tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-90774050782725447502024-03-18T06:44:45.029-07:00Nitzy's Hockey DenAn exploration and celebration of hockey history and memorabilia.Nitzyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05932653629376470374noreply@blogger.comBlogger925125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9077405078272544750.post-82244723587117332582024-03-01T09:40:00.000-08:002024-03-01T09:40:45.202-08:00Gretzky; Canucks Program Covers<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnl8t5dixfk8rWZ0vOAlS959yxIEO53L-SQXjstA00sEE3xB-oCumQ4Mz3hSThBi6Il-Zexrnl77XwGF5962EfP2BMmylXW4IkxlZkjqK_UdOqw_MhNAVQFyPTAaPYQRtCh3sfPVIzGvn-pUM4oElGbDk2C_pxTgeCK_X-jWmaJNhK32KCFbXV8-To5aQ/s3723/IMG_4043.heic" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3723" data-original-width="2792" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnl8t5dixfk8rWZ0vOAlS959yxIEO53L-SQXjstA00sEE3xB-oCumQ4Mz3hSThBi6Il-Zexrnl77XwGF5962EfP2BMmylXW4IkxlZkjqK_UdOqw_MhNAVQFyPTAaPYQRtCh3sfPVIzGvn-pUM4oElGbDk2C_pxTgeCK_X-jWmaJNhK32KCFbXV8-To5aQ/w300-h400/IMG_4043.heic" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dec. 28, 1979</td></tr></tbody></table><div>Living in Vancouver for the last 30 years, I have managed to collect a fair amount of Canucks game programs featuring Wayne Gretzky on the cover. Here are the six earliest examples from my collection. The first one, pictured above is from The Kid's rookie NHL season. He was mere months into his career and had produced 51 points in 32 games to that point. Of note, his surname was still being spelled wrong back then. The Oilers won 5-3 this evening behind the goaltending of the immortal Jim Corsi who stopped 37 of 40 Canuck shots. Gretzky beat Curt Ridley in the second period for his 19th goal on the season and only point of this game.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsOQaupEdq0R7YOONk_FyQLobx8kq488nfATjJcrwDb6L_tcLpBnh7yIeet30fSE-cR56vGqWMuZtov64UoRa_q13yLagG5i99aaSyj4pjhOEUo2KY_5moJ0ywF_0x21Dm1dp7VvulkQU617m1Ypw1wFYW-o6AYSsvoLF08eDdxz_dBbGIDktd2-RKXjI/s1540/Screenshot%202024-03-01%20at%209.02.24%E2%80%AFAM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1540" data-original-width="954" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsOQaupEdq0R7YOONk_FyQLobx8kq488nfATjJcrwDb6L_tcLpBnh7yIeet30fSE-cR56vGqWMuZtov64UoRa_q13yLagG5i99aaSyj4pjhOEUo2KY_5moJ0ywF_0x21Dm1dp7VvulkQU617m1Ypw1wFYW-o6AYSsvoLF08eDdxz_dBbGIDktd2-RKXjI/s320/Screenshot%202024-03-01%20at%209.02.24%E2%80%AFAM.png" width="198" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>The next one is from Gretz's second NHL season. This was near the end of his second campaign and had collected a new NHL record of 157 points through 78 games. The Oilers dominated by a score of 7-2 with Gretzky beating Richard Brodeur for his 54th of the year. He also had an assist on Brett Callighen's 2nd goal of the game.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWqZZsd5f5iSAGpVBZ8HMWTT2UBmFECvzQ6nZWnNJQJLBrk-E2wKNjJD2uva88Now9WKoF8XF64rro-VlVfH38P-7239Jcssu-XstJpDD2VinhYVQfknJybrCQCXOnRD8KxTGHR1p4-RFvL_ZZuT1Fh7zn1qq72RL4njYWscME5vanXIxbKynERMlF4HY/s3741/IMG_4045.heic" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3741" data-original-width="2744" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWqZZsd5f5iSAGpVBZ8HMWTT2UBmFECvzQ6nZWnNJQJLBrk-E2wKNjJD2uva88Now9WKoF8XF64rro-VlVfH38P-7239Jcssu-XstJpDD2VinhYVQfknJybrCQCXOnRD8KxTGHR1p4-RFvL_ZZuT1Fh7zn1qq72RL4njYWscME5vanXIxbKynERMlF4HY/w294-h400/IMG_4045.heic" width="294" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Apr. 3, 1981</td></tr></tbody></table>From his fourth season, the next program is from a 4-3 Canucks win as Brodeur stopped 31 of 34 shots. Gretz potted his 41st with 12 seconds remaining in the game to make the final score close. After the game he sat with 123 points through 50 games,<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd6xasBIWbj3PMwezZ-xxV0oFDwsjTI3-T9C8A2N_DwqdU6lil4ea_EwaX2zH6GwLKLyPmzJGGgjrw4SCsWjljdp3IF2a6k9I8eSlsBEFkO02yj0awwYPlajAv3Jm5l2FpBlj_CnyMhoE8iBXsQnp2hRL_vNlWHbVwjs1rrOFiO3u7RbNo6oJ3JVf7vZI/s3586/IMG_4047.heic" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3586" data-original-width="2741" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd6xasBIWbj3PMwezZ-xxV0oFDwsjTI3-T9C8A2N_DwqdU6lil4ea_EwaX2zH6GwLKLyPmzJGGgjrw4SCsWjljdp3IF2a6k9I8eSlsBEFkO02yj0awwYPlajAv3Jm5l2FpBlj_CnyMhoE8iBXsQnp2hRL_vNlWHbVwjs1rrOFiO3u7RbNo6oJ3JVf7vZI/w306-h400/IMG_4047.heic" width="306" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jan. 22, 1983</td></tr></tbody></table>This one is from two months later, this time a 7-4 Oilers victory. Brodeur was out-duelled this night by Grant Fuhr and The Great One collected his 69th goal as well as three helpers. His season total now sat at 190 points in 78 games.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNKIb0PYeQpvt1gC2AFB7al-pNZ-ocTjNMp1aPGJ11i8soESwVD93VrjVouow_FjRYKNA77U_1_sqfl_hiacRH-_rM1kDKfSlrP1xxu0BA1PMjdLMcWidJGd4GTjE556lakp00bUsvDlHCOADI0bqSX6bDnhsC-q7OytpKsSuwU7b4n1t4o2LVGwHKBVk/s3755/IMG_4049.heic" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3755" data-original-width="2826" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNKIb0PYeQpvt1gC2AFB7al-pNZ-ocTjNMp1aPGJ11i8soESwVD93VrjVouow_FjRYKNA77U_1_sqfl_hiacRH-_rM1kDKfSlrP1xxu0BA1PMjdLMcWidJGd4GTjE556lakp00bUsvDlHCOADI0bqSX6bDnhsC-q7OytpKsSuwU7b4n1t4o2LVGwHKBVk/w301-h400/IMG_4049.heic" width="301" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mar. 29, 1983</td></tr></tbody></table>The following season the Canucks backed by Frank Caprice, beat the Oilers 3-2 with Andy Moog taking the loss. Gretzky had an assist on Jari Kurri's 27th goal. Gretz was now at 30 goals and 83 points through 30 games.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-aaCi3R_KO4mBnDrexvQ4V7bbjD2Xw2wIeyJxfFFgJMipMCh4k6vfpkATBksK7hCH7VWJm7v5Z_oqCqXh5H9XZA8EplgtzlBksGsPRVgvUjrkVf_0EPn0LhpUD23tm44P8e6w3OwZ-iqVUvVanDxi7gxPtv3T0vXO3B0SX-VYa_OgZ45H-dLHHQ1yeCI/s3785/IMG_4051.heic" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3785" data-original-width="2863" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-aaCi3R_KO4mBnDrexvQ4V7bbjD2Xw2wIeyJxfFFgJMipMCh4k6vfpkATBksK7hCH7VWJm7v5Z_oqCqXh5H9XZA8EplgtzlBksGsPRVgvUjrkVf_0EPn0LhpUD23tm44P8e6w3OwZ-iqVUvVanDxi7gxPtv3T0vXO3B0SX-VYa_OgZ45H-dLHHQ1yeCI/w303-h400/IMG_4051.heic" width="303" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dec. 10, 1983</td></tr></tbody></table>The last program is from two seasons later, a 5-3 Oilers win. Fuhr beating Brodeur once again. Gretzky had two helpers, on goals by Dave Hunter and Raimo Summanen. He now had 93 points in 36 games.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivNgaZyqlOdsBT2_Z_wL2IWe1TYcvHrdQmgg2tCScgijn2nhZll3-gF8uoa7CdBm-oHApF2y-WH7ZLjCi6F-VCyrJ9iKksb5hax59RWl69JoMlPYAq7ahAV4ecStCvoxmXs94i8vy8apK8LfwxS6hKi79fGiwL6k6G3MLiurnyg5A4UWZHbZE4uV22n8A/s3709/IMG_4053.heic" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3709" data-original-width="2806" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivNgaZyqlOdsBT2_Z_wL2IWe1TYcvHrdQmgg2tCScgijn2nhZll3-gF8uoa7CdBm-oHApF2y-WH7ZLjCi6F-VCyrJ9iKksb5hax59RWl69JoMlPYAq7ahAV4ecStCvoxmXs94i8vy8apK8LfwxS6hKi79fGiwL6k6G3MLiurnyg5A4UWZHbZE4uV22n8A/w303-h400/IMG_4053.heic" width="303" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dec. 29, 1985</td></tr></tbody></table><br /> <p></p><br />Nitzyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05932653629376470374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9077405078272544750.post-15153255456794078182024-02-28T09:33:00.000-08:002024-02-28T09:33:40.932-08:00Gretzky; Hockey Illustrated Covers<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixkpW8WjXBOdl0Jr8rHiDYkUH3mw3nAqCcdI5oZFJOVGtP8uwMAdRGAab_gCCTwbAFwQ_e_Zzfq4tM4x47ktpPdIoFb6EbU-qgatPMm8ST9bC1412YzRJ08VNPsmwxflg1DpMgF58oxAOh8m166051Qllg5hTs0thZT4cuZU_jc6iGbewVbPteBa0teqY/s3854/IMG_4033.heic" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3854" data-original-width="2841" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixkpW8WjXBOdl0Jr8rHiDYkUH3mw3nAqCcdI5oZFJOVGtP8uwMAdRGAab_gCCTwbAFwQ_e_Zzfq4tM4x47ktpPdIoFb6EbU-qgatPMm8ST9bC1412YzRJ08VNPsmwxflg1DpMgF58oxAOh8m166051Qllg5hTs0thZT4cuZU_jc6iGbewVbPteBa0teqY/w295-h400/IMG_4033.heic" width="295" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Time to share some of my favourite Gretzky magazine covers from my collection. The Great One was a deservedly a cover choice of multiple publications throughout the 1980's. These are my Hockey Illustrated covers featuring The Kid. The first one, above is the season preview issue prior to the 1980/81 NHL season.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKZ_FBtLpJ0ikixzFUuY9aWSWGSyyS2Z4ak3fNi2eJ5mCczQr6K6CfzKpCNVGN8njcznRBcEieSMUDuhGl4onLa7eR5knoWwBd-4ibdqMij0opGJwLqaOqbnrv10tYhA4FfkeCP59lZvx-S-YdHjl-up3oXJHtDqwiCFPU38cmdoOV8NTIVEtP8-I7k20/s3781/IMG_4034.heic" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3781" data-original-width="2765" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKZ_FBtLpJ0ikixzFUuY9aWSWGSyyS2Z4ak3fNi2eJ5mCczQr6K6CfzKpCNVGN8njcznRBcEieSMUDuhGl4onLa7eR5knoWwBd-4ibdqMij0opGJwLqaOqbnrv10tYhA4FfkeCP59lZvx-S-YdHjl-up3oXJHtDqwiCFPU38cmdoOV8NTIVEtP8-I7k20/w293-h400/IMG_4034.heic" width="293" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifHRDdtfjEyKNDOnulf24jQc6iVFOhRm3oF-HK-zcCcyAXMEHW8aGeaUiUkIF3EviyxHjpV5hyoiRzh-h6Yr3BwEFCcG46dBroW4l-xXnZA0CSvJ5kNHzxyrcOcEv0SBNOnOFMhpvaykUSEBA5va8M8c-zaeiUxdj7LYdDMjB7caiteLuiucm2qg8hoa4/s3789/IMG_4035.heic" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3789" data-original-width="2770" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifHRDdtfjEyKNDOnulf24jQc6iVFOhRm3oF-HK-zcCcyAXMEHW8aGeaUiUkIF3EviyxHjpV5hyoiRzh-h6Yr3BwEFCcG46dBroW4l-xXnZA0CSvJ5kNHzxyrcOcEv0SBNOnOFMhpvaykUSEBA5va8M8c-zaeiUxdj7LYdDMjB7caiteLuiucm2qg8hoa4/w293-h400/IMG_4035.heic" width="293" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Wayner was the cover boy for the next two season preview specials as well (why not?). Another thing consistent on all three covers is the rise of the New York Islanders and their Stanley Cup wins.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqRTXckYM8z9En7LVqLCFH1Hawwufy1DpP_e191DIKKtxEub28C-XR5f_QC7S-BAjgdegR6-KCepcPBcANQbXtLDYqv2Z_CikLdDLDaZGe_O_hGoLmmwfVZpiN6UayZiMrW4fSODSSfHSVvVEn4ncteb2bk46Oh1Bn_pafm_FQe6qZgxDL1HKpaUFZwtk/s3807/IMG_4036.heic" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3807" data-original-width="2749" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqRTXckYM8z9En7LVqLCFH1Hawwufy1DpP_e191DIKKtxEub28C-XR5f_QC7S-BAjgdegR6-KCepcPBcANQbXtLDYqv2Z_CikLdDLDaZGe_O_hGoLmmwfVZpiN6UayZiMrW4fSODSSfHSVvVEn4ncteb2bk46Oh1Bn_pafm_FQe6qZgxDL1HKpaUFZwtk/w289-h400/IMG_4036.heic" width="289" /></a></div>I included this April 1982 issue with Dale Hawerchuk on the cover since Gretzky is the back cover subject. Pretty sure I had this one hanging up in my bedroom as a kid.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY7mT3aeuGRs9girv7tD4Y5Fg6-Qp0E8nAwPkrxNmZuMVm8ST9Yj5vawR5nXHJwv0E3UUPe4Qva85RMoApF8us4cSK2sPrnCzNI8vD5-Y59RyuZaGcDdQUD9PtE_0ZeRx9lpdoiB9nPEbe10-MAzVm4vW-yQIRY4i5boGN0tsyZ8VlaZ6TN79sTXmqRqI/s3703/IMG_4037.heic" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3703" data-original-width="2744" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY7mT3aeuGRs9girv7tD4Y5Fg6-Qp0E8nAwPkrxNmZuMVm8ST9Yj5vawR5nXHJwv0E3UUPe4Qva85RMoApF8us4cSK2sPrnCzNI8vD5-Y59RyuZaGcDdQUD9PtE_0ZeRx9lpdoiB9nPEbe10-MAzVm4vW-yQIRY4i5boGN0tsyZ8VlaZ6TN79sTXmqRqI/w296-h400/IMG_4037.heic" width="296" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">May 1983, Stanley Cup playoff preview. Gretz and the Oilers still trying for their first Cup, and once again the Islanders and their Cup run is highlighted.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzbf7dM_AJHo5dTzPqdevckcMw-_KRullr-PJrhKHE4NdYJtMpTHZtZdCiNYmKStlopZ2qF80m1fZwjGM6A-jX-7RfNMT5Vio-SnMIMat6-EkH0Jy9tw7VQQWKf_EtIFLOKiTYTr2uyh6fuZMwiOlwDGgmtMJ-kOejLORrVrj6cHldiwl6modvL-CsCt8/s3881/IMG_4038.heic" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3881" data-original-width="2826" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzbf7dM_AJHo5dTzPqdevckcMw-_KRullr-PJrhKHE4NdYJtMpTHZtZdCiNYmKStlopZ2qF80m1fZwjGM6A-jX-7RfNMT5Vio-SnMIMat6-EkH0Jy9tw7VQQWKf_EtIFLOKiTYTr2uyh6fuZMwiOlwDGgmtMJ-kOejLORrVrj6cHldiwl6modvL-CsCt8/w291-h400/IMG_4038.heic" width="291" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">1984/85 season preview with not one, but two photos of Gretzky on the cover. The Oilers have finally won their first Cup and are on the hunt for a dynasty of their own.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi73H7ijzi4P_Coq1hzxrPzi7-Vt0Sjy8RQ4H3CwY8gLw3Ga1SPXpuLO-rf0RTqa05bQpsQI9y-f-pZ24ZHiXh3GklvdY1eA1wId9cmL7FH07Y7SZE3OuNFCoXdusWYKiycFWfg1TsGZPgawTGqdgVWy9RjPlf3ccv5mEerVYibcUO_jTx1aENE-0CGOCw/s3842/IMG_4039.heic" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3842" data-original-width="2781" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi73H7ijzi4P_Coq1hzxrPzi7-Vt0Sjy8RQ4H3CwY8gLw3Ga1SPXpuLO-rf0RTqa05bQpsQI9y-f-pZ24ZHiXh3GklvdY1eA1wId9cmL7FH07Y7SZE3OuNFCoXdusWYKiycFWfg1TsGZPgawTGqdgVWy9RjPlf3ccv5mEerVYibcUO_jTx1aENE-0CGOCw/w290-h400/IMG_4039.heic" width="290" /></a></div>May 1985, Playoff preview issue with Gretz and another of my childhood faves on the cover. Tom Barrasso and the Sabres were always on my radar growing up in Southern Ontario. The Leafs were my team obviously, but even as a kid I knew they were dysfunctional and unlikely to win much. Buffalo TV Channel 29 and Radio WGR were easily available in Southern Ontario, hence my interest in the Sabres with Barrasso, Housley and later Mogilny and LaFontaine. Bonus, another Gretzky back cover in this issue.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhseA6rKjtDjzjRpxTN0Sw67DJUAZ1fb8FkvM33JKpU7V-b66Ob1bwxuXQTaflSB5fWKlzi5sKwPXfgYbKXxQP5jjZCs7CBbevWRgLtenZtMbH_MYP6iKucJImkLpOCSI8FOE8Btnn_O48EmqaW7NzgqxJBGi4HGGZSoru51_VDvUFupWCaoMeaIw7GnZs/s3893/IMG_4040.heic" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3893" data-original-width="2856" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhseA6rKjtDjzjRpxTN0Sw67DJUAZ1fb8FkvM33JKpU7V-b66Ob1bwxuXQTaflSB5fWKlzi5sKwPXfgYbKXxQP5jjZCs7CBbevWRgLtenZtMbH_MYP6iKucJImkLpOCSI8FOE8Btnn_O48EmqaW7NzgqxJBGi4HGGZSoru51_VDvUFupWCaoMeaIw7GnZs/w294-h400/IMG_4040.heic" width="294" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQZtVssur5BMHN5P0rY327DjS9nUOAaii9pZC6kFkpD-loR6_5oEGjmZX1-7COjBSR9lKUGzNs0x6uGeqxFDltZx3Me6ahJ0ufy-igXMASRU8O83InxKS4N1dlc-GPwt0EgsbCldOG8kBJM9QYW7MVUYI3jsbpDoFWO9jjgrqKS4Zb3Tld9xUKz8xmowg/s3700/IMG_4041.heic" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3700" data-original-width="2675" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQZtVssur5BMHN5P0rY327DjS9nUOAaii9pZC6kFkpD-loR6_5oEGjmZX1-7COjBSR9lKUGzNs0x6uGeqxFDltZx3Me6ahJ0ufy-igXMASRU8O83InxKS4N1dlc-GPwt0EgsbCldOG8kBJM9QYW7MVUYI3jsbpDoFWO9jjgrqKS4Zb3Tld9xUKz8xmowg/w289-h400/IMG_4041.heic" width="289" /></a></div>The last Gretzky cover I have from the 80's, this from February 1989. A great issue for me personally, with a rare Maple Leaf, Eddie Olczyk gracing the cover along with trade-day Gretz holding up his new LA Kings jersey. <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0ZVChBtmJISDJoXOHwM0QpHdICHXPWit7xWQjGcpCJKmKAn-pgDefL-Cf0EaoKJoRi0RtcoQ7UoEMtqZKuVVyI4nI_TgeqSpMSzcfH2xJ2bj0TxYz5kwnvjIKZ2wAtr9I8C5hVk3jV10cygX6qhAZrDiL6v-sJryav7S0KOGCW0FBHeTjKNdfKd_kV7g/s3668/IMG_4042.heic" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3668" data-original-width="2750" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0ZVChBtmJISDJoXOHwM0QpHdICHXPWit7xWQjGcpCJKmKAn-pgDefL-Cf0EaoKJoRi0RtcoQ7UoEMtqZKuVVyI4nI_TgeqSpMSzcfH2xJ2bj0TxYz5kwnvjIKZ2wAtr9I8C5hVk3jV10cygX6qhAZrDiL6v-sJryav7S0KOGCW0FBHeTjKNdfKd_kV7g/w300-h400/IMG_4042.heic" width="300" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /> <p></p>Nitzyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05932653629376470374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9077405078272544750.post-12269846878519696802024-02-01T07:22:00.000-08:002024-02-01T07:22:33.401-08:00Auston Matthews Goal Pace; Rick Vaive was Doing this 40 Years Ago<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4JnHhgzmmXiVzy3nZfukuOR1G1VqaSp7TADOvFZ0iaAmg1z3BukOhUHflFPvXvbmvES13R31FjfS0kSM0g-zAwTXNIVxEWA1PN7L7z1Oxxv7KXfkXdsYAxeD5rW_Qb4LIQDnwJJIs-tqGvqPlx0xFHfpbMNTBvCXDtrAcrlAnzQt9XNNKv4RJZpX331c/s1536/Screenshot%202024-01-31%20at%2010.19.55%E2%80%AFPM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="1106" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4JnHhgzmmXiVzy3nZfukuOR1G1VqaSp7TADOvFZ0iaAmg1z3BukOhUHflFPvXvbmvES13R31FjfS0kSM0g-zAwTXNIVxEWA1PN7L7z1Oxxv7KXfkXdsYAxeD5rW_Qb4LIQDnwJJIs-tqGvqPlx0xFHfpbMNTBvCXDtrAcrlAnzQt9XNNKv4RJZpX331c/w288-h400/Screenshot%202024-01-31%20at%2010.19.55%E2%80%AFPM.png" width="288" /></a></div><br />Auston Matthews has 40 goals at the 20024 All-Star break. Exactly 40 years ago, another Maple Leaf sniper, Rick Vaive, also had 40 goals at the 1984 All-Star break (in 50 games played). There was talk of Vaive shattering his own Leaf record of 54 goals in a season as he sat second to only Wayne Gretzky in NHL goals.<p></p><p>At the All-Star game that season in New Jersey on January 31, 1984, Vaive was given the plum role of playing on Gretzky's Right Wing in lieu of Jari Kurri being injured and unable to play. Vaive responded with three assists, including one on Gretzky's only goal of the match. The following night, Vaive was back with the struggling Leafs for a 7-2 loss in Chicago. (there was no extended All-Star break back then, and the thought of a bye-week would have been laughable). Vaive was held scoreless as the Leafs lost their sixth game in a row. The Leafs were in such a rut (like usual during my childhood of the early 80's) that their captain Vaive had seemed to have had enough. During All-Star game interviews, Vaive went so far as to calling out his Leaf teammates over lack of effort, telling Al Strachan, "I think deep down, the player himself is the only guy who knows whether he's giving it his best shot or not...I'm sure that a few of them would come up with the answer that they are not."</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv8Qf4uax594DalUHLlhB53uN169pd6dpGMb7kw_Dm9xzWHg4sruPAb9WZ4ujGHk5Y19pxR3gNUgc-qORnSb-PbY1GmTGS-Fj-_P7C1IHaNI5ndeqyM1wahv9dHH52NEwqdVlm3unqTxS9obLWkVJQJ2OJb0kQ0ljKgwrtA5L9y5KKnVQMiDiOz79vwIg/s1374/Screenshot%202024-01-31%20at%2010.21.15%E2%80%AFPM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1374" data-original-width="1062" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv8Qf4uax594DalUHLlhB53uN169pd6dpGMb7kw_Dm9xzWHg4sruPAb9WZ4ujGHk5Y19pxR3gNUgc-qORnSb-PbY1GmTGS-Fj-_P7C1IHaNI5ndeqyM1wahv9dHH52NEwqdVlm3unqTxS9obLWkVJQJ2OJb0kQ0ljKgwrtA5L9y5KKnVQMiDiOz79vwIg/w309-h400/Screenshot%202024-01-31%20at%2010.21.15%E2%80%AFPM.png" width="309" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">Perhaps the pressure of pointing out the flaws of teammates was too much for Vaive, in the 12 games after the All-Star game he produced a mere 2 goals and 8 points. His season total was now 42 goals through 62 games. During the last of those 12 games, an 8-3 loss in Edmonton, Vaive was hit in the foot by teammate Jim Benning's shot. The resulting bruise would keep him out of the next two games. He returned to tally two goals in an 11-6 (!) loss at home to the Islanders. Vaive potted 6 more goals in the next 6 games to sit at an even 50 goals in 69 games played (Toronto's 72nd game). With eight games left, he had a terrific shot at getting to at least 55 goals and a new Leaf record.</span></div><p>Alas, Vaive potted only two more goals in the next seven matches and he missed the final game of the season with a bad back. He finished with 52 goals in 76 games, his third consecutive 50 goal campaign. This feat is nothing to sneeze at. In 1984, Only Gretzky and Mike Bossy had also three 50-goal seasons to their name by the age of 24. Even Auston Matthews has yet to accomplish three straight 50-goal seasons. However, it's probably a safe bet that Matthews will tally more than a dozen goals over the remaining 35 games and likely will best his own Leaf goal record of 60. We shall see.