Bailey's death hits close to home with Penguins

Penguins assistant general manager Ed Johnston couldn't believe it when news arrived Tuesday that Garnet 'Ace' Bailey was on one of the flights that crashed into the World Trade Center.

Johnston and Bailey were teammates on the Boston Bruins' Stanley Cup championship teams of 1970 and '72. Johnston was a goaltender, Bailey a left winger. They remained close friends and often crossed paths on the scouting trail.

Bailey was director of pro scouting for the Los Angeles Kings.

'He was a happy-go-lucky guy,' Johnston said. 'And he was really a big part of our Stanley Cup runs. He got some important goals in overtime. He'll be missed in the hockey world, because everybody knows Ace Bailey.'

That includes many members of the Penguins' scouting staff, general manager Craig Patrick, left winger Kevin Stevens and play-by-play man Mike Lange.

Johnston was informed of Bailey's death by another former Bruins teammate and one of Bailey's closest friends, Wayne Cashman.

Cashman had spent two hours with Bailey on Monday night in Lynnfield, Mass., where Bailey lived. Johnston believes that Bailey might have had a premonition that something bad would happen.

Bailey was scheduled to fly from Boston to Los Angeles the next morning.

'(Cashman) told me that Ace told his son four or five times, 'Make sure you take care of your mom,' ' Johnston said. 'That's something he never does more than once in a while. To do that four or five times in a night, that's kind of scary. It tells you he might have had a premonition or something like that.'

Bailey, 53, is survived by his wife Katherine and son Todd, who is in his 20's. Bailey and Mark Bavis, an amateur scout for the Kings, were aboard United Airlines Flight 175, the second plane to hit the World Trade Center in New York. The Boeing 767 was scheduled to fly from Boston to Los Angeles, where the Kings have training camp.

Bailey was entering his 33rd season as a player or scout in the NHL. He spent the previous 13 years as a scout with the Edmonton Oilers, who won five Stanley Cups in that stretch.

According to Stevens, Bailey was very close with Wayne Gretzky. The two were linemates with the Oilers in 1978, when Edmonton played in the World Hockey Association.

Stevens, who is from Brockton, Mass., knew Bailey and Bavis, who lived in West Newton, Mass. Bavis attended Boston University, where his twin brother, Michael, is an assistant coach for the hockey team.

Patrick received news of Bailey's death from the Penguins' Boston-based scout, Neil Shea. Patrick was a teammate of Bailey's in the 1970's with the St. Louis Blues and the Washington Capitals.

'He was a fun-loving guy,' Patrick said. 'He made everything enjoyable all the time. ... It's a shock and a shame.'

Lange had similar memories of Bailey. Lange rented a house from Bailey during one summer in the mid-1970s in Washington, when Lange was announcing pro soccer games.

'He could light up a room,' Lange said. 'When he came in, people around him would be laughing.'

Johnston called Bailey's sister-in-law to express his sorrow. Several former Bruins players, including Don Marcotte, Cashman and Gerry Cheevers, went to Bailey's house to offer support, Johnston said.

At Penguins training camp yesterday, there was plenty of talk about the tragedies.

'It was tough to come to work,' Mario Lemieux said.

Lemieux described the tragedies as 'devastating' and said, 'We're always going to be remember where we were.'

Air travel is part of life for anyone involved in professional sports. The Penguins travel on their own charter plane, but Lemieux said that no flight can be care-free now.

'It's a little different for us, but there's still a danger of somebody getting on board,' he said. 'You saw what happened (Tuesday), so there's always that danger. I think you'll see a lot more security around the country. ... I think that's best for everybody involved.'