TORONTO (Apr. 30) – Prior to getting back on the Stanley Cup trail in Montreal for Games 3 and 4 of the Canadiens-Penguins series, I have a wondrous occasion this weekend.
The North York high school I attended more than three decades ago – William Lyon Mackenzie Collegiate Institute – is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its opening in 1960. Along with yours truly, several other world-renowned media moguls are alumni of the school, including the Toronto Star’s excellent writer of amateur/Olympic sport, Randy Starkman; long-time Toronto Sun football scribe [now with Sportsnet.ca] Perry Lefko; sportscaster Claude Feig of CFTO-TV, and fashion expert Jeanne Becker, who dates to the early years of CITY-TV here in town.
I’m often asked, in e-mails, why I don’t write more about the Maple Leafs at this time of year. Now there’s a tough one. Perhaps an appearance by the Blue & White past the middle of April one of these springs might do the trick. In the meantime, for those needing a “fix”, my high school reunion this weekend brings back memories of a decent juncture in Leaf annals – one of only three spikes of competence in the post-1967 era.
I went to Mackenzie from 1974-75 to 1977-78, a time that saw the Leafs briefly awake from their Stanley Cup snooze. The teams managed by Jim Gregory; coached by Red Kelly and Roger Neilson, and led – on the ice – by Darryl Sittler, Lanny McDonald, Dave (Tiger) Williams, Borje Salming, Ian Turnbull and Mike Palmateer were exciting, entertaining, relatively successful, and top-heavy. Beyond the aforementioned, the quality and depth on the hockey club plummeted, though it probably didn’t matter. No team in the NHL of that era could play with the dynastic Montreal Canadiens, winner of four consecutive Stanley Cups.
The Leafs, however, developed into one of the best half-dozen teams in the league, though they didn’t rank with the Big Five in the regular season [Montreal, Boston, Philadelphia, New York Islanders and Buffalo]. In the playoffs, it was a slightly different story. Unable to win a single round from their Cup triumph in ’67 through the 1973-74 season, the Leafs captured five playoff series between 1975 and 1978 – advancing to the Stanley Cup semifinals in the latter spring.
These were the Leafs of my high school years… a long, long time ago:
1974-75
GENERAL MANAGER- Jim Gregory.
COACH- Red Kelly.
GOALIES- Doug Favell, Dunc Wilson, Gord McRae, Pierre Hamel.
DEFENCEMEN- Jim McKenny, Borje Salming, Bob Neely, Claire Alexander, Rod Seiling, Dave Dunn, Ian Turnbull, Brian Glennie, John Grisdale, Willie Brossart.
FORWARDS- Darryl Sittler, Ron Ellis, Dave Keon, George Ferguson, Lanny McDonald, Errol Thompson, Inge Hammarstrom, Bill Flett, Blaine Stoughton, Norm Ullman, Dave (Tiger) Williams, Gary Sabourin, Lyle Moffat, Eddie Shack, Tim Ecclestone, Garry Monahan, Jack Valiquette, Bob Sykes.
The first half of this season was a colossal disappointment for Leaf fans. The club was coming off a terrific improvement in 1973-74, its first year with Kelly behind the bench. Wracked by defections to the old World Hockey Association [Bernie Parent, Rick Ley, Jim Dorey, Brad Selwood, Paul Henderson, Jim Harrison], the Leafs of 1972-73 fell 16 points in the standings and yielded 279 goals – the most in franchise history and 71 more than the previous year.
The team bounced back in ’73-74 with a 22-point improvement and 49 fewer goals allowed. With sophomore players such a Salming, McDonald and Turnbull, the ’74-75 campaign seemed promising but the Leafs staggered out of the gate at a 6-13-6 pace after 25 games. A disastrous western trip in late-January – the club getting drilled 8-0 at Los Angeles; 6-1 at Oakland [by the California Seals] and 6-4 in Vancouver – appeared to ruin any chance of a playoff berth. But, the Leafs recovered with a marvelous stretch of results in the final third of the schedule [sound familiar?].
Between Feb. 16 and Mar. 15, 1975, the team went on an 8-1-4 tear that came to a crushing halt in a Sunday-night home game against Buffalo, when Gilbert Perreault, Richard Martin, Jerry Korab and Co. erupted for an 11-3 triumph. Still, the Leafs made the playoffs, but were a decided underdog in a best-of-three preliminary round against the Kings – L.A. having out-pointed Toronto 105-78.