</p><p><br /></p>Nitzyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05932653629376470374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9077405078272544750.post-75359487457543796212024-01-17T09:17:00.000-08:002024-01-17T09:17:28.210-08:001945 Hockey Scrapbook<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhnb7ezI06x2SHUFwLcZToux4jod4Ld_8gql5pq7nQDXoU3Xn_AR9pZxuH2fRgcxTbCFM3tSSYzGTlJJGEHgjeCNnNL1L39zfUKBdk_WHXEjTXJ0tr6k1Y-S8FpaF7nVQtmhrsKndOgG_Ym4i4S5QA5YynOTKXtrkkzDzKIFQJ6xEZUKvec86ZGGic4UOo" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2793" data-original-width="2861" height="390" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhnb7ezI06x2SHUFwLcZToux4jod4Ld_8gql5pq7nQDXoU3Xn_AR9pZxuH2fRgcxTbCFM3tSSYzGTlJJGEHgjeCNnNL1L39zfUKBdk_WHXEjTXJ0tr6k1Y-S8FpaF7nVQtmhrsKndOgG_Ym4i4S5QA5YynOTKXtrkkzDzKIFQJ6xEZUKvec86ZGGic4UOo=w400-h390" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><div style="text-align: left;">I recently was gifted two fantastic old hockey scrapbooks from a friend of my wife. The friends' father had passed away and nobody in the family had any interest in a couple old scrapbooks that he had assembled as a child. She knew I was a fan of hockey history and offered to give them to me, of course I enthusiastically agreed. </div><div style="text-align: left;">Her father was living in Hamilton, Ontario at the time and as most youngsters in Southern Ontario, was a huge Toronto Maple Leafs fan. The large scrapbooks were compiled during the 1945/46 and 46/47 NHL seasons and once I started flipping through them, I found some really cool stuff. On the cover of the scrapbook labelled 1946/47 was pasted the image at the top. I'm not sure if it's from a magazine, newspaper or storybook, but it's a fantastic image. </div><div style="text-align: left;">Inside the books were the expected cut-out newspaper stories and pictures which were carefully glued onto the pages. There are at least sixty pages in the two books and in amongst all of the newsprint were some real gems. On one page, I found a Maple Leafs pocket schedule for the 1945/46 season. I carefully removed it from the glue and placed it among my <a href="http://nitzyshockeyden.blogspot.com/2016/02/esso-nhl-pocket-schedules.html" target="_blank">vintage NHL schedule collection</a>, this one is by far the oldest I have now.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizxydNAnWyZ2Ljy5rt6qct1jA0f45aCnW1kZzfRws6RR5koq2xUH-xsKmLVg6JZ0fdmDBAJsQ5fMv2SvLkHzydQ2g2XSylwgFcq2BfmsT2Wcx2Z1RXeBeZ6CwdiOf5Q1hZu7eGGKlnRukRAvQG64RW2he0y2xi_9_ODj3xBtIDS5iPcKNseQuh7rkCnTQ/s3689/IMG_3890.heic" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3689" data-original-width="2346" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizxydNAnWyZ2Ljy5rt6qct1jA0f45aCnW1kZzfRws6RR5koq2xUH-xsKmLVg6JZ0fdmDBAJsQ5fMv2SvLkHzydQ2g2XSylwgFcq2BfmsT2Wcx2Z1RXeBeZ6CwdiOf5Q1hZu7eGGKlnRukRAvQG64RW2he0y2xi_9_ODj3xBtIDS5iPcKNseQuh7rkCnTQ/w255-h400/IMG_3890.heic" width="255" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitvUJNLqDqSzLNpT_VuhyphenhyphendsZkIUdGL5q3HHJ6p7tkjutWTy3-mPuGWFRwP210-8x-x8BfD8IfFe5S8rHNCbpRXM6Hra4eV2rlbkwR8T73hKlUmU4ddKkro3tow3QdIjlomXEnmAX0-uvYpd9WszB-0WdjvwM0-IWt-tjZZ548cXOh7jNMnLW5h9kPYO8Q/s3871/IMG_3891.heic" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2742" data-original-width="3871" height="284" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitvUJNLqDqSzLNpT_VuhyphenhyphendsZkIUdGL5q3HHJ6p7tkjutWTy3-mPuGWFRwP210-8x-x8BfD8IfFe5S8rHNCbpRXM6Hra4eV2rlbkwR8T73hKlUmU4ddKkro3tow3QdIjlomXEnmAX0-uvYpd9WszB-0WdjvwM0-IWt-tjZZ548cXOh7jNMnLW5h9kPYO8Q/w400-h284/IMG_3891.heic" width="400" /></a></div>Scattered throughout both books were also, to my delight, many players autographs. The youngster had neatly cut them out from the notebook of lined paper on which most were signed...in PENCIL. He then glued with most of the signatures a small cut-out headshot of the player. I decided that in order to display these beautiful autographs that I'd carefully cut out each to fit in a hard plastic card holder. A few of these are below.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1DFqf6X2RrEblmM8-Cw8om3gdXfIhXec3OcQDeV9ig7v37l5BGcpwAEhsBkNJc39ux6upme_V53VsxBksBtoUiYH3r86RW6ORGKe7hlDGoy3OrGKGfZ1eLnWIx5u1qIdcbtv9oiSRpOThhMpdgLq1cCkDQCu3zWBuQR56vYsCSVMsmBtXrcWhwzk0NlM/s3109/IMG_3896.heic" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2552" data-original-width="3109" height="328" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1DFqf6X2RrEblmM8-Cw8om3gdXfIhXec3OcQDeV9ig7v37l5BGcpwAEhsBkNJc39ux6upme_V53VsxBksBtoUiYH3r86RW6ORGKe7hlDGoy3OrGKGfZ1eLnWIx5u1qIdcbtv9oiSRpOThhMpdgLq1cCkDQCu3zWBuQR56vYsCSVMsmBtXrcWhwzk0NlM/w400-h328/IMG_3896.heic" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">A very early signature from a likely still 19-year old Teeder Kennedy.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizzCyLQ8hmcm2z3PmLMorZXzB1C9bV55TrEzBBwC5n97DSWAgIftW1u-o5q7K_1NVsb6FgI3QaIHxuegyyTfjpXwFbG2kAub73u9IB8ZXdWGWnFqe8Jj8ETvoG98S17oX55BiaMIwkkAMddzh-nPXaMFdyNkUzaC_-Vm8LbpZWCjR9dbQUIhPyWRkFjeU/s3704/IMG_3895.heic" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3704" height="326" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizzCyLQ8hmcm2z3PmLMorZXzB1C9bV55TrEzBBwC5n97DSWAgIftW1u-o5q7K_1NVsb6FgI3QaIHxuegyyTfjpXwFbG2kAub73u9IB8ZXdWGWnFqe8Jj8ETvoG98S17oX55BiaMIwkkAMddzh-nPXaMFdyNkUzaC_-Vm8LbpZWCjR9dbQUIhPyWRkFjeU/w400-h326/IMG_3895.heic" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Gus Bodnar, soon to assist on all three of Bill Mosienko's record-breaking hat trick goals.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYnYSCTCoY0Pt5_WVRVaHfZtkhdmsVZnTSZLflREWmtmgScZB2DFMnLbtyPP2IEsqDlq5raI90qMHSLYrEVqlS5cTqkkNNuj-gUw86sI8nQEccRaW5Qv3IXVuvljyn7kIK7vKf18Hhv50O_08RoQXehgZFWLqtaaazu7-dpri4v__XuUqG0JH01xwe-XE/s4032/IMG_3899.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYnYSCTCoY0Pt5_WVRVaHfZtkhdmsVZnTSZLflREWmtmgScZB2DFMnLbtyPP2IEsqDlq5raI90qMHSLYrEVqlS5cTqkkNNuj-gUw86sI8nQEccRaW5Qv3IXVuvljyn7kIK7vKf18Hhv50O_08RoQXehgZFWLqtaaazu7-dpri4v__XuUqG0JH01xwe-XE/w400-h300/IMG_3899.HEIC" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Mell "Sudden Death" Hill in his final NHL season.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuHDz5nYja4V1N_5LSVEssi5gbbM5-l9TftRrZvWTKB-NYyhhsLVAYcmOUFROb5ZS_S8-APzUfoMbllhn00yqa-FgjX6PI6RxPZrX7pSuK_N2BWHG2p8kZwiET-_pvtvezh4MElrMMNNEGEFn4KYO3yPCCflRVNVBhus0AfvH3d0ZY47wx99s3urp7ppM/s3735/IMG_3901.heic" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3735" height="324" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuHDz5nYja4V1N_5LSVEssi5gbbM5-l9TftRrZvWTKB-NYyhhsLVAYcmOUFROb5ZS_S8-APzUfoMbllhn00yqa-FgjX6PI6RxPZrX7pSuK_N2BWHG2p8kZwiET-_pvtvezh4MElrMMNNEGEFn4KYO3yPCCflRVNVBhus0AfvH3d0ZY47wx99s3urp7ppM/w400-h324/IMG_3901.heic" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Defenceman, Wally Stanowski.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz3IpbFOBdJTsvrnJ5MfgQdgBGFw1OKbyliHNh-XW2tSNMRwbyfn_cmRPaDr7iVpVd3tGTw_cw0i2TbSPG79MbbU2fRVJou7BGporymmIrXoP2AS1lbTDflBBnVVPvw1NjEWnmGSEUTqnf0-PUuaFGq6IWu51cCQLanBptDzUt7hVkiUoI_n1OA-iAwSY/s4032/IMG_3902.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz3IpbFOBdJTsvrnJ5MfgQdgBGFw1OKbyliHNh-XW2tSNMRwbyfn_cmRPaDr7iVpVd3tGTw_cw0i2TbSPG79MbbU2fRVJou7BGporymmIrXoP2AS1lbTDflBBnVVPvw1NjEWnmGSEUTqnf0-PUuaFGq6IWu51cCQLanBptDzUt7hVkiUoI_n1OA-iAwSY/w300-h400/IMG_3902.HEIC" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Bob Gold, just returning from Navy duty to the Leafs lineup.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNfoiadz_u0LzfeExHFSpxDcHJIIymReyuUWLFCEGhDbb475riOpmmQZwxp4cl8VHRPKffvPD1yb4Cu1RpHIn0R_29d1AcLoDpk0DPHP8rY8ptT-QjTO9tcsdmgPdxNd29SfW3oDcYsVnrqUdrcBzJ0fGCZVBU_1vxc0OPAif9GqhxrHKcN0Bl9fCMM_0/s3748/IMG_3903.heic" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2655" data-original-width="3748" height="284" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNfoiadz_u0LzfeExHFSpxDcHJIIymReyuUWLFCEGhDbb475riOpmmQZwxp4cl8VHRPKffvPD1yb4Cu1RpHIn0R_29d1AcLoDpk0DPHP8rY8ptT-QjTO9tcsdmgPdxNd29SfW3oDcYsVnrqUdrcBzJ0fGCZVBU_1vxc0OPAif9GqhxrHKcN0Bl9fCMM_0/w400-h284/IMG_3903.heic" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Billy "Record 7 Assists in a Game" Taylor.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Pretty damn cool, eh? There are also autographs without attached photos, the one of main interest being the legendary Foster Hewitt.</div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyJUZEr0cO6JCvO59tUB1wNVhShvt8UkMxiyxDWi6ejo78ESuEMdeqhP4SgprZSnwnJ8eZyjSNSVAToxcjtf5bkdhWPzIYsEcXFSEH3a2QfSg-gTWsasjBOzQbmfzbThr5DEAuMKM3v_T2uxg-7_utvolucg3IIH6MGSe7pOWt0StSPW2k4WfaOOY6n4M/s4015/IMG_3894.heic" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2783" data-original-width="4015" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyJUZEr0cO6JCvO59tUB1wNVhShvt8UkMxiyxDWi6ejo78ESuEMdeqhP4SgprZSnwnJ8eZyjSNSVAToxcjtf5bkdhWPzIYsEcXFSEH3a2QfSg-gTWsasjBOzQbmfzbThr5DEAuMKM3v_T2uxg-7_utvolucg3IIH6MGSe7pOWt0StSPW2k4WfaOOY6n4M/w400-h278/IMG_3894.heic" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4OQJ6ZKl4qvzysikDcMZtI4DyYI9_mPW8T81eHcWhgDk3hmK5gnlZ16rBduCJzEsRFe8WWJoeTDoHzma-5wi-_y9pU7-hJBATbJCDlFRYPRPHlECYBxGqBuFQVMOQ2F2uefSxwytULW-5zpJJXS0xXVVHxfPZBeZPARdsJx3lNAZFbWVl61bnVzTnxEk/s3608/IMG_3897.heic" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2684" data-original-width="3608" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4OQJ6ZKl4qvzysikDcMZtI4DyYI9_mPW8T81eHcWhgDk3hmK5gnlZ16rBduCJzEsRFe8WWJoeTDoHzma-5wi-_y9pU7-hJBATbJCDlFRYPRPHlECYBxGqBuFQVMOQ2F2uefSxwytULW-5zpJJXS0xXVVHxfPZBeZPARdsJx3lNAZFbWVl61bnVzTnxEk/w400-h297/IMG_3897.heic" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">35-year old Lorne Carr entering his last NHL campaign.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The question is, where did this youngster meet all these NHL players and obtain their signatures? His daughter mentioned to me that she believes he attended a game in Hamilton, Ontario around this time. He may have went to an exhibition game between the Maple Leafs and their farm club, Pittsburgh Hornets on October 8, 1946. The clipping below was dutifully placed into the scrapbook. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPJPqJbn0pOPGYNxbWX08r_OrVN_b8UyUEAOb9ONfRHmG9uXiEqZPtbXkMP-aDaaT2R53jjtfvUSOPSy_9WCZagjgzPhy2tCG-lGo8Gws7DEqUKbYnuhGUlDspCreogELP4Xv0gilLmwBkVZqXi3DGcylNu0I6LZkOb3eh29q-Re_isgE0aRVpnhytXPM/s2961/IMG_3908.heic" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2596" data-original-width="2961" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPJPqJbn0pOPGYNxbWX08r_OrVN_b8UyUEAOb9ONfRHmG9uXiEqZPtbXkMP-aDaaT2R53jjtfvUSOPSy_9WCZagjgzPhy2tCG-lGo8Gws7DEqUKbYnuhGUlDspCreogELP4Xv0gilLmwBkVZqXi3DGcylNu0I6LZkOb3eh29q-Re_isgE0aRVpnhytXPM/s320/IMG_3908.heic" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Another neat thing I found in the scrapbook were lots of small cards from Kellogg's cereal. I have one of these already in my collection, so could tell that he had trimmed the edges of these before glueing them in. Even still they look really nice after carefully removing them and once again putting into hard card holders.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8wWwm_P3pyJ1PBBqB8ezf4YcaMP9T3_DbFWPrIs22Im9mncgH7kO3rvPdENNKHJQ0iRqG0Ey1hX0k534mPO4W_x1gQh_Kd-fzlvlGvIQf4bNuJa8O8ZVsRA8L_iUK2ho4fw79arGRNMxbcWHAbHi9IInhmWLzH5iLaGNmLD1WEvfottVzU016Qu_H7Vg/s4030/IMG_3904.heic" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1991" data-original-width="4030" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8wWwm_P3pyJ1PBBqB8ezf4YcaMP9T3_DbFWPrIs22Im9mncgH7kO3rvPdENNKHJQ0iRqG0Ey1hX0k534mPO4W_x1gQh_Kd-fzlvlGvIQf4bNuJa8O8ZVsRA8L_iUK2ho4fw79arGRNMxbcWHAbHi9IInhmWLzH5iLaGNmLD1WEvfottVzU016Qu_H7Vg/w400-h198/IMG_3904.heic" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjENhCHBrztgOZM4WlY5kbA_v8o3TLh77yrTEGc9KSsrQCTjmwu8i5-o26WT9sGC3e5pNaWSNuuL-EoCoWil4c0n_Cf1af9vt7iEs9HrxTEvlp2k-OXc-aksPAoKJ3u0oItvM_hB6tH_3UaaH3zLP14-Ya1mYg14K6jjSasysXjahMFKCZsSq31FGLFL04/s4030/IMG_3905.heic" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2347" data-original-width="4030" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjENhCHBrztgOZM4WlY5kbA_v8o3TLh77yrTEGc9KSsrQCTjmwu8i5-o26WT9sGC3e5pNaWSNuuL-EoCoWil4c0n_Cf1af9vt7iEs9HrxTEvlp2k-OXc-aksPAoKJ3u0oItvM_hB6tH_3UaaH3zLP14-Ya1mYg14K6jjSasysXjahMFKCZsSq31FGLFL04/w400-h233/IMG_3905.heic" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix7VL5-tgIvOn6HIWsNS-NnnSPIWdyFSWKEzlDSFmGH-PchRmWmREgalbdubb7HtQ1GtkJ0GTkMbABF-b0g2XeYGxNKF9P4u3gO_gIzBnhJZ4jKZgRy6tWsxLipqWdBo8GD8ev-AV7CkeCcirY0A8GMexHRCsD9DjjnYh-s3tqIoIQK5U0spNnlF98IX4/s3946/IMG_3906.heic" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2456" data-original-width="3946" height="249" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix7VL5-tgIvOn6HIWsNS-NnnSPIWdyFSWKEzlDSFmGH-PchRmWmREgalbdubb7HtQ1GtkJ0GTkMbABF-b0g2XeYGxNKF9P4u3gO_gIzBnhJZ4jKZgRy6tWsxLipqWdBo8GD8ev-AV7CkeCcirY0A8GMexHRCsD9DjjnYh-s3tqIoIQK5U0spNnlF98IX4/w400-h249/IMG_3906.heic" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;">As well, there are lots of nice illustrations and cartoons pasted throughout, the best ones are below.</div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi93-kQUIM7o_3SLhTEzCP0ahEeEZRh_V_CUXEm_CVjZQ5N8pL7ZmBQhAm0TJYPWwweB5xkATUoa01480M3B4tR8ZTFgU8tv8p9KnR4of4miUVyYHYueqdsD9-kU3oloyf1IwolHsYO2t_ShPw6rtglAp7n31AKi28N4uk7TKSJgdaonXKQanHdQ-YuAKk" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2671" data-original-width="3500" height="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi93-kQUIM7o_3SLhTEzCP0ahEeEZRh_V_CUXEm_CVjZQ5N8pL7ZmBQhAm0TJYPWwweB5xkATUoa01480M3B4tR8ZTFgU8tv8p9KnR4of4miUVyYHYueqdsD9-kU3oloyf1IwolHsYO2t_ShPw6rtglAp7n31AKi28N4uk7TKSJgdaonXKQanHdQ-YuAKk=w400-h306" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhYkXMbh5Szl5kPGWJsVSFhAZMD7v5QAmXDHKYvkPEGDyBfQOasdiAgTs-iVnYWXdboI1Jb__YY4_REefd8RFR-Aws5P8bmji48W81mzR9zVPXfvGljhIKYUG3qi5vCMAvNlH3PBprx6sjG0SLvQrz9TUPmtGi_Vd9WIfUHnkQBgC0wiXs3B6Rga2xcIQ4" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3906" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhYkXMbh5Szl5kPGWJsVSFhAZMD7v5QAmXDHKYvkPEGDyBfQOasdiAgTs-iVnYWXdboI1Jb__YY4_REefd8RFR-Aws5P8bmji48W81mzR9zVPXfvGljhIKYUG3qi5vCMAvNlH3PBprx6sjG0SLvQrz9TUPmtGi_Vd9WIfUHnkQBgC0wiXs3B6Rga2xcIQ4=w400-h310" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj00jVfCr32UGzHRXLvbufz_95ZTkD1ctjt-zsBChjfbjJETEcjUiS2h5WK8nM4wR6oWElce21zCLmvHoUlMCMvQNDBdM91NaZNZBPyG_r-R1basvIxcozI_PJIsGqVqRaK5dbxIeAUfUp-B6F94C58_sdmcEnau0rTY47WoMrmOjak7Yfp9uDmRTbucRw/s3184/IMG_3824.heic" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2802" data-original-width="3184" height="353" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj00jVfCr32UGzHRXLvbufz_95ZTkD1ctjt-zsBChjfbjJETEcjUiS2h5WK8nM4wR6oWElce21zCLmvHoUlMCMvQNDBdM91NaZNZBPyG_r-R1basvIxcozI_PJIsGqVqRaK5dbxIeAUfUp-B6F94C58_sdmcEnau0rTY47WoMrmOjak7Yfp9uDmRTbucRw/w400-h353/IMG_3824.heic" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDBEEg_iJ2oeb4sbUCb0u8JwAFoIrpx4BpGbz4NP2pObOWZpq8xHxUUJcb2E2W1OFMH72RlWhXsIJnrymZwO1ZfKzMMbOqiMWEIAuDp2OHEf3WqtoBkeQDw8d0cpMRXKsiqZeX3LnmmJSjg2uxBKlRAroDW07XKOAtihHlQy8KjmK6hHXVKabbp-TBb1I/s3173/IMG_3808.heic" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2247" data-original-width="3173" height="284" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDBEEg_iJ2oeb4sbUCb0u8JwAFoIrpx4BpGbz4NP2pObOWZpq8xHxUUJcb2E2W1OFMH72RlWhXsIJnrymZwO1ZfKzMMbOqiMWEIAuDp2OHEf3WqtoBkeQDw8d0cpMRXKsiqZeX3LnmmJSjg2uxBKlRAroDW07XKOAtihHlQy8KjmK6hHXVKabbp-TBb1I/w400-h284/IMG_3808.heic" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoN8R6SDpBnCUKNQh5k2U4XGye5R719Btj205hrY1X6-D8IxNCSridSKf6yxNNYenCTYNp9q-9b1WuKRQ-qE_KFC-e3F09796fCA-uFksNw_NeJOUMmUaE6Nftcfhe8W8Y7MgopC_qLY2tNe50qcN53Z2q8R6lW_YdFwDi5-pnr060oy1s2siNsFC_tAc/s3632/IMG_3809.heic" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2553" data-original-width="3632" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoN8R6SDpBnCUKNQh5k2U4XGye5R719Btj205hrY1X6-D8IxNCSridSKf6yxNNYenCTYNp9q-9b1WuKRQ-qE_KFC-e3F09796fCA-uFksNw_NeJOUMmUaE6Nftcfhe8W8Y7MgopC_qLY2tNe50qcN53Z2q8R6lW_YdFwDi5-pnr060oy1s2siNsFC_tAc/w400-h281/IMG_3809.heic" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5olmiY7q8Hq3Md8610bPXl161LQgyK4Wwhk02rsxs3RTX5WBUrP31otCgxHmoNInwjDt38DZNejXoNKANttWM_rH8iAsMyxAqMeQkjTzjm8o2htVashIu0vMZflhgQoyvFGiT5_GGxJcNg-aTIgB-LlyGKL-0y__tsX4YP1U0XZRJTfGU7uMd5zoM3M8/s3628/IMG_3823.heic" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2767" data-original-width="3628" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5olmiY7q8Hq3Md8610bPXl161LQgyK4Wwhk02rsxs3RTX5WBUrP31otCgxHmoNInwjDt38DZNejXoNKANttWM_rH8iAsMyxAqMeQkjTzjm8o2htVashIu0vMZflhgQoyvFGiT5_GGxJcNg-aTIgB-LlyGKL-0y__tsX4YP1U0XZRJTfGU7uMd5zoM3M8/w400-h305/IMG_3823.heic" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_xiYTBVJ4AenY4D2pjMyFDS1JUmaH7g6J9WDSxGQS4yXXe2oGWZ_q2prxjp8mZ1LI_UW1zd6ldrD3CxI6VCH8FkFbz2VWNYCt6oJOp0zWzn3x3wsFEEiHnyijfHUVjpjCBppER72Pb9InGEesRGF0TdGXAt6POW_O-wPUljBJTRTR7jiSXEsP3TSIvD8/s3405/IMG_3907.heic" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3405" data-original-width="2521" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_xiYTBVJ4AenY4D2pjMyFDS1JUmaH7g6J9WDSxGQS4yXXe2oGWZ_q2prxjp8mZ1LI_UW1zd6ldrD3CxI6VCH8FkFbz2VWNYCt6oJOp0zWzn3x3wsFEEiHnyijfHUVjpjCBppER72Pb9InGEesRGF0TdGXAt6POW_O-wPUljBJTRTR7jiSXEsP3TSIvD8/w296-h400/IMG_3907.heic" width="296" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;">All in all, an extremely cool find for a hockey history lover like myself. Even though his family was not interested in the scrapbooks, I certainly appreciate the passion and hard work he put into being a young hockey fan.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /></div><p></p>Nitzyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05932653629376470374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9077405078272544750.post-17775222445939780662023-12-15T23:15:00.000-08:002023-12-16T08:21:44.708-08:00Maple Leafs 5-0 Comeback; A Rare Feat<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQpYqXOHUgGTNnB4vem9tngzPf2LXHY4EzNHSfO1gJFfc7_l7bp7eki-bn9wNtUmWdxm8P-HKiqrYuzqAOPSbM0XSShdjQvRQNu5lqyzOMA9_k6kyjHlbvB6gpznE3hPA4wyIPcVwX74aw3uvk9UpYzVxB3J9OEbuEJV2B0wZP0yyco1rRkNmPew980bc/s1600/Screenshot%202023-12-15%20at%2010.16.54%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1254" data-original-width="1600" height="314" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQpYqXOHUgGTNnB4vem9tngzPf2LXHY4EzNHSfO1gJFfc7_l7bp7eki-bn9wNtUmWdxm8P-HKiqrYuzqAOPSbM0XSShdjQvRQNu5lqyzOMA9_k6kyjHlbvB6gpznE3hPA4wyIPcVwX74aw3uvk9UpYzVxB3J9OEbuEJV2B0wZP0yyco1rRkNmPew980bc/w400-h314/Screenshot%202023-12-15%20at%2010.16.54%20PM.png" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p>"It was a very unique game, that's for sure"</p><p>The words of Calgary Flames coach, Bob Johnson after his team beat the Maple Leafs 6-5 in overtime on January 26, 1987. This was the last time any NHL team came back to tie a 5-0 deficit in the 3rd period before Toronto did it themselves on December 14, 2023. </p><p>The present day Buds erased a 5-0 deficit in the 3rd period against the Columbus Blue Jackets, only to lose in overtime. The last time a team came back from a 5-0 hole in the final period was almost 37 years ago, also in Toronto. The Calgary Flames went down 5-0 at Maple Leaf Gardens entering the third, only to rally for five goals and win in overtime.</p><p>On that Monday night in early 1987, Toronto erupted for a five-goal 1st period, chasing starting goaltender Mike Vernon after the fourth. Miroslav Ihnacak, rookie Vinny Damphousse, Al Iafrate, and two goals from Wendel Clark staked the Leafs to a 5-0 lead after one period of play, outshooting the Flames 16 to 7. The score stayed the same after the second period after Rejean Lemelin shut the door replacing Vernon. The third period was a bit more eventful than the second.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhXLN63VzIDv-VK_wvXTDumPIKhtRnqRFGBqxw10DrN4I1vgSJY76xSeW8CHJynxpnRGw9HtQQpjYTAh1L0QwqHhbGJx8FsdmIg_b9LL1TKP2o3s1TxSGypX3r6XCu9cvm3HVb-ppL-w9RBy2NjKNlzJCxubuPopeKgSGW1vx1E_re7n4BaXUkpG5AcvU/s812/Screenshot%202023-12-15%20at%2010.17.10%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="354" data-original-width="812" height="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhXLN63VzIDv-VK_wvXTDumPIKhtRnqRFGBqxw10DrN4I1vgSJY76xSeW8CHJynxpnRGw9HtQQpjYTAh1L0QwqHhbGJx8FsdmIg_b9LL1TKP2o3s1TxSGypX3r6XCu9cvm3HVb-ppL-w9RBy2NjKNlzJCxubuPopeKgSGW1vx1E_re7n4BaXUkpG5AcvU/s320/Screenshot%202023-12-15%20at%2010.17.10%20PM.png" width="320" /></a></div><p><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(85, 85, 85); font-size: 16px;">"I'd like to say we planned it that way but we didn't exactly have that in mind," commented Lanny McDonald after his Flames scored five goals in the </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(85, 85, 85);">third period.