Random Idlings

Just some random thoughts.....

• Isn't it time the NHL took a page from the Canadian Hockey League and made their suspensions worthwhile?. I know that the juniors don't have a players association and that the NHLPA would no doubt fight tooth and nail if players were actually held accountable for their actions with SEVERE suspensions instead of the 3 gamers that Colin Campbell doles out, but come on. Wouldn't a 30 game suspension and no salary for those 30 games send more of a message then the proverbial wrist-slap and tongue-lashing?
  

• A major penalty for high-sticking/boarding, etc results in the offending team being shorthanded for the full 5 minutes regardless of how many goals the opposition scores. Why not a 2 minute major for the less-serious high-sticking, head-shot and boarding calls. Keep the two-minute call for the accidental high-stick or "regular" boarding calls but like its 5 minute cousin, the player has to stay in the box for the full two minutes. I imagine the coaches would pretty soon wise up and keep repeat offenders on the straight and narrow.
  

• Head shots continue to be a problem. Simple solution. Bring back the old equipment. Elbow pads and shoulder pads do not need hard plastic capping on them. They are weapons more than they are for protection now. Back in the day, if you launched an elbow into another players face the way they do now, you'd dislocate your elbow. Not pretty, but it sure stopped you from being reckless.

• Jamal Mayers and Garnet Exelby want to be traded from the Leafs. What can you get for 2 guys who have spent more time in the press box and the penalty box than on the ice? Both have been healthy scratches more times than you can count and are on the team only because there is nowhere to put them. If they were sent down, they probably wouldn't clear waivers, but you won't get more than a 5th rounder for either of them. My advice? Get them out of town for anything imaginable before they infect the whole team. The Leafs need players who want to be here, who want to see the franchise succeed in terms of on-ice product. Get rid of the two for a bag of pucks, the rights to Bobby Orr, new padding for the players bench, anything.

• Will Burke be going after any college players this year? Will he be signing the new Bozak and Hanson out of American College? One player to look at may be Bobby Butler out of University of New Hampshire. 33 points in 23 games so far this season. Undrafted and going on 23 years old, might be another good college signing.
  

More memories... Does anyone out there remember...


Bernie Parent's mask being ripped off his head by Vic Hadfield during a bench-clearer in the 71 playoffs.

Forbes Kennedy losing it (and a whole bunch of fights) against the Boston Bruins in the 69 playoffs. The one where Quinn leveled Orr with the famous hit

Paul Harrison, Don Simmons, Rick St. Croix, Curt Ridley. Fred Boimistruck, Jim Benning, Dave Dunn

Shaky, Snowshoes, Suitcase, Swoop, Stash

The Hound Line

Pyramid Power

Winnipeg Jets

Mike Palmateer versus his drapes

The Bird, The Mouse, The Crow, Kitty and Dog

Coaches Brophy, Crozier, Nykoluk, Maloney, Watt, Carpenter and Armstrong

Ballard's Bunker

Mike Foligno's leap

Minnesota North Star logo

The L.A. Kings all-yellow uniforms

The J. P. Bickell Memorial Award

Ken Dryden's street-sweeper pose.

Yolanda

Brian Glennie's horsecollar

Got any of your own? Leave them in the comments section and I'll make sure to put them in the next post of Memories. The guideline is, of course, OLD SCHOOL!

Till next time. GO LEAFS GO...

#31--Leaf Number OTD

Okay, kiddies, today's number is 31.

In honour of the one and only Curtis Joseph (pictured right, obviously), who is announcing his retirement on Tuesday January 12 at the ACC. Will there be a ceremony? Of course, there will be. There is a ceremony before every Leaf game it seems this year. But this one is warranted. Cujo won the hearts of every Leaf fan a few years after he almost broke their hearts as a member of the St. Louis Blues and taking the Blues to a 7th game in their playoff series against the beloved Leafs. Some say a shot off his mask, which actually removed his mask from his person, from Wendel Clark was the turning point in the series. I don't know. I just knew that he was a marvelous goalie. He spent some time in cold, cold Edmonton before smartening up and signing with the Leafs as a free-agent. Booed unmercifully in his first game back against the Oil, Cujo recorded a shutout. Of course he did. That was the way with Cujo. We could go on about his purported falling out with Coach Pat Quinn and his subsequent departure from the Leafs, searching in vain for a Stanley Cup with the Red Wings, but all the Leaf faithful had forgiven him by the time he returned to the Leafs for one last go-round in the big smoke. Happy Retirement Curtis. You're a part of my all-time Leaf team!

