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Mike Ramsey
Mikeramsey
Position Defenceman
Shot Left
Height
Weight
6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
190 lb (86 kg)
Teams Buffalo Sabres
Pittsburgh Penguins
Detroit Red Wings
Nationality Flag of the United States American
Born (1960-12-03)December 3, 1960,
Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.
NHL Draft 11th overall, 1979
Buffalo Sabres
Pro Career 1980 – 1996


Michael Allen ("Mike") Ramsey (born December 3, 1960) is an American former professional defenceman who played 1070 regular season games in the NHL for the Buffalo Sabres, Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit Red Wings between 1980 and 1996.

Playing career[]

Amateur[]

Mike Ramsey attended Roosevelt High School in Minneapolis before entering the University of Minnesota He was considered top high school defenseman in Minnesota as a senior in 1977–78. He also attended the U.S. National Junior training camp in summer of 1978 and participated in the 1979 world junior championship. Ramsey was the youngest member of the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team that won the gold medal in an event known as the Miracle on Ice during the 1980 Olympics.

Professional[]

Drafted 11th overall by the Buffalo Sabres in the 1979 NHL Entry Draft, Ramsey would go on to play in the National Hockey League immediately after the Olympics. He had one of the most successful NHL careers of the 1980 U.S. Olympians. Primarily known as an offensive defenseman as an amateur, he successfully adapted to the bigger and tougher NHL by becoming a "stay at home" defensive specialist for the Sabres. Highlights of his career with the Sabres include playing in the NHL All-Star Game four times (1982, 1983, 1985, 1986) as well as being a member of the NHL All-Star team that played the Soviet national hockey team in Rendez-Vous '87. Ramsey also served as the Sabres team captain during his 14 seasons with club. He continued to play for Team USA, participating in the 1984 Canada Cup, 1982 Ice Hockey World Championship and 1987 Canada Cup tournaments.

Ramsey's old coach in Buffalo, Scotty Bowman, brought him to the Pittsburgh Penguins during the 1992–93 season to shore up the team's defensive corps as it made a run at a third straight Stanley Cup championship. However, the Penguins were upset in the second round by the New York Islanders. After another season in Pittsburgh, Ramsey signed with the Detroit Red Wings, who by now were also coached by Bowman, as a free agent. In April 1995, Ramsey became teammates with defenseman Viacheslav Fetisov when Detroit acquired the latter in a trade with the New Jersey Devils; Fetisov had played for the Soviets during the 1980 Olympics. That year, Ramsey played in his first Stanley Cup Finals series, but the Red Wings were swept by the Devils, who had Ramsey's 1980 Olympic teammate, Neal Broten, on their roster. The next season, the powerful Red Wings set a league record for most wins in a single season with 62, but were ousted in the Western Conference Finals by the eventual Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche. Ramsey played only two games for Detroit in the 1996-97 season before retiring.

Post-playing career[]

Ramsey returned to Minnesota after finishing his NHL career where he ran a sporting goods store and played senior league hockey. He has been an assistant coach for the Minnesota Wild since 2000 after serving in the same capacity for the Buffalo Sabres from 1997 to 2000.

Mike Ramsey was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 2001

Awards and achievements[]

Award Year
All-NCAA All-Tournament Team 1979 [1]
Stanley Cup Detroit Red Wings 1997
  • Played in NHL All-Star Game (1982, 1983, 1985, 1986)
  • Played in NHL Rendez-Vous '87

Career statistics[]

Regular season and playoffs[]

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1977–78 Roosevelt High School HS-MN
1978–79 University of Minnesota WCHA 26 6 11 17 30
1979–80 United States National Team Intl 56 11 22 33 55
1979–80 Buffalo Sabres NHL 13 1 6 7 6 13 1 2 3 12
1980–81 Buffalo Sabres NHL 72 3 14 17 56 8 0 3 3 20
1981–82 Buffalo Sabres NHL 80 7 23 30 56 4 1 1 2 14
1982–83 Buffalo Sabres NHL 77 8 30 38 55 10 4 4 8 15
1983–84 Buffalo Sabres NHL 72 9 22 31 82 3 0 1 1 6
1984–85 Buffalo Sabres NHL 79 8 22 30 102 5 0 1 1 23
1985–86 Buffalo Sabres NHL 76 7 21 28 117
1986–87 Buffalo Sabres NHL 80 8 31 39 109
1987–88 Buffalo Sabres NHL 63 5 16 21 77 6 0 3 3 29
1988–89 Buffalo Sabres NHL 56 2 14 16 84 5 1 0 1 11
1989–90 Buffalo Sabres NHL 73 4 21 25 47 6 0 1 1 8
1990–91 Buffalo Sabres NHL 71 6 14 20 46 5 1 0 1 12
1991–92 Buffalo Sabres NHL 66 3 14 17 67 7 0 2 2 8
1992–93 Buffalo Sabres NHL 33 2 8 10 20
1992–93 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 12 1 2 3 8 12 0 6 6 4
1993–94 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 65 2 2 4 22 1 0 0 0 0
1994–95 Detroit Red Wings NHL 33 1 2 3 23 15 0 1 1 4
1995–96 Detroit Red Wings NHL 47 2 4 6 35 15 0 4 4 10
1996–97 Detroit Red Wings NHL 2 0 0 0 0
NHL totals 1,070 79 266 345 1,012 115 8 29 37 176

International[]

Year Team Event Result   GP G A Pts PIM
1979 United States WJC 6th 5 1 1 2 10
1980 United States OG Gold medal icon 7 0 2 2 8
1982 United States WC 8th 7 1 0 1 8
1984 United States CC 4th 6 1 1 2 6
1987 United States CC 5th 5 0 1 1 2
Junior totals 5 1 1 2 10
Senior totals 25 2 4 6 24

See also[]

References[]

  1. "NCAA Frozen Four Records", NCAA.org. Retrieved on 2013-06-19. 

External links[]

Preceded by
Larry Playfair
Buffalo Sabres first round draft pick
1979
Succeeded by
Steve Patrick
Preceded by
Mike Foligno
Buffalo Sabres captain
199192
Succeeded by
Pat LaFontaine

Note: Ramsey was named Sabres captain during the 1990–91 NHL season (after Foligno was traded). He later resigned the captaincy during the 1992–93 NHL season, in favor of LaFontaine.

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