Rick Vaive

Richard Claude Vaive (born May 14, 1959) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played in the final season of the World Hockey Association (WHA) and played in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1979 to 1992. While with the Toronto Maple Leafs, he became the first member of that team to score 50 goals in a season.

Biography
Vaive was born in Ottawa, Ontario to Claude (d. 2016) and Mary Vaive (d. 2010), and lived in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island after he turned 11. Grandparents Lionel and Reina Vaive were from Gatineau, Quebec. As a youth, he played in the 1970 and 1971 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournaments with a minor ice hockey team from Amherst, Nova Scotia.

After a stellar junior hockey career with the Sherbrooke Castors, he began his professional career in 1978-79 in the World Hockey Association (WHA) with the Birmingham Bulls, with whom he signed as an underage free agent. He was part of a contingent of young players who were nicknamed the "Baby Bulls", a group which also included Michel Goulet, Craig Hartsburg, Keith Crowder, Gaston Gingras and Pat Riggin. Following the NHL-WHA merger at the end of the season, these youngsters were declared eligible for the 1979 NHL Entry Draft, and Vaive was selected fifth overall by the Vancouver Canucks.

In 1980, the Canucks traded Vaive, along with Bill Derlago, to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for Dave "Tiger" Williams and Jerry Butler. In Toronto, Vaive and Derlago were teamed with Pat Hickey, and Derlago became Vaive's setup man. Vaive was a prolific scorer for the Leafs, becoming the first player in the team's history to score 50 goals in a season. His 54 goals in 1981–82 stood as a franchise record for 40 years before it was broken by Auston Matthews in 2021–22. He served as captain of the Maple Leafs from 1982 to 1986; he was stripped of the captaincy during the 1985–86 NHL season, for missing a morning practice. Vaive was invited to the Canada Cup team in 1984, but was cut in training camp.

In 1987 Vaive was traded, along with Steve Thomas and Bob McGill, to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for Al Secord and Ed Olczyk, one of several lamentable deals by team owner Harold Ballard in the 1980s. Vaive netted 43 goals in his first season in Chicago but never managed more than 31 in a season after that. He spent four seasons with the Buffalo Sabres, then retired as a member of the American Hockey League's Hamilton Canucks in 1993.

In May 2000, Vaive was inducted into the PEI Sports Hall of Fame.

Coaching career
In 1993, immediately after his retirement as a player, Vaive became coach of the expansion South Carolina Stingrays of the East Coast Hockey League. He led the Stingrays to division titles in 1995 and 1997 and a conference championship in 1997, and in 1996–97 he became the first ECHL coach to win both the Brabham Cup and Kelly Cup in the same season. He then coached the Saint John Flames of the AHL for two seasons. Vaive coached the Mississauga Ice Dogs of the Ontario Hockey League in 2000-01, guiding the team to the worst record in the league and tying the 1995-96 London Knights for fewest wins in a season. He was fired and replaced by Don Cherry.

Personal
Vaive hosted various shows on Leafs TV, an MLSE-run property focusing on the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Vaive and his wife Joyce have two sons, Jeff and Justin, who was selected by the Anaheim Ducks in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft.

Coaching statistics
''Note: G = Games, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime Losses, PCT. = Winning Percentage''