Mel Bridgman

Mel Bridgman
Born	(1955-04-28)April 28, 1955 Trenton, Ontario, Canada
Died	November 6, 2025(2025-11-06) (aged 70) Comox, British Columbia, Canada
Height	6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight	190 lb (86 kg; 13 st 8 lb)
Position	Centre
Shot	Left
Played for	Philadelphia Flyers Calgary Flames New Jersey Devils Detroit Red Wings Vancouver Canucks
National team	Canada
NHL draft	1st overall, 1975 Philadelphia Flyers
WHA draft	4th overall, 1975 Denver Spurs
Playing career	1975–1989

Melvin John Bridgman (April 28, 1955 – November 6, 2025) was a Canadian professional ice hockey centre who played 14 seasons in the National Hockey League NHL) for five teams from 1975–76 until 1988–89. He participated in two Stanley Cup Finals with the Philadelphia Flyers (1976, 1980) and was the team captain for both the Flyers and the New Jersey Devils during his career. He later would become a player agent and front office executive, serving as the first general manager of the contemporary Ottawa Senators franchise.

Early life

Mel was born in Trenton, Ontario, but spent his early years in Thunder Bay, Ontario where he first began to play hockey seriously. He was the youngest of three siblings. His father, Richard, was a meteorologist and his mother Mary (née Watt), was a teacher and later a homemaker. When Mel was a teenager the family once again moved this time to Victoria, British Columbia following a job transfer for his father. Despite living in Ontario, his father was a fan of the Montreal Canadiens.

Playing career

1984 photo of Bridgman for New Jersey Devils

Bridgman was drafted first overall by the Philadelphia Flyers in the 1975 NHL Amateur Draft. He played 977 career NHL games, scoring 252 goals and 449 assists for 701 points, as well as adding 1625 penalty minutes. His best offensive season was the 1981–82 season, when he set career highs with 33 goals, 54 assists, and 87 points. Throughout his career Bridgman was known as a consistent offensive contributor, a smart defensive centre, and a gritty, hard-nosed, power forward who would check and fight regularly.

Post-playing career

After his playing career, Bridgman earned a masters degree from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in business administration in 1991. He parlayed that into a position as the general manager of the expansion Ottawa Senators in 1991 ahead of the team's entry into the NHL in 1992.

Bridgman's tenure as general manager only lasted one season, marked by the team's ineptitude and his own problems with drafting talent; in fact, three separate times during the expansion draft, due in large part to Senators management forgetting to bring a power supply or batteries to power the computer the team's draft information was stored on, Bridgman made three illegal selections and was forced to apologize for each one. After the Senators finish with a 10-70-4 record, Bridgman was dismissed from his role. One of his sons was bullied at school the day after his firing. He never took another job in professional hockey.

Personal life and death

After his firing from the Senators, Bridgman went into finance, and worked for Smith Barney in California, residing with his family in Manhattan Beach. He continued to be involved in hockey, coaching his sons' hockey teams.

In 1983 he married Ann Carter, although they later divorced. Together they had four children, sons Jamie, Patrick, Geoffrey, and a daughter Christine.

Bridgman died from heart failure on November 6, 2025, at the age of 70 in Victoria. His family launched a memorial fund in his name to raise money for CTE research.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1971–72	Victoria Racquet Club	Minor-BC		—	—	—	—	—		—	—	—	—	—
1971–72	Victoria Cougars	WCHL		4	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
1972–73	Nanaimo Clippers	BCHL		49	37	50	87	31		—	—	—	—	—
1972–73	Victoria Cougars	WCHL		4	1	1	2	0		—	—	—	—	—
1973–74	Victoria Cougars	WCHL		62	26	39	65	149		—	—	—	—	—
1974–75	Victoria Cougars	WCHL		66	66	91	157	175		12	12	6	18	34
1975–76	Philadelphia Flyers	NHL		80	23	27	50	86		16	6	8	14	31
1976–77	Philadelphia Flyers	NHL		70	19	38	57	120		7	1	0	1	8
1977–78	Philadelphia Flyers	NHL		76	16	32	48	203		12	1	7	8	36
1978–79	Philadelphia Flyers	NHL		76	24	35	59	184		8	1	2	3	17
1979–80	Philadelphia Flyers	NHL		74	16	31	47	136		19	2	9	11	70
1980–81	Philadelphia Flyers	NHL		77	14	37	51	195		12	2	4	6	39
1981–82	Philadelphia Flyers	NHL		9	7	5	12	47		—	—	—	—	—
1981–82	Calgary Flames	NHL		63	26	49	75	94		3	2	0	2	14
1982–83	Calgary Flames	NHL		79	19	31	50	103		9	3	4	7	33
1983–84	New Jersey Devils	NHL		79	23	38	61	121		—	—	—	—	—
1984–85	New Jersey Devils	NHL		80	22	39	61	105		—	—	—	—	—
1985–86	New Jersey Devils	NHL		78	23	40	63	80		—	—	—	—	—
1986–87	New Jersey Devils	NHL		51	8	31	39	80		—	—	—	—	—
1986–87	Detroit Red Wings	NHL		13	2	2	4	19		16	5	2	7	28
1987–88	Adirondack Red Wings	AHL		2	1	2	3	0		—	—	—	—	—
1987–88	Detroit Red Wings	NHL		57	6	11	17	42		16	4	1	5	12
1988–89	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		15	4	3	7	10		7	1	2	3	10
NHL totals				977	252	449	701	1,625		125	28	39	67	298

International

Year	Team	Event		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1975	Canada	WJC		5	1	4	5	9

Awards

• Bob Brownridge Memorial Trophy (WCHL leading scorer) - 1975
• WCHL All-Star Team – 1975

External links

• Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database
• Mel Bridgman at IMDb