the summer of 2008, he was named head coach of Dynamo Minsk in Belarus and assistant coach of the Belarus national team. In late July 2008, his contract was cancelled due to personal reasons. On December 18, 2008, he became the coach of the Hamburg Freezers of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL) and guided the Freezers to the playoff-quarterfinals that season. In Gardner's second season at the helm, Hamburg did not qualify for the playoffs. His contract expired at the end of the 2009-10 season. Gardner signed with the Mississippi RiverKings of the Central Hockey League (CHL) for the 2010-11 campaign. On July 29, 2011, Gardner was informed by the team that was relieved of his duties for the following season. In September 13, 2011 Gardner was named head coach of fellow CHL team Bloomington Blaze. On January 18, 2013 Gardner was appointed head coach of the Braehead Clan of the Elite Ice Hockey League. He guided the Scottish club to the EIHL Gardiner Conference Championship and a playoff-quarterfinal appearance, but did not have his contract renewed at the end of the 2012-13 season. In Mai 2013, Gardner was named head coach of Dutch Eredivisie side Tilburg Trappers, signing a two-year deal with the team. Under his guidance, the Trappers won back-to-back Dutch championship titles and Dutch cup titles. On January 1, 2016, German second-division club Lausitzer Füchse hired Gardner as their new head coach. He stayed on the job through the end of the 2015-16 season. On June 29, 2016, Gardner took over the coaching job at fellow DEL2 side Löwen Frankfurt, working alongside sporting director Rich Chernomaz. He guided the Frankfurt team to the 2017 DEL2 title in his first year in charge. Gardner was sacked on March 17, 2018, during the playoff quarterfinal series against Kassel, in which the Frankfurt team had lost the first two games. In 2019, Gardner was inducted into the Leaside Sports Hall of Fame. Both his brother Dave and father Cal have also been inducted into the Leaside Sports Hall of Fame. Career statistics See also Notable families in the NHL References External links Profile at hockeydraftcentral.com 1956 births Binghamton Whalers players Buffalo Sabres players Canadian ice hockey centres Colorado Rockies (NHL) players Löwen Frankfurt coaches Kansas City Scouts draft picks Living people Nashville Predators coaches National Hockey League first-round draft picks New Brunswick Hawks players Oshawa Generals players Pittsburgh Penguins players