In 1995, Dennis Beyak faced a unique problem as the general manager of the WHL’s Tri-City Americans.



Beyak was already 25 years into a hockey career that started when he was a teenager calling play-by-play in Flin Flon and included GM and assistant GM jobs in Seattle and Saskatoon — the latter while simultaneously holding television play-by-play duties for the team.



But the 1994-95 season brought Beyak a new challenge: There was a 20-year-old enforcer averaging 330 penalty minutes (and seven goals) per season playing for the Spokane Chiefs. That player, Spokane’s captain, was Kevin Sawyer — Beyak’s current TSN co-host. Back then, he had a terrible habit of bullying Beyak’s biggest stars.



“I had to go out and get some toughness,” says Beyak with a smirk. “Because he was running around scaring our guys.”



Legit?



“Legit,” says Beyak — this time, completely...