Randy Carlyle has been fired..and What does Oaks think about that?

Randy Carlyle is no longer the Coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs…

You might expect me to jump for joy, because when I actively engaged in conversation about the Leafs on social media,

I tended to use #FireNonis & #FireCarlyle a lot.

I have blamed Randy Carlyle for many things during his tenure as the Coach of the Iconic Toronto Maple Leafs.

Right or wrong, the coach, & eventually the GM will always take the fall for failure to perform in the sporting world.

I wrote a blog earlier this offseason https://bluescotian.wordpress.com/2014/03/30/too-hot-for-twitter/ regarding how the Leafs have fared since Burke was fired.

If you didn’t read that. READ it. It explains why Randy, although the coach, should not shoulder 100% of the failure of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Dave Nonis, said this “Inconsistency ended Randy Carlyle’s tenure as coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs”

Dave Nonis, is easily the worst General Manager the Leafs have ever had in my life.

Keeping in mind, I’ve been around since the 70’s

Randy Carlyle was fired, as many Leafs fans know after the Maple Leafs lost five of seven games on their last road trip.

This season the Leafs are 21-16-3 record this season & hold one of the two wild-card spots in the Eastern Conference.

Dave Nonis should stop talking, he’s an idiot…Dave Nonis also had this to say,

“I think we’d all agree we’ve had some good periods, good stretches, but I don’t think I can stand here in front of you and say that we’ve been consistent.”

“We just felt at this point this was the right time to make the change and move ahead and try to get this team back playing like we have played for periods this season.”

It’s been reported that Assistants Peter Horachek and Steve Spott will handle coaching duties for Wednesday night’s home game against the Washington Capitals.

Peter Horachek ran the first practice of the post-Carlyle era.

Dave Nonis did not indicate if or when the Leafs might hire a full-time head coach and you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure out why…

Dave Nonis will have ZERO authority to make the next coaching hire. It will be Shanahan, with the Approval of MLSE who hires the next coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The problem that I have with Horacheck & Spott handling coaching duties is obvious. The defence & offence are still horrid.

Is that because of the players Nonis brought in? Or is it because of Carlyle not listening to Horacheck & Spott if either suggested something outside Carlyle’s thinking…

Ot is it a combination of all 3?

According to Dave Nonis, no timeline has been established for a new hire.

Read between the lines, if Shanahan thinks Babcock would consider coming here…we’ll likely have Horachek running the team till the end of the season.

Dreger adds that all Leaf players are now potential trade targets as the team moves forward.

Well, what a novel thought…I’ve only been advocating trading any single player on the Leafs my entire life. You trade anyone and everyone, if it makes the team better.

It frustrates me that Brendan Shanahan has barely spoken a word publicly on the Toronto Maple Leafs since he was hired.

When ever the muppet Nonis opens his mouth, I wonder how much of it is his words, or your words.

I’m still waiting for Shanahan to win me over.

Firing Carlyle, not good enough, Dave Nonis saying it was a joint decision between himself And Shanahan…go drink some more MLSE KoolAid

Shanahan..how about you actually grow a pair..and prove you want to bring the Cup to Toronto.

Randy Carlyle did coach over 700 games and he did win a Stanley Cup. Not every coach can claim that distinction.

As coach of the Maple Leafs, Carlyle went 91-78-19 in 188 games as Leafs coach over parts of four seasons.

Factor in those shootout losses or OT losses..he lost 97 games as a coach here and won 91.

Dave Nonis mentioned that it was the right decision to give Carlyle a contract extension, yet all of his assistants were fired.

I knew the day would come when Randy Carlyle would be fired. He’s earned the right to be fired.

His line combinations, his obsession with using Tyler Bozak who is ideally suited to being a #2 or #3 Center as the #1 Center..even though every SINGLE analytic out there showed that Nazem Kadri produced better numbers.

His belief that the key to fixing the Leafs after the disaster against the Bruins was to go get ANOTHER Goalie…

What happened with that?

Dave Nonis went & traded Scrivens (a backup) & Matt Frattin to the LA Kings, who were more than happy to dump Bernier…because they knew Quick was better, and Martin Jones has a higher ceiling than Bernier.