</span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(85, 85, 85);">Calgary waited until six minutes into the final frame to begin their comeback when Steve Bozek scored. Joe Mullen made it 5-2 halfway through the period when he beat Allan Bester who had turned aside all 21 shots he faced in the first two periods. Jim Peplinski brought the Flames within two goals just over three minutes later. Joel Otto made it 5-4 with 3:59 remaining and Joe Mullen potted his second goal with 49 seconds remaining to tie the game. Colin Patterson scored 90 seconds into overtime on the only shot both teams had in the extra frame to cap the improbable comeback for Calgary.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX4dK5nbKlEfouBt5r0_ypvntWAyqxTXxKBixNzALSJusUDDv1IXKR2eca9eJZdFTEMYGyVMMpaF4vb7_l6JUTMZY2H3lcmVH6OjCVY-g4RkW-d4-XMXCeu1K0mDB9N8xib02wypRBa8zbw2FaW5zqg6cOh3UA89KDEhqKjHY7eTHbonfoel4UEBx0Vp8/s1200/Bester.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="723" data-original-width="1200" height="386" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX4dK5nbKlEfouBt5r0_ypvntWAyqxTXxKBixNzALSJusUDDv1IXKR2eca9eJZdFTEMYGyVMMpaF4vb7_l6JUTMZY2H3lcmVH6OjCVY-g4RkW-d4-XMXCeu1K0mDB9N8xib02wypRBa8zbw2FaW5zqg6cOh3UA89KDEhqKjHY7eTHbonfoel4UEBx0Vp8/w640-h386/Bester.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(85, 85, 85); font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px;">"We got running around and obviously panicked, " said Leafs coach John Brophy. "We were outhustled, outmuscled all over the ice." Brophy added,</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(85, 85, 85); font-size: 16px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(85, 85, 85); font-size: 16px;">"No, I didn't give them hell," he said. "What do you say to them? It was a heart-breaking loss."</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(85, 85, 85); font-size: 16px;">Leafs sniper, Rick Vaive commented the next day,<span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(85, 85, 85); font-size: 16px;">"You'd expect him to go nuts after something like, b</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(85, 85, 85); font-size: 16px;">ut I guess after he rationalized, he figured there was nothing more to say. But I must admit I was rather surprised with the restraint he showed."</span></span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(85, 85, 85);">Maple Leafs owner, 83 year old, </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(85, 85, 85);">Harold</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(85, 85, 85);"> Ballard said the next day about the game, "</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(85, 85, 85);">I'd have to get Webster's Dictionary to find the words to describe it."</span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(85, 85, 85); font-size: 16px;">Maple Leafs veteran, Greg Terrion said after the collapse; "We've got to stick together. On a young team there's often a tendency for individuals to look </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(85, 85, 85); font-size: 16px;">away. But each guy has to look in the mirror and question himself about what he did in the third period. </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(85, 85, 85); font-size: 16px;">We've got to learn from it and believe in ourselves."</span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(85, 85, 85);">Apparently the Maple Leafs are still learning, almost four decades later.</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(85, 85, 85); color: #555555; font-family: Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 2.4rem; margin: 0px 0px 17px;">.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(85, 85, 85); font-size: 16px; line-height: 2.4rem; margin: 0px 0px 17px;"><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(85, 85, 85); font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(85, 85, 85); font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(85, 85, 85); font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></p>Nitzyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05932653629376470374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9077405078272544750.post-28500629985238785672023-11-07T11:46:00.004-08:002023-11-07T11:46:49.331-08:00Auston Matthews is Back <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1ChhH2fkWBibwW797WG-O69MrCkL7D_7uI9Cuv4FtnNXwWVgpB7-2DSC9jdt2lHBWovD8nhfksvfcvVhhT4iU1Uw8t30J9IO5dX7VFVeVNBL0xu3Q5dRniTOoO9VT44lwGpNoRspD-REnAoNttGphACtDgTNARORlDgfFREb9LC169PCcjaKc4cFeE2U/s2302/Screenshot%202023-11-07%20at%2010.40.53%20AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1344" data-original-width="2302" height="374" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1ChhH2fkWBibwW797WG-O69MrCkL7D_7uI9Cuv4FtnNXwWVgpB7-2DSC9jdt2lHBWovD8nhfksvfcvVhhT4iU1Uw8t30J9IO5dX7VFVeVNBL0xu3Q5dRniTOoO9VT44lwGpNoRspD-REnAoNttGphACtDgTNARORlDgfFREb9LC169PCcjaKc4cFeE2U/w640-h374/Screenshot%202023-11-07%20at%2010.40.53%20AM.png" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Through a dozen games of the 2023/24 season, Auston Matthews leads the NHL with 13 goals. He is the first Maple Leaf with at least that many goals in the first 12 games since Rick Vaive had 14 almost exactly 40 years ago. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Matthews has 4 multiple-goal games in his first dozen (including 3 hat-tricks) but has been kept scoreless in half of the games. Forty years ago, Vaive scored in 8 of 12 games with only one hat-trick and five multi-goal games. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsiQkLK8ZHUo538MWiEQuK-YjfBUItwiLqppA3Ke_Y52a_vH8En7c62R8oQrgSuYNAjMfrhUdWgTiXfGxsGqC0uPyd3cXeacR8nZH958vLOaaYVNeEhbNN6aLZF84vLP7-brcAQM880pC-LVcVqMUoATYnXX8QfM6AXICtMHZSbUOPBDK_PkR5MeDL-7o/s1366/Screenshot%202023-11-07%20at%2010.09.57%20AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="776" data-original-width="1366" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsiQkLK8ZHUo538MWiEQuK-YjfBUItwiLqppA3Ke_Y52a_vH8En7c62R8oQrgSuYNAjMfrhUdWgTiXfGxsGqC0uPyd3cXeacR8nZH958vLOaaYVNeEhbNN6aLZF84vLP7-brcAQM880pC-LVcVqMUoATYnXX8QfM6AXICtMHZSbUOPBDK_PkR5MeDL-7o/w400-h228/Screenshot%202023-11-07%20at%2010.09.57%20AM.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;">NHL scoring leaders on November 1, 1983.<br /><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table>On Nov. 1, 1983, Vaive was one goal ahead of both Wayne Gretzky and Vancouver's Tony Tanti. As the season progressed, Vaive slowed down a bit and potted 40 more goals in his final 64 games to finish fifth overall with 52 goals. Tanti, himself slowed even more, with 33 goals over his last 67 games to total 45 total, good for 12th in the league. Gretzky, of course, found another gear soon after, scoring a ridiculous 75 more goals in his final 62 games (he missed 6 due to injury). In fact, The Great One almost immediately took over the goal-scoring race with 11 goals in 6 games from Nov. 2 to 12. His 87 goals in 74 total games resulted in perhaps the greatest goal-scoring season in NHL history, with an even higher scoring rate than his 92 goal season in 1981/82.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjshgtqpS4AgXIGzGX1z2CrjnB63GT7RWTWp5UukLFqS20KvEgyqD8ynT54d0rOwMISjnc9h5QzZefCF43NG_Skhyb3O233IR14IQLKRaM83ToCJnxvw1qzgZkZEnwvzW73u9Ho_9t_T6g5LMrh84fEmOKgXDDfO1Kn-7SYZxqKstgCq8FDCs6ScuE_7tk/s1910/Screenshot%202023-11-07%20at%2010.01.29%20AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1650" data-original-width="1910" height="552" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjshgtqpS4AgXIGzGX1z2CrjnB63GT7RWTWp5UukLFqS20KvEgyqD8ynT54d0rOwMISjnc9h5QzZefCF43NG_Skhyb3O233IR14IQLKRaM83ToCJnxvw1qzgZkZEnwvzW73u9Ho_9t_T6g5LMrh84fEmOKgXDDfO1Kn-7SYZxqKstgCq8FDCs6ScuE_7tk/w640-h552/Screenshot%202023-11-07%20at%2010.01.29%20AM.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs4biFvzTs0XO88a8AsVer-9Epb9du3AyR-UOyN3MJHR13pFcxohM0Pt5kmkiist8DWsRU0nwr-vKYjHbTblC9yfgiwnOJZNpS-ZIh1FiUtl-8Jz0L1uqenB5K7AsfXtdqLTRbFI3VhYfCj_A7XLh3Jv5_8T1okUbStvLgb4Z6d7Rc9vtWmSYv7h8dLfo/s1910/Screenshot%202023-11-07%20at%2010.01.40%20AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="144" data-original-width="1910" height="48" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs4biFvzTs0XO88a8AsVer-9Epb9du3AyR-UOyN3MJHR13pFcxohM0Pt5kmkiist8DWsRU0nwr-vKYjHbTblC9yfgiwnOJZNpS-ZIh1FiUtl-8Jz0L1uqenB5K7AsfXtdqLTRbFI3VhYfCj_A7XLh3Jv5_8T1okUbStvLgb4Z6d7Rc9vtWmSYv7h8dLfo/w640-h48/Screenshot%202023-11-07%20at%2010.01.40%20AM.png" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div>As for Matthews, he notched a mortal six goals in his first 12 games each of the last two seasons, including 2021/22 when he ended up with 60 goals total.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">In 2020/21, Matthews began the season with 11 goals in 12 games and would finish with a league-leading 41 in the 52 game shortened season. His previous best start to a campaign however was 2018/19 with 12 goals in 12 games. He'd finish with 37 in a 68 game injury-shortened year.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">If we look at Adjusted goal rates on hockey-reference.com, Matthews is scoring goals at simply historical pace. He is projected for 89 goals at this pace and the same number of Adjusted goals, which would be the top mark all-time. Gretzky's 83/84 translates to 69 goals adjusted to this season, good for 7th in NHL history. All things considered, even I can fairly safe say that Matthews will not score 89 goals this season. As seen in the chart below, Frank Vatrano is projected to have the 12th best Adjusted Goal season ever. I'll go out on a limb and say Matthews has a slightly better chance of scoring actual 67 goals this year than Vatrano.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzuT0W102xCtEYBHP41kcDcrITKdUEq5ONdF6hpUAkkAQ5qCchoLstunQa4loZ2W9DkHogPCQ4-oxkHjsa1KKyuV_XER9AFYz4oe6pguXfRgA1kH8SbvhOYWf0Orl412lD6MB9GgI0LsHMXijmiZj33jyCcREZhz8SMg0Q75BIXoWL_o4HAkqw6dg6MVI/s716/Screenshot%202023-11-07%20at%2011.40.01%20AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="716" data-original-width="506" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzuT0W102xCtEYBHP41kcDcrITKdUEq5ONdF6hpUAkkAQ5qCchoLstunQa4loZ2W9DkHogPCQ4-oxkHjsa1KKyuV_XER9AFYz4oe6pguXfRgA1kH8SbvhOYWf0Orl412lD6MB9GgI0LsHMXijmiZj33jyCcREZhz8SMg0Q75BIXoWL_o4HAkqw6dg6MVI/w283-h400/Screenshot%202023-11-07%20at%2011.40.01%20AM.png" width="283" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Adjusted Goals in a Single Season, All-Time Leaders<br />2023/24 projected as of Nov 7, 2023</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p>Nitzyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05932653629376470374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9077405078272544750.post-21042758332067816872023-09-11T19:17:00.002-07:002023-09-11T19:17:30.009-07:00Homemade Gretzky Team Canada Cards <p>Here's a few homemade Gretzky cards using two of my favourite card designs, 1984/85 O-Pee-Chee and 1977/78 O-Pee-Chee WHA. The first image is from photojournalist Doug Petepiece who I've <a href="https://nitzyshockeyden.blogspot.com/2013/02/mike-palmateer-rookie-photos.html" target="_blank">showcased in the past.</a> He has shared with me many terrific, unpublished photos that he took from in the late 70's and early 80's. The shot of Gretzky is from the 1978 World Juniors, I believe it was taken during an exhibition game played in Cornwall, Ontario.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhVulVYm9VYGxUaOU08TKS3Q96XaKvvymWTGk28imvPisLMXgcblIrjucJBgErkxngcIZuNmFRSTiJJyS2cIbHUIzV_jlg-1UWjeOlnT2OtLVGlvqrwI4QhebXW74y2HdLZ6h0uQs1QqmkVjcsyRfI1YZ5EVvVT4VTlSM1UVrZWymcPIyLI7bj4E36Vvg/s792/Gretz78.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="792" data-original-width="576" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhVulVYm9VYGxUaOU08TKS3Q96XaKvvymWTGk28imvPisLMXgcblIrjucJBgErkxngcIZuNmFRSTiJJyS2cIbHUIzV_jlg-1UWjeOlnT2OtLVGlvqrwI4QhebXW74y2HdLZ6h0uQs1QqmkVjcsyRfI1YZ5EVvVT4VTlSM1UVrZWymcPIyLI7bj4E36Vvg/s320/Gretz78.jpg" width="233" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhVulVYm9VYGxUaOU08TKS3Q96XaKvvymWTGk28imvPisLMXgcblIrjucJBgErkxngcIZuNmFRSTiJJyS2cIbHUIzV_jlg-1UWjeOlnT2OtLVGlvqrwI4QhebXW74y2HdLZ6h0uQs1QqmkVjcsyRfI1YZ5EVvVT4VTlSM1UVrZWymcPIyLI7bj4E36Vvg/s792/Gretz78.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtiDgbOllUyUWcadGrK95ukykQ52vtEHadZD5XBJMLBTmt-hxEgv42DBCnWIAg9RhAwZT14I0gZ4RZi2d8bgfRvIEnt_EO5b9YvkjercPaeU7AeH4uuoV5b6r3E_RDo389wxUk8GljCAVTY46fJMWD0xGYcJyGdjMCuTx7N9PwDEEoWe2QbOeDoW5OIow/s730/84Gretz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="730" data-original-width="517" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtiDgbOllUyUWcadGrK95ukykQ52vtEHadZD5XBJMLBTmt-hxEgv42DBCnWIAg9RhAwZT14I0gZ4RZi2d8bgfRvIEnt_EO5b9YvkjercPaeU7AeH4uuoV5b6r3E_RDo389wxUk8GljCAVTY46fJMWD0xGYcJyGdjMCuTx7N9PwDEEoWe2QbOeDoW5OIow/s320/84Gretz.jpg" width="227" /></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2UYVPo7kR8uH0HyNaYYTjK9V-CQ7mAcpOPDq2GKxz38zy20YVidaOeXmKMlr4ahKaNL5-5h8WGdUDKFvI_zGjllV2v2J8qkZNSjz2vyfrYwgFgoCaODpCaxw2lkF1HsHfeAGD1d84sDqGVrcvh9uxEDDtd50ztfFDJs3arHVaPKcWtcKwD3wSpX2l0K4/s864/GRETZ78Juniors.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="864" data-original-width="605" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2UYVPo7kR8uH0HyNaYYTjK9V-CQ7mAcpOPDq2GKxz38zy20YVidaOeXmKMlr4ahKaNL5-5h8WGdUDKFvI_zGjllV2v2J8qkZNSjz2vyfrYwgFgoCaODpCaxw2lkF1HsHfeAGD1d84sDqGVrcvh9uxEDDtd50ztfFDJs3arHVaPKcWtcKwD3wSpX2l0K4/s320/GRETZ78Juniors.jpg" width="224" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div></div>I think I like the 77/78 WHA template version for this photo. It allows me to use the logo on the card, which is the wonderful blue version of the Team Canada logo that was used for the only time in this tournament.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihcBB6m41m0syElWPfASRlXRr3RE09t6VxQUuDxfQDEvFrZBr5FJNxydpTsyAKONNsawZD7Q9az0jyTBYVbJyYDxwbcyt1Vh48yyNqPcqFHH528FoVENcQHoVlDCM_BxCBgMJxjb9rIFnjupueQ__BPB1Cb4EfQhd7uahciyO-kTLH0FikQBGTILpdsTc/s648/Gretz82Worlds.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="648" data-original-width="439" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihcBB6m41m0syElWPfASRlXRr3RE09t6VxQUuDxfQDEvFrZBr5FJNxydpTsyAKONNsawZD7Q9az0jyTBYVbJyYDxwbcyt1Vh48yyNqPcqFHH528FoVENcQHoVlDCM_BxCBgMJxjb9rIFnjupueQ__BPB1Cb4EfQhd7uahciyO-kTLH0FikQBGTILpdsTc/s320/Gretz82Worlds.jpg" width="217" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The second photo I found online from Gretzky's only time representing Canada at the World Championships in 1982. It's a great shot of Wayne posing with Dale Hawerchuk. Maybe I'll have to do a version of this card just of "Ducky". I really like the 84/85 template for this one. The red border works great and the headshot from the '81 Canada Cup is a nice bonus.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm6CbLTQzJ9U_-ERETzMyT5Zrrgls1K-jJirsA-STG5ltfsyS8QznBvdswJJeHsA8XWSVCdTcZN0XPQaIkCmUcwt2-74kQtEEVBcfHvx8kN3W_3qC2tAjekgKEZx2Op_kihIiNMXZnX7zbPgd7uBYdgRGnPtka6GcY5rYeaX8SbMDY11GTN5jJungnDhI/s730/82Gretz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="730" data-original-width="517" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm6CbLTQzJ9U_-ERETzMyT5Zrrgls1K-jJirsA-STG5ltfsyS8QznBvdswJJeHsA8XWSVCdTcZN0XPQaIkCmUcwt2-74kQtEEVBcfHvx8kN3W_3qC2tAjekgKEZx2Op_kihIiNMXZnX7zbPgd7uBYdgRGnPtka6GcY5rYeaX8SbMDY11GTN5jJungnDhI/s320/82Gretz.jpg" width="227" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYzfCd1mUkp-kc1o6oVwS-0zRHVFgpvv_FBDuqVQSDcToHwkLQZOsQrNFgtYMjtmNBzQf_AhKmHYI7MS3cySdyKsiCr13qTCt82HRcOCNooEPln1fySJ_2INQmSegOfAzR9HGKEflBLjPFzdFapsj5uq-rJw2VSjz8s_2ahjIhBOFU_FEudmGzlPar5IY/s1699/GRETZ82.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1699" data-original-width="1210" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYzfCd1mUkp-kc1o6oVwS-0zRHVFgpvv_FBDuqVQSDcToHwkLQZOsQrNFgtYMjtmNBzQf_AhKmHYI7MS3cySdyKsiCr13qTCt82HRcOCNooEPln1fySJ_2INQmSegOfAzR9HGKEflBLjPFzdFapsj5uq-rJw2VSjz8s_2ahjIhBOFU_FEudmGzlPar5IY/s320/GRETZ82.jpg" width="228" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /> <p></p>Nitzyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05932653629376470374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9077405078272544750.post-46214812660438665122023-05-24T07:43:00.002-07:002023-05-24T07:43:43.260-07:00Toronto Maple Leafs; Hockey's Most Disappointing Team Ever?<div><br /></div><span class="DEFINITION" style="caret-color: rgb(36, 36, 36); color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG6DWwFf77aUPg5WDeoMUNqtmGQaPCnZ3wdCcH-GZo8Sw5fquBw3sD3Gq4yvH0z-ovtxtcULXPaH-BdKeW0gyuE0HsEJH7pX5mc1T3CPNuUShG9DHAzQrFudaSt18S8ndRVw477R5HyewFUDhoabJMZnp53Zavs91kOhJK_FSSYtxKDP4CPMSPSARA/s1864/Screen%20Shot%202023-05-23%20at%208.10.59%20PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1090" data-original-width="1864" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG6DWwFf77aUPg5WDeoMUNqtmGQaPCnZ3wdCcH-GZo8Sw5fquBw3sD3Gq4yvH0z-ovtxtcULXPaH-BdKeW0gyuE0HsEJH7pX5mc1T3CPNuUShG9DHAzQrFudaSt18S8ndRVw477R5HyewFUDhoabJMZnp53Zavs91kOhJK_FSSYtxKDP4CPMSPSARA/w400-h235/Screen%20Shot%202023-05-23%20at%208.10.59%20PM.png" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Disappointing </b></div></b></span></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="DEFINITION" style="caret-color: rgb(36, 36, 36); color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">"failing to meet expectations"</span></span></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(36, 36, 36); color: #242424; font-family: georgia;">-Merriam Webster Dictionary</span></div><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span>The latest epoch of Toronto Maple Leafs playoff performances has been fraught with disappointment. Since the debuts of Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner in 2016/17, Toronto has been an outstanding regular season team. Over those seven seasons, the Leafs have 684 points in 536 games for a points percentage of .638. However, this regular season success has failed to translate to post-season results, seeing as it took the Leafs until their SEVENTH try to even win one round in the playoffs. During those seven playoffs, they have played to a won/loss record of 19-27 for a Winning Pct of .413. That, one would say, is disappointing.</p><p>The Leafs have played .638 hockey (a 105 point pace) over seven seasons, and have one playoff round to show for it. Could the current iteration of the Toronto Maple Leafs be the most disappointing team in history? Being a supposedly quality team with inept playoff results over such an extended period of time leads to nothing but disappointment.</p><p> The question is, are there are any teams with a similar dichotomy of regular season success and post-season failure? I looked through hockey-reference.com historical data to find any comparable stretches. Obviously, any seven year period that included a Stanley Cup win were discounted. The fact is, if you can win a Cup in any seven season segment, that cannot be considered disappointing. Who cares how the rest of the seasons played out? OK, on to the disappointment.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>Toronto 2016/17 - 2022/23 </b></p><p style="text-align: center;">Regular Season .638, Post-Season .413, One Round Win</p><p style="text-align: left;">Let's see if anyone can touch this display of playoff failure after such regular season success.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>Toronto 1998/99 - 2003/04 </b></p><p style="text-align: center;">Regular Season .591, Post-Season .513, Seven Round Wins</p><p style="text-align: left;">I'll start with another Leaf era, that doesn't quite have the same regular season results, but Leaf fans may instantly remember the Pat Quinn era as being filled with close calls and missed opportunity. This was in fact true, but the team had nowhere near the regular season results of the current era and they actually won seven playoff rounds. Sure they lost to Buffalo and Carolina, teams they were favoured over in the Conference Finals, but at least they got that far. Disappointing, sure. Not as much as the present-day Leafs though.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>Boston 2016/17 - 2022/23</b></p><p style="text-align: center;">Regular Season .680, Post-Season .488, Six Round Wins</p><p style="text-align: left;">As terrific as the current stretch of the Boston Bruins has been, they have not brought home a Cup. They did however, play in a Final and won a Cup less than a decade prior to this stretch. Therefore, these Bruins can't compete with Toronto's current predicament.