Wednesday, April 7, 2010

43 Years of Maple Leaf Frustration: 1967-68 Season


As this season come to a close, Leaf fans everywhere aren't sure whether to be optimistic for the future or despair.  After 43 years we've seen it all - except a Stanley Cup.  So we just wait, for the next hot prospect, for the next free agent signing, for the next GM, for the next season.  A two- or three-game winning streak creates a buzz in the city.  But start the season with seven straight losses and fans swear they will never watch another game.  Frustration causes huge swings in optimism and pessimism.  Journeyman players can become heroes while others are booed out of town.  Wendel Clark once said about Leaf fans, you are neither as good as they say or as bad as they say. I plan post the highs and lows of 43 seasons since the Maple Leafs last brought home the Stanley Cup starting with the 1967-68 season.

The season following the last Maple Leaf Stanley Cup was the first expansion year which saw the NHL expand from six to twelve teams.  New teams were Philadelphia Flyers, St. Louis Blues, Oakland Seals, Los Angeles Kings, Pittsburgh Penguins and Minnesota North Stars.GM/Coach Punch Imlach did not fare well in the expansion draft losing valuable players with some curious decision-making. It was apparent that Imlach was too loyal to his aging players who had been with him since 1958. In the expansion draft the Leaf organization lost 21 players including 5 off of the Leaf roster, many were good young prospects. In addition, the Leafs had also sold two farm teams, the Rochester Americans and Victoria Cougars, for the cash.  This robbed the organization of 45 players at the same time the league was expanding.  Many of these players went on to have successful NHL careers.  In contrast, the Montreal Canadiens hung onto their prospects and made older players available.
 
In an effort to make a run for the playoffs late in the 1967-68 season, Imlach had made an ill-advised trade with the Detroit Red Wings sending Frank Mahovlich, Pete Stemkowski, Garry Unger and the rights to Carl Brewer to Detroit in return for Norm Ullman, Paul Henderson and Floyd Smith. The Leafs in the end fell short in their playoff run and it was apparent that the Imlach magic was gone.
 
The key player moved in the trade was Frank Mahovlich, a talented and classy winger, a large man with the skills and hands of a pure scorer. Known as "the Big M," Mahovlich was touted as a superstar while still a teenager. Mahovlich also struggled through most of his hockey life with the stress that comes from great expectations.

 The Leafs played the Montreal Canadiens on November 1, 1967 - an important game between long-time foes. Mahovlich played a wonderful game, scoring a goal and adding two assists in Toronto's 5-0 win. He was named one of the three stars of the game. The next day, with the Leafs leaving on a trip to Detroit, Mahovlich got up from his seat on the train, told a teammate he was going home and left. He was soon under the care of the Toronto General Hospital psychiatric staff. He was in a deep depression and, according to many reports, had suffered a nervous breakdown. Mahovlich stayed away from the rink to deal with his condition for more than a month, during which he missed 11 games.

Later in of the season, the Leafs decided to part ways with their big winger. In the biggest trade of the decade.  Like many trades over the next 43 years it failed to make the Leafs better.  They finished 5th in the East and out of the playoffs.


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