Toronto Maple Leafs Legends

Art Smith

2012-01-28T09:43:00.000-08:00

This is Art Smith. In the late 1920s he played 3 seasons with Conn Smythe's Toronto Maple Leafs and another season with the Ottawa Senators. In 144 NHL games he picked up 15 goals, 25 points and truculent 249 PIMs.

Smith was an all around athlete. He played with the Toronto Argonauts football club and was an oarsman for the Toronto Canoe Club.

Art passed away in Toronto on May 15th, 1962. He just completed a business trip to Europe for Art Smith Construction Supply Ltd., when he passed suddenly at home.

John Brenneman

2011-12-26T10:49:00.000-08:00

This is John Brenneman. He was a vagabond NHL/minor league forward. Original Chicago property, he also played with the Rangers, the Red Wings, the Maple Leafs and Seals, never playing a full season in the NHL. The most he played in any one season was 41 games with Toronto in 1966-67.

He was described as a solid winger with excellent speed and was capable of occasional exciting scoring chances. But the slightly built forward did not thrive in physical games. His teammates gave him the ultimate compliment when they said he was one of those guys who came to play every night.

He was popular with teammates too, always looking to enjoy life away from the rink too. Perhaps his coaches over the years did not appreciate Brenneman's taste for the finer things in life, though.

John Brenneman played in 152 NHL games scoring 21 goals and 19 assists for 40 points.

Bob Bailey

2011-12-16T22:24:00.000-08:00

Bashin' Bob Bailey was a hard hitting defenseman whose professional career lasted an impressive 17 seasons. In that time he was definitely a hockey vagabond, playing with 14 teams in 7 leagues. That also earned him nicknames such as "Here and There and Back Bob."

Wherever Bailey went he was sure to find trouble. Most infamously he assaulted referee Jerry Olinski during the 1956 Calder Cup playoffs, drawing an indefinite suspension and a fine. On two other occassions in his career he attacked referees, too, including in his final game of his career. On another occassion he was also suspended 12 games for his baseball-swing usage of his hockey stick on Ted Harris.

The Kenora, Ontario born Bailey also found time to play in the National Hockey League during the 1950s, no easy feat back in the glory days of the six team league. Including playoffs he played in 92 games with Toronto over three seasons; 45 games with Detroit over two seasons; and 28 games with the Chicago Black Hawks for one season. He scored 15 goals in 165 games, 15 of which came in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Another curiosity about Bailey's career: He was traded in exchange for Bill Dineen on three different occassions!

Hank Goldup

2011-12-03T22:46:00.000-08:00

The fact that Hank Goldup did not own his own pair of skates until he was 16 years old did not prevent him from achieving success in the NHL with the Toronto Maple Leafs and New York Rangers in the 1940s.

Conn Smythe first noticed Goldup as a 17 year old when he scored 29 goals in just 16 games in his hometown of Kingston, Ontario. Smythe signed him up and brought him to Toronto to continue his amateur career.

Goldup ended up playing at Northern Vocational school in Toronto along side Herbie Carnegie. Swivel Hips Carnegie was as fine a hockey player in the country at that time, but he would not be destined for the NHL due to his skin colour. Carnegie was the son of Jamaica immigrants. But in this season the two worked magic together, with Goldup averaging 2 goals per game.

Speedy Hank would move on to star with the Toronto Marlies, leading the entire OHA in scoring with 25 goals and 41 points in just 14 games.

Goldup finally signed a pro contract with Smythe's Leafs in 1939. He started the season with the AHL Pittsburgh Hornets but finished the season in Toronto alongside fellow newcomer Pete Langelle and veteran winger Gus Marker.

Impressions of Goldup's first NHL games were mixed at best. He scored 6 goals in 21 games and newspaper reports at the time suggested he showed little interest in playing defensively. But by playoff time he was turning into a star, scoring 5 goals (including a couple of game winners) in 10 games, tying Syl Apps for the playoff scoring lead. Newspapers changed their tune, proclaiming "Hankus Pankus Goldup" as "the most consistently dangerous puck pusher" on the team. Another paper said Goldup "makes Houdini look like a rookie."

The New York Rangers would win the Stanley Cup in 1940, but Goldup had made his impression in the NHL. It was a good thing, too. He would never recapture that playoff magic in the next couple of seasons in Toronto, thanks in part to a nasty hip injury when he crashed into the immovable goal posts of the day. Still, he was a member of the Leafs amazing 1942 Stanley Cup championship team.

While the Leafs grew impatient with him, the Rangers remembered his previous exploits and gave him a chance. They traded future Hall of Famer Babe Pratt for Goldup and Red Garrett. Pratt would go on to greatness, while Goldup and Garrett went on to serve in World War II shortly thereafter. Only Goldup would return.

Goldup rejoined the Rangers in 1945 but only for a season and a half before being demoted to the minor leagues. His stay there was successful but short thanks to injuries suffered in a summer softball game. Torn ligaments all but ended his playing days in 1947.

Goldup retired and became a salesman for Molson Breweries and Andres Wines. Later he served as a sales executive for Victoriaville hockey sticks. He stayed involved with hockey by coaching youth, including his own son Glenn who would go onto his own NHL career in the 1970s.

Hank Goldup suffered a stroke in 2002 and for the final three years of his life he lived in a care facility, unable to communicate verbally. But legend has it when the Stanley Cup dropped by for a visit Goldup whispered the trophy's name.

"Those were the clearest two words I heard him speak in years," Glenn said.

Hank Goldup died in 2008.

Teeder Kennedy

2011-11-21T22:55:00.000-08:00

The Montreal Canadiens loss turned out to be the Toronto Maple Leafs gain, even if Conn Smythe didn't think so at the time.

The Canadiens were the first to discover the hard working Ted Kennedy, and offered to pay his living and schooling expenses if he would come to Montreal to play junior hockey. However a homesick Kennedy quickly grew tired of the junior team's bumbling of his living and schooling arrangement, so Kennedy packed his bags and headed back to his native Port Colbourne, Ontario

Once he arrived at home he met an old NHL warrior by the name of Nels Stewart. "Old Poison," as he was known, was coaching a senior team in the area and offered the 16 year old Kennedy a chance to play. Stewart took Kennedy under his wing and helped to polish this diamond in the rough.

Stewart would later recommend to the Leafs that they should take their chances on his young protégé. The Leafs, being run by Frank Selke while Conn Smythe was overseas fighting on the front lines of World War II, traded a highly thought of young defenseman in Frank Eddolls to Montreal for the rights to Kennedy.

Smythe was very angry at the move. Feeling like Selke and the Leafs were abusing their authority in his absence, and he loathed the trade from day one. The trade led to the deteriorating relationship between Smythe and Selke, which eventually led to Selke's departure to Montreal.

As much as Smythe hated the deal, even he would have to admit in hindsight that it was perhaps one of the most lopsided deals in franchise history. Eddolls would play in the National Hockey League with little fanfare for 8 seasons, while Kennedy would go on to become one of the all time greats.

Universally known as Teeder (a nickname that stuck since childhood because some people had trouble pronouncing the name Theodore), Kennedy was the ultimate Leaf. While he was a horrendous skater, he made up for it with his competitive zeal that would make him arguably the greatest leader in franchise history, and maybe in hockey history. He led by example, fearlessly battling some of hockey's all time greats. He could shoot and pass and stickhandle with the best of them, yet was a proud defensive player and a superior faceoff specialist.

Kennedy grew up dreaming of playing for the Leafs and idolizing the great Charlie Conacher. Needless to say, Kennedy was ecstatic when his dream suddenly became true. But come game time he was totally focused, and always played every game at the highest level. For Kennedy every game was played with a level of desperation as if it were game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals. Very few players in league history can have that said about them.

Kennedy broke in with the Leafs in 1943-44. His arrival was well timed as several veteran players were called upon for war duty. Kennedy, too young for war duty himself at the time, stepped in and contributed 26 goals and 49 points in 49 games. Yet it wasn't his offense but his hustle that earned him the most admiration. There was no doubt this man would one day be captain of the Blue and White.

Kennedy led the Leafs to an upset victory against the Montreal Canadiens in the 1945 Stanley Cup finals. The Canadiens were a powerhouse led by the unthinkable exploits of Rocket Richard. The Habs top line of Elmer Lach, Toe Blake and Richard - who scored 50 goals in 50 games that season - finished 1-2-3 in scoring during the year and were supposed to tear Toronto apart. But a wondrous defensive effort by a line centered by Kennedy (flanked by Bob Davidson and "Sudden Death" Mel Hill) kept the feared Punch Line at bay for much of the series. In the mean time Kennedy contributed a playoff leading 7 goals to capture the silver chalice.

It was in the playoffs that Kennedy was at his best. Although he put up impressive scoring totals throughout his career, he was hockey's version of Mr. October. In 1947 the Leafs captured another Stanley Cup, thanks Kennedy's cup winning goal against Montreal. The Leafs would repeat as champions in 1948, as Kennedy scored a playoff high 8 goals and 14 points. The following season Syl Apps - to that point probably the most revered Leaf in team history - retired and Kennedy, just 22, became the youngest captain in club history. Even without Apps, Kennedy would lead the Leafs to the first ever Stanley Cup "three-peat".

The Leafs would win again in 1951, making it 4 out of 5 years with the Cup. They were upset in the 1950 Stanley Cup final, otherwise they would have won 5 consecutive Cups and be remembered - as they should still be - as one of hockey's greatest teams.

A very famous - or perhaps infamous - incident occurred in that 1950 showdown with Detroit. The soon-to-be legendary Gordie Howe was just a young player but he had the word special written all over him. But his great career - and perhaps even his life - were put in jeopardy in the opening game of the finals. Gordie Howe attempted to throw Kennedy off balance. Howe missed as Kennedy pressed forward, forcing Howe to tumble face first into the boards. A horrified crowd watch the superstar being carried off the ice with a badly broken skull. Kennedy and the Leafs of course claimed it was an accident, but Red Wings of course claim it was a deliberate attempt to injure. To this day there is question to this horrific incident as no video or photo evidence of the collision exists.

The Leafs began the inevitable fall from the top as the 1950s progressed while Detroit and Montreal became hockey's top teams. Kennedy's already atrocious skating became slower and his game declined a step as well, although in 1954-55 - in his last full season in the league - he was named as the most valuable player. The award was perhaps more of a sentimental life time achievement award than anything, but Kennedy deserved the honor.

Kennedy would retire at the end of that season, but would attempt a comeback with the leafs in 1956-57, playing 30 games Kennedy retired with 696games played. In that time he scored 231 goals and 329 assists for 560 points. In the playoffs, this 5 time Stanley Cup champion scored 29 goals and 60 points in 78 contests.

As a kid Ted Kennedy just wanted to play hockey, but never imagined he would ever be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. In 1966 hockey's elite immortalized the hustle and success of Teeder Kennedy by his inclusion in the Hall - hockey's highest honor.

Dave Keon

2011-11-21T22:54:00.000-08:00

Dave Keon, known as one of the greatest two-way centres in the history of the game, was an amazing athlete who spent 22 seasons in professional hockey. He appeared in an impressive total of 1,725 regular season and playoff games in both the WHA and the NHL, and in all that time he picked up only 151 penalty minutes!

Keon attended the famed St. Michael's College in Toronto prior to turning professional. When he arrived he was a scoring sensation who paid little attention to defense, but that changed by the time he graduated from the Maple Leafs training camp. Keon, under the guidance of Father David Bauer and Bob Goldham, transformed himself into the epitome of a perfect hockey player. He combined skating and stick handling gifts with superior hockey sense in all zones of the rink, both offensively and defensively. He became so good that he was the pre-eminent checking center while remaining a top offensive force.

At 5'9" and 165 pounds Keon was hardly a big man, which often made his task of shutting down the opposition's top scorer that much tougher. But Keon was tough in his own way. He was strong though slight, and mastered the art of angling opponents out of harm's way. While no one questioned Keon's heart or toughness, he always preferred to play within the rules. He won the Lady Byng as the NHL's most gentlemanly player in both 1962 and 1963. In fact he averaged only 6 minutes in penalties in each of his NHL seasons.

Keon hit the Garden ice in 1960 without spending a minute in the minors - a rare feat in those days as boss Punch Imlach was usually dead set against using unpracticed players on his veteran laden team. All eyes were focused on the speedy youngster to see if he could handle the rough stuff. By season's end he had 20 goals, a considerable sum in those days, and was named the Calder Trophy winner as the best rookie in the league that year.

Keon was a sparkplug who ignited the Maple Leafs. The following season saw Keon scored 61 points and was named to the Second All Star team in just his second year. More importantly, he began proving himself where all of the game's greats are made or broken - in the Stanley Cup playoffs Keon helped the Leafs capture their first Stanley Cup championship in 11 seasons.

The Leafs would three-peat as Stanley Cup Champions. In 1963 Keon's 7 goals and 12 points paced the Leafs. In 1964, Keon repeated a team leading 7 goals, including all three of the team's goals in the final game in the semi-final against Montreal. He then turned his attention to shutting down the Detroit Red Wings.

In a surprise championship, the Leafs captured their 4th Cup of the decade in 1967. Keon's relentless checking and premier faceoff abilities were first and foremost, and he was rewarded with the Conn Smythe Trophy as the league's most valuable playoff performer.

Shortly after the 1967 championship, the Leafs headed into transition. The team aged into decline, and a new man rose to power in Toronto in 1971 - Harold Ballard.

Ballard's clashes with players, coaches, media - pretty much everybody and anybody - are as legendary as they are infamous. Perhaps no player's battle with Ballard went as deep and long lasting as Keon's.

Keon was named as captain in 1969, but when Ballard arrived he didn't support Keon as the captain of his hockey team. Keon undoubtedly had an abrasive personality, but was extremely popular with the fans, and was understood by his teammates. As their public battles continued, the Leafs fortunes under Keon's captaincy went downward. Keon himself continued to excel, but he didn't have the supporting cast to help him.

Ballard could have traded away Keon (one common rumor had the New York Islanders very interested) but he refused by asking for the moon and the stars in return. Ballard wanted Keon right out of the NHL and when his contract was up in 1975 he left Keon with little choice but to sign with the World Hockey Association - something Keon remained bitter about years after Ballard's death.

Keon brought his intelligent game to the WHA where he played for Minnesota, Indianapolis and New England over the next four seasons before making his triumphant return to the NHL with the Hartford Whalers, who merged with the NHL once the WHA collapsed.

Keon continued to play until his retirement at the conclusion of the 1981-82 season.

Keon never forgot or forgave Harold Ballard for the way he was treated. Keon felt disrespected and unappreciated in the often public and sometimes deeply personal verbal assault Ballard waged. Keon refused to take part in any Maple Leaf functions for years after his retirement, despite his status as one of the most popular Leaf players of all time among fans.

Once Ballard passed on, the new Maple Leaf regime and particularly Cliff Fletcher looked to repair old wounds with many former players, including Keon. Although the relationship has never been fully repaired with the stubborn Keon, there has been a modest thaw in the cold war.

Hopefully one day Keon will be able to return to Toronto and perhaps participate in some sort of thank you ceremony that Keon deserves, and the fans desire.

Frank Mahovlich

2011-11-21T22:53:00.000-08:00

Frank Mahovlich is one of a very select few who would star with Canada's two most cherished sports franchises, the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens. He also starred with the Detroit Red Wings.

Starting his career in Toronto, The Big M is arguably Toronto's most cherished hockey hero, yet also one of its most criticized.

The Leafs enjoyed their greatest success with Mahovlich leading the way. He helped them to 4 Stanley Cup championships in the 1960s. Mahovlich was a big man with a long powerful stride that powered himself through the opposing team's defense. Add to that his uncanny stickhandling and an overpowering shot, and Mahovlich was pretty much a perfect hockey player.

In his book Maple Leaf Legends, author Mike Leonetti describes Mahovlich:

"Mahovlich moved like a thoroughbred, with a strong, fluid style that made it look as if he was galloping through the opposition. In full flight, he was an imposing figure. An explosive skater, Mahovlich could spot the right moment to turn it on and burst in on goal. He had a great move where he would take the puck off the wing, cut into the middle of the ice and try to bust through two defencemen for a chance on goal. He didn't always get through but when he did he scored some memorable goals. His style of offence caused teammate Dave Keon to remark: Nobody scores goals better than Frank."

Despite the team's great success and Mahovlich's status as one of the greatest of his day, many believed we never got to see the best of The Big M. Most of his best years were spent in Toronto under boss Punch Imlach. Imlach, who could never pronounce Frank's last name, tried to reign in Mahovlich. He and Mahovlich never got along. Imlach was an old stubborn hockey man who was determined to break Mahovlich, who just shrugged off Imlach's antics, although he secretly hurt for years. Therefore, many believed as good as Mahovlich was, he could have been better under a different coach.

Mahovlich tried to become the player his coach wanted him to become as well, focusing on defense more and more instead of going on the attack at all times. This lead to many fans turning against their hero. They had seen how good he could be, why was he holding back so much?

A talented and diverse athlete (he turned down an offer from the Boston Red Sox organization to play pro baseball), Mahovlich entered the league in 1958. That year he won the Calder Trophy as the league's top rookie, beating out another hotshot left winger named Bobby Hull.

Frank played parts of 12 seasons in Toronto. He was a constant 30 goal threat, topping out at 48 in 1960-61 when he played on a line with Red Kelly and Bob Nevin. In that year he actually reached 48 goals with 14 games remaining. Poised to break Rocket Richard's record of 50 goals, Mahovlich inexplicably went into a scoring slump. When talk around the league should have been about the 23 year old's magnificent season, it was all about his year end slump.

Mahovlich and the Leafs would win the Stanley Cup for three consecutive seasons starting in 1962, and capture a 4th title in the much ballyhooed 1967 season. During this time Mahovlich averaged over 30 goals a year, but there was much criticism of him from coach Imlach and a loud number of the fans who bought into Imlach's campaign. It seemed nothing Mahovlich could do was good enough. Things got so bad that the Big M was actually hospitalized with acute tension and depression, and later would leave the game after suffering a nervous breakdown. Described as a shy and sensitive person, the hockey prodigy paid a high price for hockey stardom.

Mahovlich was dealt to Detroit in 1968 in one of hockey's biggest blockbuster deals. Garry Unger and Pete Stemkowski went with The Big M to Detroit in exchange for Paul Henderson, Norm Ullman and Floyd Smith. In Detroit he was teamed with Gordie Howe and Alex Delvecchio on a line that would leave goalies sleepless the night before facing the Wings. Relieved from the pressures of Toronto, Frank enjoyed his best season as a Wing. In 1968-69 he scored 49 goals!

Frank's tenure in Detroit was fairly short-lived as in 1971 he was moved to the Montreal Canadiens and helped them to two Stanley Cup Championships thus giving him 6 rings of his own. He also cherished the opportunity to play with his little brother, Peter. Frank averaged 37 goals a season in 3 full seasons in Montreal. Mahovlich was absolutely dominant in the two Stanley Cup seasons he spent in Montreal, leading the team in scoring in the 1971 playoffs and finishing 2nd in the 1973 campaign.

After 3 years with Montreal he jumped to the World Hockey Association with, somewhat surprisingly, the Toronto Toros and later the Birmingham Bulls. In all he spent 4 seasons in the WHA before retiring in 1978.

His effortless style made some fans wonder if he could have been better. 533 goals and 1103 points, 9 NHL All Star teams and 6 Stanley Cup rings tells you just how good he was.

One of the classiest people you'll ever meet, nowadays "The Big M" is known as Senator Frank Mahovlich. In 1998 he was appointed to the Canadian senate by Prime Minister Jean Chretien.

Wilf Loughlin

2011-09-09T15:27:00.000-07:00

Wilf Loughlin was the younger but bigger brother of fellow PCHA star Clem. Wilf was 6'2" 200lbs and played both on the left wing and on defense.

Wilf's followed in his brother's footsteps by playing senior hockey in Winnipeg before joining his brother with the PCHA's Victoria Cougars. Both Wilf and Clem were second team all stars in 1921.

By 1923 Wilf was traded away from Victoria and his brother, but to the NHL. Sold to the Toronto St. Pats (later named Maple Leafs), Loughlin was used sparingly in the 1923-24 season. He only participated in 14 games, scoring no points in limited ice time.

Loughlin played parts of three more seasons with minor leagues in Regina, Edmonton, Winnipeg and Moose Jaw.

Wilf Loughlin died on June 25th, 1966.

Dave Farrish

2011-08-19T15:18:00.000-07:00

I always laugh whenever I come across this old hockey card:

Seriously O-Pee-Chee? You could not have found a slightly better photo of Leafs defensman Dave Farrish?

Dave Farrish played in 430 NHL games with the Quebec Nordiques, New York Rangers and the Leafs. He scored 17 goals, 110 assists and 127 points in his career. He won the Eddie Shore award as the top defenseman in the American League in 1982, but at the NHL level he was a decent depth level defenseman with a strong first pass out of the zone.

Farrish got a lot of attention in junior hockey with the Sudbury Wolves, as he was defensive partner of Randy Carlyle. Carlyle was a coveted defenseman out of junior who went on to star in the NHL, winning the Norris Trophy as the league's top defenseman in 1981.

Interestingly, Farrish and Carlyle were not only a dominant defensive pairing but life long best friends. Both would go on to long coaching careers. When Carlyle was hired as the head coach of the Anaheim Ducks, he brought Farrish along too. The duo helped the Ducks win the Stanley Cup in 2007.

"Randy's like family to me, and I would assume I'm like that to him," explained Farrish to HHOF.com. "We have cottages four doors apart on Manitoulin Island and we've got houses about a five-minute walk apart in Anaheim. I'm very blessed that he saw something in me that encouraged him to bring me to the Ducks. I'm indebted to him forever for the opportunity!

Dmitri Yushkevich

2011-07-30T19:18:00.000-07:00

Dmitri Yushkevich was a solid NHL defenseman for over a decade. He continued his career with several seasons back home in Russia, as well.

Yusekvich was trained in Russia in the dying days of the great Soviet hockey empire. Yet he was not a classic Russian defenseman in that he was not a great skater. He was neither speedy or particularly agile. But he was very heady, and could surprise many forecheckers with a smart pass or a deft carry of the puck to make a quick transition from defense to offense. His on-ice smarts were matched by his very good puck handling. These skills plus a heavy shot made allowed him to play regularly on the power play even though h e was not a classic PP quarterback by any stretch.

Defensively he was fit and compact, making him a physical defender. He played the game with a bit of a mean streak, making him far from easy to play against. He struggled with consistency over the course of his career, but then again many defensemen do. He was never an elite player, but rather a solid support player. He was quite adept at blocking shots.

Drafted by Philadelphia, Yushkevich is best known as a Toronto Maple Leaf where he thrived under Pat Quinn. He also played briefly with Florida and Los Angeles. Internationally he was a regular with Team Russia, winning Olympic gold in 1992 and silver in 1998. He also played in 4 world championships (winning gold in 1993), 3 world juniors (winning gold in 1989) and the 1996 World Cup of Hockey.

Yushkevich returned to Russia to play starting in 2003. Perhaps his relatively early exit from the NHL had something to do with blood clotting problems scaring off NHL teams. He returned to Russia, where he found the transition from the NHL more difficult than when he left home for North America over a decade earlier.

Yushkevich continued to play through the 2010 season, briefly retiring to take care of his three children after the tragic death of their mother in 2008. She died in California, reportedly from a liver disease.

Sid Smith

2011-04-19T21:25:00.000-07:00

Sid Smith was the Toronto Maple Leafs "master of the tip-in" from 1949 thorough 1958. That's how one reporter described the hometown left winger who made a career out of deflecting point shots.

"It became my trademark, in a way." said Smith. "The thing was to keep an eye on the puck coming in from the point or in the direction of the net and just make that slight deflection because it threw the goalie off. He's play it for the shot from the point or wherver its from and I'm just sort of cruising in and making a deflection, or sometimes you caused a problem with the goalie. He'd lose sight of it because you are hanging around."

At 5'10 and 175lbs Smith was of pretty average size for his era, but he couldn't rely on parking himself in front of the net like today's giants do. Instead he had to keep zipping in front of the goalie.

"If you stood still you were going to get knocked on your keester!"

Another difference between now and then was back then the slapshot had still not be invented.

"If it was today, you'd really have to be careful or you're liable to get killed! That slapshot is just treacherous!"

Smith grew up in Toronto admiring the Maple Leafs, but was never noticed until he reached junior hockey. The Leafs never expressed any interest in him, so it came as a suprise to Smith when he learned the Leafs had placed him on their protected list.

"I never knew I was even on the list or anything," he said. "I figured that was just about it as far as making the NHL goes."

After playing some games in the Quebec Senior League, Smith signed with Toronto in 1946 but spent much of the next 3 years bouncing back and forth between the big leagues and minor leagues.

In 1948-49 Smith had a AHL season to remember. He set new scoring records in the top minor league, scoring 55 goals and 112 points! Although he appeared in just 1 regular season game with the Leafs, he was recalled for the Leafs playoff drive. Smith replaced Vic Lynn in the lineup and played on a line with Teeder Kennedy and helped Toronto win the Stanley Cup! Perhaps his most famous game came in game 2 of the Cup Finals against Detroit when Smith scored all 3 Leaf goals in a 3-1 victory.

Needless to say Smith had a spot on the Leafs roster for the next season, and for the next few seasons. He was a constant 20-25 goal threat in an era when that really meant something. Twice he topped 30!

Towards the end of his career Smith slowed down production wise considerably. By 1957 the Leafs had a deal to send Smith to Detroit. Instead, Sid accepted a two year contract as a playing coach with the Whitby Dunlops, a senior club preparing for the world hockey championships.

"I'm kind of sorry in one way and glad in another because we played for a world championship and we won it. On the other hand I would have liked to continue on with my career and score a few more goals. But winning the world championships against the Russians compensated for everything."

In those days the switch from the NHL to international hockey was a shock to say the least. Games were sometimes played on outdoor rinks. Smith recalls having to play in snow and hail. He also recalls the brutal officiating. International referees frowned upon Canada's game of heavy body contact.

"We could hardly make a move. They did not call stick infractions like spearing and slashing, that were an art among European teams. We had more injuries from sticks playing against those European teams than we did in our own league in Canada!"

Smith ranks the experience of winning the world championship as "very, very close" to that of winning the Stanley Cup. "The Stanley Cup is every hockey players dream though" he conceded.

Smith and the Dunlops went on to win the Allan Cup the following year. He attempted to return to the National Hockey Leage in 1960 at the urging of Leafs boss Punch Imlach, but the league did not reinstate him.

After hockey, Smith went into the graphics business. He also formed a NHL Oldtimers hockey club that played games for charity.

Jim Korn

2011-04-18T19:53:00.000-07:00

A huge 6'4" defenseman who was moved up to forward at various times in his career, Jim Korn played nearly 600 NHL games for five teams.

Jim was a very physical player and earned his NHL paycheck by being just that. He was very willing to drop the gloves. Some nights he could play a very effective role by punishing teams physically in terms of body checks and clearing out the front of the net, but more often than not such play would result in skirmishes. Tangible skills were not readily evident with Jim. He had decent speed for a giant of the ice, but no agility. He couldn't do much with the puck other than dump it out of the zone, and any goal he scored would be by banging in front of the net, or the occasional shot from the point that the goalie couldn't see due to traffic in front of him.

Born in Hopkins, Minnesota, Jim played three years at Providence College where he became familiar with future NHL executive Lou Lamariello. Drafted by Detroit in 1977, by his final year of college in 1979 he was an ECAC all star and represented the United States in the World Championships.

Jim played nearly three years with the Red Wings beginning in 1979-80 but disappointed with his progress. He would be traded to arch rival Toronto Maple Leafs in March 1982.

Jim's days in Toronto were a little more successful if not more volatile. He cemented his reputation as one of the league's legitimate heavyweights, recording well over 200 penalty minutes in each of his full seasons in Toronto. Jim spent 3 seasons in Toronto, and split much of that time between the defense and left wing position. As a left winger he was better able to fulfill the traditional tough guy role, and even chipped in with an impressive 12 goal, 26 point season in 1983-84.

Disaster struck in 1984-85. He continued to play well and even was seeing some powerplay time before he was felled with the injury bug. Injuries would plague Korn throughout the entire 1985-86 season as well. A serious knee injury suffered in training camp 1985 cost Jim the entire season.

Jim's injured knee certainly wouldn't have helped his already below average skating ability feared the Leafs, so they traded him to Calgary who then swapped him to Buffalo just days before the 1986-87 season. Jim put in a yeoman's effort in his lone season in Buffalo. He returned to the blueline and though he appeared in just 52 games was physical presence and steady contributor. He also earned rave reviews for his leadership on and off the ice.

The Sabres moved the defenseman to New Jersey to begin the 1987-88 season. The Sabres acquired a skilled forward in Jan Ludvig, but he would spend two years on the injury list in Buffalo. Korn, reunited with Lou Lamariello, would go on to enjoy 2 and a half strong seasons in New Jersey. Not only was he able to lighten the rough-housing roles of players like Ken Daneyko, Pat Verbeek and Kirk Muller, but he chipped in with a career best season in 1988-89 when he tallied 15 goals and 31 points.

1989-90 proved to be the last year for Korn. Injuries kept him out of much of the season, and a late season trade saw him go to Calgary. In those days the Flames and Oilers always stocked up on tough guys at the trading deadline for the playoff wars. Jim would play in 4 of the Flames 6 playoff games, and scored a goal. It wasn't enough though as the defending Stanley Cup champions were ousted from the playoffs in the first round.

Jim retired at the end of the year. The veteran of 597 games earned over 1800 minutes in the penalty box, but also chipped in nicely with 66 goals and 188 points. He is well respected among peers of his era.

