Former Flyer Brad McCrimmon dead in plane crash
Daily News Flyers blog
Former Flyer Brad McCrimmon dead in plane crash
UPDATED (11:55 am EST): Former Flyer Brad McCrimmon, 52, is confirmed among the dead, according to the Russian Times.
McCrimmon, 52, played for the Flyers from 1982-87. He played on the Flyers' Stanley Cup finalists in 1985 and 1987. He played 18 seasons in the NHL, also playing for the Bruins, Flames, Red Wings, Hartford Whalers and Coyotes. He played 1,222 NHL games.
He formed one half of one of the Flyers' best defense pairings in history. In 1985-86, McCrimmon's partner, Mark Howe, was a plus-85 and McCrimmon was a plus-83.
McCrimmon most recently was an assistant coach with the Detroit Red Wings. He parted ways with the Wings in May to take a job with Lokomotiv.
Also confirmed on board were former NHLers Pavol Demitra, Karel Rachunek, Ruslan Salei, Josef Vasicek and Igor Korolev.
Current Flyer Jaromir Jagr played in the KHL for the past three seasons before deciding to return to the NHL. Jagr has not yet arrived in North America to begin training with the Flyers. EARLIER:
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A Russian jet carrying a top ice hockey team crashed while taking off Wednesday in western Russia, killing at least 43 people and leaving two critically injured, officials said. Former Flyers defenseman Brad McCrimmon is listed as the caoch of the KHL team. It is not known if he was on the plane.
The Russian Emergency Situations Ministry said the plane was carrying the Lokomotiv ice hockey team from Yaroslavl to Minsk, the capital of Belarus, where it was to play Thursday against Dinamo Minsk in the opening game of the season in the Kontinental Hockey League.
McCrimmon, 52, played for the Flyers from 1982-87. He played on the Flyers' Stanley Cup finalists in 1985 and 1987. He played 18 seasons in the NHL, also playing for the Bruins, Flames, Red Wings, Hartford Whalers and Coyotes. He played 1,222 NHL games.
The Russian Emergency Situations Ministry said the Yak-42 plane crashed immediately after leaving an airport near the city of Yaroslavl, on the Volga River about 150 miles (240 kilometers) northeast of Moscow. It was carrying 45 people, including 37 passengers and eight crew, and the ministry said all but two people were killed in the crash.
The weather was sunny and clear at the time.
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin immediately sent the nation's transport minister to the site, 10 miles (15 kilometers) east of Yaroslavl.
The KHL is an international club league that pits together teams from Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Latvia and Slovakia.
Lokomotiv Yaroslavl is a leading force in Russian hockey and came third in the KHL last year. It's coached by McCrimmon and includes several international stars in its ranks, such as Stefan Liv of Sweden and Czech Republic players Josef Vaicek and Jan Marek. Lokomotiv was a three-time Russian League champion in 1997, 2002 and 2003 and took the bronze last season.
It wasn't immediately clear which players were on board the Yak-42 on Wednesday.
"We will do our best to ensure that hockey in Yaroslavl does not die, and that it continues to live for the people that were on that plane," said Russian Ice Hockey Federation President Vladislav Tretyak.
The short- and medium-range Yak-42 has been in service since 1980 and dozens are still in service with Russian and other airlines.
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Just devastating. Rest in peace, Brad. We will miss u and to all the families of the deceased -deepest sympathies. What a terrible few months for the hockey world— debbyt- My god.... Its a bad time to be a hockey player....— azguz
- FOX sports is now reporting that Galimov has died.— drbob1
- Sad news...that Flyers team he played on in the 80s was the one that got me to fall in love with the sport of hockey as a kid...I remember watching their games on PRISM with my dad when I was a little kid and then playing hockey in the basement and running around pretending I was McCrimmon and those guys...RIP— Silver_Bullet
- RIP Beast, May God bless your family with the strength that they will need at this time.
— phillyboy11 - R.I.P. Brad.— psualum
Comment removed.- RIP to "the Beast" Brad McCrimmon. Great NHL Dman for many years. Condolences to all the other players, coaches, and their families. What a horrific tragedy.— Phront_Runner
- Remember Brad's grit and solid team play, was surprised when I looked it up, to find out he was only with us for 5yrs. He certainly fit in the Philly mold. Deepest condolences to his and all of the families. Rest in Peace!!!
— maroonedinVA - RIP Brad! You were one of my favorite Flyer's growing up..— USAFirst1
- I think he typified what Philly looks for in an athlete. A guy who busted his tail every night and cared most about winning and not being in the headlines. I'm happy we were able to watch him for so many years. RIP Brad.— samtheman
- Deeply sad— Ashburn072
- Zherdev was supposed to be on the plane, but he missed the flight!— NYPHILLYPHAN
- So sad. May they all rest in peace.— cpepe
- What a shame, I loved "the beast" when he played for the flyers, and they missed him after being too cheap to pay him in a non salary cap era. RIP— johng9966
