In Memoriam Former pro hockey players/management/others deaths

[Ben Grimm]

In Montreal, no person is more revered than Maurice "Rocket" Richard. That's why when a scout proclaimed Dickie Moore would make fans forget about the Rocket, Canadiens management eagerly listened. Unfortunately injuries plagued Moore's career, but he never-the-less was a very effective and rugged player. Although hampered by injuries such as knee operations, shoulder separations, broken and wrists and countless bruises, scars and wounds, he twice led the league in scoring.

http://www.greatesthockeylegends.com/2015/12/dickie-moore-passes-away.html

 

[ICM1970]

A legend paying tribute to another legend.

One of my favourite Dickie Moore stories is when he played for the St. Louis Blues. After a game one of his young teammates was mad and threw his sweater on the floor of the dressing room. Dickie Moore, a guy full of pride, grabbed the player by the throat and put him up against the wall, his feet dangling over the floor.
Dickie Moore ment business and squeezed his hand hard around the throat and hissed “That sweater never hits the floor, you got that? That crest never touched the floor in Montreal. That Bluenote, that crest, is your life, your livelihood. You always take pride in it.” I love that kind of mentality and I wish players today had an ounce of that.

I remember reading about Glen Sather doing that during his time as a Montreal Canadien and Jean Beliveau (by then an executive with the club) caught the incident and politely, but very firmly, told Sather much the same sort of thing. When he ran the Edmonton Oilers during the glory years, Sather very much adopted the "sweater never touches the floor rule". In turn, Dave Semenko continued that habit near the end of his playing days when he was a Toronto Maple Leaf in 1987-88. Semenko commented on that that was one of the many not particularly nice things he saw in Toronto, with players casually tossing sweaters off (quite often onto the dressing room floor) after a game and he began hanging them up so that they didn't. BTW, Dickie Moore was my dad's boyhood hero, so RIP.

 

[mbhhofr]

A true Legend who I had the pleasure of watching through his whole NHL career. RIP!

 

[Voight]

Sucks to hear about Moore. Hate the Habs but he was always a favourite.

 

[Robert Gordon Orr]

Bill Plager - R.I.P.

 

[kmad]

Bill Plager - R.I.P.

Terrible few months for old time Blues fans... Arbour, Jimmy Roberts and now Plager

 

[Robert Gordon Orr]

Jim Ross "Diamond Jim" - New York Rangers 1951-53 - R.I.P.

 

[Jumptheshark]

Bill Plager - R.I.P.

and so that just leaves bob

 

[kmad]

Rudy Migay, 87

http://www.tbnewswatch.com/sports/380028/Former_NHLer_Rudy_Migay_dies_at_87

“Rudy Migay was instrumental in the Buffalo Sabres drafting (Phil) Housley, (Tom) Barrasso, (Darren) Puppa, (Dave) Andreychuk, (Adam) Creighton, (John) Tucker, (Pierre) Turgeon, (Alexander) Mogilny and many more,” Bowman wrote on his official Twitter account upon hearing the news.

 

[Master Radishes]

Rudy Migay, 87

http://www.tbnewswatch.com/sports/380028/Former_NHLer_Rudy_Migay_dies_at_87

My great uncle (?...my grandmother's brother). Only one in my family to have played in the NHL. Didn't know him personally, though. (I might have met him once, when I was young, but it's a big family and I don't remember.) I had fun learning more about him today after I saw this.

 

[VanIslander]

The 1399th pick in the all-time drafts in 2015 (on the ATD sub-board here at HfBoards) was mine and I proudly chose:

checking line center Rudy Migay, the offensive star of two Memorial Cups in 1947 and 1948 and an AHL co-MVP all-star in 1959, but inbetween he found himself playing 418 NHL games in the heart of the Original Six era on a defensive-oriented line with Ron Murphy on his wing. Known most for his penalty killing at the NHL level, the Leafs alternate captain did score 20+ points per season for five consecutive seasons between 1953-54 and 1957-58, including back-to-back seasons 4th in Leafs scoring. He brings a good basic skillset, defensive responsibility, hustle, grit and opportunistic secondary scoring to a great checking line.

