On This Day February 17th.

February 17: On this day in 1899, Albert Pudas was born in Siikajoki, Finland. Pudas became the first Finnish-born to play in the NHL when he suited up for the Toronto St. Pats on December 30, 1926. Toronto defeated Boston 4-1 and the Bruins protested as they deemed Pudas to be ineligible. Pudas played 4 games in the NHL during the 1926-27 season and had zero points.

February 17: On this day in 1927, the Toronto franchise played their first ever game as the newly named Toronto Maple Leafs under the ownership and direction of Conn Smythe. The Leafs defeated the New York Americans 4-1 in Toronto. George "Paddy" Patterson scored the first Leaf goal. Patterson played only 29 games as a St. Pat/Maple Leaf before being traded to the Montreal Canadiens the next season. 

February 17: On this day in 1954, the Leafs and the Red Wings skated to a 0-0 tie. Earning the shutout for the Red Wings was Hall-of-Famer and future Leaf goaltender Terry Sawchuk. Earning the shutout for the Maple Leafs was Harry Lumley who was an ex-Red Wing. Lumley would go on to win the Vezina trophy that year and set a Leaf team record that stands to this day of 13 shutouts in one season. Terry Sawchuk would go on to win the Cup with the Wings.

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