Playing career

Payne was drafted 140th overall by the Edmonton Oilers in the 1989 NHL Entry Draft. He turned pro in 1992 and joined the Greensboro Monarchs of the East Coast Hockey League. He then had spells in the International Hockey League with the Phoenix Roadrunners and the American Hockey League with the Rochester Americans before returning to the Monarchs for a second spell. After playing two games with the Providence Bruins, Payne signed with the Boston Bruins. While spending most of his time playing in Providence, he managed to play 22 games for Boston over two seasons, scoring an assist while collecting 14 penalty minutes. He moved to the San Antonio Dragons before returning to the ECHL to spend his final two seasons with the Greenville Grrrowl. Payne also played for Michigan Technological University in his collegiate career.

Coaching career

ECHL: Pee Dee and Alaska

In 2000, Payne became the head coach of the Pee Dee Pride in the ECHL. Payne coached there through the 2003 season, attaining a regular season record of 104-67-17. The team also made the playoffs all three seasons, advancing to the second round each year. After the 2002-2003 season, Payne began coaching the Alaska Aces (ECHL). Payne coached in Alaska from 2003 to 2007, leading the team to the playoffs every year, including a Kelly Cup Championship in 2005-2006 season. He ended his tenure at the Aces with a regular season record of 185-75-28 and a playoff record of 38-21. Payne is also one of two coaches to lead his team to back-to-back 100-point seasons, winning the Brabham Cup in 2005-06 with 113 points and finishing second in 2006-07 with 105 points.

AHL: Peoria Rivermen

In July 2008, Payne was named the head coach of the St. Louis Blues AHL affiliate, the Peoria Rivermen. Payne achieved a record of 62-44-9 while coaching at Peoria.

NHL: St. Louis Blues

On January 2, 2010, Payne was named the interim head coach of the St. Louis Blues following the club's dismissal of Andy Murray.

On April 14, 2010, the St. Louis Blues removed the interim tag from Davis' title, and he became the full-time head coach of the team. He was fired on November 6, 2011, after his team got off to a 6-7 start and was replaced by former Dallas Stars head coach Ken Hitchcock.

On 7/26/2012, Los Angeles Kings General Manager Dean Lombardi announced that Davis Payne would be hired as assistant coach to Darryl Sutter.

NHL coaching record

Team	Year	Regular Season						Post Season
		G	W	L	OTL	Pts	Finish	Result
STL	2009-10	42	23	15	4	50/90	4th in Central	Missed Playoffs
STL	2010-11	82	38	33	11	87	4th in Central	Missed Playoffs
STL	2011-12	13	6	7	0	12/109	1st in Central	(Fired, Nov. 6)
Total		137	67	55	15	149	P%: .544

[ Source: Wikipedia ]