Red Wings Mourn The Loss Of McCrimmon, Salei
It happened halfway around the world, but one of the worst-ever tragedies involving a sports team hit close to home for the Red Wings.
Brad McCrimmon, a former Wings defenseman and one of their assistant coaches for the past three seasons, and defenseman Ruslan Salei, who spent last season in Detroit, were among 43 people who died on Sept. 7 when a plane carrying KHL club Lokomotiv Yaroslavl crashed in Russia.
The Wings called it a huge loss for the hockey world. Both were described as "good family men."
"They were both special in their own way," Wings captain Nicklas Lidstrom said. "Rusty (Salei) was a team player and played well for us. I got to know Beast (McCrimmon) real well. He helped me out a lot here my first year here in the league (1991-92)."
McCrimmon, who was 52, spent 18 seasons in the NHL from 1979-97. The longtime assistant coach longed to be a head coach and got an opportunity from Lokomotiv in May.
Salei, who was 36, spent 14 NHL seasons with Anaheim, Florida, Colorado and Detroit. The stay-at-home defenseman played 75 games for the Red Wings during a difficult season in which he commuted several times from Detroit to Southern California to be with his expectant wife, who delivered their third child in March.
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