Ed Belfour

Although it has seemed he has conquered his temperament on the ice, it appears that it has resurfaced in his personal life. While intoxicated, he started a fight with a security guard at a hotel in Dallas, who maced him. The police were called to the scene and Belfour was arrested for disorderly conduct as well as for resisting arrest. He was even said to have bribed a police officer to not arrest him. He became the talk of the town, as well as the hockey arena. The incident was made jest at the playoff game in Edmonton. Belfour's reputation as a hothead continued, and it was quite clear he did not want to accept the responsibility for his actions. An article in the Houston Chronicle stated Belfour had "a bad back, a worse temper and a knack for doing the wrong thing at the wrong time (and blaming everybody but himself)." His anger got the best of him in January of 2001 when he was asked to play goal in practice and sit on the bench for that night's game in favor of rookie back-up Marty Turco. "Belfour blew up, left the team, and returned to Dallas," according to a writer for Biography Resource Center Online. Many believe that he was given the boot when his contract was up due to this event. "Crazy Eddie's" temper had finally gotten the best of him.

Belfour does have a soft side, when it comes to children. He has been avidly involved in the Make-a-Wish program for years now, a tradition he started when playing for the Chicago Blackhawks. When he is with children he becomes a completely different person. When in Dallas he worked with the North Dallas chapter of Make-a-Wish. During the play-offs one year he bought a section of seats and donated them to the Make-a-Wish foundation for each game. He called it the "Eagle's Nest." It was such a hit with the children, he continued the tradition into succeeding years. Jenny Wolfe, Director of Development for the North Texas chapter stated, "We are extremely grateful to Ed Belfour for his constant support of the children of Make-a-Wish."

Belfour also wanted to contribute to those who are interested in becoming hockey players, by setting up the "Ed Belfour High Performance Award" for the Manitoba Junior Hockey League. The criteria for the award was Hockey involvement including Statistics, achievements, and team participation; Academic achievements including grade point average, awards and classes; Community involvement including volunteer work, job and non-school related activities; and finally other school involvement including school sports, committee and clubs. Of course, the winning player must strive to be the best in the Manitoba Junior Hockey league. Because of Ed's generous spirit he was nominated USA Weekend's "Most Caring Athlete Award."