In loving memory...
It's that time of the year where we go through all the NHLers we have lost in the year 2016.
January 1st - Jim Ross
Jim Ross was a professional hockey player who played defense and was active between 1944 and 1955, which included 2 seasons in the NHL. Ross was born on May 20, 1926, in Edinburgh, Scotland
January 3rd - Bill Plager
January 16th - Don Caley
On July 3, 1969, Caley was traded to the WHL's Phoenix Roadrunners where he became their starting goalie. In February 1970, Caley suffered severe whiplash in a car accident and missed the remainder of the season though he recovered in time for the next season. He retired after the 1972-73 season to become a dentist but returned the next season, feeling he could do both jobs at once, but retired for good after just seven games and spent his life in sales.
January 16th - Rudy Migay
Migay coached the following teams - Rochester Americans AHL 1962-1963, Tulsa Oilers CHL 1964-1965, Amarillo Wranglers CHL 1968-1969, Baltimore Clippers AHL 1969-1970, Amarillo Wranglers CHL 1970-1971. The Wranglers were a farm team for the NHL Pittsburgh Penguins
January 22nd - Rik Wilson
Rik Wilson was a professional hockey player who played defense and was active between 1978 and 1996, which included 7 seasons in the NHL. He split his 7 NHL seasons with the Calgary Flames, the St. Louis Blues and the Chicago Blackhawks. Playing 251 games, scoring 25 goals and 65 assists for a total of 90 points. He also spent 220 minutes in the box during his career.
February 12th - Ed Barry
Ed Barry was a professional hockey player who played left wing and was active between 1938 and 1950, which included 1 season in the NHL. He spent his only season with the Boston Bruins.
February 26th - Andy Bathgate
Andy Bathgate was a popular star player of the New York Rangers and also held the honour of being declared the Most Valuable Player of both the NHL and Western Hockey League (WHL). He started his professional career with the Cleveland Barons of the American Hockey League (AHL) in the 1952–53 season. He bounced between the Vancouver Canucks and the Rangers for two seasons before settling with the Rangers in 1954–55. He played 10 full seasons with the Rangers, where he became a popular player in New York as well as a top-tiered player in the NHL.
In 1961–62, Bathgate and Bobby Hull led the league in points, but Bathgate lost the Art Ross Trophy to Bobby Hull because Hull had more goals.
Bathgate's career was frustrated by the mediocre play of the Rangers and a nagging knee problem. He was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs during the 1963–64 season, where he immediately helped Toronto to a Stanley Cup championship, and later was dealt to the Detroit Red Wings, where he helped the team reach the Stanley Cup Finals in 1965–66. Bathgate was chosen by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 1967 NHL Expansion Draft scoring the first goal in their team's history. However after one season, he returned to the Canucks where he would help lead the team to two consecutive Lester Patrick Cup victories, in 1969 and 1970. His best professional year was with them, where he scored 108 points in 1969–70. That performance gave him the George Leader Cup, the top player award in the WHL. Bathgate's final NHL year was with the Penguins in 1971; 1971–1972 he was playing coach for HC Ambri-Piotta in Switzerland. He came briefly out of retirement three seasons later to play for the Vancouver Blazers of the World Hockey Association (WHA), which he had coached the previous season, but retired for good after 11 games.
Bathgate won the Hart Memorial Trophy for the MVP of the NHL in 1958–59 after scoring 40 goals, which was no easy feat in that era. He is famous for contributing to one of the greatest innovations in NHL history. Renowned for the strength of his slapshot, during a game against the Montreal Canadiens, Bathgate shot the puck into the face of Jacques Plante, forcing Plante to receive stitches. When Plante returned to the ice, he was wearing a mask. That started a trend that continues to this day.
In 1961–62, Bathgate and Bobby Hull led the league in points, but Bathgate lost the Art Ross Trophy to Bobby Hull because Hull had more goals.
