Gone But Not Forgotten
Emery played four more seasons in the NHL. The first two were with the Chicago Blackhawks. During the strike-shortened 2012-13 season, he went on to win the Stanley Cup. Both he and Corey Crawford finished with a 1.94 GAA that year as they combined to win the Bill Jennings Trophy. His NHL career ended after he headed back to Philadelphia and played for two more seasons.
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Although Emery’s on-ice technique never significantly improved, he still has some notable on-ice moments. Of those moments, was his brawl with Buffalo Sabres goaltender, Martin Biron. A second fight broke out in that game against him and Sabres enforcer, Andrew Peters. Emery received 22 penalty minutes in that game, and would from then on be known as “Sugar Ray” or “Razor” due to his aggressive on-ice playing style.
Before I conclude, I fully understand that there were questionable things that happened in Ray Emery’s past. He was, like the rest of us, an imperfect person. That doesn’t excuse some of the things that happened off the ice. For now, we’ll put that all aside for a moment.
It should bring comfort to people to know Emery spent his last night doing what he loved. His last public appearance was at Zac Rinaldo’s charity hockey game, to raise money for hungry kids. He spent his last few hours doing something that would impact his community for the better.
Although Ray Emery may be gone, his memory will live on, not to be forgotten.
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In the wake of the tragic death of Ray Emery, I leave you all with these parting words. It is accidents like this one that remind us just how fragile life is. As unfortunate as it is, we are not promised tomorrow. Tragedy can happen in the blink of an eye. I urge you to hug the people that you hold dear and tell them you love them.