Scott Pearson

2011-04-14T17:05:00.000-07:00

The 1988 NHL entry draft featured some of the greatest players of the coming 10-15 years. Mike Modano and Trevor Linden went 1-2. Jeremy Roenick, Rod Brind'Amour and Teemu Selanne also were first rounders. Other graduates include Mark Recchi, Tony Amonte, Rob Blake, Alexander Mogilny and Valeri Kamensky.

But the NHL draft is often a crapshoot. Two first rounders never played in the league. Five others played less than 45 career games.

Somewhere in between are players like Scott Pearson. The Toronto Maple Leafs drafted Pearson 6th overall. Pearson was a highly respected player because of his blue collar aggressive play with one of the worst junior teams in all of Canada - the Kingston Canadiens. Pearson was heralded as a good pro player because of his zealous physical game and never ending hustle no matter how bad his team was.

Pearson lived up to the solid role player tag well enough, but being drafted 6th overall placed other expectations on the young left winger. When his lack of natural skills prevented him from developing into a regular NHLer let alone into a top line player, the Leafs gave up on him relatively early.

By 1991 Pearson, a good friend of troubled Nords project Bryan Fogarty, was moved to the Quebec Nordiques, but lost most of the two seasons due to injury. He did get in half a season in 1992-93, and registered 13 goals.

His most successful NHL stint came with the Oilers in 1993-94. It was his first and only full season in the NHL. He was applauded for improved dedication to the game, and he had career highs of 19 goals and 18 assists.

The success in Edmonton was short lived. After scoring just 1 goal in the first 28 games the following season, Pearson was traded to the Buffalo Sabres. Pearson participated in parts of two seasons with the Sabres, but injuries and inconsistency kept him out of the Sabres line up on a regular basis. He got into 41 games over the 2 years, scoring 6 goals and 7 points.

The Toronto Maple Leafs gave Pearson another shot for the 1996-97 season. However a nagging abdominal injury cost Pearson almost the entire season. He only got into 14 minor league games plus one game with the Leafs.

Unable to find NHL employment, Pearson signed on with the independent Chicago Wolves of the IHL and enjoyed three solid season. He did return to the NHL for a short tryout with the New York Islanders.
Scott Pearson was a player who entered the NHL too early. With more maturity and a more stable environment, he could have been a very effective player.

Lorne Carr

2011-04-06T11:16:00.000-07:00

Lorne Carr's career started out with the New York Rangers. NHL records indicate that he played in 14 games with the Rangers in 1933-34, even though Carr hardly played during any of those 14 games.

Carr moved across the city the next year to play for the New York Americans. It was with the Americans that Carr established himself as a bonafide NHL player. Lorne recorded 31 points in 48 games in his first real season in the NHL. He ended up playing seven seasons with the Americans, recording more than 25 points on five occasions, before he was traded to the Maple Leafs after the 1940-41 campaign.

Lorne became a league star in Toronto. In 1942-43 he exploded for 60 points in 50 games and in 1943-44 Lorne finished third in the NHL with 36 goals, 38 assists and 74 points. He was an NHL First Team All-Star in both 1943 and 1944. Lorne was also a solid playoff performer, helping the "Buds" won the Cup in both 1942 (playing on a line with Billy Taylor and Sweeney Schriner) and 1945 (Gus Bodnar replaced the departed Taylor by this time).

In those days didn't celebrate a Cup championship the same way as they do now Lorne didn't get a Cup ring until sometime in the 2000s, and in 2005, he got to spend time with the Cup once more as the oldest living Cup champ. They even poured a can of ginger ale in the Cup for him to drink.

Carr retired after the 1945-46 campaign. Carr left the NHL with career totals of 204 goals, 222 assists and 426 points in 580 regular season games while adding 19 points in 53 playoff contests.

In retirement Carr moved to Calgary and opened the Amylorne Motel, which featured an 18 hole golf course and driving range. He also opened a pool hall with former teammate Fred Hergerts.

Jim Harrison

2011-04-06T10:56:00.000-07:00

Jim Harrison started to play hockey at an early age in Alberta and was soon a product of the Bruins junior system. He played for the strong Estevan Bruins team between 1964-68. Jim collected 232 points (107 goals, 125 assists) in 178 games for the Estevan team. His great performance in the 1968 playoffs where he led all scorers in goals (13), assists (22) and points (35) in only 14 games gave him the playoff MVP award.

The Bruins had high hopes for Jim when he joined them in 1968-69. He split his time between Bruins farm team in Oklahoma (CHL) and the Bruins. He played 16 games (1 goal) for Boston as a rookie and saw very limited ice time on the powerful Bruins team. When Jim only scored 4 points (3 goals) in the first 23 games for Boston the following season (1969-70) the patience ran out. When Jim looked back he wasn't all that surprised that he was traded.

"When I was with the Bruins, I had such a bad shot I was embarrassed to shoot," Jim said.

With that in mind it wasn't so strange that Jim had trouble putting points on the board. The Bruins shipped Jim to Toronto on December 10, 1969 for Wayne 'Swoop" Carleton. In Toronto Jim saw more ice time, but there he was stuck behind a pretty solid bunch of centers as well. Dave Keon would scored over 300 goals and Norm Ullman over 400 goals in their careers. These were two centers who were headed for the Hall of Fame. Even though Jim had his best season in 1971-72 (19 goals and 36 points) he wasn't all that happy with his situation in Toronto. The Leafs GM Jim Gregory offered him a contract but Jim declined.

Shortly thereafter Alberta/Edmonton Oilers (WHA) GM Bill Hunter approached Jim for a possible deal. Jim accepted Hunter's offer and walked away with a 4-year contract worth $300,000 and a new Buick Riviera every season!.

Years later Jim admitted that he was glad to get out of Toronto.

"Yeah, I was definitely glad to get out of Toronto. I was kind of lost in the shuffle. I had a rap to be inconsistent but general managers say things like that when they're angry."

Jim wasn't exactly taken with the Oilers when he first arrived, although it was his home territory. His wife was homesick for her family in Toronto,and he was upset by the small crowds for many of the games.

"It was almost like playing junior again, the crowds were so small," Jim said.

He however quickly adjusted to the small crowds. Jim played very well in his first WHA season (72-73) scoring a fine 86 points (39 goals and 47 points) in 66 games. He missed 13 games with a fractured kneecap when he slid into a goalpost in Philadelphia in late November. He then returned in late December and managed to only score one goal in the next 21 games, still he wound up with 39 goals.

On one of these nights he exploded for 10 points, a WHA record. It came on January 30, 1973 when the Alberta Oilers pounded the New York Raiders 11-3. He had a hat trick (his first hat trick in 226 pro games) and seven assists. In one 53-second span in the final period he counted three points against the baffled Raiders goalie, Ian Wilkie, who ironically became a teammate in Edmonton with Jim later on.

That season proved to be Jim's best pointwise. In 1973-74 he had 69 points in only 47 games. He then was selected to play in the 1974 WHA-Soviet series. He appeared in 3 games and had one assist.

In October 1974 Jim was traded to the Cleveland Crusaders (still WHA) where he played for two seasons, scoring 114 points in 119 games. That was it for Jim in the WHA. He finished his WHA career with 269 points (117 goals and 132 points) in 232 games.

He returned to the NHL for the 1976-77 season to play for Chicago. During that season he scored a fine 41 points (18 goals and 23 points) in only 60 games. The rest of his career was shortened by various injuries. He only played 26 games for Chicago in 77-78 and 21 in 78-79. On September 24, 1979 he was traded back to the Edmonton Oilers. This time the Oilers were to play in the NHL. Jim only played in three games for Edmonton during that 1979-80 season before he was forced to retire due to back problems that had bothered him for several years.

Jim was a willing worker, especially in the corners and along the boards. He was also a fine penalty killer. His reckless style was often the reason why he was injured so much.

Special thanks to Pat Houda

Nikolai Borschevsky

2011-04-04T21:58:00.000-07:00

Ten years after Russian players were allowed to leave their homeland to pursue National Hockey League careers, there was much debate as to who was the best Russian in the NHL. Pavel Bure, Sergei Federov, Alexei Yashin, Alexander Mogilny....there is no shortage of candidates.

But who does the most famous Russian hockey player feel was the best?

Vladislav Tretiak, the great Soviet goalkeeper and first Russian in the Hockey Hall of Fame, had great admiration for diminutive forward Nikolai Borschevsky. His NHL career was brief due to injuries and lack of size, but had the heart and courage that many of the more talented Russian players lacked.

"If the others had Borschevsky's passion, then they would be very, very good." said Tretiak. "The best in the world no doubt."

Borshevsky was an outstanding skater - lightning quick and slippery in crowds. Most defensemen had problems keeping him in check. Add to that his sniper's wrist shot, which was doubly scary because of his quick release, and Nikolai caught many goalies unprepared for his shot.

The spunky Borschevsky was not a stereotypical Russian in that he was quite chippy. Not a disturber in the classic sense, Nik nonetheless could get under his opponents skin.

Nikolai spent six seasons with Moscow Dynamo, the perennial second banana to the Central Red Army in the Soviet Elite League. In 1989-90 he moved to Spartak and in 1991-92 he led the CIS National and Olympic teams in scoring.

In 1992-93, at age 27, Nikolai made his North American debut with the Toronto Maple Leafs, who had drafted him 77th overall in the 1992 Entry Draft. He stepped right in to the Leafs lineup, and contributed 34 goals and 74 points! It looked like the Leafs found a gem, especially after scoring the over time series winning goal in game 7 of the playoffs series vs Detroit.

However Borschevsky's career took a sharp downturn in his sophomore season. Early in the season he ruptured his spleen. The spleen had to be removed in emergency surgery. Nik lost a lot of time in recovery and was never quite the same again.

Nik returned to Russia during the 1994-95 lockout. When the labour dispute was finally resolved Nik returned to Toronto but really struggled. He scored 0 goals and 5 assists in 19 games before ending his season in Calgary. Nik doubled his assist total with 5 more assists in 8 games with the Flames, but no goals.

Borschevsky signed as a free agent with the Dallas Stars, but appeared in just 12 games, scoring 1 goal and 3 assists. However by the end of the season Borschevsky was out of the NHL. He finished the year in Germany.

In 1996-97 Borschevsky returned to Spartak to continue his career for two seasons.

In retirement Borschevsky returned to Southern Ontario coach youth hockey and run his own hockey school. He later returned to Russia to coach in the pro leagues back home.

Hugh Bolton

2011-04-03T20:05:00.000-07:00

Hugh Bolton was a towering defenseman - 6'3" and 185-190lbs - in an era known for much smaller players. A classic defensive defenseman, "Yug" did possess good passing and shooting skills, though rarely got a chance to display them in his 3 full seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Hugh's big NHL break came after the tragic death of Bill Barilko. Hugh had appeared in 13 games in the previous two seasons with the Leafs, but was a full time Leaf come the 1951-52 season. Hugh had an agreement with the Leafs that he would play part time as he slowly continued his studying of engineering at the University of Toronto at the same time. It is believed he put his studies aside in 1951-52 but that's why he appeared in only 13 games the previous two years.

Hugh returned to part time play the following two seasons though not entirely due to his studies. He was a very injury prone player, breaking his leg/ankle three times, his right arm three times, fracturing his skull and smashing his sinus cavity. He once took a Boom Boom Geoffrion shot to the face, cracking his jaw.

He was as rugged as he was tough, using his big size to unceremoniously welcome opposing skaters to the Leafs defensive zone. The noted shot blocker and poke checker was particularly good in 1955 when he finished 5th in Norris Trophy voting as the league's best defenseman.

Bolton played from 1954 through 1956 relatively injury free but early in 1956-57 he broke his leg yet again. He retired in 1957, tired of battling injuries and still looking to complete his University degree.

Nick Kypreos

2011-04-01T17:45:00.000-07:00

Nick Kypreos was a perfect 4th line hockey player.

Kypreos was a tough player but was intelligent enough to keep his emotions under control when his team really needed disciplined aggression. He excelled in the 4th line role because of his combination of work ethic, fearlessness and understanding of the game and his own limitations.

Despite incredible strength in his legs Kypreos lacked foot speed to become much of an offensive player. He however excelled in the corners where his leg strength gave him power and endurance in the wars along the boards. He willingly paid the price needed in order to get the puck and put it on net or to a teammate. His playmaking skills once he got the puck were very much underrated.

He also was a willing fighter known for a good left hand.

Like many role players, Nick made immeasurable contributions off the ice. His intensity and energy always inspired his teammates. He was great in the dressing room and always kept his teammates in good spirits.

Nick was never drafted despite some averaging a goal a game in his final two years of junior. The Philadelphia Flyers offered him a minor league contract in 1984. However Nick never played with the Flyers.

After two strong years in the minors Nick was picked up in the pre-season waiver draft by the Washington Capitals. It was with the Capitals that Nick broke into the NHL, playing 3 seasons as a highly thought of role player.

Despite his contributions the Capitals moved Kypreos to Hartford in exchange for veteran Mark Hunter. Kypreos had a strong season. He scored a very respectable 17 goals and 27 points while accumulating 325 penalty minutes!

Despite that strong season Nick was included in the big three way Steve Larmer trade early in the 1993-94 season which saw both Nick and Larmer join the New York Rangers. It was a good move for both players as they were members of the historic 1994 Rangers Stanley Cup team.

Nick stayed in New York until a traded on February 29, 1996 took him to Toronto. However Kypreos was the center of much unwanted attention in the 1995-96 playoffs against St. Louis when he landed on Blues goalie Grant Fuhr in the crease, tearing up Fuhr's knee, an injury that early on looked like it might end Grant's illustrious career. The play, which many said Kypreos could have prevented, was one of the more controversial plays in the playoffs during the 1990s.

An injury plagued 1996-97 season proved to be Nick's last in professional hockey. He eventually had to retire after missing the entire 1997-98 season because of a serious concussion. Ironically the concussion he sustained happened in a preseason fight against the New York Rangers Ryan Vandenbusche on Sept. 15, 1997. Ironic because Kypreos was one of the NHL's toughest fighters. Usually Kypreos was the one causing damage in a fight - this time Kypreos was KOed straight to retirement. Kypreos' decision to retire came at the advice of Chicago neurosurgeon Dr. James Kelly.

Kypreos had 46 goals, 44 assists and 1,210 penalty minutes in 442 games and 34 playoff games with the Washington Capitals, Hartford Whalers, New York Rangers and his home town Toronto Maple Leafs.

He later became a well known television broadcaster.

John Anderson

2011-03-27T14:27:00.000-07:00

John Anderson is one of the few Toronto born and raised hockey players who played their junior hockey at Maple Leaf Gardens and did not escape the grasp of the Maple Leafs. It was a dream come true for the man with the unmistakable moustache.

Anderson played four years with his hometown Toronto Marlies of the OHL where he demonstrated great skill and goal scoring ability. After a final season in junior where he scored 57 goals and 199 points in 64 games, the Leafs grabbed Anderson with the 11th overall draft pick in the 1977 entry draft. Anderson was selected ahead of the likes of Ron Duguay, Mike Bossy, John Tonelli and Rod Langway.

While he may not have earned the status of those other draft picks, Anderson developed into one of the top left wingers in the game in 1980s. He had speed to burn, and the agility to go with it. He had great puck skills - able to softly lay a pass to a streaking teammate or power a slapshot from the top of the faceoff circle. He was a mainstay on the powerplay, and although he did not play aggressive defensive hockey, was a good penalty killer because of his skating abilities.

After an impressive year of apprenticeship in the minor leagues, John joined the Leafs full time in 1978-79. He had his ups and downs in his first three years in the league, but by 1981 he had found a home on the Leafs top line. Anderson's speed and puck skills were a perfect compliment for slippery center Bill Derlago and heavy shooter Rick Vaive.

Anderson, who operated several hamburger restaurants in Toronto as well, scored 30 or more goals for 4 consecutive seasons while on the top line. Yet playing in Toronto was not easy for Anderson, or for many star players either. Anderson came to this realization after being a key player for Canada in the 1985 World Championships in Prague.

"Over there, I realized how much the pressure in Toronto had hurt me. The fans at the Gardens are demanding, as they have every right to be, but it seems as though your problems are magnified. You try harder and that makes things worse. When I got to Europe, it was like having a weight lifted off of my shoulders."

Anderson's comments were one of the last he made as a Leaf, although the words played no role in his departure. He was traded late in the summer of 1985 to Quebec for solid defenseman Brad Maxwell. The red headed Anderson didn't last a full season in Quebec before landing in Hartford where he briefly enjoyed his best days in the NHL. He finished the 1985-86 season with 8 goals and 25 pints in just 14 games, and added 13 more points in 10 playoff games. He followed that up with a 31 goal, 7 5point season in 1986-87 before slowing down in his final two years in the league.

Although he was out of the NHL scene by 1989, Anderson continued to excel in the AHL, IHL and Italy until 1994. He then stepped behind the bench and became a top coach in the minor leagues, which led to a two year coaching stint with the NHL's Atlanta Thrashers.

Russ Adam

2011-03-27T14:12:00.000-07:00

An industrious winger who made the most of his skills, Russ Adam defied the odds and played in the National Hockey League.

The Windsor born center played junior hockey with the Kitchener Rangers in the late 1970s, earning a NHL draft selection by the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1980. He was picked 137th overall.

Adam would go onto play with the Leaf's affiliate teams, although he did get a 8 game look-see in 1982-83. He even scored a goal and 2 assists before disappearing to the minor leagues again.

Adam's vagabond hockey career would take him to Germany and to his now-adopted home of Newfoundland, where he starred and coached in the senior leagues. His career even came full circle when the Leafs hosted their top farm team in St. John's and Adam became an assistant coach.

Doug Acomb

2011-03-26T17:12:00.000-07:00

Doug Acomb was a hometown hero with the Toronto Marlboros, scoring 55 goals in 54 games in his last year of junior in 1968-69, and leading the Marlies to two Memorial Cup appearances before that. The Toronto Maple Leafs took notice, signing the diminutive center in the summer of 1969.

His professional career would be a short one, with two uninspiring years bouncing around the minor leagues. His highlight was his two game call up to the NHL in which he registered a single assist.

Acomb would return to southern Ontario in 1971 and star with the Barrie Flyers on the OHA senior circuit. In 1974 he led Barrie to the Allan Cup championship as Canada's top amateur team.

The following season he returned to professional hockey, although it was in Austria. After that interesting experience he returned to Barrie, played one more season of senior hockey and then hung up his blades.

Art Duncan

2011-03-17T15:46:00.000-07:00

Art Duncan was playing with the Vancouver Millionaires of the Pacfic Coast Hockey Association in the 1915-16 season when enlisted for the military in World War 1. When Duncan returned from the war, he came decorated with the military cross and returned to play for the Millionaires where he helped the team win 4 PCHA championships.

Duncan (seen here on the left, wearing funky pants and shaking King Clancy's hand) made the jump to the NHL in the 1926-27 campaign as a player/coach for the Detroit Cougars which later became known as the Detroit Falcons and the Detroit Red Wings. But after just one season with Detroit Duncan was replaced by Jack Adams. Art wasn't discouraged by that and he went on to play for the Toronto St. Pats. As Art arrived to Toronto Conn Smythe just bought the Toronto franchise. He renamed the team to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

In 1930-31 Smythe decided to go out and purchase King Clancy and Alex Levinsky to help out on their blueline. Since Duncan's main postion was defence and his skills were no longer needed he retired as a player and went on to coach. Duncan was again replaced as coach by Dick Irvin in the 1931-32 campain. That was the first year the Maple Leafs won their first Stanley Cup.

When Duncan retired he had played in 156 games. He scored 18 goals and 16 assists for 34 points, and he tallied up 225 PIM. It was too bad that after his career he wasn't able to make it as a head coach in the NHL. Then again if Duncan could see how quickly NHL head coaches change jobs nowadays he probably wouldn't feel that bad.

Denis Dupere

2011-03-17T15:21:00.000-07:00

Denise Dupere was born in Jonquiese, Quebec in June 21, 1948. Aside from playing in the NHL, Dupere could also claim fame in the fact that he was a cousin of professional wrestling legend Mad Dog Vachon.

Dupere was a penalty killing specialist and extraordinary faceoff expert for over 400 NHL games with 4 organizations. A large left winger at 6'1" 200lbs, Dupere was a very clean player, picking up only 66 penalty minutes in his 8 year NHL career.

Originally recruited by the New York Rangers, he was traded to Toronto to complete the Tim Horton trade. He spent most of his first two pro seasons in the CHL, but did play in 20 games with the Leafs in 1970-71.
By 1971-72 he had made the NHL on a regular basis. He enjoyed three seasons with the Leafs, including scoring 36 points in just 61 games in 1972-73. However when expansion came callin in 1974, the Washington Capitals snatched up the journeyman. Dupere's stay in Washington was short but successful. He scored 20 goals and 35 points in 53 games before he was traded to St. Louis where he added 3 more goals and 9 more points. Dupere would join Kansas City the next season and would move to Colorado when the franchise relocated and became the Rockies.

Dupere's stay in Colorado wasn't overly heartwarming. The team refused to trade Dupere, instead they banished him to the minors and told him they would terminate his contract at the end of year. Dupere did get recalled though, and made the most of his new lease on life. With the Rockies looking for a playoff spot and with scoring star Wilf Paiement in a slump, Dupere scored 20 points in 15 games to finish the season. The Rockies made the playoffs where Dupere scored 1 goal in the team's 2 games. Dupere's late season heroics earned him a verbal agreement with ownership over a new one-way deal, however the team was sold to new owners before a contract could be officially signed. The new owners refused to grant Dupere a one way contract, so he retired from hockey.

Dupere, who had a good wrist shot, scored 80 goals and 179 points in 421 NHL games. He rounded out his hockey career by playing and coaching in France.

Alexander Godynyuk

2011-03-02T11:17:00.000-08:00

The Toronto Maple Leafs were one the later teams to take advantage of the Soviet invasion of the NHL in the early 1990s. One of their earliest such acquisitions was a good sized Ukrainian defenseman named Alexander Godynyuk.

Godynyuk was hardly the best known Soviet player at the time. Born in Kiev, the defender played 5 seasons with Sokol Kiev. Most notable on his resume was the Directorate Award as best defenseman and all star team nod at the 1990 IIHF World Junior Championships.

The Leafs drafted Godynyuk later that year, taking him in the 6th round, 115th overall. He would join the Leafs half way through the following season.

The Leafs had hoped Godynyuk would blossom into an offensive presence. He had the tools - good size and skating, unafraid to handle the puck, and a strong break out pass.

But far too often he was an inconsistent enigma. He had wild swings in consistency, and that reportedly dated back to his years in Kiev. On one night he could be the best player on the ice, and the next he could be the worst. He was often caught out of position, especially on a turnover on one of his many end to end forays, or would forget about his defensive assignment.

The Leafs packaged Godynyuk and 4 others up to acquire Doug Gilmour. Gilmour adopted Godynyuk's #93 sweater number and became a legend. Godynyuk, meanwhile, was a bust, in Calgary. The Flames exposed him in the expansion draft, allowing Florida to take him, only to become a spare part there.

He was moved to Hartford in December, 1993, and made a great first impression - recording three assists in his first game with the Whalers, and that came without the benefit of even one practice. But Godynyuk continued to underwhelm and even frustrate over the long term in Hartford.

After spending considerable time in the minor leagues, Godynyuk returned to Europe in 1998. He left the NHL with 223 career games and 10 goals, 29 assists and 39 points. He will always be remembered as an intriguing player who was haunted by consistency issues and ultimately an inability to adapt his game to the satisfaction of NHL coaches.

Les Kozak

2011-02-28T19:27:00.000-08:00

Les Kozak was a solid prospect of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Born in Dauphin, Manitoba on October 28, 1940, Kozak played his junior hockey with the famous St. Michael's Majors of the OHA for 3 seasons. In that time, the 6' 185lb left winger scored 37 goals and 77 points in 123 games. A good skater and clean player, the Leafs were impressed enough to sign him knowing that he would need time to develop first at the minor league level.

A very religious man, Kozak actually quit hockey for 1 year at the age of 20. He would have turned pro and gone to the Leafs training camp, but instead he entered the Seminary. He missed the entired 1960-61 season while studying to become a priest.

Kozak returned to hockey the following year. He appeared in 12 games with the Leafs and even scored 1 goal, but spent most of his time with the AHL's Rochester Americans developing his game. However his career came to a tragic end on February 23, 1962. Playing against Providence, Kozak suffered a severe head injury. He was carried off the ice and never played competitive hockey ever again.

It is assumed Les Kozak continued persuing his religious beliefs following his hockey days.

Kozak certainly isn't the only religious man to play in the NHL. In fact an ordained minister with ties to the Toronto Maple Leafs played one game in 1943. George Abbott doubled his religious duties as the Leafs practice goaltender. When the Boston Bruins came to town in November of 1943, their goalie, Bert Gardiner, became violently ill and couldn't partipate in the game. As teams didn't carry backup goalies at the time, the Leafs allowed the Bruins to use their practice goalie for the game.

Scott Thornton

2011-02-26T18:43:00.000-08:00

One player I watched come from junior hockey and into the NHL was Scott Thornton. The Toronto Maple Leafs drafted the Belleville Bulls hulking center 3rd overall in 1989.

The reason? At about that time I had a huge man-crush on Calgary's Joel Otto. A physically dominant, extraordinary defensive center with incredible size and great faceoff ability. Every team wanted Otto. And, I believed, Toronto had drafted the next one when the draft Thornton ahead Stu Barnes and Bill Guerin.

Thornton went on to become a bit of a poor-man's Otto rather than the next dominant defender. He was outstanding on faceoffs. He played with a different variety of toughness - he was never chippy or cheap. He was a real solid player, though prone to both injuries and bad penalties.

Though he had decent skating ability - strong and balanced - he was not fast. He was smart positionally on the defensive side. Offensively he never really was a threat, except for one season in San Jose where he played a lot of left wing alongside his superstar cousin, Joe Thornton. Many people would expect more offensive production from a 3rd overall draft pick - one who was traded as a key part of the trade to Edmonton for Grant Fuhr. But I certainly would not consider him a disappointment.

In fact, even though he was a favorite of mine, even I was actually quite surprised to realize he survived parts of 17 NHL season, totalling nearly 1000 regular season games. He spent a long time in obscurity on 4th lines in Toronto, Edmonton, Montreal, Dallas, San Jose and Los Angeles. It all added up to a very decent National Hockey League career.

Daniel Marois

2011-02-14T15:59:00.000-08:00

For a couple of seasons, Daniel Marois was the talk of Toronto. Along with fellow Frenchman Vincent Damphousse, the duo were taking the NHL by storm. The Leafs, who also had another great tandem in Ed Olczyk and Gary Leeman, were one of the more exciting offensive teams. Unfortunately the team's chemistry fell apart. Marois and Damphousse were take off the same line and later Damphousse, who has made a career out of making players around him better, was traded away. Marois was never able to regain his status as a top sniper in the game.

Marois relied on his good hockey sense to become a top goal scorer. He broke into the league in 1988-89 and scored 31 goals as a rookie. The following year he moved up to 39 goals. Marois was one dimensional in the sense that he was a goal scorer. He had terrific eye-hand coordination and a quick release, and an uncanny knack to get open at the right time. He was a very good skater and a powerplay specialist.

Damphousse, and center iceman Tom Fergus, were solid two way players who specialized in setting up plays, so Marois was a good fit on that line. However he had his shortcomings - most notably his lack of strength and a non-existent defensive game. He also lacked the vision set up plays to his linemates.

After those back to back 30 plus goal seasons, Marois found himself losing confidence in his game after a season of injuries decimated the Leafs lineup. Damphousse was moved to a new line while Fergus played in only 14 games due to a groin injury. He was reduced to 21 goals and just 9 assists. The following year he scored just 15 times before being traded to the New York Islanders.

The move out of Toronto was just what Marois needed to get his career back on track, but fate would not allow that. Serious back problems began plaguing Marois for the rest of his career. He struggled with the Islanders, and later with the Boston Bruins and briefly with the Dallas Stars. He spent considerable time in the minor leagues and on the injury list as well.

By 1997 Marois had left North America and became a top import in various European leagues

Billy Harris

2011-02-04T13:00:00.000-08:00

Billy Harris was a local kid who grew up idolizing the Leafs He was a star hockey player himself, coming up through the Marlies system, winning the Memorial Cup in 1954-55. He was part of an influx of young talent that would join the Leafs in the late 1950s who would help return the Leafs to glory, winning 4 Stanley Cups in the 1960s. Harris was a part of the first three.

Tall and thin, "Hinky" was a good skater and stickhandler, a real heady player. Early on he was counted on in an offensive role, but by the end of 1950s he would become a 3rd line utility player. Part of this was because he was a bit of a whipping boy for coach Punch Imlach. But the biggest reason was the incredible depth at center ice the Leafs enjoyed by the 1960s - Dave Keon and Red Kelly were undeniably the team's top two centers.

His ice time dwindled as the 1960s progressed, so he was moved from Toronto and started bouncing around the league a bit. He went on to play briefly with the Canadian national team after his NHL days were done. This exposed him to international hockey and from there, he spent a year in Sweden coaching their national team, where he got a real appreciation of the European game, especially the Soviets. He was one of the few Canadians who were cautioning Canada's expectations when the NHL's pros first played the Soviets at the 1972 Summit Series.

Harris, who coached a number of WHA teams including the Toronto Toros, was selected to run the bench for the 1974 Summit Series, a WHA copycat tournament of the original.

Harris scored 134 goals and 229 assists in 769 NHL games with Toronto, Detroit, Oakland and Pittsburgh during a 14-year NHL career from 1956-69.

Harris, a very active member of the Leafs alumni association in later years, wrote a wonderful book - a mixture of Leafs history and personal autobiography, in 1989. The Glory Years: Memories of a Decade 1955-1965 is just a wonderful inside recollection of an amazing team with some amazing players.

Billy Harris died of leukemia in 2001. He was just 66 years old.

