Revenge is Best Served on the Ice

Written by slanch

Monday, 07 December 2009 10:49

I knew I always kind of liked Brendan Shanahan, the feisty winger retired recently from the NHL with over 650 goals, nearly 700 assists and almost 2500 penalty minutes. Even more importantly, he retired as the unofficial career leader in Gordie Howe Hat Tricks -- which involve scoring a goal, an assist and a fight in one game -- with 9. While talking with reporters about his new job with the NHL commissioner's office, Shanahan told a story showing how the pugnacious forward never forgot a slight, even one done to him as a teenager.

"When I was 14 years old I was skating in the summertime at a rink in Toronto," Shahanan recalled. "Rick Vaive happened to be skating at an adjoining rink and we were actually in dressing rooms that were right next to each other. "I went in when he was sort of settled and asked him for an autograph. I didn’t get the best response from Rick Vaive at that time." "Fast forward four years later and Rick Vaive is waiting for a meaningless faceoff in Buffalo," Shanahan said. "He’s now playing for the Sabres. He’s lined up next to some 18-year-old kid from New Jersey. When the puck dropped, I attacked Rick Vaive. "It was a quiet, uneventful game. He couldn’t believe the rage I had, not only in attacking him, but it took two (linesmen) to restrain me afterwards and throw me in the penalty box." Vaive was dumbfounded. "He said to one of my teammates at the time, Jim Korn, 'By the way, what’s wrong with that kid and why was he coming after me?' " Shanahan recounted. "Jim Korn said, 'Apparently he asked you for an autograph when he was a little kid and you weren’t that friendly to him. So he’s harbored those feelings since then.' "