Rudy Migay was a defensive player with the Toronto Maple Leafs and known as an elite penalty killer. He was nicknamed “Toy Terrier†because of puny size – 5′6″ , 150 lbs and that he played the game with a ubiquitous and tenacious style of play.

http://awinninghabit.com/2010/11/22/toronto-maple-leafs-hockeys-rudy/

Rudy is often referred to as 'the honest workman' because he gives everything he has in every game. He plays center but is used mainly on penalty killing at which he excels.

http://www.bradyscards.com/hockey/1...cards/1957-58_Parkhurst_6_Rudy_Migay_back.jpg

Rudy Migay was a spectacular player at the minor league level, but primarily a defensive player with the Toronto Maple Leafs. He was best known as a penalty killer along with usual partner Ron Stewart.

The Fort William, Ontario native made quite a name for himself at the junior and AHL levels as a playmaking center. He was adoringly nicknamed "Toy Terrier" because of puny size (he stood just 5'6" and 150 pounds) combined with his tenacious style of play.

However the Leafs were a powerful team in the late 1940s, especially at center ice. Names like Max Bentley and Teeder Kennedy made it next to impossible to get much ice time. Migay was resigned to play with the Pittsburgh Hornets for 4 years before finally cracking the Leafs lineup.

Needless to say, Migay was definitely excited to join the Leafs, although he had to reinvent his game. It took him nearly three years to score as many points as he did in his last year of junior. Migay was content to play in a checking role for nearly 6 complete seasons with the Maple Leafs.

By the end of the 1957-58 season Migay's days in Toronto were coming to a close. He had finished the year in the minor leagues, and aside from the 20 more big league games, he wound up his career in the minor leagues both as player and as a playing coach.

It was a bitter ending for Migay, who felt he could have played at the NHL level over those final years of his career.

"I thought I might have a chance at coming back. I was hoping for a trade," said Migay, who along with Stan Mikita and Elmer Vasko was one of the few players of Slovak descent in the NHL's younger years.

The trade never materialized, of course. It was a different time back in the 1950s and 1960s. Teams could easily bury a player in the minor leagues and hope that the exiled players would tear up the minor leagues and possibly command more from in a trade. Migay held up his part of the deal - he went down without complaint and worked his butt off - scoring 82 points in just 51 games and shared the AHL's Most Valuable Player award (along with Bill Hicke)

http://mapleleafslegends.blogspot.com/2009/06/rudy-migay.html

 

[greyraven8]

Another local newspaper article here on Rudy Migay and Lorne Allard:

http://www.chroniclejournal.com/opinion/columns/diane_imrie/gone-but-not-forgotten/article_8f6442ec-c003-11e5-ad03-1761ccf9e937.html

 

[mbhhofr]

Rudy was also the Buffalo scout that put Scotty Bowman on to Phil Housley.

http://www.twincities.com/sports/ci_28433487/charley-walters-scotty-bowman-knew-he-had-star

 

[Robert Gordon Orr]

Rik Wilson - R.I.P.

 

[Killion]

^^^ Good heavens... only 53.... no cause announced yet... from Long Beach CA originally.

 

[Peter9]

Rudy Migay I remember from the very early years of Hockey Night in Canada, which I began watching in 1953-54, its second year of existence. Viewers couldn't tell his diminutive physical stature from the telecast, the picture coming from on high with no close-ups like today's. But he was indeed tenacious both on and off the penalty kill. Commentator Foster Hewitt, from up on high in the Gondola at Maple Leaf Gardens, would remind us of his size from time to time.

Yes, the stronger teams back in the Original Six days stocked up NHL-quality players and put those they didn't need on a minor league team when they could still have been of value to one of the weaker NHL teams. Migay was one of those in the later years of his career. That was one of the ways the stronger teams maintained their strength.