Felix Potvin

2011-01-09T19:48:00.000-08:00

Potvin was one of the first of seemingly countless great Quebecois puck stoppers to follow in the footsteps of Patrick Roy. Judging by his junior career, Potvin would be the next Roy and perhaps better! He was born and raised in Montreal but was never a Habs fan. He liked the Quebec Nordiques better, but liked Billy Smith and the New York Islanders best of all. He led the QMJHL in shutouts three straight seasons. His final year he was named as the Canadian major junior goaltender of the year after backstopping Chicoutimi to the Memorial Cup finals. He also earned a gold medal at the World Junior championships.

The Leafs were pleasantly surprised to see Potvin still available in the second round of the deep 1990 NHL entry draft. Ht Leafs grabbed him with 31st overall pick. After a year of learning English and successful of apprenticeship in the American Hockey League (he was named as the top rookie, top goalie and first team all star) Felix made the move to Toronto in 1992-93.

Potvin took the NHL by storm once he arrived. In his rookie season Potvin led the league in goals against average with a 2.50 mark, and backstopped the Leafs not only to their first true mark of respectability since the 1970s, but to playoff success. Potvin was brilliant as the Leafs went on a magical playoff run, only to fall short in a 7 game conference finals against Wayne Gretzky's Los Angeles Kings. Had the Leafs been successful, the Stanley Cup would have been a classic showdown - Leafs vs. Habs, Potvin vs. Roy.

Potvin followed up his rookie season with a 34 win season, tying Johnny Bower's team record for most wins in a year. He represented the Leafs in the All Star game and was even named player of the month in October. Potvin led the Leafs deep into the playoffs again, this time falling short against the Vancouver Canucks in the conference finals. Potvin was brilliant, perhaps no more so than in the opening round against Chicago. Potvin and Eddie Belfour had a classic goaltender grudge match. Potvin prevailed, including 3 nail biting 1-0 shutouts!

The Leafs fortunes sagged after that season. Potvin continued to be the workhorse goalie, including setting a Leafs record with 74 games appeared in 1996-97. That season Felix also set a league record with the most shots faced with 2662. Somehow Felix saved almost 91% percent of those shots! Yet increasingly it was the shots that eluded him that were beginning to bother people. He could stop 35 pucks in a game, but somehow would often let in a soft goal or a goal at exactly the wrong time.

By the summer of 1998 the Leafs had signed Curtis Joseph as their goalie. Potvin was out of the Leafs goaltending picture, and soon dispatched to the lowly New York Islanders where he, like everyone else on Long Island, struggled. The Cat was then moved on to Vancouver where he was subsequently booed out of town before finding another of his 9 lives in Los Angeles and then Boston.

Felix was nicknamed The Cat not only because he obviously held the same name as the famous comic strip, but because he relied on his cat-like reflexes to stop pucks. Potvin tended to stay back in his net too much and struggled with his lateral mobility. Word quickly got around the league to shoot up high on him and make him move around. He would lose his angle and his cat-like reflexes weren't able to stop the onslaught. After a great start to his career, he fell from his status as one of the league's best goaltenders.

Bob Hassard

2011-01-06T11:34:00.000-08:00

I just learned of the passing of Bob Hassard on December 30th, 2010. He was 81 years old.

Hassard is best remembered as a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs in the early 1950s, including as a member of the 1951 Stanley Cup championship team. Interestingly, he only played 12 games with the Leafs that season, and none in the playoffs. Yet his named was still inscribed on the Stanley Cup. He may be the only player who never played a single playoff game in his career to have his name on the Stanley Cup.

Winning was something Hassard got used to. The previous season he helped the senior Toronto Marlies win the Allan Cup as Canada's amateur champions. Then the year after the Stanley Cup victory he helped the Pittsburgh Hornets capture the Calder Cup as AHL champions!

Though he was born in Lloydminister, Saskatchewan, he grew up in Toronto, not far from Maple Leaf Gardens. it was his dream to play for the Leafs. Actually, he was just as thrilled to make the Bantam Marlies at the age of 14 and later the junior Marlies.

Described as a great skater and a junior and minor league offensive dynamo, Hassard was in many ways burdened by his position. He was most comfortable at his natural position of center. The problem was the championship Leafs teams of his era had centers named Teeder Kennedy and Max Bentley, both Hall of Famers, and Cal Gardner and Tod Sloan, no slouches in their own right.

The gentlemanly center played sparingly in 5 NHL seasons, all with the Leafs except for 17 games with Chicago. He totalled just 126 games played, including 70 in 1952-53, his only full season in the league. He enjoyed long tenures with the junior and senior Marlies, as well as in the AHL. He left pro hockey in 1958, but returned to amateur senior hockey with the Whitby Dunlops through 1960. He helped Whitby win the Allan Cup in 1959.

All in all, not a bad hockey career considering he almost embarked upon a career in professional baseball, instead. When he was just 18 the Brooklyn Dodgers offered him a chance to play in the minor league system and work his way up to the minor leagues. He passed on the offer of reportedly $100 per month.

After retiring from the game in 1958, Bob Hassard settled in Stouffville, Ontario, a beautiful city just north of Toronto. Along with a business partner named Birkett, he opened up a successful insurance business. He was also a long time local minor hockey coach, teaching a generation of hockey loving kids including a young Keith Acton.

He enjoyed the slower pace of life in Stouffville and became a noted bluegrass musician. He also enjoyed giving free Christmas Eve wagon rides to children as well. Often long time Leaf and Hassard's close friend George Armstrong would join in for the night.

Hassard is survived by his son Bill, a Leaf draft pick in 1974, and daughters Kim and Jacqui, nine grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

Greg Terrion

2010-12-17T11:42:00.000-08:00

Greg Terrion was one of those unspectacular but consistent role players that every team needs in order to win hockey games. Unfortunately for Greg, his steady and consistent play was always with teams that were neither steady nor consistent as he was.

Drafted by Los Angeles 33rd overall in 1980, Greg played 2 years with the Kings before being traded to Toronto in 1982 for a 4th round draft choice. Greg spent the next 6 years in Toronto, playing his final NHL game in 1988.

Greg wasn't an overly talented finesse player. He was an above average skater, with really good speed. Combined with good defensive anticipation skills, Terrion's speed enabled him to carve out a nice niche for himself as a checking third line winger and regular penalty killer.

Despite his speed and hockey sense, Terrion was unable to translate those abilities to the offensive end of the rink. He seemed to have trouble finding open linemates with crisp passes. In addition his shot was pretty average at best, and he didn't release a shot nearly as often as he probably should have.

Physically Greg was only of average build. He did bump along the boards and was always getting in someone's way, but since he was not exceptionally strong, Terrion's physical game was limited by capability, not enthusiasm.

Terrion's trivia question claim to fame? He shares the NHL record for most penalty shot goals in one season - two, in the 1983-84 season. Both goals came in home games against Chicago. The first goal beat Tony Esposito on Oct. 15, 1983. The second goal beat Murray Bannerman on Jan. 14, 1984.

Brian Glennie

2010-12-10T19:08:00.000-08:00

Phil Esposito. Bobby Clarke. Paul Henderson. Ken Dryden. Brian Glennie. What do these guys have in common? They were all part of the 1972 Team Canada team that took on the Soviet Union in the greatest hockey tournament ever.

Brian Glennie? No, that's not a mistake. He was a spare defenseman who never actually played in the series, but none-the-less was part of Team Canada. Despite not playing, being part of the team was unquestionably the highlite of his career.

“It still brings tears to your eyes to think about it. That’s something I’ll never forget.” said Glennie “My strongest memory is from when Paul was doing his usual job of backchecking and scored the winning goal. After the game, I don’t think I’ve heard ‘O Canada’ sung with such feeling in my life."

Glennie, an unheralded defensive blueliner in his 10 year NHL career, was asked to join Team Canada after Boston rearguard Dallas Smith had to turn down his invitation.

“At every hockey banquet I go too, I thank Dallas Smith for saying no,” Glennie jokes “It made me a better hockey player and turned out to be one of the greatest moments of my life.”

Glennie, who had a reputation as a hard hitting bodychecker and fierce defensive force, was asked to join the team partially because of his experience against the Russians. Unlike most of the NHLers on Team Canada, Glennie had twice played against the Russians. Once while in junior with the Toronto Marlies, and once during the 1968 Olympics.

Glennie played his junior hockey with his hometown Toronto Marlboros where he helped lead the team to the Memorial Cup in 1966-67 and played one more year of junior before breaking into the NHL. The low-scoring defenseman began his NHL career with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1969-70. after the Olympics and a year of seasoning in the minor leagues. He played nine seasons with the Leafs before he was traded to the Los Angeles Kings on June 14, 1978. Glennie played in 18 games for the Kings in 1978-79 before retiring from the NHL. Over his career, the rugged defenseman scored 14 goals with 100 assists for 114 points with 621 penalty minutes in 572 regular season games.

But it was that memorable September in 1972 that ranks highest on Glennie's highlight list.

After his hockey days were over, Glennie was involved in several businesses until 1990 when a severe heart attack forced him into retirement. He continues to make public appearances at banquets.

Turk Broda Welcomes Friend To His Crease

2010-10-20T16:23:00.001-07:00

Turk Broda welcomes a friend to his goal crease:

Toronto Maple Leafs Greatest Players

2010-09-27T20:26:00.000-07:00

Toronto Maple Leafs Legends

Syl Apps George Armstrong Bill Barilko Bob Baun Max Bentley Johnny Bower Turk Broda King Clancy Wendel Clark Babe Dye Doug Gilmour	Red Horner Tim Horton Red Kelly Teeder Kennedy Dave Keon Frank Mahovlich Lanny McDonald Joe Primeau Borje Salming Terry Sawchuk Darryl Sittler

Other Maple Leafs Players

Claire Alexander Red Armstrong Don Ashby Ace Bailey Andy Barbe Andy Blair Ken Baumgartner Jim Benning Garth Boesch Buzz Boll Pat Boutette Carl Brewer Arthur Brooks Bill Carson Brian Conacher Charlie Conacher Vincent Damphousse Hap Day Bill Derlago Tie Domi Ken Doraty Jim Dorey Kent Douglas Gord Drillon Dick Duff Dave Ellett Ron Ellis Jimmy Fowler Miroslav Frycer Cal Gardner Bob Goldham George Hainsworth Paul Henderson Larry Hillman Al Iafrate Larry Jeffrey Bill Juzda Bingo Kampman Pep Kelly Stan Kemp Joe Klukay	Pete Langelle Alex Levinsky Vic Lynn Jack McLean Kevin Maguire Dan Maloney Ulcers McCool Goose McCormack Bucko McDonald Jack McLean Howie Meeker Don Metz Nick Metz Rudy Migay Gus Mortson Bob Nevin Gary Nylund Ed Olczyk Bert Olmstead Wilf Paiement Mike Palmateer Babe Pratt Marcel Pronovost Albert Pudas Bob Pulford Pat Quinn Luke Richardson Sweeney Schriner Eddie Shack Allan Stanley Wally Stanowski Pete Stemkowski Gaye Stewart Steve Thomas Bill Thoms Jimmy Thomson Ian Turnbull Norm Ullman Rick Vaive Carl Voss Shakey Walton Tiger Williams Peter Zezel

Albert Pudas

2010-09-05T18:25:00.000-07:00

Al Pudas was born in Siikajoki, Finland. When he played 4 games with the Toronto St. Patricks (later renamed the Maple Leafs) he became the first NHL player who was born in Finland.

He may have been born in Finland, but he moved to Ontario with his parents when he was a little kid. He learned to play hockey on small frozen ponds and became a pretty good player as a youngster, eventually graduating to the Port Arthur Ports in 1922-23.

Pudas did very well there, scoring more than a goal per game (17 in 16 games). He continued to play for Port Arthur until 1926 (they were named the Bearcats later on). In the 1924-25 playoffs Al exploded for 21 points (11 goals and 10 assists) in only 10 games, and the following playoffs in 1925-26 he led all playoff scorers with 13 points (including 7 goals) in 9 games.

His fine performance during the playoffs gave him his shot at the NHL. The Toronto St. Pats signed Pudas as a free agent on November 10, 1926. He started out with a farm team, playing for the Windsor Hornets in the Canadian Professional Hockey League. Al played so well there that the St. Pats called him up on December 28, 1926.

Two nights later, on December 30, Al made his NHL debut, playing left wing against Boston, making him the first Finnish born player to skate in the National Hockey League. Boston's legendary coach and GM Art Ross protested Toronto's use of Pudas, believing that he was ineligible to play. The NHL ruled Pudas was indeed eligible to play, and Toronto won the game 4-1.

Pudas played the next three games for the St.Pats - a 3-0 loss to the Montreal Maroons on January 1, 1927, a 2-1 win against the Detroit Cougars on January 4 and a 3-1 win against the NY Americans on January 8th. He was held pointless in all four games.

Pudas was sent back to Windsor on January 10th, and never made it back to the NHL. Instead he bounced between Hamilton, Stratford, London and Detroit in the Can-Pro league for the next couple of seasons.

He eventually retired in the late 1920's and went on to be a successful coach. Al coached the Port Arthur Bearcats where he once had played. The Bearcats lost the 1935 Allan Cup finals to the Halifax Wolves. This meant that Halixax were designated as the 1936 Olympic colour-bearers, but before the 35-36 season began, several members from the Halifax team had jumped to other teams. So the CAHA (Canadian Amateur Hockey Association) decided to send the Port Arthur Bearcats to the Olympics

By doing so Pudas made another historic first, as he became the only European born coach for a Canadian national team. His Bearcats were strengthened by five good Montreal players and one from Port Colborne, Ontario. Unfortunately for Pudas and Canada, Great Britain controversially won the Olympic gold, with Canada left in second place for the first time in Olympic history.

The controversial British team had a team full of native Canadians. Five players were originally from Ontario and another three players were from Winnipeg, including the sensational goalie Jimmy Foster who at that time was heralded by many as being the best goalie to come out of Winnipeg behind only Charlie Gardiner.

Canada lost to Great Britain in the preliminary round, but fully expected to get another crack at the British squad in the four-team final round as teams always had in the past. But the general secretary of the British Ice Hockey Federation and the future IIHF (International Ice Hockey Federation) president John Francis "Bunny" Ahearne, who was a known Canadian hater for many years insisted that a return match in the final round wasn't necessary. The uproar was so furious that Paul Loicq of Belgium, the president of the IIHF at that time, was obliged to call an emergency meeting to deal with Canada's protests. Ahearne managed to outmaneuver the Canadians and Al Pudas. When the vote came, five countries, including the USA, sided with Ahearne. Canada's only supporter was Germany.

The Silver medal was a great disappointment for both Al and Canada. But Pudas will go down to the history books as the first Finn in the NHL as well as the first and only European born person to coach a North American national hockey team.

Bill Derlago

2010-09-03T15:52:00.000-07:00

Bill Derlago was Vancouver's 1st round, 4th overall draft pick in 1978 following a spectacular junior career with the Brandon Wheat Kings. In the 1976-77 campaign Derlago scored a whopping 96 goals and 178 points in full 72 game season. In 1977-78 he would play in only 52 games but scored 89 goals and 152 points! He also set a junior record by reaching the 50 goal mark in just 27 games!

However Derlago's luck would quickly run out in his first pro season. He suffered a severely broken leg which cost him most of the season. He appeared in only 9 NHL games, scoring a promising 4 goals and 8 points.

"Billy D" got off to a slow second season as well. He only had 11 goals and 26 points in 54 games when Vancouver gave up on him. Fearing he was a bit too small and that his broken leg had caused him to lose a step, the Canucks prematurely gave up on him and another fellow promising young player, Rick Vaive. The pair were dealt to Toronto in exchange for Jerry Butler and Tiger Williams, the key to the deal from a Vancouver perspective.

While Williams and Butler gave the Canucks lots of heart and determination, they didn't provide a whole lot of offense. Vaive of course would go on to be one of the most productive goal scorers in Maple Leaf history, including three consecutive 50 goal seasons. Derlago would often serve as Vaive's center, and while he never duplicated the same offensive flare he showed in junior, he enjoyed some success while in Toronto. Four times he scored more than 30 goals, including a career high 40 in 1983-84. His best offensive season came two years earlier when he scored 34 goals and 84 points.

Derlago would only play one game of the 1985-86 season with Toronto before he was traded to Boston in exchange for Tom Fergus. Bill had trouble adjusting in Beantown and halfway through the season he was dealt to Winnipeg for big Wade Campbell. Derlago couldn't get things untracked with the Jets that year or the next, which he split between Winnipeg, Quebec and the minor leagues. It proved to be Derlago's last season of pro hockey in North America. He did play one more year in Switzerland.

Billy Derlago, one of the greatest junior hockey players in the history of game, scored 189 goals in 555 NHL games. He scored 185 goals in his last two season of junior hockey (124 games)!

Luke Richardson

2010-09-01T20:35:00.000-07:00

A lot of people are really impressed by Luke Schenn these days. And well they should be. He really impressed in his rookie season in 2008-09, logging big minutes with the weak Toronto Maple Leafs. Aside from Tomas Kaberle, he was arguably their best defenseman while still being a teenager.

This Luke reminds me of another Luke who entered into the NHL as a rough and tumble rookie with a sorry Leafs team - Luke Richardson back in the late 1980s.

Luke Richardson was an imposing figure to be sure. He was 6'3" and 215 lbs, and he loved to throw his weight around. He did not just hit to take the man off the puck, either. He hit to hurt. In his younger days his hitting was made even more scary by his impressive skating. He never had a lot of straight ahead speed, but he was very mobile laterally and had excellent balance.

His intimidating presence won him a lot of fans in the early days. He had never played a game in the minor leagues, jumping straight from junior hockey to the NHL, heightening expectations even more so. Fans had visions of another Larry Robinson or Borje Salming, Richardson's two boyhood idols, the latter of whom he actually had the chance to play with in his first two seasons. Coaches and fans definitely had early visions of a similar player in Richardson, but they had lots of work to do. In order to be a true impact player Richardson needed to improve much of his game, something that he was very slow in doing. This led him to travelling around the league a fair deal.

His defensive reads were poor at times. He could look spectacularly awful in overcommitting at the wrong time, especially when he strayed into corners when he should have remained clearing the slot. He also strayed out of position to make a big hit. He never had the speed or the hand skills to carry the puck or jump into the rush. He rarely put the puck on the net with his merely adequate shot.

His physical exuberance also drew a lot of enemies from around the league. Other teams' tough guys would target young Richardson, who was really not a fighter. He answered the bell and accepted the job, but he rarely won the fights.

Yet Richardson lasted 1417 games in the league, always remaining positive, winning the admiration of his teammates. He accepted his limitations and played within them with great determination. He became known a serviceable veteran depth defenseman providing quiet leadership, physical presence and eager shot blocking for several teams.

He was involved in one of the more high-profile trades of the 1990's, dealt to Edmonton from Toronto with Vincent Damphousse, Peter Ing and Scott Thornton, for Grant Fuhr, Glenn Anderson and Craig Berube, on September 19, 1991. After six seasons with the Oilers, Richardson signed as an unrestricted free agent with Philadelphia for five seasons. he later signed in Columbus, Ottawa.

In some ways Luke Richardson never achieved his potential, but that potential was probably built up by the media and fans too high. He did play in over 1400 games, so he no disappointment either.

Bill Juzda

2010-08-27T13:49:00.000-07:00

Bill Juzda, a hard hitting, stay at home defenseman in the 1940s, had two nicknames.

He was best known as "The Beast" because of his physical exuberance he preferred while delivering defensive excellence, shutting down even the most explosive of the NHL's offensive stars.

But if there was one star he was best known for battling it was Montreal's Rocket Richard. Their continuing war earned Juzda the unofficial moniker of Richard's Anglo Nemesis.

In fact, the 5'9" and 180lb defenseman who was known for his bone-rattling bodychecks is best remembered for the night he hit Rocket Richard so hard that the Plexiglas broke. Plexiglas was still new back then, and no one thought it could be broken.

Juzda was an old school defenseman if there ever was one. He cared not about offense. He only scored 14 goals and 68 points in 398 games. But he took immense pride in his defensive play. The bruising bodychecker played the game rough and tough, but his penalty minute totals were very reasonable - just 398 minutes in as many games.

Juzda started his pro career with the New York Rangers in 1940-41. His career was interrupted for a couple of years when he served as a pilot in the Second World War. He was traded to the Leafs in 1948, and was an all-star in 1948 and '49. He won Stanley Cups with the Leafs in 1949 and 1951 before leaving the NHl in 1952.

In 1953 he returned to Winnipeg to play for the Winnipeg Maroons for ten seasons making two Allan Cup final appearances. He also worked as an engineer with the Canadian Pacific Railroad for many years. He also coached amateur hockey at all levels, from midget to senior. He continued to play oldtimers hockey himself until he was in his 70s.

Juzda died of cancer on February 17th, 2008. He was 87 years old.

Vic Lynn

2010-08-27T10:42:00.000-07:00

Vic Lynn is the only player in NHL history to skate for all of the Original Six teams. Lynn played one game for the New York Rangers in 1943. He was picked up by the Detroit Red Wings and played just three games. He played another two with the Montreal Canadiens in 1945 before joining the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1946. Lynn won three Stanley Cups over five seasons in Toronto. Lynn would also go on to play a few dozen games with both the Boston Bruins and the Chicago Blackhawks as well.

While Lynn was an important member of the 1940s Toronto Maple Leafs teams, much of his professional career was spent in the minor leagues. He toiled in cities like Indianapolis, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Providence and Cleveland. But he never minded.

"I spent five years in the minors before I got my first real chance," he recalled. "But I got to see the world."

For all his stops, he is best known (at least outside of his native Saskatchewan) as a Toronto Maple Leaf. He played left wing on the KLM Line with Teeder Kennedy and Howie Meeker. But Lynn spent most of his hockey career actually playing as a defenseman.

"Defence had always been my position but when Conn Smythe and Hap Day brought me up, they moved me to left wing, and that's where I played for the next five years. Kennedy was outstanding at centre and that always helped, and Meeker was a speed demon, and the three of us always got along well together."

Lynn, more of a banger and crasher, also formed memorable penalty kill tandems with Joe Klukay and later Johnny McCormack.

Asked what his career highlight was, Lynn of course talked about the Stanley Cup wins.

"The Stanley Cup, that'd be the best one in the world. In 1947, 1948 and 1949. We felt like heroes, you know, everybody cheering you, everybody giving you a pat on the back, until you went back to training camp the next year, then you had to start all over again. We had a pretty good hockey team. It was pretty well equalized, everybody was the same, everybody got their turn to play and everybody played good. We had a good coach and we had good management, and that's what made it."

Vic Lynn was born in Saskatoon in 1925. He was a junior hockey star (as well as a football player) who was dubbed the "Saskatoon Streak." He was inducted into the Saskatoon Sports Hall of Fame in 1987, thanks in large part to his returning to the Saskatchewan city after his NHL days to play senior hockey for the Quakers hockey team. In a decade of senior hockey following his NHL days Lynn led the club to seven Saskatchewan championships and four Western Canada titles.

Lynn also owned and operated a hotel just north of Saskatoon until his mid 50s.

Special thanks to Jennifer Conway

Alex Levinsky

2010-06-29T16:19:00.000-07:00

Born in Syracuse, New York, Levinsky had a most interesting nickname - "Mine Boy." No, he never worked in any mines. Nor did his father, but it was he who inadvertantly gave his son the life long moniker. The proud poppa used to yell from the stands "That's mine boy!"

I have not been able to confirm it just yet, but Alex Levinsky may have been the first Jewish hockey player in NHL history.

Levinsky was a two time Stanley Cup champion who split his career with the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Chicago Blackhawks, and played ever so briefly with the New York Rangers. He won a Cup title both as a Leaf and as a Hawk: in Toronto in 1932 and in Chicago in 1938.

Levinsky, who grew up in Toronto, was a solid, stay-at-home defenseman, who rarely scored. He was a strong skater blessed with speed, as he had played a lot of forward as a youth. Smythe had signed him and his junior partner Bob Gracie right out of the Toronto Marlies junior team, though Levinsky would find himself soon partnered with Hap Day.

The Leafs moved Levinsky to the Rangers for the 1934-35 campaign, but after just 20 games with the Blueshirts Levinsky moved on to Chicago. He would play the next five years with the Hawks before being suspended by the team. The Hawks had traded Levinsky, the oldest player on their blue line, down to the minor leagues for Joe Cooper of the Philadelphia Ramblers. Levinsky balked at the move to Philly, and was suspended indefinitely. He eventually reported Philadelphia, but only after assurances from New York Rangers boss Lester Patrick that he would soon return to the NHL as the Rangers wanted him back. That never did happen though. Levinsky would play two years with the Ramblers, serving as team captain.

In 367 NHL games Levinsky scored 19 goals and 49 assists for 68 career points. He added another 2 goals and 1 assist in 37 playoff games.

After hockey he returned hom to Toronto and owned his own car dealership and ran a bowling alley. He died on September 1st, 1990.

Arthur Brooks

2010-06-13T15:26:00.000-07:00

Arthur Brooks was an agile goalie who had a solid career in the OHA Sr. league. He played for Owen Sound and his hometown Guelph Maple Leafs team. He was signed as a spare goalie by the Toronto Arenas in the NHA (National Hockey Association) in 1916 and played four games for the Arenas.

During the inaugural NHL season of 1917-18 Arthur was signed by Toronto once again, this time on December 15th, 1917. His first NHL action came in a wild game against the Montreal Wanderers on December 19th, 1917. Toronto Arenas regular goalie Sammy Hebert was decked by an errant shot in the face and had to leave the game early in the second period. Arthur stepped in and saw five pucks get past him in the Wanderers 10-9 win.

In his next game (December 22nd) Arthur stopped Ottawa as his Toronto won 11-4. Four days later Arthur was standing on his head, saving shots from all angles as Toronto beat the Montreal Canadiens 7-5.

His fourth and last NHL game came on December 29th on the road against the Canadiens. This time the Montreal team wasn't going to be denied and bombarded poor Arthur who had to surrender nine goals in a 9-2 defeat. The gung-ho style that Toronto displayed during these games didn't sit well with Charlie Querrie who was Toronto's manager at that time. When it became apparent that Hebert wasn't coming back, Querrie started to look after a reliable and experienced goalie. Querrie managed to secure the services of dependable Harry "Hap" Holmes from the Seattle Metropolitans (PCHL) on January 4th, 1918.

With "Hap" aboard there was not any need for Arthur and he was released on January 6th, 1918, only two days after "Hap" had signed with Toronto. In his brief NHL career Arthur didn't have much opportunity to shine. The Arenas eventually went on to win the Stanley Cup that year and although Arthur never got his name engraved on the Cup, he was a member of the team.

It's believed that Arthur never played hockey again after that 1917-18 season. Having earned a reported $20 per game, Brooks must have decided he needed a better career off of the ice.

Pep Kelly

2010-04-06T18:57:00.000-07:00

North Bay, Ontario's Regis Kelly was tagged early in his hockey life as a "pepperpot" of a play thanks mainly to his tireless skating. The moniker was shortened to the name almost everyone knew him best by - Pep.

The curly haired speedster was quickly noticed by the Leafs, as he helped the Newmarket Redmen win the Memorial Cup in 1933. The Leafs had him join the St. Mikes Majors the following year, and he again was a major part of a Memorial Cup championship, this time alongside future Leafs teammates Art Jackson and Nick Metz.

With his very successful junior career over, Kelly immediately joined the Maple Leafs in 1935. The Leafs were a regular season power house although they kept stumbling in the playoffs. But Kelly stepped in nicely, scoring 11 goals in 42 games as a rookie.

In the 1936-37 season the Leafs loaned the 5'7" and 155lb Kelly to Chicago for the balance of the season. He was returned to Toronto in the summer. The practice of loaning players to undermanned teams was not unheard of in this era.

Kelly played three more unspectacular seasons in Toronto, challenging the double digits mark in goals each season. He was also a regular on the penalty kill. He was able to help the Leafs reach five Stanley Cup finals, but he never did get the chance to hoist Lord Stanley's mug.

By 1940 he was permanently moved to Chicago, but by 1941 he would find himself toiling in the minor leagues (aside from a short tour with the Brooklyn Americans), bouncing around until he retired from pro hockey in 1943.

Pep Kelly played in 288 NHL contests, scoring 74 goals and 127 points. He added another 7 goals and 13 points in 38 playoff contests.

Pep continued playing senior hockey, first in Sudbury and then back home in North Bay. He extended his hockey days by seven years chasing senior hockey glory, which in the 1940s carried a much bigger status than it does today. Three times he helped his teams to the Allan Cup tournament, though never won it all.

After retiring Kelly got a real job, working with the Canadian Pacific Railway just like his father, first as a fireman then as an engineer. A train collision in 1952 seriously injured his hip, ending his athletic days forever - both on the ice and on the golf course. Undeterred, Kelly continued to stay in hockey, coaching senior and kids hockey in North Bay while also scouting for the Leafs.

Regis "Pep" Kelly died in North Bay in 1990.

Carl Voss

2010-04-03T20:10:00.000-07:00

Carl Voss was a well traveled hockey player, but he got his start as a Toronto Maple Leaf. In fact, he was the original Toronto Maple Leaf.

In 1926, Conn Smythe purchased the Toronto hockey club, then known as the St. Pats. Smythe immediately changed the team's name to the Maple Leafs. That same day Smythe, or more accurately Frank Selke, signed his first player, a 20-year-old centerman from Massachusetts named Carl Voss. For the sum of $1200 for the season, Voss became the first hockey player to become a Toronto Maple Leaf.

While that is a great trivia question, Voss, born in Chelsea, Massachusetts, is not known for being a Maple Leaf. In fact from 1926 until 1932 he would play only 14 games in a Leafs' uniform, otherwise spending his time in the minor leagues. He enjoyed his best minor league seasons in Buffalo with the IAHL's Bisons. His best season came in 1931-32 when he led that league in scoring with 41 points in 46 games.

