R.I.P. Mike Mathers, 1972-2008

In their history, the Washington Capitals have made 369 picks in NHL Amateur and Entry Drafts. Names like Ovechkin, Stevens and Carpenter (and yes, Joly and Volchkov) are familiar to most Caps fans. The name Mike Mathers? Less so.

The Caps selected Mathers with their eighth round pick (191st overall) in the 1992 draft, but the winger from Edmonton by way of Kamloops never made it to the NHL. In fact, he never made it to the AHL. But he did play a franchise record 379 games for the Fresno Falcons of the WCHL (now the ECHL) and is the Falcons all-time leader in goals with 150.

Mathers died in his sleep on June 1, and while his name might not mean anything to you (it didn't to me), the man apparently meant a lot to former Falcons and the entire hockey community in Fresno. The Fresno Bee shares some of Mathers' teammates' and coach's memories, memories of a guy who wasn't blessed with soft hands but worked tirelessly to try to make his dream come true, only to come up short - like so many before and after him. He might not have panned out for the Caps, but it sounds like he did alright in the eyes of those who knew him.

Mike Mathers was just 35-years-old.

R.I.P. Tim Russert, 1950-2008

R.I.P. Max McNab, 1924-2007

Former Caps General Manager Max McNab passed away over the weekend, and Vogs pays his respects to the man who drafted some of the Caps' all-time greats (and guys used to acquire some of the Caps' all-time greats), including Rick Green, Ryan Walter, Bengt Gustafsson, Mike Gartner, Bobby Carpenter, Gaetan Duchesne and a personal fave, Lou Franceschetti.

R.I.P. Dave Fay

WTimes Caps beat writer and Hockey Hall of Famer Dave Fay has passed away.

Obviously this is very sad news as the hockey world has lost one of its most dedicated and skilled scribes.

"He was one of the most beloved characters in our association," said Professional Hockey Writers Association president Kevin Allen. "He was the loveable curmudgeon, an old-school reporter who played the journalism game with his elbows up. He had a biting humor that has entertained his colleagues for many, many years. We have lost a hockey institution."

Indeed we have. And say, Dave, while you're up there, how about putting in a good word for the team you covered so diligently for so long?

Update: For more on Fay and what he meant to hockey in D.C., check out Vogs' tribute.

R.I.P. Gaetan Duchesne, 1962-2007

I hate to be the bearer of awfully sad news again, but TSN.ca is reporting that former Cap Gaetan Duchesne has suffered a fatal heart attack at the age of 44.

Duchesne, a hard-working, defense-first forward with a bit of a scoring touch during his five seasons in Washington, had just been in town to play in the alumni game not two weeks ago.

Add this to Warren Strelow's recent passing and if these things come in threes... well, hopefully they don't.

UPDATE: Team President Dick Patrick had this to say on the passing:

The Washington Capitals are terribly saddened to hear of Gaetan Duchesne’s passing. Gator was a wonderful person and a popular player among his teammates, the organization and our fans. From his role on our first playoff teams until just recently, when he joined us for an alumni game here in Washington, we will always have fond memories of Gator.

Indeed.

R.I.P. Warren Strelow, 1934-2007

Former Caps' goaltending coach Warren Strelow has passed away at the age of 73. Strelow had most recently been the Sharks' goalie coach, and his achievements in the sport of hockey were incredibly impressive. Consider (directly quoted from TSN.ca):

• Strelow was a long-time friend of the late Herb Brooks, and served as the goaltending coach for the 1980 United States Olympic Hockey team that won the gold medal in the Lake Placid Olympics. In 2004, Strelow was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame, along with the 1980 U.S. Olympic Team.
• He was hired by the Washington Capitals as the first full-time goalie coach in the NHL, where he coached from 1983-1989. During a five-year period as an NHL coach, Strelow's goaltenders with the Capitals posted the lowest composite goals-against average in the League, including winning one Jennings Trophy, emblematic of the goaltending tandem with the lowest goals-against average in a season. They also finished second in the League three times. Two of his goaltenders (Al Jensen and Pat Riggin) were named to the NHL All-Star Team and the Capitals won the 1988-89 Patrick Division Championship.
• Hired by San Jose in 1997, Strelow helped the Sharks organization become widely recognized as one of the best consistent developers of goaltending talent in the NHL. Under Strelow's tutelage in 2000-01, four goaltenders in the Sharks system were named to their respective league's All-Star Teams - Evgeni Nabokov-NHL, Miikka Kiprusoff-AHL, Terry Friesen-WCHL and Johan Hedberg-IHL.
• Nabokov also won the Calder Trophy as the NHL's Rookie of the Year in 2001. In addition, Strelow's other former pupils include 2003-2004 Vezina Trophy winner Martin Brodeur and ex- Sharks goaltender 2006 Vezina Trophy winner Kiprusoff (Calgary Flames), who made a point to acknowledge Strelow in his acceptance of the award last June.
• Strelow served as the goaltender coach at the University of Minnesota from 1974-83. During Strelow's eight seasons at Minnesota, the Golden Gophers won three NCAA Division I National Championships and twice finished runner-up.

Strelow was a giant in the game in a mostly behind-the-scenes way who may now, in death, get some more of the recognition he richly deserves. Rest in peace, Coach.