| Steve Chiasson | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 14 April 1967 Barrie, Ontario, Canada |
| Died | 3 May 1999 (aged 32) Raleigh, North Carolina |
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
| Weight | 205 lb (93 kg; 14 st 9 lb) |
| Position | Defence |
| Shoots | Left |
| Played for | Detroit Red Wings Calgary Flames Hartford Whalers Carolina Hurricanes |
| National team |  Canada
|
| NHL Draft | 50th overall, 1985 Detroit Red Wings |
| Playing career | 1986–1999 |
Steve Chiasson (born Steven Joseph Chiasson on April 14, 1967) was a Canadian ice hockey defenceman with the National Hockey League (NHL)'s Detroit Red Wings, Calgary Flames, Hartford Whalers and the Carolina Hurricanes.
On May 3, 1999, he died in an automobile accident while driving under the influence.
Playing Career[]
Steve was born in Barrie, Ontario, and raised in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada. Drafted by the Detroit Red Wings in 1985, he was an offensive defenceman who displayed a lot of skill.
During the 1992–93 NHL season, he recorded a career-high 62 points and represented the Campbell Conference in the NHL All-Star Game.
Steve was traded to the Calgary Flames in exchange for Mike Vernon in the 1994 off-season. He spent two and a half seasons with the Flames before being dealt to the Hartford Whalers in 1997 and continued with the team as they became the Carolina Hurricanes the following season.
After spending most of the 1998–99 season on the injured list, Steve returned for the playoffs and scored a power play goal in Game 5 of their conference quarterfinal round with the Boston Bruins, which would end up being his last NHL goal.
He was also frequently a member of the Canadian national team, representing them in eight IIHF World Championships over the course of his career.
Death[]
On May 3, 1999, after the Hurricanes were eliminated from the playoffs in Boston and returned to Raleigh, Steve wrecked his pickup truck on the way home from a team party at the home of Gary Roberts and was killed on impact.
According to teammate Kevin Dineen, Steve refused to call a taxi or accept a ride home, insisting on driving himself despite a blood alcohol content later found to be 0.27, over three times North Carolina's legal limit of 0.08.
There is a sculpture garden created in his honor with life-size bronze portraits of Steve's children playing around a pond and a plaque in his memory in Millennium Park, Peterborough, Ontario (the town where he was raised).
The Stanley Cup was brought to this spot on July 27, 2006 by former Flames teammate Cory Stillman after he won the Cup with the Hurricanes that season.
Career Statistics[]
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | Lge | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1983–84 | Guelph Platers | OHL | 55 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 112 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1984–85 | Guelph Platers | OHL | 61 | 8 | 22 | 30 | 139 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1985–86 | Guelph Platers | OHL | 54 | 12 | 29 | 41 | 126 | 18 | 10 | 10 | 20 | 37 | ||
| 1986–87 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 45 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 73 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | ||
| 1987–88 | Adirondack Red Wings | AHL | 23 | 6 | 11 | 17 | 58 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1987–88 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 29 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 57 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 31 | ||
| 1988–89 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 65 | 12 | 35 | 47 | 149 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | ||
| 1989–90 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 67 | 14 | 28 | 42 | 114 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1990–91 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 42 | 3 | 17 | 20 | 80 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 19 | ||
| 1991–92 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 62 | 10 | 24 | 34 | 136 | 11 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 12 | ||
| 1992–93 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 79 | 12 | 50 | 62 | 155 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 19 | ||
| 1993–94 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 82 | 13 | 33 | 46 | 122 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 2 | ||
| 1994–95 | Calgary Flames | NHL | 45 | 2 | 23 | 25 | 39 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 9 | ||
| 1995–96 | Calgary Flames | NHL | 76 | 8 | 25 | 33 | 62 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 1996–97 | Calgary Flames | NHL | 47 | 5 | 11 | 16 | 32 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1996–97 | Hartford Whalers | NHL | 18 | 3 | 11 | 14 | 7 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1997–98 | Carolina Hurricanes | NHL | 66 | 7 | 27 | 34 | 65 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1998–99 | Carolina Hurricanes | NHL | 28 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 16 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ||
Legacy[]
After Steve's death, the Carolina Hurricanes established the Steve Chiasson Award to honor the player who best demonstrates leadership, perseverance, determination and dedication."
No player has ever worn #3 for the Hurricanes again even though it has not been officially retired.
Steve was survived by his wife, Susan and three children: Michael, Ryan and Stephanie.
Steve's older son, Michael is a defenseman for the University of Michigan men's hockey team & wears his late father's #3 and his other son, Ryan, also wore #3 for the Dubuque Fighting Saints of the USHL during the 2013-2014 season.