McCrimmon's offensive numbers (81 goals, 322 assists, 403 points in 1,222 NHL games) don't come close to telling the whole story of the defenseman's 18-year NHL career. His plus-448 rating is 10th all-time in the NHL since plus-minus became an official statistic in 1959-60, and the highest total among any player who's not a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame.

He finished with more than 45 points in a season once (56 with the Philadelphia Flyers in 1985-86) but was at least plus-45 four times, including plus-86 in 1985-86, and was a mentor or partner to some of the NHL's best young defensemen.

The Boston Bruins selected McCrimmon with the No. 15 pick in the 1979 NHL Draft, and he stepped into the lineup as a regular that fall. But after three seasons with Boston, he was traded to the Flyers on June 9, 1982.

McCrimmon soon teamed with Mark Howe to form one of the most effective defense pairs in the NHL. Though Howe, a future Hall of Famer, got most of the attention, McCrimmon's blend of skill and toughness proved to be a perfect complement. But he and the Flyers had a contract battle before the 1986-87 season, and Philadelphia opted to trade him to the Calgary Flames on Aug. 26, 1987.

The Flames already had a solid core of defensemen, including Al MacInnis and Gary Suter, and McCrimmon fit in well. He was named an NHL Second-Team All-Star in 1988 after finishing with 42 points (seven goals, 35 assists) and leading the NHL with a plus-48 rating. One year later, he was a Stanley Cup champion after Calgary won the first championship in its history.

The Flames traded McCrimmon to the Detroit Red Wings on June 15, 1990 and he played three seasons with the Red Wings, helping to mentor Nicklas Lidstrom after the future Hall of Famer arrived from Sweden in 1991-92. Detroit traded McCrimmon to the Hartford Whalers on June 1, 1993, and he took another future Hall of Famer, Chris Pronger, under his wing.

McCrimmon signed with the Phoenix Coyotes before the 1996-97 season and played 37 games before retiring. He was an assistant with four NHL teams before being hired by Lokomotiv Yaroslavl of the Kontinental Hockey League for the 2011-12 season. He never coached a game for Lokomotiv, however; on Sept. 7, 2011, the 52-year-old died when the team plane crashed on the way to a game.