Penton: Ghost of 1967 still haunts the Maple Leafs
By Bruce Penton
This could have been the year. Toronto Maple Leafs’ fans across the country, of which there are millions, could hardly contain themselves when their beloved team won Game 6 of the Eastern Conference semi-final to force a Game 7 at home against Florida Panthers.
Beat the Panthers, advance to the Eastern final, cruise by the Carolina Hurricanes and cause mass hysteria in LeafLand by playing either Edmonton or Dallas for the Stanley Cup.
But the Ghost of 1967, the year the Leafs won their 13th and most recent Stanley Cup, got in the way. Florida knows a thing or two about playing critical playoff games and they bashed the Leafs 6-1 in that Game 7 showdown to extend that Stanley Cup drought to 58 years. It was Toronto’s seventh straight Game 7 defeat.
There were tears. There was disbelief. There was angst. There were threats. And that was only from within the Leafs’ locker room. Outside, in the stands of Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, angry and upset fans didn’t hide their displeasure. At least one Toronto sweater got thrown onto the ice. Some guy paid more than $10 for a cup of cold beer and then figured centre ice, not his stomach, was the best place for it to settle.
So now what? Team president Brendan Shanahan has been ousted. The Leafs’ ‘Core Four’ (Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, John Tavares and William Nylander) are almost certainly going to be the Tipsy Trio after Marner declares free agency this summer. Tavares, too, might go.
Marner, who stands fifth on the all-time Leafs’ scoring table, behind only Mats Sundin, Darryl Sittler, Dave Keon and Borje Salming, is a hometown boy who seems to be the scapegoat for Toronto’s troubles. The Leafs tried to trade him to Caroline in exchange for Mikko Rantanen in March, but Marner stuck to his no-trade clause and said no.
Now, with the NHL’s salary cap rising by $7 million to a record $95.5 million this year, Marner can accomplish three things: He can get out of Toronto, where he’s underappreciated; he can make a gazillion dollars as a free agent; and he can select a future home where the Stanley Cup banner has more of a chance to fly than it does in Toronto.
Considering that Marner and Connor McDavid connected so well in the Four Nations Face Off (remember, it was Marner’s pass to McDavid that led to the winning goal in overtime), perhaps the Oilers could break the bank and sign the Leafs’ star. On the other hand, it would be almost impossible for the Oilers to pay top dollar to three superstars and fit under the salary cap, no matter how high it goes.
While the Leafs came up short again, there were strides made in the Big Smoke. A division championship, development of some younger players (Matthew Knies and Bobby McMann for two) and a potential all-star goalie in Anthony Stolarz bodes well for the team’s future.
If they have to call Ghostbusters to take care of that Ghost of 1967, so be it.
Headline at the Canadian parody website TheBeaverton.com: “Researchers warn Tim Hortons in-app NHL Hockey Challenge is a gateway to drinking their coffee.”
RJ Currie of sportsdeke.com: “Fun fact: Picasso was born Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso. Try fitting that name on a jersey.”
Headline at fark.com: "Patriots QB Drake Maye excited about lineman who pledged to fight and die to protect Patriots QB Drake Maye.”
Zach Pereles of CBSsports.com., reviewing the past history of the final four in the chase for the NBA championship: “The Knicks — your father (or grandfather) will tell you — wore crowns in 1970 and 1973.”
Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun: “The Blue Jays have to feel so fortunate to not have spent all that crazy money on Juan Soto. The money was crazy, the player in this case, as we’re learning, may be crazier.”
Vancouver comedian Torben Rolfsen: “Anthony Edwards of Minnesota Timberwolves was fined $50,000 for using inappropriate language in a post-game interview. The actual phrase is unknown but Minnesota fans think it was ‘Go Packers.’”
Canadian humorist Frenchie McFarlane: “Rimouski is an old Mohawk word for ‘Where the moose ski.’ I told that to some American folk at the Memorial Cup and they bought it.”
Super 70s Sports: “The Chicago Blackhawks set an NHL record in 1968 when their entire roster looked like dads who expected their daughters to be home by 9 p.m. and you didn’t want to find out what was gonna happen at 9:02.”
Bob Molinaro of pilotonline.com (Hapton, Va.); ‘With 26-year-old Shai Gilgeous-Alexander continuing the NBA trend — now seven years running — of foreign-born MVPs, and 21-year-old Victor Wembanyama waiting in the wings, the next American MVP may be in the fifth grade.”
RJ Currie of sportsdeke.com: “TSN described the Maple Leafs as looking paralyzed against Florida in Game 7, ‘lifeless’ and ‘not moving.’ That may be a little unfair — although I've seen morgues with fewer stiffs on ice.”
Care to comment? Email brucepenton2003@yahoo.ca