Blue And White Beat: The Great One turns 50

Blue And White Beat: The Great One turns 50

Wayne Gretzky, picked by The Hockey News as the greatest player of all-time, was born in Brantford, Ontario on January 26th, 1961. Although he never suited up for the Maple Leafs, his hockey connection to the city of Toronto has always been solid.

The first major newspaper story ever written about The Great One appeared in the Toronto Telegram on October 28, 1971, two days before the newspaper folded. Reporter John Iaboni described the 4-foot-10, 70 pound Gretzky as “absolutely unbelievable”. Hockey Night In Canada ran an intermission feature about Gretzky following Iaboni’s story. (Iaboni would go on to become managing editor of “Leafs Insider” the Leafs’ monthly magazine).

TMLfans.ca takes a look back at some of Gretzky’s finest moments against the Toronto Maple Leafs (and one not-so-fine moment):

• Gretzky’s rookie season in the NHL provided a frantic finish for the scoring title against the Kings’ Marcel Dionne. On March 29, 1980 the Edmonton Oilers paid a visit to Maple Leaf Gardens with Dionne leading Gretzky 132-127 in points. The Great One put on a show in front of his “hometown” fans, scoring twice and adding four assists to briefly overtake Dionne by a single point. Both players finished the season tied at 137 points, however the Art Ross trophy went to Dionne by virtue of his 53 goals to Gretzky’s 51. Gretzky would end up taking home the first of his 9 Hart Trophies as league MVP.
• The following season would provide one of the shakier moments of The Great One’s career. As the Leafs visited Northlands Coliseum, Gretzky found himself moving into the centre of the ice crossing the Leaf blueline. Gretzky was promptly flattened by Leaf defender Bill McCreary on a legal hit. #99 lay on the ice for several minutes but eventually skated off on his own power and returned to the game. Interestingly, McCreary never played another shift in the NHL again.
• On November 27, 1984 the powerhouse Oilers romped all over Toronto by a score of 7-1. Gretzky had 3 goals and 2 assists in the game.
• On January 8, 1986 the Leafs and Oilers engaged in a wild-west shootout at the Gardens. Gretzky finished the night with a hat-trick and added 3 assists for good measure. However the victory would be sealed by the Leafs, by an incredible score of 11-9 as Miroslav Frycer answered with four goals of his own.
• All eyes of the hockey world turned to Toronto on May 29, 1993 for Game #7 of the Campbell Conference Final between the Leafs and the Los Angeles Kings. The winner would face the Montreal Canadiens for the Stanley Cup and fans north of the border were especially eager in anticipation of an all-Canadian Original Six matchup, the likes of which had not occurred since 1967. Toronto fans had felt cheated 48 hours earlier after the sixth game of the series, when a Gretzky high-stick inovertime that drew blood on Doug Gilmour went unpunished by referee Kerry Fraser. Earlier in the series, TSN analyst Bob McKenzie, then a hockey columnist for the Toronto Star had written an article suggesting that Gretzky – at 32 and coming off back surgery – was unable to rise to the occassion. McKenzie offered the opinion that the Kings captain was ‘playing with piano on his back’. In that fateful seventh game, Gretzky had what he would call the “best NHL game he ever played”. Gretzky would score three goals, none more back-breaking than a wrap-around marker following a rush down the right side and behind the net in which the puck deflected off Dave Ellett’s skate and in behind goalie Felix Potvin. The goal would make the score 5-3 for LA and although the Leafs added a late goal to keep it close, it would be Gretzky’s arms raised in triumph at game’s end. Only the second game of the 1987 Canada Cup Final vs. the USSR ranks higher in terms of Gretzky’s personal favourite contests.
• In the spring of 1996, Gretzky and the St. Louis Blues ousted the Maple Leafs in 6 games in the Western Conference Quarter-Final. The Great One signed with the New York Rangers in the off-season as an unrestricted free agent. It was later revealed that Cliff Fletcher had tried to acquire Gretzky, however the idea was nixed by Steve Stavro. The penny-pinching Leafs had dumped the salaries of veterans such as Mike Gartner and Todd Gill and would not even qualify for the playoffs for the next two seasons.
• Gretzky played his last game at Maple Leaf Gardens on Dec. 19, 1998 and had two assists. The spotlight however shone on Leaf centre Alyn McCauley who had 4 points in a 7-4 Leafs win.
• In 2008, Gretzky was rumoured to be one of several candidates to become Leafs president. The position was eventually filled by Brian Burke.
• Gretzky continues to operate a restaurant in his name in downtown Toronto. A portion of Peter Street was renamed so that the address of the establishment could be assigned 99 Blue Jays Way.
• In 63 career regular-season games against Toronto, Gretzky had 55 goals, 95 assists, 150 points and 22 penalty minutes. His goals-per-game average against Toronto is the highest of any of his other opponents.

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