Bathgate's career was frustrated by the mediocre play of the Rangers and a nagging knee problem. He was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs during the 1963–64 season, where he immediately helped Toronto to a Stanley Cup championship, and later was dealt to the Detroit Red Wings, where he helped the team reach the Stanley Cup Finals in 1965–66. Bathgate was chosen by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 1967 NHL Expansion Draft scoring the first goal in their team's history. However after one season, he returned to the Canucks where he would help lead the team to two consecutive Lester Patrick Cup victories, in 1969 and 1970. His best professional year was with them, where he scored 108 points in 1969–70. That performance gave him the George Leader Cup, the top player award in the WHL. Bathgate's final NHL year was with the Penguins in 1971; 1971–1972 he was playing coach for HC Ambri-Piotta in Switzerland. He came briefly out of retirement three seasons later to play for the Vancouver Blazers of the World Hockey Association (WHA), which he had coached the previous season, but retired for good after 11 games.
Bathgate won the Hart Memorial Trophy for the MVP of the NHL in 1958–59 after scoring 40 goals, which was no easy feat in that era. He is famous for contributing to one of the greatest innovations in NHL history. Renowned for the strength of his slapshot, during a game against the Montreal Canadiens, Bathgate shot the puck into the face of Jacques Plante, forcing Plante to receive stitches. When Plante returned to the ice, he was wearing a mask. That started a trend that continues to this day.
March 3rd - Ted McCaskill
He played four games in the National Hockey League and 91 games in the World Hockey Association. He played with the Minnesota North Stars, and he then served as player-coach with the Los Angeles Sharks.
March 10th - Bill Gadsby
Bill Gadsby was a professional hockey player who played defense and was active between 1943 and 1972, which included 21 seasons in the NHL. He spent those 21 seasons with the Chicago Blackhaws, Detroit Red Wings and New York Rangers
March 13th - Ken Broderick
March 22nd - Norm Johnson
March 29th - Frank Kane
He played two games in the National Hockey League for the Detroit Red Wings
April 2nd - Dennis Riggin
He played 18 games in the National Hockey League. He played two short stints with the Detroit Red Wings, but spent the rest of his hockey career in the minors
April 16th - Charlie Hodge
He played as a goaltender for the Montreal Canadiens, Vancouver Canucks, and Oakland Seals of the National Hockey League. Hodge's first NHL game occurred in 1954 with Montreal. But because teams in that era only carried one goalie, and Montreal had perhaps the best goalie of the era in Jacques Plante, Hodge was only used in emergency situations. During this time, he played mostly in the AHL. When Plante was traded in 1962, Hodge got his chance to play full-time. He twice won the Vezina Trophy for being the goaltender of the team allowing the fewest number of goals during the regular season, once outright in 1963–1964 and shared with Gump Worsley in 1965–1966. Hodge's name appears on the league championship Stanley Cup six times, although he only actually played in one of those finals. He also played 1 game in the finals in 1955, but lost to Detroit. In 1967, young goaltender Rogatien Vachon was called up by the Canadiens. Vachon played superbly, and there was no more room for Hodge. Hodge was left unprotected in 1967 and he was picked up by the Oakland Seals in the 1967 NHL Expansion Draft. In the picture, he is sitting next to Gump Worsley.
May 30th - Tom Lysiak
Lysiak led the Flames in scoring in each of his five full seasons with the team and represented the Flames in three consecutive NHL All-Star Games (1975, 1976, 1977). He served as the Flames' team captain during the 1977–78 and 1978–79 seasons, but was traded to the Chicago Black Hawks in an unpopular multiplayer deal (eight players were involved, the largest number in NHL history at the time) midway through the 1978–79 season. He is the Atlanta Flames' all-time leader for assists with 276 and points with 431 and ranks second in goals with 155. He had 21 two-goal games with the Flames and one hat trick.
Lysiak played seven full seasons for Chicago and in 1980–81 led the team in scoring with 76 points, including a career-high 55 assists. The next season, 1981–82, he matched his top point-scoring season in Atlanta with 82 points and scored a career-high 32 goals.
On October 30, 1983, while a member of the Black Hawks, Lysiak tripped linesman Ron Foyt during a game against the Hartford Whalers. For the incident, the NHL imposed a 20-game suspension, one of the longest in league history.
