Craig Janney
A playmaking center with a surgeon's touch, his career was cut short by blood clots just as he was hitting his peak.
Born 1967 (age 59)·American ice hockey player·Birthday: September 26·Generation X
Biography
Craig Janney emerged from Boston College as a first-round draft pick, his vision and passing ability immediately marking him as a premier setup man. He found his greatest success with the St. Louis Blues, forming a lethal partnership with Brett Hull; his tape-to-tape feeds were a primary reason Hull scored 86 goals in the 1990-91 season. Janney's game was one of elegant intelligence rather than physical force, a quarterback on ice who could dissect defenses with a glance. His journey took him through several NHL cities, including Boston, San Jose, and Winnipeg, but a series of blood clots forced his retirement at 32, leaving fans to wonder what more his gifted hands could have accomplished.
Generation X
1965–1980
The latchkey kids. Raised during divorce, recession, and the end of the Cold War. Skeptical, self-reliant, media-literate. They invented indie culture, grunge, and the early internet — then watched the Boomers take credit.
Craig was born in 1967, placing them squarely in the Generation X. The events that shaped this generation — economic uncertainty, the end of the Cold War, and the rise of personal computing — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Craig Was Born
The biggest hits of 1967
#1 Movie
The Jungle Book
Best Picture
In the Heat of the Night
#1 TV Show
The Andy Griffith Show
Craig's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1967Born
Summer of Love in San Francisco; first Super Bowl
Gas: $0.33/galHome: $14,250Min wage: $1.40/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"To Sir, with Love" — LuluBest Picture: In the Heat of the Night
1972Started school
Watergate break-in; last Apollo Moon mission
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $19,550Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" — Roberta FlackBest Picture: The Godfather
1980Became a teenager
John Lennon shot and killed in New York
Gas: $1.19/galHome: $47,200Min wage: $3.10/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Call Me" — BlondieBest Picture: Ordinary People
1983Could drive
Internet adopts TCP/IP, creating the modern internet
Gas: $1.16/galHome: $57,700Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Every Breath You Take" — The PoliceBest Picture: Terms of Endearment
1985Could vote
Live Aid concerts raise money for Ethiopian famine
Gas: $1.12/galHome: $62,900Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Careless Whisper" — Wham!Best Picture: Out of Africa
1988Turned 21
Pan Am Flight 103 bombed over Lockerbie
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $74,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Faith" — George MichaelBest Picture: Rain Man
1997Turned 30
Princess Diana dies in Paris car crash; Harry Potter published
Gas: $1.23/galHome: $104,100Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Candle in the Wind 1997" — Elton JohnBest Picture: Titanic
2007Turned 40
iPhone released; Great Recession begins
Gas: $2.80/galHome: $172,600Min wage: $5.85/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Irreplaceable" — BeyonceBest Picture: No Country for Old Men
2017Turned 50
#MeToo movement; solar eclipse crosses the US
Gas: $2.42/galHome: $195,000Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"Shape of You" — Ed SheeranBest Picture: The Shape of Water
2026Age 59 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Recorded 82 assists in the 1992-93 season, ranking among the league's top playmakers.
- Tallied over 700 career points despite his career being shortened by medical issues.
- Was a key offensive catalyst for the St. Louis Blues, including their 1991 division title.
- Played in the NHL All-Star Game in 1990.
Did You Know?
He was famously traded from the Bruins to the Blues for defenseman Glen Wesley in 1992.
Janney and Brett Hull were such a potent duo that they were nicknamed 'Hull and Janney' like a law firm.
He won an NCAA championship with Boston College in 1985.
His final NHL game was with the New York Islanders in 1999.
“See the play before it happens, then put the puck on the tape.”
