Posts
October 10: On this day in 1930, King Clancy joined Toronto after his services were purchased from Ottawa for an unheard of amount of $35,000. The Board of Directors would only contribute $25,000 and the remainder was obtained on a longshot bet on a race horse called Rare Jewel, owned by Smythe.
October 10: On this day in 1953, "Bashin Bob" Bailey was part of the opening night lineup for the Leafs in his first NHL game as Toronto downed Chicago 6-2. Bailey's long and well-travelled professional career was spent mostly in the minors waiting for his callup chance in the NHL. He played parts of the next three seasons, 86 games in all, on right wing with the Leafs and fired 6 goals. He also amassed 128 minutes in penalties.
October 10: On this day in 1953, "Bashin Bob" Bailey was part of the opening night lineup for the Leafs in his first NHL game as Toronto downed Chicago 6-2. Bailey's long and well-travelled professional career was spent mostly in the minors waiting for his callup chance in the NHL. He played parts of the next three seasons, 86 games in all, on right wing with the Leafs and fired 6 goals. He also amassed 128 minutes in penalties.
October 10: On this day in 1962, the Leafs won their season opener in Chicago 3-1 and went on to post an overall regular season record of 35-23-12, good enough for first place in the six-team NHL. As of 2008, the 1962-63 season was the last time the Maple Leafs finished first overall in the league during the regular season.
October 10: On this day in 1964, the Maple Leafs, as reigning Stanley Cup champions, hosted the NHL's 18th All-Star Game at Maple Leaf Gardens. The game between the Leafs and the league's All-star players was contested just before the beginning of the 1964-65 regular season. In the pre-game festivities, the Leafs were officially presented with the Stanley Cup they had won the previous spring. The All-Stars prevailed over the home team 3-2 on a game-winning goal by future Leaf Murray Oliver of the Boston Bruins. The game included the first penalty ever handed out to a goaltender (Charlie Hodge) in an All-Star game - two minutes for intentially holding the puck.
October 10: On this day in 1973, future Hall-of-Famer Borje Salming made his NHL debut in the Leafs' season opener against the Buffalo Sabres. The Leafs won the game 7-4 and Salming collected his first NHL career assist.
October 10: On this day in 1981, Leaf defenseman Borje Salming recorded his first NHL hat trick in a 9-8 victory over the visiting Chicago Black Hawks. Grant Mulvey of the Hawks also registered a three goal game the same night.
October 10: On this day in 1998, the Leafs kicked off their 1998-99 campaign at home with a 2-1 victory over Detroit. The Leafs went on to set a team record for most wins in a season with 45. They'd finish the regular season with a respectable record of 45-30-7, good enough for 3rd place in the Eastern Conference. The NHL record for most wins in a season is 62, set by the Red Wings in 1995-96.
October 10: On this day in 2002, the Leafs opened their 2002-03 campaign with a 6-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins. Alexander Mogilny scored the first Leaf goal of the season and Mats Sundin added 4 points. Ed Belfour became the first goaltender in Toronto franchise history to record a shutout in his Maple Leaf debut.
