Getting History Right

Good for Dave Keon and the Maple Leafs.

If burying the hatchet is what Keon wants to do after several decades of being irked and disappointed with the franchise he once called home, well, that's probably good for both sides in this long simmering hockey feud.

Hopefully, however, Keon's return on Feb. 17 won't overshadow everything.

More specifically, this is a chance for the Maple Leafs not only to properly celebrate a 40-year-old achievement - winning the 1967 Stanley Cup - that has not been achieved since, but it's a chance to tell the story right this time around.

Leaf history, after all, is shrouded in myth and story-telling, and the '67 victory is no different.

Yes, Keon won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP, and yes Johnny Bower and Terry Sawchuk combined to keep body and soul together long enough to supply the requisite goaltending to get the job done.

But the real heroes of '67 have been ignored for far too long, and hopefully MLSE will, unlike the botched closing of Maple Leaf Gardens, not only do a better job with this celebration but will ensure history is set straight.

Jim Pappin led the NHL in playoff scoring that surprising spring and has almost never been fully recognized for his work.

Pete Stemkowski centred a line with Pappin and Bob Pulford and delivered the best play of any Leaf centre that spring, arguably the best play of his entire career.

Finally, Larry Hillman was a kingpin on defence, better than Bobby Baun or Allan Stanley for those playoff victories over Chicago and Montreal.

All three - Pappin, Stemkowski and Hillman - were subsequently dumped by the franchise or treated harshly with their contracts. Pappin was traded for an over-the-hill Pierre Pilote. Stemkowski was a throw-in on the disastrous Frank Mahovlich deal. Hillman was lost in the mix, went to Minnesota briefly and then helped the Canadiens win the '69 Cup.

Hillman was so ticked he placed the "Hillman Hex" on the Leafs, a curse he would tell you is still in effect today.

Maybe the Leafs should be more worried about making things right with Hillman than Keon if they ever hope of winning another Stanley Cup.

Comments

[Jim Boyd]

Isn't it a bit embarassing to be celebrating their last cup win?? When it was 40 years ago??

Is centerice wheelchair accessible?

[dave campbell]

Come on Damien,let's be honest about the Mahovlich deal.Disastrous is going a bit far.The Leafs lost Mahovlich,who badly needed a change of scenery,whether caused by Imlach or not.Unger was a very good player,but not a superstar.Brewer played so little in the league after the trade as to be a non factor.Stemkowski was an average to good player.Norm Ullman was probably Toronto's best player for six of the seven full seasons he was there,and probably would have been for the seventh,but inexplicably,was used little in the 1974-75 season.Paul Henderson was also a very good player.Good enough to be on the 1972 summit series team.Henderson probably would have starred with the leafs for years if it hadn't been for Ballard's stupidity.

[Andrew Barrie]

Jim,

Why is it embarrasing for them to celebrate 40 years since they won the cup, when Kenora gets to celebrate 100 years since it won the cup? well, actually, there is an answer, and its pretty obvious, if you look at it as the TEAM celebrating. Kenora has no team now that competes for the cup, while Toronto does, and that team has not won it in 40 years.

However, having the members of 67 Leafs celebrate together the triumph of 40 years ago, there is nothing wrong with that. Those players, the staff that worked for the team at the time, have something to be proud of that should be considered seperate from the misery of the team these last 40 years.

Don't take away an honest celebration from those who competed for that distinction 4 decades ago.

but yes, its okay to still laugh at the current owners, especially a certain pension plan.

oh, and Damien, why is this blog so hard to find now since the layout change to the paper. the layout looks horrible, and i can rarely find anything I want to read, including this blog. as far as I can tell, it only appears available THE DAY OF a posting from you. If you can tell me a sure fire way to find it, let me know

[Dave]

the disastrous Frank Mahovlich deal??
Ullman /Henderson / Smith brought lots to te Leafs; broke my heart to see the Big M go, but time for a change

[David Imrie]

Agree with the comments regarding Hillman and Stemkowski, but will not with the comment on the Mahovolich trade. It was inevitable and far from the worst deal in Leaf history (Pappin for Pilote is up there). Trade deadline deals, then and now, have usually been short term attempts for clubs to unload disgruntled staff (almost all players involved had agents, something Punch Imlach despised) and have anxious A-level players go for the Cup.

