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The Daily: NHL Mourns Death of Respected Linesman; Red Wings McLellan Serving Youth

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Dan McCourt, NHL

Former Detroit Red Wings star Dale McCourt and his brother Dan had a special status in NHL history because Dale played in the league as a player and Dan made it as a linesman.



Dale played 532 NHL games with the Red Wings, Buffalo Sabres and Dan enjoyed a 25-year career as an NHL linesman (1979-2004). Their careers are being remembered this week as the hockey community mourns the death of Dan who died this week after an extended illness.

The McCourts are the nephews of Toronto Maple Legends legendary center George Armstrong.

The Sudbury (Ontario) Star quoted Dan in 2015 that his goal had been to make the NHL.

“When the playing side of it ended, I thought, you know what, there’s two opportunities open here — you can either coach or you can referee,” Dan McCourt said. “I thought, well, you can coach when you’re 50 years old. I’m going to try this refereeing thing and I’m going to see how far I can go with it.”

Dan was a highly respected NHL official, known for his storytelling and his affable personality. He was 70.

Red Wings In Case You Missed It

Pavel Datsyuk has signed a contract to serve as a skills coach for Russian KHL. He’s not coming back to Detroit.

Red Wings salvage a point on overtime loss to Philadelphia Flyers. They earned three out of eight possible points on their road trip.

Elmer Soderblom’s call-up shows  new coach Todd McLellan is willing to give younger players a good look.

Red Wings Extra

The Red Wings go into Thursday’s game against Montreal on a three-game losing streak with a total of three goals scored in those three losses. The Canadiens, meanwhile, are 7-1-1 in their last nine games. They hold the last wildcard position in the Eastern Conference with 52 points. The Red Wings are five points behind.

Hockey Now Network

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Pittsburgh: Coach Mike Sullivan is pushing forward Philip Tomasino for more. Pittsburgh Penguins.

San Jose Sharks: There are no easy answers or quick fixes for the San Jose Sharks.