Troy Murray 1962-2026

 

Long-time NHL veteran Troy Murray (North Dakota) passed away last week at the age of 63 after battling cancer the last five years.

A 100-point scorer in the Alberta Junior Hockey League, Murray played two seasons at North Dakota, tallying 55 goals and 120 points in 80 games, while also leading the then-Fighting Sioux to the 1982 NCAA title. He also captained Team Canada to the gold medal at the 1982 World Junior Championship. 

Drafted 57th overall by the Chicago Blackhawks in 1980, the Calgary native went on to a 16-year NHL career with Chicago, Winnipeg, Ottawa, Pittsburgh and Colorado, where he collected 230 goals and 354 assists for 584 points to go with 875 penalty minutes in 914 career NHL regular-season outings, including a 45-goal, 99-point season with Chicago in 1985-86 He also added 17-26—43 points and 145 PIM in 113 career Stanley Cup Playoff appearances, and won the Stanley Cup with Colorado in 1996.

Murray, who was awarded the Selke Trophy in 1985-86 with Chicago as the NHL's best defensive forward, retired following the 1996-97 campaign where he registered 21-29—50 points in 81 games with the IHL's Chicago Wolves. He went on to be a longtime studio analyst and color commentator with the Blackhawks on both radio and TV, and called Chicago's three Stanley Cup championships in 2010, 2013 and 2015. 

Wisconsin's Thomas Passes at 77

Former NCAA and NHL netminder Wayne Thomas (Wisconsin) passed away earlier this week at the age of 77. The Ottawa native was the first University of Wisconsin player to skate in the National Hockey League, and the first former Badger to have his name engraved on the Stanley Cup.

Thomas backstopped the Badgers for two seasons, compiling a 23-13-1 record with a 2.84 goals-against average and three shutouts over 38 games from 1968 to 1970. He also helped Wisconsin to the 1970 NCAA semifinals, where it finished in third place, while personally earning WCHA Second Team All-Star status that season. 

Undrafted, Thomas went on to play in 243 career NHL regular-season games with Montreal, Toronto and the New York Rangers, fashioning a 103-93-34 record with a 3.34 GAA and 10 shutouts. He also appeared in 85 career regular-season outings in the American Hockey League, winning a Calder Cup championship with Nova Scotia in 1972, before winning the Stanley Cup the following year with Montreal. 

Thomas, who retired as an active player following the 1980-81 NHL season, went on to work one year as a goalie coach and then three years as an assistant coach with the Rangers. He then served two seasons as head coach of the International Hockey League's Salt Lake Golden Eagles, leading them to the 1987 Turner Cup title while also earning IHL Coach of the Year accolades that season. After one year as an assistant with the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks, he spent two years as head coach of Peoria (IHL) before serving the next six seasons as an NHL assistant, three with the St. Louis Blues and three with the San Jose Sharks.

Thomas moved into the front office with the San Jose organization in 1995-96, where he remained until his retirement in 2014-15. In that span he served as assistant general manager and vice-president of hockey operations with the Sharks, and as GM in the AHL with Kentucky, Cleveland and Worcester.

BU's Sullivan, Penguins Part Ways

The Mike Sullivan era is over in Pittsburgh. The Boston University graduate and the NHL's Penguins have parted ways after almost 10 full seasons at the helm.

Sullivan, 57, from Marshfield, Mass., served as head coach of Pittsburgh over the past decade, after being appointed during the 2015-16 NHL campaign and leading the Penguins to an overall regular-season record of 409-255-89 (44-38 postseason), and back-to-back Stanley Cup titles in 2016 and 2017. The Pens, however, have not qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs since 2022. He previously served as head coach with the Boston Bruins from 2003 to 2006, going 70-56-15 (3-4) with his home state team, giving him a career NHL record of 479-311-127 (47-42). 

Drafted 69th overall by the New York Rangers in 1987, Sullivan skated at center for BU from 1986 to 1990, recording 61 goals and 77 assists for 138 points in 141 games. He also captained the Terriers to the NCAA semifinals as a senior before embarking upon a 12-year professional career that saw him play in 709 career regular-season outings with San Jose, Calgary, Boston and Phoenix, where he registered 54-82—136 points in 709 outings, while adding 4-8—12 points in 34 Stanley Cup Playoff contests. He also played 95 games combined in the IHL and AHL, and represented the United States in the 1997 IIHF World Championship.

Sullivan briefly served as head coach of Providence (AHL) in 2002-23, before joining Boston as an assistant. He also served as an assistant coach with Tampa Bay, the Rangers, and Vancouver, and as a development coach with Chicago. He also briefly helmed Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (AHL) before being promoted to Pittsburgh, and coached the U.S. to a second-place finish at this year's inaugural Four Nations Cup.