LA quickly traded Frattin and Scrivens…showing people, they just wanted Bernier gone..ask Dean Lombardi about Bernier…he was thrilled to get rid of him.

After the epic meltdown in Boston, Phaneuf should have been shipped out, not rewarded with a monster contract, the Leafs should have made REAL attempts to get a REAL #1 D & a REAL #1 Center..

BUT, as history showed us, Nonis is an assclown who should have been fired long long long long before Carlyle.

I could easily place all the blame on Carlyle…as many of the dysfunctional fans in Leafsnation will…

BUT, the reality is this..

I give Dave Nonis 1/3 of the blame. He brought in bloated pieces of crap like Robidas, overpaid Phaneuf, Lupul, Bozak, overpaid BIG time for Komarov (who I like, just not at 4 years, 4 million per) grossly overpaid for 3rd line David Clarkson, overpaid for an average goalie in Bernier. AND THEN Brought Matt Frattin back….WHY?

I give Randy Carlyle 1/3 of the blame for this like I mentioned earlier, line combos, Bozak over Kadri etc…

The preferential treatment that Bernier gets over Reimer.

Don’t even argue this point, I can give enough examples..

Move along.

I also blame the players, they get 1/3 of the blame as well.

Every single member of the NHL Toronto Maple Leafs gets paid more money than most will see, ever, in a single season.

As a pro athlete..you have one thing you’re supposed to do when you play the sport you are a member of…that job is to play to the highest level of your abilities.

Every single game, you can see the same players over and over who are not committed to winning.

I’m not going to single out Mr. Floater..Mr.Cherry Picker, Mr. I’ll never be a complete 2 way player, AKA Tyler Slowzak..or talk about one dimensional Kessel (can you imagine of Kessel actually used his speed, to be a 2 way forward)

I won ‘t even talk about Mr. Brittle AKA Mr Porn Star, you know, the guy that so many “female fans” say is so dreamy… (pukes) Joffrey Lupul

Lupul should have been dealt after the Boston series, that was likely his highest trade value in ages, if we get a pick for him, I’d be thrilled.

The bottom line is there are far too many players on the team that are consistently invisible, soft, disinterested and generally a liability.

The core of this team is JVR, (talented, but refuses to use his size properly, invisible more often than not)

Kessel, speedy, point producer…ZERO attempts to develop a 2 way game, which is why when he’s not scoring, he’s a massive liability on the ice.

Phaneuf. Overpaid. Plays way too many minutes. He’s never had the right partner since he came to Toronto.

Bozak…I’m not going there again.

Lupul..brittle..do I need to repeat myself…

I want to include Franson, Gardiner & Reimer as being core members of the team, but I can’t because..

Reimer’s been screwed here since Game 7, he’ll be moved soon

Franson has been screwed in 3 straight contracts from MLSE. ( I hope he stays, but he’s UFA at seasons end..expect him to be dealt sooner than later.

AND Gardiner, with his speed & hands should have played his natural postion, which was NOT defence..it was on the Wing…

If you take the core as being Lupul, Bozak, Kessel, JVR, Phaneuf, Gards, Franson & Reimer…

Newflash**** that core will NEVER be good enough to win a cup, let alone win a division.

Therefore, Randy Carlyle, is the goat, but the truth of the matter is..the players & Nonis do NOT get a free pass from me.

We have serious cap issues, because of Nonis, Bernier & Kadri will soon be RFA and BOTH are going to want to GET PAID…

Players will be moved, no doubt about it.

I hope whomever the new coach is, they do things their way, it’s obvious, the Ron Wilson & Randy Carlyle way of doing things, it doesn’t work.

Amazing the Leafs have fired Greg Cronin, Dave Poulin, Claude Loiselle, Francois Allaire, Dave Farrish, Ron Wilson, Randy Carlyle, Brian Burke in the last 5 years , am I missing anyone else?

YET….somehow Dave Nonis keeps his job..

WHY????

Even if I ignored EVERY single thing that has happened during the tenure of the Maple Leafs…

I could give you a perfect reason to FIRE Randy Carlyle…

Here it is…

The Maple Leafs are leading 4-1 –11 minutes left to go in Game 7…

Boston scores..No timeout called…

Boston scores again… No timeout called..

