On This Day February 4th.

Gary "The Suitcase" Smith

February 4: On this day in 1944, Gary "Suitcase" Smith was born in Ottawa, Ontario. Promoted to Toronto from Rochester (AHL) to replace injured Terry Sawchuk and played in games on February 19, 20, 23, 1966. Gary Smith began his NHL career with the Leafs in the 1965-66 season and played a couple of games in goal during the Leafs 1966-67 Cup-winning season. He earned his nickname by playing for several pro teams including 7 NHL teams between 1966 and 1980. As a Leaf, Smith had a record of 0-4 with a 3.61 G.A.A.

Terry "Ukey" Sawchuk

February 4: On this day in 1965, in his first season as a Leaf, Terry Sawchuk became the first goaltender in NHL history to win 400 games as the Leafs beat the Canadiens 5-2 in Montreal. As at the end of the 2006-07 season, Sawchuk ranked fourth in all-time career wins with 447, behind Patrick Roy (551), Martin Brodeur (494) and Ed Belfour (484).

Called "the Uke" or "Ukey" because of his Ukrainian heritage, Terry Sawchuk played more games and recorded more shutouts than any goalie in the history of the NHL. When he was 12, Sawchuk hurt his arm badly playing a friendly game of rugby. He kept the injury to himself and two years later doctors discovered the arm had been badly broken and subsequently healed poorly; it was two inches shorter than his left arm, but even this did not dampen his dream to become a pro hockey player.

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

February 4: On this day in 1980, the Leafs signed goaltender Jiri Crha as a free agent after he had defected from his native Czechoslovakia. He won the first game he played in the NHL on February 16th against the Hartford Whalers. Crha played in goal for the Leafs until the end of the following season, posting an overall winning record of 28-27-11 on a sub-.500 team. When the Leafs were slaughtered by the New York Islanders in the 1981 playoffs, Crha was bought out and never played another NHL game.

Eveolution of the Kansas City Scouts Logo

February 4: On this day in 2006, the Leafs jumped out to a 3-0 first period lead and held on to defeat the New Jersey Devils 4-2 in Toronto. The Leafs won all four games against the Devils during the 2005-06 season, but in the end it was the Devils that qualified for the playoffs. As at the end of the 2006-07 season, the Leafs have an all-time winning regular season record against the Kansas City Scouts/Colorado Rockies/New Jersey Devils of W-51, L-29, T-20, OL-2. As of 2007, the Leafs have faced-off twice against the Devils in the playoffs, in 2000 and again in 2001. The Devils won both series.

The Devils were founded in Kansas City, Missouri as the Kansas City Scouts in 1974, moved to Denver, Colorado as the Colorado Rockies after only two seasons, and then settled in New Jersey as the New Jersey devils in 1982. For their first 24 seasons in New Jersey, the Devils were based in East Rutherford and played their home games at Brendan Byrne Arena/Continental Airlines Arena. Prior to the 2007–08 season, the Devils relocated to Newark to play their home games at the newly-constructed Prudential Center

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.