers AHL affiliate at the time, he suffered a scratched cornea. He was rushed to surgery in a Boston hospital and an allergic reaction to the anesthetic nearly cost him his life.

Holmgren spent the next eight seasons in Philadelphia and was annually among the team's leaders in penalty minutes and was also able to contribute offense. He posted career highs in goals (30) and points (65) in 1979–80 and added 10 goals and 10 assists during the Flyers playoff run. His three goals in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals was the first time a U.S.-born player scored a hat trick in a Cup Finals game. The next season, he was invited to the 1981 NHL All-Star game and also the United States 1981 Canada Cup team (he separated his shoulder at Team USA's Canada Cup training camp in August 1981 and missed the tournament itself as well as the start of the 1981–82 NHL season). Holmgren was traded to the Minnesota North Stars mid-way through 1983–84. He left Philly with 1,600 penalty minutes, the most in Flyers franchise history up until Rick Tocchet broke the record during the 1991–92 season. He only played 27 regular season and 15 playoff games with the North Stars as he retired after the 1984–85 season.

Coaching/Management career
Holmgren immediately moved into coaching upon retiring, becoming an Assistant Coach with the Flyers under second-year coach Mike Keenan. After Keenan was fired following the 1987–88 season, Holmgren became the first former Flyer to be named the team's Head Coach. During his first season as coach the Flyers made an unexpected run to the Wales Conference Finals before bowing out to the Montreal Canadiens in six games. This playoff run included an improbable 4 games to 3 second-round victory over Mario Lemieux's Pittsburgh Penguins; with the clincher coming on the road in a thrilling game 7. The team missed the playoffs the next two seasons, however, and midway through his fourth season as coach he was fired. He remained with the organization as a scout until he moved on to the Hartford Whalers, where he spent time as Head Coach and Interim General Manager of the club.

He returned to Philadelphia during the 1995–96 season as the Director of Pro Scouting. He was named the Director of Player Personnel following the 1996–97 season and was named Assistant General Manager following the 1998–99 season. He served in that position under General Manager Bob Clarke until Clarke resigned a month into the 2006–07 season. Holmgren was named General Manager of the club and has been signed on through the 2008–09 season.

Some of Holmgren's most notable transacations to date include the acquisitions of Martin Biron, Braydon Coburn, Daniel Briere, Scott Hartnell, Joffrey Lupul, Jason Smith and Kimmo Timonen. On May 7, 2014, Holmgren was named the new president of the Philadelphia Flyers.