Winnipeg's hockey community remembers Hall of Famer Bobby Hull
Former teammates remember his legendary slapshot
Winnipeg's hockey community is mourning the death of hockey legend and former Jets player Bobby Hull, who has died at the age of 84.
"I have what I have today because of what Bobby meant to me," said Joe Daley, owner Joe Daley's Sports & Framing and former Jets teammate of Hull's.
"It's another one of those days where you do a lot of thinking and reflecting on what somebody that's gone, meant to you."
Over a 23-year pro career, Hull, born Robert Marvin Hull Jr., played in the NHL for Chicago and Hartford, and with the Winnipeg Jets when the team was part of the World Hockey Association. The Chicago organization confirmed his death Monday.
Hull was the first NHLer to score over 50 goals in a season. His 604 goals with Chicago remain a team record.
Daley said Hull would keep him on his toes as a goalie, and said Hull had "the hardest shot in the world" at the time.
"I had no fear of him, so that's probably why I went home from a practice with a few bruises, because I would challenge him," Daley said.
"That was the thing that most of the goaltenders he faced were a little scared of. They didn't like that slapshot coming at your head."
Gordie Tumilson, a former Jets goalie and Hull's teammate, also faced Hull's slapshots.
"The practices were a little tough because they did take it out on me a little bit, but that's OK. We had really good equipment back then."
Tumilson said when he found out about Hull's death, he had to take a deep breath and tried not to tear up.
Hull "had an impact on our city, our town, our province, our players, certainly. And me as a person," he said.
Geoff Kirbyson, Jets historian and author, said Hull played a big role in the success of the Winnipeg Jets when he left the Chicago Blackhawks and the National Hockey League.
In 1972, Hull joined the Jets during the team's inaugural season with the World Hockey Association. The Jets offered Hull a then-unprecedented $2.75-million contract with a $1-million signing bonus. It was a move that helped shatter the NHL's stranglehold on players and started the escalation of player's salaries.
Kirbyson said it set off a chain of events that are still evident today.
"The other teams knew that if Bobby Hull was in the [WHA], that he would put butts in the chairs in their arenas," Kirbyson said. "He gave the [league] legitimacy immediately and the Winnipeg Jets legitimacy right away."
In 1979, both hockey leagues decided to merge, paving the way for the Jets to join the NHL. Kirbyson said without Hull, the WHA may not have survived, and the Jets' history could have ended there.
WATCH | Hull scores 1,000th goal in Jets' WHA win in 1978:
"Without Bobby Hull coming to Winnipeg in 1972, we would not be talking about Blake Wheeler, we would not be talking about Connor Hellebuyck, and we would not be talking about the Winnipeg Jets being a Stanley Cup contender in 2023," Kirbyson said.
Although Hull is hailed as "the Golden Jet," he was not without controversy.
Hull's second wife, Joanne McKay, publicly accused him of beating and threatening her throughout their 20-year marriage, which included Hull's time in Winnipeg. He stoked more controversy in 1998 when he was quoted in the Moscow Times saying, "Hitler, for example, had some good ideas. He just went a little bit too far."
Daley said he chooses to focus on his experience with Hull as a teammate and friend.
"I do that because I have no first-hand knowledge of what transpired," he said.
Kirbyson said Hull's fame may have played a part in the "dysfunctional relationship" with McKay.
"Certainly, he was not perfect. But the the legendary part of things with him is is obviously what happened on the ice," Kirbyson said.
"I don't think that tarnishes Bobby Hull's on ice accomplishments."
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With files from Karen Pauls