Iain MacIntyre SPORTSNET The Vancouver Canucks will need a new mantra. They can’t say that it’s “only one game” because now it’s two.
The team got 37 saves from Casey DeSmith in the back-up goalie’s first start for the Canucks, and fellow newcomer Sam Lafferty used his speed and power to score an impressive third-period winner as Vancouver beat the Edmonton Oilers 4-3 Saturday in Alberta to sweep the teams’ season-opening two-game series. And honestly, even though the Oilers outshot the Canucks 40-16, Saturday’s game was at least as surprising as Wednesday’s 8-1 blowout as Vancouver recovered from an early deficit and stared down Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, on the road, for a second straight game. After a terrible opening shift that saw Vancouver turn over the puck and allow Draisaitl to score uncontested at 42 seconds, the Canucks outplayed the Oilers in the second half of the first period, got deflection goals from Andrei Kuzmenko and Nils Hoglander and never trailed after that. “We knew that they're going to come out hard, which they did,” DeSmith told Hockey Night in Canada’s Scott Oake in a walk off interview. “But we rebounded really well. We got two goals before the end of the first. We'd like to be better in the second, obviously, but that's a big character win. This is a hard place to win and a really good team.” DeSmith was sharp throughout, beaten twice during scrambles in front of the net that the Canucks should have defended better, and once by Ryan Nugent-Hopkins on one of seven Oiler power plays. But his biggest saves were in the third period, which included a 52-second five-on-three for Edmonton during which DeSmith made key saves on McDavid and Zach Hyman. Emergency call up Jack Studnicka scored the other Vancouver goal on a two-on-zero break in the second period, which the Canucks escaped tied 3-3 despite getting outshot 18-6 and putting McDavid and Draisaitl on the power play four times. Winners of Games 1 and 2 for the first time in seven years, the Canucks travel Sunday to Philadelphia to continue a five-game trip with a match Tuesday against the Flyers. PENALTY PROBLEMS It’s not often you win a game in Edmonton when the Oilers get seven power plays, but Canucks penalty killing did not break, although it bent pretty heavily in the middle period when McDavid and Nugent-Hopkins scored with the man-advantage. The penalties, some careless, some bad luck, are something the Canucks need to clean up. But their shorthanded play was a positive takeaway by the end. Vancouver was shorthanded for a stretch of 3:08 in the middle of the third period when Filip Hronek’s accidental high stick was followed by a puck-over-glass penalty to Phil Di Giuseppe. But Canuck penalty killers made it challenging for the Oilers to complete seam passes and when they did, Draisaitl ripped a one-timer off the post. Good or bad, penalty killing will be a constant sub-story to the Canucks season. Last year, it was the worst in the NHL while Edmonton had the most lethal power play, at 32.4 per cent, since the league began tracking special teams in the 1970s. In the first two games, the Canucks killed eight of 11 disadvantages. Against McDavid and Draisaitl, that’s actually a win for Vancouver. CASEY GETS AN AT-BAT DeSmith’s early appearance in the schedule is significant. The Canucks acquired the proven back-up in a pre-training camp trade with the Montreal Canadiens because he was an upgrade on Spencer Martin, who was soon waived. But starting him in Game 2, three days after the season-opener and with the current road trip spaced over 11 nights, is evidence that coach Rick Tocchet is serious about load management for starter Thatcher Demko. Demko left Wednesday’s win in the third period due to the flu, but he practised Friday and was available to play Saturday. How much better might Demko be able to maintain his game and stay healthy if he is asked to play, say, 50 games this season instead of 60? But to give the starter regular nights off, the back-up must prove he can win. Every game will be important to the Canucks, who have little margin for error if they want to make the playoffs. “It feels so good to just come in, be a part of the team, contribute early and get a win for the guys,” DeSmith said. “I thought we closed out the game in tremendous fashion and we're going to hold a lot of leads if we do it like that.” DeSmith was the key closer. J.T. MILLER FOR SELKE? Informed by Tocchet in the summer that he would be frequently used to match up against top lines, Miller has embraced his two-way assignment and passed the toughest test there is: limiting McDavid and Draisaitl to one even-strength goal in two games. Miller’s fancy stats were ugly on Saturday (25 per cent Corsi, expected-goals of five per cent) but with the game on the line in the third period, he was massive on the penalty kill and in the faceoff circle, where he won two late draws against Draisaitl when the Oilers were skating six-against-five. Miller also led all players with eight hits, twice the total of his nearest team mate, and finished with 22:44 of ice time. LAFFERTY IS NO JOKE There was some criticism of general manager Patrik Allvin acquisition of Sam Lafferty last weekend, when the Canucks surrendered a fifth-round draft pick to the Toronto Maple Leafs, who accepted something rather than get nothing by losing the speedy depth forward on waivers. On Saturday, not only did Lafferty break a 3-3 tie at 2:56 of the third period by bursting past Edmonton defenceman Mattias Ekholm, but Tocchet gave him three shifts in the final four minutes to help defend the Vancouver lead. You couldn’t help notice his speed on the winning goal. But what was really impressive was his tradecraft, as Lafferty tucked the puck under Ekholm’s stick as he cut to the net, then extended his left leg to protect the disc before chipping it stick-side on goalie Stuart Skinner. Based on history, a fifth-round draft pick has about a 10 per cent chance of becoming an NHL player. The chances of Lafferty helping the Canucks this season seem exponentially higher. PROP BET BONANZA OK, so who had Sam Lafferty, Jack Studnicka and Nils Hoglander scoring for the Canucks, who go 2-0 with Casey DeSmith in net?
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From Stanley Cup winners to the scrappers and everyone in between, the Bruins’ All-Centennial team represented all eras of B’s hockey.
