Donald Brashear

Donald Brashear (born January 7, 1972) is an American-Canadian professional ice hockey left winger who is currently a member of the Rivière-du-Loup CIMT in the Ligue Nord-Américaine de Hockey (LNAH). He previously played for five organizations in the National Hockey League (NHL). His main role is that of an enforcer. He was considered one of the best, and most feared, in the NHL. His aggressive style of play has led to being among the league leaders in penalty minutes six times, while currently ranking 15th all-time in NHL history, and has resulted in multiple suspensions as well. He remains the Vancouver Canucks all-time single season leader in penalty minutes, which he set in the 1997–98 season. He was the victim of one most publicized incidents of on-ice violence in NHL history, when he was slashed in the head by Marty McSorley, during the 1999–2000 season.

Brashear was born in Bedford, Indiana but moved to Quebec as a child. He has represented his native United States twice internationally, playing in consecutive IIHF World Championships in 1997 and 1998.

Early life
Brashear is the youngest of three children born to an African-American father and Québécois mother, Johnny and Nicole Brashear, in Bedford, Indiana. His father was an alcoholic who abused his family, including beating Donald with belts and electrical cords. On one occasion he threw a six-month-old Donald across the room. His mother, fearful that Johnny might kill her, left the family and returned to Canada. Later she came back to take the children, but left Donald to live with his father for another four years, until Donald's paternal grandmother sent him to Canada. Donald's mother later stated that she left him behind because her future husband was prejudiced and did not want another mixed-race child in the house.

Brashear moved in with his mother and his new stepfather in Lorretteville, Quebec. He suffered further abuse in his new surroundings, he was forced to sleep with a garbage bag tied around his waist to help him stop wetting the bed, and he was verbally berated for not being able to tie his shoes. His mother finally decided to give him up to foster care, due in part because of what she called "mental problems" from the abuse he had suffered, and because he did not accept her as his mother. Brashear lived in two different foster homes that sent him away since the families believed he was a "little too much to handle."

At the age of eight Brashear moved to Val-Bélair, Quebec City and settled into a new foster home. Once there he began playing hockey with his new siblings. In order to help pay for hockey, Brashear sold baked bread and garbage bags door to door. Later he became a paper boy.

Early career
Brashear was signed as a free agent by the Montreal Canadiens in 1992. He spent parts of three seasons with their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Fredericton Canadiens before becoming a regular in Montreal. During the 1993–94 AHL season he registered professional career highs of 38 goals and 66 points, along with 250 Penalty Minutes (PIMs) in 62 games. His 38 goals tied him for the team lead and the 250 PIMs led Fredericton. Brashear made his National Hockey League (NHL) debut on November 15, 1993 against the Ottawa Senators. He registered an assist in the contest, his first NHL point. Two days later he scored his first NHL goal in a game vs. the Edmonton Oilers. After playing parts of four seasons with the Canadiens, his time in Montreal ended following a heated verbal exchange with head coach Mario Tremblay during a team practice on November 9, 1996. Four days later Brashear was traded to the Vancouver Canucks for Jassen Cullimore. Brashear finished the year with 13 points and 245 PIMs, seventh in the league.

The following season Brashear led the NHL in penalty minutes and set a Canucks' franchise record with 372 PIMs, while adding 18 points. During the season he also received a four-game suspension for delivering a blind-side punch to Ian Laperriere. Brashear stated that he hit Laperriere in retaliation to Laperriere punching Brashear's teammate, Gino Odjick from behind. The 1998–99 season marked the first and only time in his career which he played in all 82 games, again leading the Canucks in penalty minutes and finishing 8th in the NHL. In the 1999–2000 season Brashear set a career high in goals with 11, but the season was marred by one of the most published incidents of excessive violence in the modern era of hockey.

McSorley incident
During the February 21, 2000 Vancouver-Boston game, Brashear was involved in a fight with Marty McSorley. Brashear handily won the fight and on his way to the penalty box taunted the Bruins bench. Later in the game Brashear collided with Bruins' goaltender Byron Dafoe, who had to be taken off on a stretcher with a knee injury. For the rest of the game, McSorley attempted to fight Brashear, who refused. With three seconds left in the game McSorley struck Brashear with a two-handed slash to the temple with his stick. Brashear collapsed. The stick dislodged Brashear's helmet, and his head bounced off the ice. He suffered a seizure on the ice and the slash resulted in a grade 3 concussion. McSorley received an indefinite suspension and was charged with assault with a weapon as a result of his actions.

