ATD 2013 BIO Thread (quotes, stats, pics, sources, everything)

[Sturminator]

Helmuts Balderis

Position: RW
Shoots: L
Height: 5'11"
Weight: 190 lbs.

Soviet League Champion: 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980 - [CSKA]
Soviet League 1st Team all-star: 1977
Soviet League MVP: 1977
Soviet League leading scorer: 1977, 1983

World Champion: 1978, 1979, 1983
World Championship 1st Team all-star: 1977
World Championship Best Forward: 1977
World Championship leading goalscorer: 1978

Comparison of Maltsev and Balderis in percentage of #2 scorer in the Soviet League:

Maltsev:

1969: 8th (65 - Starshinov)*
1970: 9th (80 - Mikhailov)*
1971: 1st (112 - Kharlamov)
1972: 6th (79 - Vikulov)
1973: 6th (90 - undrafted)
1974: 2nd (100 - 1st is undrafted)
1975: 11th (67 - Mikhailov)
1976: 3rd (92 - Yakushev)
1977: 3rd (94 - Petrov)
1978: xxx (56 - Mikhailov)
1979: xxx *injured*
1980: xxx (64 - Balderis)
1981: 11th (69 - undrafted)
1982: xxx (58 - undrafted)

Best seasons sequentially: 112, 100, 94, 92, 90, 80, 79, 69, 67, 65, 64, 58, 56

Balderis:

1975: 3rd (94 - Mikhailov)
1976: 4th (88 - Yakushev)
1977: 1st (102 - Petrov)
1978: 9th (65 - Mikhailov)
1979: 5th (77 - undrafted)
1980: 2nd (100 - 1st is Makarov)
1981: 7th (82 - undrafted)
1982: 10th (61 - undrafted)
1983: 1st (111 - undrafted)
1984: xxx (68 - Krutov)
1985: 3rd (96 - Krutov)

Best seasons sequentially: 111, 102, 100, 96, 94, 88, 82, 77, 68, 65, 61

Soviet scoring leaders in the World Championships (1974 - 1979):

Player|Goals|Assists|Points|Games|Points-per-game
Boris Mikhailov|47|40|87|57|1.53
Valeri Kharlamov|39|40|79|57|1.39
Vladimir Petrov|27|42|69|46|1.5
Sergei Kapustin|44|18|62|53|1.17
Aleksandr Maltsev|23|30|53|43|1.23
Aleksandr Yakushev|31|17|48|40|1.2
Helmut Balderis |24|21|45|37|1.22
Vladimir Shadrin|19|21|40|39|1.03
Viktor Zhluktov|17|19|36|37|0.97

Balderis had an excellent record against North American teams. He was tied for 2nd among Soviet scorers in the 1977 series between the Red Army team and the WHA...

NYT - January 11, 1977:

The World Hockey Association's final record against the Soviet Union's national squad in a recent eight city tour was two victories and six losses, but the W.H.A. felt like a winner at the turnstiles...

Leading Soviet scorers in the series were Vladimir Petrov, with six goals and five assists in six games; Alexander Yakushev, seven goals, one assist in seven games, and Helmut Balderis, four goals, four assists in seven games.

...and he led CSKA in scoring in the 1979-80 Super Series vs NHL teams (Rangers, Islanders, Bruins, Habs and Flyers):

NYT - May 13, 1978:

The Soviet team had it much easier. After leading 2-0, in the first period, it broke the game open with fve goals in the second.

The first of these was by Helmut Balderis, who brought the puck up ice, passed to Kapustin, took a return pass just to the right of the goalie and put the puck away easily. The play had the economy and grace of poetry. The Swedes were so dazzled that their defense did little else but stand around and watch as Balderis scored two more goals in the romp.

NYT - Feb 5, 1979:

Everyone who has seen the team is impressed by its latest star, Helmut Balderis, who is hardly in the mold of the typically conforming player the squad usually boasts. For one thing, Balderis sports a moustache, the first of the current crop to do so. Before a recent game, when all the players were lined up for the national anthem, he stood out boldly: his socks were colored differently from everyone else's. He is also a Latvian, and it is said that he is quick to make a distinction if someone refers to him as a Russian.

But it is his performance that fans at the Garden will note most.

"He's got a lot of moves," said Lorimer. "He makes believe he's losing the puck, the defensemen comes up on him and gets too close, and then he controls the puck and pushes it between your legs."

A one-man give and go.

"Can he ever motor!" Johnstone said in admiration. "Oh, gee is he fast!"

Balderis plays the "off wing", that is, he is a left-handed shot playing the right side. He is the goal scorer. His center is the rangy, playmaking Zhluktov, and his left wing is Kapustin, a digger in the corners. Together, they are a classic combination, and they form the top Soviet line.

NYT - Feb 6, 1979:

The first player to appear in uniform was Helmut Balderis, the huge 26 year-old right wing with a moustache the Volga boatmen would have cherished. "He is something," said a Canadian familiar with the Soviet team. "Over there, he is known as Elekritchka - The Electric Train."

Helmut Balderis is from Riga, a Baltic sea port in Latvia, where he was discovered by the Soviet coach, Tikhonov, and brought back to play for the Moscow Dynamo team. Of the Soviet players, he is the one to watch, the one that the NHL all-stars must contain. Some hockey people consider him the equal of Guy Lafleur, the Montreal Canadiens' elegant right wing. Among the Soviet players he is unusual in that he is the only one listed as a technologist. Most are listed as students, a few as teachers, and one is listed as a crane operator.

"He's also listed at 5-10 and 189 pounds," an onlooker mentioned later. "He looks twice that big to me."

Like his teammates, Helmut Balderis was wearing a red helmet (manufactured by a Canadian firm), red pants and red stockings. But he also had on a red practice sweater, signifying that he was a member of the number one forward line along with Zhluktov, a lanky 26 year old center, and Kapustin, a 25 year old left wing. Other units wore green, blue or white sweaters. Helmut Balderis had the look of a star, leaning nonchalantly on the boards between rushes, the first to sit on the bench when his line was not scrimmaging. But when he was working, he displayed the burst of Earl Campbell turning the corner on a sweep."

NYT - Feb 12, 1979:

"That Mikhailov," said Bobby Clarke later. "He just laughed all the time. Heh, heh, like that. I'd laugh too, with a six goal lead." Boris Mikhailov, the captain, was named the Soviet team's most valuable player for the series.

He opened the scoring in the second period, after a spectacular opening 20 minutes that was probably the most fun to watch of any period in the series. Mikhailov's goal - after the puck was stolen from Montreal's Bob Gainey - was his third of the series and continued a Soviet stretch in which it scored the final nine goals of the competition.

Within two minutes, the Russians scored again, this time on a power play as Viktor Zhluktov got his stick on a brilliant cross-ice pass from Helmut Balderis.

NYT - Dec 30, 1979:

"Their passing and quickness are impressive," said Arbour, the Islanders' coach...

Then the Soviet team scored what proved to be the winning goal on breakaway rush by Sergei Makarov and Helmut Balderis, who traded passes until Makarov was able to put the puck behind a charging Smith...

Throughout the game, the Soviet team demonstrated an outstanding ability to move the puck and to anticipate the movements of their teammates.

"They practice 11 months a year," said Arbour, who admitted he was impressed by the deftness and agility of the Red Army passing game. "They move it - and right away it's gone again."

Excerpt from The Red Machine:

They called him Elektrichka - the electric train. Helmut Balderis, the Latvian, had a zoom, click-click way of sprinting the ice surface, which made the appellation appropriate. He came to prominence in Riga, the Latvian capital on the Baltic Sea, where the locals loathe their Russian landlords and where Balderis was handed one of the most cold-blooded Russian landlords of them all. Viktor Tikhonov came to prominence in Latvia too, as head coach of Balderis's team, Dynamo Riga.

To begin with, the relations between these two men were difficult. Time healed nothing and it became a matter, as it would with Tikhonov and many of his players, of Balderis and his Russian master surviving one another.

They had been feuding on a regular basis in 1974 and 1975 but the relationship moved beyond the hostility stage in the autumn of 1975, when Balderis, in response to Tikhonov's relentless hectoring at the bench, turned to the coach and shouted, "F--k You!" Tikhonov ordered Balderis out of the arena and, as the player was making his way, the coach glared at him: "You'll remember this," Tikhonov cried. "You'll live to remember this attack on me."

Balderis didn't have to live long. Through this autumn of mutual vituperation, Balderis was scoring in big lumps, enjoying a fine campaign, and his progress was detected in Moscow where Boris Kulagin was in the process of selecting a team for the Olympic Games in Innsbruck in February. Kulagin sent a telex to the Riga team requesting that Balderis report to the Olympic team's training camp.

Balderis never received the telex. As time passed he was led to conclude, with great disappointment, that he had not been selected to the team. He stayed in Riga, missing the camp, missing the Olympics, missing, as it turned out, a gold medal and all the thousands of rubles in bonus money that went with it.

He might have never known what happened, but he ran across Kulagin one day after the Games. Shortly into the conversation, Kulagin asked him, "Why have you been drinking so much?" Balderis wondered what he was talking about. "Why are you asking me this?" Kulagin then explained that Tikhonov had told the sports committee in Moscow that Balderis was drinking all the time and not fit to go to the Olympic Games.

A more than bitter Balderis continued playing under Tikhonov because he didn't want to move from his native Latvia, where only one third of the population of 2.6 million were Russian. He took the early lead in the league scoring race in the 1976-77 season, continued to play brilliantly but continued also to reap the wrath of the coach. At a practice Balderis was taking shots at the goaltender, Viktor Afonin. One of the blasts sailed high, over Afonin's head. Tikhonov, feeling the shot could have injured the goalie, charged at Balderis and punched him. An incredulous Balderis told Tikhonov, as he had before, to "f--k off," and left the ice. The coach, this time, gave chase. "He chased me all the way to the dressing room, threatening me with his stick."

Balderis, not about to get into a high-sticking joust with the coach, didn't fight back. "But I left the practice and went home to my family. My father told me I should take Tikhonov to court. But I thought, "How can I possibly take my head coach to court?" He returned to the arena that night. His Riga team was playing the Soviet Wings. "Tikhonov didn't say anything to me. The players who saw what had happened thought Tikhonov was crazy. But nobody said anything."

Not long after the Tikhonov punch, a punch that went unreported in the Soviet media, Soviet hockey witnessed two developments. Helmut Balderis became league scoring champion and most valuable player, both rare honours for a skater on a team from outside Moscow. More significant, however, was the honour handed to Tikhonov. He was given the reins of Soviet hockey. The two teams that meant everything in the Russian sport, the Soviet nationals and Central Army, were his. He was named head coach of both and accorded the powers of an army general over them.

...

Following Balderis's departure, Dynamo Riga dropped from fourth to sixth. Makarov left Chelyabinsk willingly. Balderis came reluctantly only after Tikhonov made a promise the Latvian was silly enough to believe. "He said for me to come and play in Moscow for three years and then play in the 1980 Olympics and, after that, to go home if I wanted to."

Balderis finally agreed to the deal. "So then, after the Lake Placid Olympics, I told him I wanted to go home. This time he said, if I went home, I would never play on the Soviet national team again. I said okay, and I went home."

...

In his first two years back (ed: in Riga), Balderis would receive invitations to the national-team training camp. Having lured him there, Tikhonov would then cut him from the roster, saying he was not in strong physical condition. Balderis was deprived of the honour and the bonus money that went with being world champion. In the 1982-83 season, however, a resolute Balderis played so well that he won the league scoring race, edging out Kozhevnikov, and won the MVP honours, duplicating the feat of the 1970s when Tikhonov was hounding him. Now, Tikhonov had no choice. To continue to freeze the player out would have provoked a scandal. So he put Balderis on the nationals in time for the 1983 world championships in West Germany. There, in a tournament owned by the Larionov line, Elektrichka scored four goals and five assists.

 

[Sturminator]

Don Luce

Position: C
Shoots: L
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 185 lbs.

Selke Record: 3, 4, 5 [this ignores the first 5 seasons of Luce's peak, before the trophy existed]

Career even-strength scoring records of the late-70's Sabres:

Gilbert Perreault ES Points:
70, 68, 65, 64, 64, 63, 62, 58, 55, 52, 51, 47, 44, 43, 40

Rick Martin ES Points:
63, 61, 57, 57, 49, 49, 45, 41, 38

Craig Ramsay ES Points:
63, 58, 54, 50, 46, 46, 45, 42, 40

Don Luce ES Points:
60, 59, 57, 50, 49, 44, 40, 39

Rene Robert ES Points:
59, 54, 54, 53, 51, 44, 39, 37

Danny Gare ES Points:
62, 60, 60, 58, 53, 48, 48

According to overpass' research into special teams usage, Don Luce was used at a 66% rate on the penalty kill over 894 games, the second highest rate for a forward since they began tracking the stat.

Penalty Kill (forwards)

Rk | Player | GP | SH%
1 | Ed Westfall | 863 | 69%
2 | Don Luce | 894 | 66%
3 | John Madden | 712 | 62%
4 | Craig Ramsay | 1070 | 59%
5 | Lorne Henning | 543 | 57%
6 | Doug Jarvis | 964 | 55%
7 | Bill Collins | 768 | 54%
8 | Lew Morrison | 581 | 53%
9 | Guy Carbonneau | 1318 | 52%
10 | Dave Tippett | 721 | 51%

22.5.1975 - The Leader Post:

http://news.google.com/newspapers?i...AAAIBAJ&pg=6082,1472236&dq=luce+buffalo&hl=en

Luce's dream came true Wednesday, when he was named the winner of the Bill Masterson Trophy, awarded to the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.

...

Luce is considered one of the better checkers in the league today, but it wasn't always that way.

"It's funny. When I played junior hockey, I ended up third in scoring. I thought I could score all right and then I came to Buffalo and they really didn't need scorers. I was in New York before that and Detroit and there again, I wasn't going to play on the power play too often."

"So at that time, I figured if I've got to play in the league, which I wanted to do, I've got to learn to check."

"If you play your defense well, you're playing in their end, so eventually you have to turn into offence."

21.11.1975 - Lakeland Ledger:

http://news.google.com/newspapers?i...AAAIBAJ&pg=2740,6056326&dq=luce+buffalo&hl=en

None of the three forwards is bothered by the uneven statistics. "Luce and Ramsay are having tough luck with their shooting and I'm cashing in on their rebounds," explains Gare, "Luce and Ramsay are very good in the corners. They set me up. They'll start scoring soon and I'll get some assists."

 

[Sturminator]

Art Coulter

Position: D
Shoots: R
Height: 5'11"
Weight: 185 lbs.

Stanley Cup champion 1934 (Chicago), 1940 (New York)

Rangers captain: 1937-42

Career All-Star voting placements: 3, 3, 3, 3, 6, 6, 9
Career Hart Trophy voting placements: 3rd (1935)

An athlete of exceptional strength and endurance, he was fiercely devoted to the concept of teamwork.

The native of Winnipeg, Manitoba began making a name for himself in his hometown with the senior Pilgrims. He gained two and a half years of professional experience with the Philadelphia Arrows of the Can-Am League. He excelled at both ends of the ice and demonstrated a willingness to mix it up with the opposition by leading the league in penalty minutes in 1930-31.

After playing the last 13 games of the regular season and two playoff matches for Chicago in 1931-32, Coulter became a regular the next year. His physical play and ability to handle the puck made Coulter a perfect defence partner for burly Taffy Abel. The solid duo played a key role on the Hawks' inaugural Stanley Cup win in 1934.

Coulter was placed on the NHL second all-star team in 1935 but found himself traded to the Rangers for Earl Seibert midway through the next season. His solid defensive play and competitive zeal pleased the New York management and fans. Prior to the 1937-38 season, Coulter succeeded Bill Cook as captain and was selected to the second all-star team three straight years beginning in 1938. In 1939 he took part in the Babe Siebert Memorial Game and the next year he helped the Blueshirts win their third Stanley Cup. Coulter set a career high with 19 points the following season and was one of the most popular players on Manhattan.

''Art Coulter was our best player,'' Clint Smith, a center on the 1940 team and a fellow Hall of Famer, recalled. ''He was a leader, like what you have now in Mark Messier...he could really carry the puck. But he had to head-man the puck. That's the way we played.''

Coulter teamed with Muzz Patrick to give the Rangers a fearless, bruising defense. He also was the linchpin of the Rangers' offensive penalty-killing team, an innovation the New Yorkers introduced in 1939. Coulter was the anchor man working with forwards Alex Shibicky, Neil and Mac Colville. Over the season, the Rangers outscored their opponents almost two to one when they were shorthanded.

"He was a superb ice general," said his coach Frank Boucher. "He lent strength to our smaller players, always on the spot if opposing players tried to intimidate them, responding beautifully to new responsibilities. He was a well set up fellow, quite tall, very muscular without an ounce of fat."

Prior to a game against Boston in the 1940 semis, he put a message at every player's stall in the dressing room: "Determination was the predominating factor in last year's Stanley Cup Champions. We have it too. Let's Go. Art Coulter."

11.4.1933 - The Montreal Gazette:

Out in front to keep the snipers away from Gardiner, Gorman is relying firstly on Lionel Conacher and Art Coulter, the husky youngster who became somewhat of a sensation last year.

27.11.1933 - Saskatoon Star-Phoenix:

http://news.google.com/newspapers?i...IBAJ&pg=2141,2566783&dq=coulter+chicago&hl=en

Gorman already has Art Coulter, who has developed in the past couple of years into one of the best young defense players in the league. Tall, husky and speedy, Art can tear down the rink goalward or double an enemy over the boards in the best Eddie Shore manner.

The following article states that Coulter was chosen as a 1st team all-star by the NHL managers for the 1934-35 season. Coulter placed 3rd in Hart Trophy voting that season and lost a Canadian Press 1st Team all-star placement to Earl Seibert by the thinnest of margins. There is a good argument that he was actually the second best defenseman in hockey that season.

