# Don Lever

Donald Richard Lever (born November 14, 1952) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger who played 15 seasons in the National Hockey League from 1972–73 until 1986–87. He notably helped the Calgary Flames reach the NHL playoff semifinals for the first time in club history in 1981.

## Playing career

Lever was drafted 3rd overall by the Vancouver Canucks in the 1972 NHL Amateur Draft. The forward reached the 20-goal mark six times in Vancouver and played for Canada at the 1978 World Championships. Lever was traded to the Atlanta Flames alongside Brad Smith in exchange for Ivan Boldirev and Darcy Rota on February 8, 1980. He was later the first captain of the New Jersey Devils. Lever scored the first goal in Devils' history. He was recognized for both his penalty killing and powerplay abilities. Lever played 1020 career NHL games, scoring 313 goals and 367 assists for 680 points. On March 9, 2009, Lever was named an assistant coach for the Montreal Canadiens by Bob Gainey after the firing of Guy Carbonneau. His contract was not renewed, and he was named head coach of the Chicago Wolves of the AHL on October 21, 2009.

## Awards and achievements

* 1972: OHA First All-Star Team
* 1972: Red Tilson Trophy (OHA MVP)
* 1982: Played in NHL All-Star Game
* 1990–91: Louis A.R. Pieri Memorial Award
* 2006–07: Head coached the Hamilton Bulldogs to their first franchise Calder Cup, AHL championship

## Career statistics
### Regular season and playoffs

| | | | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs |
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 1969–70 | Niagara Falls Flyers | OHA-Jr. | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1970–71 | Niagara Falls Flyers | OHA-Jr. | 59 | 35 | 36 | 71 | 112 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1971–72 | Niagara Falls Flyers | OHA-Jr. | 69 | 61 | 65 | 126 | 69 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 45 |
| 1972–73 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 78 | 12 | 26 | 38 | 49 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1973–74 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 78 | 23 | 25 | 48 | 28 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1974–75 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 80 | 38 | 30 | 68 | 49 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 1975–76 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 80 | 25 | 40 | 65 | 93 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1976–77 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 80 | 27 | 30 | 57 | 28 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1977–78 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 75 | 17 | 32 | 49 | 58 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1978–79 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 71 | 23 | 21 | 44 | 17 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 |
| 1979–80 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 51 | 21 | 17 | 38 | 32 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1979–80 | Atlanta Flames | NHL | 28 | 14 | 16 | 30 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 1980–81 | Calgary Flames | NHL | 62 | 26 | 31 | 57 | 56 | 16 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 20 |
| 1981–82 | Calgary Flames | NHL | 23 | 8 | 11 | 19 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1981–82 | Colorado Rockies | NHL | 59 | 22 | 28 | 50 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1982–83 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 79 | 23 | 30 | 53 | 68 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1983–84 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 70 | 14 | 19 | 33 | 44 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1984–85 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 67 | 10 | 8 | 18 | 31 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1985–86 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 29 | 6 | 11 | 17 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1985–86 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 29 | 7 | 1 | 8 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1986–87 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 57 | 29 | 25 | 54 | 69 | 18 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 14 |
| 1986–87 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — |
| NHL totals | NHL totals | NHL totals | 1,020 | 313 | 367 | 680 | 593 | 30 | 7 | 10 | 17 | 26 |

### International

| Year | Team | Event | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 1978 | Canada | WC | 10 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 4 |

## Personal life

Lever and his wife Karen have three children, Michael, Sarah, and Caitlin.