The Canadian PressShuttle driver settling suit with Senators, ex-assistant GM
BUFFALO, N.Y. — A former Ottawa Senators assistant general manager and the NHL team reached an undisclosed settlement with a hotel shuttle driver who sued both for negligence after being harassed in Buffalo two years ago.The driver’s lawyer, Charles Desmond, cited a confidentiality agreement in declining to reveal details of the settlement reached Monday. Though the formal documents haven't been signed, lawyers representing each of the parties reached an agreement in writing in state Supreme Court in Buffalo, Desmond said.The lawsuit sought unspecified damages from the Senators and Randy Lee, who had already pleaded guilty to a criminal violation for inappropriate actions and comments he made to the then-19-year-old driver while being shuttled to his hotel.“My client is happy with the settlement, happy to put it behind him and glad to move forward with his life,” Desmond told The Associated Press on Wednesday.The AP does not generally identify victims of a sex crime unless they come forward publicly.Lee’s lawyer, Max Humann, declined to comment, as did the Senators’ lawyer, Dennis Vacco.Representatives of a sports bar and grill named 716 where Lee was a patron and also named in the lawsuit did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.The encounter happened in May 2018 while Lee was attending the annual NHL draft-eligible scouting combine.The then-57-year-old Lee was visibly drunk at 716, when he requested for the specific driver to take him back to the hotel. Lee then touched his own genitalia, made lewd comments and rubbed the driver’s shoulders during the five-minute trip.Lee stands at least 6-foot-2, about a foot taller than the driver.Lee resigned from the Senators three months later and is no longer employed in the NHL.Upon pleading guilty to harassment in December 2018, Lee was sentenced to time already served — one night in jail — and ordered to pay a mandatory $120 surcharge but was not fined.___More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP_SportsJohn Wawrow, The Associated Press
The Canadian PressLongtime Winnipeg Jets star Dale Hawerchuk dies after cancer battle
Dale Hawerchuk, a hockey phenom who became the face of the Winnipeg Jets en route to the Hall of Fame, has died at the age of 57 after a battle with stomach cancer.The Jets and Ontario Hockey League's Barrie Colts, a team Hawerchuk coached, confirmed the death on Twitter on Tuesday. "After an incredibly brave and difficult battle with cancer, our dad has passed away. My family is so proud of him and the way he fought. HawerchukStrong," Eric Hawerchuk, one of Dale and wife Crystal's three children, wrote on Twitter.A teenage star, Hawerchuk was drafted first overall by the Jets in 1981. He went on to play nine seasons in Winnipeg and five in Buffalo before finishing up his distinguished 16-year NHL career with stints in St. Louis and Philadelphia.Hawerchuk recorded 518 goals and 1,409 points in 1,188 regular-season games (he added 30 more goals and 99 assists in 97 playoff games)."A low-maintenance superstar," said Craig Heisinger, Winnipeg's senior vice-president and director of hockey operations.At five foot 11 and 190 pounds, Hawerchuk wasn't blessed with size or blistering speed. But the five-time all-star had a knack of getting to loose pucks and then creating something out of nothing. Hawerchuk could breeze past opponents and knew what to do when he neared the goal."I was fortunate to see Dale come into the league," Jets chairman Mark Chipman said Tuesday. "I think we were all still very much in awe of the fact the Winnipeg Jets had joined the National Hockey League. I think it was Dale's arrival that really cemented the future of the franchise and I think we all have recollections of that first year, that Calder (Trophy) year and then everything that would follow."He was truly a superstar as a hockey player, but I think why he was so loved here was not just that but largely the fact that he made this his home and became one of us. I think everybody shared that sense of pride in Dale's career as a player."Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister added: "All Jets fans mourn the loss of one of the NHL's all time greatest players."Former Jets star Teemu Selanne said he had a chance to talk to Hawerchuk on Monday and say goodbye."What an incredible human being," Selanne tweeted.Montreal Canadiens associate coach Kirk Muller also had a chance to speak with Hawerchuk in recent days."I talked to Dale a few days ago, and we had a good chance to chat. A good friend, had a real good opportunity to play against one of the all-time best players. As a hockey player, we all know how great he was, but he was a good friend and just a really special person, did a lot for charities. It's a real loss for us in the hockey world."NHL commissioner Gary Bettman called Hawerchuk "one of the most decorated players in our game's history."In September 2019, Hawerchuk took a leave of absence from coaching the Colts to undergo chemotherapy treatment."For some reason