Dale Hawerchuk, the leading scorer in the first iteration of the Winnipeg Jets and a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, died at age 57 after suffering from stomach cancer, his son Eric announced on Twitter on Tuesday to.
“Dale Hawerchuk put Winnipeg and the Jets on the map the day he arrived in our city in 1981, and his love for our community and remarkable Hall of Fame career will keep it here for many generations,” the Jets said in a statement. “Dale had a relationship with our fans unlike any other player in the history of our franchise. Or at home or on the world stage, ‘Ducky’ was embraced by so many, so often because of his humility and the grace with which he always treated Dale. was just one of the most beautiful people we have ever known who was also just a superstar.
“The Winnipeg Jets Hockey Club, our players, our alumni and our fans will miss him dearly, and we will forever be inspired by his passion for the game, his commitment to his team, and his love for our community.”
[RELATED: Commissioner Gary Bettman statement on the death of Dale Hawerchuk]
Hawerchuk was honored with a moment of silence before Game 4 of the Eastern Conference First Round between the Philadelphia Flyers and Montreal Canadiens at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, the hub city for the East, on Tuesday.
A striker who was a six-time 100-point scorer for the Jets and helped them form a consistent Stanley Cup playoff team in the 1980s, Hawerchuk kept the franchise career bills for goals (379) and points ( 929) to Shane Doan, captain of the Arizona Coyotes and the last member of the original Jets still active in the NHL, they passed in the 2015-16 season. By then, the relocated franchise had completed its 20th season in Arizona after moving out of Winnipeg in 1996.
The National Hockey League mourns the passing of Dale Hawerchuk, a direct and enduring star who won the hearts of two hockey-loving cities, represented his country with class and distinction and is one of the most decorated players in history of our game, ”NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement.
Hawerchuk was a star almost from the time he started playing competitive hockey at the age of 4. He played junior hockey with Cornwall of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and had 103 and 183 points in his two seasons, respectively, the Royals to win the Memorial Cup every time.
The Jets selected Hawerchuk with the no. 1 in the 1981 NHL Draft, and he was a direct star, and was named the Calder Trophy winner as NHL Rookie of the Year after scoring 45 goals and 103 points in 1981-82 and becoming the first player to as an 18-year-old to reach 100 points. The Jets improved by an all-time NHL record 48 points from last season, finishing second in the Norris division and qualifying for the playoffs for the first time.
“It was hard,” Hawerchuk said in 2018. “Training camp, even at training camp, I remember being so fast and so fast and remembering to sleep a lot because I was always outspoken and pushing yourself. and played against men every night, and then you remember times where it clicked and you felt really good and then you would hit a wall again and wrestle for a week or two, and then again second wind.I was only 18, so my body, I was not the greatest guy, but I slept that first year a lot, that’s for sure, but I wanted to sleep and be fresh and ready and make that consistency over an 80-game schedule at that time.
“I knew I had to rest, because … we also flew commercially then. The trip was a lot more difficult than it is now with private jets. It was always about preparing, resting and bringing in the work if you could and trying harder. and become faster than you could. “
Hawerchuk reached the 100-point mark in six of his first seven seasons with Winnipeg. The only thing he could not do was the Jets playoff success; they twice advanced to the first round in his nine seasons at Winnipeg. Hawerchuk had more success internationally, helping Canada win the Canada Cup in 1987 and 1991. He won the face-off that led to Mario Lemieux’s winning goal in the 1987 tournament.
Video: PHI @ MTL: Flyers, Canadiens remember Dale Hawerchuk
The Jets traded Hawerchuk to the Buffalo Sabers on June 16, 1990. He averaged 94 points in his first four seasons with the Sabers before injuries limited him to 16 points in 23 games during the 1994-95 lockout season. He signed on September 8, 1995 with the St. Louis Blues, but was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers on March 15, 1996.
Hawerchuk helped the Flyers advance to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1997, the only time during his 16-season NHL career that his team made it past the second round of the playoffs. Shortly after Philadelphia was swept by the Detroit Red Wings, he retired due to a degenerative left hip. He finished with 1,409 points (518 goals, 891 assists) in 1,188 NHL games.
“I’m happy I played with him at the end,” said Carolina Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour. “His last year was in Philadelphia when we played on the same line together. So playing against him, he was just a great player. I always, it’s funny, you play a game with a lot of teammates. You very rarely remember how it’s played. It’s always about what kind of people they were.
“He’s just a great person, can not remember any of the games. You just have to remember what kind he was and actually for me. What stood out was that I was a sentinel, he was a sentinel. He was a hall. of Fame center man. We came on the same line and he’s like, ‘I’ll play left wing. You play center.’ It sounds like a stupid thing, but that’s a little thing that just exposes me and tells you what kind he was. We just seem to think of him. He was just a great person. “
Hawerchuk was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2001, and was inducted into the Coyotes’ ring in 2007.
“So sad, what an unbelievable man,” tweeted Hockey Hall of Famer Teemu Selanne. “I’m thankful that ‘Ducky’ was my friend and that I had a chance [talk] yesterday with him and say goodbye. This world is not the same place without him. Eric you can be so proud of your father. Thoughts of love and prayers for your whole family. “
After his retirement, Hawerchuk raised show-jumping horses before becoming Barrie’s coach of the Ontario Hockey League. He stayed with Barrie until he said goodbye in September 2019 due to absence from health.
“Hawerchuk was in the middle of a similarly successful post-playing career as coach and director of hockey operations at Barrie of the OHL when he became ill and was taken from us all too soon,” Bettman said. “We send our condolences to his wife, Crystal, her three children, Ben, Eric and Alexis, and countless teammates and fans who were lucky enough to see him play and call him a friend.”
NHL.com staff writer Mike G. Morreale and independent correspondent Wes Crosby contributed to this report
Photos Courtesy: Hockey Hall of Fame
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