NHL News: Jets to honor Dale Hawerchuk; and Kevin Fiala arbitration details
Anthony Scultore
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Dale Hawerchuk lost his battle with stomach cancer at the age of 57 last August. On Friday, the Winnipeg Jets organization announced they will honor his memory with a statue that will be unveiled at True North Square next August.
The statue will be designed by artist Erik Blome of Figurative Art Studio. He’s best known for his Wayne Gretzky statue that sits outside the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
Jets to honor Dale Hawerchuk with Statue
The Winnipeg Jets legend was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame back in 2001. His career was filled with impressive accomplishments and stats, but he was widely overshadowed by the likes of Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux during his career.
So how good was Dale? In the 1984-85 season he scored 130 points, good for third in the NHL in scoring. Wayne Gretzky of course notched 208 points, and his linemate Jari Kurri finished with 135 as the primary beneficiary of The Great One’s 135 assists.
Hawerchuk played 16 seasons in the NHL, retiring in 1997. He finished with 518 goals and 1409 points in 1188 games. His impact on the city of Winnipeg go beyond stats and he will be rightfully memorialized there. Plans have also been submitted to rename a street for him as well.
“Dale, quite simply, is part of the fabric of this city and of the Winnipeg Jets organization,” Jets executive chairman and governor Mark Chipman said. “Beyond that, he has contributed so much to the sport of hockey. We are so proud to give Dale these much-deserved honors to showcase his extraordinary career and the remarkable person he was, and ensure his legacy lives well beyond the fans who followed his career and who were lucky enough to see him play.”
Kevin Fiala arbitration details
In a rare move, the Minnesota Wild opted to exercise their club option for salary arbitration with Kevin Fiala.
So why did the Wild opt to file when the player did not? With the uncertainty on Kaprizov, this will at least ensure that Fiala will be under contract for the start of camp and not a hold out.
Elliotte Friedman is reporting that Fiala is asking for $6.25M and the Wild counter is $4M. The two sides are scheduled for a hearing on August 17th.
According to Michael Russo, Fiala has chosen the term to be no more than one year, which will make him a UFA with arbitration rights again next summer.