That fine season earned Voss a second look at the NHL level. In 1932-33 he attended the New York Rangers training camp and made the team. Despite scoring 2 goals and 3 points, Voss was sold to the Detroit Red Wings after only 10 games. Carl finished the season with 20 points in 38 games. That was good enough to make Carl Voss the first winner of the Calder Trophy as the NHL's rookie of the year.

Over the next two seasons Voss played in 36 games with the Wings before being traded to Ottawa. He played in only 40 games in Ottawa before the whole franchise moved to St. Louis in 1934, where he played a full 48 games. That season proved to be his best as he scored 13 goals and 31 points.

The St. Louis franchise folded after just one season and Voss was picked up by the New York Americans. He played there but struggled in 1935-36 before he joined the Montreal Maroons in 1936-37. He started the 1937-38 season in Montreal but ended it with the Chicago Black Hawks. That was a great move for Voss as the Hawks won the Stanley Cup that season. Voss chipped in with 3 goals and 5 point in 10 playoff games. His last goal was the Stanley Cup winner!

That goal proved to be his last in the NHL as he retired from active play after the playoffs. But hockey remained a huge part of his life. By 1950, Carl was named the NHL's first Referee-in-Chief. He did a thankless job of monitoring referee performance and development, and helped the NHL evolve into its glory years.

For his work in this field, Voss was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1974.

Jimmy Fowler

2010-03-30T14:16:00.001-07:00

His name is Jimmy Fowler. They fantastically nicknamed him "The Blonde Bouncer," hinting at some sort of robust and flamboyant nature. But from what I have been told he was actually a rather quiet and docile guy. Friends dubbed him "Gentleman Jim."

Fowler was a versatile player with the Toronto Maple Leafs from 1936 through 1939. Described as "a youthful rearguard" who also doubled as a utility forward at times, Fowler scored 18 goals and 47 points in 135 games. He added another 3 assists in 18 Stanley Cup playoff games.

After three seasons Fowler was starting to make a pretty good name for himself in the National Hockey League. He was a good skater with a good shot and strong passes. No one would have guessed he would retire before the 1940-41 season.

Fowler was part of one of the biggest trades in hockey history on May 18th, 1939. The Leafs traded Fowler, Busher Jackson, Murray Armstrong, Buzz Boll and Doc Romnes to the New York Americans all for superstar Sweeney Schriner.

Fowler had no interest in leaving Toronto. Rather than continue his career as a National Hockey League player, he simply retired. He began working as a saleseman for the paint company Glidden. He rose all the way to company president, retiring in 1976.

Fowler, who also trained pilots for the Royal Canadian Air Force during World War II, played a lot of golf in retirement. He split his retirement time between southern Ontario and Florida.

Jimmy Fowler died on October 17th, 1985.

Tie Domi

2010-03-23T11:55:00.000-07:00

Though he also played for the New York Rangers and Winnipeg Jets, Tie Domi will always be remembered as a Toronto Maple Leaf.

He was unmistakably a tough guy, with under-appreciated hockey skills, too. He got into 100s of fights, and is proud to be the Leafs all time penalty minutes leader. But he is also proud to be one of the most popular players in Leafs history.

Domi was unlike any other hockey player in Leafs history. He occupied a space in Toronto's sporting conscience normally reserved for superstars. He was no star, in fact he was often loathed as a hockey cementhead, but he was inextricably woven into the fabric of the city. He was more than a hockey player - he was a celebrity.

Part of Domi's charm was his undying commitment to charity and children in the city. He was also a popular fixture on Bay Street where he won over many in the business crowd not with his celebrity but his own acumen. NHL tough guys don't normally get confused with the intellectual crowd, but Domi was very much a savvy and intelligent businessman, turning his million dollar hockey paychecks into a whole new stratosphere as the CEO of his own company to overseas mergers and acquisitions.

Domi never forgot his roots though, and he knows he owes it all to hockey and his willingness to quite literally fight his way to the top.

He is quick to credit junior coach Dick Todd for his success, too.

"I was fortunate to play (Junior A) in Peterborough. The reason I'm where I am today is because I played there for Dick Todd. There's no ifs and buts," Domi says. Todd put Domi on the top line with Mike Ricci, then the best player in all of Canadian junior hockey, and scouts realized Domi could play too.

"I went from a guy who couldn't play -- from sitting in the stands one year, to playing on the first line and being drafted 27th overall by the Leafs."

After getting a chance to play just two games with the Leafs before he was traded to New York. In total he spent six years with the Rangers and Winnipeg Jets, cementing his reputation of cement hands. Desite being just 5'10" tall he fought all of the NHL's toughest customers, most notably Bob Probert.

But in his heart he always a Toronto boy, and he was thrilled to rejoin the Leafs in 1994. He stayed for more than a decade, turning down more lucrative job offers from other NHL teams (most notably from his good friend Mario Lemieux in Pittsburgh) to remain a Leaf forever.

Domi's amazing story quite literally comes from almost nothing. His family fled from their native Albania. His father John was hit in the head with a bullet trying to escape, but he made it to Canada and started a family. Tie (his given name is Tahir) grew up fighting, quite literally, on and off the ice. It was never easy, but persevered and turned his life into a great success story.

All in all Tie Domi played in 1020 NHL games, scoring 104 goals and 245 points as well as accumulating 3515 penalty minutes.

"Pretty good for a guy who wasn't supposed to make it, eh?" Domi says.

Stan Kemp

2010-03-18T10:48:00.000-07:00

Stan Kemp is a chartered member of the NHL's "One Game Wonder" club.

Kemp was an AHL regular during the 1940s, starring with the Providence Reds and Pittsburgh Hornets. Debuting as a 19 year old in 1943 after being honorably discharged from the military, the former Hamilton Whizzers junior player quickly established himself as an offensive defenseman. The 5'9" 170lb right-handed rearguard from Hamilton reached double digits in goals scored in five of his seven full AHL season in an era where that was not common.

He was in the middle of an AHL all-star season in 1948-49 when the Toronto Maple Leafs called him up for what would prove to be his only NHL game. That game came on January 23rd, 1949, a 2-1 loss to the Detroit Red Wings. Kemp, wearing #16, made his only mark on the boxscore that night with a 2 minute minor penalty for tripping. Unfortunately for him, Gordie Howe, in his first game back after missing 20 with a foot injury, scored on the power play.

Kemp was returned to Pittsburgh soon after, where he finished the season as a second team all star. Somewhat oddly, that would prove to be Kemp's final season in the pros.

Kemp, nicknamed by teammates as "Bud," returned to Southern Ontario where he opened his own construction company, a profitable venture which he oversaw until his death in August 1999.

Though he left the pros in 1949, his hockey career was far from over. He played several years of senior hockey in Hamilton, Kitchener and Stratford.

Dr. Bill Carson

2010-03-05T11:06:00.000-08:00

The Carson family remains legendary in Parry Sound, Ontario. Patriarch D. M. Carson was a lumber baron in the area, moving from Bracebridge in 1905. He built a beautiful Victorian home on 33 Church Street and raised four sons, three of whom went on to play in the National Hockey League in the 1920s and 1930s. The family home still stands in Parry Sound. It is now a bed and breakfast simply known as The Carson House.

Frank Carson, whose hair famously grayed in his early twenties, played seven seasons in the NHL, and was one the junior linemate of the great Howie Morenz.

Gerald "Stub" Carson played in 261 NHL games, mostly with the Montreal Canadiens, but scored just 12 goals.

But it was oldest brother Bill Carson who achieved the most fame on the ice. Once called the best junior hockey player in all of Ontario, he was a dashing and dynamic center. Despite that, he always felt he had another calling in life.

The Toronto St. Pats, forerunner to the Maple Leafs, signed Carson complete with a signing bonus consisting of a new pair of skates. But Bill opted not to attend the professional training camp, choosing to spend the next two years studying dentistry while starring on the varsity team at the University of Toronto. He helped that team win Canada's amateur championship, the Allan Cup, in 1921.

Carson eventually did try his hand at professional hockey, turning pro with the Leafs in 1926. He scored 16 goals in 40 games that first year, and the following year he became the first player in Leafs history to score 20 goals in a season. Playing on a speedy line with Ace Bailey and Butch Keeling or Danny Cox, Carson did it in only 32 games.

The 5'8" and 160lb center would be sold to Boston in the middle of his third campaign. He scored two goals in five playoff games, including the Stanley Cup winning goal!

He played in Boston for one more campaign, opting to retire at the end of the 1929-30 season. He returned to Parry Sound and practiced as a dentist.

In 159 NHL games Bill Carson scored 54 goals and 78 points. He died on May 29th, 1967.

Andy Barbe

2010-02-08T19:23:00.000-08:00

Andy Barbe was destined for NHL stardom. That was the prognosis coming from none other than his minor league coach - and NHL legend - Francis "King" Clancy.

Clancy raved about his high scoring right winger. The King even swore that Barbe had the hardest shot in all of hockey. Unfortunately Andy Barbe would not become a NHL star, but rather a one game wonder who was never heard from again.

Barbe, from Coniston, Ontario, was an explosive scorer with the Los Angeles Monarchs of the old PCHL in the late 1940s. He scored 139 goals in 3 seasons with LA. In order to further his career he knew he had to leave the warm sunshine of California and play hockey at a higher level. He joined Toronto's farm team in the AHL, the Pittsburgh Hornets, in 1949. He quickly established himself as a 20 goal scorer in the "A."

Barbe's only NHL game came during the 1950-51 season. Wearing the Leafs' jersey he scored no points and picked up a minor penalty.

Red Armstrong

2010-02-04T19:49:00.000-08:00

Owen Sound, Ontario's Norm "Red" Armstrong was a long time minor leaguer. He was an excellent AHL player, but it was his love of the physical game that earned him his cup of coffee in the National Hockey League.

On December 15th, 1962 Red Armstrong was called up for his first NHL game. The Leafs were looking for some added truculence with Bobby Baun and Bob Nevin out of the lineup with injuries.

Now I do not know if this is factual or just myth, but there is a story out there that Armstrong had trouble getting on the ice for his first shift. As the story goes, the first time coach Punch Imlach called for him to go out, he called for "Red" and Red Kelly jumped out instead. The next shift Imlach called out "Armstrong" and captain George Armstrong jumped out. The anxious rookie could only watch from the bench.

What I do know for sure is that when Red Armstrong finally did make it out on the ice, he made sure he was noticed. On his first shift he scored a goal!

Armstrong would play a total of 7 games with the Leafs that season before returning to the minor leagues. He would go on to become one of the most popular players in Rochester Americans history, playing 9 full seasons. In 1985 the Amerks even retired Armstrong's jersey #6.

Armstrong worked the summers as a steelworker. After retiring from the Amerks in 1973 he immediately took his lunch bucket and punch card back to Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario where he worked for the Algoma Steel plant. A year later he would did on the job after losing his balance and falling from a great height. He was just 35 years old.

Claire Alexander

2010-02-03T19:36:00.000-08:00

Claire Alexander had a most interesting nickname: The Milkman

It turns out his nickname came by obviously enough. He gave up his job as a milkman in Orillia, Ontario. The Collingwood, Ontario born Alexander had a good job and was a senior league star with the Terriers when he was convinced to turn professional in the Toronto Maple Leafs organization.

After spending a season in the minor leagues with Oklahoma of the CHL, Alexander made his NHL debut at the age of 29 in 1974-75. He would play parts of three seasons with the Leafs, and later single seasons with the Vancouver Canucks and WHA Edmonton Oilers. He was said to be a solid defensive defenseman with a good shot.

When the Oilers joined the NHL in 1979 they left Alexander behind. He went to Germany to play for a couple of seasons. He would also coach a junior team there, and another in Switzerland for one year, before returning home to southern Ontario.

By this time Alexander's milkman job was long gone so he opened up a sporting good store in Orillia. He and Pat Stapleton opened up an instructional hockey academy before Alexander took the offer of coaching the Leafs farm team down the road in St. Catherines in 1984.

The Leafs must have thought highly of Alexander, as after one year of coaching the farm team they offered him an assistant coaching job back in the NHL. But Alexander turned it down, and ended up leaving the organization entirely, as he was unhappy away from his family. He returned home to Orillia and worked on construction sites installing exterior windows on buildings.

Claire Alexander's daughter, Buffy, became one of Canada's most successful rowers, winning silver medals at 1997 and 1998 world championships and bronze medals in successive the 1998 and 1999 world championships and 2000 Olympics. She also competed in the 2004 and 2008 Olympic games.

Bill Thoms

2009-12-13T22:39:00.000-08:00

Bill Thoms was a quiet, underrated player whose outstanding contributions never got the credit he deserved. In parts of seven seasons in Toronto he played in the shadow of the great Joe Primeau. Then was traded to Chicago where the weak Black Hawks struggled for wins and respect.

Thoms was a great amateur with the Toronto Marlboros of the Senior OHA before turning pro with the Syracuse Stars of the IAHL.

Thoms joined the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1932-33 and the team finished first three straight years. He was the center for Hec Kilrea and Frank Finnigan, filling in on the 'Kid Line' occasionally when Joe Primeau was hurt.

Though he was noted more as a playmaker than goal scorer, Thoms and Charlie Conacher led the NHL in goals in 1935-36 with 23. That year Thoms centered a line with Buzz Boll and Finnigan, and made the second all-star team. Although he didn't have the polish of Joe Primeau, he was nevertheless an excellent two-way center and got his share of points.

He had one of his best years in 1937-38 playing with Boll and Pep Kelly, once again helping the Leafs to another first place finish. The Leafs would falter in the playoffs yet again. In the 1930s the Leafs went to the Stanley Cup finals 8 times, losing 7 of them!

Conn Smythe saw fit to make changes and traded Thoms to Chicago for Doc Romnes in 1938-39. He played five good years for the Black Hawks where he quietly continued to be one of the NHL's best two-way centers. He was said to be very adept with the poke-check and was a very good stickhandler.

He really had a good year in 1941-42 with 15 goals, 30 assists for 45 points, finishing 7th in NHL scoring. He was out of action for much of 1943-44 and then Chicago sold him to Boston during 1944-45 where he finished his career.

The native of Newmarket, Ontario played in 548 NHL games, scoring 135 goals, 206 assists and 341 points.

Bingo Kampman

2009-12-13T18:39:00.000-08:00

When Rudolph Kampman broke into the NHL, he immediately caught the attention of observers due to his unique stick abilities. He was ambidextrous.

“One of the most unusual of our present day stick wielders in the NHL is “Bingo” Kampman. He’s distinctly a two-handed performer, who wields his stick either from the left side or the right with equal effectiveness. One minute you cast your eye over the Toronto defense and over Kampman, and you find him playing right-handed. Suddenly there is a shift of the opposing attack to his left. Presto! Bango Bingo is playing left-handed,” once wrote the editor of the Toronto Star.

Kampman was a hard rock defenseman with Toronto in the 1940s, not afraid to throw big body checks or exchange pleasantries with NHL's toughest fighters. His penchant for the physical game apparently earned him his famous nickname.

Kampman was as strong as an ox. Sometimes the on-ice Hercules even used his strength for his benefit away from the rink. More than once Kampman engaged in parlor tricks, winning bar room bets with his teammates by lifting tables high off of the ground with nothing more than his teeth!

Kampman was a bit like a modern day Ed Jovanovski, although Kampman was not nearly as gifted in the skating department. Still, he liked to rush the puck out of his zone, rumbling through each zone in burly although sometimes aimless fashion. He didn't score all that often, as his 14 tallies in 189 career games suggests, but his rushes were described as exciting and memorable.

Dit Clapper, the great Boston Bruin, certainly remembered one rush in particular. As Kampman entered the zone Clapper engaged him along the wall in a routine play. The two fell to the ice. Kampman got up, but Clapper was left lying on the ice in a pool of his own blood. Kampman's skate accidentally sliced Clapper's achillies tendon.

Kampman helped the Leafs with the Stanley Cup in 1942, but that would be the last he would play with them. He was enlisted in Canada's military efforts in World War II, serving in Ottawa and Nova Scotia while continuing to play senior hockey.

Upon his discharge Kampman, like so many Leafs of the early 40s, found his old roster spot taken by a younger player. Kampman continued to play on in various minor and senior leagues until 1950.

Pete Langelle

2009-12-13T18:17:00.000-08:00

Pete Langelle's NHL career was cut short due to military service in World War II. He was stationed in his hometown of Winnipeg, Manitoba, a training station of the Royal Canadian Air Force. He appeared in 3 full NHL seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs scoring 22 goals in 136 games. None of his goals were as big as hist last.

Langelle was born as Pete Landiak, but as he move through the ranks of amateur hockey he changed his name to Langelle, hoping to end the descrimination he and other Ukranians felt at the time.

Following a Memorial Cup championship with his hometown Monarchs in 1937, Langelle started his professional career with the Syracuse Stars of the AHL for two full seasons before joining the Leafs for the 1939 playoffs. He apprenticed with the Leafs the next two seasons before taking more of a full time role in the 1941-42 season. It was a magical season for both Langelle and the Leafs.

Toronto was emerging as a power-house that would end up winning 5 Stanley Cups before the end of the decade. The dynasty began with one of pro sports biggest comebacks in the 1942 Stanley Cup Finals against the Detroit Red Wings. The Wings took a commanding 3 games to none lead in the best of seven showdown. No team prior or since has comeback from a 3-0 deficit in the Stanley Cup finals. But the Leafs scratched and clawed their way back into contention, forcing a winner-takes-all seventh game.

The score was tied at one late in the third period when the unlikeliest of hereos scored a goal that would prove to be the Stanley Cup winning goal.

"The puck happened to bounce 10 feet from (Red Wing netminder John) Mowers and I kinda banged at it. Next thing I knew, the red light was on and we were ahead," recalled Langelle.

The Leafs would add another late goal to win the game 3-1 and win the series 4 games to 3 in an unthinkable come back. The Cup was Toronto's second championship.

Langelle had to leave the NHL for military service the following year but continued to play in a senior league in Winnipeg. When the war was over, Langelle returned to minor pro hockey. The speedy fan favorite found no room on the Leafs powerhouse roster upon his return. He continued on, playing six seasons with the AHL's Pittsburgh Hornets before returning to semi-pro senior hockey for two more seasons.

The 5'11" 170lb center scored 22 goals and 51 assists in 136 games. A good skater and crafty playmaker, he will always be remembered for his Stanley Cup winning goal in 1942.

Jack McLean

2009-11-04T20:24:00.000-08:00

During the Second World War, there was discussion on whether the National Hockey League should be suspended temporarily in order to focus on the larger matter at hand. It was quickly decided that the entertainment value brought by professional hockey outweighed any advantage to turning out the lights on the NHL.

But that didn't mean the league didn't change. The New York Americans franchise suspended operations (later deciding not to continue), while a number of very elite NHL players enlisted to support their country. With the talent drain came the need to re-stock teams, and most owners went the route of the young player.

One of those was Jack McLean. Although only 5'8", Jack was solid as a rock, and played an aggressive game of hockey for the Toronto Young Rangers of the OHA Junior A ranks. Soft hands around the net, but hard knuckles when needed, the young Toronto native signed a C form, and was brought up to practice with the Toronto Maple Leafs during the latter part of the 1941-42 season. There was talk of McLean suiting up for the "team of destiny" during the playoffs, but the Leafs called up another young player, Gaye Stewart, instead to fill that role.

McLean was an engineering student at the University of Toronto at the beginning of the 1942-43 season and was called up to the big club during November of that year. In his first game, on a line with Gaye Stewart and Bud Poile, 19 year old Jack scored a goal and assisted on two others against the Bruins' star goaltender, Frank Brimsek. But in an odd twist, McLean, like other Leafs Bobby Copp and Tom "Windy" O'Neill, was unable to cross the border into the U.S. because of his university student status. So Jack played only home games and in Montreal and, during school breaks at Christmas, the odd time in the States. As a result, through his three seasons with the Leafs during the war, Jack McLean played only 67 regular season games for the Leafs, scoring 14 goals, adding 24 assists for 38 points. He also earned 76 penalty minutes.

On March 23, 1943, Jack scored a goal at 10:18 of the fourth overtime period to give his Leafs a semi-final win over the Red Wings. The goal was credited to McLean, but teammate Bud Poile swore he scored the goal. The recipient was in limbo for a full day, until NHL President Red Dutton conferred with King Clancy, the game's referee, as well as both Poile and McLean and several of the Detroit players. Dutton awarded the goal to McLean. Incidentally, this was the only NHL game in which Jack's father ever saw him play.

During the 1944-45 season, Jack ran into a litany of injuries, including a concussion so severe that team doctors told him to retire (sound familiar?). Although he only played 8 games that season, McLean was inserted into the playoff lineup to add some moxy. But after four games, a cross-check to the back of the head put McLean out for the series, and in fact, for good. The Leafs went on to win the Stanley Cup, and McLean's name is proudly etched on the silver mug, but he never played for the Leafs again. By this time, McLean had earned his engineering degree, and began his career. He was able to be reinstated as an amateur, playing for the Toronto Staffords of the the OHA Senior League (along with Sid Smith and coached by "Red" Horner), later moving to Ottawa to take a job with the government. While in the Capital, Jack played for the Ottawa Senators of the Quebec Senior Hockey League, a team that boasted talent like Hall of Famer Syd Howe and future NHL player and executive Larry Regan.

Jack lived in Ottawa until his death in 2003.

Ken Baumgartner

2009-11-03T22:20:00.000-08:00

Ken Baumgartner was told he wasn’t good enough to play hockey at the junior level, let alone in the NHL. That only inspired "Bomber" to prove the "experts" wrong.

Bomber was never confused with the more skilled players on any team he played on, even before he made it to the junior level.

“Ken was never the best player on any team he played with,” recalls Ted Baumgartner, Ken's father. “But he was by far the strongest and the most determined.”

A defenseman until he reached the NHL, Baumgartner had little tangible skill according to scouts. His skating was horrendous, despite hard work to improve it. Below average speed and mobility made it easy for better skaters to burn the large blueliner. He had a poor shot, always rushing his release which resulted in an easy save or a wide shot. Although Ken was good at reading the oncoming attack, his lack of patience hindered him. He quickly would lose his composure and positioning as he wanted to flatten the puck carrier. That of course resulted in a big hit by Baumgartner, but usually not before the forward dished the puck off to a wide open teammate resulting in a great scoring chance against his team. He was a punishing hitter, although it took him a long time to learn how to be an effective hitter. He was also a willing fighter, often initiating fisticuffs. Make no mistake about it, fighting is the reason Bomber made it to the NHL, and the reason he stuck around so long.

While the juniors were apparantly going to pass over this fumbling, over aggressive kid, Baumgartner started to change his focus. He decided that if he didn't make it to the juniors that he would give up on hockey to pursue a university education. However Baumgartner put on an eye-catching performance in front of a scout for the Prince Albert Raiders.

“I had some good hits, a fight and a goal,” recalls Baumgartner, who was subsequently offered a three-day tryout with the Western Hockey League’s Raiders. “One thing led to another and three years later I graduated out of junior.”

Baumgartner had a decent junior career too. He helped the Raiders win a Memorial Cup Championship (1984-85) and was named to the WHL All-Scholastic Team (1983-84). He was even selected as one of the two top Prince Albert defensemen of all-time by a panel of Canadian Hockey League officials.

While he beat the odds and made it to the junior level, his dream of playing in the NHL was still far, far away. He was drafted though, by the Buffalo Sabres. The bad news was he was an after thought of the draft, selected in the final round, 245th overall in 1985. He was drafted strictly because of his fighting ability. The Sabres figured there was an outside chance he could fill a role as a minor league tough guy for them, but not much else.

But Ken worked hard and never gave up on his dream, and against all odds he made it to the NHL.

“Ken has always wanted to improve himself in whatever he does,” says Ted Baumgartner. “It’s really pretty simple. Everything Ken has accomplished is the result of hard work.”

After his junior career, Baumgartner, along with brother Kevin, a netminder, opted to play in Switzerland. The brothers were considered to be non-imports to the roster due to the fact that their grandfather hailed from Switzerland. Now one would think that Bomber would be out of place in international hockey where speed, skill and finesse were promoted, not fighting and bodychecking. However he brought his crash-and-bang brand of hockey to the league and played pretty well, considering.

“The gloves stayed on because those were the rules,” says Baumgartner “But there were some solid cross-ice body checks that were somewhat frowned upon!”

While playing in Switzerland, Bomber's NHL rights were traded from Buffalo to Los Angeles. Once the Swiss season ended, the Flin Flon Manitoba native reported to the Kings' AHL affiliate in New Haven, picking up 99 PIM in 13 games plus 60 more in 6 playoff games.

Bomber started the 1987-88 year in the minors of course, but his reputation as one of the minor league's toughest customers earned him a promotion to Los Angeles. He played 30 games in the NHL year, including his first game as an NHLer, on January 4, 1988.

With the exception of 10 games in the minors, Bomber stuck with the Kings the following year. It was. It was an exciting time for Baumgartner. Not only had he made it to the NHL, but he was playing on the same team as Wayne Gretzky! One game in particular sticks out with Ken in a Kings uniform. It was against the New York Rangers and Ken went out of his way to run Guy Lafleur on a couple of occasions. Lafleur of course was a Hall of Famer who came out of retirement to play again, and this brash young kid named Baumgartner was looking to make a name for himself.

With fellow tough guys Jay Miller and Marty McSorley in Los Angeles, Bomber became expendable. In November of 1989, Baumgartner was traded to the New York Islanders, who may have become interested in Bomber after the incident with Lafleur and the Isles arch rival Rangers.

However coach Al Arbour pulled Baumgartner aside was not impressed with Bomber's skating ability and informed the blueliner that he was taking him off defense and making him a winger.

The move worked well and probably lengthened Ken's career in the NHL. His lack of mobility wasn't as noticeable as he patrolled the left wing. Although you get the impression that Ken was really disappointed to leave the blueline.

“I was not happy to see my jersey hanging in a forward’s stall,” recalls Baumgartner. “But, I had no choice. I wanted to contribute to the team."

I remember one story about Bomber on a chartered flight. The friendly stewardess was asking Ken what position he played to which Ken emphatically replied "I FIGHT!" catching the stewardess off guard!

Ken spent almost three years in New York before being shuffled off to Toronto where he enjoyed his longest stay, almost 4 full season. Ken, who is a very articulate businessman and student, played a large role for the NHLPA during the lockout shortened season of 1994-95. His prominent role with the union probably spelled the end of Bomber's career in Toronto. However a season ending broken wrist forced the Leafs to wait until next year before shipping Bomber to Anaheim.

Ken played a strong game on the 4th line for Anaheim. He even scored a modest career high 11 points, all assists.

Ken became an unrestricted free agent in 1997 and signed with the Boston Bruins. There he was reunited with his former coach from Toronto - Pat Burns. He would play two more seasons, retiring in 1999.

The odds were against Ken Baumgartner ever making the NHL. There were far more talented players through out history who were not good enough to stick in the league. But the desire to succeed, the willingness to sacrifice, and the heart and effort that Ken showed earned him a lengthy NHL career.

After retiring as a player, Bomber initially entered the world of coaching. He soon left to enter the MBA program at Harvard, and has been very active in his daughter Alexa's hockey career.

Don Ashby

2009-10-31T18:15:00.000-07:00

Don Ashby was an incredible junior player with the Calgary Centennials, where his teammates included Mike Rogers, Danny Gare, Jim Watson and Grant Mulvey. Ashby had an incredible final season of junior in 1974-75. He scored 52 goals and 68 assists for an amazing 120 points! Such a great season coupled with his obvious scoring prowress encouraged the Toronto Maple Leafs to draft Don in the first round, 6th overall in 1975.

However Don Ashby would become known as a first round bust rather than a success story. He was never able to join the likes of Lanny McDonald, Tiger Williams and Darryl Sittler as one of the young guns that gave Leaf fans eternal hope in the late 1970s.

Ashby floundered in his first year, scoring just 6 goals in 50 games. He spent the end of his disappointing season in the minor leagues.

Ashby played a full season in the NHL in 1976-77, scoring 19 goals and 42 assists, but spent most of the next season back in the minor leagues. Frustrated with the way things were going, Ashbee retired for the majority of the 1978-79 season , though returned when the Leafs promised to trade him. The trade came in March 1979 as Ashby went to the lowly Colorado Rockies.

Ashby didn't do much better in Colorado. he only played in 23 games in two years, and again, much to his dismay, he spent most of his time in the minor leagues.

Late in the 1979-80 season Don was traded to Edmonton in exchange for veteran Bobby Schmautz. Ashby finished the season nicely, soring 10 goals and 9 assists in 18 games, seeing some time with 18 year old phenom Wayne Gretzky.

Yet the following season Don was in the minors again. Despite scoring 5 points in 6 NHL games, Don was once again in the CHL, a place he had grown not to like. Only this time was different. Perhaps he was maturing or perhaps he finally found a coach that was not as hard on him for his shortcomings, as Don had his best year since junior. He exploded for 36 goals and 96 points in 70 games! In addition, he scored 9 goals and 16 assists for 25 points in 18 playoff games as the Wichita Wind appeared in the Adams Cup finals, only to lose to the Salt Lake Golden Eagles in the 7th and deciding game..

Less than two weeks after the end of the 80/81 Adams Cup playoffs, the C.H.L. was shocked by the tragic automobile accident that claimed the life of the Kamloops born Ashby, and his wife Terry.

Jim Benning

2009-10-06T15:39:00.001-07:00

The 1981 NHL Entry Draft featured one sure-fire superstar in Dale Hawerchuk. There was little doubt that the Cornwall Royals center would be selected first overall, and he was by the Winnipeg Jets.

However there was no general consensus as to who was the second best selection. History would prove that Ron Francis (selected 4th), Grant Fuhr (8th) and Al MacInnis (15th) were the best players aside from Hawerchuk.