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>Boston 1972/73 - 1978/79</b></p><p style="text-align: center;">Regular Season .671, Post-Season .553, Eight Round Wins</p><p style="text-align: left;">The Bruins of Orr, Espo and Dave Forbes dominated the regular campaign and yet failed to win the ultimate prize. There were three Cup Final trips in this stretch though and two Cup victories in the three years proceeding this stretch. Toronto and it's fans would gladly take these results.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>NY Rangers 1967/68 - 1973/74</b></p><p style="text-align: center;">Regular Season .639, Post-Season .478, Five Round Wins</p><p style="text-align: left;">The same points percentage as Toronto over a seven year period, far better results in the playoffs including three Semi-Finals and one Cup Final appearance. Sorry, not disappointing enough.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>Washington 2009/10 - 2016/17</b></p><p style="text-align: center;">Regular Season .648, Post-Season .487, Five Round Wins</p><p style="text-align: left;">So far, these Capitals may be the closest match to the disappointment of the current Maple Leafs. The Caps of this era were dominant in the regular season but never made it past the second round. They did however manage to win five rounds, AND this era did lead to a Cup the following season. Toronto would take that in a heartbeat.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>Vancouver 2006/07 - 2012/13</b></p><p style="text-align: center;">Regular Season .632, Post-Season .457, Six Round Wins</p><p style="text-align: left;">Canucks fans will surely say that this era was full of disappointment, but their team managed to win six playoff rounds and take a Cup Final to Game Seven. Leaf fans don't want to hear the complaining.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>Buffalo 1974/75 - 1980/81</b></p><p style="text-align: center;">Regular Season .632, Post-Season .508, Eight Round Wins</p><p style="text-align: left;">This Sabres run produced a Cup Final appearance and six rounds won. Somewhat disappointing for sure, but far better than the current Leafs.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>Ottawa 1998/99 - 2006/07</b></p><p style="text-align: center;">Regular Season .646, Post-Season .506, Seven Round Wins</p><p style="text-align: left;">Similarly to the 70's Sabres, the turn-of-the-century Sens were a dominant regular season team that won many playoff rounds and had one Cup Final appearance. Cry me a river.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>Tampa Bay 2013/14 - 2018/19</b></p><p style="text-align: center;">Regular Season .651, Post-Season .529, Seven Round Wins</p><p style="text-align: left;">I chose to make this a six year segment as opposed to seven since the year before, Tampa was just plain bad and just after these six years, they won back-to-back Stanley Cups. During this period they were fairly disappointing in the playoffs (although they won seven rounds), but it DID lead to two Stanley Cups. Worth the wait I'd say.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>Dallas 1999/00 - 2006/07</b></p><p style="text-align: center;">Regular Season .632, Post-Season .468, Five Round Wins</p><p style="text-align: left;">This period of time covers the time immediately AFTER the Stars won the Stanley Cup. The team continued it's regular season dominance, even made the Final the year after the Cup win, but failed to win another. Still, not as bad or disappointing as the current Maple Leafs results.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>Anaheim 2012/13 - 2017/18</b></p><p style="text-align: center;">Regular Season .655, Post-Season .531, Five Round Wins</p><p style="text-align: left;">Five consecutive divisional first-place finishes, and no Cups is disappointing. Two Semi-final trips and five round wins definitely softens the blow, as does the fact the Ducks had won the Cup less than a decade prior.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>NY Islanders 1974/75 - 1978/79</b></p><p style="text-align: center;">Regular Season .658, Post-Season .552, Seven Round Wins</p><p style="text-align: left;">I'll highlight these five seasons of the early-Islanders as the model of how things are supposed to be done. The pre-Cup years was an increasingly great run that included four Semi-final appearances and a total of seven round victories. As disappointing as these five years may have been, it was made up for in spades with four consecutive Stanley Cups. Ideally, all the disappointment eventually leads to success. </p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>Pittsburgh 2009/10 - 2014/15</b></p><p style="text-align: center;">Regular Season .649, Post-Season .475, Four Round Wins</p><p style="text-align: left;">Here's a six-year segment to illustrate how it's supposed to play out. Three Divisional first-place finishes in five years and only one Semi-Final. Not ideal for sure and nearing the ineptitude of the Leafs. However, a Cup win just prior and back-to-back Cups right after renders this five year period meaningless and forgettable.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>San Jose 2003/04 - 2018/19</b></p><p style="text-align: center;">Regular Season .629, Post-Season .516, Fourteen Round Wins</p><p style="text-align: left;">This fifteen year stretch of the Sharks is bordering on unprecedented. They missed the playoffs only once and played at an average of a 103 point pace each and every season. They won fourteen playoff rounds, an average of one per season. They also made at least the Semifinals on five occasions and even one Cup Final. The current Leafs will have to make five Semis in the next 8 years to even get to the Sharks apparent lack of success. I commend San Jose on the longevity of playoff failure, but the Leafs have been more disappointing in half the time. That's something.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>Minnesota 2016/17 - 2022/23</b></p><p style="text-align: center;">Regular Season .615, Post-Season .303, Zero Round Wins</p><p style="text-align: left;">Here's the only real contender to the Leafs ineptitude. The current Minnesota Wild hasn't had quite the recent regular season success as Toronto over the last seven seasons, topping out with only two Second-place Divisional finishes and even missing the playoffs once. Toronto has never finished lower than 3rd in Division in the last seven seasons. That being said, Minnesota has an atrocious playoff record in this span, yes even worse than the Leafs. They only once have made it past six games in an opening round and needless to say, haven't won a round in those seven seasons.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The question is, which team has been more disappointing? The Wild was the favourite in only two of those first round matchups. Toronto has been a prohibitive favourite in four of those series. In 20/21, Toronto played a Montreal team that finished 18 points behind them (in a 56 game season, remember) and this year in the second round they lost to a Florida squad with 19 fewer regular season points. The Wild have never been more than seven points better than a first-round opponent in the last seven years, only in 2016/17 against St.Louis. </p><p style="text-align: left;">The higher expectations, the superior regular season performance and standings placing, as well as the supposedly inferior quality of many of their opponents makes Toronto the more disappointing team than Minnesota. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Therefore, the current Toronto Maple Leafs simply must be acknowledged as the most disappointing team in NHL history. The numbers tell the story, and the heart doesn't lie.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1q0aT8HsUHcP_VeQ11LjnBcOdx2nc4Oc0Q2ypgdxnLX8BLWFZKp-z3P7Op5boIL2o0v_m62q5k--UPAKlYl72Psmh8UL_cH4ngvSHf0lUlKrv_nC2dWXTx5Q07p9IdB9QOkazNaCqItJ4wdj9MGPvZmSuKbm_BKBEao4HnlrzYXOnIdfFG28Ya60A/s1472/Screen%20Shot%202023-05-23%20at%208.25.53%20PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="710" data-original-width="1472" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1q0aT8HsUHcP_VeQ11LjnBcOdx2nc4Oc0Q2ypgdxnLX8BLWFZKp-z3P7Op5boIL2o0v_m62q5k--UPAKlYl72Psmh8UL_cH4ngvSHf0lUlKrv_nC2dWXTx5Q07p9IdB9QOkazNaCqItJ4wdj9MGPvZmSuKbm_BKBEao4HnlrzYXOnIdfFG28Ya60A/w400-h194/Screen%20Shot%202023-05-23%20at%208.25.53%20PM.png" width="400" /></a></div></div>Nitzyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05932653629376470374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9077405078272544750.post-40286313602033124472023-05-08T22:53:00.000-07:002023-05-08T22:53:39.105-07:00Gordon "Red" Henry, EBUG Beats The Habs in Cup Final <p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7RN9iGICJJiDTU8HHULBao_1mtgFT4J_CEhum7sQd7CcQnk_nFQdMvjYIEFABqa2EsMyPVXepNyFG8_qBEoMdhdz6uR_hAZPE0cwDTM92IDl9px9kM2YezjTLwGWN32TsccEAwVF8nolhCzjLTBpdDTNbo9NtamnDnyfatHOmwdqBCRwQPpPXSZ0M/s1416/Screen%20Shot%202023-05-08%20at%209.30.46%20PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1136" data-original-width="1416" height="321" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7RN9iGICJJiDTU8HHULBao_1mtgFT4J_CEhum7sQd7CcQnk_nFQdMvjYIEFABqa2EsMyPVXepNyFG8_qBEoMdhdz6uR_hAZPE0cwDTM92IDl9px9kM2YezjTLwGWN32TsccEAwVF8nolhCzjLTBpdDTNbo9NtamnDnyfatHOmwdqBCRwQPpPXSZ0M/w400-h321/Screen%20Shot%202023-05-08%20at%209.30.46%20PM.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Vegas Golden Knights goalie, Adin Hill replaced the injured Lauent Brossoit against the Edmonton Oilers in Game 3 of the 2023 Pacific Division Final. Hill became only the seventh goalie in NHL history to record their first post-season victory in relief, AFTER the first round of the playoffs.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The first one to accomplish this was famously, Lester Patrick who came from behind the bench to lead the New York Rangers to a win in Game two of the 1928 Stanley Cup Final.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The second ever goaltender was the relative unknown, Gord Henry.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The 1953 Stanley Cup Final pitted the 3rd place Boston Bruins against the 2nd place Montreal Canadiens. Game 1 saw Montreal rookie Jacques Plante defeat "Sugar" Jim Henry by a score of 4-2. In Game 2, the Bruins goalie was injured with just over two minutes left in the first period and replaced by his namesake (unrelated) Gord Henry. Milt Dunnell of The Toronto Star described it eloquently:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>"Sugar Jim Henry, better known to Detroit as sugar-coated strychnine, got his skate caught in a crevice at Montreal Saturday night. He popped an ocelet, or whatever it is that pops when a goaltender goes in the opposite direction from his skates. That brought in another Henry, Gordon the Red. He held off the desperate Habitants while the Bruins went on to square their Stanley Cup set.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Gord Henry allowed but one goal in his 43 minutes of play in a 4-1 Bruins win. Dunnell continued;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>History almost repeated Saturday night. After Sugar Jim was hurt, Red Henry, who took his place, got a skate puncture his arm...While Red was being cased for stitching, Lester's son, (Bruins coach) Lynn, paced the dressing-room floor. "I may have to emulate my old man yet," Lynn cracked. "Why don't you give it a try," a reporter urged. "Are you kidding?" Lynn demanded. "I only played goal for one period of hockey in my life, and I missed 25 shots." You have to conclude the earlier generation of Patricks was made of more venturesome stuff.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Red Henry would have to start Game 3 for the still-injured Sugar Jim, but this time didn't fair as well. Montreal won 3-0 behind their number one goalie returning to action, Gerry McNeil. It got even worse for Red in Game 4 in a 7-3 loss. With Boston now down three games to one, Sugar Jim returned, only to lose on a goal by Elmer Lach for a 1-0 Montreal overtime victory. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Gord "Red" Henry would not play in the NHL again, he returned for his seventh season as starter for the AHL's Hershey Bears and retired from hockey in 1957.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL59IRk8nOGPE4Fdwk67-yyhtj9s0mAeZm42dWmFunPNwx6RObmNHUSriE60urWT3lV_Hfk21rxrf-0g6kZ8KVNLeWXXQor5al7g7k1gmljjeFTAV2ih1G-mjJ9KlJPXcVQuCIyeK_PRv4C0GXofxzoaMknfqqsJxK5P9ZJIIIMjdbrjcfzdPf2Oj3/s966/Screen%20Shot%202023-05-08%20at%2010.38.47%20PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="966" data-original-width="742" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL59IRk8nOGPE4Fdwk67-yyhtj9s0mAeZm42dWmFunPNwx6RObmNHUSriE60urWT3lV_Hfk21rxrf-0g6kZ8KVNLeWXXQor5al7g7k1gmljjeFTAV2ih1G-mjJ9KlJPXcVQuCIyeK_PRv4C0GXofxzoaMknfqqsJxK5P9ZJIIIMjdbrjcfzdPf2Oj3/w308-h400/Screen%20Shot%202023-05-08%20at%2010.38.47%20PM.png" width="308" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><br /><p></p>Nitzyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05932653629376470374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9077405078272544750.post-72136390460327340222023-01-31T12:52:00.000-08:002023-01-31T12:52:17.196-08:001953 Vancouver Old Timers Game Program<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8ephYI3ojKt5bD7GHcjsAT6ii75zYTl0Pd4NMjeVVqypX2oRMilLa8FvMpzccdmmnHmINJd1dcbEXE0dnsDNtdEVF8_xN19204B6NasmiqHNsQHZaHvZVctMnfj35BkdaR5goeA17Nwb0L8Ec1zX1yZty2z4bERqLKL7VOt1wyxkCas7GFdCv1W1i/s3569/Oldy1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3569" data-original-width="2812" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8ephYI3ojKt5bD7GHcjsAT6ii75zYTl0Pd4NMjeVVqypX2oRMilLa8FvMpzccdmmnHmINJd1dcbEXE0dnsDNtdEVF8_xN19204B6NasmiqHNsQHZaHvZVctMnfj35BkdaR5goeA17Nwb0L8Ec1zX1yZty2z4bERqLKL7VOt1wyxkCas7GFdCv1W1i/w315-h400/Oldy1.jpg" width="315" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I picked up this fantastic old program at an antique shop in New Wesminster, BC recently. The cover pictures all-time Toronto Maple Leaf goaltending great, Turk Broda. The program is from a hockey old-timers benefit game held at the Vancouver, PNE Forum arena, a game that featured many stars of yesteryear. The game was presented by the British Columbia Benevolent Hockey Association and was meant to raise funds for ex-players in need. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5JjuFJnAgskp8pLJenON8SR-j7zjhw2dOw7qyPpbUL5zKfm-7fhEsQI2CfompPRR1e404TIIa9R3cNPoi43m85sksrW1DUelXjGdwVb-BLOAET3qzUhkzWc48JXzkxLYdXAcOv8mHgUraKux2yxmK6ZOF7E2La-q3pk7PMFayPKaKW1CD4FbX6Pk5/s3715/Oldy3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2786" data-original-width="3715" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5JjuFJnAgskp8pLJenON8SR-j7zjhw2dOw7qyPpbUL5zKfm-7fhEsQI2CfompPRR1e404TIIa9R3cNPoi43m85sksrW1DUelXjGdwVb-BLOAET3qzUhkzWc48JXzkxLYdXAcOv8mHgUraKux2yxmK6ZOF7E2La-q3pk7PMFayPKaKW1CD4FbX6Pk5/w400-h300/Oldy3.jpg" width="400" /></a><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Featuring the likes of Broda, Babe Pratt, Lorne Carr, Sweeney Schriner, Jack Adams, Tiny Tompson, coached by Frank Fredrickson and Lester Patrick and officiated by Cyclone Taylor and Duke Keats, the game promised to be a star-studded affair.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis1vZORvEh2dvppypfPjrAehn-GxOph4g_E77rbxvNi5ITEOx4uV0XYW-iAw_Vifj7CwE8PdPPQgtS3cUPFv4kcBwgnLpu5gZAWAHBD7lJ1dnOEQ-HGwiv2ItyBRhhs50TRohurkY3Yb7kJBPyQiCm2PI1yg71QRAVvcprOPMX__iIE4jSg_19oYxC/s866/Screen%20Shot%202022-12-05%20at%208.56.18%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="274" data-original-width="866" height="101" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis1vZORvEh2dvppypfPjrAehn-GxOph4g_E77rbxvNi5ITEOx4uV0XYW-iAw_Vifj7CwE8PdPPQgtS3cUPFv4kcBwgnLpu5gZAWAHBD7lJ1dnOEQ-HGwiv2ItyBRhhs50TRohurkY3Yb7kJBPyQiCm2PI1yg71QRAVvcprOPMX__iIE4jSg_19oYxC/s320/Screen%20Shot%202022-12-05%20at%208.56.18%20PM.png" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;">The Victoria Daily Colonist of March 5, 1953 detailed the match as follows.</span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>"Yesterday's hockey greats sparkled with some old-time brilliance in Vancouver Forum Tuesday to provide a tomorrow for a fellow player stricken with polio.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>More than 6,000 fans shoe-horned into the rink at $1 each watch the third annual old-timers' benefit game."</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The Forum on the Pacific National Exhibiton grounds still stands to this day. <a href="https://nitzyshockeyden.blogspot.com/2015/02/the-vancouver-pne-forum.html" target="_blank">I explored it a few years ago here.</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>The old-timers came back from retirement to aid Gordon Petrie, who played here 10 years ago. He entered an iron lung last summer after being stricken with polio in Houston, Tex.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Petrie had played with Victoria Navy in the Vancouver Island Senior League in 1942/43. A native of Winnipeg, he would play five seasons in the USHL mainly with Dallas Texans.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>The score probably doesn't matter too much, but the 'Blues' with Tiny Thompson in the net and led by the Colville brothers, won out 7-3 over the 'Whites'.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>Mac and Neil each scored once for the Blue, while Lulu Lemon, Tip O'Neill, Frank Jerwa, Johnny Sheppard and Clint Smith got the others. Paul Runge, who led the American Hockey League in scoring in 1933/34, scored twice for the losers and Schriner got the other.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The Colville's were mainstays for the New York Rangers from the mid 1930's to the late 1940's, helping the Blueshirts to the 1940 Stanley Cup.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>Making the difference between the star-studded lineups was Thompson, the four-time Vezina Trophy winner and now the chief scout for the Chicago Black Hawks, made some smart saves. The line of Schriner, Carr and Leroy Goldsworthy made Thompson hop at times, particularly in the third period, when he turned aside 13 shots to six handled successfully by Broda.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Thompson led the Bruins to the Stanley Cup in his rookie season 1928/29 and retired in 1940 with a career goals against average of 2.07 (5th best in NHL history).</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>The Turk, possibly a good deal heavier than during his "fabulous fat man" squabbles with Conn Smythe of Toronto, found the reflexes a little slow. Most surprising was the way the old-timers kept their "passing-eye" through the years. When an attack went astray, it was because the legs couldn't keep up with memory, the last man on a pass-play finding himself a stride or two behind the puck.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Turk Broda had played 31 games with the Maple Leafs as recently as two years prior to this Old-Timers game. Apparently he had not kept himself in game shape.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>Amby Moran, a 58-year-old old-timer, took a regular turn on defence for the Whites with Chuck Millman. In a ceremony before the game, Mrs. Si Griffis was presented with a scroll on behalf of the Hockey Hall of Fame in Kingston, in memory of her husband who died shortly before his election to the hall this year."</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Amby Moran was old enough at the time of this game to have played along the likes of Howie Morenz, Aurel Joliat and George Hainsworth in 1926/27.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Below is a photo from the magazine of the directors of the BC Benevolent Hockey Association, including Cyclone Taylor and Clint Smith.