Former NHLer Kyle Calder passes away at 47
It was announced on Monday that former NHL forward Kyle Calder passed away at the age of 47.
The announcement came from Calder’s daughter, Madison, who shared a heartfelt message on Instagram.
“There will never ever be enough words in the world to describe how incredibly lucky I was to have you as my dad,” Madison wrote. “Never in a million years would I have thought this day would come. There will forever be a void in my heart, but forever a spot just for you…The lessons you taught me, the strength you showed me, and the person you pushed me to become every single day- I carry all of it with me.
“Thank you for being my biggest fan through every stage of my life. Thank you for loving me unconditionally. I would give anything for one more conversation, one more hug, one more “I love you,” or to hear your voice one more time.
I love you more than anything in the world to the moon and back infinitely. Save me a spot on the ice, Dad.”
The cause of death has yet to be revealed, though the team Kyle had been coaching, the Los Angeles Jr. Kings, stated that he had been dealing with an illness.
Calder was once an underrated scorer in the height of the Dead Puck Era. He broke into the league with the Chicago Blackhawks, the team that took him in the fifth round of the 1997 NHL Draft, during the 1999-00 season. He became a regular in the lineup a couple of years later, bringing life to a Blachawks team that was rebuilding in the early years of the 21st Century. His best season came during the post-lockout 2005-06 season, where he scored 26 goals and 33 assists for 59 points. It was the second time in his career that he reached the 50-point mark.
After that, Calder began to bounce around. He joined the Philadelphia Flyers the following season, only to be traded to the Detroit Red Wings partway through the 2006-07 campaign. The Mannville, Alb. native then played a pair of seasons with the Los Angeles Kings before rounding out his NHL tenure with the Anaheim Ducks in 2009-10. He retired after the 2011-12 campaign, in which he played a handful of games with the ECHL’s Bakersfield Condors.
In 590 regular-season games in the NHL, Calder scored 114 goals and 180 assists for 294 points, with another three points in 18 Stanley Cup Playoff games. Calder also tasted success on the world stage, winning gold with Canada at the 2003 IIHF Men’s World Championship, along with silver at the 1999 IIHF World Junior Championship.