March 30th - Rick MacLeish
MacLeish played junior ice hockey with the Peterborough Petes from 1967 to 1970. The Boston Bruins selected him fourth overall in the 1970 NHL Amateur Draft. After spending the first half of his first professional season with the Oklahoma City Blazers, MacLeish was involved in a three-way deal which sent him; Bruce Gamble, Dan Schock, and a 1st round pick to the Philadelphia Flyers, Bernie Parent and a 2nd round pick to the Toronto Maple Leafs, and Mike Walton to Boston. MacLeish spent the rest of the 1970–71 season with the Flyers, scoring two goals and four assists in 26 games. He also added a goal in four playoff games. In the 1971–72 season he saw his output drop considerably to a single goal, and consequently split the year between the Flyers and their AHL affiliate the Richmond Robins.
The 1972–73 season, during which the Flyers earned the nickname "the Broad Street Bullies" proved to be a breakout year for MacLeish as he became the first member of the Flyers to ever score 50 goals in a single campaign. He added 50 assists that year, to bring his points total to 100. This was enough to finish fourth in league scoring, only a single point behind Bobby Orr. In the Stanley Cup playoffs, the Flyers won their first playoff series against the Minnesota North Stars and faced the heavily favored Montreal Canadiens in the semi final round. MacLeish and the Flyers stunned the Canadiens winning the opening game in Montreal when the Flyers' center intercepted an errant Frank Mahovlich pass (Mahovlich lost the puck in a legendary "puddle of water" on the ice) and scored in overtime. The Flyers pushed the Canadians into overtime in game 2 as well, but, would lose that game 4–3 and would go on to lose the series 4 games to one.
In the 1973–74 season, MacLeish's regular season scoring dropped slightly, as he scored 32 goals and added 45 assists. In the playoffs, however, he led all scorers with 13 goals and 9 assists as the Flyers claimed their first ever Stanley Cup. He scored the only goal in the series' sixth and final game, and narrowly missed out on winning the Conn Smythe Trophy to his teammate, Bernie Parent.
After another successful regular season in 1974–75, notching 38 goals and 41 assists MacLeish went on to lead his team again in playoff scoring as they won a second consecutive championship. This championship marked the last time the trophy was raised by a team consisting solely of Canadian born players. MacLeish's 1975–76 season was marred by injury, as he only played in 51 games. He managed to accumulate 22 goals and 23 assists in the regular season, but, was unable to play in the playoffs, which saw the Flyers swept in four games by the Montreal Canadiens.
The following year saw MacLeish lead the Flyers in scoring for the first time in his career, tallying 49 goals and 48 assists. It also was the first year in which he earned an invitation to the NHL All-Star Game, a feat which he duplicated the following year. In a game against the Los Angeles Kings in April 1978, MacLeish narrowly avoided serious injury suffering a cut neck requiring 80 stitches when he slid into the skate of center Marcel Dionne. Several days later, he was back in the lineup. He joked later that he smoked a cigarette in the locker room afterward and smoke came out his throat.
After the 1980–81 season, the Flyers traded MacLeish, Blake Wesley, and Don Gillen to the Hartford Whalers for Fred Arthur and Ray Allison. During the 1981–82 season, the Whalers traded MacLeish to the Pittsburgh Penguins for Russ Anderson. Pittsburgh released MacLeish during the 1982–83 season, and he played briefly in Switzerland. He rejoined the Flyers as a free agent for the 1983–84 season, and was traded during the season to the Detroit Red Wings for future considerations. He retired at the end of that season.
June 10th - Gordie "Mr Hockey" Howe
From 1946 to 1980, he played twenty-six seasons in the NHL and six seasons in the World Hockey Association (WHA); his first 25 seasons were spent with the Detroit Red Wings. Nicknamed "Mr. Hockey", Howe is considered the most complete player to ever play the game and one of the greatest ice hockey players of all time. A 23-time NHL All-Star, he held many of the sport's scoring records until they were broken in the 1980s by Wayne Gretzky. He continues to hold numerous NHL records for most games and seasons played.
Howe was recruited by the Red Wings and made his NHL debut in 1946. He led the league in scoring each year from 1950 to 1954, then again in 1957 and 1963. He ranked among the top ten in league scoring for 21 consecutive years and set a league record for points in a season (95) in 1953. He won the Stanley Cups with the Red Wings four times, won six Hart Trophies as the league's most valuable player, and won six Art Ross Trophies as the leading scorer.