</div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdrWS9A8H9bScI1ihIvV92b8pxoHIAUs6DOZjGkN-xM1wk7gwilbMc1Fis0EuHJ6SRnmdr0w65_he_SCPC6qRkkz4RsWMaFAE3fJrL80SEatTOOZcfqC4dbSn2oAGbI-ol8VzkXWGDWF4bE9ufnUPYU2ehJjtmn_x2zgwi3gGJM8CsCZEF_yMVOvkl/s3848/Oldy2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2886" data-original-width="3848" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdrWS9A8H9bScI1ihIvV92b8pxoHIAUs6DOZjGkN-xM1wk7gwilbMc1Fis0EuHJ6SRnmdr0w65_he_SCPC6qRkkz4RsWMaFAE3fJrL80SEatTOOZcfqC4dbSn2oAGbI-ol8VzkXWGDWF4bE9ufnUPYU2ehJjtmn_x2zgwi3gGJM8CsCZEF_yMVOvkl/w400-h300/Oldy2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><br /><p></p>Nitzyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05932653629376470374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9077405078272544750.post-43424781904482161032022-11-29T13:53:00.001-08:002022-11-29T13:53:47.099-08:00 Streaking Mitchell Marner<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjScbngBXS_eJYOjFrfRozjmUDUEz98P0NuB31nlE8a25uJxqY_QUj64N0m_ckXU9ofSrTBSRiDTvrAWvuPzS7cupS00dlTTI9Psbfpms7sf__HldJDhxXv-q8vsbzQYClkvmrGy4uIKMst4ioZRpf8_Z6xxPiCXs8OcKzzkN5goG3HstUGBi20zeeG/s1034/Screen%20Shot%202022-11-28%20at%208.50.35%20PM.png" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1034" data-original-width="744" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjScbngBXS_eJYOjFrfRozjmUDUEz98P0NuB31nlE8a25uJxqY_QUj64N0m_ckXU9ofSrTBSRiDTvrAWvuPzS7cupS00dlTTI9Psbfpms7sf__HldJDhxXv-q8vsbzQYClkvmrGy4uIKMst4ioZRpf8_Z6xxPiCXs8OcKzzkN5goG3HstUGBi20zeeG/s400/Screen%20Shot%202022-11-28%20at%208.50.35%20PM.png" /></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">"I don't really keep track of that stuff. I just try to go out and play the best I can. If the team wins and I don't get any points, that's fine." This was Darryl Sittler after he equaled the Maple Leaf record of points in 16 consecutive games on March 4, 1978. The mark was originally set by Babe Dye in 1921/22. Sittler would set the franchise record of 18 games straight a few days later. It was finally halted by Montreal on March 9 with the Canadiens checking line of Doug Jarvis, Bob Gainey and Rick Chartraw frustrated Sittler all evening. After the game Sittler stated, "I don't think it's so much putting Jarvis on me, but putting Gainey out to check my right winger. I might get the puck, but then I've got no one to pass to." During his 18 game streak, Sittler produced 17 goals and 16 assists for 33 points and the team went 11-4-3. He'd end up with a career high 117 points and finish 3rd in Hart Trophy voting.</div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaQ8bQ1-5YCPYW5FDQsDyp1qJIgMtlOIfHZQyzVP7vhc7L260Rzh3NC9B4ZTiXLXe7IsuOqYAvjCj1evSkIxeeJhD-rP0fv2TBqvSERedqtDp7CpR805iofsNX6rRUFdykhQs_Xzs6UCMP4bJwTjyMkSLEX5iwo5XOqbz2FuNNVcrU6D6OR7Y29BUn/s1096/Screen%20Shot%202022-11-28%20at%208.53.02%20PM.png" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1096" data-original-width="780" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaQ8bQ1-5YCPYW5FDQsDyp1qJIgMtlOIfHZQyzVP7vhc7L260Rzh3NC9B4ZTiXLXe7IsuOqYAvjCj1evSkIxeeJhD-rP0fv2TBqvSERedqtDp7CpR805iofsNX6rRUFdykhQs_Xzs6UCMP4bJwTjyMkSLEX5iwo5XOqbz2FuNNVcrU6D6OR7Y29BUn/s400/Screen%20Shot%202022-11-28%20at%208.53.02%20PM.png" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Just over a decade later, Eddie Olczyk equalled Sittler's mark of 18 straight games on January 18, 1990 with two assists against Washington. "It's a great honour," Olczyk said after the game. "I've been fortunate to play with two great guys - Gary Leeman and Mark Osborne. They're my bread and butter. There are personal records in this game but you don't get them without the effort from the rest of the team. I'd rather not even talk about my streak. No one player is better than the team." Olczyk's streak was stalled two days later at home versus the New York Islanders, "It wasn't meant to be. The puck just wasn't bouncing for me tonight," he said. Olczyk would collect 11 goals, 17 assists and 28 points during the streak during which the Leafs went 10-7-1. Olczyk ended the season with 88 points, good for third in Leafs scoring, seven points behind lineman Gary Leeman.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Marner currently sits at 17 consecutive games with a point, putting up 6 goals, 17 assists for 23 points. The team has gone 10-2-5 in the stretch. He will try to equal the team record against the pesky San Jose Sharks, and possibly set a new mark with tough road match in Tampa Bay. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxMDRKrmxG--t2zwjtmnszsx8oY-Zv1Fg6DCquH0LnbrBsdRZvJYuWkVt5okhu-xRbXDWnypy-eNFsnTH-IY50CBDdD7Zn8BzKROHVx8ZSlVASlnVlgilK8rJwo1jisiY8DM8bDXiLZ8U4ARSCp5W_wI_vzVwPt0IDUnWlLwJFJ06JU0LZEIkPPu91/s1090/Screen%20Shot%202022-11-28%20at%208.55.27%20PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1090" data-original-width="776" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxMDRKrmxG--t2zwjtmnszsx8oY-Zv1Fg6DCquH0LnbrBsdRZvJYuWkVt5okhu-xRbXDWnypy-eNFsnTH-IY50CBDdD7Zn8BzKROHVx8ZSlVASlnVlgilK8rJwo1jisiY8DM8bDXiLZ8U4ARSCp5W_wI_vzVwPt0IDUnWlLwJFJ06JU0LZEIkPPu91/s320/Screen%20Shot%202022-11-28%20at%208.55.27%20PM.png" width="228" /></a></div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_QVtWLTRET3fovB6ZgZz7NdW9E-Flx-Tl9V_hD9WVxEuo3hut7d2yFvUPNPlDtlkARB7bnn9e12CPQCyoEOQd6ci_EWbIZwPCv8wqW6mQNlBxeKpCBxrU8Ti5fsPJEwtuhvmUI_Sij5t8sTDQgfSpab9kfOdE3cctaLdtxzsJs4Ka2Nhp6qzp943H/s1090/Screen%20Shot%202022-11-28%20at%208.55.27%20PM.png" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><br /></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div>Nitzyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05932653629376470374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9077405078272544750.post-31515416586365361712022-10-10T22:11:00.000-07:002022-10-10T22:11:40.715-07:00Driving Mr. Hanson<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR8JJlmEduLg2oAweUd7R_tSjyG_F94YBr3DfO6WPQoKva8gcDy_SHBzR6-mo2mhq1aObv8b5JE5QhQwOk-cm_pR0g6TWgmIoaXEIDtN6hds3sbJocERBxTgQMxLoJAqKTw8pw4_0aNTBcLop0CWvcJLoPCxdIP7PwhEn5IzGbnZR13YsA6AoxhxFF/s4200/DSCF5010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2800" data-original-width="4200" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR8JJlmEduLg2oAweUd7R_tSjyG_F94YBr3DfO6WPQoKva8gcDy_SHBzR6-mo2mhq1aObv8b5JE5QhQwOk-cm_pR0g6TWgmIoaXEIDtN6hds3sbJocERBxTgQMxLoJAqKTw8pw4_0aNTBcLop0CWvcJLoPCxdIP7PwhEn5IzGbnZR13YsA6AoxhxFF/w400-h266/DSCF5010.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Dave Hanson at the WHA 50th Reunion Gala - Photo, Andrew Klaver</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>This past weekend was the 50th Anniversary Reunion of the World Hockey Association in Whistler, BC. My friend, Greg Beaudin was one of the main organizers of the event; his father, Norm having been an original WHA Winnipeg Jet playing alongside Bobby Hull. Naturally, I jumped at the chance to help Greg in any small way I could. I got a phone call the night before I was to drive to Whistler from my home in North Vancouver asking if I could pick up one of the incoming WHA alumni at Vancouver International Airport the following day. Dave Hanson, of Slap Shot's Hanson Brothers fame needed a ride to Whistler. Needless to say, I said I would be more than happy to help.</div><p></p><p>I actually bought Dave Hanson's autobiography that came out in 2008, and of course I am a huge fan of the movie Slap Shot. I printed a small sign to hold at the airport with "DAVE HANSON" on it. I know what he looks night even nowadays, I just thought it would be a courtesy for him. As he entered the International Arrivals area he saw the sign and approached, I introduced myself then said, "Dave, I just have to say it...'Grab your friggin' gear and let's get going.'" quoting Paul Newman picking up the Hanson's at the bus station in the movie. I think he chuckled a bit.</p><p>Once in the car for our two hour mid-day drive to Whistler, I didn't want to come off any more "fan-boyish". He made a quick call to his son, checking in on his grandkids. His son, Christian once played parts of three seasons for the Maple Leafs a dozen years ago. I mentioned to Dave I was a big Leafs fan and remembered Christian's stint with the Buds. That opened the door to some great sports talk with Dave Hanson. Living in Pittsburgh, Dave currently runs a three-sheet hockey rink and of course is a big Penguins fan. We delved into a bit of baseball, and he even discussed the trials of his Pittsburgh Steelers and their signing of Mitch Trubisky in an attempt to replace Ben Rothlesberger. As we rounded the bend to Horseshoe Bay about 40 minutes into the drive, I had to start asking him about the movie. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9v_KKhJeCkDXWsz_nPfaMrC2aKIY_d3jHyiQdwcMyz20xAT8cufB_TPudzqswJyhXswWqE8trGDUQEs5xGUcilB38ZKnRaH0rS1WrHXxVBZrTSXs38dPHpUuk4dqziIxHBR1WpD5yMDCkuuEWF3uRUMo7fwnBmtJQTrP_gnit5gjI8VywAuSJVvlu/s4200/Hanson_Nitz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2800" data-original-width="4200" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9v_KKhJeCkDXWsz_nPfaMrC2aKIY_d3jHyiQdwcMyz20xAT8cufB_TPudzqswJyhXswWqE8trGDUQEs5xGUcilB38ZKnRaH0rS1WrHXxVBZrTSXs38dPHpUuk4dqziIxHBR1WpD5yMDCkuuEWF3uRUMo7fwnBmtJQTrP_gnit5gjI8VywAuSJVvlu/w400-h266/Hanson_Nitz.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Me and Dave, I'm wearing a Floorball goalie uniform for a demo at the event<br />Photo - Andrew Klaver</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Dave asked me if I knew what was planned for that evening as there was a Slap Shot viewing event in conjunction with the WHA 50th Reunion. I mentioned that I had actually wrote some very in-depth trivia questions, of course he wanted to hear a few. "What was the name of Nick Brophy's wife who had left him forcing him to get "shit-faced" and "piss all over himself"? It was Louise, Dave said he kind of remembered that line. Then he asked me what was the name of Ned Braden's dog and of course I had that question on my list too. It was Ruby. From there I was able to easily segue into asking for some Paul Newman stories. I said, I heard he really enjoyed partying with you guys (Dave, and Jeff and Steve Carlson). So he gave me a pretty damn good Newman story.</p><p>During filming of the movie, Newman, being a big movie star had a large house rented in the hills above Johnstown. Newman loved to use the sauna every day after shooting. The rest of the cast had motel rooms rented in town, and even Newman had a room there for the times they would shoot extra late. Newman loved his sauna so much, he had a one-man sauna built inside his motel room. One day, Dave and the boys grabbed bags and bags of popcorn from the rink after a day on the set and emptied them into Newman's little sauna, filling it to the top. However, the next day and a few after, there was no reaction from Newman even though they all knew he had stayed at the motel post "popcorn-ing" of his sauna. It turned out they would have to wait a few more days for his reaction. </p><p>While on the team bus preparing to film the scene where the team meets up at with the Chiefs booster bus at a road-side stop, Newman came up with a prank. He suggested they all strip down and run off the bus buck-naked as a joke. Everyone having more than a few beers in them at that point agreed happily. (As an aside, the streaking off the bus story is not a new one, I think Dave had that in his book even. To the surprise of all, there were actually hundreds of people waiting at that location as the local townsfolk heard Paul Newman would be there shooting a scene. Afterwards, the local authorities wanted to arrest half the cast for public indecency.) Back to Newman, as the team ran out naked, hooting and hollering and shocking everyone, Dave noticed Newman was not amongst them. He looked up to see the blue-eyed movie star fully clothed, hanging out a bus window. Newman yelled to Dave and the Carlsons, "payback's a bitch boys!" They never put popcorn in his sauna again. <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwdE7al5qaRuBttlsD4VaXDPq49jUrgtqK3CmleE6RCp9BLTE1Gnms33OITa-Ux9nDsbsH3J9GQPy3k1dkBWXzmU1COevoEY7nCuMedLpmljUo4Ekzjl1ARN1A3tvhXWJ0qv_ZU-0k1nE4PoDmsIGUoXVb9lDKHPs9vSoaj7ik0s1DFCpmTJ-jV0zV/s3088/Hanson.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3088" data-original-width="2320" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwdE7al5qaRuBttlsD4VaXDPq49jUrgtqK3CmleE6RCp9BLTE1Gnms33OITa-Ux9nDsbsH3J9GQPy3k1dkBWXzmU1COevoEY7nCuMedLpmljUo4Ekzjl1ARN1A3tvhXWJ0qv_ZU-0k1nE4PoDmsIGUoXVb9lDKHPs9vSoaj7ik0s1DFCpmTJ-jV0zV/s320/Hanson.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Two guys in need of a beer after a drive to Whistler</span></td></tr></tbody></table></p><p>According to Dave this was far from the only time there were pranks and beer on or off set. He said, pretty much every bus scene they shot they would have wake up someone who had passed out under a bus seat prior to rolling the cameras. I asked Dave about the "mooning from the bus" scene that actually did make it into the movie. The very last window on the Chiefs bus has someone with their naked legs sticking straight out the window while every other window simply has a mooning bum in it. I told Dave that makes me laugh every time I see it and asked if he knew which actor it was. He vividly recalled that night of filming but didn't know who it was. He suggested we ask Allan Nicholls who played Captain Johnny Upton that evening at the Whistler event. Dave admitted he hasn't watched the movie a lot in the last few decades, but that Allan had a great recall of events on set. Dave also mentioned that Nicholls was actually a terrific actor and had been in the original Broadway stage production of "Hair". After Dave introduced me to Nicholls later that night, he deduced it must have been an extra sticking their legs out the bus window, as he couldn't recall one of the actors doing it. Good enough for me.</p><p>Back to the car trip earlier that afternoon. Somewhere past Squamish, we continued talking Slap Shot. The scene in the hotel lobby where the Hanson Brothers drag the clerk over the counter, Dave told me he improvised by grabbing the plant and pile driving the manager with it multiple times. The Holiday Inn where they shot the scene sent the production a bill for the damaged plant. Another cool thing he mentioned; in the championship game against Syracuse, when Clarence 'Screaming Buffalo' Swamptown chases after Johnny Upton, it was Dave's voice that recorded the war cry he was screaming. I don't want to give the impression that the whole car ride was just talking sports and Slap Shot, Dave was actually interested after I told him I work in the Animation industry and asked a bunch of questions about the process and different shows I had worked on. We discussed travelling, and families, good wholesome stuff. He also told me about how the Hanson Brothers were doing about 100 events per hockey season back in the late 90's when Bud Ice was sponsoring the NHL. He said after a couple years of that it just got too much and the boys scaled back their schedule. The worst part of it however was having to drink the Bud Ice all the time, not good stuff he said.</p><p>Finally we arrived at Whistler and went to the hotel we were told he'd be staying. Wrong one apparently. We were sent to a nearby place where there was an unattended front desk with a sign that said to use the phone provided to talk to someone for help. Dave did, and it seemed there was ANOTHER hotel he'd be at. Luckily Whistler is small and all these places are close to each other. Oh yeah, and the final hotel wouldn't be ready for another hour. After hanging up, Dave just laughed and said, "Let's go get a beer." We did.</p><p>After finally depositing Dave at the Chateau Whistler Golf Clubhouse to meet up with the rest of the event folks, we parted ways. I saw Dave later that evening at the Slap Shot event and the following day at reunion festivities. He couldn't have been a nicer guy, and I'm pretty sure I didn't "fan-boy" too much on him!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqlyfb-c8359ysXIdyEJUIK0ykb5pLVrPrCwbwscTgd8Cfn2dyPrjA9rGEiCegyNMWfIvqmSZw6022f8TuMTaGhCBS0GBNUT26ud4BBN6bQEgSQLltEa9RC7tAI8zhP8e83CN4CIMnshuRiCl6os-sSPIHoLna118MSY_1iaAjxfCtREp5J0qhgCHQ/s3252/Hanson_Book.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3252" data-original-width="2653" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqlyfb-c8359ysXIdyEJUIK0ykb5pLVrPrCwbwscTgd8Cfn2dyPrjA9rGEiCegyNMWfIvqmSZw6022f8TuMTaGhCBS0GBNUT26ud4BBN6bQEgSQLltEa9RC7tAI8zhP8e83CN4CIMnshuRiCl6os-sSPIHoLna118MSY_1iaAjxfCtREp5J0qhgCHQ/s320/Hanson_Book.jpg" width="261" /></a></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Nitzyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05932653629376470374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9077405078272544750.post-15571511419553425452022-09-16T07:23:00.003-07:002022-09-16T07:23:53.866-07:00Summit Series 50 Years Ago, Game One in Sweden<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz7i9uPV_lP8bVg1ze1FwoaU6NPXHAWQFo-BGEfQD8_T3aufSjEQiTAmrhxOQdc9Vtf-pFqoHicY8iRL_zBywebruFDiZYdpyKHyA-cex5MNMNQAsHEGomDvsY0T6cD5zl6vltaK0OzogkyEvzmHrloIocv1X2YPLAh_8WKFE4xidO3P_6ClHy-Dcq/s1416/Screen%20Shot%202022-09-15%20at%2011.40.10%20PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1416" data-original-width="1026" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz7i9uPV_lP8bVg1ze1FwoaU6NPXHAWQFo-BGEfQD8_T3aufSjEQiTAmrhxOQdc9Vtf-pFqoHicY8iRL_zBywebruFDiZYdpyKHyA-cex5MNMNQAsHEGomDvsY0T6cD5zl6vltaK0OzogkyEvzmHrloIocv1X2YPLAh_8WKFE4xidO3P_6ClHy-Dcq/w291-h400/Screen%20Shot%202022-09-15%20at%2011.40.10%20PM.png" width="291" /></a></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">"I wasn't impressed with the Canadian team. We had too much respect for them, but not anymore."</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">These were the words of Swedish coach Kjell Svensson after his squad was beaten by the Canadians by a score of 4-1. His assistant coach, Bjorn Norell added, "It was a bad game, it was really our first game for the season."</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Harry Sinden summed it up, "When you win, everything is supposed to be okay. I sure as hell hate to think how I would feel if we had lost that one." Sinden was not pleased with how his team dealt with the European refereeing that they would quickly have to get used to. "We reacted silly. We react at home to a spear with a slash or a fight. Here, it's so obvious. You can't do that." The officials for this game would become familiar to Sinden and Canada; Franz Baader and Josef Kompalla. Sinden explained, "They have regular jobs. They only referee a handful of games a year. They can't be in shape for this. I don't like the officiating, but we have to learn to live with it. It was terrible out there this game and it will be worse in Moscow." In the third period, Phil Esposito could only laugh at a comically bad offside call by Baader, yelling at him,"You had too much beer last night." This one-liner actually drew a laugh from the crowd.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The line of Clarke, Henderson and Ellis produced the first two goals for Canada by the second minute of the second period. Ulf Sterner made it 2-1 a few minutes later. The score remained 2-1 until the nine minute mark of the final frame when Brad Park notched a goal and Wayne Cashman made it 4-1 with under four minutes remaining.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> Commenting on his team's play, Sinden said, "We spent the first period playing like the Belleville midgets. We couldn't move the puck an inch. We didn't know what the hell we were doing." He continued, "We know now our guys have to learn to play on this wider ice. It is a different game with this much more room and you can do a lot of things here you can't do on the smaller ice surfaces at home. We will be more familiar with the ice by the time we get to Moscow but not as much as I would like us to be."</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Sinden summed it up, "This game alarmed me because I'm not sure how much you can blame the ice surface for the way we played. I'd better not blame it all on the ice surface."</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyxjLB7a9iiKr_rvW-83kvBpIfSU8rqF3Fp-ydRYaOt3TR-N-8qOR_GgQPre42A6WyABxsIR4ygOzKikwVazU71HZ476KCBh4WnW_4QhlU06XHuQ0DFi2oTCNfneI2gRCo2RlLYypz6klwI3Q1NGJDgLIyUz3U3LBSpk4GYornyL2PHgsNII_9E7p2/s1304/Screen%20Shot%202022-09-15%20at%2010.57.07%20PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1304" data-original-width="634" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyxjLB7a9iiKr_rvW-83kvBpIfSU8rqF3Fp-ydRYaOt3TR-N-8qOR_GgQPre42A6WyABxsIR4ygOzKikwVazU71HZ476KCBh4WnW_4QhlU06XHuQ0DFi2oTCNfneI2gRCo2RlLYypz6klwI3Q1NGJDgLIyUz3U3LBSpk4GYornyL2PHgsNII_9E7p2/w195-h400/Screen%20Shot%202022-09-15%20at%2010.57.07%20PM.png" width="195" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />Nitzyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05932653629376470374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9077405078272544750.post-5614550995096936042022-09-15T07:24:00.003-07:002022-09-15T07:24:48.284-07:00Summit Series 50 Years Ago, Orr Won't Play<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRsjZstbisFopikIbKXa6kPM92bNqyum1BhONUdLulaGgMicmyLudTKTehjU3sH4OCgcTOj3KmVyrCQ_LnRjaW3QVUFn-1tgOYCKmqW6jz04OjX2AXQpGVjGZfCANiLhpJ5XYFKUk_65iX9momGMsyBAIz0lgbyfq1cQY5udlGJ577l0f9weGaOjZm/s1570/Screen%20Shot%202022-09-12%20at%2010.27.08%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="972" data-original-width="1570" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRsjZstbisFopikIbKXa6kPM92bNqyum1BhONUdLulaGgMicmyLudTKTehjU3sH4OCgcTOj3KmVyrCQ_LnRjaW3QVUFn-1tgOYCKmqW6jz04OjX2AXQpGVjGZfCANiLhpJ5XYFKUk_65iX9momGMsyBAIz0lgbyfq1cQY5udlGJ577l0f9weGaOjZm/w400-h248/Screen%20Shot%202022-09-12%20at%2010.27.08%20PM.