Minnesota Wild assistant general manager Tom Kurvers, a former Hobey Baker Award winner and Stanley Cup champion, died Monday morning after a long battle with lung cancer. He was 58.
The Wild issued a statement extending their sympathies to Kurvers’ wife, Heather, and their four children.
“Tom’s passion for and success in hockey could only be surpassed by the love and optimism he shared with his family and friends each and every day,” read the statement. “Tom’s kindness and enthusiasm will be greatly missed by the countless number of people on whom he had a positive influence throughout his life. We join the State of Hockey in mourning the loss of a great hockey player and an even better person.”
A Minnesota native, Kurvers won the Hobey Baker Award as college hockey’s top player after registering 76 points (18 goals, 58 assists) in 43 games as a 1983-84 senior at the University of Minnesota Duluth.
A defenseman, Kurvers played parts of 11 NHL seasons with seven franchises from 1984-95 and accumulated 421 points (93 goals, 328 assists) and 350 penalty minutes in 659 games with the Montreal Canadiens, New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders, Toronto Maple Leafs, Buffalo Sabres, Vancouver Canucks and Anaheim Ducks.
He won a Stanley Cup with the Canadiens in 1985-86.
Kurvers joined the Arizona Coyotes after his playing career and worked his way up to director of player personnel in 2005. He served as the interim general manager for the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2010 and remained with the team as a senior advisor until joining the Wild in 2018.
–Field Level Media