Dave Babych
Born	(1961-05-23)May 23, 1961 (age 64) Edmonton,Alberta, Canada
Height	6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight	215 lb (98 kg; 15 st 5 lb)
Position	Defence
Shot	Left
Played for	Winnipeg Jets Hartford Whalers Vancouver Canucks Philadelphia Flyers Los Angeles Kings Ambrì-Piotta
National team	Canada
NHL draft	2nd overall,1980 Winnipeg Jets
Playing career	1980–1999

David Michael Babych (born May 23, 1961) is a Canadian former professionalice hockeydefenceman who played 19 seasons in theNational Hockey League (NHL) from 1980 to 1999. He is currently an assistant director of player personnel with theVancouver Canucks.^[1] He played in twoNHL All-Star Games and played for theWinnipeg Jets,Hartford Whalers, Vancouver Canucks,Philadelphia Flyers andLos Angeles Kings. David is the younger brother of former NHL playerWayne Babych. He was the first NHL player to wear the number 44 on a permanent basis.

Considered a franchise talent after a standout junior career in theWestern Hockey League (WHL) with thePortland Winter Hawks, Babych was selected second overall in the1980 NHL Entry Draft by theWinnipeg Jets. At the time of his selection, Babych and his brotherWayne (taken 3rd overall in1978) were the highest-drafted pair of brothers in NHL history, a record matched by the Sedin twins (Daniel andHenrik) and broken byPierre andSylvain Turgeon. Babych stepped into the Jets lineup immediately as a teenager during the1980–81 season, turning in a stellar rookie campaign in which he finished second on the club with 38 assists and led all Winnipeg blueliners with 44 points. Babych went on to lead all defenders on his team in scoring in each of his first 10 NHL seasons.

In1981–82, Babych emerged as a star on a revitalized Winnipeg team which improved by 48 points with the addition of superstar rookieDale Hawerchuk, setting franchise records for defencemen with 19 goals and 68 points in helping the Jets to their first-ever NHL playoff berth. Key to his improvement and development was the acquisition of veteranSerge Savard, a futureHall of Famer, to serve as his partner on the blueline.1982–83 would be better yet, as he led the Jets with 61 assists and broke his own club record for defensive scoring with 74 points. He was also voted in as a starter for theCampbell Conference at the1983 NHL All-Star Game.

Babych played in the All-Star game again in 1984, and turned in another excellent season, although he missed 14 games due to injury. In1984–85, the Jets would have their best season ever, finishing fourth in the NHL with 96 points, and Babych - now forming a dynamic partnership on the blueline with formerNorris Trophy winnerRandy Carlyle - finished the year with 62 points to lead the team's defenders in scoring for the fifth consecutive season. He excelled in the 1985 playoffs, leading the team in scoring as they won their first-ever playoff series before being ousted by theEdmonton Oilers.

Despite registering 16 points in his first 19 games to start the1985–86 season, Babych was dealt to theHartford Whalers forRay Neufeld. Unpopular with Winnipeg fans at the time, the move would be a terrible one for the Jets as Neufeld was never more than a depth player for them and was out of the NHL by 1989, while Babych continued to excel for nearly another 15 years.

In Hartford, Babych continued his stellar play, finishing the season with 69 points - the second-highest total of his career - and was named the team's top defender. In1986–87, he missed time with injury and finished with a career-low 41 points. However, he bounced back the following year to record another 50-point season, good for second on the Whalers in scoring. He was named the Whalers' top defender again in1988–89, and led the team in playoff scoring with six points in four games. In1989–90, he finished the year with 6 goals and 43 points, his 10th consecutive season over 40 points.

Babych suffered a serious wrist injury in1990–91, requiring surgery shortly after the start of the season, causing him to miss 40 games. He then suffered a severely broken thumb almost immediately after his return, ruling him out for the rest of the campaign. He only appeared in eight games all season, recording six assists.

After missing almost all of the previous season to injury, Hartford exposed Babych in the1991 NHL Expansion Draft, where he was selected by theMinnesota North Stars. However, he was almost immediately dealt to theVancouver Canucks forTom Kurvers.

