| ARTICLES |
| TRIBUTE TO THE 1967 TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS STANLEY CUP CHAMPION |
The Toronto Maple Leafs weren't expected to win the Stanley Cup in 1967. Pundits considered the team too old
and too slow to compete deep into the post-season.
At the end of the regular season, only 5 points separated the second through fourth place finishers: Montreal
with 77 points, Toronto with 75 and New York with 72. But the highly-touted Chicago Black Hawks ran away from
the pack, finishing first with 94 points. The Hawks placed four players in the top ten scoring leaders, including
Stan Mikita and Bobby Hull who were one and two. Toronto's leading regular season scorer was Davey Keon,
who with 52 points, fell just outside the top ten.
In the Semi-Finals, Toronto met Chicago, and if you listened to the media, the Leafs might as well have started
polishing their golfclubs right then. But shock of shocks, Toronto dumped the Hawks in six games. The series
took its toll on the Leafs though. Larry Jeffrey tore the cartilage in his right knee in Game 6 and was gone for the
remainder of the playoffs. George Armstrong injured his left knee in Game 2 but later returned and Tim Horton
broke his nose in Game 4. Shining stars for Toronto included Frank Mahovlich, who scored 3 goals and 5
assists, Dave Keon with 2 goals and 4 assists and the Pulford-Pappin-Stemkowski line, which contributed 7
goals and 17 scoring points to eliminate the hopeful Black Hawks.
Montreal swept New York in the semi-final to set up a dream Stanley Cup Final. To celebrate Canada's 100 th
birthday, the two Canadian franchises met for the bragging rights to the Stanley Cup championship.
Game 1 saw a dominant Canadiens squad spank Toronto 6-2, with Jimmy Pappin in on both Leaf markers. But
Toronto rebounded with a 3-0 blanking of Montreal in Game 2, with Johnny Bower earning the shutout and the
Stemkowski-Pappin-Pulford line contributing to all three goals. Bob Pulford scored the deciding tally at 8:26 of
the second overtime to give the Leafs an exhausting 3-2 Game 3 win. Again, the prolific trio of Pulford, Pappin
and Stemkowski was in on each of Toronto's three goals.
The Canadiens returned with a vengeance in Game 4, dumping the Leafs 6-2 with Sawchuk in goal. Yet, in the
next game, Terry was on fire, holding Montreal to one goal in a 4-1 Toronto win that saw the Canadiens yank
netminder Rogie Vachon after two periods, inserting the veteran Gump Worsley in his place.
Then, on May 2, 1967, with 15,977 in attendance at Maple Leaf Gardens, the Toronto Maple Leafs earned the
Stanley Cup with a 3-1 victory. Ellis opened the scoring at 6:25 of the second, with Pappin adding a second goal
at 19:24 of that same frame. Former Leaf Dickie Duff brought Montreal close with a goal at 5:28 of the third but
Toronto did everything to deflect the advances of the Canadiens. At 19:05 of the third stanza, coach Punch Imlach
sent out Allan Stanley to take the faceoff in his own end. Stanley did his job, tying up Beliveau, while Red Kelly
collected the puck, dished it off to Pulford who then fed the captain, George Armstrong, skating down the right
wing. With Beliveau and Backstrom scurrying back to protect their zone, Armstrong slid the puck into an empty
net to give Toronto the insurance marker needed to hold the game, the series and ultimately, the Stanley Cup.
It was the end of an era. By the next autumn, the NHL had expanded to 12 teams, and the team that had won the
Stanley Cup just months before, had taken on a different complexion. The Oakland Seals looked as much like
the Leafs as Toronto did itself, with Bobby Baun, Kent Douglas, Aut Erickson, John Brenneman and Gary Smith
from the '67 championship squad joining other former Leafs Wally Boyer, Larry Cahan, Terry Clancy, Gerry
Ehman, Ted Hampson, Billy Harris and former Marlboro Charlie Burns. Terry Sawchuk was drafted by Los
Angeles, where he'd play for former teammate Red Kelly, who retired to accept the Kings' coaching position. Brit
Selby was drafted by Philadelphia and Milan Marcetta by Minnesota. Eddie Shack was dealt to Boston and Larry
Jeffrey to the Rangers. And then, in one of the great blockbuster trades, Frank Mahovlich, Peter Stemkowski,
Garry Unger and the rights to retired Carl Brewer were packaged to the Red Wings for Norm Ullman, Paul
Henderson, Floyd Smith and Doug Barrie on March 3, 1968. The team that battled to win the 11 th Stanley Cup
championship during the spring of 1967 was now but a distant memory.
Since May of 1967, fans of the Toronto Maple Leafs have longingly embraced the team's last Stanley Cup
championship. The participants have taken on almost mythic proportions - and with good reason. Since then, no
fewer than 10 members of the 1967 Stanley Cup champions have been elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame. You
know the names: Bower, Sawchuk, Armstrong, Horton, Kelly, Keon, Mahovlich, Pronovost, Pulford and Stanley.
Add coach Punch Imlach, a member of the Hall of Fame in the Builder Category. All legends. All integral
components of a legendary spring.
Quite a story. Quite a team.
and too slow to compete deep into the post-season.
At the end of the regular season, only 5 points separated the second through fourth place finishers: Montreal
with 77 points, Toronto with 75 and New York with 72. But the highly-touted Chicago Black Hawks ran away from
the pack, finishing first with 94 points. The Hawks placed four players in the top ten scoring leaders, including
Stan Mikita and Bobby Hull who were one and two. Toronto's leading regular season scorer was Davey Keon,
who with 52 points, fell just outside the top ten.