Boston SCORES again to tie the game.. No timeout…

History shows us that a playoff experienced team will usually always beat a team with little to no playoff experience.

Who’s to say that calling a timeout after the 2nd or 3rd, or EVEN the 4th goal would have made a difference.

However, if you’re a coach…you do have timeouts…USE THEM

The next Coach & GM, whether it’s Gilmour, Messier, Gretzky, Todd Gill, Noel, Peter Deboer, Eakins, Spott, John Tortorella, Mike Keenan, Peter Horacheck, Mark Hunter, Dale Hunter (likely no chance he leaves London) Mike Babcock, Dan Bylsma, Guy Boucher OR someone else will still have the same issues that Randy did.

They will inherit a spoiled, overpaid, underwhelming bunch of miscreants…and that NEW coach and/or GM will have a short stay here as well…

THE only way the new coach, and eventually GM will have any chance, is to blow this team apart…AGAIN *sighs*

AND as a lifelong fan of the Maple Leafs, more losing, and not making the playoffs, this makes me sad.

As I said, at the beginning of this blog, you think I’d be dancing, but I’m not…because Carlyle did deserve to be fired (Guaranteed Contract, still getting paid)

But, MLSE dropped the ball by NOT firing the Architect of this BRUTAL train wreck, 18 wheeler driving off the cliff…Mr. Dave Nonis.

I know who I’d like to see be the new coach, and also the new GM…but… I don’t run MLSE

There was a time, when putting on the Maple Leaf jersey meant something, it meant you played above your abilities, just ask Clark, Gilmour, Roberts, what it meant..course those guys didn’t take nights off…and they all made less than Nozak does per year… 😐

Randy Carlyle has been fired…

BUT, from this fan to other fans,

It’s not enough.

Saying Goodbye to Tomas Kaberle

 

Appreciation: An open letter to Tomas Kaberle

Dear Tomas:

It’s never easy to say goodbye to a family member. And over more than 12 seasons, 878 games and countless memories, that’s exactly what you became.

It all started on October 10, 1998.

Two years after getting drafted by Toronto as a shy 18-year-old, there you were in your NHL debut against the Red Wings. There you were in your new home, far away from your old home in the Czech Republic.

A spirit of change floated toward the rafters that night.

It was the last time a season would begin at Maple Leaf Gardens. It was the first time the Leafs were in the Eastern Conference. The word “rebuild” was used more than once that summer.

You played nearly 30 minutes that night. You were on the ice for power plays and even the final minute of Toronto’s thrilling 2-1 win. And although it was sketched in the dotted-line silhouette of first impressions, your extraordinary skill level was obvious.

You skated with the grace of a swan. You passed the puck with elegance and precision. None of this ever stopped once it started.

We didn’t know much about you back then. Certainly, there was no way to divine the numbers and milestones now attached to your name with bittersweet finality: 520 career points. Eighth on the all-time list for games played in Toronto. The second-highest number of assists and points for a defenceman in team history, behind only a fellow by the name of Borje Salming.

Even this season, even after all this time, the numbers remain impressive: 35 assists ties you for fifth among all NHL defencemen and 16th among all skaters on all teams. Put it this way: You now have one more assist than Sidney Crosby and have factored into more than a quarter of the Leafs’ 146 goals this season.

How the Leafs compensate for these backend numbers is their problem. How you slience criticism that surfaced from certain corners in recent years – “He doesn’t shoot enough,” “He doesn’t really care about winning” – is your problem.

Solving problems is what good families do.

You wanted to stay in Toronto. You asked for a contract extension. But when all was said and done, when it became obvious the family needed to change, you helped the only team you’ve ever known find a new team for your services.

You did the right thing and for that you should be commended.

In an ideal world, of course, you would have retired in blue and white during a sentimental ceremony. But idealism and sentiment should never cloud the cold decisions that need to be made in the world of professional hockey.

That spirit of change is floating up again toward the rafters.

The Leafs could have lost you for nothing on July 1. The “rebuild” word is in heavy rotation, just like when you were a rookie in that October game against Detroit.

So even though it feels like a day of mourning, the truth is, we should be celebrating. We should be celebrating everything you did for us. And we should celebrate the arrival of yet another first-round pick and yet another promising young prospect.

We may worry about what your departure means to the word we dare not use. We may second-guess this or that. But here’s the thing: Sometimes you have to say goodbye to yesterday to welcome tomorrow.

So as trades go, when you factor in both time and need, this one feels beneficial for all involved. In the short-term, Boston benefits. In the long-term, Toronto benefits. And in between, you benefit.

You represented the Leafs in four NHL All-Star games. You represented the Czech Republic in three Winter Olympics. Along the way, you carried yourself with class and dignity, always content to inhabit the shadows away from the spotlight, always the same shy teen when the cameras flashed and the microphones whirred.

So this is it, then. Good luck in Boston. We are excited for you and excited for what we may become in the days and weeks and months ahead.

Farewell and thank you.

I read this from an online source & I had to reprint this the above article,

The thoughts below are mine

I’m really gonna miss Tomas,

Tomas leaving is on the shoulders of Brian Burke & Ron Wilson…

Put whatever spin you want on the trade,

Tomas wanted to finish his career where he started…and now he won’t…

I hope the Douche Party running the Maple Leafs are happy,

I’m not, I’m forever changed…

I’m scarred…

Oakley

Road Trip to Ottawa

Everyone is aware of my passion & my life long loyalty to the Toronto Maple Leafs,

I decided to start 2K11 the right way – by watching the Toronto Maple Leafs play the useless Ottawa Senators – in Ottawa.

The nice thing about moving to Ontario is there are lots of Leafs fans.

I left on Saturday Jan 1 2011 around 11 am and headed on down the highway with Garrett.

It was raining very hard for most of the trip…but it was still a very easy drive.

The long drive allowed for good conversation & of course a mandatory stop at the Tim Hortons in Kingston, haha

The Lord Elgin Hotel was a great choice, valet parking, amazing breakfast buffet, wow…and…it was close to everything.

Game time was looming so off we went to Kanata – home of the Sens.

Garrett did tell me there would be many fans of the Leafs at the game, I was figuring a few hundred maybe…

I was not even close to being right…

There were thousands upon Thousands of Leafs fans there,

It didn’t feel like a road game, it felt like a home game…

It was an epic night, everytime Alfie touched the puck, the jeers rained down upon him…

Everytime the Leafs scored the Arena exploded in applause & cheers…

The Leafs scored lots, Ottawa did not bother to show up for this game…

If I were a Sens fan, I’d be embarrassed that a road team had more fans at the game and that the road team massacred the home team in their arena.

I’ve long despised Chris Neil, thankfully Colton Orr was the remedy for that Chronic Ailment…

Neil chickened out in the 1st period but Orr wasn’t letting him get away this time…

Orr destroyed Neil, hit him so many times I thought Neil’s head might explode.

It was a great night, Leafs won 5-1…I had a blast taunting the 12 Sens fans in the arena, haha…

The next day Garrett took me around to some really awesome places…

I’m a huge photography guy so I was able to take pics of the Parliament Buildings,various statues on the Grounds & my favorite…the War Memorial…

I took so many photos, but the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier had a deep impact on me…

The Military has always had an impact on me for many reasons…

I’m a staunch supporter of the Military,

I really appreciated that there is a place to honor our fallen heroes,

Lest We Forget…

I’ll be going back to Ottawa again, from what I saw it is a beautiful city…

The architecture grips me, plus I want to see the Leafs beat up on the Sens again…

Everyone is welcome to come on the next trip…

Oakley

A Life Lived

A Life  Lived

Pat Burns lived, Pat Burns died.

If that was all I wrote, who would care. I obviously care, or I wouldn’t write this blog.This is a blog about the Man. It’s also about my perspective on him as well.

I hope you enjoy what you read.

Pat Burns was born on April 4, 1952. He passed away on November 19 2010. In his life he was many things, a street cop in Gatineau, a husband, a father & a grandfather. A legend to some; an Icon in Leafs Nation.

For the majority of us who did not know him personally he was a former NHL coach. Statistically speaking he coached over 1000 games in the NHL and won over 500 of them.

