Rick Vaive

Richard Claude Vaive (; born May 14, 1959) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played in the final season of the World Hockey Association (WHA) and played in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1979 to 1992. While with the Toronto Maple Leafs, he became the first member of that team to score 50 goals in a season.

Biography

Vaive was born in Ottawa, Ontario to Claude (d. 2016) and Mary Vaive (d. 2010), and lived in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island after he turned 11. Grandparents Lionel and Reina Vaive were from Gatineau, Quebec. As a youth, he played in the 1970 and 1971 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournaments with a minor ice hockey team from Amherst, Nova Scotia.

After a stellar junior hockey career with the Sherbrooke Castors, he began his professional career in 1978-79 in the World Hockey Association (WHA) with the Birmingham Bulls, with whom he signed as an underage free agent. He was part of a contingent of young players who were nicknamed the "Baby Bulls", a group which also included Michel Goulet, Craig Hartsburg, Keith Crowder, Gaston Gingras and Pat Riggin. Following the NHL-WHA merger at the end of the season, these youngsters were declared eligible for the 1979 NHL entry draft, and Vaive was selected fifth overall by the Vancouver Canucks.

In 1980, the Canucks traded Vaive, along with Bill Derlago, to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for Dave "Tiger" Williams and Jerry Butler. In Toronto, Vaive and Derlago were teamed with Pat Hickey, and Derlago became Vaive's setup man. Vaive was a prolific scorer for the Leafs, becoming the first player in the team's history to score 50 goals in a season. His 54 goals in 1981–82 stood as a franchise record for 40 years before it was broken by Auston Matthews in 2021–22. Vaive had each of his three 50-goal seasons come in seasons where the Leafs lost over 40 games each time. Vaive is the only skater with three 50-goal seasons come on teams that failed to win 30 games. Vaive served as captain of the Maple Leafs from 1982 to 1986; he was stripped of the captaincy during the 1985–86 NHL season, for missing a morning practice. Vaive was invited to the Canada Cup team in 1984, but was cut in training camp.

In 1987 Vaive was traded, along with Steve Thomas and Bob McGill, to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for Al Secord and Ed Olczyk, one of several lamentable deals by team owner Harold Ballard in the 1980s. Vaive netted 43 goals in his first season in Chicago but never managed more than 31 in a season after that.

Vaive was traded from the Chicago Blackhawks to the Buffalo Sabres on December 26, 1988, in exchange for center Adam Creighton. He spent four seasons with the Buffalo Sabres, then retired as a member of the American Hockey League's Hamilton Canucks in 1993.

He later played for the Dundee Real McCoys at the age of 42.

In May 2000, Vaive was inducted into the PEI Sports Hall of Fame.

Coaching career In 1993, immediately after his retirement as a player, Vaive became coach of the expansion South Carolina Stingrays of the East Coast Hockey League. He led the Stingrays to division titles in 1995 and 1997 and a conference championship in 1997, and in 1996–97 he became the first ECHL coach to win both the Brabham Cup and Kelly Cup in the same season. He then coached the Saint John Flames of the AHL for two seasons. Vaive coached the Mississauga Ice Dogs of the Ontario Hockey League in 2000-01, guiding the team to the worst record in the league and tying the 1995-96 London Knights for fewest wins in a season. He was fired and replaced by Don Cherry.

Personal life Vaive battled with anxiety for a majority of his playing career, which went undiagnosed for a number of years. Vaive also had a fear of flying that never waivered in his playing career. Vaive used drinking to both combat his fear of flying during road games and his anxiety, even after a doctor prescribed medication to treat the anxiety. Vaive first resolved to quit drinking alcohol after an embarrassing incident on his 35th birthday in 1994. He was sober for nearly 15 years before having a toast for his father-in-law's funeral in 2008.

On July 14, 2009, he was pulled over when driving home from a golf event in Vaughan, Ontario that saw him charged with impaired driving and driving with over 80 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood. He stated in court testimony that he broke his own limit of beers prior to taking the wheel but argued that he was not drunk and felt fine to do the three-hour trip home. At the time, it was noted in court that Vaive suffered from chronic joint pain, sleep apnea, and a bladder condition. Vaive entered rehab in December 2011.

