Craig was in charge of building rinks for NHL outdoor games at iconic venues such as Wrigley Field, Fenway Park, Dodger Stadium, The Cotton Bowl, Michigan Stadium, Notre Dame Stadium and, for his finale on the outdoor stage, on top of a golf course along the shores of Lake Tahoe.
"He was always available and always gave his candid, honest, unvarnished view of the challenges we were facing," Daly said.
Craig's expertise led to the NHL having two traveling outdoor rinks complete with refrigeration trucks, so outdoor games now can have the best possible playing surfaces even when the weather isn't ideal.
For 24 years he was in charge of everything associated with NHL playing conditions, indoors and outdoors.
Craig leaves those duties to his son, Mike, and Derek King, each a senior manager in charge of facilities operations at the NHL.
But Craig won't go away, he said. That's why he uses the term graduating instead of retiring.
"Oh, I'm going to be around, probably more than people think I'm going to be around," he said. "But my wife doesn't want me to be around that much. So we're doing a balancing act."