By the time Dave Babych arrived in Vancouver, he was already an 11-year veteran, having spent six years with the original Winnipeg Jets and another five with the Hartford Whalers.

Babych’s pre-Vancouver Canucks resumé was already impressive: he set the Jets’ franchise record for points by a defenceman in 1981-82, only to break his own record the following season with a career-high 74 points. He had several productive seasons in Hartford, too, and broke the 40-point barrier in each of his first 10 seasons before an injury left him sidelined for most of 1990-91.

Despite the productivity, Babych was left unprotected by the Whalers in the 1991 expansion draft and briefly ended up as a member of the Minnesota North Stars due to a strange and complicated series of events that really aren’t worth getting into. He was almost immediately dealt to the Canucks for Tom Kurvers, and the rest is history.

Babych would never put up the kind of offensive totals he was capable of earlier in his career as a Canuck, but it didn’t matter. He quickly settled into a complementary role in the Canucks’ top-four and provided veteran leadership to a club of young upstarts. He could still flash some skill every once in a while, too: to date, he’s the only Canucks defender to score a hat trick during the regular season, a feat he managed in just his second month with the team.

The defenceman also played a key role in the Canucks’ run to the 1994 Stanley Cup Final, scoring the game-winning goal at Madison Square Garden in Game 5.

It says a lot about Babych that he’s best remembered as a Canuck, given that his best offensive seasons came long before he was traded to Vancouver. His hard-working style and iconic mustache made him an instant fan favourite, which was enhanced by the fact that he always just seemed like a nice, regular guy.

That was exactly what Christina Minielly — the 13-year-old girl who Babych rescued in 2016 – thought he was, too. Minielly was out with a friend on the Baden-Powell trail when the ground gave way underneath her and she fell into a steep ravine. When the friend called for help, it just happened to be Babych who was there to bail them out. Minielly was incapacitated after hitting her head, so Babych carried her on his shoulder for over 30 minutes before safely delivering her into the arms of her mother.

Babych was insistent he’d simply done what anyone else would have, displaying the humility and good-natured attitude that made him so popular with Canucks fans. He remains active with the Canucks Alumni Association and continues to elicit cheers and thunderous applause to this day.

Our previously ranked top 50 Canucks of all-time:

#50 – Curt Fraser

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