Just in time for Father’s Day, let’s look at some of hockey’s greatest father-son pairs in the history of the game.
The NHL has a rich history of sons taking up the on-ice legacies left for them by their fathers. From the Howe’s of old, to the Tkachuk’s of today, the NHL has been privy to some of the best father-son duos in sports history.
As we celebrate all the dads, pops and fathers around the globe, let’s take a look at the five greatest father-son duos the NHL has ever seen.
For the sake of this piece, a delineation will be made between father-son duos and hockey dynasties. For instance, while the Sutter’s had a multiple father-son pairs play in the league, they are more known for the fact that virtually everyone in the family were NHLers. Perhaps that’s a piece for another day.
Honorable Mentions
NHL father-son duos: Fred and Ray Shero
The Shero’s definitely didn’t have the on-ice impact that some of the other players on this list, but they’ve made an indelible mark on NHL history from behind the bench and in the executive suites.
In the 70s, Fred Shero helped the Philadelphia Flyers become the first expansion franchise to win the Stanley Cup. His enigmatic behavior and pre-Cup clinching quote, “Win now and walk together forever,” has become the stuff of legends in Philadelphia sports.
He earned just under 400 wins during his 10-year coaching career and sported an absurd .642 points percentage while serving as the bench boss in Philly. Shero had just two sub .500 seasons as a coach and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2013 as a builder.
Like his father, Ray Shero also made his mark off the ice. Despite being drafted by the Los Angeles Kings in 1982, Shero never played an NHL game and instead sought out a career as an executive.
The younger Shero helped build the Pittsburgh Penguins from a franchise on the verge of collapse, into a Stanley Cup champion and perennial Cup contender. It’s tough to imagine what the league’s current power dynamic would look had Shero not ushered in the reign of Crosby and Malkin.
NHL father-son duos: Tie and Max Domi
There may not be another combo on this list quite as different stylistically as the Domi’s.
Tie Domi was a byproduct of the pre-lockout NHL. An instigator through and through, Domi amassed 3,515 penalty minutes over the course of his 1,020 game NHL career. He was far too good at agitating opponents and getting under the skin of some of the league’s best players.
His son Max is anything but the sort. Max Domi is already just 24 goals shy of passing his father and relies on his skill, shiftiness and hockey IQ to drive the opposition nuts in the offensive zone.
Add in the fact that Tie played primarily for the Toronto Maple Leafs and Max plays for the Montreal Canadiens, the Domi’s couldn’t be more opposite. That being said, Max can still chirp with the best of them, so he at least picked that up from his dad.