The hockey world lost a great figure today with the passing of Minnesota Wild assistant general manager, Tom Kurvers. Kurvers had been battling lung cancer for some time before succumbing to the disease. The team released a statement late Monday morning. He was 58 years old.
— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) June 21, 2021
Tom Kurvers Passes Away
Kurvers had an accomplished hockey career. The Montreal Canadiens drafted him in the seventh round of the 1981 Draft and he debuted shortly afterwards in 1984-85. The 6’2″, 195-pound defenceman never stayed with any one franchise for more than three seasons, but still managed to accumulate over 650 NHL games with seven different organizations across 11 campaigns. His best year came in 1988-89 with the New Jersey Devils. That is when Kurvers scored 16 goals and 66 points in 74 games. The Minneapolis native also collected eight goals and 30 points in 57 postseasons games. He was never a central figure on his teams, but it is hard to discount his production even in a scoring environment like the 1980s.
The past several years had seen Kurvers act as the assistant general manager for Minnesota after serving in a front office role for the Tampa Bay Lightning. It is hard to know how much of an impact he had as individual, but he was part of an organization that has built a strong foundation for the foreseeable future.
Kurver’s legacy
It is hard to not feel sad at Kurvers’ passing. There is something very poetic about a former Hobey Baker winner returning to his hometown team to help build a lasting winner. We also cannot forget that he skated with some of the Canadiens’ notable stars on their 1985-86 Stanley Cup team. That squad including such notable luminaries as Guy Carbonneau and a young Patrick Roy. Kurvers’ hockey legacy will be a lasting one for any franchise where he was able to contribute. It was an impressive life serving hockey and worthy of our collective respect.
