Craig Button was among the team behind the Stanley Cup championship-winning Minnesota North Stars in 1999.
Craig with the Stanley Cup in 1999.
Soon after graduating, Button sent a congratulatory note to that same friend of his father who had just become the GM of the Minnesota North Stars. Button recalls him suddenly asking him to join the team as a full-time scout.
He seized the opportunity, launching a career that took Button across the globe in search of top talent. Scouting for the North Stars — and then later for the Leafs in 2004 — meant finding the best young prospects or identifying seasoned veterans who could make an impact in high-stakes trades.
In 1999, Button’s efforts culminated in a Stanley Cup championship with the North Stars. Along with his championship ring, he proudly displays a replica Cup — given to every player, coach and scout — in his office. “That was a magical year,” he recalls. “Winning the Cup really teaches you what it takes to get there.”
Shaped by past experiences
While job interviews can be daunting for many, few compare to facing a room of 40 people, each analyzing every detail of a candidate’s vision for an NHL franchise.
But that was Button’s reality in 2000 when he interviewed for the GM role with the Calgary Flames, an invitation extended by the team’s then-GM Bob Gainey, the former Montreal Canadiens legend who had coached the Dallas Stars during Button’s tenure as a scout.
Button landed the job, but his time as GM was brief. “I feel really good about what I did, trying to move the franchise in a forward direction,” he says. “But of course, it was disappointing to be let go. In the end, all you can do is learn from the experience and let it shape you.”
Craig Button with TSN SportsCentre anchor Lindsay Hamilton.