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Ice hockey player
Tiger Williams
Williams in 2008
Born (1954-02-03) February 3, 1954 (age 70)
Weyburn, Saskatchewan, Canada
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 190 lb (86 kg; 13 st 8 lb)
Position Forward
Shot Left
Played for Toronto Maple Leafs
Vancouver Canucks
Detroit Red Wings
Los Angeles Kings
Hartford Whalers
NHL draft 31st overall, 1974
Toronto Maple Leafs
WHA draft 33rd overall, 1974
Cincinnati Stingers
Playing career 1974–1988

David James "Tiger" Williams (born February 3, 1954) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1974 to 1988. He played in the 1981 NHL All-Star Game and the 1982 Stanley Cup Finals. He is the NHL's career leader in penalty minutes. He was nicknamed "Tiger" as a 5-year-old by his minor hockey coach in Weyburn, Saskatchewan.

NHL career

Williams was drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the second round (31st overall) of the 1974 NHL amateur draft. He was also drafted by the Cincinnati Stingers of the World Hockey Association (WHA) in the third round (33rd overall) in the 1974 WHA Amateur Draft, but he signed with the Maple Leafs.

Williams was best known as an enforcer, but he was also able to score goals. He played on five different NHL teams during his career. He made his NHL debut with the Maple Leafs on January 7, 1975 against the New York Islanders. He broke many Maple Leaf and NHL records for penalty minutes and led the league twice with 338 minutes in 1976–77 and 298 in 1978–79. During his best season in Toronto, he scored 22 goals in 55 games, then on February 18, 1980 he was traded to the Vancouver Canucks for Rick Vaive and Bill Derlago. He scored 8 more goals in 23 games that season with Vancouver for a total of 30 goals.

The next season, 1980–81, in Vancouver, Williams scored a career high of 35 goals, the most among the Canucks, and 62 points. He also led the league in penalty minutes with 343, the third highest number in his career. He also earned a place in the mid-season All-Star game, in which he played on a line with Wayne Gretzky and Mike Bossy. He played a key role in the team's surprise run to the 1982 Stanley Cup Finals. Williams played in Vancouver until the end of the 1983–84 season.

After Vancouver, Williams played for the Detroit Red Wings for most of the 1984–85 NHL season, then was traded to the Los Angeles Kings. In Los Angeles, he set his career high of 358 penalty minutes for one season. He was traded to the Hartford Whalers during the 1987–88 NHL season. After 26 games the Whalers placed him on waivers and released him on February 12, 1988. He retired shortly thereafter.

Bryan Trottier, who had a long and illustrious career with the New York Islanders, credits Williams with talking him out of quitting hockey as a youngster.

After the NHL

Williams with the 2008 All-Star Legends in Toronto

In 1984 Williams published his autobiography, Tiger: A Hockey Story, co-written by James Lawton. In 1987, he released a cookbook entitled Done Like Dinner: Tiger In the Kitchen, co-written with Kasey Wilson. It included many hockey-inspired recipes, including Habs Tourtière, Stanley Cup Bars, and Luc Robitaille's Lasagna Omelette.

Williams re-emerged briefly as an inline hockey player in 1993, appearing in one game and scoring two points for the Vancouver Voodoo of Roller Hockey International.

In 1996, Canadian punk rock band The Hanson Brothers spearheaded a campaign to agitate for Williams' induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame. They included a mail-in postcard in their album Sudden Death which purchasers could send to the Hall.

As a guest on Tony Gallagher's phone-in radio program, Williams claimed that Canucks manager Pat Quinn attempted to have his jersey number 22 sweater retired by the team. However, rules at the time required the Canucks to ask permission from the previous player who wore it, Bob Manno. Manno refused, even, according to Williams, when the team offered him money to grant permission. Number 22 was later worn by (and retired in honour of) Canucks alternate captain and Art Ross trophy winner, Daniel Sedin.

At the 2002 NHL All-Star Game in Los Angeles, the NHL held the NHL All-Star Celebrity Challenge. The home team all wore number 22 in honour of Williams.

On February 9, 2018, Williams was charged with sexual assault while on a military trip to Latvia. These charges were withdrawn by Crown attorney Meaghan Cunningham after he issued an apology.

Williams was arrested and charged with one count of uttering a threat to cause death and one count of assault stemming from an April 10, 2023 incident in Beaver Flat, Saskatchewan. Police said the other man involved did not sustain injuries or require medical attention.

He appeared as himself in the first episode of the Canadian sitcom Rent-a-Goalie.

Records

  • National Hockey League records:
    • Most NHL career regular season penalty minutes: 3,971
    • Most NHL penalty minutes, career, including playoffs: 4,426
  • Toronto Maple Leafs records:
    • Most playoff penalty minutes: 240
    • Most penalty minutes in one season by a left wing: 351 in 1978
  • Vancouver Canucks records:
    • Most playoff penalty minutes: 181
    • Most penalty minutes in one playoff year: 116 in 1982
    • Most penalty minutes in one playoff series: 51 vs. Chicago in 1982

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1971–72 Swift Current Broncos WCHL 68 12 22 34 278 — — — — —
1972–73 Swift Current Broncos WCHL 68 44 58 102 266 — — — — —
1973–74 Swift Current Broncos WCHL 66 52 56 108 310 12 14 10 24 23
1974–75 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 42 10 19 29 187 7 1 3 4 25
1974–75 Oklahoma City Blazers CHL 39 16 11 27 202 — — — — —
1975–76 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 78 21 19 40 299 10 0 0 0 75
1976–77 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 77 18 25 43 338 9 3 6 9 29
1977–78 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 78 19 31 50 351 12 1 2 3 63
1978–79 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 77 19 20 39 298 6 0 0 0 48
1979–80 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 55 22 18 40 197 — — — — —
1979–80 Vancouver Canucks NHL 23 8 5 13 81 3 0 0 0 20
1980–81 Vancouver Canucks NHL 77 35 27 62 343 3 0 0 0 20
1981–82 Vancouver Canucks NHL 77 17 21 38 341 17 3 7 10 116
1982–83 Vancouver Canucks NHL 68 8 13 21 265 4 0 3 3 12
1983–84 Vancouver Canucks NHL 67 15 16 31 294 4 1 0 1 13
1984–85 Detroit Red Wings NHL 55 3 8 11 163 — — — — —
1984–85 Los Angeles Kings NHL 12 4 3 7 43 3 0 0 0 4
1984–85 Adirondack Red Wings AHL 8 5 2 7 4 — — — — —
1985–86 Los Angeles Kings NHL 72 20 29 49 320 — — — — —
1986–87 Los Angeles Kings NHL 76 16 18 34 358 5 3 2 5 30
1987–88 Los Angeles Kings NHL 2 0 0 0 6 — — — — —
1987–88 Hartford Whalers NHL 26 6 0 6 87 — — — — —
NHL totals 962 241 272 513 3,971 83 12 23 35 455

See also

References

  1. "Rob Vanstone: Bryan Trottier's Saskatchewan story really hits home". Regina Leader-Post. 7 November 2022.
  2. Amanda Connoly (February 9, 2018). "Dave 'Tiger' Williams, former Maple Leafs player, charged with sexual assault after military trip to Latvia". Global News. Retrieved February 9, 2018.
  3. Campion-Smith, Bruce (7 May 2019). "Sex assault charges against Dave 'Tiger' Williams withdrawn after apology". The Toronto Star. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
  4. "Tiger Williams charged with assault and uttering threats".

External links

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