LANGLEY, British Columbia — The place smelled of rebuilding — cut lumber and sawdust, the electrical scent of power tools. The former N.H.L. enforcer Stephen Peat, 36, stood with his father, Walter, inside a maze of studded walls that formed the shell of their new house. It was being built to replace the home that Stephen burned down last year.
It was here in the back of the garage, Stephen said, where he left the blowtorch unattended. It was up there, in the bedroom above, Walter said, where he was startled awake and escaped down the stairs.
Within minutes, the two-story house on a suburban corner, bought years ago with money Stephen made mostly for beating up opponents in the N.