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">"It's all finished." These were the words of Bobby Orr after he lasted but a few minutes on the ice in practice. He would end up behind the White bench for the 5-5 tie in the intra-squad game versus the Red squad. Orr will remain with Team Canada and continue treatments with Physiotherapist Karl Elieff, but his hopes of suiting up against the Soviets appear to be over.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">If nothing else, the intra-squad game proved the Canadians have a difficult time getting up for these games in preparation for the Moscow leg of the series. "We have to respect the Swedes," Assistant Coach John Ferguson warned of the upcoming two game exhibition set with the Swedish National Team. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Still trying to adapt to the wider ice surface, defenceman Gary Bergman stated, "With that extra width and those corners, you have to keep telling yourself not to do things you normally would do. You can't go into those corners after a guy because that's tailor-made for the Russians. They would love to send two guys on one in that situation. No, we're going to have to let them work in the corners all they want, but keep the front of the net and the slot covered. You can see how their basketball-like patterns developed." </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Team Canada plays the Swedes the next two days.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /> <p></p>Nitzyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05932653629376470374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9077405078272544750.post-5920581563238617742022-09-13T22:47:00.003-07:002022-09-13T22:47:58.128-07:00Summit Series 50 Years Ago; Stockholm Training, Orr Finally Skates<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf4FWOKj5gic6aGNXcMtpTRDt2JVZox74l2kU9IdCD7Fa53K7vru8agnSErnYyIuiF_S1LSHcLup4-7fG8IRZwXVnkwcLvegKL0d6XVQVSo0Lm0gHTKUMIny4dlVNWCdnn2J6oYsOlM-fzrEk1_55TNSoRi0P7JUqaAAneZTZyvLgPvW3Bux9_sJN4/s1402/Screen%20Shot%202022-09-12%20at%208.56.44%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1028" data-original-width="1402" height="294" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf4FWOKj5gic6aGNXcMtpTRDt2JVZox74l2kU9IdCD7Fa53K7vru8agnSErnYyIuiF_S1LSHcLup4-7fG8IRZwXVnkwcLvegKL0d6XVQVSo0Lm0gHTKUMIny4dlVNWCdnn2J6oYsOlM-fzrEk1_55TNSoRi0P7JUqaAAneZTZyvLgPvW3Bux9_sJN4/w400-h294/Screen%20Shot%202022-09-12%20at%208.56.44%20PM.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>"Guys were completely lost out there. They couldn't make up their minds where they should be positioning themselves." exclaimed Assistant Coach, John Ferguson after the first team session on the large European-sized ice. Harry Sinden added, "The ice makes a big difference. It's gotta be a different game, a different game from home. Here you've got to make the puck do a lot of the work. The ice is suited for a good passing team. It will be difficult to adjust. Today everybody seemed to be saying to themselves, 'What the hell is going on.'" <div><br /><div>Defenceman Bill White figured the team would be fine with the wider ice, "What you do on defence is play as close to your partner as usual, force the puck carrier to go outside, and then keep him there." Rod Gilbert also seems to have no problem with the wider surface,"All our guys are good puck handlers, it shouldn't be hard to adjust. But because the nets are closer to the blueline we have to get our shots away quicker, before we're too deep into the corner and ruin the shooting angle."<br /><p></p><p>Bobby Orr skated in the first practice in Stockholm, saying after that his general condition was terrible and his knee weak. He was expected to play in the intra-squad game, providing "the knee doesn't swell up overnight." Sinden tells that,"The Bruins doctor has left it completely up to him as to when he starts playing. He can't damage the knee, it's when he feels ready."</p><p>Eddie Johnston, backup goalie for three of the four games so far, will start one of the games against Sweden. Esposito and Dryden will split the rest of the play. Jocelyn Guevremont, Richard Martin, Dale Tallon, Marcel Dionne and Brian Glennie, all who have yet to play in the series, will be in the lineup versus Sweden.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p> </p></div></div>Nitzyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05932653629376470374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9077405078272544750.post-58564495666374780652022-09-13T07:32:00.002-07:002022-09-13T07:36:37.588-07:00Summit Series 50 Years Ago, Arriving in Stockholm<p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUqpEaOy9FbAnUXwNXvMV0FGTHc3o5QdqgCTovB8hE0A7h1gCRsCSTe0I8eIQlBH0mzwVU57-1mLJnBprBwQ-5n6ssXmcgI_nlt6lluOpLzscDOeUwCSvVNk_R0tv-YIRquXV4XaABpmQ4RbojNMUmjKTl3wV93FZgEKfLWXeBNaOxULIaA7BGb5pl/s1130/Screen%20Shot%202022-09-12%20at%208.56.05%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1130" data-original-width="1086" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUqpEaOy9FbAnUXwNXvMV0FGTHc3o5QdqgCTovB8hE0A7h1gCRsCSTe0I8eIQlBH0mzwVU57-1mLJnBprBwQ-5n6ssXmcgI_nlt6lluOpLzscDOeUwCSvVNk_R0tv-YIRquXV4XaABpmQ4RbojNMUmjKTl3wV93FZgEKfLWXeBNaOxULIaA7BGb5pl/w385-h400/Screen%20Shot%202022-09-12%20at%208.56.05%20PM.png" width="385" /></a></div>Espo arriving in Stockholm</div><p></p><p>"We're determined to regain some of the prestige we've lost and to gain the edge in this series," stated Team Canada coach Harry Sinden upon arriving in Stockholm to prepare for the Russian leg of the Summit Series. He continued, "I'd like to see us play the way we can play. The big adjustment we must make is in conditioning. That was the biggest shortcoming we had. We expect Orr to start light scrimmaging with the team starting tomorrow, there's an outside chance he may start here."</p><p>Alan Eagleson commented,"The Russians are good hockey players. This is as good a hockey unit as I've ever seen. I have never seen anyone, other than Orr, as fast as Valery Kharlamov. He's the only guy I'd mention in the same breath as Orr. If he's consistent as I saw, the sky's the limit on an NHL contract - I'd say $1-million for a five-year contract."</p><p>Maple Leafs coach, John McLellan, who scouted the Soviets prior to the series finally commented on how wrong he and Bob Davidson were in their analysis of Tretiak. "I'm no genius, you can only report what you see and that's what we did. Hell, we saw him once. Four of the first five shots went in and his team got beat 8-1. I watched the first game of the Canada - Russia series on the tube from Montreal and I said to my wife, 'There's no way that's the same guy.'" He added, "Ronnie Ellis told me its just unbelievable when you go into the corners with those guys. All of them are tremendously strong"</p><p>Harry Sinden, when asked the question: 'Do you think you may even learn something about the game of hockey in this series?' answered, "I think we already have."</p>Nitzyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05932653629376470374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9077405078272544750.post-58882112163746815182022-09-11T23:32:00.001-07:002022-09-11T23:36:18.960-07:00Summit Series '72, Regrouping in Toronto<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-ofgJv4KnkR2VKlbEf8VcvkXj1uyuCm2VNq-ixxv9ohcrySWElYB79VzwOrGAvNpzWT5R3XMpre3yYOv0sU8W5dAgm6pQy5oHxbwEwIC7y4ZHyIZsIXUg1eFeG7eY9968UzKGhFVgwyAMxRhmnEgIVbZR2s4wWB0Cr9veaQKZr7u_gS__N7daCpTk/s1288/Screen%20Shot%202022-09-09%20at%207.45.54%20PM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1288" data-original-width="902" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-ofgJv4KnkR2VKlbEf8VcvkXj1uyuCm2VNq-ixxv9ohcrySWElYB79VzwOrGAvNpzWT5R3XMpre3yYOv0sU8W5dAgm6pQy5oHxbwEwIC7y4ZHyIZsIXUg1eFeG7eY9968UzKGhFVgwyAMxRhmnEgIVbZR2s4wWB0Cr9veaQKZr7u_gS__N7daCpTk/w280-h400/Screen%20Shot%202022-09-09%20at%207.45.54%20PM.png" width="280" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bobby Orr arriving via bicycle</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"> "I like the thought of bigger ice. It suits me, as long as we don't go chasing all over after them and tire ourselves out." said Ron Ellis of the European sized ice that Team Canada will encounter in Moscow. He added, "We'll have a week to work in Sweden to get in better shape and work together."</span></div><p>Team Canada left from Toronto on the evening of September 12 en route to Stockholm, Sweden. They travelled on two separate aircraft, one via Jumbo Jet through Paris first, the other an hour later, a DC-8 via Frankfurt. The team plans to train in Sweden and play two exhibition games against the Swedish national squad while getting used to the larger ice surface (100 feet wide instead of 85 feet in the NHL).</p><p>Coach Sinden agreed with the words of Ron Ellis that the larger surface may benefit some of his players, "Ellis, of course, and Cournoyer, Henderson, Perreault certainly and Frank Mahovlich too." Sinden went on to heap raise on Soviet goalie Tretiak,"I really haven't seen him make a mistake yet. As long as he stops the puck you've got to say it's skill. Credit the goalie, don't discredit the shooters." Sinden's own goalie, Tony Esposito wasn't quite as sold on Tretiak, "I see some guys like my brother miss chances they'd never miss when they're playing hockey." He then prophetically added, "You'll see. My brother will get better every game and he'll dominate things."</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvNn8DU9jIDSlCzOiD7IF0KNoQbOk9Lmq2eRw3R2vVoYLrbUr3f2jzrVJTpM2k2_UamMsuqD_yp48ZBLVFy2kSBm7C_rKi41-b4hZ4fTSMPMmNkWwqltsgCjL6jkejaawjVo3SiKhzgw9F1aFYu2uKMVfzsQB1CVYrZJOUFsRn4FlIQBnzTYCQaZ4E/s1188/Screen%20Shot%202022-09-11%20at%204.10.29%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1188" data-original-width="1064" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvNn8DU9jIDSlCzOiD7IF0KNoQbOk9Lmq2eRw3R2vVoYLrbUr3f2jzrVJTpM2k2_UamMsuqD_yp48ZBLVFy2kSBm7C_rKi41-b4hZ4fTSMPMmNkWwqltsgCjL6jkejaawjVo3SiKhzgw9F1aFYu2uKMVfzsQB1CVYrZJOUFsRn4FlIQBnzTYCQaZ4E/s320/Screen%20Shot%202022-09-11%20at%204.10.29%20PM.png" width="287" /></a></div>Sinden announced that two-a-day drills would be held the two days prior to the exhibition games in Sweden, adding, "And we'll work out pretty hard on the day of the game." This will be a definite change from the usual light skate on game days, and is certainly a nod to the Soviets who always have brisk workouts the day of a game. <br /><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY1yHgdDptOxazgiRKqMQmz1i5CKo9L4YnufeTUf8HrTHGbRh3h5MN8YQ2rIY3KwdKtF58L7UXtsRAHjMw04NowvXe3lj-nNx0cjn3GftBYSOqqPTqeHdVvsfABLKkU2utwK5NjhCaAedesPWUvXgf7_8wSzJrR1kMabJI4VGGTsxRu2AzNidXxmNH/s2010/Screen%20Shot%202022-09-11%20at%2010.12.12%20AM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="876" data-original-width="2010" height="174" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY1yHgdDptOxazgiRKqMQmz1i5CKo9L4YnufeTUf8HrTHGbRh3h5MN8YQ2rIY3KwdKtF58L7UXtsRAHjMw04NowvXe3lj-nNx0cjn3GftBYSOqqPTqeHdVvsfABLKkU2utwK5NjhCaAedesPWUvXgf7_8wSzJrR1kMabJI4VGGTsxRu2AzNidXxmNH/w400-h174/Screen%20Shot%202022-09-11%20at%2010.12.12%20AM.png" width="400" /></a></div></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><p>Maple Leafs owner, Harold Ballard along with his son Bill, accompanied the team on the first flight overseas. He was so impressed with how well Bobby Clarke fit with Leaf's Ellis and Henderson that he had made an offer to Philadelphia for Clarke. When asked if the Flyers were interested, he replied, "Not a bit." </p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><p></p></blockquote><p> </p><p><br /></p>Nitzyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05932653629376470374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9077405078272544750.post-70548602001227155262022-08-16T23:19:00.001-07:002022-08-17T07:35:40.220-07:0050 Years Ago in the World Hockey Association, Mid-August 1972<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUUT5PUVEw2v_u50xGHFyWDB78rEUav601ImTemb5S5NyvmhjwEP_0ngL6uaxLh6BH4EHovjLyz0YJ9hiDmGKawSm7VNjXxEFAOwdneaGvYzvW6cgggCRLWJg1aDTLE5p3btgLmhZ42OA21D5QAJ6xkAfn7BfGZEkVYmnJkD266cPcxTIB5vDFgEyl/s1254/Screen%20Shot%202022-08-16%20at%209.59.41%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="968" data-original-width="1254" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUUT5PUVEw2v_u50xGHFyWDB78rEUav601ImTemb5S5NyvmhjwEP_0ngL6uaxLh6BH4EHovjLyz0YJ9hiDmGKawSm7VNjXxEFAOwdneaGvYzvW6cgggCRLWJg1aDTLE5p3btgLmhZ42OA21D5QAJ6xkAfn7BfGZEkVYmnJkD266cPcxTIB5vDFgEyl/s320/Screen%20Shot%202022-08-16%20at%209.59.41%20PM.png" width="320" /></a></div><b>WHA Competition Raises NHL Salaries</b><p></p><p>"The average salary increase in the NHL in the 1971/72 season was 15 percent. But because of competition from the WHA, the average increase in the NHL for the 1972/73 season may reach 35 percent. "Alan Eagleson Executive Director NHLPA, Aug. 17, 1972 Globe and Mail</p><p>He continued, "The players who played for $15,000 last season have negotiated 100 percent increases." He guessed that the WHA has cost the NHL "about $5-million additional salaries." The average NHL payroll in the NHL last season, he again guessed, was $620,000. "Next season I believe payrolls per club will be up to $900,000 or $1-million."</p><p><b>Smythe Says No to Hull </b></p><p>"I don't think contract breakers should represent Canada." Conn Smythe, Aug. 16, 1972 Globe and Mail.</p><p>Smythe is referring to Bobby Hull who recently jumped to the WHA from the NHL's Chicago Black Hawks. "As for Hull being the greatest left-winger in the game, not many hockey men will agree with you. In 1957/58 Frank Mahovlich beat him out of the rookie award, and over the seasons since, Mahovlich has been much better as a team player. Hull, in 15 years has been on one Stanley Cup team. Mahovlich has been on five. Isn't it time that the NHL, who made it possible to have the greatest hockey team ever assembled represent Canada, and everybody back this Team Canada of ours all the way?"</p><p><b>NHL Compared to Hitler?</b></p><p>"We are going to prove to the NHL that no monopoly has ever survived. Even Hitler didn't make it." - Bill Hunter, General Manager of WHA Alberta Oilers, Aug. 15, 1972 Globe and Mail.</p><p>Hunter continued, "Nobody gave the NHL any reason to believe it's got a divine right to run hockey. No act of Canada has given Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens and Vancouver Canucks immunity from competition. The NHL's reserve clause is a sacrilege that doesn't tolerate the dignity to which a player is entitled." </p><p><b>Referee Bill Friday May Jump to WHA</b></p><p>"If they come up with the bread, I'll be going. After all, I've got a wife and five kids and if I can double my salary...well, you don't have to think twice." Bill Friday, a ten-year veteran referee of the NHL, Aug. 19, 1972. Globe and Mail. </p><p>Friday admits that up to half of the NHL's 14 referees and 16 linesmen may jump to the WHA. "We're negotiating, but nothing is settled yet.".The average salary for a referee in the NHL is $18,000 but senior men like Friday earn around $25,000. Asked if he was taking a chance in joining the WHA, Friday said, "I'm sure the league won't fold - there's too much work and money gone into it. But, I'd like to think I'd be welcomed back to the NHL in that eventuality"</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Nitzyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05932653629376470374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9077405078272544750.post-13294710597868088462022-08-14T22:30:00.001-07:002022-08-14T22:30:35.183-07:0050 Years Ago in the WHA, August 1972<p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIUynHS5D8v2uR4wDRgT-d5JzJXCLeTJhmRn1F3N91H2Sq_pkuvnjL6Hxa3uATkIgoM9bx5voa8FMRHLrMrV94-7hSb62cCong1emaKxoSvPfpMKhw1nKf3cjqZbM5DYyQacCTVQfNqbwpw91ZpFErxyF3LC3QwPWPfipcASSCrnSQSJCJL8RdcEuq/s1028/Screen%20Shot%202022-08-14%20at%2010.27.59%20PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="914" data-original-width="1028" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIUynHS5D8v2uR4wDRgT-d5JzJXCLeTJhmRn1F3N91H2Sq_pkuvnjL6Hxa3uATkIgoM9bx5voa8FMRHLrMrV94-7hSb62cCong1emaKxoSvPfpMKhw1nKf3cjqZbM5DYyQacCTVQfNqbwpw91ZpFErxyF3LC3QwPWPfipcASSCrnSQSJCJL8RdcEuq/s320/Screen%20Shot%202022-08-14%20at%2010.27.59%20PM.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />Fifty years ago this month, the upstart World Hockey Association was finalizing plans to go up against he long-established National Hockey League. What follows are a few news-making items from August of 1972.<p></p><p><b>Clarence Campbell, WHA Won't Last a Year.</b></p><p>"This is an economic battle, and we are being wounded very seriously." Clarence Campbell, Aug. 14, 1972, Globe and Mail.</p><p>Despite the fact that Campbell believes the WHA-NHL bidding feud could have been far worse. "In fact, I'm glad that they are starting their operation this season. Another year of talking before they got rolling would have been more expensive. And if this is an economic confrontation, the surest way for them to fail is to get started. My personal opinion is that the WHA won't last a year."Campbell figured that the addition of Nick Miletti's Cleveland (Crusaders) franchise was a major plus for th e new league. Miletti turned to the WHA after his application for an NHL franchise was turned down. "I would think the money he paid to the WHA came at a critical time, when the league needed money badly to get Bobby Hull. I don't think they would have got Hull without Miletti."</p><p><b>Bruins Owner Tells Sanderson to Take the Money</b></p><p>"This is the greatest opportunity ever given me and I couldn't turn it down. I gave Boston every opportunity and they couldn't meet the Philadelphia figure." Derek Sanderson, after he agreed to a $2.6-million contract with the Philadelphia Blazers. Aug. 4, 1972, Globe and Mail. </p><p>Speaking about Bruins owner, Weston Adams, he said,"He treated me fairly, but when he heard the figure Philadelphia was offering he told me, 'If the money is there, I must tell you, not as an owner but as a friend, you have to take it.'"</p><p><b>Hull Wishes Team Canada Good Luck</b></p><p>"I've definitely been disallowed to play. I feel disappointed that I can't represent my country."- Bobby Hull, Aug. 10, 1972, Globe and Mail. </p><p>Hull said he received an apologetic telegram three days ago from Team Canada coach Harry Sinden. "He's sorry I couldn't play." Hull added, "Knowing the NHL and the way they operate, I was a little leery when Harry asked me to play. He said there was no problem. I wish 'em all the luck in the world. I hope they can make it. I hope they win big."</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Nitzyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05932653629376470374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9077405078272544750.post-89233526172601341942022-01-17T08:23:00.002-08:002022-01-17T08:23:48.008-08:00Gretzky at The Gardens, 40 Years Ago<p> <br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhNyk0wwHF6Kg7ZFAipUYMejwOrw-XA0Wkinflet3FSmOJzVjGg-KjHrhc1kE-384YAnJy5kdORpLEqrbZVRqfRyawUlI0-b1H7vtZpUH2lLl5wC5DFnL2UtbKriu4ToqZUGpqRcB_UlXrMtZo1636U2cZFrGmK-xftjr9OXK7AwVqInkCr6NLPLMwF=s1352" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1004" data-original-width="1352" height="476" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhNyk0wwHF6Kg7ZFAipUYMejwOrw-XA0Wkinflet3FSmOJzVjGg-KjHrhc1kE-384YAnJy5kdORpLEqrbZVRqfRyawUlI0-b1H7vtZpUH2lLl5wC5DFnL2UtbKriu4ToqZUGpqRcB_UlXrMtZo1636U2cZFrGmK-xftjr9OXK7AwVqInkCr6NLPLMwF=w640-h476" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Forty years ago, this past weekend. I remember it like yesterday. My hockey hero, Wayne Gretzky was making his fifth career appearance at Maple Leaf Gardens and it was only the third time he'd be in the spotlight of a Hockey Night in Canada game in Toronto. He had recently set the amazing record of scoring his 50th goal in the 39th game of the season, and his Oilers were riding high in first place in the entire NHL. 10 year-old me was so excited fo the game that I cut out from the newspaper the rosters with current stats and added it to a scrapbook (actual clip below). I would add the boxscore the following day. And what a boxscore it was for a young Maple Leafs/Wayne Gretzky fan.