Paul Henderson NHL return

[crobro]

i noticed on his Stat line he played in the WHA for 7 years before he played 30 games for Atlanta in 79-80

Was it a successful comeback in terms of could he still play, contribute?

Click to read more...

 

[Killion]

i noticed on his Stat line he played in the WHA for 7 years before he played 30 games for Atlanta in 79-80

Was it a successful comeback in terms of could he still play, contribute?

Sort of.... he did manage to score 2 goals against the Leafs in a Flames 5-1 victory, named the games 1st Star, twisting the knife on his old nemesis Harold Ballard who effectively drove him out of the NHL in the first place. But generally speaking no, he split his 2nd last year as a pro in 79/80 between Atlanta of the NHL & the Birmingham Bulls who had joined the Central Hockey League from the ashes of the WHA, then as a Player/Coach the following season at which time the team folded....

Thing is, he & his family were quite content & happy living in Birmingham, US in general, and while offered a Contract with Atlanta he instead decided to sign a 2yr deal with Birmingham to round out his career. He had an agreement with Atlanta who held his rights that they'd only call on him if desperate, injury depleted, and thats what they did. Now, had he really gone at it, been fully committed & Reported to the Flames Training Camp 79/80 & been a regular, entirely possible he could have had a 20-25-30 goal season. Hard to say. 80/81 Atlanta moved to Calgary & he had no interest in returning to Canada though was offered a Contract but instead opted to play it out in Birmingham.