In the Semi-Finals, Toronto met Chicago, and if you listened to the media, the Leafs might as well have started
polishing their golfclubs right then. But shock of shocks, Toronto dumped the Hawks in six games. The series
took its toll on the Leafs though. Larry Jeffrey tore the cartilage in his right knee in Game 6 and was gone for the
remainder of the playoffs. George Armstrong injured his left knee in Game 2 but later returned and Tim Horton
broke his nose in Game 4. Shining stars for Toronto included Frank Mahovlich, who scored 3 goals and 5
assists, Dave Keon with 2 goals and 4 assists and the Pulford-Pappin-Stemkowski line, which contributed 7
goals and 17 scoring points to eliminate the hopeful Black Hawks.
Montreal swept New York in the semi-final to set up a dream Stanley Cup Final. To celebrate Canada's 100 th
birthday, the two Canadian franchises met for the bragging rights to the Stanley Cup championship.
Game 1 saw a dominant Canadiens squad spank Toronto 6-2, with Jimmy Pappin in on both Leaf markers. But
Toronto rebounded with a 3-0 blanking of Montreal in Game 2, with Johnny Bower earning the shutout and the
Stemkowski-Pappin-Pulford line contributing to all three goals. Bob Pulford scored the deciding tally at 8:26 of
the second overtime to give the Leafs an exhausting 3-2 Game 3 win. Again, the prolific trio of Pulford, Pappin
and Stemkowski was in on each of Toronto's three goals.
The Canadiens returned with a vengeance in Game 4, dumping the Leafs 6-2 with Sawchuk in goal. Yet, in the
next game, Terry was on fire, holding Montreal to one goal in a 4-1 Toronto win that saw the Canadiens yank
netminder Rogie Vachon after two periods, inserting the veteran Gump Worsley in his place.
Then, on May 2, 1967, with 15,977 in attendance at Maple Leaf Gardens, the Toronto Maple Leafs earned the
Stanley Cup with a 3-1 victory. Ellis opened the scoring at 6:25 of the second, with Pappin adding a second goal
at 19:24 of that same frame. Former Leaf Dickie Duff brought Montreal close with a goal at 5:28 of the third but
Toronto did everything to deflect the advances of the Canadiens. At 19:05 of the third stanza, coach Punch Imlach
sent out Allan Stanley to take the faceoff in his own end. Stanley did his job, tying up Beliveau, while Red Kelly
collected the puck, dished it off to Pulford who then fed the captain, George Armstrong, skating down the right
wing. With Beliveau and Backstrom scurrying back to protect their zone, Armstrong slid the puck into an empty
net to give Toronto the insurance marker needed to hold the game, the series and ultimately, the Stanley Cup.
It was the end of an era. By the next autumn, the NHL had expanded to 12 teams, and the team that had won the
Stanley Cup just months before, had taken on a different complexion. The Oakland Seals looked as much like
the Leafs as Toronto did itself, with Bobby Baun, Kent Douglas, Aut Erickson, John Brenneman and Gary Smith
from the '67 championship squad joining other former Leafs Wally Boyer, Larry Cahan, Terry Clancy, Gerry
Ehman, Ted Hampson, Billy Harris and former Marlboro Charlie Burns. Terry Sawchuk was drafted by Los
Angeles, where he'd play for former teammate Red Kelly, who retired to accept the Kings' coaching position. Brit
Selby was drafted by Philadelphia and Milan Marcetta by Minnesota. Eddie Shack was dealt to Boston and Larry
Jeffrey to the Rangers. And then, in one of the great blockbuster trades, Frank Mahovlich, Peter Stemkowski,
Garry Unger and the rights to retired Carl Brewer were packaged to the Red Wings for Norm Ullman, Paul
Henderson, Floyd Smith and Doug Barrie on March 3, 1968. The team that battled to win the 11 th Stanley Cup
championship during the spring of 1967 was now but a distant memory.
Since May of 1967, fans of the Toronto Maple Leafs have longingly embraced the team's last Stanley Cup
championship. The participants have taken on almost mythic proportions - and with good reason. Since then, no
fewer than 10 members of the 1967 Stanley Cup champions have been elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame. You
know the names: Bower, Sawchuk, Armstrong, Horton, Kelly, Keon, Mahovlich, Pronovost, Pulford and Stanley.
Add coach Punch Imlach, a member of the Hall of Fame in the Builder Category. All legends. All integral
components of a legendary spring.
Quite a story. Quite a team.
| Geroge Armstrong C10, Bob Baun 21, Johnny Bower 1, Brian Conacher 22, Ron Ellis 8, Aut Erickson 24, Larry Hillman 2, Tim Horton 7, Larry Jeffrey 15, "Red" Kelly 4, Dave Keon 14, Frank Mahovlich 27, Milan Marcetta 25, Jim Pappin 18, Marcel Pronovost 3, Bob Pulford 20, Terry Sawchuck 30, Eddie Shack 23, Allan Stanley 26, Peter Stemkowski 12, and Mike Walton 16. |
| May 2, 1967 |
| Members of the 1967 Toronto Maple Leafs Stanley Cup Champions get their photograph taken during a ceremony before the Toronto Maple Leafs and Edmonton Oilers game on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2007, in Toronto, Canada. Geroge Armstrong C10, Bob Baun 21, Johnny Bower 1, Brian Conacher 22, Ron Ellis 8, Aut Erickson 24, Larry Hillman 2, Tim Horton 7, Larry Jeffrey 15, "Red" Kelly 4, Dave Keon 14, Frank Mahovlich 27, Milan Marcetta 25, Jim Pappin 18, Marcel Pronovost 3, Bob Pulford 20, Terry Sawchuck 30, Eddie Shack 23, Allan Stanley 26, Peter Stemkowski 12, and Mike Walton 16. TRIBUTE TO THE 1967 TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS STANLEY CUP CHAMPIONS |
| February 17, 2007 |
