there, he began playing hockey with his new siblings. To help pay for hockey, Brashear sold baked bread and garbage bags door-to-door, and later became a paper boy. He played in the 1984, 1985 and 1986 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournaments with three separate minor ice hockey teams from Quebec City. Professional career Early career Brashear was signed as a free agent by the Montreal Canadiens in 1992. He spent parts of three seasons with their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Fredericton Canadiens, before becoming a regular with Montreal at the NHL level. During the 1993–94 AHL season, he registered professional career highs of 38 goals and 66 points, along with 250 Penalty Minutes (PIMs) in 62 games. His 38 goals tied him for the team lead and the 250 PIMs led Fredericton. Brashear made his NHL debut on November 15, 1993, against the Ottawa Senators. He registered an assist in the contest, his first career NHL point. Two days later, he scored his first NHL goal in a game against the Edmonton Oilers. After playing parts of four seasons with the Canadiens, his time in Montreal ended following a heated verbal exchange with Head Coach Mario Tremblay during a team practice on November 9, 1996. Four days later, Brashear was traded to the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for Jassen Cullimore. Brashear finished the year with 13 points and 245 PIMs, seventh-highest in the NHL. The following season, 1997–98, Brashear led the NHL in penalty minutes and set a Canucks franchise record with 372 PIMs, while adding 18 points. During the season, he also received a four-game suspension for delivering a blind-side punch to Ian Laperrière. Brashear stated that he hit Laperrière in retaliation to Laperrière punching Brashear's teammate Gino Odjick from behind. The 1998–99 season marked the only time in his career which he played in all 82 games, again leading the Canucks in penalty minutes and finishing eighth in the NHL. In the 1999–2000 season, Brashear set a career-high in goals with 11, but the season was marred by one of the most published incidents of excessive violence in the modern era of hockey. McSorley incident During a February 21, 2000 Canucks home game against the Boston Bruins, Brashear was involved in a fight with Marty McSorley. Brashear handily won the fight and, on his way to the penalty box, taunted the Bruins' bench. Later in the