Dale Martin Hawerchuk (April 4, 1963 – August 18, 2020) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player and coach. Nicknamed "Ducky", he played 16 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Winnipeg Jets, Buffalo Sabres, St. Louis Blues, and Philadelphia Flyers.
A player who skated from a young age, Hawerchuk excelled in his very first season in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) with the Cornwall Royals, as he was awarded both the Michel Bergeron Trophy for his play as a rookie, where he led the league in scoring before leading the team to the Memorial Cup, where he won the Guy Lafleur Trophy for his playoff performance. His second season saw him with the Michel Brière Memorial Trophy for most valuable play and the Michael Bossy Trophy as the best promising prospect as the Royals won their second straight championship. He was selected as the first overall pick by the Winnipeg Jets in the 1981 NHL entry draft and immediately made waves for the team, recording 45 goals with 103 points on his way to being awarded the Calder Memorial Trophy; his points still stand as the most for an 18-year old player in one season. He recorded a 20-goal season in each of his first eleven seasons, which included scoring 53 in the 1984–85 season. He was traded to the Sabres in 1990; he departed Winnipeg as their all-time goals and points leader.
In his first four seasons in Buffalo, he recorded four straight 80-point seasons before injuries limited him in his final season with them in the 1994–95 season. He signed as a free agent with the Blues in 1995. In January 1996, he became the 23rd player to score 500 NHL goals. Two months later, he was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers. He was selected to his fifth NHL All-Star Game in the 1996–97 season; after reaching the Stanley Cup Final, Hawerchuk elected to retire due to a degenerative left hip. Internationally, Hawerchuk represented Canada on numerous occasions, which saw him the Canada Cup in 1987 and 1991. He was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in his second year of eligibility in 2001. Hawerchuk served as the head coach of the Barrie Colts of the Ontario Hockey League from 2010 to 2019.
Hawerchuk was a young prodigy who received his first pair of skates at age two and, according to his father Ed, "was skating before he could walk." Beginning competitive hockey at age four, Hawerchuk demonstrated superior skills almost immediately. At the Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament, he scored all eight goals during an 8–1 victory in the finals, smashing the longstanding record by the legendary Guy Lafleur. By age 15, the famed Oshawa Generals offered him a tryout, though he did not make the team. In 1979, Hawerchuk was selected sixth overall by the Cornwall Royals of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and became somewhat of a rarity: a Toronto-born player starring in the QMJHL. He recorded 103 points and was named Rookie of the Year. Hawerchuk was the playoff MVP and led the Royals to the Memorial Cup championship on the basis of 45 points in the postseason (20 goals and 25 assists) in 18 playoff games. He became the youngest player to win the Guy Lafleur Trophy for his QMJHL playoff performance. In his second junior year, he scored 81 goals and 183 points to lead the CHL in scoring. He led the Royals to their second consecutive Memorial Cup title with a tournament record eight goals that saw him win the Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy.
He was named a QMJHL First Team All-Star, the Canadian Major Junior Player of the Year, and Memorial Cup MVP. In 144 regular season games, he had 118 goals and 168 assists for 286 points. In 37 playoff games, he had 80 points.
Hawerchuk was extensively scouted by the Winnipeg Jets and their general manager John Ferguson. The Jets selected Hawerchuk first overall in the 1981 NHL entry draft, ahead of fellow future Hall of Famers Ron Francis, Grant Fuhr, and Chris Chelios. Hawerchuk immediately became Winnipeg's star player, leading the Jets to what was at the time the largest single-season turnaround in NHL history, a 48-point improvement. In a 2001 interview, Ferguson stated his belief that Hawerchuk would be special in the NHL from his very first game, marveling at Hawerchuk making a play against veteran defender Carol Vadnais. Hawerchuk recorded 45 goals and 58 assists for a total of 103 points, which made him the youngest player to record 100 points in a season and the first NHL player to record 40 goals and 100 points in their first season. He won the Calder Memorial Trophy for his rookie play; his point mark is still the record for all 18-year old players in league history. He also played in that season's All-Star Game.
Hawerchuk recorded 91 points in his second season, then hit the 100-plus point plateau for the next five consecutive years. In the game against the Los Angeles Kings on March 6, 1984, Hawerchuk set an NHL record with five assists in the second period of the 7–3 victory (the record was tied 39 years later by Kris Letang). The 1984–85 season saw him record a career-high 53 goals with 130 points while five of his teammates recorded 30 goal seasons; the Stanley Cup playoffs saw him play in just three games as Winnipeg was swept in the second round due to Hawerchuk suffering broken ribs, which he still remembered when asked about the team decades later. He finished 2nd in the Hart Memorial Trophy for most valuable play to Wayne Gretzky; it was the highest finish in his career and is the highest MVP voting finish in franchise history. From December 19, 1982 through December 10, 1988, he played in 475 consecutive regular season games, the longest streak in franchise history.
The firing of Ferguson in 1988 sowed the first seeds of the end of Hawerchuk's tenure with Winnipeg, as Ferguson was replaced as GM with Mike Smith, who reportedly told Hawerchuk that if it were up to him, he would have selected Bobby Carpenter instead of Hawerchuk in the 1981 draft. At the close of the 1990 Stanley Cup playoffs, which saw the Jets lose to the Oilers after having a 3-1 series lead, Hawerchuk went to team owner Barry Shenkarow asking to be traded. He later stated in a 2014 interview that "there were two Winnipegs. There was the John Ferguson era, which was positive, upbeat, a really community-driven team. And then the Mike Smith era, which was negative and pessimistic. That ran through the media."
During the 1990 NHL entry draft, Hawerchuk was involved in a blockbuster trade on June 16, 1990. According to Smith, only the St. Louis Blues and Buffalo Sabres showed the most interest in Hawerchuk, with the Blues reportedly offering Sergio Momesso and Peter Zezel, which Smith declined. Along with Winnipeg's first-round choice (14th overall pick, Brad May) in the draft, Hawerchuk was dealt to the Buffalo Sabres for Phil Housley, Scott Arniel, Jeff Parker and Buffalo's first-round choice (19th overall, Keith Tkachuk). Over the next four years, he recorded no fewer than 86 points in a season. On March 8, 1991, he became the 31st player to record 1,000 career points, doing so on a goal against the Chicago Blackhawks. His point totals fell off during an injury-plagued and lockout-shortened 1994–95 season.
In 1995, with the Sabres looking to slash team salary, he signed a three-year contract with the St. Louis Blues, recording 41 points in 66 games. On January 31, 1996, he became the 23rd player to score 500 goals, doing so off goaltender Felix Potvin of the Toronto Maple Leafs. He was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers for Craig McTavish on March 15, 1996. He finished the season strongly, with 20 points in the final 16 regular-season games and adding nine points in the playoffs. The next season, he missed 27 games due to an arthritic left hip but managed 34 points and played in his fifth NHL All-Star Game. His appearance with the Flyers in the Stanley Cup Final marked the only time any of his teams advanced past the second round of the playoffs. His 1,282 combined games played before reaching the Stanley Cup Final established a record for most played by a number one draft pick before playing in a Final until he was surpassed by Joe Thornton in 2016. The team was swept in four games by the Detroit Red Wings. Hawerchuk announced his retirement on August 25, 1997 at age 34 due to a degenerative left hip.