On April 12, 2012, he was cleared of the charges, with the judge citing various factors ranging from delays in taking the test for blood alcohol, Vaive's testimony and video of him at the police station that showed him appearing lucid.

Vaive hosted various shows on Leafs TV, an MLSE-run property focusing on the Toronto Maple Leafs and also has been featured on podcasts and contributed articles to the Toronto Sun.

Vaive and his wife Joyce have two sons, Jeff and Justin, who was selected by the Anaheim Ducks in the 2007 NHL entry draft.

In 2020, Vaive's autobiography (co-written with Scott Morrison) Catch 22: My Battles, In Hockey and Life was published.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1975–76 Charlottetown Abbies PEIJHL 1976–77 Sherbrooke Castors QMJHL 68 51 59 110 93 18 10 13 23 78 1977–78 Sherbrooke Castors QMJHL 68 76 79 155 199 9 8 4 12 38 1978–79 Birmingham Bulls WHA 75 26 33 59 248 — — — — — 1979–80 Vancouver Canucks NHL 47 13 8 21 111 — — — — — 1979–80 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 22 9 7 16 77 3 1 0 1 11 1980–81 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 75 33 29 62 229 3 1 0 1 4 1981–82 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 77 54 35 89 157 — — — — — 1982–83 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 78 51 28 79 105 4 2 5 7 6 1983–84 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 76 52 41 93 114 — — — — — 1984–85 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 72 35 33 68 112 — — — — — 1985–86 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 61 33 31 64 85 9 6 2 8 9 1986–87 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 73 32 34 66 61 13 4 2 6 23 1987–88 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 76 43 26 69 108 5 6 2 8 38 1988–89 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 30 12 13 25 60 — — — — — 1988–89 Buffalo Sabres NHL 28 19 13 32 64 5 2 1 3 8 1989–90 Buffalo Sabres NHL 70 29 19 48 74 6 4 2 6 6 1990–91 Buffalo Sabres NHL 71 25 27 52 74 6 1 2 3 6 1991–92 Rochester Americans AHL 12 4 9 13 4 16 4 4 8 10 1991–92 Buffalo Sabres NHL 20 1 3 4 14 — — — — — 1992–93 Hamilton Canucks AHL 38 16 15 31 34 — — — — — 2001–02 Dundas Real McCoys ACH 5 2 2 4 24 — — — — — 2002–03 Dundas Real McCoys ACH 9 6 5 11 34 4 2 3 5 6 WHA totals 75 26 33 59 248 — — — — — NHL totals 876 441 347 788 1,445 54 27 16 43 111

International Year Team Event GP G A Pts PIM 1978 Canada WJC 6 3 0 3 4 1982 Canada WC 9 3 1 4 12 1985 Canada WC 10 6 2 8 16 Senior totals 19 9 3 12 28

Coaching statistics Season Team League G W L T OTL PCT. Playoff Result 1993-94 South Carolina Stingrays ECHL 68 33 26 0 9 0.551 Lost in round 1 1994-95 South Carolina Stingrays ECHL 68 42 19 0 7 0.669 Lost in round 2 1995-96 South Carolina Stingrays ECHL 70 40 22 0 8 0.629 Lost in round 2 1996-97 South Carolina Stingrays ECHL 70 45 15 10 0 0.714 Won Championship 1997-98 South Carolina Stingrays ECHL 70 41 23 6 0 0.629 Lost in round 1 1998-99 Saint John Flames AHL 80 31 40 8 1 0.444 Lost in round 2 1999-00 Saint John Flames AHL 80 32 32 11 5 0.500 Lost in round 1 2000-01 Mississauga IceDogs OHL 68 3 56 7 2 0.110 2004-05 Dundas Real McCoys OHASr 34 20 12 0 2 0.618 Note: G = Games, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime Losses, PCT. = Winning Percentage