November 11 is a pretty special day on both sides of the border. Here in Canada we celebrate Remembrance Day and in United States it’s referred to as Veterans Day. Regardless of what it is called, the intent is the same, we remember the veterans who gave their lives so that we can have the freedom in which we live today. Thank you.
November 11 has always had another meaning for myself, my family, my former teammates and to many hockey fans, specifically Flyers fans. November 11, 1985 is when my friend and teammate Per-Erik "Pelle" Lindbergh passed away.
The tragic accident that ended his life took place in the early morning hours of November 10 and after fighting to do everything to save him, his family agreed to take him off the respirator on the eleventh. Had he survived, Pelle would now be 54 years old.
Over the years people have often asked me about the accident, but I don’t like to speak about it much. I immediately change the subject. I’ll speak about what a great teammate he was, what a great hockey player he was and what a great guy he was. But not the accident, I’ll leave that to others.
Over the years, I haven’t read many of the stories, books, or watched the documentaries about the tragic events simply because, as I said, I choose to remember Pelle and the events of that season my way. Whenever I return to South Jersey, I drive by the accident site often and remember, and this is what I remember.
THAT WEEK
I remember the week of the accident like it was yesterday. I remember the first phone call informing us of the accident, I remember going to the hospital, and I remember the first team meeting (wives and girlfriends were there as well) where Flyers team doctor Dr. Hartzell explained to us Pelle’s medical condition.
I remember our players-only meeting at Mike Keenan’s house where each of us spoke and shared what we were thinking.
I remember that the out-of-town media were everywhere. I didn’t mind speaking to the local media, because in many ways they were going through the same emotions as we were, but the out-of-town guys were just digging for a story and some were quite rude about it. I didn’t want to talk to them. I know that many teammates felt the same way.
The memorial service was surreal. The first game after the accident was on Friday and ironically it was against the Edmonton Oilers. We won the game, it was an unbelievable game, to be honest I had to look up the score: 5-3.
This win was one of my proudest moments as a hockey player. I was so proud of how our team and organization came together in our darkest hours.
THE TEAM
When Pelle comes up in conversation, too often the topic is unfortunately the accident. He won the Vezina Trophy as the best goalie in the NHL. He was a great goalie and an even better teammate and friend.
Much has been said and written about how good or great Pelle would have been had he played 10 or so more years, as he was already the best goalie in the league at the time of his death. Unfortunately we will never know the answer to that.
What I do know is this: Pelle in the 1984/85 season made our team. Not many people give Pelle the credit he deserves for the success that we enjoyed that year. Many players from that 1984/85 team had career years, myself included. What I don’t hear enough about is exactly what Pelle meant to our team.
Those of you that followed the team back then perhaps understand, but the casual observer does not.
Mike Keenan gets a lot of the credit and so he should. Our defense led by Hall of Fame inductee Mark Howe and Brad "the Beast" McCrimmon was very strong and who could forget our excellent forwards such as Dave Poulin, Brian Propp and Tim Kerr. Then there were the youngsters: We had 5 or 6 players under the age of 21. We were a very young team with the young Dave Poulin as our captain and a rookie head coach.
That year, we were picked by the Hockey News and other so-called experts to finish out of the playoffs. Instead, we won the President’s trophy that year – most points in NHL - and made to the Stanley Cup Finals. Unfortunately, we fell short and lost to Edmonton in the Finals that season but the rest of the season was still a huge accomplishment for our team.
How did we do this? Pelle stopped the puck, again and again and again.
The way he played gave us the confidence to compete each and every night. He, in his unassuming, happy-go-lucky style, not only gave us the confidence to compete. Pelle also shaped the manner in which we as a team and as individuals began to carry ourselves.
Pelle shook off every goal against, every loss like it was nothing – it did not take long until we all adopted that same style. We played every shift and every game like there was nothing to lose. If things didn’t go the right way, no big deal we would get right the next shift. He covered up so many of our mistakes, he bailed us out so many times and by doing that we were allowed to grow as a team
PICTURE THIS
A Flyers fan gave me a photo taken November 3, 1985 at the Spectrum vs. LA we won the game 7-4. As it would turn out, it was one of the last games Pelle and I played together and might be the last picture of us before the accident.
It shows me going through my pre-game ritual which I still do to this today in Alumni games. I was the last to leave the goalie then I’d bang his pads with my stick, give him a tap on the butt and then bang his pads again. I’d say a few words of encouragement and skate up to start the game.
Here's a video of my little ritual with Pelle. It's at the beginning of the clip.
A FAMILY REMEMBRANCE
As everyone knows Pelle won the Vezina in 1985 but for me that award comes with much more than his name etched on the trophy. No awards ceremony goes by without me taking pause and remembering Pelle’s acceptance speech. It was simple, sincere, caring, innocent, honest and above all, from the heart. That’s how he was, that’s how he treated people and that is how I’ll always remember my buddy Pelle.
Bernie Parent might have said it best when he addressed the fans at the memorial service prior to our first game back after the accident, “Pelle, you will always live in our hearts. Pelle we miss you.…
How much did Pelle Lindbergh mean to me? The month after his death, my wife gave birth to a baby boy. We named him Erik in honor of Pelle. To this very day, Erik feels a special bond with Pelle. He will share his own perspective on his namesake in his next blog here at HockeyBuzz.
The best way to remember Pelle is for how he lived and not how he died. He was a wonderful person who made a big and tragic mistake one night. That does not change how fondly those of who knew him keep him in our hearts.