True, the Leafs went through difficult transitions during the following seasons (no playoffs in `68 and `70, the four game Boston debacle in `69 despite a strong regular season finish) but Norm Ullman and Paul Henderson were important elements to a team that recovered by the 71 season`and provided some solid play in subsequent turbulent seasons. The real damage occurred with the emergence of the WHA in 1972 and loss of several solid young players such as Blaine Stoughton, Jim Harrison and Bernie Parent.

On the other hand, Mahovolich`s 49-goal season in 1969 with Detroit stands well for him, but he lasted until the January `71 trade to the Habs (following a 13-0 loss to the Leafs). Within two years of the Mahovolich trade, the Red Wings, then more desperate than the Leafs, unloaded almost all the players involved. Stemmer made his mark as a solid player on strong Ranger teams in the mid-70s, while Unger set an ironman record with the St.Louis Blues.

Many pro sports who have missed a championship for many years hnour players from the last win. Look at the Buffalo Bills honouring their 1964 AFL Champs some years ago.

[Bob Holden]

Boy, what a great reminder. Larry Hillman had been a journeyman with the Leafs for years, up and down to Rochester, although I think his name might be on all 4 Stanley Cups. He and Al Arbour and Kent Douglas could never seem to crack the top 4 defence spots for years, behind Horton, Stanley, Baun, Brewer and later Marcel Pronovost. That spring, though, he really played well, so much that Baun ended up anchored to the bench.

Pappin and Stemkowski had their finest moments as Leafs and with Pulford dominated everybody they played against. It was, at the time, considered to be a major upset that they won that cup. None of that group ever played as well again, although Pappin had a pretty good run in Chicago, and were all gone in fairly short order.

Dave Keon was an all time great, whose absence from the team reflects badly on the Leafs. I have long thought that bringing him back into the fold at whatever cost would be mandatory for the team to claim any glorious history.

I was only 16, when the Leafs won their 4th Cup in 6 years, and I thought it would go forever. It is hard to believe it has been 40 years.

[George]

Loved your article on getting history right with Captain Keon. It's about time, and long overdue. Very much enjoyed reading your walk down the 67 cup playoffs. Such fond memories. Sorry but on one fact you are out in left field. "The Trade" with Detroit was hardly disasterous. While it was sad to see the Big M and Stemmer go, and they gave up on a young long haired Garry Unger, the Leafs got the better of that deal. Henderson played 8 seasons with the Leafs, Ullman enjoyed 7 seasons here. Playing with Ron Ellis they anchored a great line which had many good years in toronto. Ullman enjoyed his best year as an NHL pro in Toronto. In 1974 he was the 2nd team allstar behind Phil Esposito. They both should have retired as Leafs, but inmate Ballard let both of them jump to the WHA. The Leafs going the other way all had a cup of coffee in Detroit. Stemmer had better years in New York , the Big M won a cup in Montreal, and Unger went to St. Louis, because he wouldn't get a haircut, for Red Berenson. After 3 years,Detroit had nothing to show for that deal. Damien, you gotta do a recap and convince Leaf fans how on earth this was a disaster. I can see not liking it, but hardly a disaster.
The other point I would like to make is to correct Dave, who wrote that a good young Leaf team was gutted by the WHA. He is absolutely correct, with one small error. The group that jumped the Leaf ship in 1972 included Bernie Parent, Jim Harrison, Rick Ley, Brad Selwood and Guy Trottier. Blaine Stoughton wasn't part of that group. He jumped ship a few seasons later, as did Ullman, Keon, Henderson, Mike Pelyk and others.