Terry Caffery

Terrance Michael Caffery (April 1, 1949 – August 3, 2022) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. He played for the New England Whalers and the Calgary Cowboys of the World Hockey Association, as well as for the Chicago Black Hawks and the Minnesota North Stars of the National Hockey League between 1969 and 1976.

Playing career After an impressive junior career with the Toronto Marlboros of the Ontario Hockey Association, during which Caffery was drafted third overall by the Black Hawks in the 1966 NHL Amateur Draft behind Barry Gibbs and Brad Park, he played a season for the Canadian National team. He made his NHL debut with the Black Hawks in 1969, but spent most of the next three seasons in the minor leagues with the Dallas Black Hawks of the Central Hockey League and the Cleveland Barons of the American Hockey League, averaging over a point a game and winning the AHL's Dudley "Red" Garrett Memorial Award as rookie of the year in 1972.

The following season Caffery signed with the Whalers and met with his greatest success as a pro, scoring 100 points to finish in the WHA's top ten in the loop's inaugural season and proving a key component in the Whalers' league championship that year. He was awarded the Lou Kaplan Trophy as the league's rookie of the year. However, he suffered a knee injury late that year that, despite him starring in the playoffs, forced him to miss the entire 1974 season. He returned to play for the Whalers the year after that, but remained seriously impaired, and retired during the 1976 season.

His brother was Jack Caffery, a two-sport player who also played minor league baseball in the Milwaukee Braves organization and was credited with inventing the backward grip for faceoffs.

Caffery died on August 3, 2022, in his home at Thornhill, Ontario.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1965–66 Toronto Marlboros OHA 43 14 25 39 36 13 3 6 9 18 1966–67 Toronto Marlboros OHA 39 16 29 45 29 17 10 15 25 10 1966–67 Toronto Marlboros M-Cup — — — — — 9 4 13 17 4 1967–68 Toronto Marlboros OHA 48 36 47 83 64 2 0 0 0 0 1968–69 Ottawa Nationals OHA Sr 5 4 8 12 0 — — — — — 1969–70 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 6 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 1969–70 Dallas Black Hawks CHL 42 12 28 40 4 — — — — — 1970–71 Dallas Black Hawks CHL 40 13 34 47 22 — — — — — 1970–71 Minnesota North Stars NHL 8 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1971–72 Cleveland Barons AHL 65 29 59 88 18 6 1 3 4 0 1972–73 New England Whalers WHA 74 39 61 100 14 8 3 7 10 0 1974–75 New England Whalers WHA 67 15 37 52 12 — — — — — 1975–76 New England Whalers WHA 2 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 1975–76 Calgary Cowboys WHA 21 5 13 18 4 — — — — — WHA totals 164 59 111 170 30 8 3 7 10 0 NHL totals 14 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0

International Year Team Event GP G A Pts PIM 1969 Canada WC 10 4 4 8 8 Senior totals 10 4 4 8 8

Awards 1972: Dudley "Red" Garrett Memorial Award