While Babych was no longer the front-line defender he was earlier in his career, he continued to be a steady and valued contributor during his seven years in Vancouver, capable of showing flashes of his former offensive ability. Babych became the only defender in Canucks history to record ahat trick during the regular season, a feat he accomplished on November 22, 1991, against theCalgary Flames (Doug Halward also recorded a hat-trick for the Canucks in a playoff game). He finished the1991–92 season with five goals and 29 points (second amongst Vancouver defenders, behindJyrki Lumme), and was a key factor on a vastly improved Canuck team which won their division for the first time in 17 years. He also added eight points in 13 playoff games.

Injuries limited Babych to just 43 games in1992–93, but he bounced back in1993–94 with 32 points, his highest total since 1990. He continued to play inspired hockey in the playoffs as Vancouver reached theStanley Cup Finals, scoring the biggest goal of his career on June 9, 1994, in Game 5 of the Finals against theNew York Rangers. After the Rangers came back from a 3–0 deficit to tie the game, Babych jumped into the rush and buried a pass fromPavel Bure to score the game-winning goal. It sparked a comeback in the series for Vancouver, who would narrowly lose the series in seven games.

Babych continued to toil steadily on the Canucks' blueline for another four seasons, although the team's fortunes went into decline. Most notable for Babych was a surprise offensive resurgence at the start of the1995–96 campaign, which saw him amongst the league's highest-scoring defenders through the first month of the season.

With the Canucks well out of the playoff race at the end of the1997–98 season, the team dealt Babych to thePhiladelphia Flyers for a low draft pick in order to give him a chance to play for a contending team. However, Babych missed a substantial amount of time after breaking his foot blocking a slap shot soon after his arrival in Philadelphia, and the Flyers were knocked out of the playoffs in the first round.

Babych continued to serve as a depth defender for the Flyers in1998–99, before being dealt to theLos Angeles Kings at the trade deadline. He finished his final season with two goals and 8 points in 41 games between Philadelphia and Los Angeles. He had a brief stint inSwitzerland in 2000 before retiring.

Babych finished his career with 142 goals and 581 assists for 723 points in 1195 NHL games, along with 970 penalty minutes. He added 21 goals and 41 assists for 62 points in 114 playoff games.

Babych made his home in North Vancouver,British Columbia, following his retirement.^[1] In December 2009, he was hired to work in a part-time capacity with theVancouver Canucks as an assistant specializing in defencemen to director of player personnelDave Gagner.^[1]

Babych sued the Flyers and the team's orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Arthur Bartolozzi, in 2002, claiming that improper medical care for his 1998 foot injury shortened his career. Bartolozzi misdiagnosed the injury as a bone bruise rather than a fracture, and gave Babych painkillers so he could suit up for the first round of the playoffs. Babych claimed for many years that playing through the injury caused permanent damage which prematurely ended his career. Claiming that the Flyers and Bartolozzi had defrauded him, he sued for $2 million in lost wages. The Flyers were dismissed as a defendant before trial when a judge ruled there was no evidence of fraud on their part. While a jury found no evidence of fraud on Bartolozzi's part either, it found that he failed to follow accepted standards of care and awarded Babych US$1.02 million in lost wages and US$350,000 for pain and suffering in November 2002.^[2]

Babych, who is ofUkrainian ancestry,^[3] was born inEdmonton,Alberta.

Babych had a small role in the movieSlap Shot 2.^[4]

• WHL First All-Star Team – 1980

• List of NHL players with 1,000 games played

• Biographical information and career statistics fromNHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database
• Profile at hockeydraftcentral.com
• Dave Babych: Training Inspiration

• 1961 births
• Living people
• Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Switzerland
• Canadian ice hockey defencemen
• Canadian people of Ukrainian descent
• Fort Saskatchewan Traders players
• Hartford Whalers players
• 20th-century Canadian sportsmen
• Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States
• HC Ambrì-Piotta players
• Los Angeles Kings players
• National Hockey League All-Stars
• NHL first-round draft picks
• Philadelphia Flyers players
• Portland Winterhawks players
• Ice hockey people from Edmonton
• Vancouver Canucks personnel
• Vancouver Canucks players
• Winnipeg Jets (1979–1996) draft picks
• Winnipeg Jets (1979–1996) players

• All articles with dead external links
• Articles with dead external links from September 2010
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata