THE THREE STARS '.<$',.;' ' f< '' ~" ' ' ' -.' liwifliisi aafljirogg More Amazing Lists fo0r TRivia Lovers jefferson DAVIS &Andrwew PODNIEKS ECW PRESS
Copyright Jefferson Davis and Andrew Podnieks, 2000 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any process electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior written permission of ECW PRESS. CANADIAN CATALOGUING IN PUBLICATION DATA Davis, Jefferson, 1962- The three stars and other selections : more amazing lists for trivia lovers ISBN 1-55022-427-1 i. National Hockey League Miscellanea. 2. Hockey Miscellanea. I. Podnieks, Andrew. II. Title GV847.D426 2000 796.96264 020-931709-0 Cover and text design by Tania Craan Layout by Mary Bowness Printed by Transcontinental Distributed in Canada by General Distribution Services, 325 Humber Blvd., Etobicoke, Ontario Mgw 7C3 Distributed in the United States by LPC Group, 1436 West Randolph Street, Chicago, Illinois, USA 60607 Published by ECW PRESS 2120 Queen Street East, Suite 200, Toronto, Ontario, M4E IE2 www.ecw.ca/press The publication of The Three Stars and Other Selections has been generously supported by the Government of Canada through the Book Publishing Industry Development Program. Canada PRINTED AND BOUND IN CANADA
cofyniyti Ten Oddities About the Three Star Selection 1 Last Number One Goalies of the Original Six 3 Ten NHL Players to Become NHL Officials S Seven Amazing Facts about Hilda Ranscombe I Current NHL Coaches Who Once Played in the NHL 3 First Ten Coaches of the Minnesota North Stars 14 Eleven Odd Facts about the 500-Goal Club II Most Games Missed by an Art Ross Trophy Winner IS Ten Fewest Career Goals by Retired 1,000-Game Players Nine 30-Goal Scorers with the Fewest Career NHL Goals li Most Career Goals without a 30-Goal Season 2? Most Consecutive Years with at Least 40 Goals 30 Ten Player Nickname Origins 12 Original Members of the Montreal Wanderers 35 Five Players Who Skated for All But One Original Six Team 31 Ten Obscure Brothers in the NHL 39 Fewest Career Minutes Played by a Goalie 42 Most Career Shutouts by a Goalie Who Debuted after the 1967 Expansion 41 Ten War-Time Goalies 4 Most Penalty Minutes by a Player in His Only NHL Season (Original Six) 51 Most Points by a Player in His Sophomore Season 13 Longest Time between All-Star Game Appearances II Eight Unlikely MVPs of the All-Star Game 18 ii 22
Ten Members of the IIHF Hall of Fame with North American Connections 61 Ten Little-Known Members of the United States Hockey Hall of Fame 65 Six Memorable Games from the First Super Series (1975-76) 68 Ten Best Players at the First World Junior Championships in 1977 70 Seven Longest Last Names of Active Players 73 Eight Shortest Last Names of Goalies in NHL History 75 Ten Best Players Whose Last Name Starts with a "V" 77 Ten Surnames with an X 81 Six Names That Don't Fit 83 Ten Best Wilsons 85 Longest Gap between Stanley Cup Wins by a Player 88 Seven Least-Known Players to Score a Cup-Winning Goal 919 Seven Largest Point Decreases by a Team in One Season 92 First Ten Stanley Cup Challenges 95 Most Consecutive Years Missing the Playoffs 98 Eight Most Lopsided NHL Playoff Games 100 Six Fastest Trips to the Stanley Cup Finals by an Expansion Team 102 Ten Biggest Mismatches in a First-Round Playoff Series 105 First Ten New York Rangers to Score a Playoff Overtime Goal 1108 Most Hall of Famers on a Stanley Cup Team 111 Fewest Hall of Famers on a Stanley Cup Team 113 First and Last Goals in Original Six Buildings 115 Five Players Born on February 29 116 Nine Shortest Lives of WHA Teams 119 Eight Best Toronto Toros 122 Ten One-Game Wonders of the Original Six 124
Eight Players Who Hold Single-Season Records for More Than One Franchise 1 Ten Records Wayne Gretzky Never Broke 110 Ten Toughest NHL Records to Break 132 Most Regular Season Games Played, One Season 135 Seven Best Players Drafted from the Brandon Wheat Kings 131 Eight Worst Top Five Draft Choices of the 1980s 140 Ten Successful NHLers Drafted by Lesser-Known Teams 141 First Ten American-Born U.S. College or High School Players Drafted in the First Round 145 Seven Best Players Born in New York State 148 Eight Players from Cleveland to Play for Minnesota after the Merger of 1979 1 Seven Most Important Games Played in California 153 First NHL Games Played by the 1967-75 Expansion Teams 1i5 Eight Greatest Moments from the "Igloo" 157 Four Players Who Skated for the Most Expansion Teams 160 Eight Best Goaltending Tandems Since Expansion 161 Ten Under-Rated Defensemen from the 1970s 163 Ten Best Defensemen to Play for the Chicago Blackhawks 166 Ten Best California (Golden] Seals 118 Ten Best Toronto Maple Leafs Born in Quebec 112 Seven Key Trades between Toronto and Montreal 114 Ten Highest Single-Season Point Totals by a Montreal Centre 176 Photo Credits 170 Acknowledgements 180
Ten About the Three STAR SELECTION The naming of the three best players in a game 1 originated as a promotion for Three Star gasoline advertised during the Hot Stove League on radio broadcasts of Leaf games in the 1940s. As a result, the selections were a particularly Canadian tradition for many years. When Foster Hewitt made the selections, he 2 invariably chose one or both goaltenders. Usually, however, the selections were made by one of the Hot Stovers - Wes McKnight, Baldy Cotton, Court Benson, Elmer Ferguson. The Hot Stove League of Wes McKnight, Baldy Cotton, Court Benson, and Elmer Ferguson entertained fans across Canada via the Toronto Maple Leafs' radio broadcasts in the 194Qs. 1
