Former NHL enforcer charged in ‘unprovoked assault’ on Maple Ridge taxi driver

A former NHL enforcer has been charged in what police say was an unprovoked assault on a taxi driver in Maple Ridge, B.C., last year.

Maple Ridge RCMP said 57-year-old Link Gaetz of Mission is accused of attacking the taxi driver in the city on Sept. 17, 2025.

Police said that at approximately 2:45 p.m. that day, Ridge Meadows RCMP, which is what the detachment was called then, received reports of a taxi driver being assaulted near the intersection of Sheldrake Court and Fern Crescent.

When officers arrived on the scene, they learned that the driver had picked up the suspect at an establishment in the 12900 block of 232 Street.

The driver was near the intersection of Sheldrake Court and Fern Crescent when the suspect told the driver to stop and he began to assault him, police said.

The victim’s face was injured due to multiple punches and the suspect also attempted to break the CCTV camera in the taxi and then broke the taxi’s windshield before fleeing, police added.

A warrant has now been issued for Gaetz’s arrest.

He played 65 games in the NHL with Minnesota and San Jose, accumulating more than 400 penalty minutes during that time.