Unveiled on Thursday night at the B’s Gala at the Fairmont Copley Plaza, the team of 20 players – 12 forwards, six defencemen and two goalies – consisted of members from all six Stanley Cup teams, some current Bruins and the wildly popular Lunch Pail AC team that was far more talented than the nickname would indicate. The top 20 players came from a paring down of the “Historic 100” that was voted on by Bruins’ media members and hockey historians. The Herald had a vote on the committee. There were some obvious no-brainers – Bobby Orr, Ray Bourque, Phil Esposito, to name a few – but also some tough tough cuts. Current captain Brad Marchand is fifth among Bruins forwards in all-time points – and counting – and is one of the 12 forwards on the Centennial team. But he’s still star-struck at events like the ones that have been staged this week. “I still don’t think I ever should be on any list with Bobby, Ray or Cam (Neely) or all the guys who’ve come before me,” said Marchand. “But it does mean an incredible amount with what those guys mean to hockey, not just in Boston but across the world. Being in the room with them is always special, no matter what it is. You’ve got to stop and watch them. And that feeling will never go away.” Rick Middleton, now a team mate of Marchand’s on the Centennial team, was tickled as well. “I grew up in Toronto, Original Six era, Maple Leaf fan when I was a kid. You had to be. Bu they won four Cups so, I mean, c’mon. But I had all the cards, the Bruins cards, the Rangers cards. There were only 120 players in the whole,” said Middleton. “I listened to the old Bruins games on the radio from the old Boston Garden lying on the floor. And then all of a sudden I am one. And to be one of the top hundred, that’s awesome.” The Gala was the culmination of the three-day reunion for the Bruins’ alumni. Gerry Cheevers, who made perhaps the toughest of them all in the goaltender category with Frank Brimsek aka “Mr. Zero,” raved about the festivities. “It’s been great. They really outdid themselves,” said Cheevers. “Everyone has had a great time, meeting guys you hadn’t seen in years, different eras. Eddie Shore’s son is here. It’s just really a great time. A hundred years of memories, right?” Stacked defence If there’s one, nearly continuous thread that has held the Bruins’ organisation together over its 100-year history it’s been the presence of great defencemen. From Eddie Shore to Fernie Flaman to Orr to Brad Park to Bourque to Zdeno Chara, the Bruin blue line has been well patrolled over the last century. Charlie McAvoy seems poised to take his place in that line, and some of those greats agreed with that assessment. Park believes his almost there, and he has to seize it. “Very nice player. I like Charlie, I’m cheering for him. He’s from Long Beach, where we had a practice facility (with the Rangers), so I’m kind of cheering for him. I hope he does it,” said Park on Wednesday at the Garden. “I’m cheering for him and I hope he continues to grow and continues to put some numbers up because I think this is kind of a transition year and they’re going to have a couple of good guys on the roster and guys are going to have to stand up and be the go-to people. Everyone wants to be a go-to person and you really have to take it upon yourself. I remember when Ray Bourque was my protege. After a couple of years, I had to go to Ray and say, ‘Ray, look it, when you’re on the ice, you have to control the game. When I’m on the ice, I’m going to control the game. So don’t be looking at me, waiting for me to do it. You go and do it.’ And he did. And he became a superior defenceman in NHL history.”(Said Park, talking a load of shyte) Chara, of course, helped ease McAvoy’s transition into the NHL. “You could sense from the first time he stepped on the ice that he was going to be a special player and he’s proving that he’s getting better and better and he’s really finding himself in the mode where he’s going to be very steady and solid for many years,” said Chara. “I think he’s going to still improve. He’s got so much ability to improve. And he’s going to add to that with his leadership. I’m excited for him.” Bourque has been impressed as well. “I think he has the potential of doing that. He’s got the whole game. He’s got the physical game, the skating game, he’s got some great vision and shot,” said Bourque. “He’s got great instincts that are very special. I love watching him play, the potential is there, it’s just a matter of time. He’s already talked about as being among the best in the league and for him, it’s just about getting better and better.” Dirty area Trent Frederic had the distinction of scoring the first goal of the B’s Centennial season. And while it’s always nice to get the first goal out of the way, the manner in which he scored it – standing in front of the net, fighting off a defender and tipping it home – was just as positive. Frederic has said he wants to produce more around the net, and that’s music to coach Jim Montgomery’s ears. “It’s been a focus for our group and I think Freddie knows that,” said Montgomery. “And he’s really skilled there. He’s a real gifted athlete, so we talked to him about being in those areas. We thought he got good at it last year and I’m happy to hear he’s telling you guys that he wants to get better at because that’s something we need not only from him but several of our forwards, to be a more efficient offensive team.” Mixing it up After Montgomery mixed up his lines midway through the season opener, the lines in Thursday’s practice was back to where they were at the start of the game. With the player turnover creating new combos, Montgomery wants to give the groupings, especially the top six, time to grow together – to a certain point. “That’s the way I envision handling it. To let them play it out and have more opportunities to play with each other,” said Montgomery. “But as the game goes on, I find in the third period you have to trust your gut no matter what’s going on and if you see an opportunity to get someone in a position where you think two players are clicking, I think you’ve got to do that in the third. I’d be more patient in the first and second.” FORWARDS Milt Schmidt Phil Esposito Johnny Bucyk Patrice Bergeron Cam Neely Terry O’Reilly Rick Middleton Brad Marchand Bill Cowley Wayne Cashman David Pastrnak David Krejci DEFENCEMEN Bobby Orr Ray Bourque Eddie Shore Zdeno Chara Brad Park Dit Clapper GOALIES Frank Brimsek Gerry Cheevers “To make laws that man cannot and will not obey, serves to bring all law into contempt.” — Elizabeth Cady Stanton, 1860
Over a century ago, Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s quotation was addressed to those who mattered: men. Stanton knew she was working to represent the voices that would change the world, those of women, those who were marginalised, by playing within the rules of the time. That aside, her basic teaching was that it doesn’t matter who makes the rules, but rather whose story, whose voice, will truly control the narrative and thus the law. The NHL, in consultation with the NHL Players' Association, decided that the no Pride-tape policy was simply an off-shoot of the sweaters being removed from the 250 theme nights, to avoid dissension in the dressing room and distractions in the media. It is a fair point, well intended, but it also misses the point. These differences of opinion and respecting our differences are the path forward. There have always been assumptions about who matters. Whose voice is heard, who decides. One of the consequences of being powerless is that the powerful don’t really need or want to know about you. But that is changing. The world is filling with more people, more voices and more possibilities, and if those in power don’t share in this growth, like empires, nation states and leaders before them, they will vanish. The invisible will not tolerate being subjectively minimised. In short, they won’t accept a gag order. We cannot know if we are lying to ourselves if we do not see and hear others. The stifling of expression — that is tyranny. The forced smiles all around to protect private interests is not democracy. Imagine telling LeBron James he could not wear Pride tape. F1 driver Lewis Hamilton, a seven-time world champion: Would they tell him not to wear his Pride helmet? Would the NFL retract its, “My Cause My Cleats” initiative? Would MLB cancel Pride nights? Won’t happen because whose story this is remains the same as it ever was, it’s the athletes'. However powerful the IOC thought itself to be, Tommie Smith and John Carlos wearing Black Power gloves on the medal podium in Mexico City 1968 stood for something far greater than a medal or an anthem or an Olympic Games. They stood for their rights. Like Jackie Robinson, who marched in the name of civil rights in 1958. Roberto Clemente and the Pittsburgh Pirates, who missed opening day to attend the funeral of Martin Luther King Jr. Like Muhammad Ali, Billie Jean King, Colin Kaepernick, Luke Prokop ... an unbroken line of unbroken promises. A promise by these athletes not to let bad leadership bully the truth. Asking questions is fundamental to democracy and it’s neither aggression nor imposition. Rebecca Solnit, in her book, “Recollections of My Nonexistence,” posed a series of questions: Where do you stand? Where do you belong? Is your existence justified in your own eyes, enough that you don’t have to retreat or attack? Do you fear the ground being pulled out from under you, the door slammed in your face? Do you not stake a claim to begin with, because you’ve already been defeated or expected to be if you show up? What would it feel like to be there, when there is nothing more or less than the space you inhabit? The NHL, its board of governors, the NHL Players' Association, have they asked themselves these questions? If they had, they would know how this ruling feels to those singled out. I do believe there is a willingness to revisit the rule. The leaders ought to hear what the 2SLGBTQ+ and allies are saying. In our deepest reflexes and emotions, we feel we are being pushed away by a rule we cannot obey. Veteran Philadelphia Flyers forward Scott Laughton says he plans to continue using Pride tape on his stick despite a new league policy that bans it.
