Quick Facts
Biography
Michael Anthony Foligno (born January 29, 1959) is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey right winger who played in the National Hockey League for fifteen seasons from 1979–80 until 1993–94. He is currently a scout for the Vegas Golden Knights.
Playing career
Foligno was born in Sudbury, Ontario, but spent his early years in Italy where he took up the sport of soccer, participating as a goalkeeper. When Foligno returned to Canada with his family at the age of 10, he was introduced to hockey.
Foligno was drafted 3rd overall by the Detroit Red Wings in the 1979 NHL Entry Draft. He played 1018 career NHL games, scoring 355 goals and 372 assists for 727 points, while adding 2049 penalty minutes. His best offensive season was the 1985–86 season with the Buffalo Sabres, when he scored 41 goals and 80 points, both career highs. On December 21, 1991, while with the Maple Leafs, he broke his foot against the his former team the Sabres, causing him to miss a majority of the season. He has stated that his Game Five overtime winner in the 1993 playoffs with Toronto was the biggest goal of his career.
Foligno is perhaps best known for his trademark jump, dubbed the "Foligno Leap", after scoring a goal. Both of his two sons have carried on the tradition of the Foligno Leap.
Coaching & Management Career
Foligno has worked as an assisstant coach for the Toronto Maple Leafs and Colorado Avalanche. On June 24, 2010, Mike was named as an assistant coach for the Anaheim Ducks. Previously he was the general manager of the Sudbury Wolves, and was also the head coach of the club for whom both of his sons, Nick and Marcus, played prior to playing in the NHL. Foligno was fired on November 30, 2011, along with head coach Randy Carlyle. On July 19, 2013, Foligno was named an assistant coach of the New Jersey Devils. He served as an assistant from 2013-15.
On September 21, 2016, it was announced that Foligno was hired as a scout for the expansion Vegas Golden Knights.
Transactions
December 2, 1981: Traded to the Buffalo Sabres along with Dale McCourt and Brent Peterson in exchange for Danny Gare, Jim Schoenfeld and Derek Smith.
December 17, 1990: Traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs along with Buffalo's 8th round pick in the 1991 Draft (Tomas Kucharcik) in exchange for Brian Curran and Lou Franceschetti.
November 5, 1993: Traded to the Florida Panthers in exchange for cash.
Career statistics
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1975–76 | Sudbury Wolves | OMJHL | 57 | 22 | 14 | 36 | 45 | 16 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 6 | ||
| 1976–77 | Sudbury Wolves | OMJHL | 66 | 31 | 44 | 75 | 62 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 7 | ||
| 1977–78 | Sudbury Wolves | OMJHL | 67 | 47 | 39 | 86 | 112 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1978–79 | Sudbury Wolves | OMJHL | 68 | 65 | 85 | 150 | 98 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 14 | ||
| 1979–80 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 80 | 36 | 35 | 71 | 109 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1980–81 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 80 | 28 | 35 | 63 | 210 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1981–82 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 26 | 13 | 13 | 26 | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1981–82 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 56 | 20 | 31 | 51 | 149 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 9 | ||
| 1982–83 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 66 | 22 | 25 | 47 | 135 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 39 | ||
| 1983–84 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 70 | 32 | 31 | 63 | 151 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 19 | ||
| 1984–85 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 77 | 27 | 29 | 56 | 154 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 12 | ||
| 1985–86 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 79 | 41 | 39 | 80 | 168 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1986–87 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 75 | 30 | 29 | 59 | 176 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1987–88 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 74 | 29 | 28 | 57 | 220 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 31 | ||
| 1988–89 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 75 | 27 | 22 | 49 | 156 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 21 | ||
| 1989–90 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 61 | 15 | 25 | 40 | 99 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 12 | ||
| 1990–91 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 31 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 42 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1990–91 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 37 | 8 | 7 | 15 | 65 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1991–92 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 33 | 6 | 8 | 14 | 50 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1992–93 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 55 | 13 | 5 | 18 | 84 | 18 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 42 | ||
| 1993–94 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1993–94 | Florida Panthers | NHL | 39 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 49 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| OMJHL totals | 258 | 165 | 182 | 337 | 317 | 32 | 12 | 9 | 21 | 27 | ||||
| NHL totals | 1018 | 355 | 372 | 727 | 2049 | 57 | 15 | 17 | 32 | 185 | ||||
Coaching record
| Team | Year | Regular season | Post season | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | L | T | OTL | Pts | Finish | Result | ||
| HER | 1998–99 | 80 | 37 | 32 | 10 | 1 | 85 | 3rd in Mid-Atlantic | Lost in first round |
| HER | 1999–00 | 80 | 43 | 29 | 5 | 3 | 94 | 2nd in Mid-Atlantic | Lost in third round |
| HER | 2000–01 | 80 | 34 | 39 | 4 | 3 | 75 | 5th in Mid-Atlantic | Lost in third round |
| HER | 2001–02 | 80 | 36 | 27 | 11 | 6 | 89 | 2nd in South | Lost in second round |
| HER | 2002–03 | 80 | 36 | 27 | 14 | 3 | 89 | 2nd in South | Lost in first round |
| SUD | 2003–04 | 68 | 25 | 32 | 6 | 5 | 61 | 5th in Central | Lost in first round |
| SUD | 2004–05 | 68 | 32 | 23 | 6 | 7 | 77 | 4th in Central | Lost in second round |
| SUD | 2005–06 | 68 | 34 | 28 | - | 6 | 74 | 3rd in Central | Lost in second round |
| SUD | 2006–07 | 68 | 29 | 30 | - | 9 | 67 | 3rd in Central | Lost in OHL Finals |
| SUD | 2007–08 | 68 | 17 | 46 | - | 5 | 39 | 5th in Central | Missed playoffs |
| SUD | 2008–09 | 68 | 26 | 35 | - | 7 | 59 | 5th in Central | Lost in first round |
| SUD | 2009–10 | 68 | 26 | 35 | - | 7 | 59 | 5th in Central | Lost in first round |
Personal
Foligno was married to wife Janis until her death in 2009 during his time as coach in Sudbury. They have four children, Cara (teacher in the Dufferin-Peel Catholic school board, Lisa (lacrosse player at Canisius College), Nick and Marcus. Nick was drafted in the first round of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft by the Ottawa Senators and made the 2007–08 Senators team. Marcus was drafted 104th overall in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft by the Buffalo Sabres. Marcus won a silver medal with Team Canada at the 2011 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships and joined the Sabres in the 2011–12 season.