Howe retired for the first time in 1971 and was immediately inducted into the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame that same year. He was then inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame the next year. However, he came back two years later to join his sons Mark and Marty on the Houston Aeros of the WHA. Although in his mid-40s, he scored over 100 points twice in six years. He made a brief return to the NHL in 1979–80, playing one season with the Hartford Whalers, then retired at the age of 52. His involvement with the WHA was central to their brief pre-NHL merger success and forced the NHL to expand their recruitment to European talent and to expand to new markets.
Howe was most famous for his scoring prowess, physical strength, and career longevity, and redefined the ideal qualities of an ice hockey forward. He is the only player to have competed in the NHL in five different decades (1940s through 1980s). Although he only achieved the feat twice in his own career, he became the namesake of the "Gordie Howe hat trick": a goal, an assist, and a fight in the same game. He was the inaugural recipient of the NHL Lifetime Achievement Award in 2008.
Howe was recruited by the Red Wings and made his NHL debut in 1946. He led the league in scoring each year from 1950 to 1954, then again in 1957 and 1963. He ranked among the top ten in league scoring for 21 consecutive years and set a league record for points in a season (95) in 1953. He won the Stanley Cups with the Red Wings four times, won six Hart Trophies as the league's most valuable player, and won six Art Ross Trophies as the leading scorer.
Howe retired for the first time in 1971 and was immediately inducted into the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame that same year. He was then inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame the next year. However, he came back two years later to join his sons Mark and Marty on the Houston Aeros of the WHA. Although in his mid-40s, he scored over 100 points twice in six years. He made a brief return to the NHL in 1979–80, playing one season with the Hartford Whalers, then retired at the age of 52. His involvement with the WHA was central to their brief pre-NHL merger success and forced the NHL to expand their recruitment to European talent and to expand to new markets.
Howe was most famous for his scoring prowess, physical strength, and career longevity, and redefined the ideal qualities of an ice hockey forward. He is the only player to have competed in the NHL in five different decades (1940s through 1980s). Although he only achieved the feat twice in his own career, he became the namesake of the "Gordie Howe hat trick": a goal, an assist, and a fight in the same game. He was the inaugural recipient of the NHL Lifetime Achievement Award in 2008.
July 3rd - Lou Fontinato
September 7th - Bob Dailey
The league's tallest player until the arrival of Willie Huber in 1978, Dailey was a tremendous combination of size and skill on the blueline. He was selected ninth overall by the Vancouver Canucks in the 1973 NHL Amateur Draft from the Toronto Marlboros , where he had won the Memorial Cup as a junior. He immediately stepped into the Canucks roster as one of their top defenders, registering 7 goals and 24 points as a rookie in 1973-74.
In 1974-75, Dailey registered 12 goals and 48 points to lead Canuck defenders and was named the club's top blueliner. He had another fine season in 1975-76, notching 15 goals despite missing time to injury. However, the Canucks would deal him to the Philadelphia Flyers midway through the 1976–77 season in exchange for Jack McIlhargey and Larry Goodenough. The deal would prove a lopsided one as McIlhargey and Goodenough were never more than bit players for the Canucks while Dailey would be the Flyers' top defender for the next 5 years.
In 1977-78, Dailey emerged as a star for the Flyers. His 21 goals and 57 points would set club records (now broken) for a defender, and he was selected to play in the NHL All-Star Game. In 1979-80 he would register 39 points in just 61 games, and then add 17 more points in the playoffs in helping the Flyers reach the Stanley Cup Finals. In 1980-81 he was again named the Flyers' top defender and was selected to play in his second All-Star Game, but his season was ended prematurely due to a knee injury which required surgery.
12 games into the 1981-81 season, Dailey shattered his ankle catching a rut in the ice in a game in Buffalo. The injury required 3 screws to repair and forced his retirement at the age of 28. He attempted a comeback with the Hershey Bears of the AHL in 1985, but found he could not compete and retired for good after five games.
Dailey finished his career with 94 goals and 231 assists for 325 points in 561 NHL games, along with 814 penalty minutes. Dailey died in Florida on September 7, 2016 after a six-year battle with cancer.