The players from the 1950s are going very quickly now, and those from the 1960s are also going pretty regularly. How sad that is to those of us who grew up watching them play--and a stark reminder that some of us haven't too long to go, either.

Condolences to Rudy Migay's family and friends.

 

[Killion]

Yes, the stronger teams back in the Original Six days stocked up NHL-quality players and put those they didn't need on a minor league team when they could still have been of value to one of the weaker NHL teams. Migay was one of those in the later years of his career. That was one of the ways the stronger teams maintained their strength.

The players from the 1950s are going very quickly now, and those from the 1960s are also going pretty regularly. How sad that is to those of us who grew up watching them play--and a stark reminder that some of us haven't too long to go, either.

Ya, the Leafs, Imlach in particular did indeed "bury" guys like Migay in the minors rather than trading them to say... Boston or NY, the weaker clubs who couldve used the help. Really rather ruthless (and duplicitous) when you understand as well that in Imlachs case, he owned a big chunk of the minor pro teams to which he was assigning Leaf "property". Be it Rochester or Vancouver of the WHL.

Aware that Expansion was on the horizon, Punch part of the failed Vancouver bid (partners included Foster Hewitt) Imlach had been stocking the Amerks' & Canucks rosters with NHL caliber players for several years in order to insure that an NHL Canucks franchise would be competitive right out of the box. At the same time, having guys like Migay on those AHL/WHL/CHL franchises insured their success on the ice and at the gate, Mentors & Teachers to the younger & more promising rookies who couldnt quite crack the Leaf line-up.

So many of them, of Migays generation, absolutely NHL caliber. Their bad luck to be caught in the webs being spun however.... made the best of it, won Calders, perennial All Stars, honored members of the AHL Hall of Fame, and in Rudy Migays case as well of the Rochester Americans Hall of Fame.... and yes, death, always a reminder of our own mortality, how fleeting life really is. Seems like just yesterday we were watching any number of these guys flying down the wing, brilliantly stopping a 2 on 1, making a spectacular save, standing behind the bench....

 

[Fenway]

While he has no direct connection to the NHL he certainly had a huge impact on hockey in the US.


Jack Riley, who coached US hockey team to gold in 1960, dies at 95

Jack Riley’s hockey journey began at Medford High and led him through Dartmouth College, the 1948 US Olympic team, and the 1949 World Championships, when he led the US squad as a player-coach.

But nothing compared to Feb. 28, 1960, at the Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley, Calif., when as head coach of the US team he watched the Americans score six unanswered goals in the third period to defeat Czechoslovakia, 9-4, and win the country’s first hockey gold medal.

When Mr. Riley, who was head coach of the Army team, arrived home at West Point the next evening, he and his wife, Maureen, were welcomed with a 21-gun salute fired from seven cannons. They were symbolic of the seven teams the US team defeated, including consecutive upsets over Canada and the Soviet Union.

“It wasn’t always brotherly love, but this extraordinary group pulled together where it really counted … on the ice,†he wrote in a foreword to the 2009 book “1960: Miracle at Squaw Valley.â€

Mr. Riley, who coached at the US Military Academy from 1950 to 1986 and who is enshrined in the United States and International Hockey halls of fame, died Wednesday in Decatur House in Sandwich. He was 95 and lived in Marstons Mills.

“Of all his memorabilia, and there were many, his Olympic gold medal was the one he treasured the most,†said his son Rob, who succeeded Mr. Riley as Army’s head coach and is now athletic director at Regis College.

 

[Canadiens1958]

Rochester

Ya, the Leafs, Imlach in particular did indeed "bury" guys like Migay in the minors rather than trading them to say... Boston or NY, the weaker clubs who couldve used the help. Really rather ruthless (and duplicitous) when you understand as well that in Imlachs case, he owned a big chunk of the minor pro teams to which he was assigning Leaf "property". Be it Rochester or Vancouver of the WHL.