He is the only coach in NHL history with 3 Jack Adams trophies, amazing when you consider that he won coach of the year with 3 different teams, Montreal, Toronto & Boston. Ironic that those are 3 of the most storied franchise in NHL history, and part of the original 6. To this day, I’m still trying to understand how he didn’t with Coach of the Year when the Devils won the Stanley Cup

It all started though with a bold move that few saw coming

Former Olympiques general manager Charlie Henry said he wanted to make a bold move when he hired Burns to coach his team in 1984. The Olympiques then had a poor reputation and losing record. There was a sour atmosphere around the team.

When Wayne Gretzky bought the team, said Henry, it was time to make a statement about the team heading in a new direction. And Burns was the perfect man to lead the change. After spending two years as an assistant coach with the Olympiques, Burns was hired as their head coach in 1984.

The bottom-dwelling team promptly shot up the standings, especially after Burns and scout René Young began to accumulate hard-working players, the type Burns liked best.

Seven Hull players were named to the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s Lebel Division all-star team in 1984, and the Olympiques rose in the standings to finish second. The next season, 1985-86, they finished first and earned a trip to the Memorial Cup.

But a brutal tournament schedule did the Olympiques in. The final game took place at 11 a.m., just 121/2 hours after Hull beat the Portland Winter Hawks 9-3. The Guelph Platers (coach by former Senators bench boss Jacques Martin) won the final 6-2 on four days’ rest.

“We worked hard all season, gave it everything we had right to the end,” captain Rick Hayward said afterward. Senators goalie coach Rick Wamsley, who played for Burns at the end of his career and then coached with him in Toronto, described Burns as the ultimate competitor.

“He had a real simple approach to the game: If you were playing well, you played; if you were not playing well, you didn’t play much, if at all,” Wamsley said. “It was always black and white, no grey, with Pat.” As a coach, Wamsley said, Burns was big on repetition.

“I think we did only 18 drills in four years in Toronto. He brought enough structure to his team, but allowed the players to play. He expected effort and if he got it, the team generally performed well.” Wamsley conceded, however, that Burns was not a coach the players liked.

“I think you have to define ‘like,’” he said. “I think he wasn’t liked every day, I think that’s fair to say.” But when he took an over-achieving Leafs team to within one win of the Stanley Cup final in 1993, the players knew a lot of their success had to do with Burns’s coaching.

Ottawa assistant general manager Tim Murray said the NHL needs more “guys like Pat … guys who tell the truth and don’t beat around the bush. That’s the type of the guy he was. He didn’t play politics and he succeeded because of abilities as a coach.”

He eventually made his way to Montreal and had a very good run there. He then headed to the Leafs, then Boston , then to New Jersey where he won his only Stanley Cup in 2002-2003. He coached from 1988 to his final season in 2003-2004.

In his entire tenure as an NHL coach, his teams never missed the playoffs EVER.

When he took over the hapless blue & white in 1992 he revitalized the Leafs. In his first season as coach they accumulated 99 points, a massive improvement from seasons past.

Pat Burns always said his best days as coach; the ones he remembered with most fondness; were in Toronto. He never quite got over that firing – disappearing in his truck in the middle of the night, leaving a message to the players on the dressing room blackboard.

I never really got over it either. He was my favourite coach of all time, with John Brophy being a close second (google his AHL career) & that other Irish coach, Pat Quinn. Pat Burns will always be the Coach to me.

Considering he coached for as long as he did; give credit where credit is due.

I don’t believe the Toronto Maple Leafs will ever have another coach who will leave his mark on the team, the fans, and the city the way Pat Burns did. Unless of course Wendel or Dougie is the coach, then it might happen. 281 regular season games. Two magical seasons, a disappointing lock-out shortened campaign, followed by his dismissal as his sputtering team was hitting the stretch run. But two immaculate playoff journeys. Ones we’ll never forget. Ones synonymous with success, and ones that defined Burns’s time in Toronto.

Burns was a blue collar guy. The type of guy Toronto falls in love with, three times over. When you think of Pat Burns, you think of Doug Gilmour, Wendel Clark, and Dave Andreychuk. You think of Bob Rouse, Sylvain Lefebvre, Jamie Macoun, and Todd Gill. You think of heart. You think of “The Passion Returns.” And return it did, with Burns playing an influential part.

