Byron Brad McCrimmon (March 29, 1959[citation needed] – September 7, 2011) was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman and coach.

He played over 1,200 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Boston Bruins, Philadelphia Flyers, Calgary Flames, Detroit Red Wings, Hartford Whalers and Phoenix Coyotes between 1979 and 1997.

[1][8] The team advanced to the 1979 Memorial Cup tournament where it reached the final against the Ontario Hockey League champion Peterborough Petes.

[14] Flyers' coach Bob McCammon argued that McCrimmon had been "intimidated" by playing with fellow 1979 Bruins pick and all-star, Ray Bourque, and that he could be a better overall defenceman.

[15] McCrimmon's offence improved in his first two seasons in Philadelphia – 25 points in 1982–83 and 24, though without a goal scored, in 1983–84 –[8] but he established himself as a top shutdown defenceman with the Flyers.

[17] McCrimmon was ruled out of the 1985 Stanley Cup Playoffs in the third game of the league semi-final against the Quebec Nordiques when he suffered a third-degree separation of his left shoulder following a hard hit by Wilf Paiement, an injury that required surgery to repair.

He appeared in all 80 games for the Flyers and set career highs of 13 goals, 43 assists, 56 points and his plus-minus rating of +83 was second only to defensive partner Mark Howe.

The arbitrator sided with the team, setting a contract at the Flyers' offer of US$165,000 for that season (he asked for $200,000), with an option to extend the deal for 1986–87.

[23] On the 1987–88 Flames, McCrimmon joined Al MacInnis, Paul Reinhart, Gary Suter and Ric Nattress to form one of the top defences in the NHL.

[7] He appeared in all 22 playoff games for the Flames as the team defeated the Montreal Canadiens to win the first Stanley Cup championship in franchise history.

[26] He scored 4 goals and 19 points during the 1989–90 season, but fell out of favour with head coach Terry Crisp as the two disagreed over how the team's defencemen were used.

[27] The Flames chose to trade him following the season, sending him to the Detroit Red Wings on June 15, 1990, in exchange for a second-round draft pick.

Though he focused on defence, allowing Lidström to be more creative offensively,[28] McCrimmon's 29 points were a significant improvement on the 13 he scored the season before.

[17] He played one more season in Detroit before again being traded, this time to the Hartford Whalers on June 1, 1993, in exchange for a sixth-round draft pick.

In addition to Lidstrom and Pronger, he played with Hockey Hall of Famers Ray Bourque, Mark Howe and Paul Coffey.

[33] McCrimmon moved behind the bench shortly after his retirement, joining the New York Islanders as an assistant coach to Mike Milbury on August 19, 1997.

[35] McCrimmon coached the Blades to a second-place finish in the East Division in 1999–2000 and a seven-game opening round playoff victory over the Regina Pats before the team was eliminated by the Calgary Hitmen.

[41] Looking to further his career, he left Detroit on May 19, 2011, and was introduced as head coach of Lokomotiv Yaroslavl of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) on May 29.

[45] He brought the Stanley Cup back to Plenty in 1989 after winning it with the Flames, fulfilling a promise McCrimmon made to his grandfather as a youth.

[47] His younger brother Kelly is the general manager for the Vegas Golden Knights, and the pair played together as teammates with the Wheat Kings in 1978–79.