Paul Coffey
A defenseman scored 48 goals in a single season, a record for his position that stood for 33 years, and amassed 1,531 career points.
Born 1961 (age 65)·Canadian ice hockey player·Birthday: June 1·Baby Boomers
Biography
Paul Coffey recorded 48 goals and 138 points for the Edmonton Oilers in the 1985-86 season, outputs that shattered previous conceptions of a defenseman's offensive role. His skating stride, analyzed by biomechanists, generated unprecedented power and glide, allowing him to join and often lead the rush. He won the Norris Trophy as the league's best defenseman three times (1985, 1986, 1995) and formed the core of four Stanley Cup champions (1984, 1985, 1987, 1991). Coffey's partnership with Wayne Gretzky in Edmonton created a transition game that overwhelmed the NHL; the Oilers scored 426 goals in Coffey's record-setting season. He demanded a trade from Edmonton in 1987 and later orchestrated moves to Pittsburgh and Detroit to chase championships. His career totals—396 goals and 1,135 assists in 1,409 games—rank second all-time among defensemen. Coffey's style forced a permanent evolution in the position, making puck-moving and offensive contribution mandatory for top-pairing defenders. Coaches began constructing systems to exploit defensemen who could act as a fourth forward, a direct legacy of his play.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Paul was born in 1961, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Paul Was Born
The biggest hits of 1961
#1 Movie
101 Dalmatians
Best Picture
West Side Story
#1 TV Show
Wagon Train
Paul's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1961Born
Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human in space
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $12,500Min wage: $1.15/hrPresident: John F. Kennedy"Tossin' and Turnin'" — Bobby LewisBest Picture: West Side Story
1966Started school
Star Trek premieres on television
Gas: $0.32/galHome: $14,200Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"The Ballad of the Green Berets" — SSgt Barry SadlerBest Picture: A Man for All Seasons
1974Became a teenager
Nixon resigns the presidency
Gas: $0.53/galHome: $22,600Min wage: $2.00/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"The Way We Were" — Barbra StreisandBest Picture: The Godfather Part II
1977Could drive
Star Wars premieres; Elvis dies
Gas: $0.62/galHome: $31,800Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Tonight's the Night" — Rod StewartBest Picture: Annie Hall
1979Could vote
Iran hostage crisis begins; Three Mile Island accident
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $37,900Min wage: $2.90/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"My Sharona" — The KnackBest Picture: Kramer vs. Kramer
1982Turned 21
Michael Jackson releases Thriller
Gas: $1.22/galHome: $55,200Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Physical" — Olivia Newton-JohnBest Picture: Gandhi
1991Turned 30
Soviet Union dissolves; World Wide Web goes public
Gas: $1.14/galHome: $82,400Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" — Bryan AdamsBest Picture: The Silence of the Lambs
2001Turned 40
September 11 attacks transform the world
Gas: $1.46/galHome: $126,400Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Hanging by a Moment" — LifehouseBest Picture: A Beautiful Mind
2011Turned 50
Osama bin Laden killed; Arab Spring sweeps the Middle East
Gas: $3.53/galHome: $138,400Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Rolling in the Deep" — AdeleBest Picture: The Artist
2021Turned 60
January 6 Capitol breach; COVID vaccines roll out globally
Gas: $3.01/galHome: $298,900Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Joe Biden"Levitating" — Dua LipaBest Picture: CODA
2026Age 65 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Holds the record for most goals by a defenseman in a playoff season (12 in 1985).
- Recorded 37 points in 22 playoff games during the Oilers' 1985 Stanley Cup run.
- Became one of only two defensemen in NHL history to score 40 goals in multiple seasons.
Did You Know?
He famously used a straight-blade stick with minimal curve, preferring control over shot elevation.
Coffey played for nine different NHL teams, including two separate stints with the Hartford Whalers.
He once raced and beat Olympic sprinter Ben Johnson in a 100-meter exhibition skate.
“I played the game the way I thought it should be played, and that was to go.”
