Wild general manager Bill Guerin spent part of Monday paying homage to Jessi Pierce, the longtime and beloved hockey writer who died on Saturday in a house fire that also took the lives of her three young children.
Guerin joined the hockey community in mourning the loss, describing Pierce as “a ray of sunshine” while speaking with reporters.
“Words just can’t express how devastated we all are,” he said. “But as I mentioned to some of you the other night, it doesn’t matter if you’re in the media, if you’re a player, if you’re in management, a coach, we are all in the sports world and the hockey world and we’re all in this together.
“Jessi was always happy, always in a good mood, always a pleasure to deal with for me, and we’ll miss her. The great thing about our community is it doesn’t matter what part of it you’re in – media, player, coach, manager – we’re all in this together and we support each other. I just want you guys [the media] to know that we’re here for you and anything that we can possibly do for you guys to help through the tough times, we’re here for you.”
Pierce’s death has had a profound impact on the hockey community, as a number of people across the sport paid tribute to the hockey writer on social media on Sunday, but the biggest impact was felt in Minnesota, where she covered the Wild for 10 seasons for NHL.com.
Wild forward Marcus Foligno echoed Guerin’s feelings, telling reporters on Monday that the entire team was feeling “devastated” and that the players will “definitely miss her around the rink for sure.”
Pierce, whose work had also been featured by USA Hockey, the Minnesota Hockey Journal, Massachusetts Hockey, The Athletic and the B1G Ice Hockey blog, had also been known to bring her kids to the rink at times when she’d be covering games.
In a piece in The Athletic, fellow hockey scribe Michael Russo wrote that after Pierce had her first son, Hudson, she would often bring him to practice as she balanced work and being a mom.
“One player in particular gravitated toward him: Mikael Granlund,” Russo wrote. “Whether he was on a hot streak or a slump, the second Jessi carried Hudson into the room, Granlund’s eyes lit up. He’d sprint to Jessi just to hold him as Hudson looked at the Finnish hockey star with wide eyes and a smile.”
Wild captain Jared Spurgeon noted Pierce’s kids’ presence around the team when he spoke about her passing on Monday.
“If you ever met her, you just feel the energy around her,” he said. “Every time she was in here, she had a smile on her face, whether it’s talking about the game at hand or just youth sports.
“I remember when she would bring the kids into the dressing room and do an interview holding [her son]. It’s very hard news to take.”
Hudson, now 8, Cayden, 6, and Avery, 4, all died in the fire at the family’s White Bear Lake home.
Mike Hinrichs, Pierce’s husband, had been out of town on a work trip, The Athletic reported.
Neighbors called 911 around 5:26 a.m. to report a fire coming from the roof of a single-family home and said that there were likely people inside the house.
The house was fully engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived on the scene.
The Minnesota State Fire Marshal’s office is investigating the source of the fire.