Allan Bester....Bester wore 31 while he toiled with the Buds. Bester spent parts of 8 seasons here in Toronto, appearing in 205 games and recording 7 shutouts. Defence wasn't part of the game back in the eighties. His best season was the 86/87 seasons where he contributed 2 shutouts and compiled a 3.65 gaa. He ended his career as a Solar Bear (???) in Orlando.

Grant Fuhr....The second best goaltender in Leafland to wear #31, Grant Fuhr only played two seasons with the Leafs and on February 3/1993 was moved to Buffalo for Dave Andreychuk, Darren Puppa and the Sabres first round pick. The Leafs had acquired him along with Glenn Anderson and Craig Berube for Vincent Damphousse, Peter Ing, Luke Richardson, Scott Thornton, future consderations and cash.

Other number 31's include...Don Beaupre, the aforementioned Peter Ing, Damien Rhodes, Al Smith, Marv Edwards and Gord McRae...quick question time...What was Gord McRae's nickname?....answer next post.........previous quick question answer....Rich Costello came to Toronto in the Darryl Sittler to Philadelphia trade. Wow.

Leaf Number Of The Day

Welcome to what hopes to be a regular feature at LFATWWTW. We're going to focus on certain sweater numbers and the history of said number through-out the history of the Leafs. Now, as they say on Sesame Street...

"Today's number is....8"









Number 8 as in the black hole of talent for Leaf numbers. Pictured here is Ron Ellis. The greatest number 8 ever for the Leafs and he only wore it for a moment in time. Ellis, who also wore #11, was given the treasured #6 by Ace Bailey and wore it for just about all of his career. When Ronny retired, the number was re-retired. Ellis played all his career with the Leafs scoring 332 goals and adding 308 assists. He retired in 75 after a 32 goal season and returned to the Leafs lineup in 77-78 scoring 26.

Jim Dorey, another #8, played defence for a struggling Leaf team from 68/69 until the 71/72 season. His claim to fame, of course, was his debut game. Playing against the Pittsburgh Penguins he set a record, at that time, for incurring 48 penalty minutes in a game. He jumped to the New England Whalers of the WHA in 72/73 and returned to the big smoke in 74 and played two years for the Toronto Toros.

Jack Valiquette, played 3 years with the Leafs scoring only 33 goals in that span. A long cry from his 63 with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhound in his last year of junior.

Rob Ramage, captain of the Leafs from 89 to 91 managed to score 18 goals in those 2 years and racked up an astounding 375 penalty minutes. While playing with Colorado, Ramage helped Billy Smith become the first goalie to be recognized as a goal scorer. He was the culprit who shot the puck the length of the rink into his unguarded goal during a delayed penalty. Smith was the last Islander to touch the puck and therefore was credited with the goal. Ramage was recently sentenced to 4 years in prison after being found guilty of impaired driving causing death and dangerous driving causing death in the fatal traffic accident that took the life of his friend and former NHL player Keith Magnuson. His lawyer is appealing the conviction and Ramage remains free on bail.

Currently wearing #8 for your Toronto Maple Leafs--Mike Komisarek--Big free-agent signing in the summer of 09, started off trying to do too much and ended up doing too little. When healthy, he should be a stabalizing factor on the Leaf defence for a few years to come.

Some more number eights.....Pierre Jarry, , Walt Podubny, Aki Berg, Brit Selby, Greg Hotham, Richard Mulhern and Rich Costello.....quick question...What is Rich Costello's Maple Leaf claim to fame?....Answer...next post.