Daniel Vladimir Lewicki (March 12, 1931 – September 25, 2018) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player.
He played for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Chicago Black Hawks and New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL) in the 1950s and early 1960s.
Organized hockey started at age twelve and Lewicki joined the Bantam Elks.
That season, Lewicki led the Fort William league in scoring, and started attracting the attention of pro scouts from Toronto, New York and Detroit.
The large ice surface favoured the Bruins and they defeated Lethbridge 11–1 to advance to the 1948 Memorial Cup final against the Barrie Flyers.
The Bruins defeated the Flyers in four straight to win the Cup and Lewicki scored the series-winning goal.
[12] After the Cup, the Toronto Maple Leafs bought the rights to Lewicki for a record price of $35,000 and a player.
Before the regular season started, Lewicki was ordered to join the Toronto Marlboros by the Maple Leafs.
Marie Greyhounds and the Sherbrooke Saints to advance to the 1950 Allan Cup final against the Calgary Stampeders.
Lewicki became a contender for the Calder Memorial Trophy, although he had strong competition from future Hall of Famer Terry Sawchuk.
After the 1957–58 season, the Rangers left him unprotected for the annual intra-league draft, and Lewicki became Montreal Canadiens property.
Although he had a good training camp, and earned a bonus for his play, he was shipped to the Chicago Black Hawks.
Lewicki played one season for the Black Hawks, who made make the playoffs, only to lose in the first round.
In the final game of the playoff, referee Red Storey missed a tripping call leading to a series-winning goal by the Canadiens.
Storey resigned after criticism from league president Campbell, and the Black Hawks sent Lewicki to the minors.
Lewicki contends that the incident led to his being 'black-balled' from the league as he received no call-ups or any chances to make another NHL club for the rest of his career.