The stars used to be announced 1-2-3, the most ' ', *'' prominent receiving immediate acclaim. However, some U.S. based teams such as Buffalo reversed the order in the 1970s as the drama built from the third star to second to first. 5 4 It wasn't until games were televised that the honoured players actually skated out onto the ice and their names announced over the p.a. system at Maple Leaf Gardens or the Montreal Forum. Molson breweries began sponsoring the selections in 1973 when it introduced the Molson Cup trophy for Canadian teams. This was presented to each of these clubs on a monthly and yearly basis of those players who were named the three stars most frequently. 6 Mike Walton of the Leafs was named on of the Three Stars in eleven consecutive games. 87 Rocket Richard was once named all Three Stars after scoring five goals in a playoff game against Toronto. Wayne Gretzky played his last two NHL games in 8 Ottawa on April 15, 1999, and three nights later in Madison Square Garden. In both games, he was named the only Star of the game. 9 Eddie Shack was rarely named a Star, but when chosen he was by far the most exciting. He would skate madly out to centre ice and then do a quick twirl with his stick high in the air to acknowledge the cheers of the fans. 10 One night in Toronto, Barclay Plager of the St. Louis -'f. sti' 1 Blues played a particularly inspired game but also enraged the Leafs' fans in the process. When coming back out as one of the Three Stars, he blew a kiss to his "admirers." 2
Last NUMBER ONE Goalies of the OR301NAL six 1 TOFtO WTO Johnny Bower & Terry Sawchuk The Leafs actually used five goalies during the 1966-67 regular season, Bower and Sawchuk as well as Bruce Gamble, Gary Smith, and Al Smith. But come the playoffs it was the two fortyyear-olds who took the Leafs to the Stanley Cup. While both men were to play parts of the first few years of expansion, this was, for all intents and purposes, their swan song in the NHL. 2 MONTREAL Charlie Hodge / Rogie Vachon / Gump Worsiey Although Hodge played 37 games for the Habs, Vachon and Worsley played 19 and 18 games respectively. All three were at different stages: Vachon was just beginning what was to be a superb career in the league; Worsley, though well into his thirties, still had many years to go with Minnesota even though he had been in the league more than a decade; and Hodge was trying hard to become the heir to Jacques Plante's throne, but without much consistent success. 3 C HICAGO Denis Dejordy / Glenn Hall This was a class old/young tandem. Hall had been sent to the Hawks in the deal that took Ted Lindsay out of Detroit for his attempts to form a players' union, and Hall's career had been long and glorious to this point. Dejordy was the youngster who was apprenticing under the Hall of Famer, hoping to inherit his mantle and skill. Dejordy, however, proved to be only a stop gap between Hall and the soon-to-be-great Hawks' goalies, Tony Esposito. 3
4 NEW YORK Ed Giacomin Giacomin played half the Rangers' games the previous season, and he was in goal for 68 of the team's 70 games in '66-67 making him the busiest goalie in the league. He was to have a great career with the Rangers before being traded by Emile Francis in a stunning move to Detroit. Giacomin also led the NHL with nine shutouts this season. 5 DETROIT Roger Crozier An enigmatic puck-stopper, "Crow" burst onto the NHL scene during the 1966 playoffs for the Wings in the Stanley Cup finals against Montreal. He almost single-handedly kept the team in the series, and although they eventually lost in six games, he was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy. This was his fourth year as the number one man for the Wings, and although his star burned bright in Motown, it didn't burn for very long. Health problems affected his play, and by the early seventies his time in the league had passed. 6 BOSTON Eddie Johnston / Gerry Cheevers / Bernie Parent As in Montreal, these three were at different stages of their careers. Parent was about to become a great goalie with Toronto, briefly, and then Philadelphia for two Stanley Cups, and in this his second year in the league he was still learning. Cheevers had started in Toronto, but it was in Boston that he was to spend the best and most successful part of his career, though he moved to the WHA in 1972 for many years. Johnston had been with the Bruins since 1962 and was a steady if unspectacular goaler for the Beantowners. 4
Ten NHL PLAYERS to BECOIViE NHL OFFICIALS 1 icinjo CLASMCY The grand-daddy of all players, Clancy's career as a zebra was almost as legendary as his life as a player. He blew his whistle for more than a decade, and was the most respected and popular of officials. He was the number one man in the league, and although players argued with him long and hard, his opinion was good as gold for most. 2 JOE PRIME AU After a great career with the Maple Leafs, Primeau remained in the game for a few years as a linesman. His calling, however, was a coach, and he soon retired from the ice to boss the bench first of the St. Mike's Majors and then the Leafs. 3 RED HORISI ER One of the toughest defensemen of his era, he led the league in penalty minutes for eight straight years. After retiring in 1940, he was asked by NHL president Frank Calder to officiate games in his home of Toronto to give added respect to the officiating crew, but after three seasons he called it quits and went into private business. 4 GAVE STEWART Like Red Horner, Stewart applied for a job as a linesman when NHL president Clarence Campbell sought to maintain a player presence among his officiating staff. He also reffed in the American league, but like Horner soon retired to pursue business interests outside the game. 5 MUSH MARCH After 17 seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks, March began a career in the striped shirt shortly after the end of the war. He stayed in the game a number of years as a referee, and retired having avoided much of the controversy officials managed to attract for their efforts. 5