Post by Leafs_Pam on Jul 2, 2003 21:36:36 GMT -5
www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story.asp?ID=46153
Canadian Press
7/2/2003
You've seen the last of Paul Stewart as an NHL referee but before those of you who consider that a good thing begin to celebrate, here's a warning.
"For all those who didn't think the league liked me, now they have me in the minors cloning myself!'' Stewart said Wednesday from his residence in Cape Cod.
In fact, most players in the NHL regularly rated Stewart as one of their favourite referees but on Wednesday the NHL announced his official retirement as well as those of linesmen Gerard Gauthier and Wayne Bonney.
Stewart, 48, felt he called it quits in April.
"I retired April 5,'' Stewart said. "We had an agreement then that I wasn't coming back next year, that I wasn't going to work the playoffs, and I was going to supervise (referees) in the American Hockey League.
"So as far as I was concerned I was retired then.''
He wasn't forced out or anything, Stewart said, the timing simply felt right after 17 years as an NHL referee.
Stewart, who played 21 NHL games before switching to refereeing, was the first American-born referee to work 1,000 regular-season games in the NHL. But certainly his most memorable achievement was winning a battle with colon cancer in 1998, when doctors gave him a 50-50 chance of living. He was back on the ice in nine months.
"Certainly the 1,000th game symbolized many things,'' Stewart said. "First of all it allowed a barrier to come down as the first American to referee 1,000 games in the NHL. I proved that it was no longer just a Canadian game, the game belongs to everyone.
"The second aspect is for anyone suffering from a dastardly disease such as cancer, that if they saw me skating around as I had over the last four and half years, maybe they say: `Well, if that guy can get through it, maybe I can.' When I went back to work I was on chemo. A lot of people didn't know that.''
He did have a secret supporter throughout his ordeal that Stewart mentioned among the many people he said he was lucky to know throughout his career.
"Particularly Gary Bettman, who stood by me when I was dying,'' he said of the NHL commissioner.
"He called me - and I'm sitting literally on the same porch at my place in Cape Cod - when no one else knew I was sick. He said to me, not just the medical bills, but no matter what happens `we'll take care of your family.'''
Stewart went on to become a leading spokesman in the fight against cancer and is the honorary chairman of Hockey Fights Cancer, a fundraising vehicle that combines the efforts of the NHL, the NHLPA, on-ice officials and the alumni association. It raised raised over $6.2 million US in the last four years.
"But I'm not retiring because of any cancer-related issues,'' Stewart emphasized. "I am clean and clear of cancer as of this moment. But with the three knee operations over the course of these 20 years in officiating and with all the other various injuries - I had a ruptured disc - it's time to pass the torch.''
But he's not going to take it easy.
"I don't necessarily like the word because it suggests a rocking chair, a pipe, and a pair of slippers,'' Stewart said. "I haven't stopped going since April 5.''
Apart from his work as supervisor of refs in the AHL, Stewart also writes a column for the Hockey Magazine - the official magazine of the NHL - and "I may start doing work with ESPN. I've had an offer to do that.''
The bottom line is that Stewart is not done with hockey.
"I want to emphasize that even though this was announced today it really doesn't typify what my feeling is for my life,'' he said. "I've concluded another phase in my hockey career. I ended my playing career in 1983, I ended my officiating career in 2003, and now it's on to the next career.''
He's intrigued by what television might bring.
"If for instance I might get the chance to work on Hockey Night In Canada and become the American version of Don Cherry or maybe do the same on ESPN,'' he wondered. "There are a lot of things the league has given me the blessing to do.''
The league also said goodbye to two long-time linesmen Wednesday.
Gauthier, 54, worked the first of his 2,345 regular-season games on Oct. 16, 1971. He also handled 244 playoff games and worked six Stanley Cup finals.
Bonney, 50, first officiated an NHL regular-season game on Oct. 10, 1979. He worked 1,658 regular-season games and 228 playoff games, including five finals.
Canadian Press
7/2/2003
You've seen the last of Paul Stewart as an NHL referee but before those of you who consider that a good thing begin to celebrate, here's a warning.
"For all those who didn't think the league liked me, now they have me in the minors cloning myself!'' Stewart said Wednesday from his residence in Cape Cod.
In fact, most players in the NHL regularly rated Stewart as one of their favourite referees but on Wednesday the NHL announced his official retirement as well as those of linesmen Gerard Gauthier and Wayne Bonney.
Stewart, 48, felt he called it quits in April.
"I retired April 5,'' Stewart said. "We had an agreement then that I wasn't coming back next year, that I wasn't going to work the playoffs, and I was going to supervise (referees) in the American Hockey League.
"So as far as I was concerned I was retired then.''
He wasn't forced out or anything, Stewart said, the timing simply felt right after 17 years as an NHL referee.
Stewart, who played 21 NHL games before switching to refereeing, was the first American-born referee to work 1,000 regular-season games in the NHL. But certainly his most memorable achievement was winning a battle with colon cancer in 1998, when doctors gave him a 50-50 chance of living. He was back on the ice in nine months.
"Certainly the 1,000th game symbolized many things,'' Stewart said. "First of all it allowed a barrier to come down as the first American to referee 1,000 games in the NHL. I proved that it was no longer just a Canadian game, the game belongs to everyone.
"The second aspect is for anyone suffering from a dastardly disease such as cancer, that if they saw me skating around as I had over the last four and half years, maybe they say: `Well, if that guy can get through it, maybe I can.' When I went back to work I was on chemo. A lot of people didn't know that.''
He did have a secret supporter throughout his ordeal that Stewart mentioned among the many people he said he was lucky to know throughout his career.
"Particularly Gary Bettman, who stood by me when I was dying,'' he said of the NHL commissioner.
"He called me - and I'm sitting literally on the same porch at my place in Cape Cod - when no one else knew I was sick. He said to me, not just the medical bills, but no matter what happens `we'll take care of your family.'''
Stewart went on to become a leading spokesman in the fight against cancer and is the honorary chairman of Hockey Fights Cancer, a fundraising vehicle that combines the efforts of the NHL, the NHLPA, on-ice officials and the alumni association. It raised raised over $6.2 million US in the last four years.
"But I'm not retiring because of any cancer-related issues,'' Stewart emphasized. "I am clean and clear of cancer as of this moment. But with the three knee operations over the course of these 20 years in officiating and with all the other various injuries - I had a ruptured disc - it's time to pass the torch.''
But he's not going to take it easy.
"I don't necessarily like the word because it suggests a rocking chair, a pipe, and a pair of slippers,'' Stewart said. "I haven't stopped going since April 5.''
Apart from his work as supervisor of refs in the AHL, Stewart also writes a column for the Hockey Magazine - the official magazine of the NHL - and "I may start doing work with ESPN. I've had an offer to do that.''
The bottom line is that Stewart is not done with hockey.
"I want to emphasize that even though this was announced today it really doesn't typify what my feeling is for my life,'' he said. "I've concluded another phase in my hockey career. I ended my playing career in 1983, I ended my officiating career in 2003, and now it's on to the next career.''
He's intrigued by what television might bring.
"If for instance I might get the chance to work on Hockey Night In Canada and become the American version of Don Cherry or maybe do the same on ESPN,'' he wondered. "There are a lot of things the league has given me the blessing to do.''
The league also said goodbye to two long-time linesmen Wednesday.
Gauthier, 54, worked the first of his 2,345 regular-season games on Oct. 16, 1971. He also handled 244 playoff games and worked six Stanley Cup finals.
Bonney, 50, first officiated an NHL regular-season game on Oct. 10, 1979. He worked 1,658 regular-season games and 228 playoff games, including five finals.
