Montreal Canadiens hire Lacroix, Ramage to coaching staff

MONTREAL - The Montreal Canadiens have hired Dan Lacroix as assistant coach and Rob Ramage as player development coach.

Lacroix, 45, worked as an assistant coach in the NHL for seven of the past eight seasons, including last season with the Eastern Conference champion New York Rangers. He previously worked as assistant coach with the Tampa Bay Lightning from 2010 to 2013 and with the New York Islanders from 2006 to 2009.

Lacroix also worked as assistant coach with the Hamilton Bulldogs, the Canadiens' main affiliate team in the AHL during the 2009-10 season.

"We are very pleased to welcome Dan Lacroix as part of our coaching staff," Canadiens head coach Michel Therrien said in a statement. "Daniel earned the respect of his peers for his coaching skills and his impressive knowledge of the game. He has worked as a coach for almost 15 years, including seven seasons as assistant coach in the NHL.

"He knows the Canadiens organization and his experience at the professional level made him a much coveted candidate. He is an excellent addition to our coaching staff and to the Canadiens organization."

A native of Montreal, Lacroix also played seven full seasons in the American Hockey League with Binghamton, Providence, Hamilton and Rochester. He recorded 213 points in 352 regular season games (101 goals, 112 assists), and totalled 1,618 penalty minutes.

Ramage, 55, was employed by the St. Louis Blues organization as amateur scout for the past two seasons (2012-13 and 2013-14). He also worked as an assistant coach with the OHL’s London Knights during the 2011-12 season.

A native of Byron, Ont., played a total of 1,044 regular season games in the NHL between 1979 and 1994 with Colorado, St. Louis, Calgary, Toronto, Minnesota, Tampa Bay, Montreal and Philadelphia.

He registered 564 career points (139 goals, 425 assists), and was assessed 2,224 penalty minutes. He won the Stanley Cup with Calgary (1989) and Montreal (1993).

Ramage spent time in prison after being convicted in 2008 of impaired driving causing death. The charge stemmed form a 2003 car accident in Woodbridge, Ont., that claimed the life of one of Ramage's passengers, former Chicago Blackhawk Keith Magnuson.

Ramage's four-year sentence expired this month.