Magnificent life 'far from the truth,' says P.E.I. hockey legend Rick Vaive

Rick Vaive was one of the first people to prove that someone from a small place like P.E.I. can have success in the NHL.

He's also proof the success can come with its share of struggles.

That dichotomy is told in blunt detail in his new book Catch 22: My Battles, In Hockey and Life.

"I think there's a lot of people that think, you know, you played in the NHL for 13 years. All your life was magnificent from the beginning to the end. And now you're a millionaire. And that is so far from the truth, really," he said in an interview with Mainstreet P.E.I. host Matt Rainnie.

Vaive, 61, was born in Ottawa but grew up and played minor hockey in Charlottetown.  And at one point in the book, as Vaive is leaving the Island to set off on his hockey career, he writes "I vowed I would never live there again."

It's nothing personal, he told CBC, and he has returned on occasion to visit.

I love P.E.I. It was a great place to grow up. And the people there are fantastic. I just wanted something else and something bigger."— Rick Vaive

"I wasn't probably a guy that was going to go to school and become a doctor or a lawyer or something like that. I wanted to spread my wings and go on to something big somewhere else," he said. 

"It had nothing to do with P.E.I. I love P.E.I. It was a great place to grow up. And the people there are fantastic. I just wanted something else and something bigger."

If it was something bigger he wanted, it was something bigger he got. In 1982, at age 22, he was named captain of the storied Toronto Maple Leafs by team owner Harold Ballard. 

Despite scoring 54 goals that year — the first Leaf to score more than 50 in a season — Vaive said he wasn't ready for the responsibility of wearing the C on his jersey.

"I wasn't asked; I was told," he said.

"I figured if I didn't take it — even though I didn't feel I was ready, I was probably a couple of years away from that — but I thought for sure [Ballard] would trade me if I said no. So it was one of those catch-22 situations where you're damned if you do and you're damned if you don't."

Scored 50 goals or more 3 times

Vaive scored 50 goals or more three times with the Leafs. He suffered from anxiety, however, which was undiagnosed back then. Alcohol abuse followed. He was stripped of the captaincy when he slept in and missed a practice.

He said it wasn't difficult sharing the less-glamorous parts of his life.

There's times where you feel that you're maybe a little underappreciated compared to some of the other players.— Rick Vaive

"It is what it is. I went through it. I'm proud that I was able to overcome it twice, once on my own for almost 15 years. And then a brief two year stint of drinking and then overcoming it again," he said.

"So, you know, it's something that I'm proud of. And I want other people to realize that you can overcome those types of things."

Vaive is still married to his high school sweetheart, Joyce, who is also from P.E.I. They have two adult sons and a grandchild.

He was inducted to the P.E.I. Sports Hall of Fame in 2000. But despite his accomplishments — those 54 goals are still the most in a season for a Leafs player — Vaive said he sometimes feels unappreciated by the Toronto organization.

"I look at other players that have had their sweaters retired and stuff like that and the ones that are employed by MLSE and so forth," he said.

"There's times where you feel that you're maybe a little underappreciated compared to some of the other players that played in the organization.

"But ... a lot of fantastic players have played for the Toronto Maple Leafs. So you look at that as well and say, well, you know, it is what it is and I don't worry too much about it."

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