Taking Care of Business:Tim Kerr

I recently wrote about meeting Tim Kerr at a convention in Oaks (PA). Kerr had an excellent career for 13 seasons in the NHL.
Kerr has kept busy after his retirement from the NHL. He owns Tim Kerr's PowerPlay Realty and the Pensacola Ice Flyers, a minor league hockey team in the Southern Professional Hockey League. Kerr had previously owned the Pensacola Ice Pilots.I asked Kerr how he got involved in the ownership of a hockey team. Kerr said, "The opportunity came along from a friend who knew the team was not going to operate and we stepped in and took over in 2003."
Certainly owning a team is different from playing on one. How does the excitement level rank for Kerr? He said, "It is the same feeling as playing. The passion of being around a bunch of young men who want to work together and try and win games is fun and being a part of that is exciting." That was interesting. Many ex-players don't find the same level of excitement in anything after playing. I asked Kerr about the difference between playing and owning. Kerr stated, "As an owner, you have to worry about 18 players and all your staff and how game opps are run. As a player, you really only worry about getting yourself ready to play each night."
As usual, I had to ask Kerr about hockey cards. He told me, "I have never collected cards. My kids get a kick out of seeing all the cards that were made. It was a long time ago, but I am sure I was excited to see my first card back in the day."
It was great meeting Kerr and a couple of his ex-teammates last year. I appreciate Kerr taking time to answer my questions.

Tim Kerr, Ken Linseman and Brian Propp in Oaks, PA-October 2009.

Tim Kerr, Another Great Flyer

Tim Kerr played 14 seasons in the NHL, the first twelve with the Philadelphia Flyers. Kerr was an undrafted free agent who went on to score 50 goals four times (a Flyers record).
In the 1985-86 season, he scored 58 goals, 34 of which came on the power play (an NHL record). During the 1984-85 season, he scored 3 powerplay goals in a period (an NHL record). He also once scored 4 goals in a period in a playoff game (shares the NHL record).
When I met Kerr, he was all smiles and having a good time at the show. It's good to be Kerr, especially in Philly, but retired hockey players always seem to be smiling.
I talked to Kerr for a while. He seemed more interested in meeting the fans and talking to some of the other ex-hockey players (like Kenny Linseman and Brian Propp), than in collecting cash for signed photos.
I told Kerr I wish we had him in Chicago for all of those years. He replied that we had some pretty good teams, but he was happy to play in Philly. Then we talked a bit about his businesses, which include PowerPlay Realty and the Pensacola Ice Flyers hockey team.
Kerr was typical of the celebrity guests at the Ultimate Collectibles Show. Everyone there seemed to be having a great time, which made every fan have a great time.

Tim Kerr and me in Oaks, PA-October 2009.