Steve Chiasson stood in the driveway of Gary Roberts’ North Raleigh home in the wee hours of Monday, less than six hours after the Carolina Hurricanes’ playoff elimination in Boston.
As teammates tried to persuade the veteran defenseman to wait for the taxi cabs Ron Francis had called minutes before, Chiasson refused, believing he could reach his home, seven minutes away, without assistance.
It was a moment of indiscretion that would cost the 32-year-old father of three his life. Less than 15 minutes later, Chiasson’s pickup truck swerved off a dark North Carolina road. It rolled, and Chiasson, not wearing a seat belt, was thrown 100 feet as the vehicle slammed into a fence.
“It’s just a horrible nightmare,” said Chiasson’s closest friend, former Panthers forward Ray Sheppard.
Sheppard was one who wanted to drive Chiasson home. Kevin Dineen wouldn’t take no for an answer, but by the time he came back with his keys, Chiasson had left.
When Dineen, Sheppard, another teammate and Roberts’ wife went looking for Chiasson, they found that his pickup was not at his home. Soon thereafter, they discovered the accident scene.
Sheppard identified Chiasson’s body shortly after 4 a.m. and, with other teammates, he drove to Chiasson’s house to tell Chiasson’s wife, Susan.
Police believe that speed (74 in a 55 mph zone), alcohol and not wearing a safety belt were factors in Chiasson’s death.
More than 100 attended a memorial Tuesday at a church minutes from where Chiasson was killed.
Susan Chiasson and her sons, 8 and 5, and daughter enetered the church holding roses.
When Stephanie, 3, approached the altar and saw the large photo of Chiasson in his Hurricanes jersey, she asked: “Where’s my dad?”
Susan Chiasson said: “I know Steve is fishing right now, and he’s having a great time. … He wasn’t a hockey player, he was my best friend. He was one of the happiest people I’ve ever met.”
Some players stared ahead, others cried. Sheppard buried his head on the shoulder of his wife, Lucie.
Dineen and Sheppard, Chiasson’s roommate on the road, spoke for about 10 minutes. Sheppard had trouble speaking through his tears, but he talked of Chiasson’s integrity.
“I’ll take that with me for as long as I live,” Sheppard said. “He was to the point. He touched us in a way that he’ll be with us wherever we go.
“He’ll always be in our prayers.”
The team chartered a flight to Peterborough, Ontario, for Chiasson’s funeral on Saturday.
Many in the hockey world, including ex-teammates such as the Panthers’ Dino Ciccarelli, the Senators’ Nelson Emerson and the Flyers’ Adam Burt, attended.
Chiasson, who would have received a giant payday this summer as an unrestricted free agent, was Carolina’s best all-around defenseman and had fought through many injuries and adversity to play more than 800 games.
“To my teammates, I think we can learn something from this tragedy,” Dineen said.
“We can improve our actions, and we can express feelings to our loved ones. You never know what life is going to throw at you.”
Chiasson will be remembered for his reliable, competitive play on the ice and his goodness off it, but we should all be reminded of the way he died the next time we or someone we know is considering sitting behind a wheel in an unfit-to-drive state.
It’s just too easy to make that one mistake.
Snider sounds off
Philadelphia Flyers fans should be offended by the smoke screen Chairman Ed Snider tried to put up by blasting the officials after the Flyers were ousted in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
At the very least, Snider made a fool of himself by taking his ramblings that are usually aired behind closed doors when he makes his countless phone calls to the league office and voicing them publicly.
You see, Snider’s words in attacking referee Terry Gregson last week were no aberration.
To Snider, every time something doesn’t go his way, he grabs the phone, calls Commissioner Gary Bettman or VP Colin Campbell and screams his head off.
The latest controversy came when Gregson whistled John LeClair for elbowing Mike Johnson with less than three minutes to go in Game 6.
The Maple Leafs converted on the power play, and the Flyers were eliminated for the fifth straight year and in the first round for the second straight year.
He called Gregson, among other things, a coward, and a “Toronto guy.”
He questioned his competence and integrity.
