Campbell Headed For Front Office

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

July 20, 1998 / 10:16 PM EDT / CBS Sportsline

Former New York Rangers coach Colin Campbell, who averaged more than two penalty minutes per game during his 11-year career as a player, Monday was named to replace Brian Burke as the National Hockey League's dean of discipline.

Campbell's

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official title is vice president and director of hockey operations. He will administer supplemental discipline, such as fines and suspensions, and oversee the league's on-ice officials.

Burke left the post in June to become the general manager of the Vancouver Canucks, one of the four teams for which Campbell played. In 636 NHL games with the Canucks, Pittsburgh Penguins, Detroit Red Wings and Edmonton Oilers, Campbell accrued 1,292 penalty minutes, including a career-high 196 in 1979-80 with Edmonton.

Campbell has played with and coached Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier, experiences that should help him as he assumes what is often a thankless job. The NHL has repeatedly come under fire for its handling of issues such as fighting and stick violations.

"By playing with and against hockey's greatest players, coaching with and against some of hockey's greatest minds, there's no doubt that Colin Campbell has a keen awareness of every aspect of the game," NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said. "His extensive background and unique perspective make Colin an ideal person to help guide the game's future."

The 45-year-old Campbell was dumped as coach of the Rangers on February 18, with the team standing 17-24-16 and in ninth place in the Eastern Conference. Campbell became the Rangers' head coach in 1994, when Mike Keenan split with the team after helping them capture their first Stanley Cup in 54 years.

Last summer, Campbell received a three-year, $2.4 million contract extension after the team reached the Conference finals.

Campbell was 118-108-43 in his first NHL head coaching job. He was promoted after holding a variety of positions in the organization the previous five years, including a stint as head coach of New York's AHL club, the Binghamton Rangers, for whom he went 29-8-5.

He also served five seasons as an assistant coach with the Detroit Red Wings before joining th Rangers organization.