Nitzy's Hockey Den

Auston Matthews is on track to set a new mark for goals scored in a season for the Toronto Maple Leafs. As he entered the All-Star break, he had notched 34 goals while playing in every one of Toronto's 49 games, on pace to total 57 goals. For a franchise that has been around for over a century, the Leafs actually have one of the lower totals for their best goal scoring season as Rick Vaive's 54 in 1981/82 stands as the record. I thought it would be interesting to look back to see where the Leafs top goal-scoring years stood after the same 49 games that Matthews has played this year. 1960/61 Frank Mahovlich After 49 games on January 28, 1961, The Big "M" had scored 40 goals and 19 assists while playing in every game. With 21 games remaining, he seemed to be a lock to break the record of 50 goals in a season set by Maurice Richard. Alas, the pressure got to Mahovlich and he only scored 8 more in his last 21 games to finish with 48 in 70 games. He would top th...

One of my more recent acquisitions is this beautiful Montreal Canadiens program. As a diehard Maple Leaf fan and collector, I admit I have very few Canadiens items in my collection, but this cover was just too nice to pass up. The program is from opening night of the 1961/62 season at the Forum. It pictures the Habs and the Maple Leafs on the cover in a great painting by renowned hockey artist, Tex Coulter. Tex was prolific in creating artwork for programs, magazines and calendars. The detail of the cover is below. Although the players shown are not named in the program, it is easy enough to name them all through their numbers and/or faces. The Canadien #16 is of course Henri Richard. The sprawling Leaf at the top is Tim Horton, the Leaf with the "A" on the jersey is Allan Stanley and the Leaf #9 is Dick Duff. The goaltender #1 is most likely Johnny Bower. Assuming the painting is from a photo taken during the previous season (1960/61) then it is possible the goalie is ...