The series opened at the Forum in Inglewood, Calif. and it remains the only Leafs playoff game since the advent of television not to be shown live. The Academy Awards were on that night, and CBC had the rights to the annual celebration of the motion picture industry. Instead, the match was televised via closed-circuit TV on a big screen at Maple Leaf Gardens. The Toronto Star reported that 7,609 fans paid $6 for tickets to watch the game from L.A., which started at 11 p.m. EST. Kings’ forward Mike Murphy, who would coach the Leafs just more than 20 years later, scored at 8:53 of overtime to give Los Angeles a 1-0 series lead.
Back at the Gardens, two nights later, the Leafs turned the table. Murphy had another big game, scoring twice for the Kings. But, a third-line forward named Blaine Stoughton, who would later have 56 and 52-goal seasons with the Hartford Whalers, took a Dave Keon drop pass and fired the winner past Rogie Vachon at 10:19 of overtime to knot the series.
Thanks to a scheduling quirk, the Leafs and Kings had to fly back to L.A. and play the deciding match the following night. Unheralded netminder Gord McRae turned in a splendid performance in a 2-1 Toronto victory – George Ferguson and Inge Hammarstrom scoring for the visitors, who won their first playoff series since 1967.
The Leafs were no match for Philadelphia in the quarterfinals, getting swept in four games – defenseman Andre (Moose) Dupont scoring the series-winner in overtime at the Gardens.
1975-76
GENERAL MANAGER- Jim Gregory.
COACH- Red Kelly.
GOALIES- Wayne Thomas, Gord McRae, Doug Favell.
DEFENCEMEN- Borje Salming, Ian Turnbull, Jim McKenny, Bob Neely, Rod Seiling, Claire Alexander, Dave Dunn, Brian Glennie.
FORWARDS- Darryl Sittler, Lanny McDonald, Errol Thompson, Stan Weir, George Ferguson, Dave (Tiger) Williams, Inge Hammarstrom, Jack Valiquette, Pat Boutette, Don Ashby, Blaine Stoughton, Greg Hubick, Scott Garland, Kurt Walker.
This was the year Sittler and McDonald developed into one of the most prolific forward combinations in Leafs history. Sittler became the first Toronto player to compile 100 points and McDonald – after disappointing seasons of 14 and 17 goals – erupted for 37, on his way to a Hall of Fame career. Errol Thompson (43 goals) joined Sittler and McDonald on a splendid first unit. Salming and Turnbull combined for 106 points on the blue-line. Wayne Thomas, Montreal’s third-string goalie the previous year, had a good season for the Leafs, with a 3.19 goals-against average in 64 games [Thomas is now Doug Wilson’s chief lieutenant with the San Jose Sharks].
Personally, it was a difficult year. Having lost 35 pounds, and not able to keep down a bowl of soup, I was diagnosed, in January 1976, with Crohn’s Disease. In late-March, after more than five weeks in hospital, I underwent surgery for removal of my ascending colon and roughly three feet of small bowel. My father bought a pair of season tickets for the Leafs in Sec. 30 of the south-mezzanine Blues at the Gardens. I enjoyed going to every home game until the illness stopped me in my tracks.
Prior to the long hospital stay, I attended Sittler’s record-breaking night – a surreal 10-point performance [6 goals, 4 assists] against Boston on Feb. 7, 1976 [still a league standard for one game]. I got out of hospital just in time for the playoffs, as the Leafs defeated Pittsburgh in a best-of-three preliminary round.
Toronto then extended two-time defending Stanley Cup-champion Philadelphia to a full seven games in the quarterfinals before bowing out at the Spectrum. Sittler had another remarkable night in Game 6, tying a league record with five goals on former teammate Bernie Parent. Games 3 and 6 at the Gardens were 3 ½-hour marathons, as the Leafs and Flyers engaged in one brawl after another – the fights starring Tiger Williams and Kurt Walker on the Toronto side; Dave Schultz, Jack McIlhrgey, Don Saleski and Mel Bridgman for Philly.
Salming, on his 25th birthday, scored a magnificent breakaway goal on Parent in Game 4 that produced the loudest cheer I ever heard at the Gardens.
1976-77
GENERAL MANAGER- Jim Gregory.
COACH- Red Kelly.
GOALIES- Mike Palmateer, Wayne Thomas, Gord McRae.
DEFENCEMEN- Ian Turnbull, Borje Salming, Jim McKenny, Claire Alexander, Tracy Pratt, Brian Glennie, Randy Carlyle, Bob Warner, Mike Pelyk, Blair Mackasey.
FORWARDS- Lanny McDonald, Darryl Sittler, Jack Valiquette, Dave (Tiger) Williams, Don Ashby, Inge Hammarstrom, Errol Thompson, Pat Boutette, Bob Neely, Stan Weir, Scott Garland, George Ferguson, Bruce Boudreau, Kurt Walker, Paul Evans.