15.1.1936 - The Calgary Daily Herald:

http://news.google.com/newspapers?i...IBAJ&pg=4077,1397866&dq=coulter+rangers&hl=en

Two of the outstanding defence stars of the National Hockey League, Earl Seibert of New York Rangers, and Art Coulter of Chicago Blackhawks, exchanged uniforms today in negotiations between the management of the respective clubs.

Coulter, last season was chosen by NHL managers for their all-star team, while Seibert won a berth on the Canadian Press all-star outfit.

11.2.1936 - The Calgary Daily Journal:

Pratt will have Art Coulter, one of the hardest checkers in the league, alongside of him.

3.1939 - Lewiston Evening Journal:

As far as the Bruins are concerned, the Rangers feel they won't need any help handling them. Captain Art Coulter, before the team left for Boston said:

"We'll take 'em either way. If they want fight, we showed them Tuesday night we can lick them there. And if it's hockey they want, we can match them in that department, too."

 

[Sturminator]

Jimmy Thomson

Position: D
Shoots: R
Height: 6'0"
Weight: 190 lbs.

Stanley Cup champion: 1947, 1948, 1949, 1951 - [Toronto]

Leafs captain: 1957

Career All-Star voting placements: 3, 4, 5, 6, 6, 6, 6* [approx. - ASG on merit 1952]

Career NHL Top-20 Assists placements: 6th, 8th, 16th, 16th, 18th
Career NHL Top-10 Scoring placements: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th [among defensemen]

14.4.1947 - The Windsor Daily Star:

http://news.google.com/newspapers?i...4249,5122186&dq=gus+mortson+stanley+cup&hl=en

Smythe Finds Rookie Duo Worth Shouting About

To Managing Director Conny Smythe of Toronto Maple Leafs, the Stanley Cup playoff performance of his rookie defense duo - baby-faced Jimmy Thomson from Winnipeg and sturdy Gus Mortson from Kirkland Lake, Ont. - is something to talk about.

And talk he did Saturday night as the Leafs doffed their hockey regalia for street clothes after taking the measure of Montreal Canadiens 4-2 in the third game of their best-of-seven Stanley Cup final.

"Those kids have only been scored on four times in eight games," he said, without naming the players but nodding to the corner where the 20 year old Thomson and the 21 year old Mortson were dressing. "Only four times in eight games."

He might have gone further and cited more statistics - that the Leafs were scored on 22 times in the eight games - eight times in their three starts with the Canadiens and 14 times in the five semi-final games with Detroit Red Wings. Thus, 18 percent of the goals against Toronto were scored on the pair of rookies - and they were used extensively in the series.

13.2.1948 - The Leader-Post:

http://news.google.com/newspapers?i...23,1346516&dq=jimmy+thomson+hockey+star&hl=en

Pink-Cheeked Jimmy Thomson from Winnipeg ranks in the books of his boss, Conny Smythe, as just about the best defensive defenceman Toronto Maple Leafs have ever had.

Smythe, the Leafs' Managing Director, came out Thursday with high praise for the tall 180 pounder, who reaches his 21st birthday February 23rd and now is in his second full season in the National Hockey League.

''Thomson's record of goals-against is the best of any defenceman we have ever had," said Smythe, giving recognition to the territory this covered by mentioning such former Toronto stars as Clarence (Happy) Day, Red Horner and King Clancy.

"He combines the qualities of a lot of good defenceman we've had," continued Smythe. "He has many of the attributes of Day; he can hurt attackers - although not so seriously - as Horner; he can get that puck out of his own end like Clancy - not in as dashing way but just as decisively. He'll be one of the all-time greats of hockey if he keeps his head and continues to give his best.''

The Toronto club's president went back in retrospect to last year's Stanley Cup playoffs when only some half dozen of the 27 goals against Leafs were tallied against Thomson and his partner, Gus Mortson.

7.4.1950 - The Montreal Gazette:

Ted Kennedy and Joe Klukay each had a turn as the lone forward on the ice with defencemen Thomson and Gus Mortson. They checked so fiercely that the Red Wings only got one shot at Broda.

8.4.1950 - The Windsor Daily Star:

http://news.google.com/newspapers?i...g=3970,1894712&dq=jimmy+thompson+hockey&hl=en

Inability to take advantage of Toronto penalties, contributed heavily to Detroit's downfall. For seven solid minutes in the first period, and for a total of 19 minutes in the course of the contest, the Wings had an advantage in manpower and couldn't cash in. Not only did they fail to score, but a rock-ribbed Toronto defense, spearheaded by Jimmy Thomson, for the most part was able to make their so-called power plays appear futilely feeble.

There wasn't a single weak link in the Toronto team. Broda, when he had to be, was flawless in goal. Rugged Jimmy Thomson was a standout on defense.

12.4.1951 - The Montreal Gazette:

http://news.google.com/newspapers?i...AAAAIBAJ&pg=5489,6698543&dq=gus+mortson&hl=en

Lynn Patrick said the Leafs powdered the Bruins right out of the series in the first two games. They whacked Milt Schmidt and Johnny Pierson into complete submission and left the Bruins without much in the way of a scoring threat.

"Jim Thomson did most of the heavy work for them, but they've got a bruising defense," he said. "Guys like Bill Barilko, Bull Juzda and Fernie Flaman can hurt you if they get a good shot at you and that Gus Mortson is no Little Lord Faultneroy.

22.10.1951 - The Globe and Mail

Around the Rink...

Jim Thomson, Leaf rearguard, has so few off-nights that you probably could count them on one toe. Saturday, he was below form...So was Tod Sloan, up front...Ex-Leaf Gaye Stewart, streaking away from his check at times, always was dangerous although used sparingly.

31.3.1952 - The Globe and Mail

Jimmy Thomson has been the one consistent Toronto defenseman throughout the series. Perhaps his playing ability during the season was overshadowed by the load he ofttimes carried. He's had some in-and-out partners.

2.4.1952 - The Windsor Daily Star:

http://news.google.com/newspapers?i...pg=4510,435118&dq=jimmy+thompson+hockey&hl=en

It was a rugged game, just about the most bruising of the series. Chief Toronto casualty was Jimmy Thomson. The ace Leaf rearguard suffered a rib separation on the right side in a second period collision with Alex Delvecchio. Dead game to the finish, however, Thomson still came back to play in the third period although it was evident that he was in great pain.

2.11.1955 - The Windsor Daily Star:

http://news.google.com/newspapers?i...21,550729&dq=doug+vaughan+jimmy+thomson&hl=en

Jim Thomson of the Toronto Maple Leafs is another durable type. After nine full seasons and 600 games as Toronto's steadiest defenceman, Thomson failed to take part in only 11 games.

Jimmy Thomson (left) and Lindsay were adversaries on the ice, but partners off the ice in the battle for player rights. Both were dealt to the cellar-dwelling Chicago Blackhawks, martyred for their intentions to rally players to combat the owner's dictatorial style of running the league.

The following article explains why Jimmy Thomson never had a chance at getting into the Hall of Fame through the normal method. He was one of the original members of the players' union movement, and had a falling out with Conn Smythe, who accused him of disloyalty to the Leafs, and then shipped him off to Chicago. Smythe was notorious for holding very long grudges, and sat on the HOF selection committee until 1971, after the point at which Thomson's chance would have come and gone. Smythe eventually quit the committee in protest after they finally elected Busher Jackson to the Hall. For decades, Smythe had blocked Jackson's induction due to personal conflicts.

26.3.1957 - The Windsor Daily Star:

http://news.google.com/newspapers?i...AIBAJ&pg=3146,3287289&dq=thomson+smythe&hl=en

Day's departure came only a few hours after Jimmy Thomson, a veteran of 12 years on the Leafs defense, announced he was quitting the team because Smythe had accused him of disloyalty over his part in forming the new NHL Players' Association.

...

Thomson's departure was almost as big a surprise. "I will never again play for the Leafs," he said, adding that he would like to play for another NHL club, "but it would be impossible for me to play for a team that has questioned my loyalty."

Smythe said he never thought of Thomson as disloyal on the ice, but he felt the ex-captain exerted pressure on the other players to join the Association. Thomson denied it absolutely. He said he told his teammates about the Association and its aims and asked them to decide for themselves.

Information on Thomson's skating

12.4.1945 - The Leader Post:

http://news.google.com/newspapers?i...,1609570&dq=thomson+hockey+g:loctoronto&hl=en

Thomson played a steady game on defense for Majors and his first period goal was one of the prettiest of the night. He took the puck at his own defense, roared down the left boards, and beat Howard Harvey cleanly with a rising shot.

23.3.1946 - The Pittsburgh Press:

http://news.google.com/newspapers?i...g=3615,3738162&dq=jimmy+thompson+hockey&hl=en

In fact one of the defensemen, Jim Thomson, was responsible for the ending of the recent scoring famine. He galloped out in front of the pack at full speed and took the Hershey backliners out of the play. Then he flipped a perfect pass to Wally Wilson in the crease and changed the whole complexion of the second game of the series.

 

[BraveCanadian]

With their 21nd round pick (657) in the 2013 ATD, the Guelph Platers have selected: LW, Gaetan Duchesne

Career Highlights:

Stanley Cup Finalist 1991.


Vitals:

Born: July 11, 1962
Position: LW
Height: 5-11
Weight: 200 lbs


Regular Season:

A tireless worker who was known throughout his entire career as a strong defensive forward, Gaetan Duchesne garnered the following Selke recognition over a decade span. Duchesne was often matched up against the other team's top players, in particular, top right wingers such as Mike Bossy and Brett Hull.

Season|Selke Voting Points
82-83|10
83-84|4
84-85|1
85-86|5
86-87|9
87-88|2
90-91|1
91-92|8
92-93|2
93-94|3

Playoffs:

Duchesne's most memorable playoff run was as a member of the Minnesota North Stars that went to the Stanley Cup Finals on a Cinderella run before bowing out to the Mario Lemieux led Penguins in the Finals.

He was a big factor in helping Minnesota reach the Finals, shutting down opposition forwards along the way. (see quotations and news articles)


Quotations and Perspective:

...
But it was only a few springs ago Bossy's goals were yielding Stanley Cups, not merely salvaging a stray shred of dignity.

And it was the only goal Bossy managed against the Capitals, thanks to the relentless checking of Washington left wing Gaetan Duchesne.

"We got great defensive play from Duchesne," Capitals defenseman Rod Langway said. "He was an unknown, but now he's put himself on the map."

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=CcEcAAAAIBAJ&sjid=-WIEAAAAIBAJ&&pg=6833,6602047

...
Selke Trophy, "to the forward who best excels in the defensive aspects of the game." (Writers vote.)

1. Brent Sutter, Chicago. One of the best at stopping guys such as Yzerman and Modano while still contributing to some important goals.

2. Gaetan Duchesne, Minnesota. One of the hardest-working, least-recognized checkers in the business.

http://news.google.com/newspapers?i...=3264,3760954&dq=gaetan+duchesne+shadow&hl=en

...
The North Stars score twice in a 33-second span in the seventh minute of the second period and defensive specialist Gaetan Duchesne scores an insurance goal in the third to wrap up a 3-1 Minnesota win at Bloomington.

http://news.google.com/newspapers?i...IBAJ&pg=6515,8834702&dq=gaetan+duchesne&hl=en

...
After scoring 86 regular-season goals and eight more in the opening round of the playoffs, Hull has no goals and only eight shots in three games against the North Stars. Monday night, he continues to be checked hard by Stewart Gavin and Gaetan Duchesne and managed just three shots in Minnesota's 5-1 victory at Bloomington, Minn.
...

http://news.google.com/newspapers?i...IBAJ&pg=2006,2621173&dq=gaetan+duchesne&hl=en

...
St. Louis' Brett Hull was shadowed most of the night by Stewart Gavin and Gaetan Duschesne and was held to one shot. He had a league-leading eight goals in the playoffs and 94 overall.
...

http://news.google.com/newspapers?i...IBAJ&pg=5328,1730631&dq=gaetan+duchesne&hl=en

"We're just like Kentucky Fried Chicken," said Gaetan Duchesne. "We can't give away our secret forumula."

Duchesne and his Washington teammates appear to have found the secret to stopping NHL scoring leader Wayne Gretzky. For the second time in as many February meetings, the Capitals held Gretzky without a shot on goal or a point Friday night, while posting a 5-2 victory.

...

"There's no secret at all," said Bob Gould, who centered for Duchesne and Kelly Miller to form a line that put the clamps on Gretzky.

"It's just five guys going out there and making sure they don't get caught. No turnovers at the blue line, no blind passes that they can turn around."

Washington almost totally shut down the NHL's highest-scoring offense, limiting the Oilers to 17 shots, nine in the second period and four each in the first and third.
...

http://news.google.com/newspapers?i...3689,4482794&dq=gretzky+gaetan-duchesne&hl=en

...
"In the leadup to the game we concentrated on stopping Gretzky," said Caps' coach Bryan Murray, acknowledging that Gaetan Duchesne, Bobby Gould and Glen Currie had done a masterful job. "But the Oilers have a second line (Messier, Anderson and Ken Linseman or Marc Habscheid, who had to assists on Wednesday) that could be a No. 1 on most teams.
...

http://news.google.com/newspapers?i...5873,1085110&dq=gretzky+gaetan-duchesne&hl=en

...
Credit Duchesne with a big checking job on Mike Bossy in the Caps' win over the Isles. Bossy had only one goal and congratulated Duchesne after the loss Saturday. He told me I did a pretty good job. That's a great compliment, very nice coming from a star like he is," said the Cap's winger.
..

http://news.google.com/newspapers?i...g=4301,1353779&dq=bossy+gaetan-duchesne&hl=en

...
The most stellar aspect of the Capital forwards is their checking, epitomized in the line of Bob Gould (who has 11 points in the last nine games), Miller, and Gaetan Duchesne, the player called upon to neutralize Bossy. If Bossy plays, he will be reunited with Bryan Trottier (eight assists in last two games) and Rich Kromm. . . .

http://www.nytimes.com/1987/04/07/s...uring-on-familiarity.html?pagewanted=2&src=pm

Bob Gould scored two goals, both on passes from Gaetan Duchesne, to lead the Washington Capitals past the Edmonton Oilers, 5-3, Sunday at Edmonton.

Gould's second goal came with 4:02 left, sealing the victory for the Capitals, who broke a three-game losing streak.

"It's been a consistent thing for that line," Washington Coach Bryan Murray said of Gould, Duchesne and Kelly Miller. "The last few games they've had both offensive chances and goals."
...

http://articles.latimes.com/1987-02-16/sports/sp-2350_1_nhl-roundup

​

 

[BraveCanadian]

With their 18th round pick (560) in the 2013 ATD, the Guelph Platers have selected: RW, Kevin Dineen

Career Highlights:

Played NHL ALL-Star Game 1988, 1989
5 x 30+ Goal Scorer including 2 x 40+.
Flyers Captain 93-94.
Hartford Captain 96-97.
Represented the NHL at Rendez-Vous '87



Vitals:

Born: October 28, 1963
Position: RW
Height: 5-11
Weight: 198 lbs



Dineen was known as a hard working and very tough player. He was also solid two ways and talented enough to score 40 goals twice.

Season|Selke Finish
86-87|10th
89-90|Single Vote

Season|Post Season All Star
85-86|11th (Single)
86-87|4th
88-89|4th

..
Dineen was a special player. He thoroughly understood the game of hockey, an obvious coach's son. He was extremely rugged despite average size. He was as fearless as he was tough, working the wall and rolling out of corners with tenacity. He battled NHL warriors much bigger than he, even though he suffered from Crohn's Disease.

But he combined guts and desire with underrated skill. His skating was excellent. His strong legs gave him great acceleration and speed. But he also was blessed with incredible balance and agility on his skates. That talent aided him in the physical game because he would rarely be knocked off the puck, but also in the offensive game with his surprising ability to get open.
...

http://whalerslegends.blogspot.ca/2008/02/kevin-dineen.html





​

 

[Sturminator]

Mathieu Schneider

Position: D
Shoots: L
Height: 5'11"
Weight: 192 lbs.

Stanley Cup champion 1993 (Montreal)

Career All-Star voting placements: 6, 7, 10, 12, 13, ASG

Schneider was an excellent powerplay pointman for a long time. Here is overpass' analysis of the best second-tier post-expansion pointmen:

Player | Years | GP | PP% | $PPG | $PPA | $PPP | TmPP+ | TmPPF+ | TmPPA+
Chris Pronger | 99-10 | 742 | 80% | 8 | 29 | 38 | 1.17 | 1.15 | 1.03
Phil Housley | 89-00 | 832 | 90% | 7 | 31 | 38 | 1.06 | 1.03 | 1.03
Gary Suter | 86-96 | 763 | 83% | 7 | 30 | 38 | 1.23 | 1.20 | 1.04
Jeff Brown | 89-98 | 617 | 86% | 8 | 29 | 37 | 0.99 | 1.03 | 0.96
Brad Park | 72-82 | 710 | 89% | 9 | 27 | 37 | 1.20 | 1.18 | 1.01
Paul Reinhart | 81-90 | 569 | 79% | 9 | 27 | 36 | 1.03 | 1.06 | 0.97
Sergei Zubov | 94-07 | 963 | 84% | 7 | 28 | 35 | 1.16 | 1.13 | 1.03
Stefan Persson | 78-84 | 512 | 82% | 5 | 30 | 35 | 1.33 | 1.28 | 1.04
Sandis Ozolinsh | 96-03 | 577 | 77% | 9 | 25 | 34 | 1.09 | 1.14 | 0.95
Guy Lapointe | 72-79 | 568 | 73% | 9 | 24 | 33 | 1.33 | 1.29 | 1.05
Doug Wilson | 82-91 | 656 | 78% | 8 | 25 | 32 | 1.06 | 1.04 | 1.02
Dave Babych | 82-88 | 520 | 86% | 8 | 24 | 32 | 0.96 | 0.98 | 0.98
Borje Salming | 76-82 | 527 | 81% | 4 | 27 | 32 | 1.07 | 1.05 | 1.02
Dan Boyle | 03-10 | 506 | 77% | 8 | 24 | 32 | 1.09 | 1.09 | 0.99
Mathieu Schneider | 94-03 | 659 | 77% | 8 | 23 | 32 | 0.99 | 1.02 | 0.99
Chris Chelios | 89-97 | 651 | 80% | 5 | 26 | 31 | 1.03 | 1.00 | 1.03
Scott Niedermayer | 03-10 | 533 | 75% | 9 | 22 | 31 | 1.07 | 1.05 | 1.01
Kimmo Timonen | 02-09 | 547 | 78% | 6 | 25 | 31 | 1.05 | 1.02 | 1.04
Brian Rafalski | 01-09 | 617 | 69% | 5 | 25 | 30 | 1.08 | 1.06 | 1.02
Rob Blake | 98-06 | 596 | 76% | 12 | 18 | 30 | 1.05 | 1.08 | 0.97

 

[Sturminator]

Troy Murray

Position: C
Shoots: R
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 195 lbs.

