OHL mourns the loss of Paul Gagne

The Ontario Hockey League is saddened by news of the passing of Windsor Spitfires alumnus and former NHL forward Paul Gagne, who died on Sunday at the age of 63.

Gagne, from Iroquois Falls, ON, played in Windsor from 1978-80, graduating with a 48-goal, 101-point season before being selected 19th overall by the Colorado Rockies in the 1980 NHL Draft. Gagne would go on to 390 games in the NHL between Colorado, New Jersey, Toronto and the New York Islanders. He won a Calder Cup title with the AHL’s Springfield Indians in 1990.

Gagne played under Wayne Maxner with the Spitfires on teams that included names such as Ernie Godden, Blair Barnes and Claude Julien. His playing career lasted until 1999, with the final nine years of his career spent between Germany and Switzerland.

Following retirement, Gagne moved behind the bench to serve as a long-time head coach and general manager with the NOJHL’s Iroquois Falls/Abitibi Eskimos and Timmins Rock from 2000-2017. He coached Abitibi to an NOJHL championship in 2010.

Gagne was one of the Hockey North Hall of Fame’s inaugural inductees earlier this year. He is survived by his wife Brenda and his children, Martine and Steven.