Certain  moments with Path Burns have stuck with me, all these years later: Burns’s return to Montreal. Having come to Toronto via the hated Canadiens, it was no secret he wanted to stick it to his former team. He wanted that game, bad. Everyone knew it. And his players went out and won it for him. I even remember the score: 5-4 Toronto, with the Leafs holding on for the road victory. The craziest thing was the Leafs were down 4-0 at one point. At the end, there was Burns on the bench, swinging his arm around, in what might have been an early interpretation of the fist pump. Pat Burns was ahead of his time.

Another bittersweet memory for me was Pat Burns leaving the Toronto bench in the playoffs against Los Angeles, I believe he wanted to break the neck of Barry Melrose. Melrose totally had it coming. I believe that Melrose ordered the hit on Dougie, I won’t ever change that opinion. Passion existed that night; there was fire in the eyes of Pat Burns.

Who can forget game seven against the Kings, when it was over and the teams had shaken hands, there was Burns at the Maple Leafs bench, applauding his players as they left the ice for the final time. Twenty-one grueling playoff games. Three game sevens. A coach proud in defeat. I’ll never forget the ass-tap Burns gave Gilmour as #93 stepped off the ice, ending a season the likes of which we’ll never see again.

I’m not a fan of the New Jersey Devils, but I’m glad Pat Burns won the Stanley Cup. He deserved it. I remember reading a few years back that you won’t find a picture of his Devils championship team on his mantle. Instead, you’ll find the photograph of the 1992/1993 Leafs. As Burns put it, that team was “special.”

That is one reason why Pat Burns is a hero to me.

Until the Toronto Maple Leafs win the Stanley Cup in my lifetime – and I’m beginning to realize this may never, ever happen – every man who comes to coach the blue and white will be compared to Burns. When he was back there, it was the closest the Leafs have ever comet o being a Cup winner, ahhh the bittersweet memories of 1993, and all you Leafs fans know my pain.

Just like no one can ever replace Cito Gaston at the Blue Jays until they win more than 2 World Series, which I may never see again in my lifetime.

In 2004 everything changes, Pat Burns survived colon cancer in 2004 and liver cancer in 2005, however; he retired from coaching after the second diagnosis. In 2009, Burns acknowledged he had been diagnosed with cancer for a third time, this time lung cancer. The cancer was incurable and he decided to forgo further treatment.

During an April 2010 interview Burns stated “I know my life is nearing its end and I accept that.

Pat Burns overcame many obstacles to get to the top of the mountain. He beat everything in regards to the odds. He beat cancer twice, however Cancer had to come back a third time before it could be said that Pat could be beaten. It took 3 different types of Cancer & 7 years to do it. Any one person that can do that is a hero to me. A lesser person would have submitted much sooner.

“As your life gets closer to the end, you realize that your body gets weaker, your mind gets working hard, but your heart gets softer. As you get closer to family, you get closer to God, there are things you realize along the way and all the great people you’ve worked with,” he told friends and a community that, in his heart, he never really left.

It seemed only fitting that just a day after he passed that his beloved Toronto Maple Leafs would play against the first team he ever coached; the Montreal Canadians.

The tribute of course brought tears to my eyes, thank you CBC & HNIC.

In the minds of many Leafs & Habs fans he never really left,

In my mind, I’ll always have my memories of Pat Burns…

“Life lives, life dies. Life laughs, life cries. Life gives up and life tries. But life looks different through everyone’s eyes.”

“Have the courage to live. Anyone can die.”

Pat Burns lived & Pat Burns died.

We will always remember Pat Burns, he died like he lived, just like his 93 Leafs,

He did it with passion.

Oakley

How Do You Get That Lonely

Today, I DON’T want to talk about being a fan of the Toronto Maple Leafs, 

My friends, you know how much I love my Maple Leafs.

This blog goes beyond the fact that Luke Richardson was a Maple Leaf.

He was also a father.

Today I want to talk about sacrifice, heartbreak & other raw emotions that many are afraid to speak of.

