Former NHL player and former Ottawa Senators general manager Mel Bridgman has passed away at the age of 70. The NHL Alumni Association confirmed his death on Saturday. The cause of his passing has not been made public.
Bridgman was selected as the first overall pick in the 1975 NHL draft by the Philadelphia Flyers, where he played for over six seasons. He was later traded to the Calgary Flames during the 1981-82 season, achieving a career-high of 33 goals and 54 assists in 72 games. Subsequently, he joined the New Jersey Devils in 1983-84 and then moved to the Detroit Red Wings in 1986-87 before concluding his career with the Vancouver Canucks in the 1988-89 season.
The Ontario-born player accumulated a total of 701 points, consisting of 252 goals and 449 assists, throughout his 977 regular-season games. In 1991, Bridgman became the inaugural general manager of the Ottawa Senators, a position he held until 1993.