ADDENDUM: Sullivan was hired on May 2 as head coach of the Rangers, succeeding Peter Laviolette.

Sean Tallaire 1973-2024

The hockey world is mourning the loss of former college star Sean Tallaire (Lake Superior State), who recently passed away in Texas at the age of 50.

A native of Steinbach, Man., Tallaire skated for LSSU from 1992 to 1996, and still ranks fourth among all-time Lakers with 207 career points on 103 goals and 104 assists in 171 games played. A member of the CCHA All-Rookie Team in 1993 when he helped the Lakers to the NCAA championship game, he guided LSSU to the national title the following season while earning NCAA Most Valuable Player honors. As a senior in 1995-96, he scored 32 goals, garnered All-CCHA First-Team and NCAA All-America accolades, and was also voted LSSU's MVP. He was inducted into the LSSU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2021.

After college, Tallaire went on to play 14 seasons of professional hockey, including five campaigns in the now-defunct IHL where he tallied 113-128—241 points in 376 regular-season appearances with Grand Rapids, Cleveland, Long Beach, Utah and Kansas City. He also had brief stints with Central Texas (WPHL) and Springfield (AHL) during that time, before finishing his career in Germany. In 425 career DEL regular-season outings, he posted 123-155—278 points in all before retiring following the 2009-10 season. 

Originally selected in the eighth round (202nd overall) by the Vancouver Canucks in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft, Tallaire starred with Estevan (SJHL) for two seasons before heading to LSSU. Following his retirement as an active player, he coached with the Soo Indians 18U AAA, the Texas Jr. Stars 14U AA, and the Austin Ice Bats (NA3HL), while also serving as a scout with the NAHL's Northeast Generals.

Tallaire was predeceased by his former LSSU teammate, goaltender Blaine Lacher, who backstopped the Lakers to the 1994 NCAA title and passed away in January at the age of 53.

R.I.P. Blaine Lacher

Former NCAA and NHL netminder Blaine Lacher (Lake Superior State) passed away late last month at the age of 53.

A native of Medicine Hat, Alta., Lacher backstopped Lake Superior to its most recent national title in 1994, the same season in which he set a still-standing NCAA shutout streak record at 375 minutes and one second. In three seasons with the Lakers, he recorded 49 wins along with a 2.45 goals-against average, eight shutouts and five assists. 

Lacher played two seasons in the NHL with the Boston Bruins, compiling a 22-16-4 overall record in 47 regular-season outings with a 2.80 GAA and four shutouts. He also played for Providence (AHL) and Cleveland (IHL) before finishing his professional career with expansion Grand Rapids (IHL) in 1996-97.

He leaves behind his father, two sisters, and a son.

Paul Jerrard 1965-2023

University of Nebraska-Omaha assistant coach Paul Jerrard passed away earlier this week after a lengthy battle with cancer. He was 57.

The Winnipeg native played on defense for Lake Superior State University from 1983 to 1987, notching 40 goals and 73 assists for 113 points to go with 199 penalty minutes for the Lakers over four seasons, before embarking on a 10-year professional career that included five NHL appearances, all with the Minnesota North Stars during the 1988-89 campaign.

Drafted 173rd overall by the New York Rangers in 1983 after starring for the Notre Dame (Sask.) Hounds, the 6-foot-1 Jerrard played in the now-defunct International Hockey League with Colorado/Denver, Kalamazoo, Albany, Milwaukee and Fort Wayne, totaling 73-139—212 points and 1,144 PIM in 503 IHL regular-season contests over eight years. He finished his playing career by skating two seasons with Hershey (AHL), helping the Bears to the 1997 Calder Cup championship.

Jerrard immediately entered the coaching ranks, and spent four of his first five years at his alma mater of LSSU. He also coached with Lowell, Hershey, Iowa, Texas and Utica in the AHL, and with Colorado, Dallas and Calgary in the NHL, all as an assistant, before joining Omaha for the 2018-19 NCAA campaign.

He is survived by his wife, Cheryl, and daughters Catherine and Meaghan.

Chicago Wolves Win AHL's 2022 Calder Cup

Alex Lyon (Yale) stopped all 28 shots he faced, and Andrew Poturalski (New Hampshire) again contributed a goal and an assist as the Chicago Wolves clinched the 2022 Calder Cup as American Hockey League champions. 

Jack Drury (Harvard) had two assists in Chicago's 4-0 win at Springfield on Saturday evening, while David Gust (Ohio State) scored a goal for the visiting Wolves. Charlie Lindgren (St. Cloud State) stopped 26 of 29 shots in defeat for the Eastern Conference champion Thunderbirds.

Chicago rebounded from an opening-game loss in the final with four straight victories, including three in Massachusetts, to win the best-of-seven series, four games to one. It was the first Calder Cup awarded since 2019, with the AHL's postseason competition canceled the past two seasons due to COVID-19. 