At the time Ottawa 67's center Doug Smith was selected directly behind Hawechuk. However many felt that Jim Benning, who had an unbelievable season with the WHL Portland Winter Hawks, was the second best prospect that year.

One of those people was Punch Imlach, who as general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs eagerly snapped him up with the 6th overall selection.

In his memoires, Imlach recalls the 1981 draft as this:

"At the amateur draft (in 1981) I'd done better than I had a right to. After Dale Hawerchuk, the kid who was automatic first pick overall by the Winnipeg Jets, the one I wanted was Jim Benning, an eighteen year old defenceman who'd played with the Portland Winter Hawks. As we were drafting sixth, I didn't think he'd still be available when our turn came, but he was and I grabbed him."

Jim's statistics that year were simply staggering. He quarterbacked the Winter Hawks offense. He scored 28 goals himself, but added a major junior record 111 assists (since bettered) while leading his team with 139 points! Some even compared his offensive qualities to his boyhood idol, the great Bobby Orr.

Jim was truly the key to the Winter Hawks. At one point he had an incredible 45 game scoring streak. Despite have a deep group of forwards with 30, 40 and 50+ goal scorers, none went on to anything more than a cup of coffee in the NHL.

Despite his incredilbe season, not everyone was as sold on Benning as Imlach was. There were concerns about his size and strength, as well as his play without the puck. But Imlach wanted him.

"He's a very smart offensive hockey player and frankly, if he develops as he should, he might be the best defenseman Toronto as ever come up with. That's say a hell of a lot."

It certainly did. But ultimately Jim, like many others, never did materialize into the kind of player the Leafs had invisioned. Why is that?

It basically boils down to the Leafs not developing him as they should have. Imlach had to resign just a couple months after the Entry Draft. He suffered a third heart attack in a short period of time and he had to step down as GM or it likely would have killed him. Had Imlach been healthy, he definitely would have handled Jim's development differently.

"I'd told them about Benning, that unless he was good enough to play regularly it would be better if he went back to junior hockey for a year", Imlach said. "A lot of other clubs did that with their young ones, called them up from time to time and they did well. But the Leafs kept Benning, and after he'd played the ten games allowed a junior, they couldn't send him back. If they (the Leafs) try to force feed these kids into the lineup just to say they're a young team, its no going to work. These kids have to have the atmosphere and the competition to develop their skills naturally. If they're in over their heads they won't get the opportunity because all they'll be doing is trying to hang on."

Jim struggled in that first year of force feeding. He was given the opportunity to run the Leafs powerplay but he clearly wasn't ready for that. On many nights he probably didn't belong in the NHL - Jim had all the skills in the world but he was just too young and not ready to play the role the Leafs wanted him to. He finished with a poor -27 defensive rating. As a NHL rookie defenseman, he had yet to learn how to play solid defense, and was burned many times by bigger stronger forwards. He didn't have the strength required in the corners and in front of the net. Jim still had a decent season offensively, scoring 31 points, including 7 goals, in 74 games as a rookie. "The first one was a thrill." Jim said.

Jim added 10 pounds of muscle before his sophmore season. He gradually improved his play and showed some good progress in year three (1983-84). He quarterbacked the power play with decent success. He scored 12 goals (6 on the power play) and 39 assists for a career high 51 points. He also had a respectable -4 on a weak Leafs team, but still at times he was an adventure in his own zone and was continually overpowered by bigger forwards.

Jim followed that season up with decent offensive totals in 1984-85 with 9 goals and 44 points, but was an awful -39 and was becoming much maligned by the Leafs media and fans.
But the fact is that Jim was the highest scoring defenseman from the 1981 draft up to that point. Jim had 148 points in his first four seasons in the NHL, the runner up Al MacInnis had 111. Some of the criticism was unfair to the 22 year old Jim.

After an injury plagued 1985-86 season, the Leafs finally gave up on the guy once projected to become the greatest blueliner in Maple Leaf history. They traded him and another failing prospect in Dan Hodgson to Vancouver in exchange for veteran defenseman Rick Lanz.

Jim played in 4 seasons for the Canucks. Jim often saw power play time in his early days on the west coast but couldn't quite come up to the standard that everyone expected of him. He was the co-leader in the plus/minus department (+9) in 1986-87. In 1987-88 he was awarded the Premier's Trophy as Vancouver's outstanding defenseman. But when names like Paul Reinhart and Robert Nordmark arrived, Jim's ice time was reduced. Despite his experience over the years making him a fairly well rounded player, his lack of size and strength didn't continued to hinder him.

By the end of his tenure with the Canucks, he was phased out of the lineup and then out of the NHL. He spent a year with the Canucks minor league team in Milwaukee before jumping overseas to finish his hockey career.

Jim never fulfilled his potential, and never even came close to being a memorable Leaf blueliner, let alone the greatest defenseman in team history. Why is this? He, like so many other junior sensations, was rushed into the NHL destined to fail and quickly was labelled as a just another junior star who failed at the NHL level. While he likely never would have reached superstar status, with proper upbringing he could have developed into a top 4 defenseman with better point production.

With all that said Jim had a fairly good career playing with some very poor teams.

John "Goose" McCormack

2009-06-24T14:54:00.000-07:00

Though long-necked Johnny "Goose" McCormack was a scoring sensation with the junior leagues with the St Michaels Majors and in the Ontario senior leagues with the Toronto Marlies, he was known as a defensive player extraordinaire at the NHL level.

McCormack had trouble breaking into a regular role with the Toronto Maple Leafs. He was with the Leafs for 4 seasons, but only played regularly in two of those, and then he only played enough to score no more than 6 goals in a season.

In 1951, after earning a Stanley Cup with the Leafs, Toronto sold McCormack's hockey rights to Montreal. The story behind his departure from Toronto is interesting. He had schedule a marriage during the hockey season. He apparently got his girlfriend pregnant, thus making an off-season marriage impossible due to a lack of time. Leafs boss Conn Smythe was so enraged when he found out that he demoted McCormack to the minor leagues before eventually trading him to the Canadiens, never to play for the Leafs again.

He would go onto be a key defensive specialist in Montreal. In his first year he scored only twice, while in 1952-53 he only had one goal in 59 games. But he was a key player in the Stanley Cup finals as the Habs defeated the Red Wings. Habs coach Dick Irvin had Goose and Bert Olmstead on the ice any time the great Gordie Howe was out there. Their job was to shadow Howe, and never leave him unattended, even if the play was in deep in the opposite end from where Howe was. Goose and Olmstead did a great job as the Habs won the Cup.

Ironically, Goose was sent to the minors during the 1953-54 season. It was ironic because Goose had 5 goals for Montreal that season, 3 more than he scored in the previous two years with Montreal. He also had a career high 15 points in one season.

The Habs felt McCormack was replaceable in the summer of 1954, and exposed him in the Intra League draft. John was selected by the Chicago Blackhawks. He played one season with Chicago, scoring 5 goals and 12 points.

After just one season with Chicago, McCormack was included in a huge trade which saw himself, Dave Creighton, Gord Hollingworth and Jerry Toppazzini go to Detroit for Tony Leswick, Glen Skov, Johnny Wilson and Benny Woit. However McCormack never played with the Wings. He spent the 1955-56 season, his last in pro hockey, with the WHL's Edmonton Flyers.

Rudy Migay

2009-06-16T21:43:00.000-07:00

Rudy Migay was a spectacular player at the minor league level, but primarily a defensive player with the Toronto Maple Leafs. He was best known as a penalty killer along with usual partner Ron Stewart.

The Fort William, Ontario native made quite a name for himself at the junior and AHL levels as a playmaking center. He was adoringly nicknamed "Toy Terrier" because of puny size (he stood just 5'6" and 150 pounds) combined with his tenacious style of play.

However the Leafs were a powerful team in the late 1940s, especially at center ice. Names like Max Bentley and Teeder Kennedy made it next to impossible to get much ice time. Migay was resigned to play with the Pittsburgh Hornets for 4 years before finally cracking the Leafs lineup.

Needless to say, Migay was definitely excited to join the Leafs, although he had to reinvent his game. It took him nearly three years to score as many points as he did in his last year of junior. Migay was content to play in a checking role for nearly 6 complete seasons with the Maple Leafs.

By the end of the 1957-58 season Migay's days in Toronto were coming to a close. He had finished the year in the minor leagues, and aside from the 20 more big league games, he wound up his career in the minor leagues both as player and as a playing coach.

It was a bitter ending for Migay, who felt he could have played at the NHL level over those final years of his career.

"I thought I might have a chance at coming back. I was hoping for a trade," said Migay, who along with Stan Mikita and Elmer Vasko was one of the few players of Slovak descent in the NHL's younger years.

The trade never materialized, of course. It was a different time back in the 1950s and 1960s. Teams could easily bury a player in the minor leagues and hope that the exiled players would tear up the minor leagues and possibly command more from in a trade. Migay held up his part of the deal - he went down without complaint and worked his butt off - scoring 82 points in just 51 games and shared the AHL's Most Valuable Player award (along with Bill Hicke)

Migay was never far from the game after he hung up the blades. While he operated a fuel business for a short period of time, he ultimately was employed in hockey for much of his adult life. He coached at the AHL and CHL levels before becoming a long time scout with the Pittsburgh Penguins and Buffalo Sabres.

Miroslav Frycer

2009-05-21T14:14:00.001-07:00

In 1980-81 much was made about the fantastic Peter and Anton Stastny. The two brothers defected from communist Czechoslovakia and became instant stars in the National Hockey League with the Quebec Nordiques.

The following year, the siblings were joined by the other brother Marian. In a separate defection, the Nordiques also managed to land 22 year old Miroslav Frycer. Of the four, only Frycer was a Czech, as the Stastny boys were Slovakian.

Frycer was having an up and down first year in Quebec. He scored 20 goals and 37 points in his first 49 games with the Nords. In his first game in Quebec City he even scored a hat trick. All that while having to adjust to a foreign world and different game.

The Nordiques didn't keep Frycer long. With the three Stastnys often playing together, Frycer was having a tough time playing with players who could communicate with him and compliment his style of play. In addition, Frycer didn't know how to say defense in either English or Czech! So, the Nords traded the young talent to Toronto for a veteran and rugged Wilf Paiement at the season's trading deadline.

In Toronto Mirko revealed moments of brilliance as he became more comfortable with life in North America. Another big factor was he was given more ice time. He displayed some nice speed and puck tricks that could have placed him among the league's elite.

Leaf fans were doubly excited in 1982-83 as the Leafs acquired another defector in Peter Ihnacak, a Slovak. Although the two never played together in their homeland, it was hoped that the two would combine to form some nice magic on the ice, as well as be each other's best friends off the ice.

While the two did share a bond off the ice, neither reached the lofty heights on it that were initially hoped for them. Part of the reason was the 1980s Leafs were among the worst teams in NHL history. Ihnacak, who was later joined by his brother Miroslav, twice scored 20 goals but was never a top offensive player. Frycer twice scored 25 goals and reached career highs with 32 goals and 75 points in 1985-86. His strong play saw him invited to the mid-season all star game.

Frycer was a frustrating enigma. He had obvious talent but no one was ever able to harness it fully. At times the popular Czech was the best player on the ice. At other times he just disappeared for long periods of time.

Following that strong 1985-86 season, Frycer was devastated with a pelvic injury that seemed to effect his skating for the remainder of his career. After brief stops in Detroit and Edmonton, Frycer left the NHL in 1989 to play a couple of season in Germany before retiring altogether.

In 415 NHL games Miroslav Frycer scored 147 goals and 330 points.

Kevin Maguire

2009-04-23T20:32:00.000-07:00

Kevin Maguire was a hard-nosed right winger for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Buffalo Sabres and Philadephia Flyers over 6 NHL seasons. He was a grinder, a role player, a Don Cherry favorite.

Kevin signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs as a free agent prior to the 1984-85 campaign. He then spent two years with the Leafs' AHL farm club, the St. Catharines Saints of the AHL. It was in St. Catharines that Maguire came upon the man he credits for making the biggest difference in his professional hockey career: Saints coach John Brophy.

"He was the guy who got the most out of you. He just worked you and worked you and demanded you to be better and get better. It was tough years with Brophy but when you look back at it if you didn't have a guy that was so hard on you like that I may have never made it."

Kevin did make it. His first taste of NHL action came with the with the Leafs in 1986-87. Despite some spirited play, Maguire failed to pick up a point and spent most of the year in the minors. The next year he joined Buffalo as the Sabres picked up the right winger on waivers.

Kevin played almost 3 full seasons in Buffalo. He had a career year in 1988-89 when he set personal highs in points with 18 and penalty minutes with 241. Maguire's body-banging play made him a fan favorite in the small Memorial Auditorium. Maguire was traded to Philly at the trading deadline of the 1989-90 season but he only appeared in 5 games for the Orange and Black, picking up one goal.

The Leafs realized that they made a mistake letting Maguire slip away from the organization. So they reacquired the Toronto native from Philadelphia in the summer of 1990. Maguire played parts of two seasons with the Leafs. But he finished his pro career where it started - with the Leafs farm team, now located in St. John's Newfoundland.

Maguire retired at the end of 1992. He left the NHL with 59 points and 782 penalty minutes in 260 regular season games. But his career in hockey was far from over.

Maguire turned to officiating, first as a linesman and later a referee at many levels, including the National Hockey League. He later left the ice to move into a business career. His contacts in the business world must have been plentiful, as in 2009 he was acknowledged as the head of a group trying to land a second NHL franchise in the greater Toronto area.

Jimmy Thomson

2009-04-06T20:01:00.000-07:00

Need a text book example of a classic stay at home defenseman? Look no further than Jimmy Thomson.

A product of the St. Mikes Majors, Jimmy joined the Leafs on a full time basis in 1946-47. He was soon paired with Gus Mortson on defense, a move that proved very fruitful for the Leafs. The two rock solid blueliners helped to solidify the Leaf's supremacy for years.

Known as the "Gold Dust Twins," Mortson and Thomson starred for the Leafs. They played a rock hard style that often left cuts and bruises on any enemy who dared to enter their zone. Thomson especially was positionally perfect and a thinking man's defensive rearguard. Mortson was more of a rusher of the two, while Thomson quietly went about his work. The pairing proved to be as valuable as it was impenetrable.

Despite not scoring a goal in 6 of his 11 seasons, and only scored 19 career goals in almost 800 games, Jimmy was honored with two Second Team All Star berths - 1950 and 1951. He was a good passer as his 215 assists suggest.

In the late 1940s it was very rare for the defensemen to get very involved in the offensive attack. So while Thomson wasn't deprived of good skills, he thrived by protecting his own zone. Thomson was physical though clean. He never had over 100 minutes in penalties in one season. He did lead the league in playoff penalty minutes in 1951 with 34 minutes in 11 games.

Thomson was a big part of 4 Toronto Maple Leafs Stanley Cup Championship. In fact those 4 championship seasons came in his first 5 NHL seasons, including three straight in 1947, 1948 and 1949.

Thomson was named as the Maple Leafs captain in 1956-57 but was traded in the summer of 1957. The Leafs became disenchanted with his active involvement in the fledgling attempts at forming a player's association. Conn Smythe questioned his loyalty and then sent him to Chicago for cash.

Thomson played just one season in Chicago before retiring in 1958. In total "Jeems" scored 234 points in 787 games and won 4 Stanley Cups.

So was Jimmy Thomson one of the best defensive d-men ever? Celebrated author/broadcaster Stan Fishcler once included him among his top ten best defensive defenseman ever. Fischler's list, from the 1983 book Hockey's 100, looks as so -

Doug Harvey
Tim Horton
Eddie Shore
Ching Johnson
Hap Day
Emile Bouchard
Jack Stewart
Dit Clapper
Jim Thomson
Ken Morrow

That is some pretty impressive company.

After a season in Chicago Thomson returned to southern Ontario and became quite successful in the home heating business.

Gus Mortson

2009-04-06T19:52:00.000-07:00

Gus Mortson was once one of the baddest men in hockey.

He, along with his defensive partner and fellow "Gold Dust Twin" Jim Thomson, perfected the art of defending the zone by playing the man instead of by playing the puck. They grabbed, hooked, pushed and shoved any puck carrying opponent who came into the Leafs zone. Their tactics were effective although often illegal. Mortson earned a career total of 1390 PIM in 797 games. In fact, four times he was the NHL's season penalty minute champ. Twice he was punished with lengthy suspensions for deliberately trying to injure another player

But he was also among the top defensemen. Mortson was an excellent skater and could carry the puck, and he even played left wing when he first turned pro in the minor leagues. But in the NHL he was never a tremendous offensive threat, as his career totals suggest: 46 goals and 198 points in 797 games.

"When you played hockey in our time, it wasn't so much how many goals you scored, it was how few you let be scored against you while you were on the ice," explained the New Liskeard, Ontario born Mortson. "Thomson and I, we kept track of all the goals against because that was your only arguing point when you had to go see (GM Conn) Smythe for a contract. All the years we played in Toronto, we had less than a goal against average."

The rugged defenseman joined the Maple Leafs in 1946 as part of a successful youth movement. Over the next 6 years, Mortson and the Leafs captured 4 Stanley Cups. And despite his status as one of the more hated defensemen in hockey, Gus received personal acclaim as well. In 1950 he was honored as a First Team NHL All Star. In addition, he played in 8 NHL All Star games in his career, 7 consecutively.

In 1952 the Leafs traded their prized defenseman (along with Ray Hannigan, Al Rollins and Cal Gardner) to Chicago in order to land a superstar goaltender in Harry Lumley. Mortson continue to excel in Chicago, but the team was much weaker than Toronto's team, as evidenced by the team's playoff participation in only 1 of Mortson's 6 years in the Windy City.

Mortson finished his career in 1958-59 with half a season with the Detroit Red Wings. He played another year and a half in the minor leagues, but then opted to get out of professional hockey. He successfully operated his own food brokerage business and later worked as a stock broker and sales representative for a mining operation near his home in Kirkland Lake, Ontario.

Hap Day

2009-04-04T20:57:00.001-07:00

Clarence "Happy" Day was born in Owen Sound Ontario on June 14, 1901. Like many other star hockey players of the 1920s and 1930s, Day grew up learning the game on the frozen ponds during harsh winter weather. Eventually that hard work paid off as he became a leader with the Midland Juniors and later with senior Hamilton Tigers.

Hockey was not the only subject that interested Day. He very much aspired to become a pharmacist. He enrolled at the University of Toronto where he eventually obtained a degree. While attending university he played for the varsity hockey club and was discovered by Toronto hockey promoter Charlie Querrie. Querrie convinced Day to turn pro.

Day, nicknamed Happy because of his cheery nature, turned pro with Toronto of the NHL, then known as the St. Pats. In Day's third year, 1926-27, Conn Smythe bought the team and changed the name to the Leafs. Smythe had great deal of respect for Day, and the two became great friends and partners.

Day was a strong and fearless player. His first three years in the league he started out at left wing, often playing on a great line with Jack Adams and Babe Dye. By year 4 he became better known as a defenseman, anchoring a Leafs blueline that also boasted King Clancy and Red Horner. He was a marvellous team player who infused lots of humour into the team's dressing room. The jolly Leafs teams during Day's stay were affectionately known as "The Gashouse Gang" because of their love for humour.

Day was always in the shadow of Clancy and Boston's Eddie Shore, but there was no doubt he was a top defenseman of his era. Offensively he was a constant threat, although unlike Clancy and Shore was never flashy. Defensively he was a genius. He was a masterful stick checker and positional player, and, along with the New York Rangers Ching Johnson, was the league's top body checker. Day was very well respected around the league, even though he employed a clutch and grab style of hockey he would later popularize as a coach, becoming a league power by using the rule-bending tactic.

Day put his heart and soul into 14 long seasons in Toronto, but his finest moment came in a game on April 2, 1932 at Maple Leaf Gardens. The Leafs needed to win by one goal to take the two-game total goals series against the Montreal Maroons. Down 2-1 late in the third period, Day, the team captain, picked the puck up in his zone and weaved through the entire Maroons team to score the overtime forcing goal. Bob Gracie scored for the Leafs in overtime to advance the Leafs to the Stanley Cup finals, where they were ultimately unceremoniously dumped by the New York Rangers.

Smythe released Day after the 1936-37 season. Not ready to quit playing, Day signed for one year with the New York Americans, and then retired. After spending 2 years as a referee, Hap, not yet ready to turn his attention to a pharmacy, returned to Toronto. In 1940 he was hired by Smythe to coach the Leafs. He would coach them for 10 years, winning the Stanley Cup 5 times! Many of his understudies would call him the greatest coach they had ever played for.

He stepped away from the bench in 1950 but remained with the team until 1957 when he retired to pursue business opportunities outside of hockey. During the 1950s he was officially titled as the assistant manger to Conn Smythe, but in reality he was the one doing most the legwork. With highly respected scoring totals for a defenseman of his era (86 goals, 202 points in 586 career games), he was enshrined in Hockey's Hall of Fame in 1961.

Few people have given more to the Toronto Maple Leafs organization than Clarence "Happy" Day, who passed away on February 17, 1990. Yet somehow he never was able to escape the shadows of Clancy and Ace Bailey while playing, nor could he escape the shadow of Conn Smythe for his contributions to the team as a coach and manager.

Bob Goldham

2009-02-06T20:16:00.001-08:00

It is an immeasurable skill that only a few have been able to master. It is an undertaking that perhaps takes more guts as ability. It is an attribute that far too often goes without much praise or thanks - except from the goalies.

We are talking about shot blocking.

Shot blocking is now an integral part of a hockey team's defensive game plan. In fact the Dallas Stars 1999 championship was filled with countless blocked shots. Some games it seemed that the players were stopping more pucks than goalie Ed Belfour!

But who was hockey's first shot blocking expert? Defenseman Bob Goldham, a tough defensive defenseman from 1941 through 1956 with Toronto, Chicago and Detroit.

In the early 1940s the Maple Leafs coach Hap Day tried to convince all of his players the art of shot blocking. None of them were willing to sacrifice their bodies by dropping in front of a frozen rubber bullet. None except for Goldham.

Goldham would drop to one knee and keep his hands besides his body, taking up as much room as possible. If the puck didn't just hit him, he'd swat at the puck with his gloves.

"He used to get down on his knees and look the puck in the eye," explained former Red Wing teammate Max McNab in amazement. "He's the first totally fearless guy that I ever saw."

You had to be fearless back then as the equipment was paper thin and primitive by today's standards. While shot blocking became a lost art during the days of Bobby Hull's booming slapshot, it has returned with vengeance in today's game, largely due to impenatratable armor that players wear today.

Goldham first appeared in the NHL with the Leafs in 1941-42. He was part of the memorable Stanley Cup championship team that rallied from a thee games to none deficit in the finals.

Goldham missed the next three years due to service in the World War II with Canada's Navy. However, Goldham was back in a Maple Leafs uniform by 1945-46.

Goldham was part of a 5 player package traded to Chicago in exchange for superstar Max Bentley on November 4, 1947. While the Blackhawks were a weak team, Goldham's skills as a big league defenseman improved greatly under the tutelage of Bill Gadsby.

On July 13, 1950, Goldham was traded to the Detroit Red Wings. Bob enjoyed his finest years as a member of the Wings. He spent six seasons with what many consider to be the strongest team of all time. Goldham was a big part of 5 first place regular season finishes and 3 Stanley Cup championships - 1952, 1954, and 1955. In 1954-55 Bob received a rare piece of personal recognition when he was named to the NHL Second All Star Team.

Bob retired after the 1955-56 season and later became a long time television analyst for the CBC's Hockey Night In Canada. Bob was also instrumental in campaigning for increased pension benefits for retired NHLers.

Pat Boutette

2008-10-11T12:56:00.001-07:00

Pat Boutette enjoyed a fine 10-year NHL career with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Hartford Whalers and Pittsburgh Penguins. Although he stood at just 5'8" and 175lbs, "Booter" was a feisty right winger who was as good a play maker as he was a goal scorer.

He enjoyed a solid collegiate career with the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers which prompted the Toronto Maple Leafs to select the Windsor, Ontario native in the ninth round of the 1972 Draft. Being drafted by the Leafs was a dream come true for Boutette.

Boutette did not debut in Toronto until 1975-76. He still had 2 years of University left and then apprenticed in the minor leagues for two seasons with the Oklahoma City Blazers.

Pat was part of what would have been a spectacular youth movement by the Leafs, except they ended up trading away most of their young stars. Boutette team with names like Sittler, McDonald and Williams but soon enough all would be shipped out of town. Boutette was a checker and penalty killer for the Leafs, often teaming up with the extremely physical line of Jerry Butler and Jim Jones.

In his first 4 season with the Leafs, Pat was a consistent 15 (or so) goal scorer and 35 point getter. However in his 5th campaign with the Leafs, which would prove to be his last, he slumped terribly picking up only 4 assists in 32 games. The bad start prompted the Leafs to trade him to Hartford where he finished the season strongly with 44 points in 47 games.

“When I went to Hartford, I hated to leave the Leafs and I think my heart is still with the Leafs,” he said. “But at least I got a chance to play a little more hockey and I think it extended my career by going on somewhere else.”

In fact, Boutette ended up enjoying his finest season in the NHL with the Whalers as he potted 28 goals, 52 assists and 80 points in his second year with Hartford. His stay in the Insurance City was short though. When the Whalers signed restricted Penguins free agent Greg Malone, the NHL announced both Pat and Kevin McClelland would go to Pittsburgh as compensation.

Pat would return to Hartford after 3 solid seasons in Pittsburgh, including a 74 point season. However when Boutette returned he was obviously near the end of his career, and in fact finished the season and his career in the minor leagues.

Boutette left the NHL with career totals of 171 goals, 282 assists and 453 points in 756 regular season games. In 46 career playoff contests, he had 24 points.

While he fulfilled his childhood dream to play for his beloved Leafs, his short tenure in Hartford proved to be one of his finest memories. He became more of an offensive player and had more ice time, plus he go to play with Dave Keon, Bobby Hull and Gordie Howe, all childhood idols of his.

Andy Blair

2008-08-04T20:15:00.003-07:00

Chances are pretty good you've never heard of Andy Blair. After all, he retired from the NHL way back in 1937.

But in his day Andy was very much a dandy.

Blair, one of the first NHLers to sport a mustache, was a lanky center out of Winnipeg. At 6'2" and 180 lbs he was intimidatingly tall for his day. A distant cousin of the great Syl Apps and Murray Murdoch, Blair was quite the athlete growing up, starring in football, rugby, track and field and even golf. But it was hockey that was his game, and he was amongst the best young players in the city, starring at St. John's College high school.

Blair went on to the University of Manitoba where he earned a bachelor of arts degree. He was a star footballer and of course hockey player, leading the team to the Allan Cup championship in his final season. In those days the Allan Cup, given to Canada's amateur champions, was about as prestigious as the Stanley Cup. He also played with two other senior teams while going to school.

A young hockey executive named Conn Smythe was very impressed with Blair's play, and recruited him from the New York Rangers to join the Toronto Maple Leafs.

It would turn out to be a great move for the Leafs, and one that would haunt the Rangers.

Blair would step in nicely and contribute 12 goals and 27 points in 44 games in the 1928-29 season, second best totals on the team. Blair found himself playing along side two legendary Leafs: Ace Bailey and Baldy Cotton.

The team got stronger and by 1932 they challenged for their first Stanley Cup as the Leafs. Ironically for Blair, the competition was the New York Rangers. Blair teamed nicely with Bob Gracie and Frank Finnigan on "the Pepper Boys line," a revolutionary third line that was known for its "peppery" or aggressive style of play.

Blair chipped in with some timely offense as well. In the third and Cup clinching game, Blair scored the first two goals of the game. Toronto won the game 6-4 on Maple Leaf Gardens ice.

In 1933 Blair continued to improve his reputation as a go-to player in the playoffs. He was instrumental in the Leafs 1-0 five overtimes game against Boston on April 3rd. Though Ken Doraty gets the credit for scoring the goal, it was Andy Blair who stripped Hall of Famer Eddie Shore's pass and set up Doraty for the quick shot past Tiny Thompson.

WIth the game ending in the early hours of the morning, the Leafs had to scramble to the train station to once again meet the New York Rangers in the finals the very next day. The team did not arrive in New York until 4:30 in the afternoon, and were easy prey for the Rangers. The Rangers took the Cup in 4 games.

In 1933-34 Blair scored a career high 14 goals, but his career was about to decline. He spent two more years with the Leafs before finishing out his NHL career with a season in Chicago.

In 401 NHL games Andy Blair scored 74 goals, 86 assists and 130 points.

Blair went into the pipe business after hockey, retiring in 1969. He died of a heart attack two days after Christmas in 1977. He was 70 years old.

Shrimp McPherson

2008-06-17T20:38:00.000-07:00

Even the most knowledgeable hockey fan cannot be found at fault for not recalling the name of Alex “Shrimp” McPherson. After all, McPherson never did play in the National Hockey League. Or did he?

Alex McPherson, a centerman born in Inverness, Scotland, earned his nickname “Shrimp” as he stood only five and one-half feet tall and weighed a paltry 155 pounds.

During the 1930s, “Shrimp” was a useful player for a variety of American Hockey Association teams. McPherson broke in with the Tulsa Oilers in the 1929-30 season and scored 14 goals in the 29 games he played. His next five seasons were spent with the St. Louis Flyers as he netted no less than 17 goals each campaign. McPherson’s AHA travels also landed him in Wichita and Kansas City before his career ended after the 1939-40 campaign, having potted 138 goals over his eleven seasons.

But the legend of “Shrimp” McPherson is not so much about what he accomplished on AHA ice, but what he did one night dressed as a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs during a post-season contest. McPherson was given the opportunity to dress for the Leafs due to a rash of injuries which depleted the Leafs hockey club of many of their regulars.

