VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- Jake Milford, a man who gave 50 years to hockey, the sport he loved, has died of following a year-long battle with cancer. He was 68.
Milford entered the hospital last Thursday and died early Sunday morning.
A man who loved people as much as he loved the sport, on Sept. 25th of this year, Milford was recognized by his peers when he was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame. For the last seven years he has worked in the front office of the Vancouver Canucks serving as both general manager and later a senior vice-president.
It was often said that at NHL meetings Milford would take an hour to stroll through the hotel lobby, as he would chat, swap stories, and laugh with friends and cronies. In many ways he was a throwback to a different era, a part of the golden age of sport.
John Ferguson, general manager of the Winnipeg Jets and a colleague of Milford's during their days in junior hockey, remembered him fondly.
'He traded us a guy with one eye once,' Ferguson recalled 'He was quick. It's the last of the old-time shenanigans. Hockey's going to miss him.'
Canucks spokesman Norm Jewison remembers Milford in a different way.
'Hw was a father figure to an awful lot of us,' said Jewison. 'It just leaves a tremendous hole in our Canucks family.
'He is so widely known throughout the National Hockey League that his passing is a great loss to the game.'
Milford was survived by his wife Billie, daughters Sherry and Sara, and son John. Funeral arrangements have not yet been finalized, Jewison said.
Milford joined the Canucks in 1977 as general manager, a job he kept until 1982 when he turned it over to coach Harry Neale to become senior vice-president.
Under Milford and Neale's guidance, the team progressed in the standings until it earned a berth in the Stanley Cup finals against the New York Islanders in 1982.
'He's had a lot of influence over a lot of people,' Neale said.
Neale remembered Milford as a team man who was self-effacing but 'around and available' when the club was winning.
'But when we were losing, he was in your corner and made it crystal clear that there were two guys worrying about the outcome of the next few games, and how the team was going to do.
'From a coach's viewpoint, that was all you could ever ask from the boss,' Neale said.
Born in Charlottetown in 1916, Milford's involvement in the sport started as a player. Following his playing days, he moved to the front-office.
In 1957, he joined the pro ranks as manager of the New York Rangers' farm club in St. Paul, Minn. In all he spent a total of 14 seasons in the Rangers' system, during which his teams earned four league championships.
Milford moved to the NHL in 1973 when he was named assistant general manager of the Los Angeles Kings. During the season he was promoted to general manager and under his guidance the Kings finished third in their division and second in each of the following two years.