Stanley Cup champion 1996 (Colorado)

Career Selke voting placements: 1, 8, 10, 17, 23
Career AST voting placements: 5

From Pelletier's bio:

He had a reputation as a great offensive player and a devastating bodychecker, but he would develop into a complete player at UND thanks to legendary coach Gino Gasparini.

"I was always a goal scorer," confessed Murray. "Gino Gasparini is the coach who really stressed playing in the defensive end. I give him more credit than anybody that I've gotten even as far as I've gotten."

Murray got far. He led the Sioux to the 1982 NCAA Championship. Over the Christmas break he captained Team Canada to the World Junior Championship.

Murray would leave school early to sign with the Hawks, though he finished his degree at DePaul University in the off-seasons of professional hockey. Though his first couple of seasons were not significant in terms of scoring, he made a big impression on NHL opponents.

Al Secord, an aggressive thumper in his own right, was impressed with Murray's play.

"When he first came to the club, I guess the biggest thing that stands out with me is how he used to throw out these real hard body checks. He used to nail guys and straighten them up. He's a very, very strong guy. He's very dedicated in the off season in conditioning. He comes to play.

Terry Ruskowski, another teammate, was also impressed.

"Because he was so strong on his skates and had such good balance, when he hit somebody, the guy was hit. To try to knock him off his skates was almost impossible. He was very sturdy on his skates. He was a good shot, and he handled the puck well."

Playing on a line with veteran Curt Fraser and hometown hero Eddie Olczyk, Murray enjoyed an incredible breakout year in 1985-86. He scored 45 goals and 54 assists for 99 points. Though he was one of the highest scorers in the league, his fine defensive play continued and for that he was recognized with the Frank J. Selke trophy as the league's pre-eminent defensive forward.

 

[Sturminator]

Jeremy Roenick

Position: C
Shoots: R
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 205 lbs.

Career All-Star voting placements: 4, 4, 5, 5, 5
Career Hart voting placements: 6
Career Selke voting placements: 10

Career VsX results: 89 (+37)*, 89 (+29)*, 83, 82, 79, 74, 72 (+34)*, 67, 63, 62, 57, 56

*denote peak years in Chicago when Roenick, playing in Mike Keenan/Darryl Sutter's stifling defensive system, led the team in scoring by a large margin, which is shown in parentheses.

10-season weighted VsX values for centers (1968-2012):

Rank | Player | Result
1 | Wayne Gretzky | 146.2
2 | Mario Lemieux | 113.9
3 | Phil Esposito | 113.7
4 | Marcel Dionne | 97.9
5 | Joe Sakic | 94.8
6 | Steve Yzerman | 89.7
7 | Joe Thornton | 89
8 | Bryan Trottier | 88.2
9 | Adam Oates | 87
10 | Mark Messier | 85.7
11 | Ron Francis | 84.9
12 | Jean Ratelle | 84.4
13 | Peter Forsberg | 84
14 | Dale Hawerchuk | 82.4
15 | Peter Stastny | 82.1
16 | Bobby Clarke | 82
17 | Gilbert Perreault | 80.8
18 | Mats Sundin | 80.5
19 | Darryl Sittler | 79.9
20 | Pierre Turgeon | 79.6
21 | Denis Savard | 79.2
22 | Mike Modano | 78.5
23 | Doug Gilmour | 78.3
24 | Sergei Fedorov | 77.9
25 | Eric Lindros | 77.8
26 | Jeremy Roenick | 77.2
27 | Bernie Nicholls | 74.8
28 | Bernie Federko | 74.4
29 | Brad Richards | 74.2
30 | Doug Weight | 73.5
31 | Evgeni Malkin (**) | 73.4
32 | Pat LaFontaine | 73.3
33 | Alexei Yashin | 72.4
34 | Vincent Lecavalier | 72.1
35 | Henrik Sedin | 71.8
36 | Vincent Damphousse | 71.7
37 | Pavel Datsyuk | 71.7
38 | Jacques Lemaire | 70.4
39 | Rod Brind'Amour | 69.4
40 | Joe Nieuwendyk | 67.2

**50 minimum score

Chicago:

7.10.1991 - Sports Illustrated:

Blast From the Past

Impact players step forward at such times. Jeremy Roenick, a 21-year-old center from Marshfield, Mass., who plays for the Chicago Blackhawks, takes a breakout pass at center ice and shifts into a higher gear. He is a fine skater, quick and sure on his skates, difficult to knock off balance.

...

Roenick, known as J.R. by his friends, doesn't complete his hat trick, but he has been a force, throwing his relatively slight (6 feet, 170 pounds) body at Swedish defensemen with abandon, taking swipes at players with his gloves, working opposing ankles with his stick and exhorting his U.S. teammates from the bench. Roenick is an anomaly—the highly skilled hockey gadfly. He is one of the first Americans to play the game like a certain Canadian kid who is now in hockey's Hall of Fame—dare we compare them?—Bobby Clarke.

...

Jeremy Roenick is a throwback. Respectful of his elders, modest to the extreme, this tough, talented former preppie, for heaven's sake, emerged last season as one of the top centermen in the game. He is a total team player; if he could trade stitches for powerplay minutes, he would. He has. If his coach declared he was not giving enough of his body and soul in a particular game or practice, he would give some more.

...

Considering the players that Roenick has tangled with in the past, not fixing his teeth is probably a prudent move. His adversaries read like a who's who of NHL thugs. Featherstone, Detroit's Gerard Gallant, Toronto's Craig Berube, Los Angeles's Marty McSorley. "He took on McSorley right in front of our bench," recalls Keenan with pride. "Marty was so surprised. He's standing there, and Jeremy drops his gloves. Before they could get going, the linesmen jumped in, but Jeremy never backed down."

...

Larmer, Chelios and Roenick are three of the premier two-way players in the league, and the team has a wealth of good goaltending. Some NHL observers are waiting to see if the team burns out under Keenan, however, although one player who won't is Roenick. "Keenan's very tough," he admits. "He demands an extreme amount of hard work. He might yell and throw things and scream at times trying to stir the pot. Sometimes you want to punch him in the face like everyone else does, but he always says that negative energy is better than no energy at all. He's the only coach I've ever had in this league, so I don't know any other way. I listen when he screams and try to separate the good things from the other stuff. I keep my mouth shut and try to stay out of trouble."

28.5.1992 - New York Times:

Despite his youth and relative inexperience, Roenick is considered the best player on his team. As a center who scores goals, sets up teammates and hits with body checks that are harder than those of most forwards, he has the potential to be the best American-born player ever.

Before the Stanley Cup final series between Chicago and Pittsburgh began, most observers rated the Penguins as the slim favorite. But the Blackhawks were given a respectable chance because they play a well-rounded forechecking style typified by Roenick.

"Jeremy is playing the best hockey he's ever played," said Brent Sutter, who is the center on Chicago's second line. "He's got a physical presence to his game that intimidates other teams. He can make you pay if you want to fool around him and he will run you over and he doesn't even think twice about it."

15.12.1993 - Chicago Tribune:

The National Hockey League's 12th leading scorer immerses himself so deeply in the daily ebb and flow that he'll talk about the upswings and dips of his profession whenever anyone asks. Or, sometimes, even when they don't. Because he's energetic and talkative and a fan who will show up regularly at the Bulls, Cubs and White Sox games, some critics would have you believe Roenick is a shameless hustler.

Not many players can do what Roenick is doing. He is one of only five players from the NHL's top defensive clubs who are good enough to rise above the team concept of their systems and rate among the league's best scorers. Three of the five are outstanding two-way players. Federov is a plus-19, Gilmour plus-16 and Roenick plus-12. Take Roenick away from the Hawks and they won't make the playoffs.

23.1.1994 - Chicago Tribune:

Two of the most asked questions the last few days in New York, where Saturday's All-Star Game was played at Madison Square Garden, were: "Is it true the Hawks are going to trade Jeremy Roenick?" And: "How long can Darryl Sutter last before he gets fired?" These are the kinds of questions that come up when the team's star takes on his coach in print and his coach responds by shoving him back against the proverbial wall with some sharp comments about his leading scorer being full of something.

"Sutter can only lose," said an NHL general manager, surprised the coach would get into a public war of words with Roenick. "Who do you keep if you have to choose one? Every team keeps their star player in that situation." On Friday in New York, Roenick had Canadian and U.S. reporters furiously scribbling about his soap-opera disagreement with Sutter. They had seen mention of it here and there, but were enthralled to be getting the dirt dished firsthand.

"One of our problems is everything he says about me, he goes through the papers," Roenick said. "We are very limited in what we do offensively. He doesn't like fancy plays. He likes dump-and-chase.

"It's hard when I have to create on the ice and get chastised for it. When he browbeat me and Joe Murphy after we won the game in Boston (Dec. 11) for not playing good enough defense, that's when I had to sit down and think about (the relationship) the most.

"To have him against you is not the best position to be in. Denis Savard and Doug Wilson thought it should be looser in the Chicago dressing room, and that's why they left as players.

24.5.1995 - Chicago Tribune:

Roenick--who wore his customary No. 27 sweater, in case the league is wondering--had little touch but plenty of toughness in his first game back from an injury to his left knee that sidelined him for 23 games. Let MJ work on putting the back nine; JR worked on putting the Canucks on their backsides.

Roenick, an erstwhile center, skated primarily as a left winger on a line with Denis Savard and Tony Amonte. Roenick guessed he would play a more physical game and leave puck distribution to Savard.

"I want to get out there and start banging heads," Roenick said before the game.

Roenick didn't wait long to do that. On his first shift, he hammered Josek Beranek so hard the Canuck center wound up looking out the side of his helmet. In the third period a Roenick check on Jassen Cullimore separated the defenseman from a glove and the puck.

But Roenick took physical aggression a bit too far. The first period was only 11 minutes old when Roenick tangled with Sergio Momesso in the corner. Momesso was assessed two minutes for holding and Roenick two for roughing. Roenick went to the box again midway through the second period, this time for interference.

Phoenix:

20.10.1996 - The Palm Beach Post:

Last Monday's signing of superstar center Jeremy Roenick to a five-year, $20 million deal ended two months of testy negotiations and put Roenick in uniform for a team that some feel can challenge Colorado and Detroit for Western Conference supremacy.

Friday, he literally threw himself into his work, hitting several Flyers in an obvious show that he wasn't about to be intimidated by the league's biggest team.

20.10.1998 - Boston Globe:

"We've got to give them credit," said Bruins coach Pat Burns. "They were better than us in all aspects of the game -- skating, hitting, scoring, they were better. Sometimes you have to bite your tongue and accept that, and tonight we have to do it."

...

The Coyotes came out strong, taking the body hard against the Bruins. Their first goal was the result of strong forechecking by two Massachusetts natives -- Marshfield's Jeremy Roenick and Medford's Keith Tkachuk. After Roenick had delivered a couple of punishing hits to Ray Bourque, the Coyotes hit paydirt at 3:57.

5.5.1999 - St. Louis Post Dispatch:

Roenick initiated hits and took several hits in the first period, which ended in a 0-0 draw. Fifty minutes before the game, Day stood in front of a room full of reporters, holding the model of a human skull simulating that of Roenick.

10.2.2012 - Fox Sports Arizona:

Roenick never came close to matching those magical seasons he posted in Chicago with a perennial Stanley Cup contender. Part of the reason was that knee injury, which robbed him of just a fraction of his speed and recklessness. Part of it was a host of rule changes that made 100-point seasons a rarity in the NHL. Part of it was the overall talent on the Coyotes' roster, which couldn't match what Roenick enjoyed in Chicago.

But Jim Schoenfeld, Roenick's coach for two seasons in Phoenix, remembers a player whose style belied his talent level. "Sometimes skill players aren't as willing to play the other rough and tumble parts of the game, but he was that type of player," Schoenfeld said. "He didn't shortcut the process." Schoenfeld knew right away which role he wanted Roenick to fill.

"For a while in the NHL, the idea was to match your best defensive line against the other team's best offensive line, but we wanted Jeremy to go against the other team's top line because he was a great two-way player. We wanted him to outperform and outscore the other team's top talent,” Schoenfeld said. "We didn't win a championship that way, but there were a whole lot of other reasons for that."

Philadelphia:

1.7.2001 - The Milwaukee Journal:

The 31 year old center agreed in principle to the deal once his old team, the Phoenix Coyotes, gave the Flyers permission to discuss a contract, Flyers general manager Bob Clarke said Friday. The Coyotes will receive a compensatory 2nd round draft pick.

"I think the fans are going to love him. He can really skate, he hits, he handles the puck, and he's been a premier player in this league for a long time," Clarke said.

4.10.2001 - Detroit News:

X-factor: This situation seems to fit center Jeremy Roenick perfectly. A tough two-way player who fits the Eastern Conference mold, Roenick could thrive in Philadelphia.

16.3.2003 - Philadelphia Inquirer:

The major drawback in coach Ken Hitchcock's defensive system is that goal production suffers. The system requires every Flyer to sacrifice something on the offensive end, especially the goal scorers. However, Jeremy Roenick, who has been a consummate two-way player this season, has a legitimate chance to hit the 30-goal plateau as a result of yesterday's 4-1 rout of the Pittsburgh Penguins at Mellon Arena, in which he scored twice.

6.8.2009 - NHL.com

Roenick left Phoenix to sign with Philadelphia on July 2, 2001. He had 67 points in 2001-02, but Hitchcock brought his defensive system to the Flyers in 2002 and asked Roenick to re-invent himself.

The coach still marvels at how Roenick adapted to play his new role.

"Instead of playing on the half-wall on the power play he ended up on the front of the net a lot and was good," Hitchcock said. "He was a third-line center or third-line right winger and was very effective. A lot of times players can't adapt, but he was very effective."

 

[Sturminator]

Frank "Raffles" Boucher

Position: C
Shoots: L
Height: 5'9"
Weight: 185 lbs.

Stanley Cup champion: 1928, 1933 [New York]
Stanley Cup playoffs scoring leader: 1928, 1932

----------------------------------------------------------

PCHA 1st team all-star: 1923, 1924
WCHL 1st team all-star: 1925

[no NHL all-star teams from 1927-30]

NHL 1st team all-star: 1933, 1934, 1935
NHL 2nd team all-star: 1931

NHL Assists leader: 1929, 1930, 1933
Career Hart Trophy voting placements: 4, 5, 8
Lady Byng Trophy Winner: 1928, 1929, 1930, 1931, 1933, 1934, 1935 [Frank was given permanent ownership of the original Lady Byng trophy]

----------------------------------------------------------

Boucher's placement in 7-season VsX (as of 2014-15 end of season):

Rank | Player | Result
1 | Wayne Gretzky | 155.6
2 | Phil Esposito | 130.4
3 | Gordie Howe | 125.5
4 | Mario Lemieux | 119.8
5 | Bobby Orr | 114.8
6 | Jaromir Jagr | 114.2
7 | Bobby Hull | 108.3
8 | Stan Mikita | 107.8
9 | Jean Beliveau | 105.7
10 | Guy Lafleur | 104.5
11 | Ted Lindsay | 104.4
12 | Marcel Dionne | 103.3
13 | Maurice Richard | 102.4
14 | Howie Morenz | 102.2
15 | Sidney Crosby | 101.5
16 | Andy Bathgate | 101.1
17 | Alex Ovechkin | 98.4
18 | Joe Sakic | 97.7
19 | Bill Cowley | 97
20 | Charlie Conacher | 96.2
21 | Bill Cook | 96
22 | Frank Boucher | 95.1
23 | Mike Bossy | 94.8
24 | Joe Thornton | 94.1
25 | Bryan Trottier | 93.7
26 | Steve Yzerman | 93.2
27 | Teemu Selanne | 92.7
28 | Martin St. Louis | 92.4
29 | Syl Apps Sr | 92.4
30 | Sweeney Schriner | 91.3

The way the Russians play reminds me of the old Rangers, especially the line of Boucher and the Cooks. They were even better than the Russians. When Frank, Bill and Bunny were on the ice, it always seemed to me they had the puck on the string.

Often considered to be the Wayne Gretzky of his day because of his superior playmaking skills and understanding of the game, Frank Boucher had the gentility, class and manners rarely matched at such an elite level.

...

He was a genius of a puck handler, with this uncanny ability of drawing defenders to him while the his linemates Bill and Bun Cook raced to open holes. Selflessly, and almost without fail, he would thread the puck through defenders, right on to the stick! He was truly the balance wheel on arguably hockey's best line. He also was credited for perfecting the drop pass so common in today's game.

He debuted in 1921-22 in the NHL with the Ottawa Senators. A native of Ottawa, Boucher grew up playing hockey from dawn to dark on the frozen Rideau River. It was at this early age that he developed his meticulously clean style of play, emulating the great Frank Nighbor - his idol. But soon his hockey journey moved him out to the Vancouver Maroons of the PCHA where he starred for 4 years in the NHL calibre league.

