| Honoured Member of the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame |
|---|
Paul Gordon Baxter
- Born: October 28, 1955 in Winnipeg, Manitoba
- Hometown: Winnipeg, Manitoba
- Position: Defense, Coach, General Manager, & Owner
Selected by Cleveland Crusaders 1st round (#11) in 1974 WHA Amateur Draft
Selected by Pittsburgh Penguins 3rd round (#49) in 1975 NHL Amateur Draft
Playing Career[]
The Cleveland Crusaders drafted Baxter in the first round, 11th overall, of the 1974 WHA Amateur Draft. The following year he was drafted into the NHL (third round; 49th overall) by the Pittsburgh Penguins. He played a year in the NHL representing the Quebec Nordiques, as well as three years with the Penguins and another four with the Calgary Flames. Baxter spent prior time with teams in the NAHL and WCHL. He retired from the NHL after 470 games, recording a total of 48 goals, 121 assists, 169 points, and 1564 penalty minutes. Paul is the all-time leader in penalty minutes for the WHA with 962, and is also the single-season leader for the Pittsburgh Penguins with 409 during the 1981–82 season.
Paul Baxter continued his career as a coach, leading the IHL's Salt-Lake Golden Eagles to the championship title in '87-'88. He would go on to become the assistant coach of multiple NHL clubs.
part owner of Wichita Falls Wildcats
Career Statistics[]
Playing[]
| Regular Season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1972-73 | Winnipeg Monarchs | MJHL | 44 | 9 | 22 | 31 | 359 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| Winnipeg Jets | WCHL | Statistics Unavailable | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | |||||||
| 1973-74 | Winnipeg Clubs | WCHL | 63 | 10 | 30 | 40 | 384 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1974-75 | Cape Cod Codders | NAHL | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| Cleveland Crusaders | WHA | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 37 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | |||
| 1975-76 | Syracuse Blazers | NAHL | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 9 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| Cleveland Crusaders | WHA | 67 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 201 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | |||
| 1976-77 | Maine Nordiques | NAHL | 6 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 52 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| Quebec Nordiques | WHA | 66 | 6 | 17 | 23 | 244 | 12 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 35 | |||
| 1977-78 | Quebec Nordiques | WHA | 76 | 6 | 29 | 35 | 240 | 11 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 42 | ||
| 1978-79 | Quebec Nordiques | WHA | 76 | 10 | 36 | 46 | 240 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 7 | ||
| 1979-80 | Quebec Nordiques | NHL | 61 | 7 | 13 | 20 | 145 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1980-81 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 51 | 5 | 14 | 19 | 204 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 28 | ||
| 1981-82 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 76 | 9 | 34 | 43 | 409 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | ||
| 1982-83 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 75 | 11 | 21 | 32 | 238 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1983-84 | Calgary Flames | NHL | 74 | 7 | 20 | 27 | 182 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 37 | ||
| 1984-85 | Calgary Flames | NHL | 70 | 5 | 14 | 19 | 126 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 18 | ||
| 1985-86 | Calgary Flames | NHL | 47 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 194 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 55 | ||
| 1986-87 | Calgary Flames | NHL | 18 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 66 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | ||
| NHL Totals | 472 | 48 | 121 | 169 | 1564 | 40 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 162 | ||||
| WHA Totals | 290 | 25 | 89 | 114 | 962 | 30 | 6 | 11 | 17 | 94 | ||||
Coaching[]
| Regular Season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | Type | GP | W | L | T | OTL | Pts | Finish | GP | W | L | Results | ||
| 1987-88 | Salt Lake Golden Eagles | IHL | Head | 82 | 40 | 34 | - | 8 | 88 | 2nd West | 19 | 12 | 7 | Won League | ||
| 1988-89 | Salt Lake Golden Eagles | IHL | Head | 82 | 56 | 22 | - | 4 | 116 | 1st West | 14 | 9 | 5 | Lost Finals | ||
| 1989-90 | Calgary Flames | NHL | Assist | |||||||||||||
| 1990-91 | Calgary Flames | NHL | Assist | |||||||||||||
| 1991-92 | Calgary Flames | NHL | Assist | |||||||||||||
| 1992-93 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | Assist | |||||||||||||
| 1993-94 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | Assist | |||||||||||||
| 1994-95 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | Assist | |||||||||||||
| 1995-96 | Saint John Flames | AHL | Head | 80 | 35 | 30 | 11 | 4 | 85 | 1st Atlantic | 16 | 10 | 6 | Lost Conf Final | ||
| 1996-97 | Saint John Flames | AHL | Head | 80 | 28 | 36 | 13 | 3 | 72 | 2nd Atlantic | 5 | 2 | 3 | Lost Div Semi | ||
| 1997-98 | San Jose Sharks | NHL | Assist | |||||||||||||
| 1998-99 | San Jose Sharks | NHL | Assist | |||||||||||||
| 1999-00 | San Jose Sharks | NHL | Assist | |||||||||||||
| 2001-02 | Florida Panthers | NHL | Assist | 82 | 22 | 44 | 10 | 6 | 60 | 4th SE | DNQ | |||||
| 2002-03 | Florida Panthers | NHL | Assist | 67 | 20 | 26 | 12 | 9 | 61 | - | - | |||||
| 2006-07 | HIFK Helsinki | Finland | Head | 25 | 18 | 6th | 6 | 1 | 4 | Lost Qtr Final | ||||||
| 2007-08 | HIFK Helsinki | Finland | Head | 56 | 34 | 16 | - | 6 | 97 | 7th | 7 | 3 | 4 | Lost Qtr Final | ||
| 2008-09 | Wenatchee Wild | NAHL | Head | 58 | 35 | 19 | - | 4 | 74 | 2nd West | 13 | 9 | 4 | Lost Final | ||
| 2009-10 | Wenatchee Wild | NAHL | Head | 58 | 45 | 10 | - | 3 | 93 | 1st West | 18 | 8 | 2 | Lost in Tournament | ||
| 2010-11 | Wenatchee Wild | NAHL | Head | 24 | 13 | 9 | - | 2 | 28 | - | - | |||||
| 2011-12 | Wichita Falls Wildcats | NAHL | Head | 60 | 20 | 35 | - | 5 | 45 | 6th South | DNQ | |||||
| 2012-13 | Wichita Falls Wildcats | NAHL | Head | 60 | 26 | 30 | - | 4 | 56 | 5th South | DNQ | |||||
| 2013-14 | Wichita Falls Wildcats | NAHL | Head | 60 | 31 | 35 | - | 4 | 66 | 4th South | 3 | 0 | 3 | Lost Div Semi | ||
Managing[]
Wenatchee Wild & Wichita Falls Wildcats (2015-16)
Awards & Achievements[]
- Avco Trophy World Hockey Association Championship (1977)
- Turner Cup International Hockey League Championship (1988)
- “Honoured Member” of the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame
Career Moves[]
- Signed as a free agent by Quebec Nordiques (WHA) after Cleveland (WHA) franchise folded, June, 1976
- Signed as a free agent by Pittsburgh Penguins, August 7, 1980
- Signed as a free agent by Calgary Flames, September 29, 1983