The case went to trial in British Columbia, where Brashear testified that he has no memory of the incident. McSorley testified that he tried to hit Brashear in the shoulder to start a fight with him, but missed resulting in the head shot. McSorley was found guilty but avoided a jail sentence. He was required to complete 18 months of probation, in which he was not allowed to play against Brashear. Brashear returned to play prior to the end of the season. McSorley, who missed the remaining 23 games of the season, had his suspension officially set at one year following the conviction. He never played in another NHL game.

Mid-career
Brashear played in 79 games the following season registering 19 assists and 28 points. After leading the Canucks in penalty minutes for the previous four seasons, Brashear was traded 31 games into the 2001–02 season to the Philadelphia Flyers. The Flyers received Brashear and the Canucks' 6th round pick in the 2002 draft, in exchange for Jan Hlaváč and the Flyers 3rd round pick in the same draft. While splitting time between the two franchises, Brashear set a career high in points, totaling 32, while amassing 199 PIMs. In 2002–03 he recorded 8 goals, 25 points and 161 PIMs. Thanks in part to his strong work ethic, he was awarded the Pelle Lindbergh Memorial Trophy, an annual award given to the Flyers' most improved player. During the 2003–04 season he was among the league leaders in PIMs, registering 212, ranking him 5th. His PIM total was aided by his role in the most penalized game in NHL history. On March 5, 2004 the Flyers were defeating the Ottawa Senators 5–2, when with 1:45 remaining in the game, Brashear fought Ottawa enforcer Rob Ray. The fight was believed to be in retaliation to Flyers forward Mark Recchi being slashed in the face by the Senators Martin Havlat. Following Brashear's fight, five separate brawls broke out. For his role in starting the fighting Brashear was assessed 34 PIMs, more than any other Flyer. When asked later why he started the fighting, he responded by saying, "Why wouldn’t I? Did you see the last game?" Due to the cancellation of the 2004–05 NHL season by the NHL lockout Brashear signed with the Quebec Radio X of the semi-pro Ligue Nord-Américaine de Hockey league (LNAH). The deal was reportedly worth $300,000. He registered 18 goals and 50 points in 47 games, but was reluctant to fight and felt the league did little to protect him from players wanting to make a name for themselves against an established NHL enforcer. Brashear was suspended from the league following an incident where he continued punching a player in the face while he was lying on the ice.

Following the lockout, Brashear voiced his displeasure with the new way the league called games, stating that the NHL changed the rules to favor "superstars," and he felt that there was no longer a way to "get respect" on the ice. His statement came following a game in which he attempted to fight Darius Kasparitis, who the Flyers believed delivered a "cheap shot" to Simon Gagne in an Olympic game earlier in the year. After Kasparitis refused to fight Brashear at various points in the game, Brashear hit Kasparitis with a gloved punch with 1:53 remaining in the game. Kasparitis did not fight back and instead covered up to protect himself. Brashear was assessed 29 PIMs for the incident, including an instigator penalty. Brashear was given a one-game suspension, due to new league rules for the 2005–06 season – any player given an instigator penalty in the final five minutes of regulation or overtime would receive an automatic one-game suspension. At the end of the year he was again in the top ten (8th) in PIMs accumulating 166, but his offensive production dropped to a mere 9 points. The Flyers elected not to re-sign the enforcer.

The Washington Capitals signed Brashear on July 14, 2006 to a one-year, 1 million dollar contract. The signing was to provide Alexander Ovechkin with some protection. Capitals management felt that Brashear was skilled enough not to be a liability on the team while bringing an intimidating presence. During the 2006–07 season the Capitals decided to extend Brashear's contract, signing him to a one-year, $1.1 million contract extension. He was also suspended one game of the season for punching New York Rangers defenseman Aaron Ward, following a fight between Brashear and Brendan Shanahan. In the game Shanahan felt Brashear was taking liberties with Ranger Captain Jaromír Jágr and challenged Brashear to a fight. Brashear won the fight and motioned as if he was dusting off his hands. Ward then approached him and had words with Brashear who responded by punching him in the face, earning Brashear a game misconduct for intent to injure and eventually the suspension. At season's end his point total increased from the previous season to 13 and his 156 PIMs ranked him in the top ten (6th) in the league for the sixth time in his career. In the 2007–08 season, Brashear played in 80 games for the Capitals but his offensive production slipped down to 8 points while registering only 119 PIMs. Yet he served as one of the Capitals' alternate captains. On January 24, 2008 the Capitals once again re-signed Brashear, this time to a one-year, $1.2 million extension.