Frank Boucher was quite possibly the greatest NHL playoff performer of the pre-war era. He had one of the best point/game rates of his generation, twice led all playoff scorers, and turned in arguably the most dominant playoff performance of all-time in the 1928 playoffs. Boucher led the 1928 playoffs in scoring with 10 points, double the score of Bill Cook's 5 points, which were good for 2nd place. He scored 4 of the 5 Rangers goals in an extremely tight 5-game Cup finals victory over the Maroons.

24.3.1933 - Vancouver Sun:

Greatest?

Many glamorous athletic figures will step into the playoffs that lead to the league championship and the Stanley Cup finals when play starts Saturday night. But no finer record for efficiency and sportsmanlike play in these classics will be on view than that of Frank Boucher, playmaking centre-ice ace of the New York Rangers.

Picked this season as centre player for the mythical all-star team that is selected by vote of 32 hockey experts in the cities of the National League circuit, Boucher brings into the playoffs this season an amazing record of consistent play in these finals. One of the originals of the Rangers since that team entered competition in 1926-27 he has never missed a playoff since, and leads the great Cook-Boucher-Cook forward line into the playoff action for the seventh straight time. Boucher's own playoff record is remarkable.

The spectacular part of this record is the almost complete lack of penalties. Five straight playoff series, with all the strain that these entail, without a penalty at all, two penalties in another, testify to the value of this player, always on the ice, always available.

----------------------------------------------------------

Although he was known as a gentlemanly player, Boucher, the former Mounty, was not soft, and seems to have been more than capable of looking out for himself.

7.2.1935 - The Toledo News-Bee:

Boucher, Cook Brothers Set Great Pace with Rangers

But with all his clean play, Boucher is an aggressive player. He is the brains behind the manuevers which place the puck in scoring position. The former Northwest Mounty, whose slogan is "keep a level head at all times," can wield his fists with the same precision as he does a hockey stick, and few pucksters go out of their way to tangle with him.

26.1.1936 - The Milwaukee Journal:

The cleanest player! In nine years he has spent only 104 minutes in the penalty box; Eddie Shore of Boston served 165 in a single season. Frank Boucher's average penalty in a year is 11 1/2 minutes; that of the leading offenders is 129.

All of which would mean little if Frank were a mediocre or a timid player. But he is neither. As to his playing ability - in the nine seasons he has only once finished out of the first ten in scoring, and he is universally considered one of the greatest centers of all time.

...

"But they taught us in the Mounted to let no one get the drop on us, and I would have fought somebody that night, sure, as a warning. It just happened to be Bill Phillips."

After that, he had no trouble?

"Oh, surely - had some and gave some. But one night early next season something happened. I got bumped hard and I saw red, but suddenly another thing they teach in the Mounted came to me: 'Don't shoot until you have to - be slow on the draw!' and somehow, instead of going for the man I took after the puck. I was so mad I stickhandled it up the whole rink before I knew what I was doing, but I scored. It's been that way ever since - when I get mad I take it out on the puck." And he added, with his quiet smile: "That's why I always like to get a good bumping at the start of a game."

Vancouver Years:

26.10.1922 - Ottawa Citizen:

Frank Boucher, who was one of the best second string men in the National Hockey Association, will leave for Vancouver at 1:40 tomorrow morning...

Coming from the west last fall, he was secured by Ottawas, and from the first of the season showed promise of being a noted addition to the ranks of the famous family. Used at center ice, a real opportunity never really came his way till Frank Nighbor was put out of the game for ten days when Sprague Cleghorn cut loose in the memorable Canadien game here. Stepping into the poke check wonder's place, Frank immediately went in solid with the local fans, and his aggressive and consistent play earned him a high place in the N.H.A. lists.

While his passing to Vancouver is regretted by Ottawa fans, every good luck goes with him, and the only thing we cannot wish him is that he may help Vancouver beat Ottawa for the Stanley Cup next spring. A clever stick-handler, a good shot, a rugged check, and with plenty of speed, he has all the necessary requirements of a first-class big leaguer, and there is no reason why he should not make good with a vengeance in the Coast aggregation.

12.12.1922 - Vancouver Sun:

In a thrilling three-reel film, starring the juvenile Frank Boucher, the Vancouver Maroons last night advanced into sole tenancy of second place in the coast hockey circuit over the rugged opposition of the Victoria Cougars. The score was 2 to 1. Boucher skated right into the hearts of the fans within half a minute of the start, when he stole the puck at the Victoria blue line, wormed his way close in on xxxxxx and flipped the gutta percha into the strings from a hard angle.

From then on he continued to be the star of the piece. His stickhandling was a revelation to the paid attendance and a constant knife under the ribs of the opposition, who allowed their resentment to show itself in efforts to rough-house the youngster out of his stride. But Frankie stood up under the punishment and still kept standing the Cougars on their heads. He skated back all the way with his check, repeatedly hooked the rubber away and dashed into enemy territory, where he wriggled through time after time and spanked the pill dead on the nets. Nice stops by xxxxxx, however, robbed him of any further scores.

In the final period Boucher played chiefly on the defense, where his poke-checking broke up a dozen attacks. Altogether the young Ottawan turned in a pretty flossy exhibition and the fans whooped for him from start to finish in a way that left no doubt that he was elected.

12.31.1922 - The Vancouver Sun:

My second impression is that Canada has the knack of breeding a peculiar race of men, each man having grown one arm reaching to the ground. The aforementioned sporting editor has tried to kid me that that which I have recognized as a long arm is in reality a simple piece of spruce, a mere stick, I don't believe it. Why, d'you mean to tell me that Lloyd Cook or xxxx, or that chap Boucher, while moving with the speed of 40 express trains, could caress that puck so lovingly with a bit of lifeless wood? No siree!

Frank Boucher was a playoff star for the Vancouver Maroons in the PCHA before ever making it to the NHL

17.3.1923 - The Morning Leader:

The fans were much interested to watch the fraternal duels in skating and stickhandling staged by the brothers Boucher, for the Maroons and Senators, respectively. George was trickier, perhaps, but Frank showed the greater speed and worried brother George and his fellows all evening with his hook-check.

27.3.1923 - Vancouver Sun [Stanley Cup Finals game report]:

Ottawa's victory was decisive, convincing and alibi-proof. The Senators skated as fast as their opponents, combined play better, back-checked more closely and shot harder and more accurately. The 5-1 score was perhaps a bigger margin that the play warranted, but there was no doubt in the minds of the 8000 fans present that the better team won. A long shot by George Boucher from the left boards, away out by the blue line, that Lehman touched with his arm but failed to stop, put Ottawa one to the good seven minutes from the start...

Vancouver failed to show the stuff that beat out Victoria and Seattle for the coast title. Frank Boucher, Harris and xxxxx all played up to their best form, but MacKay was lost in his unaccustomed position at right wing, where he replaced the injured Skinner. Duncan failed to put the finishing touch to his rushes that marked his work last week. Cook was fair, but not as good as he has been at times. Lehman was far from the form that won him the sobriquet of "Eagle Eye". Corbett Denneny made some nice efforts when he got a couple of fairly long spells on the ice.

Frank Boucher was the best of the local forward line. He was back at his old game of hook-checking and stealing, and his back-checking was excellent. More than once he whizzed back on the defense in time to avert goals, and on the attacking end he contributed a number of clever passes and an occasional stinging shot. Harris and Duncan both slammed a number of hot ones at the nets, but with one exception, Benedict handled them all to perfection.

Boucher seems to have been the standout star for Vancouver in their 1924 run to the Cup finals.

8.3.1924 - Calgary Daily Herald:

Frank Boucher, the clean playing, clean-limbed centre star for Vancouver, broke up the greatest athletic contest ever staged in the city of Vancouver when he took a pass from Bostrum just on the centre ice side of the blue line, tricked two men and beat Happy Holmes in 14 minutes overtime last night, giving Vancouver a 2-1 victory, or 4-3 on the round. It was a million dollar shot. It smashed the hopes of the fighting Mets, sent Pete Muldoon away screaming "offside!" and shoved the Maroons into the Stanley Cup finals with Calgary Monday night, a trip east and all the kopecks attaching to the tast of battling mid-west and east for the world's honors in hockey.

11.3.1924 - Calgary Daily Herald:

BOUCHER, BATTLING WONDER

Frank Boucher, the battling boy wonder, found on the wilds of the prairies in the neighborhood of Lethbridge by the Patricks a few years back, made more trouble for the Tigers than a thousand motorists for an armless traffic cop. He was stick-handling like a circus wizard and hook checking so closely that the Tiger pucks flew to his club like to a magnet. He was a demon checker all through. It was a mystery how any of them got by out there in centre ice. In the third period he was summoned back to play guard along with Cook and Duncan, because the Maroons had snared a couple of marks to Calgary's one, and they wanted to protect it. Boucher was set up at the nose of the barricade where he sucked in the force of many Tiger drives, and invariably the puck evaporated when it struck his twisted pole.

17.3.1924 - Calgary Daily Herald:

Boucher and MacKay were mighty annoying and they drew all kinds of attention. Boucher's hook checking was extremely clever, and he worried the Tigers when they swung into position for attacks.

19.3.1924 - Montreal Gazette:

For Vancouver, Frank Boucher, of the noted hockey family, and Hughie Lehman, coast net guardian, were the bright performers. Frank Boucher was the most consistent player on the ice. He broke up rush after rush with a long poke check that brought visions of Frank Nighbor at his best for Ottawa Senators, while his stickhandling through a sturdy defense was always smartly performed.

21.3.1924 - Calgary Daily Herald:

It was well for the Canadiens that Joliat negotiated that trip, for Frank Boucher's tally on Vezina was almost as brilliant shortly afterward when he dodged body drives, eluded hook and poke checks and then passed in a sizzling shot straight against the goal's front, catching the opposide side of the cage.

New York Years:

4.4.1927 - Calgary Daily Herald:

Bruins were the more aggressive throughout. Chabot in goal for New York made 28 stops as against 15 by xxxxx. But the Rangers were the more brilliant in action. The high scoring Bill Cook was too closely checked to be effective, but Frank Boucher, New York centre, was everywhere on the ice, and his work was a spectacle.

25.11.1927 - Ottawa Citizen:

Spectacular Trio

To see this trio charging along is to see how many new rules can be taken advantage of by masters. They are all accomplished in the code. Frank Boucher, who has been a sensation and is the leading scorer in the American section, will pit his skill and poke check against Frank Nighbor. What a duel that should be. These two great rivals, who are puck purveyors par excellence, ply nimble sticks at center ice, and are smart players excelling with headwork.

7.2.1928 - Ottawa Citizen:

Rangers have points of excellence which mark them apart from other clubs. They excel in use of the middle area. Nothing so attractive as the work of the two Cooks and Frank Boucher inside the area is revealed by any club. They even excel Canadiens in this regard. The two Cooks are great skaters who play the western brand instilled into them through years of play in the coast circuit. Both are liable to leave their wings unguarded, and flash through on opposite lanes for scores crisscrossing back and forth as they try to skate through a defense.

Boucher has already shown his class. One of the finest little fellows who ever plied a stick, he really outplayed Frank Nighbor the last time they met. Boucher is a great hook check artist, and has developed a scoring punch of no mean proportions.

24.3.1928 - New York Evening Post:

Center on the second team is Frank Boucher of the New York Rangers. A poke checker of uncanny ability, a great team player, a deadly shot, Boucher, next to Johnson, was the outstanding member of the Patrick troupe. We have picked him over such brilliant centers as Frank Nighbor of Ottawa, Frank Frederickson of Boston, Carson of Toronto, Hib Milks of Pittsburgh, and Normie Himes of the Americans, the latter one of the brightest stars of the second half of the campaign.

2.4.1928 - Montreal Gazette:

New York, April 1 - Sixty minutes of torrid hockey between the Boston Bruins and the New York Rangers ended in a 1-1 deadlock here tonight...

Both goals were scored within three minutes of the start of the final period. Frank Boucher, Ranger centre player, connected with a pass from behind the net to beat xxxxx for the first goal. Seventy-two seconds later a three-man Bruins rush tied the score, Harry Oliver, right winger, shooting the puck past Lorne Chabot.

The game, played before a crowd of 18,000 persons, was featured by the brilliant defense of both teams...

The poke-checking of xxxxx and Boucher were outstanding features of the bruising game, and the crowd was not slow to appreciate their work.

5.4.1928 - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

Out of the welter of preliminary rounds in the National Hockey League battle for the historic Stanley Cup, the world series of the ice world, Frank Boucher, diminutive center ice star of the New York Rangers, has come to stamp himself as one of the greatest players in the game.

Boucher will lead the Rangers on the ice of the Montreal Maroons in the Canadian metropolis tomorrow night for the first of the final five-game series for the professional hockey title...

The brilliance of Boucher stands out above all others in a composite score of the preliminary efforts of the two teams fighting tomorrow night in the championship. Boucher tallied three goals, assisted in the scoring of three others, and spent no time in the penalty box...

Boucher, recipient of the Lady Byng trophy for combining effectiveness with sportsmanship, played through the four games without once incurring the displeasure of the referees. In addition to leading all scorers, Boucher was a tower of strength on the defense, his sweeping poke-check smashed dozens of attacks of Pittsburgh and Boston forwards.

2.4.1931 - Vancouver Sun:

"Raffles" To Be Here

Frank Boucher was named on the second team and is again the winner of the Byng trophy awarded to the cleanest and most useful player to his club in the big league. Boucher is almost as well known in Vancouver as MacKay. He was called "Raffles" with the old Maroons because of his uncanny stickhandling ability and his penchant for hooking the puck from opposing players.

 

[Sturminator]

Tommy Gorman !!!

Awards and Achievements:
4 x Stanley Cup Champion as coach (1921, 1923, 1934, 1935)

Coaching Record:
208-179-66 in 453 Regular Season Games
21-14-5 in 40 Play-off Games

An NHL pioneer, and one of the game’s great characters…a smiling, quick-talking wit who wore his emotions on his sleeve. He loved an audience, and had endless stories about his colourful past…. Had a gift for promotion and an ability to create an atmosphere of enthusiasm and optimism.

There were speeches, including one by Connell…a grim-faced man on most occasions, Connell had tears in his eyes as he thanked Gorman for luring him out of retirement. “You know Gorman is like a tonicâ€, he said. “He can make you do things you never thought yourself capable of.†The word **** ******** used to describe what Gorman brought to the team was “harmonyâ€. “Tommy’s the man who developed the harmony,†he said. “Remember that.†Years later, Hooley Smith described his old coach in similar terms. “…boy, he could make you feel like the best player in the league. Then you’d get out there and really play hockey. Gorman knows how to inspire his playersâ€.

Gorman was not a typical coach. He liked what he saw and didn’t hide it. “That Toronto team can’t hold this speed,â€, he told a group of reporters. “Look at the balance we’ve got.†And then, as an afterthought: “Mind you, it’s going to be a tough battle.â€â€¦After game 1, Gorman, ignoring the cautious “it’s only one game†tone most coaches would have adopted, declared that the Maroons were the best team he had ever coached. Reminding one reporter of a sideshow barker, he went on about how good the Maroons were. “When they want open hockey, our team gives it to them. When they want defensive hockey, we have that too. What a team! What a team!†Then the slight, nimble man bounced around the room and serenaded his players with a song.

Gorman had little to say to his players during the pause before overtime, but decided to work off some nervous energy by taping a stick. He made a complete mess of the job, using an entire roll and producing a stick that looked like it had a doughnut strapped to the blade. As soon as the players saw the ludicrous effort, they burst out laughing, breaking the tension that had descended on the room. The Maroons had more to smile about a few minutes later… Baldy Northcott fired a high shot that beat Chabot for the winning goal.

In his speech Ahearn made a strinking admission about his relationship with Gorman, with whom he had had a falling out years earlier when Gorman was his hockey partner. “I am awfully sorry it ever happened,†he said. Referring to his buyout of Gorman after a dispute over club personnel, Ahearn continued, “If Tommy Gorman had stayed here, it would have been the greatest thing that ever happened for Ottawa in a hockey sense.â€

Gorman gradually took over most of the responsibilities with the Ottawa franchise and was one of the founding members of the National Hockey League in 1917. Most significantly, he was the club's manager where he was a strong motivator and astute judge of talent and character. He was personally responsible for Lionel Hitchman, Alex Connell, and King Clancy joining the team. Under Gorman the Senators became the NHL's first dynasty with three Stanley Cups in four years between 1920 and 1923.

Following the last Stanley Cup, Gorman sold his interest in the club to a group of Ottawa entrepreneurs led by Thomas Ahearn. Gorman returned briefly to the league in 1925 when he purchased the Hamilton Tigers and transferred the franchise to New York where they were known as the Americans.

Gorman left the NHL a second time to focus on his love of horseracing but returned as coach of the Chicago Black Hawks in 1932-33 as a mid-season replacement for Emil Iverson. The next year he added the responsibilities of general manager and helped guide the Hawks to their first Stanley Cup championship in 1934. He left the Windy City for Montreal prior to 1934-35 season to serve as coach and general manager of the Maroons where he earned his fifth Stanley Cup title. Never a quitter, Gorman stuck with the Maroons while they struggled through the Depression and eventually folded in 1938.

In hockey circles, Tom Gorman’s name is synonymous with success. Blessed with tremendous instincts, Gorman was above all else, a visionary. While he never played the game himself, he nevertheless etched his name on the Stanley Cup seven times as either a head coach or general manager.

When he joined the Canadiens in 1940, Gorman possessed a hockey resume which already spoke for itself. He had four Stanley Cups to his credit, including a pair earned behind the bench with the Ottawa Senators in 1920 and 1923, one with Chicago in 1934, and another with the Montreal Maroons in 1935. The latter pair of championships made him the only coach in league history to win consecutive Cups with different teams.

