Blue Jackets associate coach Craig Hartsburg announced his retirement from coaching today so that he may spend more time with his family. After almost 40 years in hockey, Hartsburg is stepping away from the bench and will continue to work with the organization and the hockey ops department in a yet to be defined capacity.
Hartsburg, a coach for nearly 30 years, will remain with #CBJ hockey operations in a yet-to-be-determined capacity.
— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) April 13, 2016
Hartsburg was a celebrated defenseman and captain of the Minnesota North Stars. He played with that team for 10 years, appeared in three All-Star Games, made it to the Stanley Cup Final in 1981 and was 98-315-413 in 570 games. He was most recently able to reprise his on-ice role at this year’s Winter Classic.
Craig Hartsburg sporting the C. #CBJ #NorthStars pic.twitter.com/3T2eAW1dSq
— Alison (@AlisonL) February 20, 2016
After hanging up his skates, Hartsburg moved behind the bench with the North Stars and ultimately helmed teams in the WHL (Everett), OHL (Guelph, Sault Ste. marie) and NHL (Chicago, Anaheim, Ottawa) where he saw his teams reach the playoffs in three of his five full seasons. He also served as an assistant in Philadelphia and Calgary and was part of three gold medal-winning Team Canada squads.
Hartsburg joined the Blue Jackets in the 2012-13 season and served as head coach when John Tortorella was sidelined with a rib injury earlier this year – a stint that included a celebrated win over the Montreal Canadiens.
They brought a bow and arrow to a cannon fight!!!
— Craig Hartsburg (@CraigHartsburg) January 27, 2016
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