September 20th - Richie Dunn
He was also a member of the US national team at the 1981 Canada Cup and 1986 Ice Hockey World Championship tournaments
September 20th - Garry Edmundson
September 29th - Gilles Dube
October 11th - Matti Hagman
October 21st - George Konik
October 21st - Bob McCord
November 5th - Marek Svatos
Svatoš was drafted 227th overall by the Colorado Avalanche in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft. He played his first NHL games for the Avalanche in the 2003-04 season. Following a strong performance in the Avalanche's second round loss in the playoffs, he returned to the Avalanche's AHL affiliate, the Hershey Bears, during the 2004 NHL Lockout. Svatoš recorded his first career hat trick in the NHL against the Calgary Flames in a 7–3 win on 10 October 2005. He was chosen to play in the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, as part of the Slovak national team.
On 9 March 2006, it was announced that Svatoš sustained a fracture to his right shoulder that forced him to miss the rest of the 2005-06 season. At the time of his injury, Svatoš led the NHL in game-winning goals with nine, which tied an NHL record for game-winning goals by a rookie. He was also one of the top rookie scorers with 32 goals in 61 games.
Svatoš' numbers dropped in 2006-07, his second season, as he recorded 15 goals and 15 assists in 66 games while suffering a recurring groin injury throughout the season.
Svatoš was leading the Avalanche with 26 goals during the 2007-08 campaign when he suffered a torn ACL in a game against the Los Angeles Kings on 1 March 2008. Svatoš missed the final sixteen games of the season and the additional playoff series, but still placed second in goals on the team.
On 25 July 2008, Svatoš re-signed with the Avalanche for a further two years, avoiding arbitration scheduled on the same day. He managed to return to the opening night roster for the 2008-09 season, recovering from his ACL tear gradually as the season went on. He played in 69 games with the Avalanche before injuring his hand on 7 April 2009, in a 0–1 overtime loss against the San Jose Sharks in San Jose in , ending his play with three games left in the season. His 14 goals tied Wojtek Wolski for fourth on the Western Conference last-placed Avalanche.
In the 2009-10 season, Svatoš was limited to 54 games, again missing 18 games through groin and chest injuries. With a sixth consecutive NHL season affected from injury, he suffered from a loss of form and under new coach Joe Sacco, was relegated to a reserve role and recorded a career low 7 goals and 11 points.
Without a contract offer, Svatoš left the NHL and signed a one-year contract during the early stages of the 2010-11 European season with Russian team, Avangard Omsk of the KHL, on 24 September 2010. In 19 games with Omsk, he posted 3 goals and 8 points before he was granted a release, after both sides agreed to terminate the deal on 23 December 2010.
On 28 December 2010, Svatoš returned to North America with NHL ambitions and signed a one-year, two-way contract with the St. Louis Blues. However, in order to return to the NHL he was placed on waivers due to starting the season in Europe and the following day on 29 December, was subsequently claimed by the Nashville Predators. On 31 December 2010, he dressed for the Predators to make his 2010-11 season debut in an away game win over the Minnesota Wild. In his fourth game, Svatos registered his only goal for the Predators in a 5–2 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on 6 January 2011. Leading up to the trade deadline, Svatos was waived by the Predators after nine games and was subsequently claimed by the Ottawa Senators on 24 February 2011. Svatos earned a regular shift with the Senators and on 27 March 2011, he scored his second goal of the game, which marked his 100th career NHL goal, in a defeat by the Atlanta Thrashers. Svatos appeared in 19 games for the Senators before he suffered a season ending concussion as a result of an check from Jay Rosehill in a late season contest against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
After sitting out the entire 2011-12 season recovering from injury, Svatoš in a bid to return to the NHL, signed a try-out contract to attend training camp of the Florida Panthers for the 2012-13 season following a resolution to the NHL lockout on 7 January 2013.Upon completion of the abbreviated training camp, Svatoš was released two days prior to the regular season on 17 January 2013.
Shortly after leaving Panthers camp, Svatoš agreed to sign for KHL team Slovan Bratislave from his home country for the remainder of the 2012-13 season on 22 January 2013.
Svatoš opted to remain in Slovakia the following season. Transferring as a free agent to sign a one-year contract with Kosice of the Slovak Extraliga on 18 September 2013, he has helped his hometown club to win their seventh league title in the final season of his hockey career.
November 12th - Robert "Bob" Kabel
He played 48 games in the NHL with the New York Rangers.
November 23rd - Guy Rousseau
December 7 - Benny Woit
December 10th - Bill Dineen
December 18th - Ken Baird
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