Thomas James Kurvers (September 14, 1962 – June 21, 2021) was an American professional ice hockey

defenseman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the latter a reference to ...

in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL). He spent eleven seasons in the NHL between

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

and

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...

. He won the 1984

Hobey Baker award The Hobey Baker Award is an annual award given to the top National Collegiate Athletic Association men's ice hockey player. It has been awarded 41 times. It is named for Hall of Famer Hobey Baker, who played college hockey at Princeton Universit ...

as the best collegiate ice hockey player, and won the Stanley Cup with the

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 **Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal enter ...

. After his playing career, he was an executive for the Phoenix Coyotes, the

Tampa Bay Lightning The Tampa Bay Lightning (colloquially known as the Bolts) are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. They play th ...

and then the

Minnesota Wild The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Wild competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and play their home games at the Xcel Ener ...

Playing career

Kurvers played collegiately at the

University of Minnesota Duluth The University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD) is a public university in Duluth, Minnesota. It is part of the University of Minnesota system and offers 16 bachelor's degrees in 88 Academic major, majors, graduate programs in 25 different fields, and a ...

, and was selected 145th overall by the

in the

1981 NHL Entry Draft Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

following his freshman season. His time at Duluth culminated in winning the

Hobey Baker Award The Hobey Baker Award is an annual award given to the top National Collegiate Athletic Association men's ice hockey player. It has been awarded 41 times. It is named for Hall of Famer Hobey Baker, who played college hockey at Princeton Universit ...

, given to the most outstanding collegiate hockey player in the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...

(NCAA), as a senior in the 1983–84 season after registering 76 points in just 43 games. Kurvers made his

(NHL) debut in the 1984–85 season with the Montreal Canadiens, with whom he won the Stanley Cup in

. After two full seasons with the Canadiens, and one game in the 1986–87 season, he was traded to the

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team was established in 1970, along w ...

for a draft pick. Before the 1987–88 season, the Sabres traded Kurvers to the New Jersey Devils. He played his most productive post-season hockey that year for the Devils, posting 15 points in 19 games during their run to the 1988

Wales Conference Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in 20 ...

Finals. He followed up by notching career highs of 16 goals and 66 points in the 1988–89 season. He played two full seasons, and one game in the 1989–90 season, with the Devils before being traded to the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

for the pick ultimately used to draft

Scott Niedermayer Scott Niedermayer (born August 31, 1973) is a Canadian former ice hockey defenceman and current special assignment coach of the Anaheim Ducks. He played 18 seasons and over 1,000 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the New Jersey Devi ...

. Kurvers was a highly skilled, puck-moving defenceman, especially dangerous on the

power play Power play or powerplay or their plurals may refer to: Sports * Power play (sporting term), a sporting term used in various games * Powerplay (cricket), a rule concerning fielding restrictions in one-day international cricket * Power play (cur ...

. Later in his career, Kurvers became a journeyman, making stops with the

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...

, New York Islanders, and

Mighty Ducks of Anaheim Mighty may refer to: * ''Mighty'' (The Planet Smashers album) * ''Mighty'' (Kristene DiMarco album) * ''The Mighty'' (1929 film), a 1929 American action film *'' The Mighty'', a 1998 comedy-drama film * ''The Mighty'' (comics), a DC Comics title * ...

before leaving the league after the 1994–95 season. He played a season in Japan before retiring. In his NHL career, Kurvers appeared in 659 games. He scored 93 goals and added 328 assists for 421 points. He also appeared in 57 Stanley Cup playoff games, scoring eight goals and recording 22 assists.

Post-hockey career

Following his retirement from playing professional hockey, Kurvers landed a job as a

radio commentator Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...

for the Phoenix Coyotes, in part due to his connection to former Montreal teammate Bobby Smith who was the general manager in Phoenix at the time. Following one season in that capacity, he was hired as a professional scout by the Coyotes. Kurvers was promoted to director of player personnel in 2005. In 2008, Kurvers was named assistant general manager of the

. He became the interim general manager for the Lightning at the end of the 2009–10 season. From 2011 to 2018, Kurvers served as the senior advisor to the general manager of the Tampa Bay Lightning before being named the assistant general manager of the

Personal life

Born in

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

, Tom Kurvers grew up in nearby Bloomington. Kurvers and his wife Heather had two children together. He also had two daughters from his first marriage. In January 2019, Kurvers was diagnosed with adenocarcinoma, a type of

non-small-cell lung cancer Non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is any type of epithelial lung cancer other than small-cell lung carcinoma (SCLC). NSCLC accounts for about 85% of all lung cancers. As a class, NSCLCs are relatively insensitive to chemotherapy, compared to s ...

. Kurvers died on June 21, 2021, from cancer at the age of 58.

Awards and honors

In 1991, Kurvers was inducted into the University of Minnesota Duluth Hall of Fame.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Sources:

International

Sources:

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kurvers, Tom 1962 births 2021 deaths AHCA Division I men's ice hockey All-Americans American men's ice hockey defensemen Arizona Coyotes announcers Arizona Coyotes coaches Arizona Coyotes executives Arizona Coyotes scouts Buffalo Sabres players Capital District Islanders players Deaths from cancer in Minnesota Deaths from lung cancer Hobey Baker Award winners Ice hockey people from Minnesota Ice hockey coaches from Minnesota Ice hockey players from Minneapolis Mighty Ducks of Anaheim players Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs men's ice hockey players Minnesota Wild executives Montreal Canadiens draft picks Montreal Canadiens players New Jersey Devils players New York Islanders players Sportspeople from Bloomington, Minnesota Stanley Cup champions Tampa Bay Lightning executives Tampa Bay Lightning personnel Toronto Maple Leafs players Vancouver Canucks players Sports coaches from Minneapolis