Introduction
Donald Richard "Cleaver" Lever (born November 14, 1952) is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey left winger who played 15 seasons in the National Hockey League from 1972–73 until 1986–87.
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 | 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 | 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 |
Coaching statistics
SeasonTeamLge TypeGPWLT OTLPctResult1987-88 Buffalo SabresNHL Assistant coach1988-89 Buffalo SabresNHL Assistant coach1990-91 Rochester Americans AHL Head coach80 45 2690 0.619 Lost in finals1991-92 Rochester Americans AHL Head coach80 37 31 120 0.537 Lost in round 31992-93 Buffalo SabresNHL Assistant coach1993-94 Buffalo SabresNHL Assistant coach1994-95 Buffalo SabresNHL Assistant coach1995-96 Buffalo SabresNHL Associate coach1996-97 Buffalo SabresNHL Assistant coach1997-98 Buffalo SabresNHL Associate coach1998-99 Buffalo SabresNHL Associate coach1999-00 Buffalo SabresNHL Associate coach2000-01 Buffalo SabresNHL Assistant coach2001-02 Buffalo SabresNHL Assistant coach2002-03 St. Louis BluesNHL Assistant coach2003-04 St. Louis BluesNHL Assistant coach2005-06 Hamilton BulldogsAHL Head coach80 35 41 04 0.463Out of playoffs2006-07 Hamilton BulldogsAHL Head coach80 43 28 09 0.594Won championship2007-08 Hamilton BulldogsAHL Head coach80 36 34 010 0.512Out of playoffs 2008-09 Hamilton BulldogsAHL Head coach65 39 24 02 0.615 2008-09 Montreal CanadiensNHL Assistant coach
Personal life
He and his wife Karen have three children, Michael, Sarah, and Caitlin.