In the 2008–09 season Brashear's point total dropped to 4, his lowest total since 1995–96 while he was with Montreal. During the 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs he earned a suspension for two separate on-ice incidents. On April 26, 2009 the Capitals faced the New York Rangers in game 6 of their first-round series. In the pre-game warm-ups Brashear shoved Rangers' enforcer Colton Orr and mid-way through the first period delivered a blind-side hit to Blair Betts. As a result of the hit, and a possible elbow, Betts suffered a broken orbital bone and was out indefinitely. Colin Campbell ruled that the hit was late on an unsuspecting player; he also believed it targeted the head, and as a result caused significant injury. For his actions Brashear was given a 6-game suspension (one for the pre-game altercation and five for the hit on Betts).

Later career
Brashear was not given an extension during the season and prior to the start of free-agency indicated that he would like to return to Washington with the prospect of winning the Stanley Cup. Brashear noted that at his age and place in his career, taking care of his family was top priority and money would be the deciding factor. The Capitals did not re-sign him. After talks with the Kontinental Hockey League's (KHL) Vityaz Chekhov he agreed to a two-year, $2.8 million contract with the New York Rangers. At an event for season-ticket holders, Brashear was booed due to the altercation with the Rangers in the previous post season. He set a personal milestone during the 2009–10 season by playing in his 1,000th NHL game, on November 12 against the Atlanta Thrashers.

Brashear struggled in New York registering only one assist and 73 PIMs in 36 games; he became unhappy with his role in New York and asked the Rangers for a trade. Following a stretch of seven straight and 12 of 13 games where he was a healthy scratch, the Rangers placed Brashear on waivers. After clearing waivers, he was assigned to the Rangers AHL affiliate the Hartford Wolfpack. Despite the demotion Brashear was happy to be getting steady ice time in Hartford.

At the end of the season, the Rangers again placed Brashear on waivers, making him eligible for a contract buyout. Instead of buying out his contract, the Rangers traded Brashear on August 2, 2010, along with Patrick Rissmiller, to the Atlanta Thrashers in exchange for center Todd White. Atlanta then placed Brashear on waivers and bought out the remaining year of his contract, making him an unrestricted free agent. At the end of the 2009–10 season, Brashear ranked 15th all-time in NHL history for penalty minutes.

After not receiving serious interest from any NHL teams Brashear decided to return to the LNAH and signed with Sorel-Tracy GCI. He noted that his decision was based on his desire to continue playing hockey, his love of playing in Quebec, and a chance to reunite with some former teammates. He was later traded during the season to Rivière-du-Loup CIMT to add talent and toughness to the team. Rivière-du-Loup CIMT considered acquiring Brashear a "coup" noting that they could not pass up the chance to add him to the team. Late in the season Brashear was given a suspension following a his actions in a brawl against Trois-Rivières. During the melee Brashear "attacked" goaltender Julien Ellis after he slashed one of Brashear's teammates who was engaged in a different fight. Brashear hit Ellis with several gloved punches before one of Ellis' teammates attempted to restrain Brashear. Brashear fought with the intervening player and after falling to the ice Brashear continued to punch the "defenseless" player. He went back after the goaltender before a linesman tackled him. The suspension was originally for eight games, but after the league met with Brashear and Rivière-du-Loup's general manager it was reduced to five games.

International play
Brashear has represented the United States on two separate occasions. He made his international debut at the 1997 World Championship where he registered 2 goals and 5 points in 8 games, helping the Americans to a 6th place finish. He later noted that he was surprised by the invitation, but felt that it gave him an opportunity to show he could play other roles besides being an enforcer. He played for Team USA again the following year at the World Championship playing in 6 games and accumulating 10 penalty minutes as the Americans finished in 12th place.

