Former NHL enforcer is now a wanted man by RCMP - Fugitive on the loose

The 57-year-old former Minnesota North Stars and San Jose Sharks forward has been charged with assault and mischief under $5,000.

The charges stem from an unprovoked attack on a taxi driver in Maple Ridge on September 17, 2025.

According to the RCMP, Gaetz allegedly told the taxi driver to pull over shortly after being picked up, then punched the driver repeatedly in the face.

He also attempted to destroy the vehicle's security camera and smashed the windshield before fleeing on foot.

Police describe Gaetz as six-foot-four and 252 pounds with blond hair and blue eyes. He currently has an outstanding warrant for his arrest, and the RCMP is asking the public for help locating him.

Gaetz was a second-round pick of the Minnesota North Stars in the 1988 NHL Draft.

He earned the nickname "The Missing Link" for his eagerness to drop gloves with anyone, including heavyweights like Bob Probert and Gino Odjick.

Over 65 career games split between Minnesota and San Jose, he piled up 412 penalty minutes.

His most notable stretch came in 1991-92 with the Sharks, when he logged 326 penalty minutes in just 48 games.

That same season, a car accident in April 1992 left Gaetz in a coma for eight days. He had to relearn how to speak and move, and while he eventually made it back onto the ice, he never played another NHL game.

He spent years grinding through minor professional leagues across North America, but the trajectory had permanently changed.

Now at 57, a man whose entire professional identity was built around physical violence faces criminal charges for allegedly attacking a stranger in a taxicab.

None of the charges have been proven in court.

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