Ottawa:

9.10.1924 - The Calgary Daily Herald:

Pete Green to Coach Ottawa Hockey Club

Peter "Doc" Green, so long familiar as Ottawa's famous athletic coach, will be back in his old role again. Ottawa's management announced that Petie had been signed on to coach the Senators this coming winter.

...

Last year Petie was not with the Senators, the coaching duties being divided between Eddie Gerard and Tommy Gorman.

23.1.1931 - Ottawa Citizen:

There is a prospective purchaser for the Ottawa Hockey Club ready to go into action. Tommy Gorman, former owner of the Senators, who piloted the team to two of the greatest championships in the history of professional hockey, when he invaded Pacific coast territory and landed titles in 1921 and again in 1923, had advised the Citizen that he will consider the purchase of the local club "at a reasonable figure."

New York:

New York Americans 1927-28: 11-27-6 // 63 GF; 128 GA - manager Shorty Green

New York Americans 1928-29: 19-13-12 // 53 GF; 53 GA - best winning % in franchise history - manager Tommy Gorman

11.1.1929 - The Montreal Gazette:

New York Crowds Want More Goals

That old hockey cry of "more goals" has broken out in New York with renewed force within the last few days, due in part to the almost goalless contests staged between two of the league's bitterest rivals, the New York Rangers and the New York Americans.

...

On the other hand, Lester Patrick, manager of the Rangers, believes that the present rules do not need any revision. He claims that his team have done a fair amount of scoring in most of their league games, and that the only reason they do not cage the puck more against their intra-city rivals is because the A's present an air-tight defensive system, which is almost as effective as the famed "kitty-bar-the-door" style of game perfected some years ago.

20.3.1929 - The Morning Leader:

The Rangers tried some of their patented passing combinations, but the Gorman squad blocked everything offered. The latter did not do much on their own account, leaving two men at the blue line on every thrust.

9.7.1929 - The Montreal Gazette:

Gorman, in announcing his resignation today, said he had been appointed assistant general manager of the new Agua Calientes race track in Mexico. He will retain his post as secretary of the Connaught Park Jockey Club. The irrepressible Tommy has been an outstanding figure in hockey for years. He was part owner and manager of the Ottawa Senators before going to New York and turned out several championship teams. Gorman is given a great amount of credit for the showing made by the Americans last year, when he made a mediocre team into a championship contender.

Chicago:

1932-33 Chicago Blackhawks: 16-20-12 // 88 GF; 101 GA - managers Emil Iverson, Godfrey Matheson, Tommy Gorman

1933-34 Chicago Blackhawks: 20-17-11 // 88 GF; 83 GA - Stanley Cup Champions - manager Tommy Gorman

5.4.1934 - St. Petersburg Times:

Chicago's bird of prey, the Black Hawks, were in full flight toward a world's title tonight as they routed Detroit's faltering Red Wings 4 to 1 in their Stanley Cup series. Chicago scored in the opening period and then added three goals in the final frame as the Wings desperately attempted to draw up on even terms with their opponents.

The Hawks exhibited a great defense, in which Chuck Gardiner was a shining figure, to take their second straight game from the Red Wings on Detroit ice.

...

Only in the first period did the Wings look like equals of Tommy Gorman's hard skating, vicious checking club, and that period ended with Chicago in the lead.

11.4.1934 - The Ottawa Citizen:

To Tommy Gorman and his Blackhawks must go unlimited credit. They were not rated prospective Stanley Cup winners before the playoffs started on March 22 last. But, they marched through all opposition to the finals, won two games on Detroit ice and the necessary one of two played in Chicago.

When Gorman took charge of the Hawks late last season, they weren't much, but by judicious re-building, he moulded them into a Stanley Cup winning team in one season.

Jack Adams and his Red Wings are also entitled to great credit. Like the Hawks, the Wings were "outsiders" in opinion of the experts, yet they won the National Hockey League championship and were worthy opponents for the new world champions in the Stanley Cup series.

21.4.1934 - Ottawa Citizen:

Pilot of Stanley Cup Holders Reported Going to Forum Post

The resignation of Tommy Gorman from the Chicago Blackhawks will be staggering news in some quarters as similar action has never before been known in major hockey. The former part-owner and manager of the Ottawa Senators entered the "miracle man" class in sport when he transformed the tail-end Blackhawks of the previous season into world champions.

Chicago sports writers lauded the Hawks' manager to the skies and justly so, as no other manager of a big time hockey club had ever been so successful. Tommy Gorman piloted the team that brought the old cup, which represents the world's hockey championship, to Chicago for the first time. That alone would make him popular in the second largest city in the United States, but his pleasing personality made him an idol with Chicago hockey fans.

Chicago will part with Tommy Gorman with reluctance.

Montreal:

1933-34 Montreal Maroons: 19-18-11 // 117 GF; 122 GA - manager Eddie Gerard

1934-35 Montreal Maroons: 24-19-5 // 123 GF; 92 GA - Stanley Cup Champions - manager Tommy Gorman

28.3.1935 - The Saskatoon Star-Phoenix:

Tommy Gorman, coach of the Montreal Maroons in the National Hockey League, is up to his old tricks again in registering upsets. Last season Gorman piloted the Chicago Black Hawks to the Stanley Cup and by the irony of fate the same man turned right around Tuesday night and eliminated his old team from the picture while guiding the destinies of Montreal Maroons.

Gorman seems to be the spirit that has been needed in the ranks of the Maroons for several years. A born leader, he has the knack of getting the best out of the players at his disposal, while at the same time figuring out a system to stop opposing teams. If he should pilot the Maroons to the championship it would be a great feather in the cap of the astute manager of the Montreal club.

30.3.1935 - The Border Cities Star:

Patrick had praise for Maroons showing in the first game. "It was one of the best playoff games in memory," was the way the coach of the Canadian Press all-star team described the efforts of Tommy Gorman's squad. "In a short series a team has to make the most of all opportunities," he said, "and that was what Maroons did." He was referring to the stout back checking and sturdy defense which consolidated Maroons' lead, established through goals by left wingers Herb Cain and Baldy Northcott.

Confidently, but warned against overconfidence, Maroons were ready for the contest, Gorman reported.

8.4.1935 - Ottawa Citizen:

Montrealers Score Second Win in Final Stanley Cup Series

Thomas P. Gorman, king of optimists, painter of dreams that come true, whooped "three straight for us" tonight, and his obedient Montreal Maroons promised to make this extraordinary Stanley Cup series as short and painless as possible for Conny Smythe's Toronto Maple Leafs.

To the great consternation of a thrilled crowd of 14,147 last night, Maroons accomplished three bits of spectacular sniping to overthrow the aroused champions of the National Hockey League, 3-1, and reach a point only one win distant from the most prized bauble in the hockey world.

They won the first of the best-of-five series Thursday night here, 3-2, in overtime, largely because of defensive perfection. They made it two straight, in spite of being shaken for two periods by crackling Toronto artillery that every minute threatened to blast the Redmen from the rink entirely.

Maroons Have Edge

The chuckling Gorman, the mastermind behind Montreal's drive, took his Maroons back home after the triumph with the hope that the series would be all over Tuesday night. If a fourth game is necessary, it will be played on Montreal ice also. The Leafs must square the series by winning both games away from home, if a fifth is to be played back here.

4.10.1935 - The Day:

Triumph for Gorman

For Thomas Patrick Gorman, the canny coach who rebuilt the Maroons this season, it was a personal triumph. He coached Chicago to a Stanley Cup triumph last year then shifted to Montreal to teach a notoriously weak defensive team his system of "fore checking" and back checking that carried them to a world's championship.

27.11.1935 - The Rochester Journal

It seems to bring a special sort of pleasure to Tommy Gorman, the man of a few million words who coached the Chicago Blackhawks to a Stanley Cup triumph two years ago, then won the same trophy last season with the Montreal Maroons, to prove that his system of hockey is a little better than any other.

Since Gorman left Chicago, the Blackhawks have abandoned the tight "fore checking" system he taught and done pretty well in the National Hockey League with a more open style.

13.12.1935 - The Saskatoon Star-Phoenix:

Reign of Forechecking and Sponsor Unbroken

The reign of forechecking and its chief sponsor, Thomas Patrick Gorman, extended through 1935 in the National Hockey League, although the former Ottawa newspaperman changed his place of abode, took charge of a complete new set of players and faced one of the strongest hockey teams in the world, Toronto Maple Leafs.

Gorman accomplished this spring with Montreal Maroons exactly what he accomplished the previous year with Chicago Black Hawks. He kept the Stanley Cup at his elbow and became professional hockey's most successful administrator. Those critics who said Gorman wasn't a great manager were made to eat their words.

In a campaign that brought some of the most sensational developments in years, some of the best individual feats and a dramatic coup by Maroons at the finish, Gorman was always in the midst of the fight. Sometimes he was merely talking for the fun of it, and these funny sayings made interesting reading along in April when they had all come true.

Gorman was merely talking, they said, on January 1 when he predicted his Redmen would win the Stanley Cup and probably beat the Maple Leafs in the final. Toronto's Charlie Conacher was on the way to his second straight scoring championship at the time and the Leafs didn't look as though they ever would be beaten. Eddie Shore, staging a great comeback after his collapse following the Ace Bailey accident in the late 1933, had Boston Bruins moving steadily ahead.

Detroit Red Wings looked powerful, Clem Loughlin was scoring a success with the Chicago club and no one was counting out New York Rangers. That was in January 1, 1935. By April, Gorman's Maroons had won second place in the Canadian section and polished off the Black Hawks and Rangers. They were ready for the big test.

The Leafs had won the Canadian section and beaten Shore and the Bruins in four grueling games for the NHL title. To the astonishment of the hockey world, they were then humbled in three straight by Maroons in the classic Stanley Cup series. That is how Gorman consolidated his position of head man.

11.1.1937 - The Montreal Gazette:

Line-Switching Joust By Gorman and Patrick

The Messrs. Thomas P. Gorman and Lester Patrick, just to show how hockey masterminds go about their business, switched their lines so fast and furiously just after play began in Saturday night's Maroon-Ranger game at the Forum, that the action was delayed a good four or five minutes.

After a minute of play, Gorman sent out his Red Line, Patrick left his starting line of Watson, K and M out there, so Gorman decided he would put his starting Green Line back on the ice. In answer to this move, Patrick sent out his Boucher-Dillon-L trio. So Gorman again sent out his Green Line, whereupon Patrick...and so on and so on.

The referees tooted their whistles futilely until Maroons finally yielded and left the Red Line out there against Watson, K and M. Three forward lines of each club saw action before the game was two minutes old.

Development of Modern Forechecking:

13.4.1934 - The Telegraph:

Forechecking, a new development in professional hockey, instead of the usual rushes and back-checking won the Stanley Cup for the Chicago Blackhawks according to Manager Tommy Gorman. The radical idea developed in the last six weeks of the season, will be generally used throughout the National Hockey League before the end of another season, he added.

The idea of "forechecking", he explained, is to bottle up the opposing forwards in their own defensive zone. Our system consisted of the center and wings doing right down into the opponents' territory while our defense men moved over our own blue line. The Canadiens gave us more trouble than any of the other clubs because of the speed of Howie Morenz and the great stickhandling of Aurel Joliat.

13.4.1934 - The Border Cities Star:

"Forechecking" Becomes Latest Hockey Style
Tommy Gorman Discusses Success of System

Forechecking, a new development in professional hockey, won the Stanley Cup and world championship for Chicago, Tommy Gorman, manager of the victorious Black Hawks, explained today. Before leaving for his Ottawa home, Gorman told about the system he believes will be generally used by National League teams next season.

The Hawks, he said, used a revolutionary idea for the last six weeks of the season and in downing Montreal Canadiens, Maroons and Detroit Red Wings in the playoffs. Perhaps it explains why the Hawks had more shots on goal than their foes and yet played near-perfect defensive hockey.

"True, our backchecking was great," said Gorman, "but it was our forechecking that downed all our rivals. About five weeks ago, just prior to playing the Rangers in New York, we conceived the idea of bottling up the opposing forwards - not letting them our of their own zone.

"We studied and developed a system which consisted of the centre and wings going right down into their opponents' territory while our defensemen moved over our own blue line. Canadiens gave us more trouble than any of the other clubs because of the terrific speed of Morenz and the great stickhandling of Joliat and Gagnon.

"In Montreal, in the first game of our series against Maroons Johnny Gottselig scored the first goal for us in less than a minute when he dashed in and stole the puck off the goaltender's pads. We carried the play right to them and scored in 40 seconds.

"In the third period, when they expected us to lay back, having obtained a lead of one goal, we again gave Maroons the works and scored twice in less than two minutes. When Maroons returned here we tallied the opening goal in 25 seconds. Against Detroit, we carried out the same system with equal success. We scored on them in 28 seconds in last Sunday's battle here and would have made it three straight if Chuck Gardiner had been himself.

"Jack Adams was the first of the opposing managers to see through our new system. He tried to beat it by having the defensemen trap the puck and then whip it over to their forwards at the blue line. In Sunday's game it looked as though Jack had us bewildered, but our forwards kept on going in and the Red Wings could never get organized.

"The forechecking of the Black Hawks in Tuesday's game won the championship. Weiland, Lewis, Aurie and other Detroit forwards were completely baffled. Lewis became so disgusted on one occasion that he golfed the puck down the ice. Goodfellow could never get going as MacFayden followed in like a leech and kept poking the puck off his stick.

"It was necessary to change our attack every minute or so, but all three lines stood up wonderfully well. In each playoff series we steam-rollered our opponents and wore them down. Instead of backing out of the enemy zone, the Black Hawks kept charging in. The system worked much better than we expected.

"Here are examples of what our prowling forwards did in close. Thompson's winning goal in the first overtime game at Detroit was scored after Romnes had poked the puck off Teddy Graham's stick. In the instance of March's winning goal here, our defensemen moved up and refused to let Detroit get the puck out of their own territory.

"Conacher finally trapped it behind the Red Wings' net and then March held it against the boards. Both Coulter and Conacher moved up and when Romnes drew the puck from Weiland, he had three men to pass to. Goodfellow was off at the time and March was uncovered. Then followed his winning shot."

Gorman, who built the Hawks into a championship outfit in one season, said he expected every club in the NHL would employ some variation of forechecking next season. "They will have to," he said, "just as they had to follow suit when Major McLaughlin, owner of the Hawks, introduced his three forward lines four years ago."

17.4.1934 - The Saskatoon Star-Phoenix:

While Joliat was the pick of the sports writers he was not without competition. Big Lionel Conacher, defensive bulwark of the Hawks, around whose bulky figure Tommy Gorman built up the strategy which resulted in the Stanley Cup going to the Western United States city for the first time in history, ran Aurel a close race.

Adoption of System and Resulting Rules Changes

21.3.1936 - The Windsor Daily Star:

Both Sudbury goals came on ganging plays. They sent five men on the attack and kept play in the Hamilton defense zone for minutes at a time.

21.3.1938 - The Calgary Daily Herald:

Cecil Duncan, president of the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association, last night gave out a decision regarding the rule about "icing" the puck in amateur hockey. The rule has been enforced to date this season with a view to preventing a team from deliberately delaying the game, play being stopped and the puck brought back and faced-off in the defending team's zone when a shot from that zone has crossed the second blue line.

11.11.1938 - The Montreal Gazette:

Toronto's Maple Leafs, noted for their penchant for an incessant attack, did an about-face last night at the Forum and resorted to strictly defensive hockey. The strategy was immediately successful because it enabled the Leafs to shut out Canadiens, 2-0, but it failed to provide a crowd of 7,000 with much in the way of spectacle.

...

Thomas Patrick Gorman, the Forum's manager who this year looks on at hockey as merely another spectator, must have had his eyes opened by the Leafs' display of a defensive system he evolved at Chicago in 1933-34 which helped the Black Hawks win their first Stanley Cup, said system being forechecking. For the Torontonians gave a remarkably effective demonstration of this type of play bs repeatedly, at Canadiens' blue line and in the centre-ice area, before they were well started.

...

The Leafs, despite their defensive attitude, had more good chances than the Habitants, because they broke faster, but they managed to capitalize on only two of them. Busher Jackson, skating as smoothly and as fast as ever on left wing, started the play for the initial goal. He went in on the left after a loose puck and passed to Gus Marker, the ex-Maroon on right wing. Marker bumped into Thoms on the play, touched the puck, but Thoms grabbed it and drove an off-chance backhander at Wilf Cude. Cude kicked at the low shot and missed, and the puck entered the net on the short side.

11.3.1941 - Ottawa Citizen:

NHL May Try It

Irvin predicted here two weeks ago that National League teams soon would adopt the two-goalie system and said Canadiens might put the idea into force before the end of the season. Smith said Rovers will experiment with two netminders here next Sunday in a league game against Atlantic City and "we're also going to experiment with only one blue line - at center ice - in an effort to cut down offsides and bring the rules in alignment with the modern, faster play, with its ganging attacks."

"I think that if the new rules are adopted, we'll certainly need two goalies."

The only time an attacking player will be offside is when he steps over the center blue line ahead of the puck. At the same time, it is planned to place linesmen on ladders as tennis umpires at the net - at the side of the rink at center instead of skating with the play.

...

Speaking of the "one blue line" experiment, Tom Lockhart, league president, said:

"Every team is putting on ganging plays, so why not give them a larger area to work in. We believe that by doing so we'll be cutting down offsides and speeding up the game. Maybe other leagues, including the pros, will benefit by our experiments. Anyway, we'll give it a trial with a view to adopting the rules for next season."

Just for reference, this is what hockey looked like in 1933, shortly before forechecking came into the game:

 

[Pominville Knows]

Max Bentley

Position: C ▪ Shoots: Left
Height: 5-10 ▪ Weight: 155 lbs.
Born: March 1, 1920 in Delisle, Saskatchewan
Hall of Fame: 1966

Hart Memorial Trophy 1946
Art Ross Trophy 1946, 1947
1st All-Star Team 1946
2nd All-Star Team 1947
Lady Byng: 1943

Top 10 in goals seven times: 2, 4, 5, 8, 9, 9, 10
Top 10 in assists five times: 2, 2, 2, 3, 9
Top 10 in points five times: 1, 1, 3, 3, 5

Three time Stanley Cup champion.
Led the play-offs in assists twice and points once.