Playing style
Brashear was an enforcer; his role was to protect his teammates if an opponent is going beyond what is considered acceptable physical play to "dirty" play or taking "cheap shots". Brashear was a tenacious forechecker, who could create momentum by playing aggressive and delivering body checks, while possessing an underrated shot. When fighting he uses a combination of balance and upper body strength while taking his time trying to control his opponents before landing punches. Although left handed by nature, he became adept at using either hand during fights. He was considered one of the toughest players in the NHL as well as one most feared.

In the January 2010 issue of The Hockey News, Brashear was named enforcer of the decade, noting that although he did not lead the NHL in number of fights, during the decade, he would have been involved in more if "he wasn't so feared". Hockey analyst Bill Clement states that "Brashear has a great sense of when his fighting skills are necessary and he picks his spots before dropping the gloves. He’s excellent at understanding when a bit of pugilism might well provide the push or nudge to get some momentum going for his team." The Hockey News also assessed his skills by saying he possessed one of the most intimidating packages in the league, had a decent skating stride and was one of the best pugilists in the NHL. He was a bit too deliberate when handling and passing the puck, and fought much less as he got older, while slowly breaking down over time.

Personal
Brashear has two sons, Jordan and Jackson; he separated from their mother, Gabrielle Desgagne, his common-law wife, in 2007. In 2000 Brashear was charged with assault following an incident where he grabbed a man by the neck and shoved him. The incident occurred after the man complained to Desgagne about the couple's infant son crawling on the exercise machines in a communal gym. Brashear received six months probation after pleading guilty to common assault.

During the lockout he spent time as an amateur boxer compiling a 2–1 record. Later he trained with former heavyweight champion, Smokin' Joe Frasier In 2007 Brashear, along with some friends, started the house building company, DEC Construction. During the off-season he works on site doing various jobs. He has a knack for languages speaking French and English, and learning Russian and Spanish. He enjoys music as well playing the piano while learning the acoustic guitar. Brashear's great-uncle Carl Brashear, was the first African-American to be certified as a Master Diver in the U.S. Navy. He was the inspiration for the movie Men of Honor, in which he was portrayed by Cuba Gooding, Jr.

