On This Day February 3rd.

Turk Broda - "The Fabulous Fat Man"

February 3: On this day in 1949, Turk Broda became the first Leaf goaltender in Toronto franchise history and just the second in NHL history to win 250 career games as the Leafs defeated the Canadiens 4-1 in Montreal.

He retired after playing only one game in the 1951-52 season. Broda was accorded a special night at the Gardens by Conn Smythe, one of the rarest honors bestowed upon a Leaf. That night came on December 22, 1951, and players and executives from Toronto, the opposing Bruins and every other NHL team gathered to pay respects to one of the greatest goalies of all time.

He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1967.

A very young Dick Duff

February 3: On this day in 1957, Dick Duff scored the first hat trick of his NHL career and his only 3-goal game as a Leaf. He provided all of Toronto's output in a 6-3 loss to the Black Hawks at Chicago.

Summary:
Inducted into the Hall of Fame 2006.
Born 18 February 1936 Kirkland Lake, Ontario.
Played 18 NHL seasons from 1954 to 1972.

On This Day February 1st.

Conn Smythe

February 1: On this day in 1895, the legendary Conn Smythe was born in Toronto, Ontario. In February of 1927, Smythe purchased the Toronto St. Pats of the NHL and renamed the team the Maple Leafs. He presided as head coach of the Leafs for four seasons until early in the 1930 season when he hired Art Duncan as his replacement. Smythe and fellow financier J. P. Bickell (second from the right below) raised the money needed to build Maple Leaf Gardens which opened in 1931. Conn Smythe ran the Leafs operation through to the early 1960's as coach, General Manager, President and

Art John Arthur Duncan

Owner-Governor. A trophy was presented to the NHL by the Maple Leafs in 1964 in honor of Conn Smythe and is awarded to the MVP in the playoffs. Jean Beliveau of the Montreal Canadiens was its first winner in 1965 and as of 2008, Dave Keon has been the only Leaf to win the Conn Smythe trophy which he earned in 1967. Conn Smythe was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1958.

Dignitaries gathered to lay the cornerstone of Maple Leaf Gardens. Left to right: William MacBrien (former president of the Maple Leafs), Ed Bickle (vice-president of Maple Leaf Gardens), W.D. Ross (lieutenant-governor of Ontario), Reverend Dr. John Inkster, J.P. Bickell (president of Maple Leaf Gardens), and Victor Ross (a director of Maple Leaf Gardens). Source: The Mail and Empire, September 21, 1931. (side note - The Mail and Empire was formed from the 1895 merger of The Toronto Mail and Toronto Empire newspapers, both conservative newspapers in Toronto, Canada. The paper then merged with The Globe to form the The Globe and Mail in 1936). Photo by arc23 from the Torontoist Flickr Pool.

February 1: On this day in 1955,Hap Day appointed only the second general manager in team history. He would become the only man to serve as team captain, coach, and general manager.

Dick Frank Gamble

February 1: On this day in 1967, Dick Gamble played his first and only NHL game of the 1966-67 season on left wing for the Leafs as a replacement for the injured Frank Mahovlich. It was also his last game in the NHL. The Leafs were hammered 7-1 by the Canadiens. A former Stanley Cup champion with the Canadiens, Gamble played a total of 3 games as a Leaf over two seasons. He had one goal.

Bernie Parent

February 1: On this day in 1971, the Leafs acquired goaltender Bernie Parent from the Philadelphia Flyers with a 2nd round draft choice for Bruce Gamble, Mike Walton and Toronto's 1st round choice (Pierre Plante) in the 1971 Amateur Draft. Parent played 65 games with the Leafs over the next year with a record of 24-25-12 and a 2.59 G.A.A. before leaving the Leafs in 1972 to become the first Leaf to defect from the NHL and jump to the World Hockey Association.

WHA Logo 1972/73 - 1978/79

After a brief stint in the now defunct WHA he wanted to return to the NHL but did not wish to play for Toronto who still held his rights. He was accomodated with a trade back to Philly where he won two consecutive Vezina trophies, two consecutive Stanley Cups and two consecutive Conn Smythe trophies in 1974 and 1975. Bernie Parent was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1984.

On This Day January 6th.

Carl Voss. Photo supplied by Mike Moore private collection.

