Gone Too Soon

If you've been watching any hockey coverage today, you know that longtime NHL defender and executive Tom Kurvers passed away after fighting lung cancer for some time at the age of 58. The Minneapolis-born defenceman played eleven NHL seasons and one more in Japan before retiring from the game in 1996 after a rather impressive, yet largely undiscovered, career. He played for seven NHL teams, won a Stanley Cup, was often sought after at trade deadlines, and had a remarkable college career. He was a team-first guy in the NHL, though, and he carried that same attitude to the front office where he was seen as a mentor for younger players.

Kurvers was seen as highly-skilled offensive defender early in his NHL career thanks to his prolific scoring at the NCAA level with the University Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs where he won the 1984 Hobey Baker Award after scoring 76 points in 43 college games. The Montreal Canadiens had selected Kurvers with the 145th-overall pick in the 1981 NHL Entry Draft as he came out of Bloomington Jefferson High School, so it's very likely that the Canadiens had no idea how good Kurvers was going to be when he announced he was going to college.

In 164 NCAA games, Kurvers scored 43 goals and 149 assists while earning 1983-84 All-WCHA First Team All-Star honours and AHCA First Team All-American honours. Needless to say, the Canadiens were anxious to see him graduate so he could join their team alongside other emerging young players such as Chris Chelios, Claude Lemieux, Mark Hunter, and Doug Wickenheiser as the Canadiens transitioned from one group to stars to the next.

Kurvers was a steady defender for the Canadiens, showing flashes of brilliance at the offensive end while being a reliable defender in his own end. He wasn't going to intimidate anyone physically, so he relied on smarts and skating to keep himself in the Canadiens' talented lineup. Following 75 games and 45 points in his rookie season in '84-85, Kurvers helped the Canadiens with a 62-game, 30-point season where the Canadiens downed the Calgary Flames to win the Stanley Cup.

One game into the 1986-87 season, the Canadiens dealt Kurvers to the Buffalo Sabres for a second-round pick in the 1988 NHL Entry Draft that eventually was used to take Martin St. Amour. While the Canadiens got zero games out of St. Amour, the Buffalo Sabres received a dependable defender who bolstered their power-play. Buffalo would miss the playoffs in 1987, and Kurvers was on the move again in June as the Sabres swapped him to New Jersey for a third-round pick in the 1987 NHL Entry Draft.

Buffalo would use the third-round pick to select Andrew MacVicar who played a total of zero games for them, but it was in New Jersey that Kurvers began to show signs of what made him dangerous in college. In 56 games in 1987-88, Kurvers scored 34 points to help the New Jersey Devils make the playoffs for the very first time where they went on a run that saw Kurvers play a large role.

The Devils upset the Islanders 4-2 in the opening round before a wacky second-round upset of the Washington Capitals saw the Devils advance to the Wales Conference Final against the Boston Bruins. The Devils would push the Bruins to seven games in that series before falling 6-2 in Game Seven, but the series is likely best remembered for Jim Schoenfeld's tirade against Don Koharski in Game Three. Regardless, Kurvers had an outstanding postseason, registering 15 points in 19 games for the Devils as they made their first appearance in the playoffs a memorable one!

Kurvers turned in another outstanding season for the Devils in 1988-89 where he had 16 goals and 50 assists in 74 games, but the Devils fell short of the playoffs that season. Kurvers' play, though, had people interested, and the Toronto Maple Leafs decided that they were going to make a run at the Stanley Cup in 1990 by acquiring some offensive help on the blue line. For the second time in his career, Kurvers was traded after playing the opening game of the season as the Toronto Maple Leafs acquired Kurvers from the Devils in exchange for a first-round draft pick at the 1991 NHL Entry Draft!

Kurvers never saw the success he had in New Jersey following the trade as he played with the Leafs, was traded briefly to Vancouver for Brian Bradley in January 1991, and was moved by the Canucks to the North Stars for Dave Babych in June 1991 who, in turn, flipped him to the New York Islanders for Craig Ludwig on the same day. He was a solid two-way defender for the Islanders in his time on Long Island, but his move to the Anaheim Mighty Ducks in 1994 saw him play just 22 games. He'd finish his playing career in Japan with Seibu where he had 52 points in 1995-96.

Kurvers' career after playing the game is where things get very interesting. He was hired to do radio for the Phoenix Coyotes, but only spent one season doing that before he moved into a scouting role for the Coyotes. He worked his way through the scouting role in Phoenix to ascend to the role of Director of Player Personnel in 2005, so Tom Kurvers clearly had an eye for talent when it came to the Arizona/Phoenix Coyotes.

Kurvers continued his climb in the NHL's front office structure by joining the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2008 as the assistant general manager. He briefly held the role of interim general manager for the Lightning in 2009-10 before moving into the role of senior advisor to the general manager of the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2011 once Steve Yzerman was hired as the Lightning GM on May 25, 2010.

Kurvers would remain in the senior advisor role until an opportunity came up in 2018 for him to move back home. Kurvers left the Lightning for the assistant general manager position with the Minnesota Wild. Everything seemed to be going well for Kurvers until he received some news that shook his world on January 21, 2019.

"January 21 of '19, the diagnosis was non-small cell endo-carcinoma, small tumor on my right lung." Kurvers told Tim McNiff of The Hockey Writers. "And there were some other factors in the right lung, basically, you know, that emanated from the tumor and it'd moved to my left lymph nodes in my sternum, but that's it, it hasn’t moved beyond that."

That diagnosis was deemed inoperable, so it became apparent quickly that Tom Kurvers was going to have to fight for each and every day he could. He made the most of his days after the diagnosis by using his experiences to help others in the hockey world, specifically in front offices of teams.

"There are a lot of terrific people in the hockey world, but Tom stood out as the nicest, kindest and most humble," Tampa Bay Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois told The Canadian Press. "He was grateful for all the good that happened in his life and was eager to give back. He was very generous with his advice and very insightful. I know Tom mentored many people throughout hockey, and I was privileged to be one of them."

When hired by Paul Fenton in 2018 as the Wild's assistant general manager, Fenton said, "I've had a relationship with him for a long time. We have always had a good relationship and looked at the game the same way, and I thought if I ever got a job he'd be the type of guy I would want in my front office."

It's fairly clear that Kurvers was a highly-regarded hockey guy who was making an impact in the game, so his loss today will be felt by many. I didn't know Tom Kurvers in any capacity aside from what I read on his hockey cards that I found in packages in the 1990s. I always seemed to remember Kurvers' Pro Set card with him on the Islanders as a card I'd see more often than I wanted when opening packs of hockey cards as a kid. It's funny what you remember about someone once he or she is gone, but that's what became a personal memory of Tom Kurvers for me: his Islanders' Pro Set hockey card appearing far too often for me.

I never mentioned it above, but that first-round pick that the New Jersey Devils received from the Maple Leafs for Kurvers? That pick turned out to be Scott Niedermayer who went on to an amazing career in the NHL as well. If you read that trade as a one-for-one, Tom Kurvers was as good as Scott Niedermayer!

Rest in peace, Mr. Kurvers. You were an excellent player who was underappreciated, and you carried that humble demeanor to your role as a hockey executive where you were appreciated by your peers and colleagues immensely. We lost a good man from the hockey world today, so here's to carrying on Tom Kurvers' lasting legacy of kindness, generosity, intelligence, and respect.

Until next time, raise your sticks high in honour of Tom Kurvers!