from John Kreiser of NHL.com,
Dale Hawerchuk, the leading scorer in the first iteration of the Winnipeg Jets and a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, has died, his son Eric announced over Twitter on Tuesday.
Dale Hawerchuk was 57 and had stomach cancer. The forward was a six-time 100-point scorer for the Jets and helped make them a consistent Stanley Cup Playoff team during the 1980s. He held the franchise career records for goals (379) and points (929) until Shane Doan, captain of the Arizona Coyotes and the last member of the original Jets still active in the NHL, surpassed them during the 2015-16 season. By then, the relocated franchise was concluding its 20th season in Arizona after moving from Winnipeg in 1996.
Hawerchuk was a star almost from the time he began playing competitive hockey at age 4. He played junior hockey with Cornwall of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and had 103 and 183 points in his two seasons, helping the Royals win the Memorial Cup each time.
The Jets took Hawerchuk with the No. 1 pick in the 1981 NHL Draft and he was an instant star, winning the Calder Trophy as the top rookie in the NHL after scoring 45 goals and 103 points in 1981-82 and becoming the first player to reach 100 points as an 18-year-old. The Jets improved by a then-NHL record 48 points from the previous season, finished second in the Norris Division and qualified for the playoffs for the first time.
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