Mel Bridgman, the rugged former NHL forward who was drafted first overall by the Philadelphia Flyers in 1975 and was the Ottawa Senators’ first general manager, has died. He was 70.
The NHL Alumni Association announced the death Saturday. It didn't give a cause of death.
“A prototypical power forward who exemplified Flyers style-hockey," the Flyers said on social media.
A strong checker and dependable scorer and fighter, Bridgman first starred in junior for the Victoria Cougars in the Western Canada Hockey League. In 1974-75 in his last season for the Cougars, he had 66 goals, 91 assists and 175 penalty minutes in 66 regular-season games.
He went straight to Philadelphia — coming off its second straight title — as a rookie and had 23 regular-season goals and six more in a postseason run that ended with a loss to Montreal in the Stanley Cup final.
Bridgman was Philadelphia's captain during its record 35-game unbeaten run in 1979-80 in another season that ended with a loss in the Cup final, this time to the New York Islanders, and also wore the “C” for New Jersey. He was traded from Philadelphia to Calgary early in the 1981-82 season and went on to have career highs with 33 goals and 54 assists.
Known for his thick mustache, Bridgman also played for Detroit and Vancouver, finishing his 14-year NHL career with 252 goals, 449 assists and 1,625 penalty minutes in 977 regular-season games. In 125 playoff games, he had 28 goals and 39 assists.
After earning an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business, Bridgman took over the expansion Senators in 1991 at age 36. He was general manager through their inaugural season of 1992-93 and later worked as a player agent.
“The Ottawa Senators organization sends its deepest sympathies to Mel’s loved ones at this difficult time,” the Senators said on social media.
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
FILE - Philadelphia Flyers' Mel Bridgman, 10, checks Boston Bruins' Brad Park, 22, as Bruins' Dallas Smith, 20, recovers the puck in the first period of an NHL playoff game in Boston, May 5, 1976. (AP Photo, File)
BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Hungary’s new Prime Minister Péter Magyar on Friday personally removed fencing around a historic building in the capital Budapest that served as the office of his autocratic predecessor Viktor Orbán.
Magyar announced that the famous Karmelita, located at Budapest's landmark Castle Hill, overlooking the Danube river, will be open for public until authorities decide on its future role.
The former Catholic monastery become a symbol of Orbán’s rule after he had it cordoned off in 2021.
“There is no place for cordons in Hungary after the change of regime,” Magyar told reporters as he symbolically pushed open the fences. He said the institutions had been built “from the money of the Hungarian taxpayers and made so beautiful with those funds.”
Magyar and his center-right Tisza party swept Orbán from power in an election in April, winning a two-thirds majority that gave him a clear mandate for major changes after his predecessor's 16 years in power.
Magyar has vowed to restore democratic institutions and governmental checks and balances that were heavily eroded during Orbán’s rule, and to clamp down on alleged corruption.
He has revealed the luxury renovations that former government members carried out on their offices. Magyar himself has said he would move his seat to the administrative part of the city on the other bank of the Danube.
The Karmelita building, he said, will now be accessible for an “extensive period.” Already, a website has been set up where visitors can book a tour. Magyar said some buildings in the castle zone have been renovated while other are under construction.
The situation “is likely to generate a number of new ideas,” he added without elaborating.
The prime minister has promised to repair his country’s ties with its European Union partners and restore Hungary’s place among Western democracies.
Magyar plans to form a National Asset Recovery and Protection Office, an authority tasked with investigating and seeking to recover public funds misused during Orbán’s tenure.
A construction sign prohibits entry to the former Karmelita Palace, which has previously housed the Prime Minister's Office, in the Castle District of Budapest, Hungary, Friday, May 15, 2026. (Robert Hegedus/MTI via AP)
Hungary's Prime Minister Peter Magyar, second left, flanked by Minister of Transport and Innovation David Vitezy, second right, Minister of Interior Gabor Posfai, right, and Government Spokeswoman Vanda Szondi, attend the public dismantling of the barricade surrounding the former Karmelita Palace, which has previously housed the Prime Minister's Office, in the Castle District of Budapest, Hungary, Friday, May 15, 2026. (Robert Hegedus/MTI via AP)
From left, Hungary's Prime Minister Peter Magyar, Minister of Transport and Innovation David Vitezy and Minister of Interior Gabor Posfai begin to dismantle the barricade surrounding the former Karmelita Palace, which has previously housed the Prime Minister's Office, in the Castle District of Budapest, Hungary, Friday, May 15, 2026. (Robert Hegedus/MTI via AP)
