TAMPA, Fla. -- The expansion Tampa Bay Lightning announced Thursday that Terry Crisp will coach the club when it begins play in the NHL next season.
Crisp, who guided the Calgary Flames to the Stanley Cup in 1989, agreed to a three-year contract that reportedly will pay him about $150, 000 the first season.
Crisp, 48, is one of 12 men to have won a Stanley Cup as both a player and coach. He also was a member of the 1974 and 1975 Philadelphia Flyers' teams that captured consecutive Cups.
Crisp most recently served as an assistant coach for the 1992 Canadian Olympic Team that won the silver medal in Meribel, France. He will serve as an assistant for Team Canada during the upcoming World Championships.
Crisp coached the Flames for three seasons, posting a combined regular-season record of 144-63-33. A year after guiding Calgary to the Stanley Cup, he was fired after the Flames were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs.
'Even in our first season, we want to establish an environment designed to create a winning atmosphere, and Terry is a proven winner,' Lightning president and general manager Phil Esposito said. 'He's won as a player and a coach. He brings an enthusiasm to the game that is so necessary, and he is an excellent teacher.'
Following his playing career, Crisp became an assistant to Fred Shero for two seasons. He then coached Sault Ste. Marie of the OHL to three consecutive league championships in six years at the helm.
Crisp moved to Moncton of the AHL for two seasons, beginning in 1985- 86, before the Flames promoted him to head coach prior to the 1987-88 campaign.
Crisp spent 11 seasons in the NHL, beginning in 1965. Aside from his time in Philadelphia, Crisp played for Boston, St. Louis and the Islanders.