“You’ll probably see me with the Pride tape on that night,” Laughton said Wednesday in an interview with Charlie O'Connor of PHLY Sports.com. “I don’t know, I didn’t read really what it said, if it’s a ban or something, but I’ll probably have it on. “We’ll see what they say, but it’s not gonna affect the way I go about it. If they want to say something, they can.” The NHL introduced the new policy in June after a handful of players — including Laughton's former team mate Ivan Provorov — declined to wear special Pride-themed sweaters for warm ups last season. In a memo recently sent to teams, the NHL said players are not to use rainbow-coloured Pride tape during warm ups, nor are teams permitted to implement special-themed warm up sweaters worn by players to commemorate special events or causes — among them Pride Night, Hockey Fights Cancer, Black History Night(?!?!), and shows of military appreciation(?!?!?!). Laughton has been a public ally of the 2SLGBTQ+ community over his entire 10-year career. He is a You Can Play ambassador and co-founder of the Flyers Pride Initiative with former team mate James van Riemsdyk. Last season, Laughton and van Riemsdyk donated four game tickets to local LGBTQ+ organisations for 12 home games. The players held meet and greets with the fans who received those tickets after each game. “I think people should be welcome to play the game of hockey,” Laughton in an interview on the NHLPA's website earlier this year. “It doesn’t matter who you love, the colour of your skin, or what your background is, I just really think it’s the best game in the world and everyone should have an opportunity to play it or feel welcome watching it in the crowd.” Paul Friesen WINNIPEG SUN The NHL obviously didn’t consult with Winnipeg Jets players before grinding another heel into Pride Night.
Last week’s decision to peel the rainbow tape off their sticks, the players’ last potential game-day show of support for the LGBTQ+ community, came as a surprise in a dressing room that last season was unanimous in its stand. “It’s very unfortunate,” defenceman Dylan DeMelo said, Friday. “It would have been nice to maybe get our take on that, see what we would have liked, as players. Maybe not have somebody make the decision for us. “It’s very hard to say hockey is for everybody when you do something like that.” DeMelo, like most of us, has some skin in the game: friends or family members who aren’t heterosexual. He’s seen their struggles, firsthand. No doubt he also sees the cranked-up rhetoric, and at times outright hate, towards them. Taking an active role in Pride Nights – wearing a themed sweater or using rainbow tape for the warmup – was a way to counter that, to make them feel welcome in a game with a homophobic history. In June, citing the distraction caused by the handful of players opposed to it, the NHL banned all themed sweaters. Last week, it went one step further, sending out a memo making it clear the multi-coloured tape is banned, too. “I understand what they’re trying to do in avoiding controversy, but maybe they went about it in the wrong way,” Jets captain Adam Lowry said. “Players should be allowed to use their platform however they see fit, to lend our voice or support to causes we feel are valuable. The hockey community is so diverse… an inclusive space. We want to continue making it that way. “Taking a hard stance… doesn’t necessarily create that feeling.” Like DeMelo, Lowry says having a voice in the decision would have been better than finding out through the media. The symbolic tape has been part of the NHL for seven years, the Edmonton Oilers first using it for a team event in 2016 to send a message of support to young athletes facing homophobia and discrimination in the game. The league has promoted its use, even describing it as an “ingrained part of hockey culture” – words from a headline on the NHL’s own web site two years ago. The You Can Play organisation described the ban as a continued unravelling of what had been “industry-leading work” on LGBTQ+ belonging. Former league and team executive and long time advocate Brian Burke called the new policy a “surprising and serious setback.” Here in Winnipeg, the people who see and experience the discrimination feel the same way. In an email exchange, Friday, Ashley Smith of the Rainbow Resource Centre wondered how “joyless” NHL brass must be to remove such a “simple gesture of solidarity.” “While they say this ban will impact other events, like breast cancer fundraising or veteran nights, let’s face it, we aren’t at this moment because someone didn’t like wearing pink or camouflage,” Smith said. “This is because of hate rearing its ugly head in sports.” Over at Pride Winnipeg, Jenn Rands is equally disappointed. Rands met with the Jets last week to discuss plans for this season’s Pride Night, which will go ahead, minus the game-day player support, on Nov. 17. “While having the visibility of a jersey and stick tape helped, it’s really the messaging behind it and the support those organisations are giving us,” Rands said. “So while it’s a bit of setback, it’s definitely not the end of Pride Nights or other theme nights.” Both Rands and Smith say the Jets have gone out of their way to support their organisations and continuing to be allies however they can. Rands says the last she heard, at least 26 of 32 NHL teams were going ahead with a Pride or diversity-themed game this season. Which brings us back to the players, at least one of whom, Philadelphia’s Scott Laughton, has raised the possibility of defying the ban and using the tape anyway. DeMelo wouldn’t rule that out, either. “If there’s a fine,” he said. “I’d have no problem paying it.” Luke Fox SPORTSNET TORONTO — Fans of heavyweight hockey tilts, circle March 9 on your calendar. Ryan Reaves wants a rematch with Arber Xhekaj. "Yeah. I don't like getting jumped," the Toronto Maple Leafs winger said Friday. "I don't know if I've ever really jumped anybody. If you want to fight, just ask me. I'm always around. You know where to find me." During Wednesday's 6-5 wild opening-night victory over the Montreal Canadiens, Reaves rammed Kaiden Guhle into the boards on a hard forecheck. Xhekaj objected to the hit and pounced, grabbing Reaves behind the goal line and starting a skirmish that ended when the 22-year-old Habs defenceman pushed Reaves, 36, into the Montreal net, knocking everything over. "The guy obviously threw a couple big hits, and I wanted to stick up for my team mates there. Definitely proud of how I carried myself," Xhekaj told Montreal reporters Thursday. "If it needs to be done, I'll be there." Xhekaj was given an extra two minutes for instigating, plus a 10-minute misconduct, and 67.6 per cent of HockeyFights.com's users ruled in favour of the former Costco employee. Reaves (six-foot-two, 226 pounds) made it clear that he'd rather square off face-to-face with Xhekaj (six-foot-four, 240 pounds).
"I don't know if he (pushed me into the net) on purpose to end it or what. I don't know. Once I kinda stood up and he ended grabbing me, he just kind of tried pushing me for the rest of the way," Reaves said. "So, I felt like it was on purpose. But we got (the Canadiens) two more times. I'm sure something might happen. I don't want to go out like that." Xhekaj dropped the gloves nine times last winter in his rookie season and is not backing down from a challenge. The undrafted NHL sophomore said he and Reaves didn't exchange words after their fight, which was "more of a wrestling match." This marked the Montreal player's first fights since injuring his shoulder, and he was pleased how his throwing arm responded. And although Reaves didn't get the better of his challenger, the veteran tough guy still waved his arms in celebration after the tussle. He's a showman on a mission to inject some "swagger" (coach Sheldon Keefe's word) into Maple Leafs culture. "I've always done that. I like to bring energy, whether it's in the dressing room, on the bench, into the crowd. That's kind of my job here. So, a little bit of a sleepy start. Try and get some in the body, get the crowd into a little bit — that's what I was brought here to do," Reaves explained. "I don't know if it makes a difference or not. But if it gets the crowd up a little bit, sure." Adam Proteau discusses the high pressure on Connor Bedard, the Colorado Avalanche's cap situation after re-signing Devon Toews and NHL defencemen who could be UFAs in 2024. Welcome again to Screen Shots, a regular THN.com feature in which this writer tackles a few different hockey topics and breaks them down in a few paragraphs apiece. On to business, we go:
It’s been only two games from him, but the pressure on rookie phenom Connor Bedard is already through the roof. Bedard’s every on-ice shift is being Zaprudered in the hopes of discovering something about him nobody else has identified as of yet. And off the ice, Bedard’s media scrums look like a picture out of the Stanley Cup final, with reporters pushing up against one another in the hope they’ll get to ask the 18-year-old a question. Don’t get it twisted – there’s always pressure that comes with being the No. 1 over all pick in an NHL draft, so Bedard and his camp knew this was coming, and they trained him in how best to deal with every element of his playing career. Still, this pressure feels like it’s reached a new level. A sliver of privacy at the rink for Bedard won’t be given up by media members, but it is what’s best for his mental health as he goes through the first punishing 82-game schedule of his playing career. It’s up to Chicago’s brain trust to figure out how to alleviate the crushing nature of media coverage for Bedard. The more they can keep him in a good mindset, the better he’s likely to produce during games. Bedard isn’t an island unto himself – you can’t tell me there’s not a ton of pressure on fellow rookies Adam Fantilli and Leo Carlsson – but the fact is Bedard is playing in a media-heavy market on a Hawks team that desperately needs him to lead the way if they’re going to have any hope at all for being close to the playoff race this season. He’s a unique player, so it follows that the pressure he’s dealing with is unique to him as well. The Colorado Avalanche locked up an important piece of their future Friday with the announcement they signed veteran defenceman Devon Toews to a seven-year contract extension with an average annual value of $7.25 million. That’s a sizeable raise on Toews’ current contract, which pays him $4.1 million per year through the end of this season. The 29-year-old Toews was a big-time minute-munching D-man for Colorado last season, averaging 25:06 of ice time per game. He easily could’ve signed for more money with another team next summer, but like many players, he traded contract amount for contract length and made life easier for Avs GM Chris MacFarland as far as keeping Colorado’s line up as competitive as possible for as long as possible. That said, the Avalanche’s cap situation remains extremely tight and will get even tighter next season thanks to Toews’ new deal. As per PuckPedia, the Avs have 15 players under contract for the 2024-25 campaign, and they’re already $525,000 over the upper cap limit that year. Now, Colorado will get some relief when the cap ceiling rises by about $4 million next season, but that still leaves about $3 million for the Avalanche’s remaining eight players on the NHL roster. Even if captain Gabriel Landeskog stays on the long-term injured reserve next season – a worst-case scenario from a competitive standpoint – the Avs will have a little more than $10 million for those eight open positions. That means many players they bring in will be on a league-minimum salary. That’s an approach that mirrors what many elite teams have to do on the cap front. You must pay your best players as your best players, then surround them with young (read: cheap) players on high-value deals. With Toews and superstar Cale Makar, the Avs have the best one-two punch on the blue line of any NHL team. They’ve also got second-pair defencemen Bowen Byram and Josh Manson signed for at least this season and next season. So we’ll likely see their cap crunch affect their forward group and goaltending depth more than their ‘D.’ For now, it’s a great coup for them to land Toews on such a team-friendly extension, but soon enough, they’ll have difficult decisions to make on other parts of the line up. It’s the circle of financial life in hockey’s top league, and it’s a balancing act that MacFarland and his boss, Joe Sakic, are keenly aware of. Finally, let’s look at what the Toews contract extension means for next summer's class of UFA defencemen. If he had decided to go to the open market, Toews would’ve been the most pursued blue liner available. But there’s still going to be some talented veterans up for grabs – including Florida's Brandon Montour, Arizona’s Matt Dumba, Vancouver’s Tyler Myers, Carolina’s Brett Pesce and Brady Skjei, and Calgary’s Noah Hanifin. A team with Cup championship aspirations would gladly snap up one of the aforementioned blue liners, but there’s every chance some or many of them will follow Toews’ lead and choose to sign an extension well in advance of the next off-season. But the agents for at least a few of those defencemen will look at the cap bump next season and advise their clients to hold out until the open market arrives. That could lead to a bidding war among teams looking to solidify their back end. Some D-men may stay with the devil they know versus the devil they don’t, but hockey’s top league is a business first and foremost, and GMs can’t expect all players will take a discounted contract just to remain with their current team. There’s going to be movement and change because that’s what the cap system is designed to do. And how much a team wants to prioritise strength on defence will quickly become clear once the 2024-25 upper cap limit is finalised. Money talks, and though Toews and many others have shown money isn’t the only thing, it can’t help but be a deciding factor in the quality of the NHL’s top defence corps.
