Posted on 06/08/2026 8:31:47 PM PDT by jerod
Link Gaetz allegedly punched driver in face, broke windshield and fled last September
Police in British Columbia say a former NHL player remains at large a day after authorities announced charges against him in the alleged attack on a taxi driver in Metro Vancouver.
Link Gaetz, 57, is facing charges of assault and mischief under $5,000 in the unprovoked attack of a Maple Ridge, B.C., taxi driver on Sept. 17, 2025.
Mounties say Gaetz is accused of abruptly telling the taxi driver to stop after being picked up, then punching the driver repeatedly in the face and trying to break the vehicle's security camera before breaking the windshield and fleeing.
Gaetz, who police say resides in Mission in the Fraser Valley, has an outstanding warrant for his arrest to face the charges, and police have urged the public to help them find the former professional hockey player.
The RCMP describe him as a six-foot-four, 252-pound man with blond hair and blue eyes.
The Vancouver native was drafted in the second round by the National Hockey League's Minnesota North Stars — now the Dallas Stars — in 1988.
He played 65 NHL games with Minnesota and the San Jose Sharks over three seasons, compiling six goals, eight assists and 412 penalty minutes.
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That reminds me of Rodney Dangerfield’s description of his personal bodyguard in “Easy Money”: ““My bodyguard? The guy’s only a couple of generations out of walking upright.”
This is what untreated Brain Damage often looks like.
He has been living in semi-seclusion in Northern Quebec ever since the unfortunate Denny Pratt tragedy.
That was Andre the Poodle, not The Missing Link. :-P
i honestly thought this guy had died some years back. I remember what a weird, scary looking guy he was when he played for the Sharks i think. I saw Bob Probert clean his clock one night...cut him up pretty good.
“He has been living in semi-seclusion in Northern Quebec ever since the unfortunate Denny Pratt tragedy.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLBy_A-53io
wy69
I thought he was from Mile 40 Saskatchewan where he now runs a doughnut shop.
Taxi and Uber drivers are the leading victims of carjacking fatalities. Usually 20-25 but some years have more deaths.
He spent more time in the Quebec City Senior Hockey League than the NHL. 65 games in the NHL over 3 seasons. Old time hockey.
North Stars GM Lou Nanne once remarked, “I drafted Mike Modano in the first round to save our franchise. I drafted Link Gaetz in the second round to protect Mike Modano. I should have drafted a lawyer in the third round to protect Link Gaetz.”
I wonder if he fought McSorley or Shultz back in the day? Before the Russians showed up enforcers were kept around. After the Red Wings and others introduced speed. If you can’t skate and fight. Not so much. IMO
As far as I remember, he only played one season with the Sharks, and was in a car accident, and never played again.
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