Aware that Expansion was on the horizon, Punch part of the failed Vancouver bid (partners included Foster Hewitt) Imlach had been stocking the Amerks' & Canucks rosters with NHL caliber players for several years in order to insure that an NHL Canucks franchise would be competitive right out of the box. At the same time, having guys like Migay on those AHL/WHL/CHL franchises insured their success on the ice and at the gate, Mentors & Teachers to the younger & more promising rookies who couldnt quite crack the Leaf line-up.

So many of them, of Migays generation, absolutely NHL caliber. Their bad luck to be caught in the webs being spun however.... made the best of it, won Calders, perennial All Stars, honored members of the AHL Hall of Fame, and in Rudy Migays case as well of the Rochester Americans Hall of Fame.... and yes, death, always a reminder of our own mortality, how fleeting life really is. Seems like just yesterday we were watching any number of these guys flying down the wing, brilliantly stopping a 2 on 1, making a spectacular save, standing behind the bench....

Let's be fair. All the aging former Leafs playing at Rochester could live in southern Ontario, Niagara Peninsula, with their families, some employment, save money. Not possible if they were traded to teams like Boston, Chicago or New York which entailed extra living expenses, no in season employment, displacing school aged children and wife etc.

 

[Hardyvan123]

Let's be fair. All the aging former Leafs playing at Rochester could live in southern Ontario, Niagara Peninsula, with their families, some employment, save money. Not possible if they were traded to teams like Boston, Chicago or New York which entailed extra living expenses, no in season employment, displacing school aged children and wife etc.

Yes I'm sure this is exactly why Punch did this sort of thing eh?

 

[Killion]

^^^ yeah, pretty much Hv. Most magnanimous of ol' Punch to be doing that, very thoughtful, compassionate.

 

[Canadiens1958]

Rudy Migay Performance

^^^ yeah, pretty much Hv. Most magnanimous of ol' Punch to be doing that, very thoughtful, compassionate.

Rudy Migay had lost his spot with the Leafs during the 1957-58 season prior to Imlach's arrival.

http://www.hockey-reference.com/players/m/migayru01.html

At the 1958 NHL June meetings, one of the most active of the era, not one of the Bruins, Rangers or Blackhawks wanted Rudy Migay who could have been had for a draft claim at either level - minor league or NHL. How could Imlach trade a player within the NHL that no other NHL team wanted?

https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=D0swAAAAIBAJ&sjid=a6gFAAAAIBAJ&hl=fr&pg=6859,805514

Rudy Migay earned his way back to the Leafs in 1958-59 for 19 games, during Imlach's tenure but was sent down. His PIMs in Rochester during a partial season equaled 100 when during his NHL prime they were much lower. A sign of a player slowing down.

Migay cleared NHL waivers after 19 games, unclaimed again - three times that no NHL team was interested.

Now Punch Imlach may have had various flaws, but Rudy Migay was well treated. He played in Rochester - jointly sponsored by the Canadiens and Leafs, was given opportunities later after a brief absence from pro hockey.

Paying a well earned tribute to an honest NHLer is wonderful. Should not be used to bash another actor in his career without justification.

 

[Killion]

Paying a well earned tribute to an honest NHLer is wonderful. Should not be used to bash another actor in his career without justification.

This is neither the time, place, or thread to have such a debate BUT.... rather insufferably naive' to be making so innocent a leap. Collusion be thy name.... To paint, to suggest that particular player or numerous others didnt have "The Man's" boot on their throats, no-trade, no touch.... innocence beyond absurd. Of course they did... . Migay a draw, great for the Gate. Bankable... Imlach.... well... dont get me started on that one.

 

[Nunymare]

Ed Barry, who played for the Bruins in 1946-47 (19 games) has died at 96: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/bo...edward-t-barry-eddie&pid=177719768&fhid=15270

 

[ucanthanzalthetruth]

Andy Bathgate, 83