“As far as I’m concerned, I’m sick of this crap,” Snider said.
“It’s a disgrace, an absolute disgrace. … I can’t put up with it anymore. When an official decides to decide a game, when the players are playing their hearts out, that’s a disgrace to this team and to this league. And I won’t put up with it anymore. … Everybody in the stands knew what this guy did. Gregson, I hope he can sleep well tonight because he knows damn well what he did.”
I could go on, but you get the picture even if you didn’t hear the rest of the comments. Just picture that quote and multiply it by 10 because Snider went on and on, even walking out of the dressing room and storming right back in.
There are a bunch of problems with Snider’s comments.
First off, Snider must be forgetting that at one point, Philadelphia received four consecutive power plays, three of which were as bogus as they get.
Keith Jones had a three-second delayed reaction on one punch to the head and embellished another fall. Jody Hull took a dive on the other.
But the Flyers didn’t even come close to scoring and taking care of their own business.
As far as the LeClair penalty, he got his elbow up. It’s that simple.
It wasn’t the most severe penalty and maybe it should have been disregarded, but the intent was there, and it could have been avoided if LeClair had been more responsible with his own actions.
And again, if you feel a referee messes up, go out and execute. Kill the penalty instead of blaming your own ineptitude on the ref.
But the Flyers didn’t. They lost this series because of themselves, not the officials.
They scored 11 goals in six games, that’s why they lost. John Vanbiesbrouck gave up six greasy goals mostly at the worst of times, that’s why they lost. Eric Lindros had a collapsed lung, that’s why they lost. The leadership and coaching did not live up to needs, that’s why they lost.
Straka proves worth
It was hard not to root for the Penguins’ Martin Straka during the first round.
After a 35-goal, 83-point season, Straka picked up right where he left off with a fabulous first round against the New Jersey Devils.
He became the go-to guy with his best friend, fellow Czech Jaromir Jagr, out of the lineup with a groin injury, scoring six goals and five assists in seven games.
He seems to be playing with so much more confidence than when he played for a Panthers team that would eventually pay him to leave.
No, they didn’t trade him. They bought him out, something management pins on former coach Doug MacLean’s not liking Straka.
That’s something Straka confirmed when I caught up to him at January’s All-Star Game.
“I don’t want to blame the coach or anything, but he didn’t play me, and he didn’t like me that much,” Straka said. “He didn’t have confidence because I wasn’t scoring, and because I wasn’t scoring, I didn’t have a lot of confidence. I’m not saying he wasn’t a great coach. It’s just we didn’t get along together.”
Panther alums excel
And in case you missed it, a couple of other former Panthers had fantastic first rounds.
Sheppard scored five goals in the series against Boston, and Rhett Warrener received crucial minutes in the four-game sweep over Ottawa.
Other former Panthers still alive in the second round are Lindy Ruff (Buffalo coach), Stu Barnes (Buffalo), Jason Woolley (Buffalo), Brad Werenka (Pittsburgh), Dallas Eakins (Toronto), Brian Skrudland (Dallas) and Brent Severyn (Dallas).
Yashin to Jersey?
The pressure is on in New Jersey after the top seed was upset in the first round for the second consecutive season. The New York Post reported last week that the Devils might go after Ottawa superstar Alexei Yashin. The Senators say they want to keep Yashin, but because he becomes a restricted free agent in summer and should command around $10 million, the financially strapped team might be seeking offers.
Another rumor has Edmonton GM Glen Sather so sick of the numerous owners in Oilerville, he could wind up GM in Los Angeles or San Jose.
Not much hope
In case you are wondering, the Panthers have a 0.5 percent chance of winning next Sunday’s lottery for the NHL’s first overall pick.
The Panthers won last year, but because they traded that pick for Viktor Kozlov, Tampa eventully got the pick, choosing Vincent Lecavalier.
Columbine aid
Portions of the proceeds from the Tampa Bay Lightning’s Stick it to Violence Celebrity Waiter Dinner went to benefit the victims of the shooting at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo.
Michael Russo’s NHL column appears Sundays.
