The Death of Brooksie
Sad news to start a morning skate. On my way to Climate Pledge Arena on Thursday I learned of the passing of legendary writer and old pal Larry Brooks of the New York Post.
Just as I did this past weekend, I attended the Hockey Hall of Fame media awards luncheon in Toronto in 2018 when “Brooksie” was honored with the Elmer Ferguson Award. No one was or is more deserving to be recognized for their career contributions than Larry Brooks. He was a fearless, insightful, and extremely knowledgeable hockey writer to say the least. His columns were succinct, informative, and occasionally controversial.
His confrontations with Rangers head coach John Tortorella are legendary. I was on hand for many of their conversations, ones that were much less fiery. Larry Brooks was never afraid to speak his mind.
One of my favorite recent summations from Brooks, regarding a Rangers club under head coach Peter Laviolette: “The Rangers have quit on their coach, they have quit on the organization, they have quit on themselves, they have quit on each other, they have quit on the fans who pay top dollar to fill the Garden, and they have quit on New York.”
Stunning, truthful, impactful.
We crossed paths countless times, but without a doubt the most memorable was when I made the Montreal stop during my 31-NHL-games-in-31-cities-in-31-straight-days trip in 2018. I had the privilege and educational opportunity to sit next to Brooksie in the Bell Centre press box for an entire Rangers/Canadiens game.
So much for me thinking I already knew everything. He was a hard working, relentless wizard.
I think he kept his illness on the down-low. I asked Post beat writer Mollie Walker “how’s Brooksie doing?” in the Kraken locker room just a few weeks ago and her answer was pretty standard with a smile. I’m under the impression now she was then unaware of his situation based on her response. He gave way to cancer with quiet dignity.
Larry Brooks was almost the last of what is a — forgive this cliche’ — dying breed. A sign of the times: 99-percent of those in NHL press boxes these days couldn’t carry his pen.
He was, as they used to say, “a must read”, or what I used to similarly tell people when I worked in New York: “Brooksie is mandatory hockey reading”.
My sincere condolences to his friends, family and cohorts.
Earlier Kraken:
— Kraken’s Catton Staying In The NHL Raises More Questions