the Lord put me in this kind of fight and I'm ready to fight it," he told TSN in October 2019. "I want to live to tell the story."Eric Hawerchuk said in July on Twitter that the cancer had returned after his dad completed chemotherapy in April.Dale Hawerchuk, the longest-serving coach in Colts history, was going into his 10th season behind Barrie's bench. He had led the Colts to the playoffs in six of his nine previous seasons.At Barrie, Hawerchuk coached the likes of Aaron Ekblad, Mark Scheifele, Tanner Pearson and Ryan Suzuki.Calgary Flames players Andrew Mangiapane and Rasmus Andersson remembered playing for Hawerchuk in Barrie."I don't know where I'd be without him," said Mangiapane. "Very sad news today. I owe my career basically to him and the whole Barrie organization."Andersson, from Sweden, said "Dale was a fantastic human being. Such a great person. My first week in Barrie he invited us over to his house and really just welcomed me to Canada. I cannot say enough good things about him as a person. Obviously a real good coach, too.""It's awful news."The NHL held a moment of silence for Hawerchuk before Tuesday's opening playoff game between the Montreal Canadiens and Philadelphia Flyers in Toronto.Born April 4, 1963, in Toronto, Hawerchuk grew up in nearby Oshawa, getting his first pair of skates at age two and playing competitively at four. As a peewee, he broke Guy Lafleur's record by scoring all eight goals in an 8-1 victory in the final of a tournament in Montreal.At 15, he was offered a tryout by the Oshawa Generals. He ended up playing instead for the Oshawa Legionaires in the Metro Jr. B Hockey League in 1978-79.Some 23 years later, he remembered his Oshawa days during his 2001 induction speech at the Hockey Hall of Fame."I started my career just down the road in Oshawa here, maybe a 45-minute drive — well maybe a little further now with the traffic," he said. "I had many dreams and aspirations to make the National Hockey League. And I was very fortunate I got to live those dreams for 16 years in the National Hockey League.""I enjoyed every city and organization I played in," he added.Hawerchuk was highly touted coming into junior and was drafted sixth overall by the Cornwall Royals, who then played in the Quebec league but took part in the Ontario draft.Hawerchuk led the Royals to back-to-back Memorial Cups in 1980 and '81 with teammates that included Scott Arniel, Marc Crawford, Dan Daoust and Doug Gilmour.Hawerchuk was named Memorial Cup MVP in 1981 when he set a tournament record with eight goals and tied another with 13 points.He collected 103 points in being named the QMJHL's top rookie. The next season, as a 17-year-old, he led the Quebec league in goals (81), assists (102) and points (183) when he was named Canadian major junior player of the year.A grateful John Ferguson drafted Hawerchuk in 1981. Hawerchuk went to Winnipeg as an 18-year-old and spent nine years there, saying he felt like he grew up in the Manitoba capital.The Jets had finished last in the league prior to drafting Hawerchuk, who signed his first pro contract before a bevy of Manitoba notables, including the mayor, at the corner of Portage and Main after arriving in a Brinks truck.He did not disappoint. The teenager scored 45 goals and collected 103 points, was named rookie of the year — the youngest recipient at the time — and led Winnipeg to a 48-point improvement, the largest single-season turnaround in the NHL."Just one of the greatest. You could tell from day one. We knew from when he was 18 years old as a player that he would turn the (Jets) franchise around. Certainly one of the best I’ve ever played with and coached," said Dallas Stars coach Rick Bowness, who played with and coached Hawerchuk in the '80s. He was the youngest player in NHL history to reach 100 points, a record broken by Sidney Crosby in 2006. No wonder his early career came with comparisons to Wayne Gretzky."He has the same instincts, that puck sense, of Gretzky," said Mike Doran, Winnipeg's director of player personnel in 1981.In 1987, Hawerchuk made history with Gretzky at the Canada Cup in Hamilton. He won the faceoff in his own end that led to a Gretzky-Mario Lemieux rush and Lemieux's famous winning goal in a 6-5 victory that decided the tightly contested three-game series."It turned out fantastic," said Hawerchuk, who often answered Canada's call.When he was inducted into the Hall of Fame, the Jets were no more (the team was revived in Winnipeg in 2011). But he said the Jets "are etched in my mind every day that I live."The franchise moved to Phoenix in 1996 and became the Coyotes. Eleven years later, Hawerchuk joined Bobby Hull and Thomas Steen on the Coyotes' ring of honour.Hawerchuk re-wrote the Jets record book before being traded to Buffalo during the 1990 NHL draft. As an unrestricted free agent, Hawerchuk signed with the St. Louis Blues in 1995 before being dealt to Philadelphia whom he helped to the Stanley Cup final in 96-97 season, his final season.Slowed down by a hip issue, he retired at the age of 34.Hawerchuk was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2001 