Again, with much expected from the club, it floundered at the beginning of the season. The Leafs were 1-5-3 in their first eight games when rookie Mike Palmateer was called up to replace a disappointing Thomas in goal. Palmateer essentially rescued the team. He beat the Red Wings, 3-1, in his debut at the Detroit Olympia; then recorded a 5-1 victory at Minnesota and a 6-3 triumph over the Cleveland Barons in Richfield, Ohio. An extraordinary display in a 1-0 win over Montreal at the Gardens caught the attention of the rest of the league [the Canadiens were an otherworldly 60-8-12 that season].
Leafs suffered a crippling injury when Errol Thompson broke his wrist in the club’s second home game, against Los Angeles. Thompson would miss 39 games. McDonald and Sittler were again phenomenal, combining for 84 goals and 180 points [90 apiece]. Turnbull established a club record that still stands with 79 points for a defenseman, and tied a league mark in another head-shaking night at the Gardens — scoring five goals in a 9-1 rout of the Red Wings [Feb. 2, 1977] almost one year after Sittler’s 10-pointer. The Detroit goalies? Ed Giacomin and Jim Rutherford. Salming finished right behind Turnbull with 78 points.
The Leafs again defeated Pittsburgh in a best-of-three preliminary playoff before collapsing against Philadelphia in the quarterfinals. The club looked unstoppable after winning the first two games of the series at the Spectrum. Toronto had a one-goal lead in the final minute of Game 3 at the Gardens, but Rick MacLeish of the Flyers gloved down a backhanded clearing attempt by Salming and beat Palmateer to send the match into overtime. MacLeish then quickly won the game in the extra session.
Two nights later – sparked by McDonald’s four goals – the Leafs had a 5-2 lead with less than six minutes remaining. But, the roof caved in when Mel Bridgman, Tom Bladon and Bobby Clarke scored in a 4:16 span – Clarke tying the game with 1:33 left in regulation. Reggie Leach knotted the series at 19:10 of overtime. What easily could have been a four-game sweep by Toronto ended in a six-game Philadelphia conquest.
Red Kelly paid for the disintegration with his job. He was fired by owner Harold Ballard after four seasons behind the bench.
1977-78
GENERAL MANAGER- Jim Gregory.
COACH- Roger Neilson.
GOALIES- Mike Palmateer, Gord McRae.
DEFENCEMEN- Borje Salming, Ian Turnbull, Brian Glennie, Trevor Johansen, Randy Carlyle, Mike Pelyk, Jim McKenny, Ron Wilson.
FORWARDS- Darryl Sittler, Lanny McDonald, Dan Maloney, Errol Thompson, Ron Ellis, Dave (Tiger) Williams, Pat Boutette, Bruce Boudreau, George Ferguson, Jack Valiquette, Inge Hammarstrom, Jerry Butler, Stan Weir, Jimmy Jones, Kurt Walker, John Anderson, Alain Belanger, Larry Hopkins, Paul Evans.
Defensive-minded coach Roger Neilson replaced Red Kelly and the Leafs allowed 48 fewer goals than the previous year. Paced by Sittler’s team-record 117 points, the club had its highest point total [92] since 1950-51. This time, the Leafs exploded from the gate with a 19-6-3 record in their first 28 games. They were 39-19-10 before slumping to 2-10 in their final 12. The all-too-familiar habit of trading first-round draft choices began on Mar. 13, 1978 when Jim Gregory dealt a pair of No. 1 picks [and Errol Thompson] to the Red Wings for truculent winger Dan Maloney.
All-time Leaf Ron Ellis returned after a two-year retirement and scored 26 goals. A rookie defenseman named Ron Wilson [yes… THAT Ron Wilson] was called up for a Saturday-night home game against Vancouver on Mar. 4. He set up Sittler for a goal on his first shift, and he scored a goal on his second.
The Leafs demolished Los Angeles [by a combined score of 11-3] in straight games to win the best-of-three preliminary round. What followed is now part of hockey lore in this city. The Leafs lost two games to the heavily-favored New York Islanders at Nassau Coliseum before rebounding to win four of five and a bruising quarterfinal series in seven. McDonald beat Glenn (Chico) Resch with a low shot in overtime of the deciding match on Long Island [32 years ago last night, Apr. 29, 1978] for the club’s most memorable goal of the decade, and the Leafs were in the semifinals for the first time since ‘67.
Unfortunately for the Blue & White, Montreal’s juggernaut awaited them and the Canadiens breezed to a four-game sweep.
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All of these memories are likely to come flooding back as I walk the halls of my high school on Saturday night. I hope you’ve enjoyed some of them as well.
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