July 8 NHL History
1992: The Detroit Red Wings sign Gordie Howe’s son, 37-year-old free agent defenseman Mark Howe. He spends the final three seasons of his NHL career with the Red Wings before retiring after the 1994-95 season. In 2011, he joins his father in the Hockey Hall of Fame.
1995: There’s a run on defenseman at the top of the NHL Draft in Edmonton.
The Ottawa Senators start the selection process by taking Rhode Island native Bryan Berard with the No. 1 pick; he becomes the third American in draft history to be taken first. The New York Islanders then select Wade Redden No. 2, and the Los Angeles Kings, who move up to the third position by winning the NHL Draft Lottery, follow by choosing Finland’s Aki Berg. The Dallas Stars, picking 11th, select right wing Jarome Iginla from Kamloops of the Western Hockey League. Iginla goes on to score more than 600 goals in the NHL but none for Dallas, which trades him to the Calgary Flames for Joe Nieuwendyk on Dec. 19, 1995.
Neither Berard nor Redden ever plays a game for the team that drafted him. Berard refuses to report to Ottawa; six months later, he’s traded to the Islanders for Redden.
1999: Dave Tippett begins his NHL coaching career when he’s hired as an assistant by the Kings. Tippett, who comes to the NHL after leading the Houston Aeros to the International Hockey League championship, spends three seasons as an assistant in Los Angeles before being hired as Stars coach. He stays in Dallas until being let go after the 2008-09 season, but is hired by the Phoenix Coyotes on Sept. 24, 2009, hours after Wayne Gretzky resigns, and coaches the Coyotes through the 2016-17 season.