Drury finished third among all Calder Cup Playoff scorers this spring with 24 points, on nine goals and 15 assists, while Poturalski was right behind him with 8-15—23 points. Lyon finished 9-3-0 in net with a 2.03 goals-against average and two shutouts in 12 playoff appearances.

It is the third Calder Cup in Wolves' history, with the previous ones coming in 2002 and 2008. Chicago, which began play in 1994 as a member of the now-defunct International Hockey League, also won the Turner Cup as IHL champs in both 1998 and 2000.

Former DU Coach, NHL Forward Backstrom Passes

Former NCAA hockey coach and NHL forward Ralph Backstrom (Denver) has passed away at the age of 83.

Backstrom, a left-handed center from Kirkland Lake, Ontario, played in 1,032 career NHL regular-season outings with Montreal, Los Angeles and Chicago from 1957 to 1973, in which he tallied 278 goals and 361 assists for 639 points. He added 27-32—59 points in 116 Stanley Cup Playoff contests, and won the coveted Cup six times with Montreal. 

He finished his playing career with five seasons in the World Hockey Association with Chicago, Denver, Ottawa and New England from 1973 to 1977. He collected 100-153—253 points in 304 WHA regular-season games along with 10-18—28 points in 38 postseason appearances.

Backstrom went 182-174-14 at the DU helm from 1981 to 1990, including six winning seasons. His best campaign came in 1985-86 when the Pioneers finished 34-13-1 overall, won both the WCHA regular-season and tournament titles, and advanced to the NCAA Frozen Four in Providence.

He had previously served as an assistant coach for one year apiece with both Denver and the NHL's Kings prior to taking the top job at DU. He completed his coaching career by guiding the IHL's Phoenix Roadrunners for two seasons from 1990 to 1992, winning 67 regular-season games in that span.

Backstrom, who was also one of the founders and the first commissioner of Roller Hockey International, later served as a scout with the NHL's St. Louis Blues before founding the minor-league Colorado Eagles, who won several CHL titles before moving to the ECHL.  

Simon New Head Coach of Grand Rapids (AHL)

Ben Simon (Notre Dame) is the new head coach of the American Hockey League's Grand Rapids Griffins. Simon, 39, a native of Shaker Heights, Ohio, succeeds Todd Nelson, who left Michigan last month to join the NHL's Dallas Stars as an assistant.

Simon spent the last three seasons as Nelson's assistant in Grand Rapids, helping the Griffins to the 2017 Calder Cup trophy as AHL champions. He previously served as an assistant with Rockford and Toronto of the AHL, along with one year as head coach of Cincinnati (ECHL). He began his coaching career as head coach of the British League's Sheffield Steelers in 2010-11, the same season that he finished his playing career.

Simon tallied 38 goals and 71 points in 45 games with Cleveland (NAHL) in his final year of junior "A" hockey in 1995-96, and also earned NAHL Rookie of the Year accolades. A fifth-round draft choice by the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks in 1997 following his freshman campaign at Notre Dame, he registered 44 goals and 86 assists in four NCAA seasons with the Fighting Irish. He lead UND in both overall and league scoring as a junior, and helped the Irish to the CCHA semifinals as a senior.

Simon, who went on to play in 81 NHL contests with Atlanta and Columbus, spent the majority of his career in the AHL and now-defunct IHL, recording a total of 86 career goals while also helping the Chicago Wolves to the 2002 Calder Cup title. He also played one year in Germany and one in the ECHL before turning to coaching.

Grand Rapids went 42-25-2 overall during the 2017-18 AHL season, and finished second in the Central Division, before falling to Manitoba in five games in the first round of the 2018 Calder Cup Playoffs.

Cole Named New Michigan State Head Coach

Spartan alumnus Danton Cole has been announced as the new head coach of the Michigan State University hockey program.

Cole played at MSU from 1985 to 1989 for the late Ron Mason, helping the Spartans to the 1986 NCAA crown along with two Central Collegiate Hockey Association regular-season titles and two CCHA playoff championships. He recorded 69 goals and 163 points in 180 career games at MSU, and was a three-time CCHA All-Academic Team member and the recipient of the Big Ten Medal of Honor as a senior.

Cole was chosen by the Winnipeg Jets in the sixth round of the 1985 NHL Entry Draft. He played in 318 NHL regular-season contests with the Jets, Tampa Bay Lightning, New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders, and Chicago Blackhawks, tallying 58 goals and 118 points, and was a member of New Jersey’s 1995 Stanley Cup champion club.

Cole finished his playing career in 1999 after three full seasons with the International Hockey League’s Grand Rapids Griffins, scoring the first playoff goal and also the initial overtime goal in franchise history, and then became a Griffins’ assistant coach for one year. After winning a United Hockey League championship with the Muskegon Fury, he served two-and-a-half seasons in charge of Grand Rapids, leading the former IHL Griffins to 116 regular-season American Hockey League wins.