During this particular contest, McPherson was instructed to take to the ice as an injured Leaf was slowly making his way to the bench. However, the impulsive McPherson, just itching to make his NHL debut, jumped over the boards and onto Gardens ice before the injured Leaf had reached the bench. Unfortunately for McPherson, the referee blew his whistle just as his skates hit the ice. “Shrimp” skated back to the Leafs bench dejectedly as a “too many men on the ice” penalty was called.

McPherson never skated on NHL ice again.

Officially, McPherson was not credited with a “game played” by the NHL, but nonetheless, a penalty was called on the Leafs because McPherson was on the ice.

Now you decide. Did Alex “Shrimp” McPherson play in the NHL?

Buzz Boll

2008-06-17T20:28:00.000-07:00

Frank "Buzz" Boll started his NHL career in the most unlikely of fashions, but ended up working his way to the top. He should be remembered as an extremely consistent performer at both ends of the ice, and not as a baseball bat-wielding bouncer!

Born in the tiny village of Fillmore, Saskatchewan, "The Fillmore Flash" excelled with such Saskatchewan amateur and junior clubs such as the Weyburn Wanderers, Regina Pats, and Weyburn Beavers. The Leafs were impressed with him enough to bring the young prospect east in 1931 to play Ontario senior hockey with the Toronto Marlboros.

The move from the tiny farming community to Canada's biggest city must have been quite an adjustment for Boll. He needed some money, so in the summer of 1931 he landed a job working for Conn Smythe. Smythe and his group begun construction of the fabled Maple Leaf Gardens, and required a night watchman of the construction site. Smythe would always help out a hockey player or prospect, and he was more than happy to give Boll the job. Boll was provided with a make-shift shack with a stove and some fire wood, as well as a 15 cent baseball bat to keep intruders off of the grounds.

Boll was eager to impress Smythe on the ice too, and did so with the Marlboros. He scored 14 goals in 20 games before finishing the season as a professional with the Syracuse Stars of the IAHL. He would spend most of the 1932-33 season learning the professional game down in Syracuse as well, but by 1933-34 he emerged as a National Hockey League player.

Boll was one of the most unheralded players of the Leafs teams of the 1930s. A quick left winger with a good scoring touch, Boll was consistently solid although never flashy enough to earn rave reviews that others on the team would get. He was a conscientious defensive player, often playing on a checking line with Bill Thoms and Bob Davidson. He was a guy who did everything well but nothing excellently.

In 4 of Boll's 6 seasons in Toronto Boll would top 10 goals in the 48 game schedule. Given that the era back then was extremely defensive, Boll's totals would be the equivalent of 30 goals in today's day and age. Boll would slip below the double digit numbers only during two injury plagued seasons.

In May 1939, Boll and Busher Jackson were the key players sent to the New York Americans for the flashy Sweeney Schriner. Boll spent three years in New York, including the franchise's last season in 1941-42 when it was relocated to Brooklyn.

Following the demise of the Americans, Boll's rights were transferred to the Boston Bruins in a dispersal draft. The veteran winger was teamed with Bill Cowley and Art Jackson and produced a career best 25 goals. Boll played one more year in the Black and Gold before retiring in 1944.

Boll retired with 133 goals and 263 point in 437 NHL games. He would play in 31 playoff games, but all of his 7 playoff goals and 10 playoff points came in the 9 games of the 1935-36 playoff season with Toronto. That outburst led all Leaf scorers and returned the Leafs to the Stanley Cup finals, but unfortunately wasn't enough to get the team past the Detroit Red Wings.

Tod Sloan

2008-04-30T19:20:00.000-07:00

Aloysius "Tod" Martin Sloan was born in Vinton, Quebec but grew up in the Sudbury, Ontario area. He is one of greatest products in a long line of greats of the famed St. Michael's College. He had two stellar seasons for St. Michaels, leading the league in goals with 45, assists with 32, and points with 75 in just 25 games during the 1945-46 season. Not surprisingly, Sloan was named as the OHA's MVP that season.

Sloan turned professional the following season, joining the Pittsburgh Hornets of the American Hockey League. He played so well in the Steel City that he got a tryout game with Toronto in 1947-48, but ultimately played the rest of the season in AHL.

He split his time between Toronto in the NHL and Pittsburgh in the AHL during the 1948-49 season as well. However his impressive play for the Cleveland Barons (AHL) during the 1950 playoffs (10 goals and 14 points in 9 games) earned him a full time job with the Leafs the following autumn, and he never had to look back.

Sloan was a creative center who relied on quick, shifty movement to get the puck into dangerous scoring positions. He was unique to say the least, so unique that not everyone new what to make of him and his unorthodox style of play in those days.

"Tod is his own boss. He does what he likes with the puck. It took us a few years to discover the best way to handle him is to leave him alone," said Toronto boss Conn Smythe.

Tod had an excellent career, highlighted by his 8 full years as a Leaf. The small but resilient center had a great rookie season in 1950-51. After a 31 goal rookie season, Sloan picked up 9 points (third highest on the team) in 11 playoff games en route to the Stanley Cup championship. None of his points were as big as his goal at 19:23 of the final period of the final game against Montreal. His goal tied the game and forced overtime, setting the stage for the heroics of the late-Bill Barilko and a Leafs Stanley Cup championship!

Sloan was a top player for the Leafs for the next seven years, although they never were able to duplicate their playoff success for the remainder of the decade. and despite diminishing scoring statistics. "Slinker," as his teammates called him, corrected that in 1955-56 when he had a career year. Playing on an extremely efficient line with George Armstrong and Dick Duff, Sloan was named to the NHL's Second All Star Team thanks to a 37 goal and 66 point season!

Sloan returned to lower scoring totals over his final two seasons in Toronto, thanks in part to a bad shoulder. however the Leafs traded their pint-sized fireball to Chicago in 1958. Sloan was being punished for his role in trying to start up a players' union.

The move turned out alright for Sloan, who found himself centering Ed Litzenberger and the key man in the players' association movement Ted Lindsay while with the Blackhawks. The trio clicked immediately and were the highest scoring line in that 1958-59 season. By 1961 Sloan was a nice piece of the Chicago Black Hawks championship puzzle.

That year has proven to be the last year the Hawks won hockey's greatest championship, and it also proved to be Tod Sloan's last in the NHL. He had grown tired of the professional game, so he sought reinstatement as an amateur. Once he was granted that status, he joined the Galt Terriers and represent Canada in a silver medal performance at the 1962 World Championships.
Tod, a cousin of Leaf great Dave Keon, scored 220 goals, and 482 points in 745 NHL games, and added 21 points in 47 post season affairs. Although he played in three all star games, he is an often forgotten about piece of the Toronto Maple Leafs great history.

Bill Barilko

2008-04-30T19:04:00.000-07:00

Bill Barilko only played 4 and 1/2 seasons, scoring just 26 times and was a low-key defensive defenseman on 4 Stanley Cup championships.

Unfortunately he is legendary. Not for his hockey achievements per se, but for the mystery surrounding his sudden death.

Barilko was a hard hitting defenseman who rarely scored and hardly ever got his picture in the paper. His only real measure of fame and respect came from his rivals and teammates. He was well respected as a hard hitting defenseman who was always near the top of the penalty minute leaders.

In the 1951 finals, the Leafs were facing their eternal rivals the Montreal Canadiens, and Barilko became the unlikely hero.

He was a key figure in game one. Rocket Richard fired what seemed to be a sure goal only to see Barilko sacrifice his body by making an incredible dive to preserve the tie. Toronto would win the game in overtime.

Montreal would win game two, and then the Leafs took the next two in Montreal. The Leafs returned to Toronto looking to clinch the Cup victory on home ice.

Montreal led most of the game 2-1, only to have Toronto score with just 32 seconds in regulation time to force overtime.

At 2:53 of the first overtime period, Barilko became a national hero. He hadn't recorded a single point in the series prior to then, but he fired a desperation shot as he crossed the blue line. He had so much effort into his shot he actually fell to ice after releasing the puck. The puck somehow found its way past Montreal goalie Gerry McNeil, and the Cup was Toronto's. Barilko was the unlikely hero who won the Cup.

Unfortunately Barilko didn't get to enjoy the Cup victory or his new national hero status for very long. During the off-season he and friend Dr. Henry Hudson flew to northern Ontario on a fishing trip. The plane crashed and the wreckage wasn't found for 11 years. In the wreckage of that plane lies the legend of Bill Barilko.

Bill Barilko wasn't the greatest defenseman ever. He was a hard working Canadian kid living his dream of playing hockey. Too bad he is legendary for his death rather than his on-ice performances.

The legend of Barilko continues to grow as the Tragically Hip wrote the hit song "Fifty Mission Cap" honoring the Leaf legend.

Les Costello

2008-04-28T13:28:00.001-07:00

South Porcupine Ontario's Les Costello was a speedy 5'8" 158lb left wing who grew up dreaming for playing with the Toronto Maple Leafs. But when he played for the Leafs, he found a greater calling.

Costello joined the famous St. Michaels college where he studied and played hockey under the legendary Father David Bauer. The team was greatly successful, winning the Memorial Cup in both 1945 and 1947, but Father Bauer's teachings away from the rink influenced Costello even more so than on the ice.

After graduating from St. Michaels, he joined the Leaf's farm team in the AHL - the Pittsburgh Hornets. He starred with the Hornets in his first pro season, scoring 32 goals and 54 points in 68 games.

By season's end he was called up by the Leafs to help out in their 1948 playoff run. Costello appeared in 5 games and scored twice and added 2 assists. He also got his name on the Stanley Cup.

Costello would appear in 15 games with the Leafs the following season, but spent most of the year in the minors once again. He would also spent the 1949-50 season with the AHL's Hornets, though was again called up by the Leafs for the playoffs. This time, however, he appeared in only 1 game.

Costello then retired from pro hockey and began seminary studies, successfully becoming a Catholic priest. His studies first saw him return to St. Michael's College at the University of Toronto and later at St. Augustine's seminary. He was ordained in 1957 and served parishes in South Porcupine, Kirkland Lake and Timmins, before settling at St. Alphonsus parish in Schumacher, which is now part of Timmins.

But his love of hockey never subsided. He would continue to play with a group of priests known as the Flying Fathers. The team would play against amateur squads and NHL old-timers from coast to coast and overseas, and raised over $4 million for charity.

By the way, a 74 year old Costello died tragically in 2002 following complications from a puck to the head injury during a Flying Fathers game. 2200 people came to his funeral in Timmins, Ontario, fittingly held at a hockey rink.

Gaye Stewart

2008-04-27T16:30:00.000-07:00

Gaye Stewart had an outstanding amateur career before he starred in the NHL. He led the TBJHL in goal-scoring in 1939-40 with 17 goals in 16 games, and then in 1940-41 had a whopping 31 goals in 16 games with the Toronto Marlboros to lead the OHA in scoring.

It was only a matter of time before he would play in the NHL. This big good-looking player made his debut with the Toronto Maple Leafs at age 19 in the 1942 Stanley Cup final series against Detroit. In the fourth game, Stewart replaced Hank Goldup and did so well that he was kept in the lineup for the remainder of the series which Toronto amazingly came back to win! The young boy was on a Cup winner after only three games in the NHL.

The following season, he got off to a great start and made a big hit with the fans because of his aggressive play. But that also led to some trouble. On November 7th, 1942, he got into a vicious stick-swinging duel that badly cut Jimmy Orlando of Detroit. He and Orlando both were given match penalties and $100 fines by NHL president Frank Calder. In addition, both received suspensions for their actions.

President Calder died of a heart attack on February 4th, 1943 and Red Dutton, who had been named acting president when Calder suffered his first heart attack, lifted the suspensions later. Stewart proceeded to score an impressive 24 goals in 48 games playing mostly on a line with Jack McLean and Bud Poile. Stewart, not fellow freshman Maurice Richard, would be honored with the Calder Trophy, rewarded to the rookie of the year. But his fantastic season came to an end early in the 1943 playoffs. He hurt his knee and did not play in the final two games when the Leafs were eliminated.

After a two-year stint in the Army in World War II, Stewart returned to play for Toronto in 1945-46 and was the best player on a disorganized team. Although Toronto had won the Stanley Cup in 1944-45, the Leafs failed to make the playoffs in 1945-46. This was not the fault of Stewart who led the NHL with 37 goals in the 50 game schedule. That was downright wonderful goal total when you consider only Max Bentley was the other 30 goal man in the NHL that season with 31. Stewart made the first all-star team this year.

In 1946-47, he helped the Leafs return as Stanley Cup champions, performing on a line with Gus Bodnar and Bud Poile. He started the 1947-48 season with Toronto but was involved in a big trade with Chicago. The entire Bodnar-Stewart-Poile line, along with Ernie Dickens were traded to Chicago in exchange for Max Bentley and Cy Thomas.

While the Leafs were the best team in hockey, the Hawks were their polar opposites. Despite playing for the cellar-dwellers, Stewart had a fine year with 27 goals and made the second all-star team despite the Blackhawks last place finish.

Chicago moved up a notch the next season and Stewart was playing well until early January when he was struck in the head with a flying puck. He suffered a severe concussion and was hospitalized. This and minor injuries kept him out for six games.

He had his last 20+ goal year in 1949-50 with 24, but the Blackhawks finished last again. After 1949-50, Stewart was involved in a mass deal with Detroit and he didn't get as much ice time because of the depth the Red Wings possessed. The 'Production Line' of Abel, Howe and Lindsay more than held their share of the scoring and Stewart was traded to the New York Rangers after 1950-51 for Tony Leswick.

He became more of a playmaker with the Broadway Blueshirts and scored 15 goals and had 25 assists for 40 points. He started badly in 1952-53 and was put on waivers. The Montreal Canadiens picked him up, but Stewart was finished and was sent down to the Quebec Aces of the Quebec Senior League.

He then played for the Buffalo Bisons of the AHL, scoring 42 goals and 95 points in 1953-54. The Canadiens brought him up for three Stanley Cup playoff games, but he did little. After a bad year with Buffalo in 1954-55, Gaye decided to retire.

He was a fine stickhandler, aggressive but clean in his play and perhaps the best skater of his day. After his playing days, he became a linesman in the NHL.

Interestingly, Gaye Stewart had twice won the Stanley Cup, on both occasions, his name was engraved incorrectly. In 1941-42, the spelling read 'GAYE STEWARD.' In 1946-47, it was 'GAVE STEWART.'

Don Metz

2008-04-27T16:11:00.000-07:00

Don Metz is chiefly remembered for his heroics in the 1942 Stanley Cup final in which the Toronto Maple Leafs staged the greatest comeback in hockey history. After losing the first three games to the Detroit Red Wings, the Leafs improbably won the next four games and the Stanley Cup.

It was Don Metz who replaced benched sharpshooter Gordie Drillon on right wing on the top line with Syl Apps and brother Nick Metz. Coach Hap Day decided to bench Drillon and defenseman Bucko McDonald in favor of Don and defenseman Ernie Dickens after their indifferent play in the first three losses to Detroit.

Don had played in the 1939 playoffs and played parts of the next three seasons before this opportunity to shine. He never was a scorer before, but Hap Day decided that he had nothing to lose by trying him out at this point, since Drillon had been totally ineffective in this series.

Toronto looked finished at first, but then tied the score 2-2 in game four going into the third period. The Detroit Olympia rocked as Carl Liscombe put Detroit ahead 3-2. But then, the Leafs reawakened. Syl Apps, who hadn't scored in the finals, scored to tie it and then Nick Metz took a pass from Apps to win the game, Don also assisting on the goal. The Leafs would live to fight another day.

Game 5 Don's turn to shine. He had a hat trick and assisted on both of Apps 2 goals as Toronto walloped Detroit 9-3.

Detroit made changes for game 6, but none of the Wings could contain Don Metz. Fourteen seconds after the second period began, he intercepted a pass near the Detroit goal and beat goalie Johnny Mowers with a quick shot. It was his fourth goal in three games. Toronto got two more goals for a 3-0 victory and a 3-3 tie in the series.

Don Metz's heroics weren't needed in the seventh and deciding game. Before the largest crowd to see a hockey game in Canada at that time, Toronto won the Cup with a 3-1 victory.

This was Don Metz's 15 minutes of fame. He would soon join the armed forces and missed the next two seasons. He did happen to return to the Leafs in time for the 1945 playoffs. Toronto again won the Cup, though Don did not play a notable role.

Strangely, Don Metz never really played regularly in the NHL, often shuttling between the Leafs and their AHL farm team the Pittsburgh Hornet. But he was always to be found in the playoffs. In 1946-47, he had 2 goals and 3 assists in the playoffs as Toronto won its first of three straight Stanley Cups. Metz was on all of those teams, giving him 5 Stanley Cup championships in his 7 year career.

Don Metz played in 172 NHL games, scoring 20 goals and 35 assists for 55 points during the regular season

Charlie Conacher

2008-04-24T22:34:00.000-07:00

Charlie Conacher was the Bobby Hull of hockey before Bobby Hull ever came along.

Conacher was big and strong, with a shot that was feared by goaltenders everywhere in the NHL. In fact, once after being hit in the rump by an errant Conacher shot, King Clancy quipped "It felt like somebody had turned a blow torch on me. I couldn't sit down for a week."

Clancy had a certain fondness for "The Big Bomber."

"I never had a finer friend in Toronto than Charlie," said Clancy, who was friends with everyone including the ushers. "He was my protection as a Maple Leaf. I wasn't too big and not too good with my mitts, although I tried to win many a battle. If you got a punch in the chin, you either went down or stood up, shook your head and took it. but Conacher was Toronto's policeman for many years and a great one. He didn't go looking for trouble, but if it came along he would clear it up."

A member of a famous athletic family, he played 12 seasons in the league. While brother Lionel gets to most acclaim as the best athlete, it was Charlie who gets the nod as the best hockey player. The five time All Star and two time Art Ross winner is considered one of the greatest right wingers of any era. A member of the famous Kid Line with Busher Jackson and Joe Primeau

Conacher's hands were useful for more than just fighting. The sharpshooter who fired bullets from his stick scored 225 goals, and led the league in goals scored five times in a span of 6 years. Conacher played nine seasons with Toronto.

Injuries caught up with the rugged forward towards the end of the 1930s, so the Leafs traded him to Detroit, where he played one season. Conacher finished his career with the New York Americans for one season after that.

Conacher retired in 1941 to coach junior hockey, and in 1947 became coach of the Chicago Black Hawks, but turned to hotel management in the 1950s. Conacher had 225 goals and 173 assists in 460 regular season games, with 17 goals and 18 assists in 49 playoff games.

Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1961, Conacher died 6 years later from cancer

Wally Stanowski

2008-04-02T21:49:00.001-07:00

Wally Stanowski is a long forgotten about and underrated defenseman with the Toronto Maple Leafs during their Cup reign in the 1940s. He was a clever defensive player who excelled in his own zone first and foremost. In fact he was good enough to be named as a First Team All Star in 1941.

But for any hockey fans in attendance at the Boston Gardens in 1948, Stanowski would never be forgotten. It was that night that he skated into hockey legend and out of Toronto!

Wally was being benched during the game as he missed a typically rigid Conn Smythe curfew the night before. When Bruins goalie Frankie "Mister Zero" Brimsek got hurt, play was halted while the stopper was stitched up.

``Wally!'' barked Leaf coach Hap Day, ``get out there and warm up. We may need you.''

Stanowski obeyed, and took a few lazy turns around the ice.

`Not like that,'' cried the coach. ``Get out there and go hard. Let's see some real skating.''

Perhaps Day should have been more specific. Stanowski, nicknamed the Whirling Dervish for his skating agility, proceeded to execute a dazzling series of loops and spins that would make Kurt Browning jealous. Soon the organist got into the action, providing some nice music as Wally twirled at center ice

The shocked crowd quickly joined in with the organist, rhythmically clapping as our Stanowski pirouettes over the blue line, ending at centre with a dazzling tippy-toe curtsy, a la Katarina Witt

Swooping back to the bench backward, with one leg extended, Wally asked: "How's that, coach?''

You might expect his coach to be furious, but he, like his teammates, the Bruins and the fans, is consumed with laughter.

However Conn Smythe must not have been impressed. Wally was soon traded with Elwyn Morris to the New York Rangers for Cal Gardner and Bill Juzda.

Stanowski played three years with the Rangers before finishing his career with a season in Cincinnati of the AHL.

Dave Ellett

2008-03-23T13:43:00.001-07:00

They say all sports heroes secretly want to be rock stars. But I think a lot of hockey players secretly yearn to be a cowboy. And quite a few attempt the lifestyle after hockey.

There is definitely something about former NHLers and horses. Wayne Gretzky bought into a stable of thoroughbreds. Many others (Keith Jones, Curtis Joseph for example) had ownership of at least one thoroughbred championship horse, and many others (Wendel Clark, Brent Sutter, Tom Lysiak to name a few) had farms. Larry Robinson liked to play polo. Clint Malarchuk even became became a horse dentist.

Then there's Dave Ellett, the power play specialist with the Winnipeg Jets and Toronto Maple Leafs in the 80s and 90s. Following his playing days the Ellett family moved to Cave Creek, Arizona where the hockey vet tried his abilities out as a cowboy mounted shooter, a rodeo sport where you ride a horse around obstacles and shoot at balloons.

Actually, Dave tried it out more as a hobby, as he concentrated on his new job as owner/president of the CHL's New Mexico Scorpions hockey team. But his Texan wife took the sport very seriously. In fact, Annie Bianco-Ellett, better known as Outlaw Annie, competes against men and has won world championships. She's a bigger legend in her sport than her husband is in his.

It turns out Dave Ellett has another sporting relative in his blood. His father was Bob Ellett, a long time minor league hockey player turned junior hockey coach. Because of the vagabond lifestyle of a hockey minor leaguer, Dave, a Canadian through and through, was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and split some of his youth in American cities like Houston, Salt Lake City, Seattle and Rochester.

The Elletts would settle in Ottawa and Dave developed into a top hockey prospect. He would star in college hockey at Bowling Green State University and was a member of the 1984 National Collegiate Athletic Association champion Falcon squad, earning both CCHA and NCAA All-Tournament team honors that season.

The Winnipeg Jets drafted the skilled defenseman 75th overall in the 1982 NHL entry draft. He would join the Jets upon graduation in 1984, and immediately started paying dividends.

Dave Ellett was a very skilled finesse player. Skating was his prime asset. He was an excellent skater, blessed with very good speed and quickness, and fine agility. His mobility allowed him to dictate the play at either blue line. His transition game was great because he could effortlessly turn the play around at the defensive blue line.

His puck ability was also top notch, and that shone through on the power play, which is where Ellett established himself as one of the NHL's top players. He could control the point with great comfort, holding the line and pinching in with great efficiency. He was a key player in establishing the offensive zone. He was an under-rated puck rusher and a good break out playmaker. He also had a very good shot, and the smarts to keep it low and hard to create opportunities for deflections and rebounds.

As good as he was offensively, Ellett struggled at times defensively. He had good size and decent strength, and he used those skills in efficient manner rather than any vociferous way. He became good at establishing body position but could be outmuscled in the corners. His lack of noticeable physicality became a criticism point from his detractors in Winnipeg, accusing him of be unenthusiastic defensively at times. From time to time he was also guilty of playing the puck instead of the man on one-on-one breaks against him, resulting in a few memorable blow-bys.

Ellett was one of those players who was very valuable, but not necessarily very memorable. He never posted an incredible season or more importantly a string of playoff success. His very nature and his key to success was to remain solid and efficient, not spectacular.

Ellett may be best remembered for his overtime goal against the Edmonton Oilers in the 1990 playoffs that gave the Jets a win in Game 4. The Oilers went on to win the series and the Stanley Cup, but on that night Ellett was the undisputable hero.

Change was blowing through Winnipeg after another failed playoff experience, and early in the next season Ellett and Paul Fenton were traded to Toronto in exchange for Ed Olczyk and Mark Osbourne. Ellett would play 7 seasons in T.O. He was a very important veteran presence in two deep Toronto playoff runs.

Ellett would round out his career with New Jersey, Boston and St. Louis. He would play an impressive 1,129 NHL games, scoring 153 goals and 568 points.

Carl Brewer

2008-03-17T12:08:00.000-07:00

Carl Brewer was a crafty devil. One of Brewer's tricks was to cut out the palms of his hockey gloves. Opposing forwards who dared to skate into Toronto's slot always complained they could never shake off Brewer once he grabbed on. Remember this was long before the NHL's obstruction crackdown, and such grappling in front of the net was allowed. Often with the old gloves you couldn't grab on too tightly and forwards would know when to jerk free. But the dastardly Brewer got around that, always keeping his combatant off balance and off stride. At least until referee Vern Buffey discovered the trick.

That story was just one of many examples of how Brewer was both a thinker and a rebel, and always controversial. It started out with many incidents like this on the ice, but soon continued off of it.

Punch Imlach had a love-hate relationship with Brewer. The Leafs GM-coach knew how valuable he was to the Leafs on the ice, but the two butted heads over many issues over the years, but none more so than Brewer's introducing of Alan Eagleson and subsequently other player agents to the NHL. Brewer was a significant driving factor in Eagleson's ascendancy to power in hockey, which is greatly ironic considering Brewer helped to bring down the former hockey czar on fraud charges in the 1990s.

In addition, early in his career he was very standoffish with the media and fans. He seemed to want to avoid the pressures associated with the limelight of being one of the best hockey players in the world. He even clashed with teammates on occasion, most notably once blowing up with goalie Johnny Bower.

Brewer was an extremely principled man, almost to a fault. Paradoxically he would use all that attention he supposedly hated time and time again to fight for what he believed in. For example, Brewer first threatened to retire after his sophomore season in 1960, because the Leafs would not pay him $100 to cover some medical expenses. He announced through the media he would play football that season for McMaster University in nearby Hamilton. Brewer was already taking courses there towards a bachelor of arts degree. The Leafs reportedly gave Brewer $200.

Lost in all the controversies is the fact that Carl Brewer was an excellent defender. Brewer was part of three Stanley Cup championships in Toronto. Often pairing with Bobby Baun, the four time all star epitomized the thinking man's defenseman. He had a perfect poke check and was a brilliant passer out of his own zone. Baun took care of much of the rough stuff, even though Brewer had a blustery reputation as one of hockey's baddest men.

The tandem of Brewer and Baun was one of the best defense tandems the NHL has ever seen, and they always had the Leafs in contention for the Stanley Cup. The Leafs could win many Stanley Cups some believed. But Brewer did not share the same visions as the Leafs and their fans. He shocked the hockey world when he quit the Leafs in 1965, choosing to complete his bachelor of arts degree at the University of Toronto.

That was just the beginning of bizarre career moves, at least in the eyes of the hockey establishment and hockey fans. One of the best defensemen in the game just upped and left to the U of T. He would return to hockey though, struggling to regain his amateur status so he could skate with the Canadian national team for two years. He would then be a player-coach with Muskegon in the International Hockey League before accomplishing the same role with HIFK Helsinki and the Finnish national team! Imagine one of Canada's top defensemen quitting the NHL in the late 1960s to coach in Finland!

Somewhere along the line Brewer's pendulum of disenchantment swung back the other way, as he decided he needed to return to the evils of the NHL and all of his enemies that he once escaped.

Surprisingly Leafs boss Punch Imlach did not stand in Brewer's way. Imlach was in a position to blacklist Brewer, which was something the hockey powers, especially Imlach, were known to do. But Imlach moved Brewer to Detroit in a blockbuster trade which also involved Frank Mahovlich, Norm Ullman and Paul Henderson.

Brewer lasted a season in Detroit, posting career highs for assists and points in the more offensive league. Yet Brewer left the Wings at season's end, opting to take a job with the KOHO hockey stick company. Brewer returned to the ice only after the Wings traded him to St. Louis late in the 1970-71 season. He would play 61 games with Scotty Bowman's Blues over two seasons, before quitting again, off to work on one of his many business ventures he would dream up. Yet he would return to hockey again, this time back to Toronto in 1973-74, and play a season with the WHA Toronto Toros.

Brewer stayed in the business world after that season, leaving NHL circles completely unsure what to think of him. Yet, six years later, he would return, crazily enough with Punch Imlach's Maple Leafs. The 41 year old would play 20 games, collecting 5 assists.

"I guess I've always had it on my mind, to die a Maple Leaf," he said.

The NHL had not heard the last of Carl Brewer though. Over the years he grew suspicious of Alan Eagleson. Brewer and his long time partner Susan Foster supplied much information to journalist Russ Conway, who authored a report on how Eagleson misused the players' trust and their money. Soon they went to the FBI, and brought perhaps the most powerful man in hockey down.

The bringing down of Eagleson is Carl Brewer's lasting legacy. But he should also be remembered as a loose cannon who always kept the pot boiling. He should also be remembered as one of the best defensemen of his day. That, it seems, it is always overlooked due to all the turmoil he caused.

Cal Gardner

2008-03-15T21:18:00.000-07:00

As a youngster in Transcona, Manitoba, Cal Gardner heard Foster Hewitt's voice describing the fortunes of the Toronto Maple Leafs over the radio. He found himself sharing the dream of every Canadian boy - to play in the National Hockey League.

Gardner realized his desire in 1945-46 when he was called up from the Easter Hockey League by the New York Rangers. The big center lasted 11 seasons in the NHL, spending time with the Rangers, Toronto, Chicago and Boston in the six team era.

A self described "rugged hockey player," Gardner knew his share of on-ice combat. late in the 1947 season, he precipitated what has been described as biggest, longest brawl in hockey history. The last place Rangers were playing the league-leading Canadiens in Madison Square Gardens. Kenny Reardon of the Habs was clipped by Gardner's errant stick, resulting in a bad and bloody cut.

On his way to the infirmary, Reardon exchanged pleasantries with players and even spectators. He ended up involved in a tussle with a fan. The entire Canadiens team leapt off the bench and skated across the ice to rescue Reardon, but a pitched battle with fans and police resulted in the corridor.

