Later today on NHL.com, my weekly
Across the Pond column will look at the life and career of former Detroit Red Wings farmhand Stefan Liv, who perished in yesterday's tragic plane crash in Yaroslavl, Russia.
Liv, 30, rose from exceptionally humble and difficult origins. Born in Poland to an unwed teenage mother, he was left as a baby to the care of an orphanage in Gdansk. Adopted at age 2 by Swedish parents, Liv had a happy childhood until his father died of cancer when Stefan was 12 years old.
Liv's love of hockey and the support of his mom and his brother enabled him to channel his adolescent anger and aggressiveness into a positive direction on and off the ice. As an adult, he became known for his fun-loving and laid back personality off the ice as well as his acrobatic goaltending abilities on the ice.
So often when somebody dies an untimely death, the people left behind regret that they waited until after he was gone to express how much they cared about the person. Amidst all the grief over Liv's death, there is at least the small consolation that Liv knew how much his teammates, coaches, fans and even the media held him in high esteem both as a person and as a hockey player.
In similar fashion to the late Pelle Lindbergh, Liv left a positive impression on virtually everyone who ever met him. He had a good sense of humor and the ability to get other people to open up to him, because he was so open-hearted himself.
In Swedish, the word "liv" means life. Stefan Liv was aptly named. He was a lover of life who made the absolute most of his 30 years. That his journey through this world ended so abruptly is unspeakably sad, because he still had so much to give and experience.
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At the time of Pelle Lindbergh's death in Nov. 1985, many of the Flyers' young players realized that it was OK to allow their own grief to pour out when they saw Brad McCrimmon break down in tears. McCrimmon was tough as nails and almost always stoical in the face of adversity and setbacks.
But McCrimmon was also a human being. Something that is not very well known about McCrimmon was that, apart from injury issues, he went through a very tough personal period during his time with the Flyers -- the failure of his first marriage affected him at work, although he tried to block it out and not to let on to anybody else according to those who knew him the best.
In Jay Greenberg's Full Spectrum, Bob Clarke had some unflattering things to say about McCrimmon as a person and teammate. Their personal differences later came into play when Clarke became the Flyers' general manager following his retirement as an active player. From a hockey standpoint, the most damning criticism that Clarke levied toward McCrimmon was that he gave Clarke the impression that he didn't really care much about the team.
Those who got closer to McCrimmon have said that Clarke had it all wrong in his perceptions of the man. McCrimmon cared deeply about his team and struggled to try to negotiate the push-pull of his professional and personal lives without making any excuses. Once his personal issues resolved and he subsequently remarried and had two children, McCrimmon was a different man off the ice -- still straightforward, honest and tough but also more lighthearted, humorous and able to let others see the warmth and caring that lay just beneath the surface.
"The thing that meant the most to Brad by far were his wife and children, who always came first in his mind," recalled longtime defense partner Mark Howe. "He was also a loyal friend who stuck by you through thick and thin."
As an emerging veteran leader on the Flyers' teams of the mid-1980s, McCrimmon often acted as a big brother of sorts to his younger teammates. He stood up for them on the ice, led by example in showing how not to take Mike Keenan's brutal critiques personally, and even sometimes lent money to teammates on road trips.
When it came to contract negotiations, McCrimmon always fought for what he thought he was worth. He rankled Clarke by holding out for more money before the 1986-87 season and was in the midst of another contract squabble (albeit over a modest $25,000 difference) the following summer when the Flyers' traded him to the Calgary Flames.
Behind the scenes, McCrimmon was also an early advocate for a stronger and more unified NHLPA. When the fallout from the Alan Eagleson scandal hit, he fought hard for the players who had been cheated out of money to collect every cent of pension money to which they were entitled.
Following the revelation of the tragic news yesterday, former NHL player, GM and agent Brian Lawton posted the following on Twitter, "Today's NHL players don't know the history of what Brad McCrimmon did for the unity of the NHLPA. Amazing leadership while being selfless."
McCrimmon continued to be a hard-nosed negotiator even after his active career ended and he turned to coaching. Although it had always been his ambition to become an NHL head coach, he turned down the head coaching job with Atlanta because the team was only willing to guarantee a fraction of the contract they offered. Rather than accepting the job without the commitment from management that he sought, he decided to remain an assistant coach while seeking future head coach opportunities.
The opportunity to become a head coach at the professional level was what ultimately led him to the post in Yaroslavl.
There have been many heartfelt tributes and retrospectives on McCrimmon posted over the last day. If you can deal with one more, I strongly recommend that you read
John Manasso's NHL.com article recounting his personal experiences in knowing and interviewing "the Beast."
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The Flyers have released their rookie camp
roster and schedule.
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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