Bruins mourn the passing of Lyndon Byers

The Bruins district is mourning at the passing of one of the great characters in the club s century-long history Lyndon Byers who died on Friday at the age of Byers passing was stated on Facebook by his wife Annie who wrote that she and their son Will were still processing the demanding news and questioned for space as they do so Please know or as LB would have disclosed not for nothing we recognize how several people loved and cared for him and considered him a friend Keep LB in your memory remember his smile and know how much he cared about all of you she wrote A cause of death was not directly known though he had been battling vitality issues Byers was part of the late s early s Bruins gang that absolutely broke the Montreal curse beating the Canadiens for the first time in a playoff series in years and went to two Stanley Cup Finals A high-scoring forward in junior hockey he had points in games in his last season with the Regina Pats he was drafted in the second round by the Bruins in But he ascertained his niche in the NHL a much different conditions from the one we see currently the hard way He dropped the gloves with any and all comers much to the delight of fans and teammates He played games for the Bruins before finishing his career with the San Jose Sharks In three seasons from - he amassed penalty minutes in games A report from the club read in part Lyndon was a fan favorite across his nine seasons in the Black and Gold thanks to his rugged rough-and-tumble style and was a key cog on the B s teams that made trips to the Stanley Cup final in and A son of Nipawin Saskatchewan Lyndon became a true Bostonian and we will miss him dearly He is forever a part of our Bruins family Andy Brickley NESN analyst and former teammate of Byers held his former teammate in the highest regard LB was one of my all-time favorite teammates for a number of reasons for the protection he gave everyone on the ice including the high-end skill players He was dependably a team-first athlete and he absolutely loved being a Boston Bruin explained Brickley Whenever I heard that LB was in the building in the alumni box I made a point of rushing down from the booth in between periods to say hi that s how much I respected and admired what he did He played hard and lived hard and he did everything he could to be a professional hockey performer in Boston And because he was so socially approachable off the ice he would come into the locker room and regale us all with the stories of a life well lived During his career with the Bruins Brickley played throughout the lineup sometimes on the top line and sometimes down in the lineup with Byers He made sure that we felt that our line as every bit as crucial as any other line on the association announced Brickley Former teammate Bob Sweeney now the President of the Boston Bruins Foundation visited Byers in the hospital in recent times Much like Brickley Sweeney remembered Byers as the ultimate standup guy as a participant and person someone who was consistently available for charity work A lot of people don t realize this but LB was a really skilled member in junior and was a second-round pick But when he got to the NHL he determined a different path He had all of our backs And he was a guy who would do anything for any of us reported Sweeney Byers who had a post-playing career in radio at WAAF was known for his gregarious personality and sense of humor Brickley relayed a story from when Brickley was still a member of the New Jersey Devils Brickley was on the ice getting ready for a faceoff when then-Devils coach Jim Schoenfeld called him off and replaced him with tough guy Dave Maley who cozied up next to Byers The predictable ensuing fisticuffs was one of the rare occasions that Byers absorbed a lopsided L On his way to the penalty box Byers skated by the bench and yelled Why didn t anyone tell me he was a lefty True story stated Sweeney with a chuckle He was yelling at all of us Added Brickley But that was LB He knew it was all part of his job and you win a few you lose a few And he could laugh about it Arrangements for a celebration of life will be made in the coming days