January 6:  On this day in 1907, Carl Voss was born in Chelsea, Massachusetts. On February 16, 1927, Voss became the first player signed to a contract by Conn Smythe, the new owner of the Toronto franchise, newly-named the Toronto Maple Leafs. He played his first game in the NHL the next evening. Voss played just 14 games as a Toronto St. Pat/Maple Leaf without a single point, but in 1933 he was rookie of the year and the inaugural winner of the Calder trophy with the Red Wings. He was later appointed to the job of Referee-in-Chief by the NHL in 1950. Carl Voss was inducted into the Hall Of Fame as a Builder in 1974.

The pinnacle of Moore's career came in 1958-59 when he got the Art Ross Trophy for an astonishing 96-point performance.

January 6:  On this day in 1931, Hall-of-Famer Dickie Moore was born in Montreal, Quebec. After winning six Stanley Cups with the Canadiens and the Art Ross trophy twice as the NHL's scoring champion, Moore came out of retirement during the 1964-65 season to play 38 games with the Leafs. With Toronto Moore had 2 goals and 4 assists. He later came out of retirement a second time to play 27 games for the St. Louis Blues in their inaugural 1967-68 season and then 18 playoff games where he led the Blues to the Finals with 14 post-season points. A popular and gifted NHL star, Moore was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1974.

January 6:  On this day in 1940, the Leafs came from behind with three goals in the third period to defeat the Montreal Canadiens 3-1 at Maple Leaf Gardens. It was their first victory of the new decade. In the 10 year period between January 1, 1940 and December 31, 1949, the Maple Leafs compiled a winning record of 251-207-78. More importantly, they captured five Stanley Cups in the 1940's including three in a row between 1947-49. To date, it has been the most successful decade in team history.

Jiri Crha, Born in Pardubice in the former Czechoslovakia on April 13th, 1950,

January 6:  On this day in 1981, the Leafs were defeated by the powerhouse N.Y. Islanders 6-3. John Tonelli of the Islanders scored five goals, four on Leaf goalie Jiri Crha and the last one into an empty net. Hall-of-Fame sniper Mike Bossy assisted on all six Islander goals. He remains the only player to ever have as many as six assists in one game against the Leafs. Crha, who was known to teammates as "George" suited up for 15 games with Toronto and managed to win 8 of them. With his playing days behind him Crha stayed involved with the game by becoming a player agent with players from the Czech Republic making up his client base.

On This Day January 4th.

In March 1957, Smythe became chairman of a seven-person committee known as the "Silver Seven" appointed by his father to run hockey operations for the Leafs.

January 4:  On this day in 1971, a single signature changed the course of Leaf history. The son of Maple Leafs founder Conn Smythe, Stafford, and pal Harold Ballard had gained complete control of Maple Leaf Gardens and the team. Ballard had drawn up a will for Stafford to sign including a clause that allowed Ballard the option to buy all of Stafford's shares upon his death. After once again having consumed way too much to drink, Stafford signed the document. A few months later, Stafford died and Ballard exercised his option. Harold Ballard successfully wrested control of the Leafs and MLG from the Smythe family. 

First Swede to make a name for himself in the NHL

January 4:  On this day in 1988, Leaf defenseman Borje Salming played his 1000th NHL regular season game, all with the Leafs. He had one assist in the game. Salming is one of only five players who have played 1000 games in a Leaf uniform. Salming was the first European-trained player to play 1000 games in the NHL. He holds the Maple Leaf team record for most career assists with 620. On the night of February 7th, 1976 when teammate Darryl Sittler recorded 10 points in one game, Salming had two goals and two assists (seen below). He was a 2nd team All-Star 5 times and a first team All-Star in 1977. His jersey number 21 is a Leaf honored number. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1996. 

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January 4:  On this day in 1988, the Leafs and the Vancouver Canucks engaged in a regulation time shootout. The 7-7 final score equaled a Leaf team record for the highest number of goals in a tie score game. As at the end of the 2007-08 season, the Leafs have an all-time even record against the Canucks of W-52, L-52, T-22, OL-0 in the 126 times the two teams have met since the Canucks entered the NHL in 1970. The clubs have only met once in the playoffs, the 1994 Conference Finals which the Canucks won in 5 games.