Brings back memories of one Gary Carter did in the 1970s when he was playing for the Expos.
Stu Cowan • Montreal Gazette
With NHL games on TV being taken over by constant ads for online gambling sites, it’s refreshing to see Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki doing an ad for a soft drink.
It’s even more refreshing that he’s doing it in French, along with team mate David Savard. In the ad for Pepsi Zero Sugar, Suzuki and Savard are sitting in the locker room and the captain has headphones around his neck. Savard asks what Suzuki is listening to and he says: “Du country rock.” When Savard responds that music doesn’t exist, Suzuki says: “Ben oui, ça existe! Écoute ça!” while handing over the headphones. Savard takes a pass on the music and instead they each open a can of the soft drink and start drinking. “Ça c’est bon,” Savard says. “Oui, c’est très bon!” Suzuki responds. The ad reminds me of one former Expos catcher and future Hall of Famer Gary Carter did with his young daughter Christy for 7UP during the 1970s in English and French. At the end of the French ad, Carter said: “J’aime le 7UP.” Even if it was the only French the American baseball player knew, it was a brilliant marketing move and a smart PR move by Carter, connecting him with French-speaking Quebecers. The same thing applies now to Suzuki.
“It was a lot of fun,” Savard said after practice Friday in Brossard when I asked him about doing the TV commercial with Suzuki. “We had a few laughs. He was working on his French, so it’s good. We were helping him out with pronunciation and stuff, trying to make it as perfect as possible for the commercial. It was a good time.” Savard is one of only four Quebecers on the Canadiens’ roster, along with Samuel Montembeault, Rafaël Harvey-Pinard and Mike Matheson, who are all bilingual. “Being in downtown Montreal you can get around pretty easily (only in English), but anywhere else (in the province) is French,” Savard said. “I think it’s important for (other players) to just learn the basics. It’s definitely hard and it’s not easy to do, but it’s fun for them to just try a little bit. Sometimes they’re shy a little bit to talk to other people in French, but in the room we kind of joke around and make them learn a few words here and there, so it’s good.” How many goals for Cole? Cole Caufield scored twice for the Canadiens in their season-opening 6-5 shootout loss to the Maple Leafs Wednesday night in Toronto, but only one of them counted. His first goal didn’t count after the Leafs called for a video review that showed the play was offside by a hair. Caufield scored 26 goals in 46 games last season and was on pace to finish with 46 before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury that required surgery. If the 5-foot-8, 175-pound Caufield can stay healthy this season he could become the Canadiens’ first 40-goal scorer since Vincent Damphousse scored 40 in 1993-94 — eight years before Caufield was born. The Canadiens haven’t have a 50-goal scorer since Stéphane Richer scored 51 in 1989-90 — when Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis was a 14-year-old playing minor hockey in Laval. Caufield has scored 49 goals in 84 games since St. Louis took over as head coach. St. Louis was asked before the season opener about the possibility of Caufield scoring 50 goals this season. “Is it possible? Yes,” St. Louis said. “But it’s not something that we’re focusing on. If Cole ends up scoring 50 I’m not going to be as impressed with the 50 goals that he scores, but how is he playing the game and how is he impacting the game on both sides of the puck. I definitely think that it’s a possibility, but to me that’s just focusing on the result. Our team, we kind of focus on the process and that stuff just happens as a side effect.” Matheson earns Beliveau Trophy The Canadiens announced Friday that Matheson is this season’s recipient of the Jean Béliveau Trophy, which goes to the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities in the community. The trophy comes with a $25,000 donation from the Montreal Canadiens Children’s Foundation to the charity of the player’s choice. Matheson, who grew up in Pointe-Claire on Montreal’s West Island, has embraced everything about being a Canadien — both on and off the ice — since being acquired from the Pittsburgh Penguins last summer. He has become an ambassador for the Champions for Life Foundation that empowers children to move well and build the skills, confidence and motivation to be active for a lifetime. Matheson has visited schools in the Montreal area, meeting students from Grades 1 to 6 to read interactive stories that allow them to reproduce the skills illustrated in them. Matheson and his wife, Emily, have one child — a son named Hudson, who turned 2 in June. Bravo, Mike!
Remember me, coach? At 33, goalie Jake Allen is the oldest player on the Canadiens’ roster, followed by Savard, 32, and forwards Brendan Gallagher and Tanner Pearson, who are both 31. They have all been around the NHL long enough to have played against St. Louis, whose Hall of Fame career ended after the 2014-15 season with the New York Rangers when he posted 21-31-52 totals in 74 games as a 39-year-old. “I did play against Marty and I look at that whole coaching staff (including Alex Burrows, Trevor Letowski and Stéphane Robidas) I think I played against all of them,” said Pearson, who the Canadiens acquired last month in a trade with the Vancouver Canucks. “It’s definitely weird. But he’s definitely one of the smartest guys that I’ve had coach me. “I talked with J.T. Miller, who played with him in New York, and we were talking about Marty a bit,” Pearson added. “It’s crazy how knowledgeable he is about the game and the way he thinks it it’s pretty cool to learn. I haven’t had a coach like that since Dale Hawerchuk in junior (with the OHL’s Barrie Colts). Those high-end level players, they think the game the same way. Sometimes they’re explaining something to you that’s regular for them, but they got to extra explain it to you. The way they think it is pretty cool.” Reader question No. 1 Marc Blanchard (@MarcB_86) sent me this question on Twitter for St. Louis: “Does Marty have a hard time going out in public in MTL? Or do people generally leave him alone.” I asked St. Louis the question after practice Friday. “I understand what Montreal brings as a coach of the Montreal Canadiens, as an ex-player,” St. Louis said. “It doesn’t change much for me because I’m not the guy that’s going to sit home and do nothing because I don’t want to interact with anybody that’s going to want to talk to me. Honestly, I’m doing the same thing and I enjoy that. If I can bring somebody a smile to take a picture, how many people can you make their day that day? It’s an opportunity for me, so I don’t sit home and do nothing.” Pleasure vs. pleasure Juraj Slafkovsky looked like he was having a lot of fun during the Canadiens’ season opener. The 19-year-old had a huge smile on his face when he got back to the bench after making a beautiful pass to Alex Newhook for his first of two goals that gave the Canadiens a 2-0 lead 1:10 into the second period.