Reardon vowed revenge on Gardner, signaling the beginning of a bitter feud. The dispute climaxed in November, 1949 when Gardner, by now a Toronto Maple Leaf, had his jaw shattered by Reardon. Desperately hoping to end the feud, NHL president Clarence Campbell forced Reardon while he was on the ice to post a $1,000 bond against future violence!

The feud ended on the ice when Reardon retired at the end of the season, but an intense dislike for each other was said to continue to fester for decades to come.

Playing for the Leafs was the highlight of "Pearly's" career. In over four years in Toronto he notched 163 points in 247 games, playing in two NHL all star games and winning two Stanley Cups in 1949 and 1951.

In 1952, he moved on to Chicago for only one season before finding a home in Boston until he retired in in 1957. He actually didn't retire from hockey as he became a player-coach with several of the Bruins farm teams over the next 4 seasons. In retrospect he said it was a tough job.

"That, possibly, was the wrong thing to do," said Gardner of his playing/coaching tandem job. "If you were a defenceman it wasn't too bad. If you're a forward it's pretty tough to tell a guy he made a mistake because he saw you make the same mistake on the ice. You've got to be one or the other, either a player or a coach, and you've got to be behind the bench to know what you're doing."

Gardner could have stayed on as a coach, but he wanted to end his vagabond days as his kids were starting school. Gardner moved back to Boston where he got into the transport business but also got involved in the Bruins' radio broadcasts. Later he would move to Toronto and was part of the Leafs radio shows. He would later serve as an accounts manager and promoter of a country and western radio station in Ajax, Ontario.

Gardner would still spend a lot of time at local rinks with his sons Dave and Paul. Both would enjoy lengthy careers in the National Hockey League.

Bert Olmstead

2008-03-02T22:07:00.001-08:00

During his playing days Bert Olmstead had a reputation of being a ferocious, antagonistic checker. Today he would classified as a top power forward. "Dirty Bertie" wasn't a natural, and because of that he had to work harder than most players. He wasn't the most fluid skater around but he made up his lack of talent by an enormous will to win. He even got upset during exhibition games if there was a lack of commitment from his teammates.

Olmstead was a Saskatchewan product who played his hockey for the Moose Jaw Canucks in the SJHL. He turned professional with Kansas City in the old United States Hockey League (USHL) in the fall of 1946. Kansas City was a farm team to Chicago at that time. When Bert scored 33 goals and 77 points in only 52 games for Kansas in 1948-49, he got a a call up to Chicago and played 9 games. Still an NHL rookie in 1949-50, he was put together on a line with Metro Prystai and Bep Guidolin. They were dubbed the "Boilermaker Line" and scored a total of 153 points (66 goals and 85 points) during the season. Olmstead himself got 49 of those points. He also scored 20 goals which was a career high for him during his 15 year NHL career.

The future seemed bright for the trio, but the line was broken up when Prystai went to Detroit. Olmstead also got traded to Detroit in the middle of the 1950-51 season. Before he even had played a single game for Detroit he was shipped to Montreal. There he was immediately put on a line together with the great Maurice Richard and Elmer Lach. Talk about pressure! Olmstead was replacing the great Toe Blake on the famed Punch Line.

In his first 11 games on the line Bert scored 12 points (3 goals and 9 assists), while Richard scored 14 goals in the same period. Bert scored a total of 38 points in 39 games with Montreal that season.

Olmstead slumped badly the next season and allegedly was put on the trading block again. He was offered back to Chicago for Gus Bodnar, but the Hawks rejected the deal and Bert got another chance during Montreal's training camp in 1952.

Bert clicked again and was from that point on a reliable left wing on the Montreal squad for years. He would often play on a line with Jean Beliveau and Boom Boom Geoffrion, both of whom heaped tons of praise on their left winger. He was a 2nd team All-Star left winger in 1953 and 19 56. He also led the league in assists both in 1955 and 19 56. Bert had a career high 70 points in 1955-56 and was an important part of four Cup winning seasons in Montreal.

Hall of Fame defenseman Ken Reardon once said of Bert: "He's the best mucker in the league. By mucker I mean that he's the best man in the corners. He goes in there and digs the puck out for you."

Bert's time in Montreal was over when Toronto claimed him in the 1958 Intra-league draft. Olmstead, who by that time was battling bad knees, was said to be quite distraught about how he was let go by Montreal. But Bert's career would be rejuvenated with four solid seasons with Toronto which was crowned by a Cup win during his final NHL season in 1961-62.

The New York Rangers actually claimed Olmstead in the intra-league draft, but Olmstead refused to report. Montreal stepped in and promised to trade for him if he would return to the Habs. He agreed, but the trade never materialized.

Bert Olmstead won a total of five Cups and could always be counted on to work hard shift after shift. Bert was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1985, having scored 181 goals and 421 assists for 602 points in 848 regular season games. He added another 59 points in 115 playoff contests.

Borje Salming

2008-02-28T09:20:00.000-08:00

Today's NHL is blessed with skill and talents of many European hockey stars. But that has not only been the case. Until Borje Salming came along, NHL teams were afraid to take a chance on "soft" European players.

Salming enjoyed seventeen years in the NHL as one of the top two-way defenseman, and was the first European trained player to make a significant impact in North America, thus paving the way for today's stars.

After an outstanding junior and domestic career in his native Sweden, the Toronto Maple Leafs took a chance on him after watching him play in exhibition games against Canadian junior teams. Salming showed his immense skill but it was his willingness to play the rough North American style that had convince the Leafs to take the chance. It turned out to be one of the best risks ever taken.

"He Was Tough"

Time and time again Salming was tested by the NHL's toughest players, especially the Philadelphia Flyers gang of Broad Street Bullies. Dave "Hammer" Schultz and Mel Bridgman laid beatings on him after jumping him in a fight, but Salming held his own. Not only did he stand up for himself, but he was able to dish out a few vicious shots himself. He earned the respect of the Flyers, especially their leader, Bobby Clarke.

"He was tough." admitted Clarke. "And he could use his stick too."

Salming had a respectable rookie season, earning 39 points but more importantly establishing himself as a hard nosed player as well. By his second season he was an all star.

Hall of Fame Career

In 1,148 NHL regular season games spread over seventeen seasons, Salming totaled 150 goals and 787 points. He also accumulated 12 goals and 49 points in 81 Stanley Cup Playoff games. He was voted on to the NHL First All-Star Team once and the NHL Second All-Star Team on five occasions. Twice he was runner-up in the voting for the Norris Trophy as the NHL's top defenseman. In 1976, 1977 and 1979 he was the recipient of the Viking Award as the top Swedish player in the NHL/WHA as chosen by a poll of players from his own country. On the international stage he represented Sweden with distinction at the 1976, 1981 and 1991 Canada Cups.

Salming would join the Detroit Red Wings for one season as a free agent in 1989. He left as Toronto's all time leader in points, goals and assists by defensemen, as well as one of the Maple Leafs most popular players of all time. Salming would continue playing in his native Sweden until 1992.

Salming was undoubtedly great. He could do it all, and was perhaps the best shot blocker of his era. While he was able to gain the highest respect on the ice, he didn't quite get it off the ice. Salming was always considered to be just a tad lesser than the top North American defensemen throughout his career - Larry Robinson, Denis Potvin, Rod Langway and later Paul Coffey and Ray Bourque.

Al Iafrate

2008-02-07T12:59:00.001-08:00

Al Iafrate is one of the more interesting characters to play in the National Hockey League. His passion for hockey was matched by his joy for heavy metal music, and perhaps exceeded by his love of Harley Davidson motorcycles. He often showed up for practice and games on his hog while wearing the full Harley leather gear!

Iafrate was one of hockey's best prospects. Drafted 4th overall by the Toronto Maples Leafs in 1984 after spending the year with the USA National and Olympic teams, Big Al had scouts drooling over his skill package. Huge at 6'3" and over 220lbs, he was a strong skater for a big man. He had a booming shot that would rival Al MacInnis' shot at All Star skills competitions. He had great offensive instincts. His one downfall was his defense, primarily because he never used his size to his advantage. He was great at rushing the puck out of the defensive zone, but was never an elite breakout passer.

"Wild Thing" had a very good career cut short by serious knee injuries. It took 3 years before Iafrate finally blossomed, but once he did he erupted with 22 goals and 52 points. He would slip a bit in 1988-89 but returned to the 20 goal, 60 point level in 1989-90.

The Leafs grew tired of the enigmatic blueliner who was a handful off the ice as well, and traded him to Washington where he fit right into the Capitals love of offensive defensemen. Al would score 17 goals and 51 points in 1991-92, his first full season with the Caps. And in 1992-93 he had his best season ever - scoring 25 goals and 66 points while being named to the Second All Star Team. He was even able to shake the notion that he wasn't a strong playoff performer. While the Caps were ousted in round one, this defenseman could not be blamed. He scored 6 goals in 6 games! Amazing!

Al slowed somewhat in 1993-94 when he had 10 goals after 67 games. At that point the Caps traded him to Boston in exchange for the highly skilled Joey Juneau. Iafrate finished the season strongly with 5 goals and 13 points in 12 games, but was relatively quite in the playoffs with 3 goals and 1 assists in 13 playoff matches.

Al's career effectively came to a halt at the conclusion of that season. Like most hockey players, Iafrate was badly injured and he finally had to give in to get himself patched up. In the summer of 1994 Al had to go through surgeries to correct injuries in his back and both knees. It took 2 full seasons for him to recover.

The San Jose Sharks took their chances on Iafrate when they acquired his rights in a June 1996 trade. Al Played in 59 games over the next two seasons, but he was never fully recovered from injuries and was not to be counted on to play on any given night.

Despite his history of injuries, the Carolina Hurricanes offered Al an incentive-laden contract in the summer of 1998. However Iafrate had to announce his retirement before training camp ever began, and he forsook his contract by not attempting to play.

Jim Dorey

2008-01-18T00:22:00.000-08:00

"You'll be a New York Ranger for a long time" is what Jim Dorey was told when he was acquired by the Rangers late in the 1971-72 season.

Dorey played just one game with the Rangers. It turned out to be his last game in the National Hockey League.

Dorey was picked up from Toronto, where the aggressive rearguard made some impressions with his rugged play over 4 NHL seasons. None other than the legendary Tim Horton had predicted big things for Dorey, which was one reason the Rangers acquired him in exchange for Pierre Jarry.

Unfortunately for Dorey, his season was ended in his first game with the Rangers, as he suffered a badly separated shoulder.

Dorey's contract was up that summer. One of the main reasons the Leafs gave him away was that they thought he would sign with the World Hockey Association. And that's is exactly what happened. Dorey jumped at an offer to join the upstart New England Whalers. The money he was offered was simply something he "couldn't refuse."

Shortly after, the Rangers other star players were being approached by WHA teams. Perhaps shocked by the loss of Dorey to the New England Whalers, the Rangers were forced to hand out huge contracts to players like Brad Park, Vic Hadfield and Rod Gilbert in order to keep their team in tact.

"By jumping to the WHA, I made a lot of Rangers wealthy men. After I left, the Ranger brass promptly signed all their players to huge contracts. And it was all because of me," Dorey recollects.

In 4 seasons in the National Hockey League, Dorey, nicknamed Flipper because of his tendency to flip the puck high over the heads of everyone in order to clear the zone, was known as a big lumbering defenseman who took many penalties. In fact in his rookie season he established a then-record 48 penalty minutes in one game en route to a 200 PIM season!

The WHA featured a much weaker collection of defensemen, which allowed Dorey to develop into more than just a physical spare part. He was named to the post season all star team in 1973, his first season in the Association, after scoring 7 goals and 63 points in 75 games. He also led all WHA scorers in assists in the playoffs with 16 in 15 games. Same goes for his 41 penalty minutes.

The following season Dorey played in 77 games with 6 goals and 46 points.

The Whalers moved Dorey back to the city where his major league career started part way through the 1974-75 season. The Whalers sent him to the Toronto Toros in order to complete an earlier transaction that saw New England acquire Wayne Carleton.

Dorey continued to play well with the Toros. He finished the year with a career high 16 goals plus 40 assists for 56 points and up that total in 1975-76 to 60 points based on 9 goals and 51 assists.

The Quebec Nordiques acquired the veteran for the 1976--77 season. He had a good first year in the provincial capital, scoring 13 goals and 47 points. However the following two years would not be as kind to Dorey. Injuries limited him to just 58 games in total, and just 1 goal and 12 points.

Despite a respectable career in the WHA, many people remember an ugly incident involving WHA tough guy Gordie Gallant.

"Gallant suckered Paul Baxter of our team and Gallant went to the penalty box to serve a major, two minors and a misconduct. The coach made it clear he expected me to do something about Gallant. It was the last time we'd be facing Birmingham because the league was about to fold. But what could I do? The guy would be in the penalty box for all but the last few moments of the game."

"So I led a four-man rush out of the Quebec zone, then stopped at center ice, right in front of the penalty box. I wheeled and sent a slap shot right at Gallant's head. He ducked and the puck struck a photographer standing behind him, knocking him flat."

The incident ended up in the land of the law. Dorey was fined $9,999.99 in small claims court.

But Dorey, described as an undisputed leader with a knack of annoying fans while on the road by Zander Hollander, won't be remembered for that. Instead he'll be remembered for his rock hard style of defense and his fine seasons in the World Hockey Association. He scored 52 times and added 232 helpers for 284 points in 431 WHA games, while adding 617 well earned PIMs. In the NHL he had 25 goals and 99 points in 232 games in addition to 553 minutes in the box.

Sweeney Schriner

2007-12-28T15:57:00.000-08:00

"He was the best left winger I ever saw. That includes everybody - Frank Mahovlich, Busher Jackson, Bobby Hull, everybody."

Those were the words of Conn Smythe, one of hockey's greatest architects, used to describe Dave "Sweeney" Schriner.

Although Schriner is not as well remembered as other great players of his era, Smythe just might have been right.

Dave Schriner was born Nov. 30, 1911 in Saratov, Russia. While still an infant, his family moved to Calgary, Alberta where he grew up and learned to play hockey and other sports. Baseball was his other great love, and he idolized a local baseball hero named Bill Sweeney. His friends dubbed him Sweeney Schriner, and it stuck forever. He also starred in football and soccer.

But hockey was the game that he excelled at the most. He would spend the long winter months skating on outdoor city rinks. He would advance to the senior ranks where he would become a scoring legend with the Calgary Broncs.

Word of Schriner's excellence spread all the way to New York, USA. In 1934-35 the New York Americans offered Schriner a job. Schriner jumped at the chance as the NHL paid fairly well in the midst of the Great Depression.

The New York Americans were a woefully weak team, but Schriner quickly developed as the team's brightest and on most nights lone star. He would win the Calder Trophy as the NHL rookie of the year in 1935, and lead the NHL in scoring in 1936 and again in 1937. Yet in his 5 seasons in New York, the financially troubled Americans went nowhere.

In the summer of 1939, Schriner was traded in a mammoth deal designed to give the Americans the depth they needed to become a better team, and to give Toronto a super star. Toronto traded Buzz Boll, Doc Romnes, Jim Fowler, Murray Armstrong and former super star Busher Jackson to New York all for Schriner.

Schriner enjoyed playing for the Leafs. The team offered him stability and a supporting cast, and allowed him to thrive without having to be the one-man-show of years past. He would continue to be a top scorer while the Leafs, although was never quite as in explosive fashion that he was known for in New York.

Schriner's offense powered the Leafs to Stanley Cup victories in 1942 and 1945. The 1942 championship is legendary. The Leafs were down to the Detroit Red Wings 3 games to 0 yet managed to battle back to force a game 7. In the decisive showdown Schriner scored 2 goals in a 3-1 victory to complete the most improbable of comebacks!

Schriner retired from the NHL in 1946 and returned to the prairies to coach. In 1948-49 he would come out of retirement to play senior hockey with the Regina Capitals. He turned in a spectacular season despite a long layoff, leading Regina to a berth in the Allan Cup finals..

In 11 NHL seasons, Schriner scored a total of 201 goals and 405 points. This two time NHL scoring champion and two time Stanley Cup champion was immortalized in hockey history when he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1962.

Joe Klukay

2007-10-15T13:47:00.000-07:00

Joe Klukay is one of the greatest defensive forwards to ever play the game of hockey.

A strong skater with an above average understanding of the game, Joe learned from the legendary defensive forward Nick Metz when he was a rookie in Toronto in 1946. The two formed a very effective penalty killing unit, often using an uncommon tactic back in those days - heavy forechecking while short handed.

"We just concocted a system for us," explained the man they dubbed the Duke of Paducah. "It had to be the easiest, the most effective way to go about killing a penalty. You had one guy going in and we'd try to contain them in their own end. It worked for ten years so we couldn't knock it."

Metz took Klukay under his wing and taught his eventual replacement everything he knew. Klukay, who was a very effective forechecker, using his speed to jump in on defensemen and his dogged determination and strength to thump the blueliner and create turnovers, was a very important cog of the Leafs Stanley Cup championships of that era, 4 all together.

But in true defensive forward fashion of any era, Joe Klukay's accomplishments were probably unnoticed by many then, and almost entirely forgotten about now.

Klukay actually started out as a scoring prospect with the Leafs farm team, but soon found his niche as a checker. But he did chip in offensively, being a regular 10-15 goal contributor in an era when 25-30 goals was really good.

The life of a hockey player often goes in full cycle. Klukay was brought in with the Leafs as part of a youth movement immediately following World War II. But in 1952 Klukay, now a 6 year veteran of the league, was traded to Boston in another Leafs youth movement. Klukay continued to excel in "Bean Town." His most memorable moment as a member of the Black and Gold came in the semi-finals of the 1953 playoffs. Klukay was assigned to shadow the immortal Gordie Howe. Klukay held Howe to only 2 goals in 6 games, a remarkable achievement. However the Bruins came up short in the championship series.

Klukay was traded back to Toronto late in 1954 where he quietly spent another season a half before retiring from the NHL. He however continued to play senior hockey for many more years in the OHA Sr. circuit, most notably with the Windsor Bulldogs.

If you ever had the chance to coach an all time team, choosing players from any era, you couldn't go wrong with picking Joe Klukay as one of your penalty killing forwards.

Nick Metz

2007-10-15T13:40:00.000-07:00

Modern hockey fans will name Bob Gainey or Guy Carbonneau or Jere Lehtinen as the greatest defensive forward ever to roam the NHL ice. But one player who should not be forgotten about is "the Handyman" Nick Metz.

The Soviets once called Bob Gainey the greatest all around hockey player on the planet. Likewise, legendary Toronto Maple Leaf boss Conn Smythe had similar compliments for Metz.

"That Metz is the best all around player in the league. He can play anywhere, and good. In any kind of going you can use him at center, on the wings, or at defense and he'll give you all he's got."

In addition to be a superb shadow, Metz was a great utility player. He was especially good on the penalty kill. For a short time Metz and Joe Klukay teammed up to kill off Leafs penalties. There may never have been a finer set of PK forwards.

Metz was also a leader on the Leafs teams that won 4 Stanley Cups in the 1940s. He was very underrated on a team that also boasted Charlie Conacher, Joe Primeau, Syl Apps and Turk Broda.

Metz, a red-haired farmer out of Wilcox Saskatchewan, left the family farm to play junior with the famed St. Mike's Majors from 1932-1934. Playing on a line with Art Jackson and Pep Kelly, Metz led the Majors to the Memorial Cup in 1934.

Following his junior stint Metz joined the Leafs where he spent his entire 12 year NHL career. Throughout those years Metz was a consistent player night in and night out. He also chipped in nicely offensively. Eight times he hit double digits in goals back when the schedule was mostly 50 games long. He maxed out at 22 goals in 1944-45, the year he returned from 2 years of military service. Metz served on Canada's west coast, based in Nanaimo, where they guarded against possible attacks from Japan.

Metz retired from the NHL in 1948 to return to his farm in Wilcox. He remained in Wilcox until his death in 1990.

Gary Nylund

2007-09-23T12:35:00.001-07:00

Gary Nylund is the hockey legend who should have been.

When Gary Nylund was drafted 3rd overall in 1982, he was expected to become the next Larry Robinson. The WHL's top defenseman was also a Memorial Cup all star and World Junior gold medal champion. He was a hulking 6'4" 200lb combination of physical domination and skating mobility, with a mean streak to boot. He may not have been projected to be dominant offensive NHL player at that time, but he would own the defensive end and make opponents pay upon entering it.

Unfortunately for Gary Nylund, injuries would not let him fulfill his destiny.

The BC boy grew up dreaming of playing with the Toronto Maple Leafs and at Maple Leaf Gardens. Yet shockingly, his agent advised him to tell the Leafs he would not play for the team if they drafted him. His meddling agent, Norm Caplan, figured Nylund's future was better served in Philadelphia, who owned the 4th pick. The naive Nylund mumbled through with his agent's request, but Toronto picked him anyways.

Nylund was ever thankful that the Leafs didn't listen to him that day, and selected Nylund. Soon he would sign the most expensive rookie contract, to that point in time, in Maple Leafs history. And Nylund would soak up his childhood dream of playing in Maple Leaf Gardens, perhaps the highlight of his career.

The dream came to a quick and abrupt end before his rookie season even began. In a pre-season game against the Quebec Nordiques, Nylund was hit innocently by Wilf Paiement, but his left knee buckled. It was dubbed a hyper-extension, and Nylund's rookie season would be delayed until after Christmas.

Nylund returned, and finally got his chance to play in the NHL. But his dream returned to nightmare after just 16 contests. A accidental bump with linesman John D'Amico not only re-aggravated the knee injury, but made it far worse. Nylund's ACL was torn, costing him the rest of his rookie season and half of the following season.

At this time Nylund was still a teenager, and as such was losing some of the most valuable development time a NHL hockey player has. Instead of fulfilling his destiny, he was busy rehabilitating his bad wheel. Nylund would return, but with his lost mobility he settled into a nice role as a defensive defender.

Nylund's stay in Toronto certainly wasn't how he envisioned as child, either. The team was at its all time low-point under owner Harold Ballard, and Nylund wanted out. So much so that he signed with Chicago as a restricted free agent, a true rarity in those days. As such the Leafs were owed compensation. The Leafs demanded Chicago-born scorer Ed Olczyk in return, but NHL arbitrators assigned Jerome Dupont, Ken Yaremchuk and a 1987 fourth-round pick (Joe Sacco) as compensation.

Nylund jumped at the Hawks offer because they offered the most money, a 4 year deal worth reportedly $150,000 a year. That certainly was not an insignificant sum in those days for a defenseman with a bad knee.

Nylund would enjoy 2 and 1/2 seasons in another Original Six city, but interestingly he would always regret signing with the Hawks. The Hawks weren't a whole lot better than the Leafs in those days, and were never Stanley Cup contenders. Interestingly, Nylund chose the Hawks over the Edmonton Oilers strictly because they offered more money. Nylund knew Edmonton would have offered him a chance to play with the likes of Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier, and almost certainly would have won a Stanley Cup. As it turned out the Oilers won 3 Stanley Cups in the span of Nylund's contract. Nylund and the Hawks won nothing. Nylund's decision to choose money over opportunity would always be his biggest regret in hockey.

The Blackhawks traded Gary Nylund and Marc Bergevin to the New York Islanders in exchange for Steve Konroyd and Bob Bassen. Nylund would put in 2 and 1/2 seasons of yeoman's work on the Isle's blue line before disaster struck again. He would blow out his ACL again. The only good news was this time it was his other knee.

Nylund began the lengthy period of rehab, but somehow his heart and mental mind frame just weren't into it at the time. After a short comeback he would end up walking away by making another business decision. By retiring within 20 games played of the injury, he would received a NHL disability pension. Like when he chose Chicago over Edmonton, he took the money, but would later regret the decision. Gary Nylund still wanted to play hockey. He was still looking to capture childhood dreams.

I met Gary Nylund on the Oldtimers charity tour. He travels with that team quite a bit, looking to recapture the camaraderie of his NHL days. He was an intimidating sight even from the stands, a real monster on the ice. The Kitimat team the Oldtimers were playing tended to take the game too seriously, and would play disrespectfully against the NHL veterans. I remember Nylund approaching a couple of Kitimat's more aggressive players. He bumped them just enough to make it look accidental, but sent them flying on to the seat of their pants. The mean streak was still in him, and that's when I became a Gary Nylund fan.

Nylund travels with the Oldtimers when his work schedule allows. The son of an RCMP officer returned to Surrey BC and became a firefighter. On July 31, 2001, fire at a paper products warehouse on Annacis Island, in which he went back into a building burning to rescue two of his trapped colleagues, who were buried under some of the warehouse's cardboard boxes. In June 2003, Nylund and two other firefighters received British Columbia's prestigious Medal of Bravery for their efforts in the warehouse rescue, and in 2004 he was given the national Governor General's Decoration for Bravery.

Doug Gilmour

2007-06-21T21:46:00.000-07:00

There is a modern generation of fans who probably think Doug Gilmour is the greatest player to ever wear the blue and white jersey of the Toronto Maple Leafs. While his tenure in comparison to other Leafs greats was short, those fans might just be right.

Gilmour was a spectacular player. He played with a contagious enthusiasm and passion that so few players can match. He is one of the most intelligent superstars in league history. Although never a top goal scorer he was as good a playmaker in his era other than Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux. Yet unlike those two the brilliance of Gilmour’s game was his status as a defensive player with few peers. He also was a great leader, always leading by example. Though he was tiny by NHL standards, he played with a level of fearlessness that instantly won over the hearts of NHL fans everywhere.

For years Doug Gilmour was one of the best kept secrets in the National Hockey League. He was drafted only 134th overall in 1982 and played in relative obscurity in St. Louis for 5 solid seasons. He was earning rave reviews for his defensive excellence right out of junior hockey and for his spunk, but it wasn’t until 1985-86 when he erupted with a spectacular playoffs. After post his typical 53 point season Doug Gilmour established himself as one of the game's best. The upstart St. Louis Blues made it all the way to the Campbell Conference Championship only to lose out to the Calgary Flames. The Blues went on to play in 19 post season matchups. Gilmour and teammate Bernie Federko ended up tied for the post season scoring crown, as Gilmour posted 9 goals and 12 assists for 21 points. Doug Gilmour had arrived.

Gilmour proved it was no fluke when in 1986-87 when he emerged with a 105 point season which included a career high 42 goals. Yet he maintained his gritty defensive game.

During the summer of 1987, Doug Gilmour was named, perhaps a surprise to some, to Team Canada in the 1987 rendition of the Canada Cup. His competitiveness and savvy were exactly what Team Canada was searching for, as the lineup boasted many top guns. They were looking for Gilmour's intangibles and passion to help them win. Gilmour didn't disappoint either. After seeing limited ice time in the round robin portion of the tournament, Gilmour rose to the occasion in the final 3 games against the Soviets. He was arguably the best Canadian player – particularly in game one of the finals.

The 1987-88 season reaffirmed Gilmour's excellence, scoring 36 times and adding 50 helpers. After leading the team with 17 points in just playoff ten games, the Blues felt they needed to make a change in order to solve the team's lack of playoff success. So in what turned out to be one of the greatest trades of all time, Gilmour was moved to Calgary in a 7 player deal. Gilmour then teamed with Joe Mullen to be one of the top offensive tandems in the league. Gilmour scored 26 goals and 85 points his first season in Calgary, plus added 22 points in 22 playoff games as Gilmour won his first Stanley Cup that spring.

The Calgary Flames were a scoring machine during the 1980's, so Gilmour became just one of many scorers on that team. His tenacious checking however is what assured him of plenty of ice time. While he became somewhat overshadowed in Calgary, there is no doubting just how important he was to that team.

A contract dispute eventually saw Gilmour moved to Toronto in what proved to be perhaps the biggest trade in hockey history, at least in terms of bodies exchanged. Gilmour was the centerpiece of the 10 player deal in January of 1992. Gilmour would finish the season with Toronto with 49 points in 40 games, but more importantly proved that he was ready to step out from the shadows of others and take the next step to establish himself as a superstar.

Gilmour's first full season in Toronto was simply amazing - 32 goals, 95 assists and 127 points. He set team records for assists and points in a season. He finished second in Hart Trophy voting, but did pick up the Selke Trophy as the league's best defensive forward. It is kind of ironic how he finally got recognized as the league's best defensive forward in his most explosive offensive season! Gilmour also led the Leafs to 21 playoff games, this after the Leafs had missed the playoffs the previous two years without "Killer." Toronto's trip to the Conference finals was marked by Gilmour's team record 25 assists and 35 points.

Gilmour followed that season up with an 111 point campaign, based on 27 goals and 84 assists. Again, the Leafs made it to the Conference finals based on a 6 goal - 22 assist - 28 point effort on behalf of Gilmour in 18 games. However they failed to advance once again.

That season proved to be Gilmour’s last as a scoring superstar. In 1994-95 he, like the team and especially his linemates, struggled through the NHL lockout-shortened schedule. Over the next two years he seemed to have slowed a bit – perhaps age and his lack of size were finally catching up with him.

The Leafs traded Gilmour to New Jersey in the 1996-97 season. It was hoped Gilmour could be the final piece of the Devil’s championship puzzle, but it was not meant to be. While he continued to play excellent defensively, he really struggled offensively – picking up just 4 assists in 10 playoff games.

In a way that playoff season summed up most of the remainder of Gilmour’s career. He toiled for parts of two seasons with each of the Devils, Chicago Blackhawks and Buffalo Sabres, but never could live up to his reputation as the great player from his younger days – particularly his days in Toronto. His play was actually very good, even if his offensive contributions were not. Many people started calling for Gilmour’s retirement, but that competitive fire in his heart could not be extinguished.

Instead of retiring Gilmour signed on with the Montreal Canadiens in 2001-2002. After a slow start, Gilmour was instrumental in returning the injury and illness plagued Habs to the Stanley Cup playoffs.

