Brad McCrimmon was exactly the kind of defense partner Mark Howe could have predicted would become a friend for life.
As he said to me on the bench once after I tripped playing a two-on-one and they went in and scored: I had your back, Howe said Wednesday. He always had my back.
He and I were different (in playing style) but Brad was the best partner I ever had.
We roomed together, hung out together on the road and after home games. We would have a few beers and talk hockey, whatever we thought needed to be talked about. You dont do that unless this is a guy who is with you through thick and thin.
McCrimmon, a bedrock of Flyers Stanley Cup finalists in 1985 and 1987, died Wednesday in a crash of a Russian airliner, along with the Russian team he was coaching, leaving a wife, two children and a Hall of Fame ex-partner devastated.
Its a bleep day, said Howe, who works for the Red Wings, as had McCrimmon as an assistant coach in the pursuit of an NHL head coaching job that took him to Lokomotiv Yaroslavil of the Russian Super league (KHL) this season.
Day before he flew over to Russia was when I got my notice about my election to the Hall of Fame, said Howe. We were talking then about his coaching aspirations
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He had been offered a couple of assistant coaching jobs. He wanted to be a head coach but he also didnt want just any job, he wanted a good situation. When the team is rebuilding, its a 3-4 year process and getting a three-year deal makes it hard to survive. Nothing out there was what he deemed to be the right situation for him, so he thought he could get a little experience over there, get some success and it would open up some possibilities here.
I feel so bad for his family.
The Mike Keenan-era Flyers were an extended family that thrived through death (Pelle Lindbergh), injuries (significant portions of two finals runs were without leading scorer Tim Kerr and captain Dave Poulin), the loathing of their ultra-driven coach and a crushing first-round loss to the Rangers in 1986.
They stayed on the same page all the way to Game 7 against the mighty Oilers in 1987 because McCrimmon, who had been driven into the boards and out for the duration during the 1985 semifinals by a Wilf Paiement hit from behind, was one of the guys reading chapter and verse.
Brad and I would stand up, said Howe. If theres a problem, lets shut the door for just the players only, get it out and iron something out.
A lot of the younger guys, Peter Zezel especially, used to come to Brad about their problems with Mike. Brad and I were of the same beliefs in that regard. Theres an old saying that no matter how wrong the coach is, hes right.
With Poulin and Brad Marsh, he was right there as one of the leaders.
Somehow that never was recognized by GM Bob Clarke until after he already made what he says today was one of his two worst moves ever (with Poulin for Ken Linseman): Trading McCrimmon after the 1987 run to Calgary for an end-of the first round draft choice over a 25,000 a year difference over a new contract.
The Flames won the Cup. The Flyers, who thought No. 1 pick Kerry Huffman was ready to replace McCrimmon, struggled to make the playoffs, lost in the first round to Washington, and fired Keenan.
Brad took Bob to arbitration every year, said Howe. Something had to give and he ended up trading him.
There was a year we were plus 85 and 83 and everybody else on the defense I think was minus or even. Not to brag, but thats how important he was.
When you have a defense averaging 27 minutes a night, and you arent getting that kind of player back its like cutting one of your legs off your team.
Feathers got ruffled between Brad and Bob when they played together. If everything is 98 percent good and two percent bad, when you have a personal problem with the guy, the two percent is looked at as a big number. No doubt when Bob retired (after McCrimmons first year with the team, 1983-84) Brad changed, became more committed to the game.
His nickname was The Beast, and it fit him to an absolute T. He wasnt a heavy drinker, he had his moments but I think we all did. Never once did it influence his game and as far as his conditioning goes, he won the Bobby Clarke award (for best Conditioned) with Poulin just about every year.
He was a physical specimen. His endurance was as good as anyones I every played with. He could go and go and go. He was a stubborn SOB. His endurance was incredible, both mentally and physically.
Howes and McCrimmons friendship was hardly of the 10-minute-a-game-kind, either.
When I left Philly we played in Detroit together, said Howe. We spent a lot of time together even when he was coaching Atlanta and the Islanders. We talked all the time. When I would be in the same city with Brad I would spend all my time with him.
We stayed close. This is really a hard day.
Jay Greenberg covered the Flyers for 14 years for the Daily News and Evening Bulletin. His history of the Flyers, Full Spectrum, was published in 1996. He can be reached at jayg616@aol.com.