Ron Stewart played 21 seasons in the National Hockey League, was an All-Star wing and was on three Stanley Cup championship teams with the Toronto Maple Leafs. He also played for the New York Rangers and coached them. From the 1950s to the 1970s he had 276 goals, but he did a lot more than score.

“He was one of the best defensive forwards in the N.H.L.,” said Emile Francis, who coached Stewart for the Rangers and later, as their general manager, turned the coaching over to him. “He was an excellent penalty-killer, one of the best in hockey.”

But for all his achievements, Stewart, who died on March 17 at 79, was shadowed by a moment away from the rinks: a “tragic, senseless, bizarre” incident, in the words of the Nassau County district attorney, William Cahn, that led to the death of a Rangers teammate, the Hall of Fame goalie Terry Sawchuk.