He was a fixture on the Calgary Flames '89 Stanley Cup winning team, and a true hard nosed leader in the NHL and in his coaching career. Brad McCrimmon, who earned the nickname "Sarge" for his gritty demeanor, was one of 43 members of the KHL's Lokomotiv Yaroslavl who died Wednesday morning after the team plane crashed shortly after take off.

McCrimmon spent the 10/11 NHL season behind the bench of the Detroit Red Wings, but accepted the Head Coaching position with Yaroslavl back in May. He spent time behind the bench of the Calgary Flames, New York Islanders, and Atlanta Thrashers in the NHL and Saskatoon Blades in the WHL.

As a player, McCrimmon was drafted 15th overall by the Boston Bruins in 1979 from the Brandon Wheat Kings. After spending three seasons for the Bruins, and five seasons for the Philadelphia Flyers, he was traded to the Calgary Flames on August 26, 1987 for Calgarys first Round Draft Pick in 1989 and third Round Draft Pick in 1988. In 231 games with the Flames, McCrimmon scored 16 goals and added 67 assists for 83 points. "Sarge" retired after the 96/97 season after playing 37 games in his final year, picking up a goal, and five assists.

McCrimmon finished his NHL career having played in 1222 games, scoring 81 goals and 322 assists, for 403 points. He currently sits tenth all time in career +/- ratings; all nine ahead of him have a spot in the NHL Hall Of Fame.

The plane carrying the Kontinental Hockey League's Lokomotiv Yaroslavl crashed outside the city of Yaroslavl carrying the team's coaching staff, most of the team's main roster, and players from their youth team. Former NHLers Pavol Demitra, Josef Vaseck and Rusilan Salei have been confirmed to be on board. Details are still coming in at this time, but reports suggest the plane caught fire just 500 meters after take off.

Crash site near Yaroslavl (Reuters)

Mourners and fans pay their respects in Minsk. (Reuters)