That would have also put a smile on St. Louis’s face. “I would like him to not put so much pressure on himself,” St. Louis said about the No. 1 over all pick at last year’s NHL Draft before the Canadiens’ final pre-season game last Saturday in Ottawa. “To me it’s pressure vs. pleasure. He’s got to have fun. There’s got to be a purpose in each and every day, but he’s got to have fun because if you don’t have fun you stop getting better. So as coaches we got to be careful in understanding that pressure vs. pleasure. We got to be careful in not killing his passion, rushing him because we want him to be perfect now and that’s not going to happen.” Slafkovsky finished the season with the one assist and a plus-2 differential while logging 15:27 of ice time and said it was probably his best game in the NHL. “I felt really good and played a lot,” Slafkovsky said Thursday. “I had the puck a lot.” As for his relationship with St. Louis, Slafkovsky said: “We’ve had a few meetings and we’re talking a lot. We have a good relationship. It’s only helpful when you have a good relationship with your coach. … We’ve sat down a few times and he showed me some (video) clips. We just went through some clips, he told me some stuff. I was just trying to use that on the ice to my advantage. “It’s really helpful at the end of the day to have a guy like Marty, who played so many years in the league and understands the game really well to give you some — not advice — but trying to help you.” Reader question No. 2 Nathan Hall (@cobourg1) asked me this question on Twitter: “What kind of season will Juraj Slafkovsky have?” On this week’s HI/O Show, I predicted Slafkovsky will score 12 goals after getting four goals in 39 games last season as an 18-year-old rookie. St. Louis is certainly giving Slafkovsky every opportunity to score more than 12 goals to start the season, playing him on the second line with Dach and Newhook and also putting him on the second power-play unit. Before taking Slafkovsky with the No. 1 over all pick at last year’s NHL Draft, general manager Kent Hughes said he wanted the player who would be the best in the future, not necessarily right now. The Canadiens believed that player was Slafkovsky and they are being patient with his development. At this point in his career development, Slafkovsky reminds me of Joe Thornton, who was the No. 1 over all pick by the Boston Bruins at the 1997 NHL Draft. As a big 18-year-old rookie, Thornton posted 3-4-7 totals in 55 games. In his second season with the Bruins, Thornton had 16-25-41 totals in 81 games. Sixteen goals for Slafkovsky this season would be a big success in my opinion. Team mates appreciate Xhekaj After watching Arber Xhekaj manhandle the Maple Leafs’ Ryan Reaves and push him into the back of the net and then take him to the ice while throwing a right-hand punch during their first-period fight Wednesday night, I was reminded of a scene outside the Canadiens’ dressing room following a road game last season. After the game, Xhekaj was doing several push-ups with a 50-pound weight on his back in the makeshift gym. The 6-foot-4, 240-pound defenceman is remarkably strong and he showed that against the 6-foot-2, 226-pound Reaves in his first fight since suffering a shoulder injury that required season-ending surgery in a fight against the Edmonton Oilers’ Vincent Desharnais last February.
Xhekaj sits beside fellow defenceman Johnathan Kovacevic in the dressing room at the CN Sports Complex in Brossard and they share a strong bond, both having parents who immigrated to Canada from Europe looking for a better life and settled in Hamilton, Ont. Xhekaj’s father, also Arber (but known as Jack), left Albania and his mother, Simona, fled the Czech Republic. Kovacevic’s father, Novica, and mother, Angie, left Yugoslavia and they eventually met in Hamilton, just like Xhekaj’s parents did. “The fans, everyone on the team loves what he does,” Kovacevic said Thursday about Xhekaj. “But I understand that he’s got a hard job to do, too. It’s not easy doing what he does. That’s why everyone in the room, we have a lot of respect for him. In a way, he enjoys doing that, too. He enjoys the pressure and he makes the most of it.” Xhekaj dropped the gloves with Reaves after the new Maple Leafs’ tough-guy hit defencemen Kaiden Guhle hard from behind into the boards. “For us, he was doing it to stick up for Guhls,” Kovacevic said. “I feel like he kind of got hit from behind there, Arber steps in. Kind of shows himself, shows the league that the shoulder’s feeling great. He’s someone that we love to have on our side. He’s a kind of guy that he doesn’t want anyone messing with his guys. We’re a family in here and he doesn’t want anyone messing with his family and that’s what you saw yesterday.” While fighting is declining in the NHL, Kovacevic doesn’t think it will be ever be eliminated from such a physical game where things can happen so quickly. “As humans we almost have in us to protect each other,” Kovacevic said. “We’re a family and you’ve got that emotional switch, I guess, when you feel like someone’s messing with your own.” Xhekaj arrived in style at Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena for Wednesday’s game dressed in a bleu-blanc-rouge suit.