Career statistics
{| BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="0" width="75%" style="text-align:center" ! colspan="3" bgcolor="#ffffff" | ! rowspan="99" bgcolor="#ffffff" | ! colspan="5" | Regular season ! rowspan="99" bgcolor="#ffffff" | ! colspan="5" | Playoffs ! Season ! Team ! League ! GP !! G !! A !! Pts !! PIM ! GP !! G !! A !! Pts !! PIM ! colspan="3" | NHL totals ! 1,025 !! 85 !! 120 !! 205 !! 2,634 ! 60 !! 3 !! 6 !! 9 !! 121
 * - bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
 * - bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
 * 1988–89
 * Ste-Foy Gouverneurs
 * QAAA
 * 10 || 1 || 2 || 3 || 10
 * - bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
 * 1989–90
 * Longueuil Collège Français
 * QMJHL
 * 64 || 12 || 14 || 26 || 169
 * 7 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 11
 * 1990–91
 * Longueuil Collège Français
 * QMJHL
 * 68 || 12 || 26 || 38 || 195
 * 8 || 0 || 3 || 3 || 33
 * - bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
 * 1991–92
 * Verdun Collège Français
 * QMJHL
 * 65 || 18 || 24 || 42 || 283
 * 1992–93
 * Fredericton Canadiens
 * AHL
 * 76 || 11 || 3 || 14 || 261
 * 5 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 8
 * - bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
 * 1993–94
 * Fredericton Canadiens
 * AHL
 * 62 || 38 || 28 || 66 || 250
 * 1993–94
 * Montreal Canadiens
 * NHL
 * 14 || 2 || 2 || 4 || 34
 * 2 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
 * - bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
 * 1994–95
 * Fredericton Canadiens
 * AHL
 * 29 || 10 || 9 || 19 || 182
 * 17 || 7 || 5 || 12 || 77
 * 1994–95
 * Montreal Canadiens
 * NHL
 * 20 || 1 || 1 || 2 || 63
 * - bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
 * 1995–96
 * Montreal Canadiens
 * NHL
 * 67 || 0 || 4 || 4 || 223
 * 6 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 2
 * 1996–97
 * Montreal Canadiens
 * NHL
 * 10 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 38
 * - bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
 * 1996–97
 * Vancouver Canucks
 * NHL
 * 59 || 8 || 5 || 13 || 207
 * 1997–98
 * Vancouver Canucks
 * NHL
 * 77 || 9 || 9 || 18 || 372
 * - bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
 * 1998–99
 * Vancouver Canucks
 * NHL
 * 82 || 8 || 10 || 18 || 209
 * 1999–2000
 * Vancouver Canucks
 * NHL
 * 60 || 11 || 2 || 13 || 136
 * - bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
 * 2000–01
 * Vancouver Canucks
 * NHL
 * 79 || 9 || 19 || 28 || 145
 * 4 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
 * 2001–02
 * Vancouver Canucks
 * NHL
 * 31 || 5 || 8 || 13 || 90
 * - bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
 * 2001–02
 * Philadelphia Flyers
 * NHL
 * 50 || 4 || 15 || 19 || 109
 * 5 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 19
 * 2002–03
 * Philadelphia Flyers
 * NHL
 * 80 || 8 || 17 || 25 || 161
 * 13 || 1 || 2 || 3 || 21
 * - bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
 * 2003–04
 * Philadelphia Flyers
 * NHL
 * 64 || 6 || 7 || 13 || 212
 * 18 || 1 || 3 || 4 || 61
 * 2004–05
 * Quebec Radio X
 * LNAH
 * 47 || 18 || 32 || 50 || 260
 * 8 || 4 || 6 || 10 || 42
 * - bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
 * 2005–06
 * Philadelphia Flyers
 * NHL
 * 76 || 4 || 5 || 9 || 166
 * 1 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
 * 2006–07
 * Washington Capitals
 * NHL
 * 77 || 4 || 9 || 13 || 156
 * - bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
 * 2007–08
 * Washington Capitals
 * NHL
 * 80 || 5 || 3 || 8 || 119
 * 7 || 1 || 1 || 2 || 0
 * 2008–09
 * Washington Capitals
 * NHL
 * 63 || 1 || 3 || 4 || 121
 * 4 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 18
 * - bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
 * 2009–10
 * New York Rangers
 * NHL
 * 36 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 73
 * 2009–10
 * Hartford Wolf Pack
 * AHL
 * 27 || 2 || 4 || 6 || 25
 * - bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
 * 2010–11
 * Riviere-du-Loup 3L
 * LNAH
 * 28 || 17 || 14 || 31 || 66
 * - bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
 * NHL
 * 80 || 5 || 3 || 8 || 119
 * 7 || 1 || 1 || 2 || 0
 * 2008–09
 * Washington Capitals
 * NHL
 * 63 || 1 || 3 || 4 || 121
 * 4 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 18
 * - bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
 * 2009–10
 * New York Rangers
 * NHL
 * 36 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 73
 * 2009–10
 * Hartford Wolf Pack
 * AHL
 * 27 || 2 || 4 || 6 || 25
 * - bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
 * 2010–11
 * Riviere-du-Loup 3L
 * LNAH
 * 28 || 17 || 14 || 31 || 66
 * - bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
 * Riviere-du-Loup 3L
 * LNAH
 * 28 || 17 || 14 || 31 || 66
 * - bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
 * - bgcolor="#e0e0e0"

International statistics
{| BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="0" width="75%" style="text-align:center" ! colspan="3" bgcolor="#ffffff" | ! rowspan="99" bgcolor="#ffffff" | ! Year ! Team ! Event ! rowspan="99" bgcolor="#ffffff" | ! GP !! G !! A !! Pts !! PIM ! colspan="3" | Totals ! 14 !! 2 !! 3 !! 5 !! 18
 * - bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
 * - bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
 * - ALIGN="center"
 * 1997
 * United States
 * WC
 * 8 || 2 || 3 || 5 || 8
 * - ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
 * 1998
 * United States
 * WC
 * 6 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 10
 * - ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#e0e0e0"


 * All statistics taken from NHL.com