Known as the "Dipsy-Doodle Dandy from Delisle" because of his fancy skating and superb stickhandling.

Max became famous for his drive to the net, his aggressive play to score and the fact that he was constantly in motion. He never stopped skating and had as many moves in his day, contemporaries would later say, as Wayne Gretzky did during his era.

Max won the 1946-47 scoring championship on the last day of the season--his second consecutive scoring title. Going into the game against New York, he was one point ahead of Rocket Richard, whose Canadiens were playing Boston.

When he retired, he had scored 245 goals and was second among active players only to Maurice Richard.

 

[Pominville Knows]

Claude Percy Lemieux

Position: RW ▪ Shoots: Right
Height: 6-1 ▪ Weight: 215 lbs.
Born: July 16, 1965 in Buckingham, Quebec

• Four time Stanley Cup Champion, with three different teams.
• Conn Smythe Trophy 1995
• Top 10 in regular season game-winning goals three times: 3, 3, 4
• Led Stanley Cup playoffs in goals two times, and had a third year also with at least 10 goals.
• 80 career playoff goals where 60 came on even-strenght.
• 158 career playoff points in 234 games.
• 19 career playoff game winning goals.
• Played in the 1987 Canada Cup, 1987 Rendez-Vous and the 1996 World Cup of Hockey.

Claude Lemieux is one of the peskiest players in NHL history. Some people would say he is one of the dirtiest. He antagonizes the opposition like no other player can. He will do anything to get the opposition off of its game and often draws retaliatory penalties. Then he uses his offensive instincts to bury the other team by netting a big goal to help win the game.

"I love playoffs. You know what its like when teams play back-to-back games in the regular season, there's usually a lot of intensity and bad feelings grow. In the playoffs it is even more intense," said Lemieux. "The physical side of the game really became more important and I think that is where I have been able to give my team an edge."

 

[Pominville Knows]

Guy Carbonneau

Position: C ▪ Shoots: Right
Height: 5-11 ▪ Weight: 186 lbs.
Born: March 18, 1960 in Sept-Iles, Quebec

• Three time Stanley Cup Champion
• Frank J. Selke Trophy 1988, 1989, 1992
  
• Top 10 in short handed goals three times: 2, 3, 7
• 14th all time in career regular season short handed goals
• 260 goals and 663 points in 1318 career regular season games
• 38 goals and 93 points in 231 career playoff games

Guy Carbonneau became the standard of defensive excellence in the post Bob Gainey/Doug Jarvis era. The premier defensive shadow in the age of high scoring stars such as Gretzky, Yzerman and Lemieux, Carbonneau was a masterful face-off specialist and a superb shot blocker. And he excelled while his team was shorthanded. An incredible penalty killer, Carbonneau was always out against the other team's power plays, especially in the dreaded 5-on-3 penalty kills.

While he was not in the same class as the superstars of his era, Guy Carbonneau will always be mentioned in the same sentence as the Gretzkys, Lemieuxs, Yzermans and Hulls - as the man who shut them down.

 

[Pominville Knows]

Bobby Schmautz

Position: RW ▪ Shoots: Right
Height: 5-9 ▪ Weight: 172 lbs.
Born: March 28, 1945 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

• Played in the 1973 and 1974 NHL All-Star Games
• 271 goals, 286 assists for 557 points in 764 career regular season games
• Only 57 of the goals came on the Power-Play, 80 of the assists
• During his six year peak period he had 170 goals and 185 assists for 355 points in 395 games
• Led the Stanley Cup playoffs in goals in 1977
• Had 28 goals and 61 points in 84 career play-off games

In 1974, Schmautz was acquired by the Boston Bruins to add some scoring punch up front. Under coach Don Cherry, the little spark plug became a favourite for his ability to shoot, check and play tough.

But, Schmautz was most noticed in Boston for his canon-like, high rising head hunter of a slap shot. Schmautz had an absolute canon. Unfortunately, Schmautz had absolutely no idea where it was headed once it left his stick. Goaltenders and Gallery Gods alike prepared to duck any time Schmautz wound to shoot. I once saw Schmautz take a shot from the offensive blue line which went straight up into the balcony without touching anything in between. The “Len Barker” of slapshots. On another occasion, I saw Tony Esposito duck to avoid an incoming Schmautz missile, which hit the crossbar and went into the stands.

 

[bluesfan94]

Dave Andreychuk
"Chuckie"
9/29/63 -
Position: Left Wing/Center
Height: 6'4"
Weight: 220 lbs
Hand: Right

Played For:
Buffalo Sabres (1982-93, 2000-01)
Toronto Maple Leafs (1993-96)
New Jersey Devils (1996-1999)
Boston Bruins (1999-2000)
Colorado Avalanche (2000)
Tampa Bay Lightning (2001-06)

Statistics
Regular Season:

Playoffs:

Transaction History:
1991- Traded with Daren Puppa and 1st Round pick from Buffalo to Toronto in exchange for Grant Fuhr and 5th Round pick
1996- Traded from Toronto to New Jersey in exchange for 2nd and 3rd Round picks.
2000- Traded with Ray Bourque from Boston to Colorado for Brian Rolston, Martin Grenier, Samuel Pahlsson and a 1st Round pick

Yearly Rankings:
Regular Season:
Points: 9th
Goals: 4th, 9th
Power Play Goals: 1st, 1st, 6th, 6th, 7th, 9th
Short-Handed Goals: 2nd

Playoffs:
Points: 8th
Goals: 3rd
Power Play Goals: T-4th,

Career Rankings:
Regular Season:
Goals: 14th (640)
Points: 28th (1338)
Assists: 51st (698)
Power Play Goals: 1st (274)

VsX Scores
1982-83:
1983-84:
1984-85:
1985-86:
1986-87:
1987-88:
1988-89:
1989-90:
1990-91:
1991-92:
1992-93:
1993-94:
1994-95:
1995-96:
1996-97:
1997-98:
1998-99:
1999-00:
2000-01:
2001-02:
2002-03:
2003-04:
2005-06:

Records:
Most power play goals of all time
Oldest Player to make Stanley Cup Finals debut
2nd and t-9th most power play goals in a single season.
6th most games played
3rd leading scorer in Buffalo Sabres history (behind Perreault and Martin)
Set single season assists record for Buffalo Sabres left wingers with 51 in 1985-86
Holds Buffalo Sabres records for most goals in a game, most power play goals in a game, most power play goals in a career, most power play goals in a season, most assists for a left winger, most points by a left winger

Awards:
Stanley Cup Champion: 2004
All-Star Game Participant 1990, 1994

Voting Records:
All-Star
1988: t-14th
1990: 4th
1991: 7th
1992: t-4th
1993: 3rd Behind Luc Robitaille and Kevin Stevens
1994: 3rd Behind Brendan Shanahan and Adam Graves
2003: 15th

Lady Byng
1992: t-11th
1993: 11th
2004: t-20th

Selke
1997: 11th
2004: t-49th

Honors:
Member of Sabres Hall of Fame

Miscellaneous:
Scored a goal in his first NHL game
​

Quotes:
Sabreslegends.com

Dave Andreychuk is probably the most underrated player in Sabres history.
...
In 1983-84, his first full year with the Sabres, Andreychuk established himself as a legitimate scoring threat at the NHL level, filling the void left in the Sabres' arsenal when Tony McKegney was traded to the Quebec Nordiques in the off-season.

 

[TheDevilMadeMe]

C Ken Mosdell

Multiple Stanley Cups as the Canadiens' primary checking center and penalty killer. And when he was allowed to play offense when Elmer Lach was hurt, he was good enough to be a First and Second Team All Star in consecutive seasons. He's the perfect checking line center for an offensive-minded team - willing to sacrifice his offense to focus on defense, but capable offensively should the need arise.

• Four Stanley Cups (1946, 53, 56, 59)
• Top 20 in goals: 7th in 53-54, 10th in 54-55
• Top 20 in assists: 16th in 53-54, 11th in 54-55
• Top 20 in points: 10th in 53-54, 8th in 54-55
• First Team All-Star (at center) in 53-54
• Second Team All-Star (at center) in 54-55
• 5 NHL All-Star Games (1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955). 4 of the 5 were based on merit.
• 6'1" in the 1950s (unadjusted)

One of the NHL's top defensive specialists in the 1940s and 1950s was Montreal born Ken Mosdell.

Kenny Mosdell, a four time Stanley Cup champion with the Canadiens, saw big ice time as the Habs #1 shutdown guy. Mosdell would get the call every time the opposing team sent its No. 1 line into action. If it was Boston, he'd be out there against Milt Schmidt; if it was Detroit, he'd be checking Sid Abel of the Production Line, which had Gordie Howe and Ted Lindsay as the wingers; if it was Toronto, No. 18 Mosdell would be all over the Leafs' Syl Apps.

And he'd be on every penalty kill, which back in those days did not end when the opposition scored a goal. On a two-minute penalty, the specialty team units were out there for the duration and the opposition could score as many times as possible before the penalty ended.

Though he was a scorer in the junior ranks,Mosdell's tireless skating, along with his poke- checking and stick-handling abilities, convinced coach Dick Irvin he was more valuable as a puck-control defender.
...

He did more than play solid defence. In an era when 20 goals was a solid contribution, he had back-to-back 22-goal seasons in 1953-54 and 1954-55. He really benefit from Elmer Lach's chronic injuries. When Lach was hurt, Mosdell assumed the top center spot playing with Rocket Richard and Bert Olmstead. When Lach was back on the ice, Mosdell returned to his defensive concentrations, never once complaining.

When he did earn a regular role with the Canadiens, the wiry center became known for his penalty-killing and defensive work. "They only let me play offense twice when Elmer Lach was hurt," Mosdell said of his role with the team. His solid play helped anchor Montreal for another Stanley Cup victory in 1953.

Mosdell's offensive game blossomed beginning in the 1953-54 season. He collected 100 points over the next two years, ending both years with career highs of 22 goals. In 1954 he was named to the league's First All-Star Team. He proved to be an apt selection as he briefly rallied the Habs in the Stanley Cup finals against Detroit after the Canadiens fell behind 3-1 in games. Mosdell scored the overtime winner in the fifth game, a 1-0 thriller at the Forum, and helped his squad force a seventh and deciding game with a 4-1 win in game six. The rally was cut short in overtime of that game, however, when the Red Wings' XXX bounced in a fluke shot to capture the Cup for Detroit.

Mosdell was named to the NHL's Second All-Star Team in 1955 and captured his third and final Stanley Cup title in 1956. That summer he was sold to the Chicago Black Hawks with Eddie Mazur and Bud Macpherson for $55,000. He spent 25 games with Chicago before returning to the Canadiens. Although he was moving back to Montreal, he spent most of the next three years in the minors. He played his final two games with the Canadiens in 1958-59, replacing the injured Jean Beliveau in the playoffs.

The rangy, 6-foot-1, 170-pound center brought both speed and toughness to the rink every day. On a team where the Punch Line regularly topped the NHL scoring lists, Mosdell’s talents were put to use in a defensive role.

He appeared in 31 games in 1944-45, but only 13 the following regular season. Mosdell scored four goals and added an assist in nine playoff games in 1945-46, helping the Habs to the Stanley Cup and serving notice that he intended to be a lasting force in the league.

For the next 10 seasons, Mosdell was a fixture in the Habs’ lineup. A determined backchecker and more than capable of using his body, Mosdell was an important cog in the Habs’ machine of the late 1940s and early 1950s.

Hoping that Mosdell’s easy-going nature away from the rink might rub off on his tightly-wound superstar, head coach Dick Irvin decided that Mosdell and Maurice Richard might make good roommates. They did, quickly establishing a life-long friendship.

His 1954 "Parkies" hockey card lists him as an all-star centre for the Montreal Canadiens, "starting his 11th season with the Canadiens." In the 1953-1954 season, he was 6'1", 170 lbs. "Shoots left". In that season, he played 67 games and had 22 goals and 24 assists. He was also a "top notch defensive player and has been used many times in penalty=killing roles..."

Montreal Canadiens kept him on the payroll (prior to now) because they could always count on him as one of the best defensive centers in the big time.

Calgary Herald, Jan 16, 1954

Mosdell wasn't flashy most of the time, but was apparently really good on breakaways:

Except in the breakaway department, he is a plodder, seldom flashin - the type who works extra shifts when there's a penalty to kill or a hot scorer on the other team who needs cooling. He's the type who gives the pass for the big goal.

Ottawa Citizen, Feb 10, 1955

(Mosdell was) a great competitor with a perfect temperment for hockey.

He was a good strong skater and very good at moving with the puck. He was also very tricky and had a great shift. He gave goalies fits on breakaways.

Montreal Gazette, Feb 5, 1986

Mosdell's season as a 1st Team All Star:

Few were aware that our team was in trouble early this season, by Moe kept us from falling apart - certainly he was the key reason for our getting ahead of the pack.

Ottawa Citizen, Feb 10, 1955

In 1954-55, the year he was a second team all-star, he was third in the league in even-strength points with 46, just 3 behind leader Richard and ahead of Art Ross winner Geoffrion. He can definitely play a defensive role or a scoring role as needed.

Fun Fact:

Mosdell, an English speaking Quebecois, became great friends with Rocket Richard, the iconic symbol of French Quebec. They're families became close, which was no small feat as the Richards did not tend to socialize much. The Mosdells taught the Rocket to speak English.

 

[Sturminator]

Joe Klukay

Position: F
Shoots: L
Height: 6'0"
Weight: 185 lbs.

Stanley Cup champion: 1947, 1948, 1949, 1951 [Toronto]

-------------------------------------------------

Klukay joined the powerful Toronto Maple Leafs in 1946 and promptly learned how to win and be a professional. He and linemate Nick Metz became the league's most effective penalty killing tandem on a team that won through discipline and defence.

A strong skater with an above average understanding of the game, Joe learned from the legendary defensive forward Nick Metz when he was a rookie in Toronto in 1946. The two formed a very effective penalty killing unit, often using an uncommon tactic back in those days - heavy forechecking while short handed.

"We just concocted a system for us," explained the man they dubbed the Duke of Paducah. "It had to be the easiest, the most effective way to go about killing a penalty. You had one guy going in and we'd try to contain them in their own end. It worked for ten years so we couldn't knock it."

Metz took Klukay under his wing and taught his eventual replacement everything he knew. Klukay, who was a very effective forechecker, using his speed to jump in on defensemen and his dogged determination and strength to thump the blueliner and create turnovers, was a very important cog of the Leafs Stanley Cup championships of that era, 4 all together.

-------------------------------------------------

Toronto:

21.10.1946 - The Globe and Mail

Nope, nobody is going to take any liberties with our fit and fighting Leafs this year...These kids aren't going to take so much as a wry smile from anybody without tossing a snarl right back...

Laddie bucks like Meeker, Lynn, Klukay, Watson, Morison stood up right well under scrutiny.

28.10.1946 - The Globe and Mail

Joe Klukay, the Leafs extra forward, is playing so well that he is likely to work himself into a permanent job on one of the three lines before long. There was indication of this toward the end of the game when coach Hap Day benched Gaye Stewart, sending Klukay out to left wing with Gus Budnar and Bud Poile.

...

The combination of Metz, Klukay, Goldham and Boesch, plus the solid netminding of Turk Broda is rapidly becoming the penalty killing team de luxe.

27.12.1946 - The Globe and Mail

The Leafs finally penetrated netminder Bill Durnan's stone wall toward the end of the middle period. The KLM line, with Joe Klukay on left wing, pressed, giving the netminder a busy time. Finally, out of a maze of sticks and bodies, Ted Kennedy banged home a hard shot. Klukay got the assist.

6.11.1947 - The Globe and Mail

A new line will make its National Hockey League debut when Toronto Maple Leafs play Montreal Canadiens in the Quebec metropolis tonight. The line came into being at Maple Leaf Gardens yesterday when two new Leafs out of Chicago, centre Max Bentley and right winger Cy Thomas, were (unreadable) up with left winger Silent Joe Klukay.

The trio worked well in their initial practice. Klukay particularly fitting himself into the attack pattern as though he were accustomed to working with the ex-Hawks. They left a favorable impression with the largest gallery of press and radio observers to watch the Leafs workout in years.

4.12.1947 - New York Times

Joe Klukay of the Leafs' third forward line was the goal-getting star of the game, shooting the disk past Henry twice.

...

Toronto took the lead again in 10:34 when Klukay caged Nick Metz's pass, and in 4:50 of the third when Klukay came through again, with the help of Don Metz.

16.10.1948 - The Globe and Mail

"We had the best shorthanded act in the game last season", the president said, "Now one half of it is gone with the retirement of Nick Metz."

...

Joe Klukay, work horse of the Toronto team, will be available to fill any forward gap and kill off penalties.

20.10.1948 - The Globe and Mail

Joe Klukay continued to look effective at centre between Harry Watson and Bill Ezinicki. Big feature of the practice was the work of the defense which repeatedly broke up attacks before they could get organized.

4.12.1948 - The Globe and Mail

Although Klukay, bothered with an instep injury, missed the Leafs workout yesterday, he will be in uniform this evening. The handyman probably will be back at his old utility role, ready to fill a gap at any forward position on any of the three forward lines, or kill off penalties.

9.4.1951 - The Globe and Mail

So effective was the work of the quick-skating Max Bentley, Joe Klukay and Fleming Mackell that they accounted for three of the Toronto goals, more than enough to move the Leafs into a 3-1 lead in the best of seven semifinal playoff series.

...

