Just one day after the sad summer that has haunted the hockey world continued with the shocking death of Wade Belak, memories and tributes are pouring in to remember the fan favourite wherever he played.
Belak's passing, along with fellow enforcers Rick Rypien and Derek Boogaard this summer, raises some tough questions. What exactly is causing these tough guys to take their own life or turn to drugs or alcohol? And has the job of being an NHL enforcer played a role in that?
While losing anybody is a tragedy, especially at such young ages, an even bigger tragedy will be if the NHL or the hockey world does nothing to combat what is becoming an alarming issue. Something needs to be done or changed, or a better support system needs to be established to try and prevent anymore deaths.
That being said, there will be plenty of opportunity for debate and discussion in the near future. But right now, we should remember Wade's wide smile and love for the game. He was a family man with his wife Jennifer and two daughters Andie and Alex, who at 6-foot-5 was always one of the biggest players on the ice, but also had one of the biggest hearts.
For most, Belak will be remembered for what he did best on the ice which was fighting. A gritty warrior, Belak never backed down from a challenge and took on any and all men who wanted to drop the gloves.
My favourite memory of Belak however is not of his fighting, but rather when he added to his offensive totals and scored a rare goal.
During his 14-year NHL career, Belak scored just eight goals in 549 career games. But the last one he scored will always be something that I will remember.
The date was Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2007, and the Leafs were looking for their third-straight win as they were set to host the Nashville Predators at the Air Canada Centre. It had been 143 games since Belak scored his last goal, dating back to a game on Dec. 20, 2003 against the Montreal Canadiens.
That span between goals came to an end at the 2:48 mark of the third period that night, when a dump-in by Chad Kilger hit Preds defenceman Greg Zanon and the puck landed on the stick of Belak, as if it were fate that put him in the right place at the right time.
Belak slid the puck past Chris Mason and raised his arms to the sky to celebrate his eighth goal in 407 games. The crowd errupted at the ACC, and almost every fan was brought to their feet.
The Leafs bench was equally as excited as Belak was, their enthusiasm matching the big smile on Belak's face. The Leafs won that game 3-1 and Belak was named third star of the game for his rare goal scoring contribution.
After the game, Belak was asked if he could recall his previous goal. And in that typical sense of humour of his that made him a fan favourite, the then 31-year old joked about how long ago it was.
"I was under the age of 30 anyways," mused Belak. "God, I don’t know when it was."
Belak was in Toronto to train for the upcoming season of 'Battle of the Blades'. It's too bad that he won't appear on that show. It's too bad that he won't get to share his warmth and sense of humour with an audience that perhaps had never seen him before and would have loved to listen to him speak the way anyone who knew him did.
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