The OHL is mourning the loss of a long-time coach and former player who never lost his passion for the game. Best known for his tenure as head coach of both the Windsor Spitfires and London Knights, Wayne Maxner passed away on Thursday at the age of 80.
Born in Halifax, Maxner made his way to Ontario where he became a star for the Niagara Falls Flyers, earning the Eddie Powers Trophy as the OHA’s leading scorer with 94 points (32-62–94) in 1962-63. Playing under legendary head coach Hap Emms, Maxner also claimed the Red Tilson Trophy as the OHA’s most outstanding player, steering the Flyers to a J. Ross Robertson Cup title before they’d fall short in the Memorial Cup Final against the Edmonton Oil Kings. He’d go on to play nine professional seasons that included 62 NHL contests with the Boston Bruins.
Upon retirement in 1973, Maxner transitioned to life behind the bench in Windsor, coaching the Spitfires throughout the late 1970’s. He guided the Spits to the OHL Championship Final in 1980 before they fell to the Peterborough Petes. Maxner then made the jump to pro, coaching the AHL’s Adirondack Red Wings in 1980-81 before getting promoted to the NHL midway through the season. Maxner coached the Detroit Red Wings for parts of two seasons before returning to the OHL where he was back behind the Spitfires bench in 1983.
Maxner coached one season in Sudbury, helping the Wolves return to the OHL Playoffs in 1986 following five consecutive years outside of postseason play. He’d then begin a run of four years behind the bench for the London Knights from 1986-90. He guided the Knights to within one game of the OHL Championship Series in 1989, losing to the Niagara Falls Thunder in Game 7 of the Emms Division Final.
Maxner returned to the Spitfires in 1991, spending two seasons behind the Windsor bench to close-out his OHL tenure that spanned 12 seasons, resulting in an overall record of 341-344-48. Maxner sits 18th on the OHL’s all-time coaching wins list and had a hand in the development of such names as Joel Quenneville, Ernie Godden, Rick Corriveau, Tim Taylor, Cory Stillman and Bill Bowler.
In addition to winning the Eddie Powers and Red Tilson Trophies as a player, Maxner was voted an OHL third team all-star as coach in 1980, and earned a second team finish in 1990.
Following his time in the OHL, Maxner coached stints with the St. Thomas Wildcats of the Colonial Hockey League, the London Nationals of the GOJHL and the Woodstock Navy Vets of the Niagara District Junior C circuit as recently as 2008-09.
Outside of the game, Maxner enjoyed a very successful second career selling cars in London, Woodstock and Goderich, finally settling in the Bayfield area. He is survived by his four children along with a multitude of family and friends.
For more on the life and career of Wayne Maxner, visit falconerfuneralhomes.com.
Legendary hockey coach Wayne Maxner has died at age 80. https://t.co/vHLkAekPoA pic.twitter.com/4a86H8gSfS
— London Free Press (@LFPress) July 27, 2023
