Thomas Ronald "Hawkeye" Webster (October 4, 1948 – April 10, 2020) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

player and

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

Playing career

Originally selected by the

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making t ...

in the

1966 NHL Entry Draft The 1966 National Hockey League, NHL NHL Entry Draft, Amateur Draft was the fourth NHL Entry Draft. It held at the Mount Royal Hotel in Montreal, Quebec. Selections by round Listed below are the selections in the 1966 NHL amateur draft. Roun ...

, Webster played in a total of 102

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) games with the Bruins and

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

. Webster scored 30 goals for the Red Wings in the 1970-71 season, but only managed 3 goals in 12 games of the 1971-72 season. He also played 352 games for the New England Whalers of the

World Hockey Association The World Hockey Association (french: Association mondiale de hockey) was a professional ice hockey major league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major league to compete with the National Hockey League (NHL) ...

, scoring 40 or more goals three times. Spinal fusion surger

complicated the end of his career, and Webster retired in 1981 at age 31.

Coaching career

After retiring as a player, Webster had been the

for a number of teams at various levels of hockey. His first head coaching job came in 1986, when he became coach of the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...

following the firing of

Ted Sator Ted Sator (born November 18, 1949) is an American professional coach (ice hockey), ice hockey coach. He has twelve seasons of National Hockey League (NHL) coaching experience, serving as an assistant coach for various teams and head coach of the N ...

. After only five games, Webster fell ill with what was later diagnosed as an inner-ear infection that left him unable to fly. He returned as head coach on January 5 for home games only; general manager

Phil Esposito Philip Anthony Esposito ( , ; born February 20, 1942) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player, coach and executive, and current broadcaster for the Tampa Bay Lightning. A member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, he played 18 seasons in t ...

split coaching duties with assistants

Eddie Giacomin Edward "Ed" Giacomin (born June 6, 1939) is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey goaltender who played for the New York Rangers and Detroit Red Wings in the National Hockey League between 1965 and 1978. Playing career Giacomin began his p ...

and

Wayne Cashman Wayne Cashman (born June 24, 1945) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and coach. He played seventeen seasons for the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL) and helped them win the Stanley Cup twice, and was the last act ...

for road games. He was cleared to fly again in January, but suffered a relapse during a game against the

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...

, and was told to stay off planes for at least three months. Esposito named himself head coach for the remainder of the season. When it became apparent that Webster would not be able to return to the bench full-time the following season, he resigned on April 30, 1987. Webster's next head coaching stint was with the Los Angeles Kings, from May 31, 1989, to May 4, 1992. He led the Kings to their first and only regular season division title in franchise history, in the 1990-91 season. While coaching the Kings in a game against Detroit on November 16, 1991, Webster became upset at what he felt was a blown call by referee

Kerry Fraser Kerry Fraser (born May 30, 1952) is a hockey analyst, broadcaster and former senior referee in the National Hockey League. During his career, he called 1,904 regular season games, 12 Stanley Cup Finals, and over 261 Stanley Cup playoff games. ...

. The Kings were assessed an extra penalty, and Webster took a stick and threw it on the ice, hitting one of Fraser's skates. Webster was suspended for 12 games. Webster also served as an amateur scout for the Calgary Flames from 2003 to 2014.

Honours

In 2012, he was inducted into the World Hockey Association Hall of Fame.WHA Hall of Fame Members
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Death

Webster died on April 10, 2020 at the age of 71; he had been reported to have brain cancer.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Coaching record

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Webster, Tom 1948 births 2020 deaths Adirondack Red Wings players Boston Bruins draft picks Boston Bruins players Calgary Flames scouts California Golden Seals players Canadian ice hockey coaches Canadian ice hockey right wingers Carolina Hurricanes coaches Detroit Junior Red Wings coaches Detroit Red Wings players Florida Panthers coaches Hartford Whalers coaches Ice hockey people from Ontario Los Angeles Kings coaches Memorial Cup winners New England Whalers players New York Rangers coaches Niagara Falls Flyers players Philadelphia Flyers coaches Sportspeople from Kirkland Lake Windsor Spitfires coaches World Hockey Association broadcasters