After two campaigns with the UHL’s Motor City Mechanics, Cole served one year as an assistant coach with Bowling Green State University before guiding the University of Alabama-Huntsville for three seasons. His tenure with the Chargers culminated in a College Hockey America championship and an NCAA Tournament berth in 2010.

Cole spent the last seven seasons with the U.S. National Team Development Program, guiding the Under-18 Team to gold-medal finishes at the Under-18 World Championships in 2012 and 2014. He was also a coach with two bronze-medal winning U.S. teams, at the 2013 IIHF Men’s World Championship and the 2016 IIHF World Junior Championship.

A native of Pontiac, Mich., who grew up in Lansing, Cole becomes the seventh head coach in MSU hockey history, which dates back intermittently to 1921. He succeeds fellow Spartan alumnus Tom Anastos, who stepped down at the end of the 2016-17 season.

Tim Alexander 1957-2016

I knew Tim Alexander when I worked in communications for the North American Hockey League in Michigan 16 years ago and he was coaching the Cleveland Barons Junior ‘A’ franchise. I always liked him, and he always treated me well.

Tim accomplished quite a bit in hockey before he passed away from pancreatic cancer last week at age 58. He played four seasons at Bowling Green State University (1976-1980), tallying 17 goals and 22 assists for 39 points in 37 games as a senior under head coach Jerry York, according to hockeydb.com.

Born in Canada, he also led the Falcons to three Central Collegiate Hockey Association tournament titles, two CCHA regular-season championships, and three NCAA Tournament berths, including a third-place national finish as a sophomore under head coach Ron Mason, according to USCHO.com. The Falcons defeated visiting Colorado College in a two-game, total goals quarterfinal round series before falling to Boston College in a semifinal matchup in Providence, and then edged Wisconsin in the consolation contest. His teammates at BGSU included future NHL players George McPhee and Brian MacLellan, plus long-time Michigan State assistant coach Tom Newton.

After college and a short professional playing stint with Dayton (IHL), Tim embarked on a long career coaching at multiple levels in the Barons organization. He also returned to his collegiate alma mater as an assistant coach in 2001-02 before going back to the Barons, and in all coached hockey for over 30 years in the Cleveland area while sending numerous players on to junior, college and pro hockey. He leaves behind a wife, Sandi, and a son, Jarrett.

Rest in peace, Tim, and thanks.

Richards Out, Tortorella in for Columbus

Former University of Minnesota defenseman Todd Richards was relieved of his coaching duties today by the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets. He was replaced by John Tortorella, who last coached in the league in 2013-14 with the Vancouver Canucks, and who was serving as a studio commentator with the NHL Network.

Richards, 49, compiled a 127-112-21 record in 260 games with the Bluejackets, according to the team’s website. His 127 wins rank first in club annals, and he also guided Columbus to a pair of 40-win campaigns and two Stanley Cup Playoff berths, including the first two playoff victories in team history, after taking over as head coach during the 2011-12 season. The Bluejackets began the 2015-16 season with seven consecutive losses after missing the postseason last year.

Richards, who spent the bulk of his professional playing career in the International Hockey League, played four seasons at Minnesota from 1985 to 1989, excluding a stint with the U.S. National Team in 1987-88, according to hockeydb.com. His best scoring season came as a sophomore when he tallied eight goals and 43 assists for 51 points in 49 outings with the Golden Gophers, and he finished his college career with 30-120—150 points and 194 penalty minutes in 173 appearances. He also recorded four assists in eight NHL regular-season games with the Hartford Whalers.

Beginning in 2002-03, Richards went on to serve as an assistant coach with Milwaukee (AHL), head coach with Wilkes-Barre Scranton (AHL), assistant coach with the San Jose Sharks, and then head coach with the Minnesota Wild for two years. He was an assistant with Columbus the year before he took the reins there as head coach.

A former three-year skater at the University of Maine, Tortorella, 57, coached the Tampa Bay Lightning for six years and the New York Rangers for five seasons prior to his time in Vancouver. He also led Tampa Bay to its first Stanley Cup title in 2004, and is slated to serve as head coach of the U.S. entry in the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.

Littman Story Up at USA Hockey Magazine Site

Spoke to former Boston College goaltender David Littman in August for USA Hockey Magazine, more than 20 years after I first interviewed him at Boston College for The Heights undergraduate student newspaper when he was a senior netminder for the Eagles.

After playing pro for a decade from Rochester (AHL) to Orlando (IHL), and in the NHL with Buffalo and Tampa Bay, he's now overseeing EA Sports NHL line of video games as a senior producer out in Vancouver.

The full story on B.C's former No. 35 and his current job can be found here.