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjj6nVKaEqMn_IDQfLHOD9MwGEqlIomy-wV5lft0WqXqOD3rJABYXrtYILjXjvQ8knAWuPDIBeVOoxnwDuBDreyRdwqqpNFbxzLq9_SzRBP4MuWRus0Bstu5qeGj2lL1jc5c1xvh_7yPgwP838WAbMwSKXpXV-k4gLo2ZwYdd0cpEA8ugXGE8YHYWHK=s1816" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1090" data-original-width="1816" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjj6nVKaEqMn_IDQfLHOD9MwGEqlIomy-wV5lft0WqXqOD3rJABYXrtYILjXjvQ8knAWuPDIBeVOoxnwDuBDreyRdwqqpNFbxzLq9_SzRBP4MuWRus0Bstu5qeGj2lL1jc5c1xvh_7yPgwP838WAbMwSKXpXV-k4gLo2ZwYdd0cpEA8ugXGE8YHYWHK=w400-h240" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">On the Friday before the game, Gretzky put on a mini game on the Gardens ice surface with himself, his brothers Brent (12) and Glen (9) against Oilers Dave Semenko, Curt Brackenbury and coach Billy Harris. They played a game of shinny with nets placed at the blue lines. Glen even got into a fake tussle with Brackenbury. Gretzky managed to spend Friday evening at his parents house in Brantford. He signed about 100 souvenirs, and heard his three younger brothers discuss their exploits in atom, bantam and peewee hockey. After a roast beef dinner, Wayne's father Walter played a two-hour video tape he had put together from sportscasts and various games. Later that evening Wayne devoured a pizza and five pots of tea with a few childhood pals. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The following day, game day, Wayne worked his way through the crowds outside The Gardens and even signed autographs for some of the Leaf players and Maple Leaf legend, King Clancy. A pair of tickets in the Golds was apparently selling for $300, prices last seen at the Gardens when the Canadiens and Guy LaFleur in his prime would come to town. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">As for the game itself, Gretzky summed it up afterwards by stating, "I'm glad my mother went to Florida and wasn't here to see it." Toronto routed the Oilers by a score of 7-1 behind the stellar goaltending of Michel "Bunny" Larocque. Gretzky himself did manage to put nine shots on net, scoring once. He was even foiled by Larocque on a penalty shot in the second period. If I recall, I excitedly rose from my couch and stood to watch that penalty shot, only to be simultaneously disappointed by The Kid's failure and over-joyed by the save from my Leafs tender. This internal conflict between my worship of Gretzky and my love of the Maple Leafs would rear its ugly head again thirteen years later in the memorable semifinal series between the Leafs and Grezky's L.A. Kings.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgYQH0GyRJybn_v9LCdd2UIfeUvRkHknXSOoqs6XsHYjqGPgabKnwSuMjqceMr8rlXcwjCNP5Goprm_EEPRWyPr2SXpOKEjgGg5nrq3BFkb74-2mq5qu2OFah-tGh44pODFjRZpQ2kOwXzVXC04S0OnrxN0GkgDAkmAtSGTAabwHzLMPH4w_1uE3SqE=s980" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="980" data-original-width="754" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgYQH0GyRJybn_v9LCdd2UIfeUvRkHknXSOoqs6XsHYjqGPgabKnwSuMjqceMr8rlXcwjCNP5Goprm_EEPRWyPr2SXpOKEjgGg5nrq3BFkb74-2mq5qu2OFah-tGh44pODFjRZpQ2kOwXzVXC04S0OnrxN0GkgDAkmAtSGTAabwHzLMPH4w_1uE3SqE=w308-h400" width="308" /></a></div>Regarding the penalty shot, Larocque said,"It was just like the movies. When the referee called the penalty shot, I just said to myself: 'Well, the fans expected a great show out of Gretzky and now they've got it.' " He continued, "I came out the same way I always do. Then I slowly backed up trying to make him go for a deke. And that's what he did." Leaf rookie, Normand Aubin was named second star after producing two goals and two assists and was quoted, "I'm pretty happy tonight. When you're in the minors you dream of a night like this...this is the first time I played against Gretzky and there's no doubt about it, he's the best player there is right now." Another Leaf receiving kudos on the night was centre, Laurie Boschman who was asked to shadow Gretzky. "Mike (Leaf coach Nykoluk) told me before the game that I'd be on Gretzky. It was a challenge to try to keep him down. I just thought about staying close to him, about a sticks length from him all the time. When he got the puck I tried to get on him right away, so I could check him or force him to pass the puck off."</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The loss snapped the undefeated streak of Oiler rookie goaltender, Grant Fuhr. Over his previous 23 games he had collected 15 wins and 8 ties. Gretzky added, "We had a lot of good scoring chances, but give Larocque credit. He did a good job in the Leaf net. Indeed he did, turning aside 34 of 35 shots. Oilers coach/GM, Glen Sather said after the game,"The press here gave the game an enormous build-up and I think that got the Leafs hot." The game was so highly anticipated that it set the record for television viership record for a regular season NHL game. 3,756,000 TV sets watched CBC this evening, 46 percent of the television audience in all of Canada. The average Saturday draws 2 to 2.2 million viewers. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Of course Toronto would miss the playoffs this season and in fact, this game proved to be the highlight of my Maple Leaf fandom for about the next four years. Yeah, I know...sad. </div><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjHxu3ZVU6yimkTudjqnlYbn_8wQk3n8OlQ0Pm9mrSTIdGdSaDh18fmMObFCqD9dcdhEr0RwtYRp8yE8L35lFUoZi3zgxBj9c9rFp5B-YPsUYB-pwQ3caqOfqegb8V2ztnytPQvBY00dNdmhjtYDqQymv-1feXAwRrYFeBSf54tax3L9PsD3Ghbe8t6=s1406" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="748" data-original-width="1406" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjHxu3ZVU6yimkTudjqnlYbn_8wQk3n8OlQ0Pm9mrSTIdGdSaDh18fmMObFCqD9dcdhEr0RwtYRp8yE8L35lFUoZi3zgxBj9c9rFp5B-YPsUYB-pwQ3caqOfqegb8V2ztnytPQvBY00dNdmhjtYDqQymv-1feXAwRrYFeBSf54tax3L9PsD3Ghbe8t6=w400-h213" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><br /><p></p>Nitzyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05932653629376470374noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9077405078272544750.post-44943559604906171092021-12-07T12:07:00.000-08:002021-12-07T12:07:41.528-08:00The 1967 New Maple Leafs Sweater<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhoG8ObtI9GoQDVgexZ9DbI2VEIJNN6b-nYF-wc8Lfss4TxlvGfjIlULVzRB1y6rxM3fzSH0X15i9O_hgSxONdpWvc3Z7KwFwBn94-PFt50P097sWcA0gWLUhhdggggwXXsSm8hG29aHnct09uCm_8mAzCazJEQQDVXNbc0KZXzhqRbP2XN5thDyA8Z=s2048" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2048" height="472" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhoG8ObtI9GoQDVgexZ9DbI2VEIJNN6b-nYF-wc8Lfss4TxlvGfjIlULVzRB1y6rxM3fzSH0X15i9O_hgSxONdpWvc3Z7KwFwBn94-PFt50P097sWcA0gWLUhhdggggwXXsSm8hG29aHnct09uCm_8mAzCazJEQQDVXNbc0KZXzhqRbP2XN5thDyA8Z=w640-h472" width="640" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">As a lifelong fan of the Toronto Maple Leafs, I often wondered about the fact that the team changed their uniform just in time for the 1967 playoffs which of course would turn out to be their last Stanley Cup triumph (pending). I recently picked up a really nice Game Program (pictured below) from the 1967 playoffs, issued April 18, 1967 for Game Six of the Semi-finals against Chicago. Within, there is an article by Paul Dulmage about the recent Leafs uniform switch.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjmD3x7q0bURPsd_iBSw_az5U2h8SnaxSUtJJRG5J4lX0vi2YNi4heNqMYCwMrDMzJwG50r-ecw6airA5aurJgoDfeD1WmI1BLLr3EKMOZ0kFRltLw_1xqxfeaHD0krJ1vdM9S0vCCD8pothc-SgyjU4ay1fOuhSB4uRd46rZe_YzLZlhXrT1QEIU0Q=s2048" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1571" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjmD3x7q0bURPsd_iBSw_az5U2h8SnaxSUtJJRG5J4lX0vi2YNi4heNqMYCwMrDMzJwG50r-ecw6airA5aurJgoDfeD1WmI1BLLr3EKMOZ0kFRltLw_1xqxfeaHD0krJ1vdM9S0vCCD8pothc-SgyjU4ay1fOuhSB4uRd46rZe_YzLZlhXrT1QEIU0Q=w306-h400" width="306" /></a></div></div><p>"It was a decision of management," stated Leafs equipment manager Bobby Haggert, "They decided it would be part of their Centennial project. The new sweaters will be here in time for the playoffs." Dulmage informed the reader, Centennial Year (1967 was the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation) has come, and Canada has a new Maple Leaf on her flag, and the Toronto Maple Leafs open this year's Stanley Cup playoffs with a new leaf on their sweaters, Canada's 11-point leaf. The Maple Leaf sweater had long been a five-point serrated-edged leaf.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjLxlMXKY-_K5qMF1W-6JuDzPfsG4SB-2XhYkTYgBdLbDmT_B5LYj0NUOyTaTDFWc8L-hC-TEv-NqRk5uqKpsxX7P2ynaIsepltcEBkDYkpmsbLEtaUmz4SgAiSKjW4MYaCU6QwNvSiiPoKsnrmNbw3VOpT1Q-3yLZV4Hrt8nurMAVGSKM-9dnZcmW_=s2048" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1869" data-original-width="2048" height="365" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjLxlMXKY-_K5qMF1W-6JuDzPfsG4SB-2XhYkTYgBdLbDmT_B5LYj0NUOyTaTDFWc8L-hC-TEv-NqRk5uqKpsxX7P2ynaIsepltcEBkDYkpmsbLEtaUmz4SgAiSKjW4MYaCU6QwNvSiiPoKsnrmNbw3VOpT1Q-3yLZV4Hrt8nurMAVGSKM-9dnZcmW_=w400-h365" width="400" /></a></div>Dulmage continued, "There are two spring customs in Toronto which are hard to break: having the Leafs in the playoffs, and having brand-new sweaters for them. The old sweaters then are retired until the next season, when they're put into service for the exhibition grind." Bob Haggert adds, "There's another thing different this year. The striping on our sweaters and stockings has never matched. Look: our sweaters have two wide stripes on the sleeves, and two on the arms. But our stockings have one wide and two thin stripes. That's not a big, earth-shaking change or anything, but it should help make the boys look a little neater. Haggert tells why the team goes with new sweaters every spring, "To dress things up. The Stanley Cup playoffs are the highlight of the year. They get national coverage and now, international and in color. It's show business: you can't go on with uniforms that have taken a beating for 70 games. So you dress it up."<div>Apparently the colors were the most difficult to match according to Haggert, "One company makes the sweaters, another the pants, another the socks." Haggert orders Royal Blue, but every manufacturer's blue is different. It even extends to the gloves - every team in the league but Detroit now wears gloves painted or dyed team colors. He continued, "We've had some other ideas to brighten things up. White pants, for example, and white gloves. And maybe white skates, just like the Kansas City Athletics. But those things would be a lot of trouble: suppose a guy got cut and got blood all over his pants? And the skates: you'd have no end of trouble cleaning them. And hockey is such a transient sport - guys are in Rochester tomorrow. You'd have to have special skates each time they came up, because if everybody didn't wear them, it would look ridiculous."</div><div>In the end, the uniform switch proved successful for the Leafs. They would beat the Hawks that evening 3-1 courtesy of two goals from Brian Conacher and one from Pete Stemkowski while Terry Sawchuk made 34 of 35 saves. They would go on to defeat Montreal four games to two to claim the Stanley Cup in their brand-spanking new uniforms with matching stripes and an 11-point leaf logo.</div><div>Perhaps the current edition of the Leafs should consider a uniform change just before the 2022 playoffs (assuming they make it there), it may be the only thing that allows them to break their Stanley Cup curse.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjpI9WCGGXeEAJrrM9m4qI8R_mUrmolzaBsOF2W7TpuL4VGd7qZ3FVfmPEbI7P5tHinjzzXuK_kKOJ2ZUgkJeF1meXKWYGxUMMgqizhMyzr79QTrhYd4-thBKBUPVZkLlM0_HX52dfYgXuemeNKj4IurEmVT2qF2Rwt5UGXKqF5t7wYOM1tgufToKUN=s2048" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1905" data-original-width="2048" height="373" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjpI9WCGGXeEAJrrM9m4qI8R_mUrmolzaBsOF2W7TpuL4VGd7qZ3FVfmPEbI7P5tHinjzzXuK_kKOJ2ZUgkJeF1meXKWYGxUMMgqizhMyzr79QTrhYd4-thBKBUPVZkLlM0_HX52dfYgXuemeNKj4IurEmVT2qF2Rwt5UGXKqF5t7wYOM1tgufToKUN=w400-h373" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br /> <p></p></div>Nitzyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05932653629376470374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9077405078272544750.post-4936421234989538452021-10-14T09:38:00.003-07:002021-10-14T09:38:48.211-07:00Saturday, October 10, 1981<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjkeawauLd2aKZmC4H7FuGi3YgXRBbKH281i-mCDyT_LnSZ5auuTXWLSReeonBk8YkIOkb2WyGYBoyRhkCagkGsZzxwWxKoDeiq6qhJTbQKFlBCp5jE_bc-FRL1m5XgSdS0P5UgFYshFOr8iikMpT4OQ633Vso5xzRlsOV6gfXP9VhoV8QHlTVTEWNf=s2048" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1647" data-original-width="2048" height="321" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjkeawauLd2aKZmC4H7FuGi3YgXRBbKH281i-mCDyT_LnSZ5auuTXWLSReeonBk8YkIOkb2WyGYBoyRhkCagkGsZzxwWxKoDeiq6qhJTbQKFlBCp5jE_bc-FRL1m5XgSdS0P5UgFYshFOr8iikMpT4OQ633Vso5xzRlsOV6gfXP9VhoV8QHlTVTEWNf=w400-h321" width="400" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Opening night at Maple Leaf Gardens was always a special evening but this one was even more memorable as it was also the 50<sup>th</sup> anniversary of the historic building. My dad and I sat in the end gold seats, Box 38, Row C Seats 1 and 2, 3 rows up from ice level. I was ten years old, and this was my first ever Leaf game.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">One of my more prominent memories of the night happened before the game even started. The 48<sup>th</sup> Highlanders Pipe and Drum Band marched across the ice playing as they had since the Gardens had opened in 1931. Major Conn Smythe, the architect of the Leafs in those days and builder of this grand yellow bricked edifice had served in the Great War. Having The Highlanders open each Maple Leaf season was one of his ways of bringing to the ordinary masses the majesty and honour of serving for one’s country. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This being the 50<sup>th</sup> season opener at the Gardens, the feeling of ceremony and tradition was extra thick in the air. As any ten-year old would do in my situation I stood wide-eyed under the glare of the television lights that was so much more noticeable near ice level as the beautiful strains of “Maple Leaf Forever” wafted up to the rafters of the grand old arena. I found out in later years the contrast of sitting in the upper Greys which were not quite so brilliant and magical and were actually quite dank and uncomfortable (that of course did not deter me from purchasing one of those same dank grey seats to have in my home many years later).</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgSMHlCfcUrCZ_1NID34C78NZvm8lSD3X2vIFV8H26n0ajplcBymcmV62_5m_Gm9e9PuCETrpoxj7sQoDa3PNMMSP2veRs2Y9Cktuk7XtVTCKyCD499a0gQdeqeeyt1M3gwOO8_zXNft2JRmwz8ygvOjEa9IYRZN5xOGHq96FBKMXBUXilmJVSvJy-D=s1666" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1483" data-original-width="1666" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgSMHlCfcUrCZ_1NID34C78NZvm8lSD3X2vIFV8H26n0ajplcBymcmV62_5m_Gm9e9PuCETrpoxj7sQoDa3PNMMSP2veRs2Y9Cktuk7XtVTCKyCD499a0gQdeqeeyt1M3gwOO8_zXNft2JRmwz8ygvOjEa9IYRZN5xOGHq96FBKMXBUXilmJVSvJy-D=s320" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh1GYMLJT7cDhAsLUxwZIBfBHdbbO2LBCqM3GZPDeKtpy9UQG4MbAfz7gMaw0UYvKe3tzd1yI15EseasLC4ChaAJbkMVy9h_CLbU5166Mr77b17VMLWFJ7k0gWEdx2dWWKjGoPtZzSdJ5ILMf8B5q6OE2ikqEeSj2vlYYyI1loKTz5DODoP5PUwnNQT=s2048" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1498" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh1GYMLJT7cDhAsLUxwZIBfBHdbbO2LBCqM3GZPDeKtpy9UQG4MbAfz7gMaw0UYvKe3tzd1yI15EseasLC4ChaAJbkMVy9h_CLbU5166Mr77b17VMLWFJ7k0gWEdx2dWWKjGoPtZzSdJ5ILMf8B5q6OE2ikqEeSj2vlYYyI1loKTz5DODoP5PUwnNQT=w293-h400" width="293" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Due to our seating location, my dad and I were able to walk through the lower “bowels” of the Gardens, areas that most of the paying public did not have access to. As we walked past the Zamboni parked under the stands, who did we cross paths with but the legend Francis “King” Clancy. Even at that age, I recognized the elderly looking man and was aware of who he was. We simply said a quick hello and shook his hand. At this point in his life he was 78 years old and still worked in the Leafs front office. He had starred as one of the NHL’s top defence men until 1937, became a referee in the league and coached the Leafs for three seasons in the mid-1950’s. By 1981 he was pretty much just a figurehead of the team and right-hand-man to owner Harold Ballard. I really do wish my dad or I would have had the presence of mind to get a picture with him, or better yet an autograph. Nevertheless, it was a pretty cool start to my first trip to the Gardens.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I do vividly remember using my little manual crank camera, snapping photos during the pre-game warm-ups. Perhaps the main reason I recall this is that my camera flash prompted the friendly usherette to come over to our seats. Apparently being so low to the ice, it was forbidden to use a flash such as mine for fear of temporarily blinding the players during the course of play, so any picture I snapped after the warm-ups was unfortunately fairly dark. I did however capture a terrific shot from my seat of the 48<sup>th</sup> Highlanders on the ice in a nice wide view of the historic building. (pictured at top)</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Being this close to the action gave me a real good chance to see my hockey heroes up close. Darryl Sittler was my favourite at this time, even more so than Wayne Gretzky, although The Kid was a close second and gaining steam rapidly. Once Sittler was dealt to Philadelphia a few months later The Great One would however assume the top rung of my idol list. This night though, Sittler was number one in my mind. I even managed to catch a few darker than I would have preferred photos of him in the corner of the rink not 10 feet away from me. This was a time in my life when my burgeoning artistic skills were making themselves known, in the form of drawing hockey players and making my own hockey cards. To capture my own source material was that much more thrilling. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj2zHZpEo1-gvA04dW3FQ56UbfF-wtBdPJn-RCjscSvrOPMXIaSzWoNuZP_Eo7syK2RuUPuRo6HZrORRhmupY7DEvx8B2cu5ul6gjuzHVo-C96Lm-Ocy0d7CmFwU3107sELSXri20DJC8Q35hsmNXl9-qIpOaU0Y2mPOcldOaBShQdiZhHzrNm6EhY7=s2048" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1776" data-original-width="2048" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj2zHZpEo1-gvA04dW3FQ56UbfF-wtBdPJn-RCjscSvrOPMXIaSzWoNuZP_Eo7syK2RuUPuRo6HZrORRhmupY7DEvx8B2cu5ul6gjuzHVo-C96Lm-Ocy0d7CmFwU3107sELSXri20DJC8Q35hsmNXl9-qIpOaU0Y2mPOcldOaBShQdiZhHzrNm6EhY7=s320" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;">This was also around the time that I really got into collecting actual hockey cards, not just my own homemade ones. Pretty much any quarter that came into my hands was quickly run up the street to Mac’s Milk for another pack of cards. My friends and I had so many extra cards that we would hold “Scrambles” sessions in the school yard on a regular basis. Every once in a while, someone would bring in a stack of their doubles, triple and quadruples for the sole purpose of giving them away. It usually happened during our normal card trading session at the start of recess, one of the guys would merely take his unwanted cards, gather the rest of the boys around and yell “Scrambles”. The cards were then tossed up in the air in groups of 10 or 20 while the rest of us clamoured over each other to retrieve the cardboard currency. It was somewhat of a status symbol to be able to toss away your refuse and to have it wanted by the others. The thing was, a few of those cards may actually have been very important to your own collections needs. Even if they weren’t the big stars of the sport, if it was a card you needed, it was in great demand. I remember my 1981/82 set coming down to a Hartford Whaler by the name of Don Nachbaur. Indeed, I got the much-desired card in a Scramble. </span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Obviously back then we weren’t too concerned about the condition of these cards, more about the fact that we simply had the card we needed in our greasy little hands. We would carefully tear out stickers from our hockey sticker collection books and trade those as well. The new acquisition would simply be expertly taped into place in your own collection. Many a trade was called off when, while attempting to peel a desired sticker from a book, the school bus we were riding in hit a pothole prompting a clean rip through the sticker. Sure, we didn’t care that much about condition, but we weren’t animals…</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhiXQOFevFeR_ia91euW0xnfHT0027DpWHhG23cah9XLjxzfloQXG6vjfwX9PTQTzq1zFMZRblc3HebtBz28CppABmmkNUaGeSF--uwPc-ctZvlST0d5RUeAIhK8JNJXLRSgev-sIHMifvwkiDXlLTGCIzFP54boUbKaTT81mkpSXQWXF-9JQnN_Pzg=s2048" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1608" data-original-width="2048" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhiXQOFevFeR_ia91euW0xnfHT0027DpWHhG23cah9XLjxzfloQXG6vjfwX9PTQTzq1zFMZRblc3HebtBz28CppABmmkNUaGeSF--uwPc-ctZvlST0d5RUeAIhK8JNJXLRSgev-sIHMifvwkiDXlLTGCIzFP54boUbKaTT81mkpSXQWXF-9JQnN_Pzg=s320" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiQtP2CkX5bYWW6a4kXX23JQelvHkr5WM3ivaKCta8iblX1CAFRnsY9aD-VGNuRnkrh7RBxzBIvCY1gLf-rWjFjUiDpDO0eyY7d1tN8AT4SzZbBR9AlPJwdlrlMaQt6F_WfQQhsvSpnj1yG7ZfjzRo7aSAgQHZzi1ihNIg-vphdS2TmDwVBWZv83aQ1=s2048" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1405" data-original-width="2048" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiQtP2CkX5bYWW6a4kXX23JQelvHkr5WM3ivaKCta8iblX1CAFRnsY9aD-VGNuRnkrh7RBxzBIvCY1gLf-rWjFjUiDpDO0eyY7d1tN8AT4SzZbBR9AlPJwdlrlMaQt6F_WfQQhsvSpnj1yG7ZfjzRo7aSAgQHZzi1ihNIg-vphdS2TmDwVBWZv83aQ1=s320" width="320" /></span></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Back to Sittler, I distinctly recall making a one-for-one trade of the 1980/81 O-Pee-Chee Super Photo cards to obtain my beloved Darryl. These were a set of 24 oversized cards that measured about 5 by 7 inches and looked really nice on your bedroom bulletin board at home. They were sold in a somewhat unorthodox manner in that they did not come in a wrapper of any sort. The local shop-keep simply opened up the box and the next card available for purchase was sitting right there. Yours for a quarter. Of course, we would root through the opened box in search of our desired selections. I needed to have the Sittler, and I just could not find him. Living in Newmarket, Ontario a half hour north of Toronto, the Sittler card was in high demand. Finally, one of my friends ended up with two Sittler’s and was willing to trade. The player I traded straight up for him, Wayne Gretzky. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">On this October night at Maple Leaf Gardens, it seemed Darryl Sittler was hard to find as well. Despite the fact the Leafs scored nine goals, my hero collected one measly assist. The Leafs with youngster Vincent Tremblay in net beat the Black Hawks and veteran Tony Esposito by a score of 9-8. Borje Salming scored his first career hat-trick after not scoring in his previous 63 games dating back to the prior season. Salming’s defense partner Bob Manno tallied a goal and four assists and amazingly, the pair were not on the ice for any of Chicago’s eight goals. Grant Mulvey scored three for the Hawks making it a very rare game, even for back in those high scoring days, when two players notched a hat-trick. The other Leafs to score were Wilf Paiement, Rocky Saginiuk, Laurie Boschman and John Anderson with a pair including the game winner. Indeed, not a bad game to witness for one’s first ever NHL match.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">My dad and I filed out of the now fifty-year old building as countless others had previously and spilled out onto Church street and the chilly night. As we made our way to the car, I recall clutching my camera full of undeveloped, slightly dark photos I remember asking him one thing, “Dad, when can we come back again?”.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgVMrci9ayLtadUMVB6ywAn14eiZ3EE2LQpyUrj3-e40Kv64_8SOv3pumEtlSu6KZsCBKv7BeYJPQHajND4K0Ra5pOaNTPcuiZQhB1sMqKFqU4C2N5_k8Gm19tDBO5hAY-nlMLo14GOQ1f6R_SM0-hx7QJ7V0z7ImIYwwv6jEYjAGxHONRH9Z8aiUHh=s2048" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1525" data-original-width="2048" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgVMrci9ayLtadUMVB6ywAn14eiZ3EE2LQpyUrj3-e40Kv64_8SOv3pumEtlSu6KZsCBKv7BeYJPQHajND4K0Ra5pOaNTPcuiZQhB1sMqKFqU4C2N5_k8Gm19tDBO5hAY-nlMLo14GOQ1f6R_SM0-hx7QJ7V0z7ImIYwwv6jEYjAGxHONRH9Z8aiUHh=s320" width="320" /></span></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiCF93R5nR0wP2YpJqagYaQ4b2YC3eRzkCJibsmECHLL-noaqHsjjcWCxHAT-1FM1hb9SWoyCJVl5JJ7F2rrBQMGaqdt3KXzqbFBm_IK3tY4cdKMCKTVTdqnIU5rFoIZ-4_wYOlsIzBMqwhQ2uVcPyoOolcM-qvbOocQgJCj_a49wTts-sBCNftZIb_=s2048" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1956" data-original-width="2048" height="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiCF93R5nR0wP2YpJqagYaQ4b2YC3eRzkCJibsmECHLL-noaqHsjjcWCxHAT-1FM1hb9SWoyCJVl5JJ7F2rrBQMGaqdt3KXzqbFBm_IK3tY4cdKMCKTVTdqnIU5rFoIZ-4_wYOlsIzBMqwhQ2uVcPyoOolcM-qvbOocQgJCj_a49wTts-sBCNftZIb_=s320" width="320" /></span></a></div></div><p></p>Nitzyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05932653629376470374noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9077405078272544750.post-2847212302594075772021-09-14T13:23:00.001-07:002021-09-14T13:23:49.239-07:00Soviets Smack Team Canada; 1981 Canada Cup Final<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUchx-0htF_LLSNugD1K2P9CTQOLqZigJ2xQOl4utehXCJOorNzmSrKcqAuC6vxIMZt6j27bSDwMrgW4tl22dnlg4iKNC1Iih33F5pJQC8cVXHIhiaWo6Kx3k0NxYSyh9FqiwvMnXY2HY/s1482/Screen+Shot+2021-09-14+at+9.55.09+AM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="858" data-original-width="1482" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUchx-0htF_LLSNugD1K2P9CTQOLqZigJ2xQOl4utehXCJOorNzmSrKcqAuC6vxIMZt6j27bSDwMrgW4tl22dnlg4iKNC1Iih33F5pJQC8cVXHIhiaWo6Kx3k0NxYSyh9FqiwvMnXY2HY/w400-h231/Screen+Shot+2021-09-14+at+9.55.09+AM.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span> </span>Forty years ago yesterday was the Final Game of the 1981 Canada Cup tournament. I remember watching the game as an avid 10 year-old hockey nut and being very disappointed with the outcome. The Soviets, led by goaltender Vladislav Tretiak and a young KLM line thoroughly embarrassed the Canadians by a score of 8-1. I re-watched the game on youtube and my favourite part was seeing all the old commercials on the broadcast. That sad fact alone pretty much sums up the game for me.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuHoQxVp0moG-yE-PWkJBbFu5R7DE2jsfjnZqvUJrsFfVrfNt_q8c4k1WhSdV6X3UhPWxMFhsUBE6TADKlohLvlMUC1hluY8pDWryRG-jCyow9JD04gUJPwSXDdCGcSB1kOuGJiqkCmyY/s1368/Screen+Shot+2021-09-14+at+9.57.24+AM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1116" data-original-width="1368" height="326" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuHoQxVp0moG-yE-PWkJBbFu5R7DE2jsfjnZqvUJrsFfVrfNt_q8c4k1WhSdV6X3UhPWxMFhsUBE6TADKlohLvlMUC1hluY8pDWryRG-jCyow9JD04gUJPwSXDdCGcSB1kOuGJiqkCmyY/w400-h326/Screen+Shot+2021-09-14+at+9.57.24+AM.png" width="400" /></a></div><span> Soviet coach, Victor Tikhonov said after the match, "We didn't expect to win by such a score. We expected the game would be very difficult. If we played them again tomorrow or the day after, I would not forecast the result." The first period of the game was as the coach expected as Canada outshot his team 12-4 with Tretiak </span>making three or four big saves in close. "Tretiak did what he had to do as he always does, but there was a lot more to their win than him," stated Larry Robinson after the loss. Indeed, Tretiak was supported by some timely scoring mainly from the younger Soviet players. 24 year-old Sergei Shepelev potted a hat-trick within ten minutes of game time to end the 2nd period and start the 3rd. According to Canadian coach Scotty Bowman, Shepelev's first goal to make it 2-1 was the toughest, "The second goal was the one that hurt the most, the one that took the most out of us. We'd fought back and tied that game, then they took the lead on a bad score." Denis Potvin summed it up, "They got the big saves from their goalie, we didn't". Mike Liut definitely didn't have his best game, but on most Soviet goals, there was nary a Canadian defender within arms-length. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span> The third Shepelev goal made it 4-1 early in the 3rd period, but in re-watching the match the back-breaker happened two minutes later. With Canada on the powerplay, Wayne Gretzky made a horrendous centering pass in the offensive zone right on the stick of Vladimir Krutov. There was literally no Canadian within 20 feet of the target. Krutov proceeded to freeze Guy Lafleur (who was caught playing defence) with a fake </span>slapshot then beat Liut cleanly with a 30 foot writer. Gretzky was rendered mostly invisible throughout the Final. During the Soviets final practice they actually worked on their "Kid Defence" an approach to halting Gretzky's effectiveness, especially when he sets up behind the net. It appeared to have worked.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTdmrNxK4zN67dP65B224gLlkwEC-ldv9YmRULEvHrQLh4txKvsjk71XuHGVT_C4-cYzkpfDkyeEjEeeceVh_ikTRQyumaO8Uzl9K_Mv-FyQFlzhUVcBCbh4y4ZKGJsbwEYe3VHu2q_Mc/s1728/CC81.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="1728" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTdmrNxK4zN67dP65B224gLlkwEC-ldv9YmRULEvHrQLh4txKvsjk71XuHGVT_C4-cYzkpfDkyeEjEeeceVh_ikTRQyumaO8Uzl9K_Mv-FyQFlzhUVcBCbh4y4ZKGJsbwEYe3VHu2q_Mc/w400-h266/CC81.png" width="400" /></a></div><span> Liut himself said afterward, "When the game is over, the game is over; only the </span>time remains. All it was was a cosmetic score. We stopped playing, and they didn't." Another thing Liut stopped doing was making saves, he allowed 5 goals on a mere 8 shots in the 3rd period. Coach Bowman concluded, "It wasn't a seven-goal game but we have no excuses. The real scoring chances were very even, maybe 14-12 for them but we saw what a really strong goalie can do." He added, "It's tough to play so long and put so much into it and then lose. We had a pretty good tournament, but we didn't win the last game."<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_EZOTHBqTbCKghtxquM4AA4l499kgf275O8_VfxA6stBKL5npErupjYHwyaqmmGJr8zayqW33TVTsYp6U48c4VVXk9o2aw6d50l3KIujzav7m-azgImnnmaUSwrUG2g1c2tpqWzdJVFU/s1048/Screen+Shot+2021-09-14+at+12.16.11+PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1048" data-original-width="520" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_EZOTHBqTbCKghtxquM4AA4l499kgf275O8_VfxA6stBKL5npErupjYHwyaqmmGJr8zayqW33TVTsYp6U48c4VVXk9o2aw6d50l3KIujzav7m-azgImnnmaUSwrUG2g1c2tpqWzdJVFU/w199-h400/Screen+Shot+2021-09-14+at+12.16.11+PM.png" width="199" /></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-UrP2ujAWJfPa7av28LoG_g9l5L0TaugOxLkRf6vg7X5e4qLSrKUnpAYyGf6qzEOAEWOGiq3rqy2JkIm8_NKrWJwrz2Rw2yW3X2_JwlE4skfzx3YAYju7rEQ2UBeP1oZf4sJu_4uRPOg/s1112/Screen+Shot+2021-09-14+at+9.56.48+AM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1112" data-original-width="820" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-UrP2ujAWJfPa7av28LoG_g9l5L0TaugOxLkRf6vg7X5e4qLSrKUnpAYyGf6qzEOAEWOGiq3rqy2JkIm8_NKrWJwrz2Rw2yW3X2_JwlE4skfzx3YAYju7rEQ2UBeP1oZf4sJu_4uRPOg/s320/Screen+Shot+2021-09-14+at+9.56.48+AM.png" width="236" /></a></div><p></p><br />Nitzyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05932653629376470374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9077405078272544750.post-59997210873580314572021-05-26T12:16:00.000-07:002021-05-26T12:16:24.376-07:00Nylander Scores in Four Straight Playoff Games<p></p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuMjdBLdUSbvu0KWeFJ_jyestgL5hM1zsD3cXNMWCN-HOTXbFmPIPbFql6X4YhfHeE9Qvi2CaadDFSOvRQPGcNWXwfLh9CBIcuNnOZ9Wjv0ShGhutLhmK_QWLUWU8lmbUfcSsBgFsP2ss/s620/Screen+Shot+2021-05-26+at+10.09.43+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="349" data-original-width="620" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuMjdBLdUSbvu0KWeFJ_jyestgL5hM1zsD3cXNMWCN-HOTXbFmPIPbFql6X4YhfHeE9Qvi2CaadDFSOvRQPGcNWXwfLh9CBIcuNnOZ9Wjv0ShGhutLhmK_QWLUWU8lmbUfcSsBgFsP2ss/w640-h360/Screen+Shot+2021-05-26+at+10.09.43+AM.png" width="640" /></a></div>William Nylander potted his fourth goal in as many games to open the 2021 NHL Playoffs. This fact brought up many comparables of similar runs by Maple Leaf scorers from the past. Nylander is one away from the longest playoff goal streak in Maple Leafs franchise history:<div>1993, Dave Andreychuk scored in five consecutive games in the second round against St. Louis. This was all good and well, but unfortunately he would go on to be held scoreless in the Semifinal against Los Angeles. Perhaps even a single goal or two may have made a difference in that 7-game loss.</div><div>1951, Sid Smith scored in five straight games including the first four of the Stanley Cup Final against Montreal. He failed to score in the fifth game of the Final, the game that won the Leafs the Cup on Bill Barilko's OT winner.</div><div>1939, Gord Drillon scored in five straight to open the playoffs against New York Americans and Detroit Red Wings.</div><div><br /></div><div>Nylander has equalled the playoff-opening run in 1986 of rookie Wendel Clark who scored in a three game sweep against Chicago and the second round opener vs. St. Louis. A goal in Game 5 will equal Drillon's run to open a playoff year.</div><div><br /></div><div>Sid Smith is the only one of the bunch to score in four straight against Montreal, in what was one of the most memorable Cup Finals in history. Let's take a closer look at his run in 1951 through the game reports of the Globe and Mail.</div><div><br /></div><div><i><b>Semifinal Game 5</b> - "Sid Smith soloed from end to end to score the fourth Toronto goal, capitalizing on his own rebound."<br /></i><p><i><b>Cup Final Game 1</b> -"Sid Smith, Toronto-born hockey player with an unrehearsed flair for the dramatic, pulled all the Hollywood stops as he poked home the payoff goal for his Maple Leafs against Montreal Canadiens last night. The Groucho Marx of the Leafs' dressing room scored after five minutes and 51 seconds of sweltering, sudden-death overtime to give Leafs a 3-2 victory in the first of a best-of-seven Stanley Cup final series at the Gardens. Smitty, crew-cut citizen of West Toronto with a fine sense of humour, showed a fine sense of timing as he opened and closed the scoring in as fast and exciting a hockey game as has been seen here this season...Last night he opened the scoring after 15 seconds of play and sent 13,939 perspiring fans heading for the exits 65 minutes and 36 seconds later...He grabbed Sloan's pass out from behind the Montreal net after Tod had poked the puck from Harvey and MacPherson. Cutting a rug on ice, Smitty swept the puck into the net with a backhand effort. That was the end of game No.1."</i></p><p><i><b>Cup Final Game 2</b> - "Ted Kennedy and his line mates went to work. Kennedy who took a terrific pounding all evening, was at least 50 percent of the Toronto attack. He bulled his way goalward time and again and was directly responsible for both Toronto goals, scoring the second with Sid Smith getting the first."</i></p><p><i><b>Cup Final Game 3</b> - "But it was Kennedy and his wing partners, Sid Smith and Tod Sloan, who did most of the threatening for the Torontos...Sid Smith, Leafs' top goal man in the spring playoffs and one of the top Toronto men tonight, fired an accurate knee high drive through a narrow opening to tie the score. He skated in behind Max Bentley, who left him a drop pass and McNeil didn't have a chance."</i></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbPo6mo5FWMKDnuGaeEXEF9oYVV4YwxcEesLl_w817uDsZzyfthwCeANAW2JOCkRtpifnjmETA-GwPfV54iYIER6BXaJUO03__bn-l2OdSCLX68BUdxFj4PQgSWg_Lp1mwOX-QxvDm988/s1644/Screen+Shot+2021-05-25+at+8.38.35+PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1162" data-original-width="1644" height="453" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbPo6mo5FWMKDnuGaeEXEF9oYVV4YwxcEesLl_w817uDsZzyfthwCeANAW2JOCkRtpifnjmETA-GwPfV54iYIER6BXaJUO03__bn-l2OdSCLX68BUdxFj4PQgSWg_Lp1mwOX-QxvDm988/w640-h453/Screen+Shot+2021-05-25+at+8.38.35+PM.png" width="640" /></a></div><i><b>Cup Final Game 4</b> - "Leafs moved in front early in this game, Sid Smith the man who has taken it as his personal responsibility to open the scoring for each game of this tremendous final series, beating McNeil after only 38 seconds of play."</i><p></p><p>Maybe Nylander can continue his run channelling Sid Smith. Maybe Toronto can continue their run to a Stanley Cup. Maybe Zach Bogosian will score an Overtime Cup winner in the vein of Bill Barilko.</p><p>As a lifelong Leafs fan, I will definitely not be getting my hopes up. As for now it's simply nice to be enjoying some winning playoff hockey, but we all know that can change in an instant. </p></div>Nitzyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05932653629376470374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9077405078272544750.post-68467394358061685812021-05-18T08:40:00.001-07:002021-05-18T08:40:58.051-07:00The Myth of the North Division<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2xjhpMlKkoJ9iRBKuYwsMGJCjkTqDF88otAOIJ2yJYg-iQ6ssXbA2Xoa3z5c7X_i3CwaLXneu-0CwDu9WOArbWoibeRtAobg4c1RD4f-6nmZOv9yk4ZV_wnCyb9pSHABhcvLkTm0wje8/s620/toronto-maple-leafs-celebrate.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="349" data-original-width="620" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2xjhpMlKkoJ9iRBKuYwsMGJCjkTqDF88otAOIJ2yJYg-iQ6ssXbA2Xoa3z5c7X_i3CwaLXneu-0CwDu9WOArbWoibeRtAobg4c1RD4f-6nmZOv9yk4ZV_wnCyb9pSHABhcvLkTm0wje8/w640-h360/toronto-maple-leafs-celebrate.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p>The North Division is weak. That's what many hockey fans would have you believe as the 2020/21 NHL season drew to an end. It's a sentiment mainly directed at the Maple Leafs and their franchise record Points Percentage of .688. The belief is that the division was extra weak at the bottom end with Calgary, Vancouver and Ottawa. Truth be told, the last place Canucks have a higher points percentage than the last team in all other divisions. </p><p>A simple way to compare the divisons is to narrow down the record of the playoff qualifying teams between themselves, thus eliminating the weaker non-playoff teams. If we look at each division's standings based on games against ONLY playoff teams, we get the following.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiawtI2mJkkATnB_1bG3tSVlyM2sQiSWGHimEXJmwcS42v_3zkF3WYcGTsA0POs-hqP54a2iVrWO14f5qcTac-eNVYNltYgCwl8hfB4XYtjr_INd7swZiLgptQAhuahnmsMC4tfK5JHBTk/s1440/NHL2021.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="1440" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiawtI2mJkkATnB_1bG3tSVlyM2sQiSWGHimEXJmwcS42v_3zkF3WYcGTsA0POs-hqP54a2iVrWO14f5qcTac-eNVYNltYgCwl8hfB4XYtjr_INd7swZiLgptQAhuahnmsMC4tfK5JHBTk/w640-h640/NHL2021.jpg" width="640" /></a><span style="text-align: left;">As shown above, Toronto ends up with the second highest points percentage against playoff teams, just behind Carolina. Does this illustrate the fact that the Leafs are just that much better than the rest of their division, even the other playoff teams? Critics could point to the fact that the North is the one division with only two teams over .500 (and remember, that's "fake-.500" using OT loss points).</span></div><div>Let's not overlook the fact that you could also say that Carolina beat up on a somewhat mediocre division, especially when you see Nashville won only 7 of 24 games against fellow playoff squads. In contrast, is the West Division the toughest division since the four team's points percentages were the most closely grouped?</div><div><br /></div><div>So, digging deeper into the standings almost raises more questions than answers. I think it's safe to say that Toronto's season was not built upon the so-called lesser lights of the North Division. Also, Carolina in four over Nashville...<br /> <p></p></div>Nitzyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05932653629376470374noreply@blogger.com0