The the Leafs, the game finally started 22 seconds before the first intermission. Howie Meeker was serving a tripping penalty when a Boston power play fizzled before it started. Bill Quackenbush's attempted pass up to Milt Schmidt was intercepted by Joe Klukay, and the Soo Sultan promptly converted the theft into a goal.

-------------------------------------------------

Boston:

10.10.1952 - Boston Globe

Klukay gave added strength to the third line. He scored the final goal with two minutes to play. He and the veteran Woody Dumart killed penalties and Kluke demonstrated very effectively one of the reasons he was obtained from Toronto.

10.11.1952 - Boston Globe

After coming here in a much-criticized trade for the promising young defenseman Jim Morrison, Mackell was hampered by a gimpy ankle and had a goshawful time getting started. He eventually found himself in the B's stretch drive for the pennant and in the tight Stanley Cup series against the Canadiens.

He picked right up this year, and as playmaker for what was designated as a "defensive line", Mackell now tops team scorers with six goals, while his colleagues, Joe Klukay and Ed Sandford have three apiece.

1.1.1953 - Boston Globe

While generally dissatisfied with the recent efforts of his team, Patrick singled out Joe Klukay and Pentti Lund for good performance..."Lund played his best games since joining us a year ago last weekend at Toronto and Detroit," Lynn says...Woody "Old Folks" Dumart also came in for commendation for his work as a point on the power play and a penalty killer.

22.1.1953 - Boston Globe

The present conditioning routine is particularly beneficial to some of the younger forwards, Patrick points out.

"Fellows like Milt Schmidt, Bill Quackenbush and Joe Klukay really don't need much of this work," Lynn said. "They are used so much in games, they're down pretty fine. Still, they want to go out there every time we have practice."

30.1.1953 - Boston Globe

A shift in his forward alignments by Coach Lynn Patrick paid some dividends last night and might yield further returns later on. To concentrate his outstanding forwards on one line, Patrick placed Joe Klukay on right wing with Milt Schmidt and Real Chevrils and demoted Leo Labine to a utility role.

12.3.1953 - Boston Globe

Meanwhile, other forwards have been shackled in pronounced slumps, notable among them Real Chevrils who has gone empty-handed in eight games attempting to get his 20th goal. Altogether, the 20 year old left winger has clicked just once in 13 games, his 19th tally coming on a deflection of a Joe Klukay drive at Toronto on Feb 21.

The 30 year old Klukay has been scoreless in 12 games, but he has been doing extra duty as Woody Dumart's partner in a highly effective penalty killing unit.

6.4.1953 - Boston Globe

The Detroit "big guys" who had been shadowed into ghosts of themselves by the Boston "blanket line" (Milt Schmidt, Woody Dumart, Joe Klukay) through almost all of the series, finally struck for one at 13:28.

...

The B's put this one across although they lacked the services of their inspirational Capt. Milt Schmidt most of the night. Early in the game Schmidt fell on his own skate, opening a cut in the upper part of his thigh. Dr. Tom Kelley took three stitches in the gash and Schmidty returned. He had to retire again in the second, though, because one of the stitches had popped open.

While he was absent, however, his colleagues, Dumart and Klukay, continued to give personal escort service to Howe and Lindsay, with Real Chevrils aiding them in notable fashion.

27.12.1953 - Boston Globe

From this series a couple of veterans, 36 year old Woody Dumart, sharpshooting left winger on the former Kraut line, and 30 year old Joe Klukay, emerged as heroes. Their assignments were strictly defensive. They were charged with checking Detroit's superstars, Gordie Howe and Ted Lindsay.

These elderly (for hockey) but still agile gentlemen revived the old song favorite, "Me and My Shadow," as they clung to Howe and Lindsay like flies to fly paper. Mr. Howe and Mr. Lindsay were unable to untrack themselves in the short series while the Bruins, paced offensively by Big Ed Sandford and backed up in goal by a sensational Jim Henry, closed out the series in Boston Garden with a 4-2 win to furnish one of the year's major upsets.

 

[Dreakmur]

Gordie Howe !!!

Incredibly strong and alarmingly abrasive on the ice... Teams give him all the elbow room he needs...

Long regarded as the ideal hockey player - a superb skater, quick shooter, tough, rough, imaginative and excellent team man.

Awards and Achievements:
4 x Stanley Cup Champion (1950, 1952, 1954, 1955)

6 x Hart Trophy Winenr (1952, 1953, 1957, 1958, 1960, 1963)
6 x Art Ross Trophy Winner (1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1957, 1963)

12 x First Team All-Star (1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1957, 1958, 1960, 1963, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1970)
9 x Second Team All-Star (1949, 1950, 1956, 1959, 1961, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1967)


Hart voting - 1st(1952), 1st(1953), 1st(1957), 1st(1958), 1st(1960), 1st(1963), 2nd(1959), 3rd(1951), 3rd(1961), 3rd(1964), 3rd(1965), 3rd(1966), 4th(1954), 4th(1962), 5th(1968), 5th(1969), 6th(1970), 7th(1956), 7th(1967)

All-Star voting - 1st(1951), 1st(1952), 1st(1953), 1st(1954), 1st(1957), 1st(1958), 1st(1960), 1st(1963), 1st(1966), 1st(1968), 1st(1969), 1st(1970), 2nd(1949), 2nd(1950), 2nd(1956), 2nd(1959), 2nd(1961), 2nd(1962), 2nd(1964), 2nd(1965), 2nd(1967), 3rd(1948), 5th(1971)

Offensive Accomplishments:
Points - 1st(1951), 1st(1952), 1st(1953), 1st(1954), 1st(1957), 1st(1963), 2nd(1956), 3rd(1950), 3rd(1962), 3rd(1965), 3rd(1968), 3rd(1969), 4th(1958), 4th(1959), 4th(1967), 5th(1955), 5th(1960), 5th(1961), 5th(1964), 5th(1966), 9th(1970), 14th(1948), 18th(1949)

Goals - 1st(1951), 1st(1952), 1st(1953), 1st(1957), 1st(1963), 2nd(1950), 2nd(1954), 2nd(1956), 2nd(1958), 2nd(1962), 3rd(1965), 3rd(1968), 5th(1955), 5th(1969), 6th(1959), 6th(1964), 7th(1966), 7th(1967), 8th(1960), 13th(1961), 14th(1970), 20th(1948)

Assists - 1st(1951), 1st(1953), 1st(1954), 2nd(1965), 3rd(1952), 3rd(1959), 3rd(1960), 3rd(1961), 3rd(1963), 3rd(1969), 4th(1956), 4th(1957), 4th(1958), 4th(1962), 4th(1964), 4th(1966), 5th(1950), 6th(1967), 7th(1949), 8th(1968), 9th(1948), 9th(1955), 13th(1970)

Play-off Points - 1st(1949), 1st(1952), 1st(1955), 1st(1961), 1st(1963), 1st(1964), 2nd(1956), 4th(1954), 4th(1966), 6th(1951), 8th(1957), 8th(1960), 9th(1953)

Play-off Goals - 1st(1949), 1st(1955), 1st(1964), 2nd(1963), 3rd(1951), 3rd(1961), 4th(1954), 6th(1965), 6th(1966), 7th(1952), 9th(1956), 9th(1957)

Play-off Assists - 1st(1952), 2nd(1955), 2nd(1956), 2nd(1961), 2nd(1963), 2nd(1964), 4th(1953), 4th(1954), 4th(1966), 5th(1960), 7th(1951), 7th(1957), 8th(1949)

Scoring Percentages:
Point - 156(1953), 133(1954), 130(1951), 125(1952), 124(1957), 111(1956), 108(1958), 106(1963), 104(1959), 99(1950), 98(1968), 96(1966), 96(1969), 94(1964), 93(1967), 92(1962), 92(1965), 91(1960), 84(1955), 83(1970), 80(1961), 73(1948), 69(1949), 52(1971)

Best 6 Seasons: 779
Next 6 Seasons: 611
Next 6 Seasons: 558





1958 Coaches Poll:
1st Smartest Player
1st Best Passer and Playmaker
1st Best Puck-Carrier
1st Toughest Player

1965 Coaches Poll:
1st Most Dangerous on a Breakaway
3rd Hardest Shot

1971 Coaches' Poll:
3rd Smartest Player

Howe could do everything and is generally considered the greatest right wing of all time. He was a smooth skater with superb coordination. The fact that he was ambidextrous, amplified the quality of his fine stickhandling and he had a hard accurate shot. He was a big and powerful player and made full use of his tremendous physique. He could fight and did not hesitate to accept the challenges of those who might attempt to rough him. He knew all the tricks of elbow work and sly pokes in the corners. If there was anything he could not do, it has not been recorded.

Gordon Howe is generally considered the greatest right winger of all time, arguably the greatest player - period. Although not the flashy, showboating kind, he was a smooth skater with a superb sense of balance. His easy skating style made him look lazy but he could turn on the jets in the blink of an eye. He was called the best "two-handed stick-handler" since the Chicago Black Hawks' Johnny Gottselig. An ambidextrous player, Howe would often switch hands on a break-away just to throw the opposing goalie into a dither. So good was the Big Guy that Maurice Richard, his arch-rival, once said: "Gordie could do everything." Not exactly an eloquent statement, but the truth nonetheless. In his unparalleled career in hockey, there seemed nothing the great Howe could not do.

The greatest part of Howe's game, however, was physical. He was always one of the strongest players in the NHL and made use of that strength. "His shoulders were thick and rounded," said Jean Beliveau, "and sloped into a huge chest that was all knotted muscle."

As a fighter, he had few equals. Once, after clobbering the New York Rangers' Eddie Shack, he flattened heavyweight Lou Fontinato! Nobody really bothered Howe after that game. He was the most dangerous corner-man in the NHL for most of his career, using heavy elbow- and stick-work to get his way. Many a brash, young rookie had his clock cleaned by a Howe elbow down near the chicken-wire.

....

Off the ice, he was a mild and soft-spoken, the opposite of his on0ice manner. This softness of manner, this "golly-gee" country-boy way, would serve to limit the force of his overall leadership. Otherwise, Gordon Howe was the definition of the term "hockey player".

Bobby Orr, Phil Esposito, and Bobb Hull notwithstanding, the greatest player in modern hockey history is Gordie Howe. He has played more games, scored more goals and more assists, and has done more different things better than anybody the game has ever known.

Unlike Orr, Howe was a star before the NHL diluted its talent by expanding from six to twelve to fourteen to eighteen teams.

Unlike Esposito, Howe was a scoring champion over an extended period of years and starred in three separate and distinct eras: post war years, the high-class fifties, and expansion days.

Unlike Hull, Howe was the complete hockey player - a defensive bulwark as well as an offensive ace, an ambidextrous shooter, and a spiritual team leader.

He isn't called Mister Hockey for nothing. Gordie Howe has been called a number if other things as well. Like the greatest all-around hockey player who ever lived, certainly the most renowned stick handler ever to grace the city of Detroit and possibly the finest athlete ever to play pro in the state of Michigan.

No athlete in any sport has withstood the test of time as well as this Western Canadian, nor has any withstood physical punishment for so long and excelled at such a high level. In that sense, Howe clearly surpasses Wayne Gretzky.

....

Howe was a right wing possessed of extraordinary strength in a body measuring six feet, one inch and 200 pounds, at a time when that was considered huge by league standards. Howe's armament was the most formidable the game has known.

....

It has been said that hockey is a game of mistakes. And when one considers that players employ artificial feet (skates), artificial arms (sticks) and maneuver on an artificial surface (ice), it is not surprising that errors are part of the game's fabric. Yet Howe was a flawless performer in a flawed and often brutal pastime.

....

No matter where Howe skated, his trademark - effortless excellence - made an impression on critics.

A physical hockey player, Howe had few who challenged him on the ice. A man of extraordinary strength and mean disposition when necessary, Howe's reputation was forever solidified when he pounded Ranger tough guy Lou Fontinato in a 1959 fight.

Affectionately known as "Mr. Hockey", Gordie Howe is the most durable and consistent star ever to lace on skates. Not only did he play 26 NHL seasons, he dominated the league for most of that time. In his 23rd season, he reached his highest point total of 103. For 20 consecutive years, he finished among the top-five scorers in the league, and garnered 21 All-Star team selections. In today's game, he would be regarded as a power forward, but his teammates simply called him "The Power".

On the ice, Howe deferred to no one. Detroit general manager Jack Adams had to pull him aside after his first three NHL seasons and point out that he needn't have a punch out with every player in the league. Howe curbed his fighting, which seemed to translate directly into more goals, but he remained one of the nastiest players in the game. He was just subtler about it.

Gordie Howe is referred to as simply "Mr. Hockey". World War II had just ended when he first entered the National Hockey League, and when he played his final NHL season 33 years later, Wayne Gretzky was playing his first. Over those five decades, Howe didn't just survive, he was dominant - on the scoring lists, in battles in the corners, on game-winning goals and when the year-end awards were handed out. He was a big man, though by modern standards no behemoth, but what set him apart was his incredible strength.

Though other superstars could be deemed somewhat better scorers, tougher fighters or faster skaters, no player has approached Gordie Howe's sustained level of excellence. Incredibly, Gordie finished in the top 5 in NHL scoring for 20 straight seasons. To endure and excel, Howe needed a unique set of qualities, both physical and mental, and the foundations for his astonishing career were laid in him from an early age.

The right winger was a giant in his time at 6'1" and 205 lbs. He had the build of a heavyweight boxing champion. And he knew how to fight.

Part of the legend of Gordie Howe is his unmatchable toughness. He had "windshield wiper elbows" and like to give "close shaves" to anyone who dared to challenge. Ask any hockey experts who they'd choose as the toughest NHLer ever, and most would put their money on Gordie Howe against anyone else.

...

Gordie had a nasty habit of never forgetting and always getting even. One hockey legend serves as a fine example of this would have been an exchange with Maple Leaf defenseman Bob Baun. In 1957, Baun knocked Howe down with vicious intent. Howe had to be helped to the bench. 10 seasons later in 1967, Baun was playing for Oakland and was defending Howe on a one-on-one rush. Howe took a shot and the follow through of the stick caught Baun in the throat. Baun was down on the ice bleeding. Howe mercilessly stood over him and said "Now we're even."

While few in the game were tougher than "Mr. Hockey," even fewer were more talented. In his prime in the 1950s and 1960s he was routinely described by coaches as the smartest player, the finest passer, the best playmaker and the most unstoppable puck carrier in the game. Aldo Guidolin, an opponent of Howe back in the early days, understatedly remarked "Gordie plays a funny kind of game; he doesn't let anyone else touch the puck!"

Gordie Howe not only outperformed everybody, but outlasted everybody. Gordie played from 1946 until 1980. In his last season he was a 51 year old grandfather playing with and against players the were old enough to be his son! Howe played 33 seasons in the pros. One with Omaha of the USHL, 26 in the NHL (25 with Detroit) and 6 with the WHA.

Howe had an effortless skating style and deceptive speed, combined with tremendous strength and a powerful shot.

To the players who suffer most from its effects, Howe's cruelty is a thing to be admired rather than dislike. It is, simply, part of his superiority at their game; violence and intimidation are facets of hockey, and Howe is good at all facets of the game. Furthermore, Howe has to be dirty. Because he is so much the outstanding performer on his team, he is - or would be if he allowed it - the most closely checked player in the league: stop Howe and you have stopped Detroit. But a man who holds Howe or clutches him or chirps away at him for an evening's play is not likely to come out of that game unscathed.

Still another aspect of Howe's cruelty, of course, is his strength and ability to fight. Red Storey has said that if Howe had wanted to, he could have been the heavyweight champion of the world. He is without a doubt the neavyweight champion of the NHL... In recent years, Howe hasn't fought very often. He hasn't had to, since not many people want to take him on. But in 1959 he made it clear that he had not relinquished his title by default.

....

Howe's third talent seems, to some, almost supernatural. He appears to anticipate the puck - or his opponent - almost as if the play gravitated towards him by some supernatural force. In fact, it is a result of many qualities: a thorough knowledge of the game, his ability to remain always in control of himself, and his high sense of timing. Hockey at the NHL level is not so much a matter of how you make your move - since little separates the good players from the mediocre in their ability to make it - but when. With his graceful control, Howe can appear to the man checking him to be relaxed, but if that man gives him so much as half a step, Howe will seize on the instant to send or receive a pass or get away a shot. In the same way, he can sense a play developing, and without giving away his plans to the man on his back, move toward the place he knows the puck must come, or shake his check for the brief instant that he will be in the clear. Situations form and disintegrate so rapidly when a hockey game is flowing back and forth at full tilt that a split second's advantage - an "inch" of ice - is all a player of Howe's certainty needs to appear to be all by himself.

Howe fought wo prolifically during the early season that Jack Adams eventually took him aside and said, "We know you can fight, son, but can you play hockey?".

He could.

By the time he was twenty-two, he had shown that he could play as well as anyone.

By twenty-four, he could play better than anyone. He was strong; he was fast, both on his skates and with his hands and stick. He was endlessly inventive with his play-making, and from having spent his boyhood shooting a million pucks a year against the house in Saskatoon, he could fire bull's eyes into any part of the net.

....

Howe exulted in the virulent mess if elbows and high sticks that all but defined play in the corners and crease, he willingly blocked shots from the likes of Bobby Hull...

The curious thing about Howe was that, in spite of his vast talent, he didn't always appear to be doing that much on the ice. His subtlety was such that he could often accomplish in one motion what other players took two or three moves to achieve. If, for instance, he was being checked from the right side, instead of shifting frantically, or whirling, or powering to a stop, he would often simply switch his stick to the other side of his body, change the position of his hand on it, and drill the puck ambidextrously from the left.

....

From day one of his career, Gordie played by a credo that has often been described as "religious hockey" - it is better to give than to receive. And give he did - with the rudest of generosity. Hockey lore shivers with stories of the gruesome punishments he inflicted on opponents who ran afoul of him...

Gordie's vengeance could also be less than immediate in its deployment.

....