Tinordi finds a home in Chicago Connor Bedard was a month shy of his fifth birthday when the Canadiens selected Jarred Tinordi in the first round (22nd over all) of the 2010 NHL Draft. Now they’re team mates with the Chicago Blackhawks and they will face the Canadiens Saturday night at the Bell Centre. At age 31, Tinordi is writing quite a comeback story. The 6-foot-6, 229-pound defenceman played only 46 games over four seasons with the Canadiens before getting traded to the Arizona Coyotes on Jan. 15, 2016 (along with Stefan Fournier) in exchange for John Scott and Victor Bartley. Tinordi only played seven games with the Coyotes and then spent four seasons in the AHL before returning to the NHL during the 2019-20 season to play 28 games with the Nashville Predators. Tinordi played seven games with Nashville in 2020-21 before being claimed off waivers by Boston and playing 14 games for the Bruins. He signed as a free agent with the New York Rangers during the summer of 2021, but only played seven games with them in 2021-22 and ended up back in the AHL with the Hartford Wolf Pack. Chicago claimed Tinordi off waivers in October last year and he played 44 games with the Blackhawks, posting 2-6-8 totals. Tinordi averaged 14:09 of ice time in the Blackhawks’ first two games this season — a 4-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins and a 3-1 loss to the Boston Bruins. “I know the position that I’m in,” Tinordi told reporters in Chicago during training camp. “My career’s kind of been up and down my whole career. I was a waiver pickup last year and I was fighting to be an everyday player, I was fighting to be in the line up every night. I think for me that drive kind of never goes away. I think I’ve been fighting for every spot that I’ve had in my whole career. It’s fun to see the young guys coming up and you want to help them as much as possible, but it’s also I want to play and this is my livelihood, too.” Tinordi has a one-year, US$1.25-million contract. Prospects watch Defenceman Lane Hutson, selected by the Canadiens in the second round (62nd over all) of the 2022 NHL Draft, scored the winning goal in overtime for Boston University in a season-opening 3-2 win over Bentley last Saturday and was named the Hockey East Player of the Week. As a freshman last season, the 5-foot-10, 162-pound Hutson (what he is now listed at on the Boston University website) had 15-33-48 totals in 39 games and had a plus-25 differential while becoming the first defenceman in Hockey East history to win the league scoring title. Boston University won the league championship with Hutson scoring two goals — including the winner in overtime — in a 3-2 victory over Merrimack in the championship game. When asked about the hype surrounding him at the end of the Canadiens’ development camp in July, the 19-year-old Hutson said: “I just try not to look too much into it. I just go out there and have fun every day. It’s a fun game to play. I just try to have fun.”
Jacob Fowler, selected by the Canadiens in the third round (69th over all) of this year’s NHL Draft, was named the Hockey East Goalie of the Week after stopping 29 of the 30 shots he faced to earn a win in his Boston College debut last Saturday, beating Quinnipiac 2-1 in overtime. Birthday boys Happy birthday to former Philadelphia Flyers enforcer Dave “The Hammer” Schultz, who turns 74 on Saturday. Schultz still holds the NHL record for most penalty minutes in a season with 472 during the 1974-75 season when the “Broad Street Bullies” won their first of two straight Stanley Cups. Lance Hornby TORONTO SCUM Relaxing in the ‘dream seats’ of the MasterCard Club Lounge this week, touring Scotiabank’s $350-million facelift, with cocktail and macaroons in hand (hey, someone’s gotta do it), the mind wanders to what the view was like for the first fans of NHL hockey in Toronto. In 1999, as the Gardens closed and the Maple Leafs relocated to the Air Canada Centre, I was very fortunate to meet Leafs ‘Super Fan’ Tommy Gaston, through Hockey Hall of Fame historian Kevin Shea. Then in his 80’s, Tommy was a Hall ‘greeter’ for guests, a walking encyclopaedia of the early NHL and part of a select few to have watched the Leafs in all three of their homes, starting with the Mutual Street Arena. The National Hockey Association ‘Blueshirts’ were the rink’s principal tenants and on Dec. 22, 1917, the inaugural NHL entry of the same name debuted with an 11-4 thumping of the Ottawa Senators. Gaston told me of attending a game there around Christmas 1930-31 when he was 12 years old and money was scarce as the Great Depression had sunk its teeth into the city. “It was a small brick building near Shuter Street, it held about 7,000 or 8,000. The seats were like benches or church pews.” Sections were painted blue and red and had exterior corresponding-coloured lights to guide patrons. “The one game I remember was against the Montreal Maroons (when the Leafs logo wasn’t yet three years old, while the Maroons were Montreal’s ‘English’ team). The Conacher brothers, Lionel (Maroons) and Charlie (Leafs), squared off in a fight and it kept going in the penalty box.” In Gaston’s memoir, ‘A Fan For All Seasons’, written with Shea, he also spoke of Mutual’s oval-shaped end zones, one for cheap bleacher tickets with tiers of standing room. “Chicken wire kept those people from moving (down to regular seats).” The story goes that the name Mutual St. itself derived from being equidistant from two prominent family homes in Muddy York — the Jarvis and McGill clans. The first structure on the site was the Caledonia, a curling venue in the late 19th century. In 1887, the neighbouring Granite Club on Church St. were gifted some hockey sticks from Montreal, where the sport had already proven popular, and challenged the Caledonians in what became the first organised and documented game in city history. The curling rink came down in 1911, with Toronto’s growing population — about 380,000 at the time — expressing desire for a major indoor exhibition hall for concerts, bicycle races, horse shows and, yes, hockey. The Toronto Arena Company, originally headed by Sir Henry Pellatt of Casa Loma fame, built what was formally called the Arena Gardens for under a half-million dollars at the time, installing the pipes for the first artificial ice in Eastern Canada. It had a skylight (perhaps you’ve seen the beautiful backlit photo of the rink at The SPORT Gallery in The Distillery) and 14 exits for spectators to come and go in orderly fashion. The Nathan Franko Orchestra was its opening night draw and silent movie comedienne Marie Dressler, born in Cobourg, Ont., was at its gala opening week of concerts. But the ice wasn’t ready for the 1911 NHA season, so the two local teams meant to play there, the Torontos and Tecumsehs, had to idle for a year. The Torontos finally played the Montreal Canadiens on Christmas Day, 1912. Out of a convoluted ownership situation with several Toronto and Canadian army teams coming and going in the war years, evolved the Blueshirts. They became champions of the six-team NHA in 1914 and won the Stanley Cup from the Victoria, B.C., Aristocrats in three games, all played in Toronto. Some enthusiasts have wanted a Cup banner for the Blueshirts hung at Scotiabank in recognition of the forgotten title, if for no other reason than to have a ceremony after 57 years of a Leafs drought. Behind the NHA hockey scenes, a battle was raging between maverick Blueshirts’ owner Eddie Livingstone and the rest of the league. To finally rid themselves of Livingstone, fellow owners dissolved the NHA in 1917 and formed the NHL. But the two Montreal entries, the Canadiens and Wanderers, as well as the Senators, didn’t want to leave Toronto without a team, and awarded a franchise to