On This Day June 12th.

June 12: On this day in 1968, Center Bill Sutherland was claimed by Minnesota from Philadelphia and then by the Leafs from Minnesota in the Intra-League draft. He sandwiched 44 games in with the Leafs during the 1968-69 season before being traded back to Philadelphia. With the Leafs, Sutherland scored 7 goals and 12 points. In October of 1967, Bill Sutherland not only scored the first goal in the franchise history of the Philadelphia Flyers, he also scored the first goal at the Spectrum, the Flyers home rink a few nights later.

June 12: On this day in 1969, the Leafs used their 5th pick, 55th overall to select Brian Spencer in the Amateur Draft. Spencer played his first NHL game as a Leaf in March of 1970 and when the CBC decided to broadcast the Canucks game in British Columbia instead of the Leafs game, Spencer's father became enraged. He drove 85 miles to the TV station with a gun and was killed in a shootout with the RCMP. Brian Spencer was murdered himself three months after being acquitted of murdering somebody else in 1987. Spencer played 95 games as a Leaf and had 30 points between 1970 and 1972.







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