David Michael Babych (born May 23, 1961) is a
Canadian former professional
ice hockey defenceman who played 19 seasons in the
National Hockey League (NHL). He is currently an assistant director of player personnel with the
Vancouver Canucks.
[1] He played in two
NHL All-Star Games and played for the
Winnipeg Jets,
Hartford Whalers, Vancouver Canucks,
Philadelphia Flyers and
Los Angeles Kings. He is the younger brother of former NHL player
Wayne Babych. He was the first NHL player to wear the number 44 on a permanent basis.
Playing career
Winnipeg Jets
Considered a franchise talent after a standout junior career in the
Western Hockey League (WHL) with the
Portland Winter Hawks, Babych was selected second overall in the
1980 NHL Entry Draft by the
Winnipeg Jets. At the time of his selection, Babych and his brother
Wayne (taken 3rd overall in
1978)
were the highest-drafted pair of brothers in NHL history, a record
since broken by Pierre and Sylvain Turgeon and the Sedin twins (Daniel
and Henrik). Babych stepped into the Jets lineup immediately as a
teenager during the
1980–81
season, turning in a stellar rookie campaign in which he finished
second on the club with 38 assists and led all Winnipeg blueliners with
44 points. Babych went on to lead all defenders on his team in scoring
in each of his first 10 NHL seasons.
In
1981–82, Babych emerged as a star on a revitalized Winnipeg team which improved by 48 points with the addition of superstar rookie
Dale Hawerchuk,
setting franchise records for defencemen with 19 goals and 68 points in
helping the Jets to their first-ever NHL playoff berth. Key to his
improvement and development was the acquisition of veteran
Serge Savard, a future
Hall of Famer, to serve as his partner on the blueline.
1982–83
would be better yet, as he led the Jets with 61 assists and broke his
own club record for defensive scoring with 74 points. He was also voted
in as a starter for the
Campbell Conference at the
1983 NHL All-Star Game.
Babych played in the All-Star game again in 1984, and turned in
another excellent season, although he missed 14 games due to injury. In
1984–85,
the Jets would have their best season ever, finishing fourth in the NHL
with 96 points, and Babych - now forming a dynamic partnership on the
blueline with former
Norris Trophy winner
Randy Carlyle
- finished the year with 62 points to lead the team's defenders in
scoring for the fifth consecutive season. He excelled in the 1985
playoffs, leading the team in scoring as they won their first-ever
playoff series before being ousted by the
Edmonton Oilers.
Hartford Whalers
Despite registering 16 points in his first 19 games to start the
1985–86 season, Babych was dealt to the
Hartford Whalers for
Ray Neufeld.
Unpopular with Winnipeg fans at the time, the move would be a terrible
one for the Jets as Neufeld was never more than a depth player for them
and was out of the NHL by 1989, while Babych continued to excel for
nearly another 15 years.
In Hartford, Babych continued his stellar play, finishing the season
with 69 points - the second-highest total of his career - and was named
the team's top defender. In
1986–87,
he missed time with injury and finished with a career-low 41 points.
However, he bounced back the following year to record another 50-point
season, good for second on the Whalers in scoring. He was named the
Whalers' top defender again in
1988–89, and led the team in playoff scoring with six points in four games. In
1989–90, he finished the year with 6 goals and 43 points, his 10th consecutive season over 40 points.
Babych suffered a serious wrist injury in
1990–91,
requiring surgery shortly after the start of the season, causing him to
miss 40 games. He then suffered a severely broken thumb almost
immediately after his return, ruling him out for the rest of the
campaign. He only appeared in eight games all season, recording six
assists.
Vancouver Canucks
After missing almost all of the previous season to injury, Hartford exposed Babych in the
1991 NHL Expansion Draft, where he was selected by the
Minnesota North Stars. However, he was almost immediately dealt to the
Vancouver Canucks for
Tom Kurvers.
While Babych was no longer the front-line defender he was earlier in
his career, he continued to be a steady and valued contributor during
his seven years in Vancouver, capable of showing flashes of his former
offensive ability. Babych became the only defender in Canucks history to
record a
hat trick during the regular season, a feat he accomplished on November 22, 1991, against the
Calgary Flames (
Doug Halward also recorded a hat-trick for the Canucks in a playoff game). He finished the
1991–92 season with five goals and 29 points (second amongst Vancouver defenders, behind
Jyrki Lumme),
and was a key factor on a vastly improved Canuck team which won their
division for the first time in 17 years. He also added eight points in
13 playoff games.
Injuries limited Babych to just 43 games in
1992–93, but he bounced back in
1993–94 with 32 points, his highest total since 1990. He continued to play inspired hockey in the playoffs as Vancouver reached the
Stanley Cup Finals, scoring the biggest goal of his career on June 9, 1994, in Game 5 of the Finals against the
New York Rangers. After the Rangers came back from a 3–0 deficit to tie the game, Babych jumped into the rush and buried a pass from
Pavel Bure
to score the game-winning goal. It sparked a comeback in the series for
Vancouver, who would narrowly lose the series in seven games.
Babych continued to toil steadily on the Canucks' blueline for
another four seasons, although the team's fortunes went into decline.
Most notable for Babych was a surprise offensive resurgence at the start
of the
1995–96 campaign, which saw him amongst the league's highest-scoring defenders through the first month of the season.
Philadelphia Flyers and Los Angeles Kings
With the Canucks well out of the playoff race at the end of the
1997–98 season, the team dealt Babych to the
Philadelphia Flyers
for a low draft pick in order to give him a chance to play for a
contending team. However, Babych missed a substantial amount of time
after breaking his foot blocking a slap shot soon after his arrival in
Philadelphia, and the Flyers were knocked out of the playoffs in the
first round.
Babych continued to serve as a depth defender for the Flyers in
1998–99, before being dealt to the
Los Angeles Kings
at the trade deadline. He finished his final season with two goals and 8
points in 41 games between Philadelphia and Los Angeles. He had a brief
stint in
Switzerland in 2000 before retiring.
Babych finished his career with 142 goals and 581 assists for 723
points in 1195 NHL games, along with 970 penalty minutes. He added 21
goals and 41 assists for 62 points in 114 playoff games.
Retirement
Babych made his home in North Vancouver
[disambiguation needed],
British Columbia, following his retirement.
[1] In December 2009, he was hired to work in a part-time capacity with the
Vancouver Canucks as an assistant specializing in defencemen to director of player personnel
Dave Gagner.
[1]
Lawsuit against the Flyers
Babych sued the Flyers and the team's orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Arthur
Bartolozzi, in 2002, claiming that improper medical care for his 1998
foot injury shortened his career. Bartolozzi misdiagnosed the injury as a
bone bruise rather than a fracture, and gave Babych painkillers so he
could suit up for the first round of the playoffs. Babych claimed for
many years that playing through the injury caused permanent damage which
prematurely ended his career. Claiming that the Flyers and Bartolozzi
had defrauded him, he sued for $2 million in lost wages. The Flyers were
dismissed as a defendant before trial when a judge ruled there was no
evidence of fraud on their part. While a jury found no evidence of fraud
Bartolozzi's part either, it found that he failed to follow accepted
standards of care and awarded Babych US$$1.02 million in lost wages and
US$350,000 for pain and suffering in November 2002.
[2]
Personal life
Babych, who is of
Ukrainian ancestry,
[3] was born in
Edmonton, Alberta.
Dave and Wayne Babych are also brothers-in-law, as they married twin
sisters. They have since divorced their first wives and started new
families.
Babych had a small role in the movie
Slap Shot 2.
[4]
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