It is curious, in the endless myth-making that appends Gordie's career - and to which almost everyone who writes about him seems compelled to contribute - there is generally less attention paid to his trophies and scoring and Stanley Cups than to the more primitive aspects of his game, the fists and elbows and retribution. Gordie himself admits to having less memory of the goals and glories than for the more combative episodes of his life in hockey.

Off the top, Goride Howe. Was there ever another like him? Almost from the moment he joined the Red Wings at age eighteen, it was apparent that he could do everything - skate, shoot, check, stick-handle, kill penalties, and, most important of all, put the puck in the net. He could do this shooting right-handed, his natural side, and left-handed, too, for he was ambidextrous.

Sure you're a little scared, but you admire him for the way he can keep you off. It's your job to stay with him and keep him under control, but unless you keep thinking about it all the time, you're inclined to stay a step or so away from him.

....

He's always at the outer edge of the rule-book anyway.

Despite an even temperament and a real distaste for combat, there is a part of Howe that is calculatingly and primitively savage. He is a punishing artist with a hockey stick, slashing, spearing, tripping and high-sticking his way to a comparative degree of solitude on the ice.

The aura of health is obvious even to those in the stands, but what they go to see is Howe the goal scorer, flicking his huge wrists with a silken strength, a mongoose quickness. Chicago's XXXXX is famous for a slap shot that has been timed at 118.3 mph. Howe's wrist shot—he doesn't waste time winding up—sizzles in at 114.2 mph. It is the game's most accurate shot, and Howe, the only truly ambidextrous NHL player, can score with equal facility from either side of his body. He uses a 21-ounce stick of Canadian ash with only a slight bend in the blade and an extremely stiff handle. "Give Gordie a stick with an ordinary handle," says Trainer Lefty Wilson, "and he'll break it like a toothpick. He is so strong that when he shoots, that handle bends like a banana."

"Nobody could take better care of himself than Gordie does," says Oakland's XXXXXXX, once a Red Wing roommate of Howe's. "He doesn't smoke, and he won't drink anything stronger than beer. He knows exactly what his body needs and he makes sure it gets it. For Gordie it's always the same: go to bed, get up for the team meeting at noon, eat at 2 o'clock, take a walk, then back to bed until time for the bus to the game.

Ultimate Hockey's All-Star Team of the 1950s.
Ultimate Hockey's All-Star Team of the 1960s.

Ultimate Hockey's "Best Fighter" of the 1950s.
Ultimate Hockey's "Best Instincts" of the 1960s.

There are many good players in this league, some truly great ones. In thirteen years, I’ve managed to play against all of them at one time or another. Why then do I pick Gordie as the top?

Well, let me put it this way. In my opinion, Gordie Howe just does things so much better than any other player. On offense, there are few who can come close to him, let alone surpass him. That big guy can do more things with a stick and puck than any man I’ve ever seen. And that shot of his! I’ll tell you, he gets that thing away faster than most people can blink their eyes.

He’s as great a playmaker as he is a scorer, and he’s the second highest scorer in hockey history. Defensively, he’s top too. With that long skating stride of his and his long reach, Gord’s a pretty hard man to get around. He can check with the best of them and his covers don’t score many goals, when he’s on the ice.

Just name me one other team which, like the Red Wings, uses its number one star to kill penalties. Our coach, Jimmy Skinner, often uses Gord in this role, because of his great defensive ability.

....

He seemed to think he had to beat up everyone one at a time.

....

You never know when he's going to slip over in what's dirty. Gordie gets away with more than anyone else in hockey.

There are four strong teams in this league and two weak ones. The weak ones are Boston and New York and the strong ones are Toronto, Chicago, Montreal, and Gordie Howe.

On the other hand, there's Gordie Howe. A great player, but not the sensational type like Hull who's al color. Howe is more steady.

My all-time favorite is Gordie Howe - I thought he was the greatest! It's just amazing what he could do and the stamina he had. He could shoot, he was tough, he could skate, stickhandle, and pass. I don't think he had a failing.

Gordie plays a funny kind of game; he doesn't let anybody else touch the puck!

His shot was uncanny because it would come at the net in so many different ways.

Gordie would simply psych out his enemies.

Gordie has the ability and knack for making the difficult plays look easy, routine.

What's most important to remember is that Gordie was first and foremost a brilliant hockey player, a play-maker, a goal-scorer.

It is like a great golfer. They swing so nice and easy and they make it seem so simple. You try to duplicate that swing and it’s impossible. No one could do it like Mr. Hockey. No matter what it was, he could do it well, whether it was penalty killing, power play or making passes.

He was not only the greatest hockey player I've ever seen, but also the greatest athlete.



....



I watched a lot of good skaters try to catch him from behind and never do it.

I can use the big guy anywhere. At center, on either wing or even on defense if need be. In fact, I believe that if I had to use him on defense, he’d be as good as any defenseman in time. But I’ll tell you the most remarkable thing of all about Gordie. Do you know that, as great and all as he is, Howe will come into the dressing room after he’s had a poor game, which isn’t often, and ask me what he was doing wrong out there. Imagine! Me trying to tell a player of Howe’s unquestioned ability what he’s doing wrong.

When I think about players, I consider three ingredients: the head, heart and the feet. Some players don’t have any of those, and some players have one or two. But Gordie had all three in high dimensions.




I pick Gordie as my #1 all-time player. He played the longest. He was the toughest player of his era. He was the best offensive player and defensively he was used in all situations. He could play center, right wing, and defense. He could shoot right and he could shoot left. If you could make a mold for a hockey player it would be him. I never thought there was another player close to him.

WHA Awards and Accomplishments:
2 x Avco Cup Champion (1974, 1975)

Gary L. Davidson Award Winner (1974)

2 x First Team All-Star (1974, 1975)

WHA Points - 3rd(1974), 8th(1975), 9th(1976), 9th(1978)
WHA Goals - 17th(1978), 19th(1974)
WHA Assists - 2nd(1974), 6th(1975), 7th(1976), 7th(1978)

WHA Play-off Points - 3rd(1975), 5th(1974)
WHA Play-off Goals - 5th(1975), 9th(1978)
WHA Play-off Assists - 1st(1974), 4th(1975), 9th(1976)​

 

[Dreakmur]

Eddie Shore !!!


Awards and Achievements:
Stanley Cup Champion (1929, 1939)

4 x Hart Trophy Winner (1933, 1935, 1936, 1938)

7 x First Team All-Star (1931, 1932, 1933, 1935, 1936, 1938, 1939)
Second Team All-Star (1934)

WHL First Team All-Star (1926)

2 x GM Voted First Team All-Star (1928, 1929)


Hart voting - 1st(1933), 1st(1935), 1st(1936), 1st(1938), 2nd(1931), 3rd(1928), 3rd(1929), 5th(1939)

All-Star voting - 1st(1931), 1st(1932), 1st(1933), 1st(1935), 1st(1936), 1st(1938), 1st(1939), 4th(1934)

Offensive Accomplishments:
Points - 10th(1929), 10th(1933), 13th(1931), 20th(1928)
Goals - 13th(1929), 20th(1931)
Assists - 2nd(1933), 5th(1935), 9th(1931), 12th(1930), 14th(1929), 17th(1928), 17th(1936), 18th(1927)

Points among Defensemen - 1st(1928), 1st(1929), 1st(1931), 1st(1932), 1st(1933), 1st(1935), 2nd(1927), 2nd(1930), 2nd(1936), 5th(1939), 6th(1938), 8th(1934)
Goals among Defensemen - 1st(1928), 1st(1931), 2nd(1927), 2nd(1929), 2nd(1933), 2nd(1935), 3rd(1930), 5th(1932), 5th(2939)
Assists among Defensemen - 1st(1929), 1st(1931), 1st(1932), 1st(1933), 1st(1935), 1st(1936), 2nd(1930), 3rd(1927), 3rd(1928), 3rd(1938), 4th(1939), 5th(1934)

Play-off Points - 4th(1929), 8th(1927)
Play-off Goals - 6th(1929), 8th(1927)
Play-off Assists - 3rd(1929), 5th(1927), 6th(1939)

Play-off Points among Defensemen - 1st(1927), 1st(1929), 1st(1939), 2nd(1931), 3rd(1935)
Play-off Goals among Defensemen - 1st(1927), 1st(1929), 1st(1931), 2nd(1933), 3rd(1930)
Play-off Assists among Defensemen - 1st(1927), 1st(1929), 1st(1939), 3rd(1940)

Scoring Percentages:
Points - 127(1929), 127(1935), 125(1933), 124(1931), 100(1927), 100(1928), 100(1930), 100(1932), 100(1936), 77(1938), 69(1939), 53(1934)

Best 6 Seasons: 703
Next 6 Seasons: 495


5-Year Peak: 1931-1935
1st in Points, 117% of King Clancy
2nd in Goals, 89% of King Clancy
1st in Assists, 135% of King Clancy

10-Year Peak: 1930-1939
1st in Points, 131% of King Clancy
2nd in Goals, 96% of King Clancy
1st in Assists, 154% of King Clancy

By every account, Shore was a hothead who returned every slight with compound interest and who rarely passed up an opportunity to get into a fight. Also, by every account, Shore was not above a little theatrics.

....

Always a terrific fighter, Shore sought to demolish those who had wronged him or any of his mates, and he earned a bad-boy reputation to match.

Shore was soon known to zigzag down the ice on a raid and wind himself around defenders like a piece of tape. He could also fly down the ice as straight and as fleet of foot as an arrow shot from a powerful longbow. Shore was there and back, covering more territory in one period than most forwards did in an entire game, even though he was a defenseman. Shore's body had now filled out to make him bulky as well as muscular, and his hockey skills had become noticeably more sophisticated. Shore blocked well, he seldom lost possession of the puck, and he passed with good judgement... Shore's defensive ability, combined with his never-tiring aggressiveness, caused him to be picked by the sports press as one of the stars of the WHL. Under no circumstances did Shore ever wilt, and he withstood checks that sent him clear over his war club and into the boards. He survived sticks wrapped around his head that laid him out flat, and which would have killed a lesser man.

....

Breaking up an attack, the galloping cowboy would circle his own net with the puck and then thunder off for the other end of the rink. Rounding check after check dished out by opponents, and leaving them all in turn as if they were standing still, Shore would split the defensive combination wide open and then, racing through the gap, and without slowing up for an instant, would fake the opposing goaltender out of position, smash the puck down the ally, and score.

....

Capable of superhuman feats of rushing and scoring, Shore was all too human when it came to making blunders. Two mistakes that he commonly made were being caught up ice when the play had reversed direction, and being confined to the cooler because of some pointless penalty that he had taken.

....

With an uncanny ability to perfectly place the puck on the tape of other Bruins' sticks, Shore was giving his colleagues every opportunity for easy goals.

....

Shore remained the fastest-breaking defenseman in the league, and he continued to show off every trick that he had. He could rag the puck to his heart's content at center ice, he could effortlessly pivot on a dime, he could reverse direction to avoid opponents and then reverse himself again to avoid another, he could fake this way and that, he could swerve around players just when contact seemed imminent, he could pass and shoot with pinpoint accuracy, and he could fight.

....

Eddie was soon leading power plays, knocking down rivals, and checking like a wildcat on skates. He was forever floating in on the play, intercepting passes, smothering shots, icing the disc, and hitting hard.

Absolutely fearless, totally talented and dedicated to his profession like nobody before or since, Shore was a defenseman who was so extraordinary a skater than he instinctively became an intrepid puck-carrier and thus added a new dimension to the game - defender-on-the-attack - decades before another Boston skater, Bobby Orr, would copy his style.

During an era when hockey featured more woodchopping than the Canadian northwoods, Shore was virtually indestructible. Opponents understood that if they could neutralize the Boston Bruins' defenseman the game would be theirs...

....

Shore's versatility as a rushing defenseman with the Boston Bruins has beclouded his crunching play behind the blue line.

Through tireless practice and study, Shore perfected a peculiar crouch in his skating that made him almost impossible to knock down.

....

Instead of shooting at the goal, he would aim a few feet wide and charge past a defender to pick up the puck on the carom. The best offensive defenseman of his era, Shore was even better on defense and he treated every incursion into the Bruin zone as an enemy invasion.

Eddie Shore in the meantime was hard at work refining his skills and fashioning a reputation for toughness...

Shore embodied the rough-and-tumble game of hockey of the late 1920s and 1930s. He was a high-octane performer with a temper to match. Although he rush like a storm, he would knock down anyone who stood in his way.

Dick Irvin, Sr., said Eddie Shore was the best offensive defenseman he ever saw, although he was never keen on the big bruiser's defensive abilities. Shore was a colossal force in hockey in the 1930s, having as great an effect on the game as Bobby Orr would have some 40 years later.

If Howie Morenz was hockey's Babe Ruth, Shore was surely hockey's Ty Cobb. He was a stunning talent with a short fuse whose finesse was often overshadowed by his temper, which was about as hot as they came. Where Eddie Shore was concerned, you either loved the guy, or, more likely, you hated him. As one of hockey's all-time greatest defenders, he was a greater pest than Claude Lemieux, and he had a penchant for delivering hard, often questionable, hits - comparable to Ulf Samuelsson today. Despite, or perhaps because of, his rough edges, Boston fans lionized him. Fans in other NHL rinks could generally be heard screaming for his blood.

Ornery, swashbuckling Eddie Shore was an eccentric hybrid of entertainer and philosopher, who made it to the big time from the disbanded Edmonton Eskimos of the Western Hockey League and quickly became a favorite of the raucous Boston Garden. As intimate as a bearpit, the Garden's fans screeched and pounded within spitshot of the players, who often responded in kind. If the Garden was "The Zoo", then Eddie Shore was the zookeeper, bringing the hoarse groundlings to their feet with his ramrod-straight rushes, then setting up a Boston marksman for the kill with a sweet pass of the puck.

An imposing blend of raw talent and intimidation, defenseman Eddie Shore was one of the greatest ever to play his position in any era and his end-to-end rushes became every bit as famous as his crushing bodychecks and nasty disposition.

Shore joined the Boston Bruins in 1926 and went on to personify the most vigorous aspects of the rough and fast game of hockey. His explosive temper was only matched by his incredible talent. While setting up offensive plays he would literally knock down any opponent that got in his way. This of course led to many hard fought and legendary battles.

....

Absolutely fearless and unbelievably talented, Shore was indestructible. Perhaps the best way to describe him would be to say he was an early day Gordie Howe who played on the blueline. It certainly wouldn't be a stretch to say that. No one who hit as hard as he did was ever hit harder - or more often - in return.

....

Shore's style was all his own. Pugnacious and downright mean, he was also very skilled...

Almost as amazing was his ability to play the entire game! He would average 50-55 minutes a contest. Well, at least in games when he wasn't spending that much time in the penalty box!

Ultimate Hockey's All-Star Team of the 1930s

Ultimate Hockey's Best Offensive Defenseman of the 1930s
Ultimate Hockey's Best On-Ice Instincts of the 1930s
Ultimate Hockey's Toughest Player of the 1930s
Ultimate Hockey's Most Hated Player of the 1930s
Ultimate Hockey's Biggest Flake of the 1930s

He was a powerhouse of a hockey player. He was a hard man to hit because he had that weaving style of skating.

Shore was a very colorful hockey player who put everything he had into the game but also used every subterfuge he could to win the sympathy of the crowd. He'd fake getting hurt and would lay down and roll around in agony. Then he'd get up and be twice as good as ever. To me, Shore was a country boy who had made good; he was a good skater and puck-carrier but he wasn't an exceptional defenseman like his teammate Lionel Hitchman who was better because he could get them coming and going. But there wasn't another character like Shore.

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One night we had a game and Shore came skating out on the ice - wearing a bathrobe. It was crazy and I think Art Ross encouraged him; of course, Art himself was quite a character.

Shore was the best of all. He was a lot like Ted Williams in that he could help a teammate if you wanted help. Eddie was very fair about things; if you asked him how to play this or that man, he'd tell you. He didn't withhold advice. Personally, I liked Shore. He was the greatest hockey player I ever saw. He could skate like this fellow Bobby Orr does today and he could shoot. And he was a great defenseman who could hit. He was a dynamic person who could really lift a team.

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I know some people have said Shore was a vicious player but I don't believe they saw him play too much. Let's say he was a tough, rough player who could give it out as well as take it without complaining.

Like a car with high-beams on. He'd take the puck from one end of the ice to the other, and they'd all spread out as if he were some bowling ball.

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Most people of the day would skate down the side, but Eddie always went down the middle of the ice. People bounced off him like tenpins

Eddie Shore of the Bruins was worse; he was sneaky. In those days there used to be only one official and naturally he couldn't see everything. So when he wasn't looking Shore would give it to me. I'll never forget the first time I played against him; he knocked me cold.

Shore was nasty and, as far as I was concerned, a threat to the life of other players, a real danger.

Shore's abnormally long stride built up a momentum that carried him down the ice with frightening speed. His chilling disregard for personal safety enabled him to maintain the peak speed to a point well beyond the limit dared by lesser men. The result was that he came up consistently with plays that no other stars were lucky to duplicate once in a lifetime.

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With his head lowered like a vengeful bull, he'd smash through the defense line as though it were so much paper, retrieve the puck as it came off the boards, and pass it back to his forwards.

He's a hard player but a fair one. He can take a bump or give one with the same cheerful spirit.

On defense, he smacked the hard-driving Maroons left and center and the Bruins finally won the gruelling game by a score of 1-0. I might add that Shore also found the energy to score than one goal!

In physical strength, concentration, and quickness of temper, Shore has an edge over all other hockey players, although he is approaching his fortieth birthday.

Eddie Shore, the big husky player, was on hand for the first time - and this gent will do, mark that down on your cuff. Shore uncorked a great burst of speed, stick-handled well, and was dead on target with his shots.

Eddie Shore caught the fancy of the fans. The new defenseman is tall, yet sturdily built. His speed is exceptional and he handles the body and stick well.

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