One thing is for sure. Doug Gilmour is one of the game's all time best players. In fact, it is arguable that, despite only playing 392 of his 1500 (and counting) career games in a Leaf's jersey, he deserves consideration as the greatest Toronto Maple Leaf of all time. That is quite a compliment considering the rich and deep history of the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Leafs of the early 1990’s were his team, and few players in Leaf history reached the zenith of a hockey players career that Gilmour did.

Rick Vaive

2007-06-16T14:26:00.000-07:00

Rick cut his fine junior career short to jump to pro hockey in the World Hockey Association when he signed as an underage free agent with the Birmingham Bulls for the 1978-79 season. Vaive scored 26 goals and 59 points in his only WHA campaign, stats impressive enough to lead the Vancouver Canucks into selecting him fifth overall in the 1979 Entry Draft.

Rick played in only 47 games of his rookie season in Vancouver before he was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs on February 18, 1980. The impatient Vancouver management traded Vaive and fellow junior superstar Bill Derlago to the Leafs in exchange for the popular Dave "Tiger" Williams and fellow tough winger Jerry Butler.

It was with the Leafs that the right winger from Ottawa, Ontario developed into one of the league’s most dangerous forwards with his booming slap shot. Many nights he was the Toronto offense.

In his first full season with Toronto, Vaive scored 33 goals, and in 1991-82, he set Maple Leaf history as he became the first player in Toronto’s storied history to score 50 goals. Often playing with Delago and John Anderson, Vaive followed that year with two more 50-goal seasons - 51 in 1982-83 and 52 in 1983-84. During this period of time, Toronto's captain scored more goals than everyone in the NHL except Wayne Gretzky and Mike Bossy.

A player of Vaive's character and scoring statistics should be considered one of the greatest Maple Leafs of all time. In addition to all of the 50 goal seasons, Vaive was a tremendous battler, willing to absorb punishment in the corners and in front of the net in order to score goals, especially while on the power play. He, not unlike the overly popular Wendel Clark, was passionate and emotional, dropping the gloves on more than a few occasions and earning the respect of opponents.

Sadly, he is the most overlooked Toronto superstar in that franchise's long history. Vaive's short fuse and emotional approach actually worked against him. After Darryl Sittler was traded away and Borje Salming refused the honor, Vaive was given the team captaincy at the tender age of 22. He was unable to handle the additional pressures, and fell into disfavor with several Leafs coaches, most notably Don Maloney, John Brophy and Mike Nykoluk.

They didn't like Vaive's lack of focus on defensive play nor his undisciplined drinking and partying. When he overslept and missed practice during the 1985-86 season, he was stripped of his captaincy, greatly wounding the veteran.

Through it all Vaive remained productive, scoring 35, 33 and 32 goals in respective seasons. In 1987-88 Vaive and Steve Thomas were traded to Chicago in exchange for Al Secord.

Rick spent a season and a half with the Blackhawks before a trade took him to the Buffalo Sabres midway through the 1988-89 season. He finished out his NHL career with Buffalo, notching two 25-goal seasons over the parts of four years he was with the Sabres.

Vaive played in three All-Star Games (1982, 1983, 1984) over his 13-year NHL career. He had nine consecutive 30-goal seasons and he managed to reach the 20-goal mark in every NHL campaign with the exception of his final one. Rick retired from the NHL in 1991-92 with career totals of 441 goals, 347 assists and 788 points in 876 regular season games.

Despite his tumultuous time with Toronto management and fans, Vaive returned to Toronto in his post-playing days life and became a popular television commentator and analyst. He stopped the drinking and partying, and has kept himself in amazing physical condition. At last word he was still competing in competitive senior hockey, hoping to capture the amateur championship of Canada - the Allan Cup.

Blaine Stoughton

2007-06-13T16:13:00.000-07:00

Blaine Stoughton was a fantastically skilled hockey player. Nicknamed "Stash," Blaine had a way of stashing pucks into the back of the net. His first four seasons as a member of the NHL Hartford Whalers he scored at least 43 goals. Two of those years he scored more than 50, including in 1979-80 when he and LA's Charlie Simmer led the league in goals with 56. Blaine also had a 52 goal season in the WHA.

Blaine thrived on fast paced, loosey-goosey hockey games where there wasn't a whole lot of defense being played. But once the game became very physical or very tight, Stoughton frustrated many fans and hockey people by seemingly disappearing in such contests.

Blaine was born in Gilbert Plains, Manitoba, but first gained prominence on the hockey scene in Flin Flon where for 4 years he starred with the WCJHL's Bombers. He had a relatively quiet first year with the Bombers, scoring 19 goals and 39 points in 59 games, but as his 181 PIM suggests, he answered the physical bell when older players tried to test out the newcomer.

Blaine was off to a great start in his second season with Flin Flon in 1970-71. But then a nasty incident occurred. Blaine accidentally speared Don Dirk of Medicine Hat right in the eye. Dirk escaped serious injury, but Blaine was suspended for 29 games. He still finished the year with an impressive 26 goals and 24 assists in 35 games, and tore up the league in the playoffs with 13 goals and 26 points in 17 games.

Blaine played in 68 games in 1971-72 and led the league with 60 goals and finished third in the league in scoring. In his draft year in 1972-73, he scored 58 goals which was good enough for 5th overall. He really cemented his status as one of hockey's top young guns. He was drafted 7th overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1973.

Blaine was never happy in a very short stay with Pittsburgh however. He felt he deserved to play in the NHL, but after a lackluster 34 game rookie season he was sent to the minor leagues where he was a big part of an AHL championship team in Hershey. However Stoughton demanded to be traded.

The trade occurred on September 13, 1974. It was a great one for Pittsburgh as they received a young Rick Kehoe from Toronto in exchange for Stoughton. Kehoe went onto become one of the greatest players in Penguins history, while Stoughton went onto two indifferent and disappointing seasons with the Maple Leafs.

After finishing the 1975-76 season back in the minor leagues, Stoughton jumped to the rival World Hockey Association for the 1976-77 season when he signed with the Cincinnati Stingers. He finally blossomed into a 52 goal, 104 point scorer in Cincinnati, much to the chagrin of Leafs fans.

The chagrin wouldn't last too long in Toronto. Over the next two years, Stoughton returned to his indifferent play. Over the next two seasons, he scored only 38 goals total. He was traded from Cincinnati to Indianapolis to New England in that time as well, leaving much to be desired in each city.

The move to New England proved to be good eventually, but not until the Whalers became the NHL Hartford Whalers in 1979-80. That's when Stoughton, often taking wonderful dishes from Mike Rogers, tied with Charlie Simmer for the lead league in goals with 56. He also topped 100 points. Finally, Blaine had reached the levels once predicted for him at this level.

Unlike in his one previous season in the WHA, Blaine proved that it was no fluke this time around. Despite missing the first month of the 1980-81 season in a contract dispute, he still registered 43 goals. He returned to the 52 goal level in 1981-82 when he played a full season, and had a 45 goal season in 72 games in 1982-83.

Blaine slowed down in the 1983-84 season, and was even traded to New York in hopes that a reunification with old partner Mike Rogers would revive his scoring abilities. However it didn't work, and he spent most of his days a Ranger in the minor leagues.

Blaine retired in the summer of 1986 although he did resurface in Italy two seasons later. He later went on own and operate a sports bar in Boca Raton, Florida before getting back into the game as an assistant coach with the Whalers farm team in Springfield starting in 1993. By the late 1990s he headed an investment group that purchased the Austin Ice Bats of the Western Professional Hockey League.

Mike Palmateer

2007-06-13T16:01:00.000-07:00

Mike Palmateer was hailed as Toronto Maple Leafs savior by Torontonians even before he played in the NHL.

Born in Toronto, Palmateer was a junior standout with the hometown Marlboros of the OHA. Drafted 85th overall in the 1974 Amateur Draft by the Leafs after Palmateer backstopped the Marlies win of the Memorial Cup in 1974-75 during his last year of junior hockey.

Palmateer apprenticed in the Central Hockey League for a couple of seasons before making his NHL debut with the Maple Leafs in 1976-77. He had a solid rookie year, going 23-28-8 in 50 games as the Leafs starting goalie, taking that role from Wayne Thomas.

The following year he was Palmateer's best season. He played a career high 63 games played, 34 wins and 5 shutouts. Most importantly, he was a key figure in the club’s drive to the Stanley Cup semifinals. He recorded 2 more shutouts in the playoffs. It was the first time since 1967 that the Leafs had become serious contenders for the Stanley Cup.

In those 1978 playoffs Palmateer was at his best during the Leaf's quarter final upset of the New York Islanders.

Mike was an acrobatic goalie, always flopping around on the ice like a fish out of water. He was exciting to watch but every shot seemed like an adventure. He could make an ordinary save look spectacular, but at the same time he often looked bad as an easy shot got past him.

"Palmateer doesn't play text-book goal," said then-Toronto GM Mike Nykoluk. "But he is awfully quick and has great hands and a wonderful sense of anticipation. The idea is to stop the puck, and that's what he does."

Palmateer was extremely confident in his abilities.

"That's my style, and I think that scrambling and challenging the shooter is best for me. I can play with any goalkeeper in the NHL. No one is better than me, and I'm better than most."

Despite the excitement surrounding the Leafs, turmoil ruined that team. Owner Harold Ballard decided to get rid of most of the young budding superstars - Darryl Sittler, Tiger Williams, Lanny McDonald and yes Mike Palmateer. All four of these players had terrible relations with GM Punch Imlach, especially at contract time.

Prior to the 1979-80 season, Palmateer was traded to the Washington Capitals with a third round pick (Torrie Robertson) for Robert Picard, Tim Coulis and a 2nd round pick (Bob McGill). He played in the United States capital for two seasons.

"Mike couldn't adjust in Washington, where hockey is just another foreign sport. He was unhappy and missed the atmosphere in Toronto. I feel if Palmateer had played as well as he can for the Caps, I would still be there," said former Washington GM Max McNab.

Knee injuries really derailed his time in Washington. He missed all but 11 games in 1981-82, all while making a salary of $400,000 a year, one of the largest sums in the league at that time. Washington owner Abe Pollin got fed up with the Caps continued floundering, and saw that GM McNab, coach Gary Green and goalie Palmateer were all chased out of Washington.

Palmateer returned to Toronto where he stayed until his retirement following the 1983-84 season.

Palmateer recorded 17 shutouts and a goals-against average of 3.53 over an impressive eight-year NHL career. His career totals - 149 wins, 138 losses and 52 ties.

Following his hockey playing days Palmateer turned the world of real estate. He also has attempted to get into the coaching ranks.

Wilf Paiement

2007-06-13T15:32:00.000-07:00

Wilf Paiement was a big, aggressive, at times cocky right winger. He had a good level of skill to go with that grit, although more often than not was playing on weak teams.

Born in Earlton, Ontario, Wilf was the youngest of 16 children! He followed his brother Rosaire's footsteps and pursued hockey. Most will agree that Wilf was better than Rosie in NHL comparisons.

Wilf had a standout final year of junior with the St. Catherines Blackhawks of the OHA in 1973-74 when he scored 50 goals and 73 assists for 123 points in 70 games. The big right winger with good skating ability also racked up 134 PIM. His combination of scoring prowess and physical play had NHL scouts drooling.

The Kansas City Scouts selected Paiement 2nd overall in the 1974 Entry Draft. It was the first draft for two new teams in the NHL that year, as the Washington Capitals selected Regina defenseman Greg Joly first overall. As Paiement was the original draft choice of the scouts, he is often considered to be the original Kansas City Scout.

The Scouts were of course dreadful in their first two years in the NHL, but Paiement stepped in and was one of the few bright spots. In his rookie season he scored 26 goals and 39 points along with 101 PIM in 78 games. In year two Paiement took his game up a notch despite an injury shortened season. In just 57 games Paiement scored 21 goals and 43 points.

The Scouts franchised relocated to Denver in 1976-77 and became known as the Colorado Rockies. The franchise didn't experience much more success in the Mile High City. But Paiement must have liked the thinner air in Denver as in his first year there notched a career high 41 goals, including 9 on the powerplay. He added 40 assists to lead the Rockies in scoring.

Although the Rockies didn't make the playoffs that first year, Paiement did have a post season to remember. He elected to play with Team Canada in the World Championships for the first time of three years in a row. He had great personal success in all three tournaments but was especially strong in 1977 when he scored 5 goals and 10 points in 10 games and was named the co-winner of the Best Forward award with a budding Soviet superstar named Sergei Makarov.

Paiement dipped to 31 goals in 1977-78 but increased his overall scoring to 87 points with 56 assists. More importantly, for the first time in franchise history, the team made the playoffs. Unfortunately they were quickly disposed of in just 2 games in round 1.

1978-79 proved to be an extremely controversial season for Paiement. In 65 contests he mustered 24 goals and 36 points. But the interesting part of his season was the reason why he missed 15 games. Hewas suspended for 15 games after a sickening attack on Detroit Red Wing Dennis Polonich. In a game on October 25, 1978, Paiement lost his temper and swung his stick across Polonich's face, breaking his nose and causing a bloody cut which took too many painful stitches to count. While the incident and suspension were brutal enough, the story took a different twist when Polonich sued Paiement in civil court. The judge ruled in favor of Polonich and ordered Paiement to pay $850,000 in damages! Fortunately for Wilf and his family, the award was covered by standard insurance in his NHL contract.

His production continued to slip into the 1979-80 season as he had just 10 goals and 26 points at the halfway point of the season. He was traded at the midway point with versatile Pat Hickey to Toronto in exchange for popular Lanny McDonald and a young Joel Quenneville. Wearing number 99 (Rick Dudley also switched to 99 upon Wayne Gretzky's arrival and subsequent popularizing of that number), Paiement finished the year strongly. He had 20 goals and 48 points in the final 41 games of the season to give him 30 goals and 74 points between the two teams. However it was 1980-81 that Paiement enjoyed his finest NHL season. He played in 77 games and scored 40 goals and career high 57 assists and 97 points.

Paiement had a disappointing follow up season in 1981-82. In 68 games with the Leafs he had 40 assists but just 18 goals and was playing weak defensively. He was traded to the Quebec Nordiques at the trading deadline in exchange for Mirko Frycer. Paiement had a strong finish playing with Peter Stastny, most likely the best center he ever had. Wilf finished the final 8 games in a Nords uniform with 7 goals and 6 assists for 13 points. He carried that fine play into the playoffs for his first taste of playoff success - scoring 6 goals and 12 points in 14 games.

Wilf enjoyed almost a full 4 years in Quebec, his longest stay in any one city. He however was never really able to live up to his promise shown in his late season stint in 1982, or his previous form from the year earlier. He had respectable totals of 26 goals and 64 points in 1982-83 followed by a good 1983-84 season - 39 goals and 76 points. He followed that up with declining numbers the next two years - 23 goals and 51 points in 1984-85 and just 7 goals and 19 points in 44 games in 1985-86 before the Nords traded him to the New York Rangers.

In usual form, Paiement enjoyed a good spurt of success in his early days in the new city. With the Rangers he finished the 1985-86 season with 1 goal and 7 points in 8 games before adding 5 goals and 10 points in 16 post season games.

The Rangers exposed Wilf on the waiver wire prior to the 1986-87 season and he was snatched up by the Buffalo Sabres. He had a decent season in Buffalo that year, scoring 20 goals and 37 points in just 56 games.

However he was not offered a contract at the end of the year and signed as a free agent with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Wilf had a bad stint in Pittsburgh, scoring just twice in 23 games. He finished his career playing in the minors with the Pens farm team and then retired in 1988.

Paiement, who scored the 100,000th goal in NHL history in the early 1980s, enjoyed a very good career. He fell just shy of 1000 games and posted 356 career goals along with 458 assists for 814 points. He was no softy either, earning 1757 penalty minutes.

Special thanks to Patrick Houda

Steve Thomas

2007-05-20T20:03:00.001-07:00

Steve Thomas earned a reputation as a clutch goal scorer while a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Time and time again he would score dramatic goals late in games, much to the delight of the Maple Leaf faithful. As a result he is one of the most popular Leafs in the modern era.

The fire-hydrant sized Thomas was a clutch scorer, once standing as the all time leading scorer in regular season overtime with 21 points. He had more than 70 career game winning goals, ranking him among the all time best in terms of highest game winning goal average compared to goals scored for players with more than 50 win clinching goals scored in a career.

Thomas was a high energy player, relying on explosive speed bursts to key a ferocious fore-check. With his low center of gravity and tree trunk legs, he was almost impossible to remove from the puck once he took it from a player. He possessed and absolutely lethal shot, a weapon that allowed him to score 421 times in the NHL. Unfortunately he always thought shot, and he could have benefited from developing a passing game after forcing turnovers on the forecheck.

Steve has the unusual birth place of Stockport, England, but he grew up in Toronto idolizing the great Darryl Sittler. Steve joined the Toronto Marlies junior team full-time in 1982-83. That year, he scored 38 points in 61 games as an OHL rookie. In 1983-84, he improved to 51 goals and 105 points. Despite these numbers he was passed over in the NHL entry draft. Fortunately the Leafs gave the local kid a tryout. His energetic play combined with an obvious but still developing knack for finding the net earned him a contract. Over the following couple of decades Thomas would play exactly the same way as he did in that training camp, and he developed into one of the NHL's most consistent snipers over that time.

"Stumpy" as he affectionately is called, apprenticed in the AHL with St. Catherines Maple Leafs in 1984-85. Thomas proved he was a definite NHL prospect in less than a full season there. He scored 42 goals and 90 points and won the Red Garrett Trophy as the league's top rookie, and was named as a First Team All Star. All this despite spending 18 games as an NHL call up - scoring his first NHL goal against Detroit's Colorado Micalef.

In 1985-86 Thomas was again demoted to the minors but was recalled permanently after scoring 18 goals in 19 games. He finished the year strongly in Toronto - scoring 20 goals and 57 points in 65 games. He then paced all Leafs scorers with 6 goals and 14 points in 10 playoff games.

In 1986-87 Thomas' 35 goals were only bettered by Wendel Clark, while he paced the team with 7 game winners. He followed that up with another strong playoff as the Leafs entered the second round of the playoffs for the second year in a row.

However that appeared to be the end of Thomas' fast rising career in southern Ontario. A blockbuster trade saw the Leafs prized youngster along with veteran leader Rick Vaive traded to division rivals Chicago Blackhawks for Ed Olczyk and Bob McGill. The trade was much discussed in the media and the fans - while Toronto was excited to get silky Ed Olczyk, they were saddened to lose Thomas. Thomas, who essentially was an opportunistic mucker and grinder. His physical game made him popular wherever he played.

Furor over the loss of Thomas was quieted quickly as Thomas struggled through two injury plagued years in Chicago. He rebounded in 1989-90 when he scored 40 goals in a full season, but fell to 19 goals the following year. Early in the 1992-93 season Thomas was traded in another big trade. He and big Adam Creighton were moved to Long Island in exchange for Brad Lauer and the great leader Brent Sutter. Thomas enjoyed several good personal years in New York despite some weak teams. He set a personal best of 87 points in 1992-93 and with 42 goals in 1993-94.

Beginning in 1995 Thomas joined New Jersey and over the course of 3 seasons his numbers dwindled in the offense-stifling Devil's system of play. His career appeared to be over until the Maple Leafs came calling - giving the local kid another shot.

Thomas did not disappoint. In his first year back he was teamed often with Mats Sundin, and scored 28 goals and 73 points - an increase of almost 50 points from the year before! His 7 game winning goals helped the Leafs become a true contender once again. He followed that up with 26 goals and 63 points, but had 9 game winners in 1999-2000.

Injuries limited Thomas to just 8 goals in 2000-2001. That was the final year of his contract and the Leafs made an unpopular decision not to bring back their energetic leader. Thomas did find a familiar home though, as he returned to Chicago.

After two forgettable years in Chicago, Thomas had one last hurrah after joining in the Anaheim Ducks at the trading deadline of 2003. The notoriously streaky scorer proceeded to explode for 10 goals in the final 12 games of the season (after scoring just 4 all year in Chicago), and scored 4 big goals in the playoffs. He helped the Ducks advance to game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals, but the New Jersey Devils would prove to be too much. In his 19 year NHL career, it was Thomas' first trip to the Stanley Cup finals.

Thomas returned for one last season in the NHL, playing with Detroit in 2003-04. He retired at year's end, with 1235 career games played, 421 goals, 512 assists and 933 points. He added 54 goals and 107 points in 174 career playoff games.

Ken Doraty

2007-04-19T11:34:00.000-07:00

"Cagie" Ken Doraty accomplished the rarest of all hat tricks in hockey history - three goals in one overtime.

How the heck did he manage to do that, you are probably asking yourself. Well its simple! On January 16, 1934 the Toronto Maple Leafs forward broke a 4-4 tie in regular season overtime against Ottawa to make the score 5-4. However the game didn't end because the NHL didn't use a sudden death format at that time. Instead they used a mandatory full 10 minute overtime. Doraty went on to add two more insurance goals to defeat the Ottawa Senators 7-4.

By this time Doraty was becoming a bit of an overtime hero of sorts. Less than a year earlier, during the playoffs on April 3, 1933, Doray scored after 104 minutes and 46 seconds of overtime as Toronto defeated Boston 1-0 in the playoffs. The game was the longest in history at that time and remains the second longest in NHL history.

Despite his knack for scoring big goals, Doraty was a marginal NHLer, spending most of his time in the minors. After debuting with Chicago in 1926-27 with 18 pointless games, Doraty played the next 6 seasons in the minors, most noteably with the IAHL's Cleveland Indians. Doraty, who is one of the smallest players to ever play in the NHL (5'7" 133lbs), returned to the NHL with the Leafs in 1932, playing parts of 3 seasons, but returned to the minors following his stint of success with the Leafs. Doraty, who resurfaced for a 2 game stint with the Detriot Red Wings in 1937, only played in 103 NHL games, scoring 15 goals and 26 assists. He also chipped in 7 goals and 9 points in 15 NHL playoff games.

Eddie Olczyk

2007-04-10T22:04:00.000-07:00

A Chicagoan native who grew up cheering on the Blackhawks, Eddie Olczyk's status as hometown hero was both a blessing and a curse.

Olczyk, along with another young American prodigy named Al Iafrate, crossed the border and played junior B hockey in Stratford, Ontario. He would not pursue junior hockey any further, instead focusing on making the 1984 US Olympic team. At the age of 17 he was the youngest American in Sarajevo. A center throughout his youth, he switched to play left wing on the "Diaper Line" with fellow American youngsters Pat LaFontaine and David A. Jensen. In six Olympic games he scored 9 points.

The Chicago Blackhawks made the local boy their first pick, third overall in the 1984 draft, directly behind Mario Lemieux and Kirk Muller, and ahead of the likes of Shayne Corson, Gary Roberts and Iafrate. The Hawks actually had to trade up from the 6th spot, offering Los Angeles goalie Bob Janecyk to swap picks. The Hawks then had to give New Jersey future considerations in order to assure the Devils would not take the native of Palos Heights, Illinois.

The hometown hero was an instant hit in Chicago.

"In my first game, I scored a goal and the fans started chanting my name like they used to for Tony Esposito. I'd never felt better in my whole life."

Olczyk settled in on Chicago's second line, the "Almost Clydesdales Line" with Troy Murray and Curt Fraser. With Murray just missing a 99 point season, Olczyk slipped in nicely with 20 goals and 50 points. In year two Eddie O scored 29 goals and 70 points, his best effort with the Hawks.

Being a Chicago native was both a source of pride and of stress for Olczyk. Reportedly his popularity and special treatment by media, sponsors and fans made some of his teammates envious. Olczyk, who was an emotional guy and perhaps a tad immature to handle all the pressures and benefits of his instant celebrity, suffered, turning in a third season with just 16 goals and 51 points.

The poor season precipitated a trade to Toronto where he would be reunited with Al Iafrate. Olczyk and aging warrior Al Secord went to Toronto in exchange for Steve Thomas and Bob McGill.

"I think he just got into the position here where he had a lot of pressure on him because he was the hometown kid. Maybe getting out was good for him," said Chicago teammate Bill Gardner.

Often centering a line with Mark Osborne and Gary Leeman, Olczyk turned in some good seasons in Toronto, a city where intense fan and media attention made it no easier to play from a pressure standpoint. But Olczyk did fine, scoring 42 goals and 75 points in his first season. One of several young guns that promised hope for long suffering Leafs faithful, Olczyk upped his totals to 90 and 88 points in years two and three, respectively.

The never-patient Leafs broke up the young team after repeated playoff failings. He was moved to the Winnipeg Jets in exchange for tough guys Kris King and Tie Domi. Olczyk would put together one 30 goal year in the Manitoban capital, but a variety of injury problems would soon limit his effectiveness.

Olczyk moved on to the New York Rangers in time for the team's 1994 Stanley Cup championship. However Olczyk does not have his name on the Cup. He played less than the mandatory 40 games in the NHL that season due to a severe thumb injury.

Olczyk's vagabond days took him back to Winnipeg as well as Pittsburgh and Los Angeles before finding his way home to Chicago. He finished out his NHL career with two final season in the Windy City, retiring in 2000.

Ed Olczyk played in 1031 NHL games, scoring 342 goals, 452 assists and 794 points. He was blessed with natural hockey sense, although he was always more of a shooter than a playmaker. He suffered from constant shuffling between center and right wing, as he could have benefited learning one position only in his NHL career. A good skater with an excellent snapshot, Olczyk was known for occasional glaring defensive lapses and for not using his great size more to his advantage. He stayed away from high traffic zones, preferring to play on the perimeter.

Darryl Sittler

2007-03-15T11:32:00.000-07:00

Darryl Sittler is the classic example of the Canadian hero. A poor kid in small town Ontario who became one of the greatest hockey players of all time through hard work and perseverance.

Sittler, perhaps the most popular Leaf in modern times, was drafted by Toronto 8th overall in the 1970 Entry Draft. For Sittler it was the culmination of a great junior career with the London Knights. And while he was slow out of the blocks in his firs two seasons with the Leafs, he exploded with a 29 goal, 77 point 1972-73 campaign and never looked back.

By the beginning of the 1975-76 season, the hard working center was given the great honor of being named captain, replacing the incomparable Dave Keon who jumped to the World Hockey Association. The honor was one that Sittler greatly cherished, and he responded to the challenge. He took his game to the next level, notching 41 goals and 59 assists to become the first Maple Leafs player in history to crack the 100 point mark in one season!

No one game better symbolizes his great 19 75-76 season than the night of February 7, 1976. That was the night that he scored 6 goals and set up 4 others to set the unthinkable record of 10 points in a single game. None of the games greats - including Gretzky, Lemieux, Orr, Howe - came close to touching this record!

Early that night, there was no indication that anything special was in the air. The visiting Bruins were the story coming in, on a hot streak and with Gerry Cheevers just reclaimed from the World Hockey Association and being saved for a big Boston homecoming. Coach Don Cherry gave the start to farmhand Dave Reece, who'd been told the day before he was going back to the minors that night.

"It was just a night where every pass and every shot somehow found their way to the right place," Sittler said. His totals mounted; two assists in the first period, a hat trick and two helpers in the second and another three goals in the third. The last goal was a pass in front that banked in off of Brad Park, with Sittler smiling and shrugging as the
Gardens went wild.

Once described as a "goaltender's nightmare," Sittler found even more magic in the playoffs, particularly on the night of April 22, 1976. That night Darryl Sittler tied Newsy Lalonde and Maurice Richard's playoff record with 5 goals in a single playoff contest. Reggie Leach and Mario Lemieux would later equal the mark, but no one bettered it.

The Leafs eventually bowed out of the playoffs, but it was a short summer for the Kitchener-born Sittler. He was one of 16 future Hall of Famers selected to represent Team Canada in the inaugural Canada Cup. The team steamrolled its way to victory, with Sittler scoring the now-famous overtime winning goal against the Czechs to cap off an incredible year for Sittler.

Good things continued to happen for Sittler. In 1976-77 he registered 38 goals and 90 points but the real story happened in the playoffs where he was hotter than an angry Harold Ballard. 5 goals and 16 assists for 21 points in just 9 contests was unreal for Sittler, but not enough to get the Leafs past the second round of the playoffs.

Sittler's best individual season came in 1977-78 when he set team a team record with 117 points (later to be broken by Doug Gilmour). He was named to the NHL Second All Star Team. There was no doubting that Sittler was one of the game's finest players.

The return of Punch Imlach to Toronto as general manager in 1979 was the beginning of some tough times for Darryl and the rest of the Maple Leafs. There was much upheaval in the dressing room, resulting in Lanny McDonald being exiled to the Colorado Rockies. Disgusted by the treatment of his sidekick, Sittler resigned his captaincy in protest, further ruining relations with boss Imlach.

During the late 1970s Sittler and Co. had the league excited as the Leafs were a young and exciting team. However that team for whatever reasons was being dismantle. And although he would take back the captaincy in 1980-81, Sittler too was on the trading block. On January 20, 1982 Sittler, was traded to Philadelphia for Rich Costello and a high draft pick (used to select Peter Ihnacak). Sittler left as the Leafs all time leading point scorer, with 389 goals and 527 assists.

In his first full season in Philly (1982-83) Sittler showed he still had what it took to be an elite player, scoring 43 goals and 83 points. It would be his last great season.

After another year in Philadelphia, Sittler was traded to Detroit for Murray Craven and Joe Paterson. He spent one season in Motown before retiring with 484 goals, 637 assists and 1121 points. He would be elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1989.

After the passing of the cantankerous Harold Ballard, Sittler was able to patch up his once deep differences with the Maple Leafs organization, and returned to the organization thanks to Cliff Fletcher. Darryl takes great pride in his community and alumni relations work.

Even though he never was able to achieve the ultimate goal - bringing the Stanley Cup back to Toronto - Sittler will forever go down as one of the greatest Maple Leafs and hockey players of all time.