JOHN Bowie Ferguson, one of the fiercest competitors the NHL has ever known, always fought the good fight but lost his battle with cancer on Saturday.
He was 68.
John Ferguson (left) fights with New York’s Bob Nevin in 1964.
The former general manager and coach of the Winnipeg Jets of both the WHA and NHL was an intense participant both on the ice and off, but will be remembered for his big heart and the loyalty he instilled in those around him.
"Those things are for sure," Anaheim Ducks head coach Randy Carlyle said late Saturday night via phone. "He always found places for certain people that were less fortunate. He was a caring man.
"There would always be somebody, at the rink or racetrack, and he made sure that person was looked after in his own way, be it 20 dollars here, 50 dollars there, a new Jets jacket or other things to wear.
"And loyalty -- once you were a friend, you were a friend for life. And he had lots of friends."
Ferguson traded for Carlyle, the Norris Trophy-winning defenceman of the Pittsburgh Penguins, in 1984, and was always immensely proud of the player-turned-coach, who last month won the Stanley Cup.
"We're going to miss a man of his stature," Carlyle said Saturday night. "You always looked at Fergie and the exterior was always gruff and demanding. But the interior was soft and jovial and loving.
"To see him interact with his family, well, it was a dramatic change from what you saw when he was at the rink."
He is survived by his wife Joan, with whom he lived in Windsor, Ont. Their son, John Ferguson Jr., is general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
"My father battled cancer with the same spirit in which he played the game of hockey," Ferguson Jr. said in a release. "He showed courage, strength, class and tremendous character. He had deep appreciation for the support he'd received from so many people, beginning with his initial diagnosis.
"My father's spirit will continue to live on in all of us whose lives he touched."
Ferguson, who was born in Vancouver, played eight NHL seasons between 1963 and 1971, all with the Montreal Canadiens, and he helped them win the Stanley Cup five times.
He was more than just a bodyguard for Montreal's stars, but because of his reputation as a tough-as-nails combatant -- he got into his first fight 12 seconds into his first NHL game -- it is often forgotten that in his first season he led all NHL rookies in scoring and was runner-up in voting for rookie of the year. He scored two goals after fighting Ted Green in that first game and from then on was regarded as hockey's unofficial heavyweight champion until he retired.
Canadiens teammate Serge Savard was one of Ferguson's closest friends. "When you had Fergie as a friend, he was a friend for life. He was 130 pounds when he died," a shaken Savard told the Montreal Gazette Saturday. "You know, we won a lot of Cups with that guy... I loved the guy."
During his playing career, the left-winger played 500 regular-season games that amounted to 145 goals, 303 points and 1,214 penalty minutes. In 85 post-season games, No. 22 scored 20 goals and assisted on 18.
He played in the 1965 and 1967 all-star games.
He once was dared to fight Canadian heavyweight boxing champion George Chuvalo and he was willing to enter the ring, but the Canadiens wouldn't give him permission.
He was an assistant coach on Canada's team in the historic 1972 Summit Series. Standing behind the bench watching Valeri Kharlamov flash around the ice, Ferguson frowned and said, "He's killing us." Bobby Clarke went out and slashed Kharlamov across an ankle. Kharlamov's effectiveness waned and Canada prevailed.
He took over as GM and coach of the New York Rangers in 1976, where he lasted nearly two years before moving to Winnipeg to become vice-president and GM of the WHA Jets.
He took that team to its final Avco Cup title, then stayed on with the franchise when it was accepted into the NHL in 1979. His tenure with the Jets, which included a couple of coaching stints, lasted until the fall of 1988.
Between 1992 and 1995, Ferguson worked for the Ottawa Senators. After his time in Ottawa, he worked for the San Jose Sharks for the past 11 seasons as both professional scout and special consultant to the general manager.
"John Ferguson was one of the most beloved figures to ever represent the Sharks, as well as the entire National Hockey League," Sharks GM Doug Wilson said in a statement. "His sense of class, grace and love of the game of hockey is legendary among those who were fortunate enough to know and work with him."
He was named executive of the year by The Hockey News in both 1982 and 1985 and is a member of both the Manitoba and B.C. sports halls of fame.
-- with files from Canadian Press,
CanWest News Service
tim.campbell@freepress.mb.ca
PREVIOUS