I have never believed that suicide is the option that will fix my problems or anyone else’s. Based on my Faith, I don’t believe Suicide is a Sin that will ever be forgiven, because it goes against God’s Divine plan.

However, not everyone believes in God, so that is a non-factor in their thought process.

I also don’t know what level of pain & suffering someone is really experiencing because those who suffer don’t usually let anyone know how bad it really is. I will NEVER judge someone’s suffering. We all have our pains.

This may come as a shock to some, but there have been 2 moments in my life where I have seriously & I mean seriously have contemplated suicide.

Those who know me, may be surprised others might be stunned. However, those 2 moments were the most difficult moments in my life. There are reasons & situations that developed that prevented my thoughts from becoming reality.

With the increasing coverage being given as of late to Teen Suicides it’s with a heavy heart that I write this blog, but even in darkens the sun will shine – Bellezza Del Sole – Translation – Beauty of the Sun…

That motto is a big reason I am alive. Maybe one day, I’ll talk about it…

 

Sadly Daron Richardson, the 14-year-old daughter of Ottawa Senators assistant coach Luke Richardson, took her own life last Friday at the family’s Ottawa home.

 

Richardson, his wife Stephanie and their daughter Morgan, 16, donated Daron’s organs so that others might live, then tried to help ensure that other families don’t endure their trauma.

The family “openly shared the circumstances of her death to remove the stigma of pain and fear associated with suicide,” Roshene Lawson, chaplain of the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, said at a “celebration of life service” at Scotiabank Place, the Senators home arena.

“They want to spare other families the pain they are suffering.”

Daron’s “final act,” said Lawson, “was not her death on Friday, but giving life to others on Sunday.”

Four people benefited from transplants due to the Richardsons’ selflessness.

The public ceremony drew a crowd of about 5,600, including more than 100 NHL alumni, to the suburban hockey rink on a blustery, wet weekday morning,

Richardson is a former defenceman who played 21 seasons in the NHL with six different teams and those grieving with the family included Paul Coffey,Shayne Corson, Wendel Clark, Doug Gilmour, Ron Hextall, Bill Ranford and a host of other former NHL stars. A teary Garry Galley was the master of ceremonies.

The entire Senators hockey club abbreviated a four-game road trip to return home for the ceremony and flew out immediately afterward for a game Wednesday night against the Carolina Hurricanes.

But this was not a day about NHL stardom — apart from the platform it provided for reaching a wider public audience.

Bus loads of students from two private schools Daron attended in Ottawa were in the audience.

The message appeared to be getting through.

“If you need help, you need to go ask for help,” Katherine Maine, 13, said outside the rink as she arrived with friends Leah Buchanan and Hannah Sanders.

All three had played hockey with Daron, who was described as both an elite athlete and an immensely popular, gifted student in art and theatre.

Mike Dagenais, Daron’s godfather and a former junior teammate of Luke Richardson with the Peterborough Petes, gave a eulogy in which he described one of Daron’s defining characteristics as “her love for life.”

It was one of many profoundly puzzling moments in the day.

Daron, whose extensive family travels took her from Stonehenge to the Galapagos Islands, had a large circle of close friends. A top hockey player, she also learned to water ski at age three and went bungee jumping at five.

Bryan Murray, the Senators general manager, said afterward there’s no immunity for anyone from family tragedy, pro athletes or otherwise.

“As much as we try to be part of our children’s lives, things do happen that are complicated sometimes and we don’t always — we certainly don’t have the answers in this case,” said Murray.

Cyril Leeder, the president of Senators Sports and Entertainment, said the Richardson family “chose the road less travelled.”

“Sometimes that road is more difficult, but it doesn’t mean it’s not the right path to choose,” Leeder said after the ceremony.

“They wanted to make something good happen out of a tragedy and they were able to raise the awareness on teen suicide and also provide organ donations so that four others could go forward.”

I implore those in darkness to ask for help, before it’s too late…

The only positive out of all this darkness is 4 people will now have a better quality of life and that people might realize that teen suicide is become an epic problem…

Sometimes you can see the signs, sometime you cannot…

If you see them, make sure you do not remain silent.

One life of a child, that’s too heavy of a burden…

Speak…

Oakley