the Arena Company. It was at this Gardens, not Church and Carlton, where many Toronto hockey inceptions were witnessed, such as the first NHL Cup in 1918 for the team that had adopted Arenas as its moniker. There were also the team’s first three-goal games the same night (the term hat trick was not yet coined - except it had as it comes from football where it had been in use for years, you fucking asshole) by Reg Noble and Corb Denneny and Foster Hewitt’s first radio broadcast was from Mutual St. in 1923. The place would host four Stanley Cup finals and nine Memorial Cups in its time. The Arenas were bought in 1919 by a group including future Gardens president J.P. Bickell and re-named the St. Patricks to lure many Irish residents to its games. Top o’ the morning for the Pats at Mutual was the 1922 Cup. But the team’s falling on-ice fortunes, lack of crowd space and poor finances soon put it in danger of being bought by American interests. When Conn Smythe put together his investors to purchase the Pats in 1927 and stave off a move to Philadelphia, renaming them the Maple Leafs, he was already envisioning a palatial new home elsewhere in town. As the new Gardens was being erected early in ’31, many Leafs would wander over from Mutual to watch its progress. “Where they gonna find the people to fill this place?” wondered defenceman King Clancy as he stood at centre ice of the unfinished 13,000-seat dome. As the Gardens prepared to go operational, Smythe came over to Mutual and offered jobs to many of its maintenance staff. Several walked away on the spot, the ice melted and that was it for the Arena as a hockey entity. It survived as a concert hall and general-purpose venue with athletic events and attractions, such as the Glenn Miller Orchestra and a young crooner named Frank Sinatra. During ensuing decades, it reverted to curling and, in 1962 as The Terrace, a popular roller-skating spot for teens. The building survived until 1989, one of the first sacrificed for the condominium boom. ONCE A LEAF Featuring one of the more than 1,100 players, coaches and general managers who have played or worked in Toronto since 1917. Winger Darby Hendrickson Born: August 28, 1972, in Richfield, Minn. Numbers worn: 37-16-14 Seasons: 1994-99 Games played: 233, 27 goals, 20 assists, 47 points, 195 PIMS THEN
While very proud of his nickname ‘Mr. Minnesota’ — born, raised, schooled, later a player there with the Wild and now their assistant coach — Hendrickson spent his formative hockey years in the Leafs organisation. “So many people keep reminding me how fortunate I was to play there,” Hendrickson said ahead of a return visit Saturday when the Wild face the Leafs. “I loved my time in Toronto and I still have connections there. “It starts with the coaches. It’s incredible to think Pat Burns was my first, that Marc Crawford was in St. John’s when I was there, Pat Quinn at the end and when Cliff Fletcher brought me back a second time, Mark Hunter was the coach in Newfoundland. “I try and stay in touch with my old friends on the team such as Dave Ellett, Doug Gilmour and Matt Martin (the American defenceman, not the truculent winger). Doug was really nice and had me over to his place for Christmas. “Living in Toronto reminded me a lot of Minnesota. You’d drive around and there were street hockey games going on all the time.” A hustling two-way centre/winger and fourth-round 1990 draft pick, Hendrickson finished at the University of Minnesota in 1993, spent a year with the U.S. Olympic program and was freed for NHL duty in the spring of 1994. After a great showing in St. John’s, he debuted in a playoff game for the Leafs, a 1-0 win in over the Blackhawks in the last game at old Chicago Stadium. “It was fun to just jump right into the NHL in a game like that.” Almost 30 years later, another Minnesota Golden Gophers star, Matthew Knies, made a post-season impact for the Leafs with only three regular-season games. After 54 games, which included the lockout-shortened ’94-95 season, Hendrickson became part of a blockbuster deal. He, defenceman Kenny Jonsson and Toronto’s first pick, went to the Islanders in a package to return Wendel Clark after the Mats Sundin trade two years earlier. That selection became Hall of Fame goaltender Roberto Luongo. But general manager Fletcher always liked Hendrickson’s hustle and brought him back within the calendar year. One of his primary roles became centring Tie Domi and Kris King, which certainly gave him a sense of safety when scaring opponents in the corners or when rough stuff flared up. “We certainly had the puck a lot, it was just hard for us to get shots on net,” Hendrickson said with a laugh. In his last seasons as a Leaf before associate GM Mike Smith traded him to Vancouver in 1999, Hendrickson wore No, 14. While many criticised the Leafs for keeping the great Dave Keon’s number in circulation at the time, Hendrickson recognised its significance. “Dave Andreychuk had it before he was traded and when he saw me with it, said ‘you’d better always wear that number with pride.’ “I knew Keon was one of the best and I’ve kept all my Toronto sweaters at home. I felt I really grew up there.” NOW Hendrickson got to finish the bulk of his career with the expansion Wild including a great playoff run in ’03 when he appeared in 17 games. He was briefly with the Colorado Avalanche, then lit it up for Salzberg in the Austrian League a couple of years up to ‘07. After doing some work for the NHL Players Association, a job that allowed him to re-connect with friends in Toronto while at its head office, Wild GM Chuck Fletcher asked him to work for the team’s hockey department. “He wanted me part time, I wanted full time and Chuck honoured that,” Hendrickson said of a job that morphed into his current role on head coach Dean Evason’s staff, overseeing the forwards. Hendrickson and wife Dana have four children, all of whom are into athletics, including Beckett, a centre like his father and a fourth-rounder who was picked by the Boston Bruins in June. Beckett will move from Sioux Falls in the USHL to school in Minnesota next September. “It’s great he’s going there, but you just want all your kids to be happy.” FAVOURITE LEAFS MEMORY “That has to be my first game in Chicago, with all the excitement (of the playoffs and the 65-year-old Madhouse on Madison closing). “It was a whirlwind, seeing famous people around the team such as Darryl Sittler, talking to Burns. But it was Doug who stood out, taking time on a busy day like that to talk to a new kid. “I remember Mike Gartner getting our only goal. I kept my stick from that game for years, then it was accidentally given away by someone to my high school coach. When he realised it, he gave it back, but it was already cut down and re-taped so it wasn’t the same. At least it was a funny story.” LOOSE LEAFS Gilmour, Clark and Keon will be among the guests during the Sports Card Expo in Toronto, Nov. 9-12 at the International Centre in Mississauga, along with Bryan McCabe, Vincent Damphousse and former NHL and Toronto Toros goalie Les Binkley … The huge reno at Scotiabank Arena will include another incarnation of the Hot Stove Club, which goes back to the Gardens and Hockey Night In Canada’s early radio days with the Hot Stove League. THIS WEEK IN LEAFS HISTORY Saturday marks 45 years since the Leafs rang up a 10-7 home-opener win over the Islanders, which they’d just eliminated that spring in playoffs. It was the second-highest home output in Game 1 to an 11-4 win over the Ottawa Senators at Mutual Street Arena in 1917 … Thirty years ago, Felix Potvin was NHL player of the week for a 3-0-0 run and 1.67 goals-against average … Retired Leaf Rocky Saganuik turns 66 on Sunday. |
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