along with Viacheslav Fetisov, Mike Gartner and Jari Kurri in the player category."It's like going back down memory lane," he said in his induction speech."All the experiences have been fantastic," he added. "I mean, sometimes they didn't feel so great. You had your highs and lows. But when I look back on it, I wouldn't change a thing ... Even though I didn't win a Stanley Cup, I still wouldn't change a thing. I think to ask for more would be greedy."Known as Ducky by his teammates, Hawerchuk was inducted into the Jets' Hall of Fame prior to their game against the visiting Arizona Coyotes in November 2017."Tonight we fly Ducky's number high," said a tribute video, to the sounds of Motley Crue's "Home Sweet Home," before his No. 10 was raised to the rafters."Please welcome home perhaps the greatest Jet of all time," said the PA announcer.Hawerchuk played 713 games as a Jet, recording 379 goals and 929 points. He also served five seasons as captain."I've been to every part of (Manitoba), either golfing or playing (softball)," Hawerchuk said. "I've gotten to see Manitobans, seen their passion not only for their province and the game of hockey, but their passion for the Jets. I'm honoured and I'm very humbled."After retiring, he became part of the ownership group of the Tier II junior Orangeville Crushers, stepping behind the bench in 2007 prior to joining Barrie.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 18, 2020.\---Follow @NeilMDavidson on TwitterNeil Davidson, The Canadian Press
The Canadian PressReview: 'Hi, My Name is Dicky' a gritty account of a former NHLer's path to sobriety
TORONTO — Richard Clune remembers the drive — the pain, the anxiety, the uncertainty, the fear.It was the spring of 2010 and Clune, who had made his NHL debut earlier that season, was finally on the road to getting the help the 23-year-old knew he needed in his crippling addiction battle. With his younger brother, Matt, at the wheel, they drove through upstate New York in a torrential downpour home to Toronto. Clune wasn't sure he was going to make it."I was in the acute withdrawal phase," he said in a recent interview with The Canadian Press. "I couldn't sit still for a second. The most logical thing at that point in time for me was to go jump off a bridge ... literally."I couldn't really see myself coming out of it."But come out of it he did, and a decade later, Clune is sharing his story in "Hi, My Name is Dicky," a raw documentary available on iTunes and AppleTV that details his life from aspiring youth hockey player to out-of-control junior antagonist to pro athlete teetering on the edge — one consumed by drugs, alcohol and mental illness.His journey to recovery started in earnest on that lonely stretch of highway."My brother really had to talk me off the ledge," Clune said. "When I see his face and when I see my other brother Ben's face, that's what gave me strength to live, because I didn't really want to live for myself at that time."Matt, at a couple points on that drive, had to do things that no younger brother should have to do and really dig down deep and get me home."The documentary from Taylor Prestidge and Haris Usanovic of Upper Canada Films tracks Clune's life and career, recovery and redemption. It includes interviews with Clune's parents, brothers, teammates and coaches.Clune was driven to be the best as a child, but the pressure led him down a dark path at early age."I made that decision I was going to put my head down and not see anything but being a hockey player," Clune, who was selected in the third round of the 2005 NHL draft by the Dallas Stars, says in the film.He began to try alcohol in his early teens as a way to cope, and it escalated quickly once he got to high school and then the Ontario Hockey League."I had this hole inside me that made me insecure and afraid of the world," Clune recounts. "I got wasted and was like, 'Wow. OK. I'll be able to do this. I can cope with this. It's like a warm blanket.'"Alcohol saved me. It was my solution to that problem of being self-absorbed and focused on all the things that made me insecure and self-conscious and in pain and sad."But he didn't realize how much of a spiral his life was taking. In junior, he would drive from bar to bar, party to party, drinking, smoking marjiuana and doing cocaine."I wanted to walk that line of looking death in the face every day, but still play hockey and do all these things," Clune says in the film. "I don't know how I did it."Things got worse after junior when he was living in the United States by himself before making his NHL debut in that fateful 2009-10 season, months before becoming completely unglued."I had achieved my goal," he recalls on screen. "But I hated myself."Clune eventually checked into rehab a second time — he went once before, but didn't stay — and committed to getting better with a lot of help from the people around him.After he got out, he resumed his career and went onto play a total of 120 regular-season games in the NHL with the Los Angeles Kings and Nashville Predators. His contract was bought out in 2015, and he was again at a crossroads — retire or keep going.That's when the Toronto Maple Leafs, who were in the early stages of their massive rebuild, came calling to see if Clune wanted to be part of their program. They could only offer an American Hockey League contract, but if things went well, there was a chance he could make the NHL club. At the very least, he would play in the minors and help foster a new culture.Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas, who was in charge of the minor-league Marlies at the time, saw something in Clune that could be useful."He provides a certain energy," Dubas said. "He provides experience in his life that I thought brought a great spirit to our team."Clune played 19 games with Leafs, but the forward truly made his mark with the Marlies. He helped the team win the Calder Cup in 2018 and plans to continue his on-ice career, but equally important was how he's helped mentor a number of current NHLers.He's proud of where he is, and not shy talking about how he got there. Clune still goes to meetings, does the 12 steps and now works to help others.He also thinks a lot about why he made the decision to live, to fight, and get better, when many others — including some fellow pro hockey players — have gone down a different path."In the beginning, it was because I wanted to see my brothers," said Clune, his voice cracking with emotion. "Then it transformed into wanting to live for myself. I started to discover what it feels like to have self esteem and to have love."I just hope people realize that they're not alone with how they feel. Don't be afraid to ask for help." This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 18, 2020.___Follow @JClipperton_CP on TwitterJoshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press
- The Canadian Press
GM calls Preds' series loss unacceptable, promises changes
NASHVILLE — The NHL's winningest general manager is not happy with the Nashville Predators' diminishing returns, and David Poile made it clear Thursday that change is coming.“Bottom line, this is unacceptable,” Poile said in a video conference call. “And this is how we have to view this result is that we have to be better, and it's not acceptable.”Since winning the Western Conference and losing in the Stanley Cup Final in 2017, the Predators have had shorter postseasons each year with the latest a disappointing loss in the best-of-five qualifying series in four games to Arizona.Poile already made one change this year, firing Peter Laviolette and hiring John Hynes in early January. Poile said Thursday that coaching change was made to improve the team's culture.That move followed the franchise's first Winter Classic, a game in which Nashville jumped out to a 2-0 lead only to lose both the game and defenceman Ryan Ellis to injury. Poile said that game typified much of Nashville's season with strong play and a nice lead only to crumble into a loss.“So it’s very clear to me that we need to make some changes," Poile said. “It was very clear to me as we played ‘19-’20 season that we needed to make some changes."The Predators at least moved up from No. 17 to No. 11 in the first round of the NHL draft scheduled for Oct. 9-10, and Nashville has two selections in the second round and two in the third to help stock up the talent pipeline.Poile has to decide what to do about pending free agents Mikael Granlund, who played on the second line, and Craig Smith, whose goals and points totals has gone each of the past two seasons and will be 31 in September. Kyle Turris, due $6 million a year through 2023-24, could be an option to buy out his contract.Matt Duchene was the big off-season addition last summer signed to a seven-year, $56 million contract after Poile cleared salary cap space by trading away defenceman P.K. Subban to New Jersey. Poile said Duchene acknowledged in his exit interview that this wasn’t his best season.Nashville's front office used the NHL pause meeting almost weekly to break down each of the Predators and get a plan together for what will be a unique off-season with a flat salary cap for next season.“We’ve previously identified what changes that we thought we'd have to make or want to make for the ‘20-’21 season, and then it obviously it’s solidified or readjusted based on what we did or didn’t do against Arizona," Poile said. “So I think we’re organized.”Nashville currently is projected to have $21.8 million of space under the $81.5 million salary cap. The Predators' cheapest way forward will be tapping the talent that has been growing in Milwaukee with their American Hockey League affiliate.Poile and coach John Hynes both mentioned forwards Eeli Tolvanen, 19-year-old Philip Tomasino, Rem Pitlick and Yakov Trenin and defencemen Alexandre Carrier and Jeremy Davies as players who will have a chance to earn roster spots in training camp.“All I can say and will say at this time that all options are on the table to make our team better for the ‘20-’21 season," Poile said.___More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP_SportsTeresa M. Walker, The Associated Press
