OHL’s Soo Greyhounds remove John Vanbiesbrouck’s banner from the rafters

The Ontario Hockey League’s Soo Greyhounds have removed John Vanbiesbrouck’s retired #1 from the rafters of the GFL Memorial Gardens. The Sault Star, a newspaper based out of Sault Ste. Marie, said it doesn’t know the exact date of the removal, but suspect it was completed around Joe Thornton’s jersey retirement ceremony on Nov. 4.

“As part of the updating of the retired jerseys on display in our arena, we have decided to discontinue the display of this particular jersey in our rafters,” Hounds owner Tim Lukenda told The Sault Star. “We aren’t trying to make a big deal of it, we just thought it was the right thing to do at this time.

“Basically, we want to make sure we are creating a welcoming environment for all of our guests, players, former players and families.”

Lukenda confirmed that Vanbiesbrouck’s No. 1 will stay retired, saying it will “not be worn by any other Greyhound in the future.”

Vanbiesbrouck played 20 seasons in the NHL with the New York Rangers, New York Islanders, Florida Panthers, Philadelphia Flyers and New Jersey Devils. He stepped down as head coach and general manager of the Greyhounds in March 2003 after he used the N-word to describe team captain Trevor Daley.

He would go on to sell his stake in the team following the incident.

The Hockey Diversity Alliance released a statement on behalf of Daley regarding the news.

“Sault Ste. marie has been home for me since I was drafted by the Greyhounds in 1999. I played my entire junior career in the Soo, met my wife in the Soo, and was proud to finish my major junior career as the captain of the Greyhounds,” Daley said. “Sault Ste. Marie is the place where I started my family and we return “home” to the Soo every summer. Hockey, for the most part, has given me amazing opportunities that I am so grateful for.

“The one very dark and racist moment of my hockey career is somethign that I had to relive each time I returned to the Gardens and looked up to the rafters,” Daly continued. “The next time I enter the Gardens, look up, and not have to relive one of the worst moments of my life eliminates a major source of anger and frustration for both me and my family. It will allow our family to focus on all the very great things that playing for the Greyhounds and in Sault Ste. Marie meant for me as a hockey player and a person.”

Daley played 16 seasons in the NHL, recording 89 goals and 220 assists for 309 points in 1058 games with the Dallas Stars, Chicago Blackhawks, Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit Red Wings. He won Stanley Cups with the Penguins in 2016 and 2017.

He currently serves as a special assistant to Penguins President of Hockey Ops and General Manager Kyle Dubas, focusing on player personnel and development. In 2021, Daley was a member of an ownership ground that purchased the Soo Thunderbirds of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League.