Nikolai Kulemin, Longest serving Leaf

Nikolai Kulemin has played 210 career games for the Toronto Maple Leafs with Tomas Kaberle being traded, amazingly Kulemin is now the longest serving player with the franchise. The Leafs have never iced a team without having a player that had been with them for at least the four previous seasons. As they sit now, albeit with some better prospects and higher quality youth, the Leafs are akin to a third year expansion squad. It's as if they were granted an NHL franchise three years ago and started from scratch. By the power and vision of Brian Burke they have indeed cleaned the slate, the question is, will it work?

The last time Toronto had a team without a player of at least five years tenure was the end of 1996/97. On February 25, 1997 Doug Gilmour with just over five years Toronto experience and Dave Ellett with just over six years, were traded to New Jersey. This left Mats Sundin as the longest serving Leaf skater, much like Kulemin, just completing his third full season in Toronto. The difference then was goalie Felix Potvin was almost through his fifth full season in Toronto. As well, Toronto of late 96/97 still had Wendel Clark on his second stint in Toronto. Although only his first full year back in the fold it was his 11th Leaf season overall.

The season before, 1995/96, the team still had Todd Gill in his 10th full season with the club.
Toronto always had at least one guy with at least five years tenure prior to the mid 1990's. From Peter Ihnacak and Dan Daoust to Rick Vaive and Borje Salming. Before them Sittler, McDonald, Jim McKenney and Dave Keon, there was never a gap without a long-tenured Leaf player. Prior to that there was George Armstrong, Tim Horton, Ted Kennedy and Harry Watson.

In 1949/50 the Leafs had Bill Ezinicki in his fifth season as the longest serving skater but more than made up for it with goaltender Turk Broda who was in his twelfth full season. The season before there was Don Metz was in is fifth full year, but they still had Broda. One year before that was Syl Apps' last of ten full seasons.

In 1940/41 Nick Metz was in his seventh year and was the longest served Leaf, and 39/40 was Red Horner's last of 12 straight Leaf seasons. Before them there was Hap Day with 13 Toronto years dating back to the St.Patricks years.

So, the current Leaf team really is a rarity in franchise history. They are indeed on the same development level as a third year expansion squad. Whether or not this is the route to a successful future is still to be determined.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Team Canada 1972, What Might have Been

Image
Guy Lafleur, if he had played in the 72 Summit Series "No way. Can you imagine what our fans would say if we allowed Bobby Orr and Phil Esposito to play for Canada in that series and either...suffered an injury that might prevent them from playing with us for a year or more?" This was the concern of Weston Adams Jr, president of the Boston Bruins as quoted on April 20, 1972. After being speculated and discussed since February 1972 at the Olympics in Sapporo Japan, the series was set to go. Early on however, controversy stirred as to who exactly would be representing Canada. Bruins GM, Milt Schmidt agreed with his boss saying, "My only interest would be to see the Russians play the Bruins for the world championship...or whatever team wins the Stanley Cup." In the Vancouver Sun a few days later, the legendary Jim Coleman responds to the American naysayers suggesting that Team Canada should be made up strictly of players from Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal
Read more

WHA Ottawa Civics, The Two Week Franchise

Image
Tom Earl, Daryl Maggs, Mark Lomenda, Gary MacGregor, Garry Swain "Please let the fans make up their own minds," Henry Feller told a press gathering. "Let them decide if they want pro hockey here. We have to average 7,000 or 8,000 in the remaining 19 home games for a break-even point." Feller was a director of the Founders Club who had interest in buying the WHA's Denver Spurs club. Ivan Mullinex, owner of the Spurs had brought his team to Ottawa in an attempt to drum up interest and save his investment. The date was January 2, 1976 and Mullinex was in debt to a Denver bank to the tune of $1 million dollars. This same day, the newly christened Civics lost their first game under the new moniker by a score of 2-1 at Cincinnati. Star of the team, Ralph Backstrom said after the game, "Our first official notice of the move hit us when we entered the Cincinnati rink and the names on the big scoreboard read: Stingers and Civics. Until that moment we were un
Read more

Denman Arena, Vancouver - "The Pile"

Image
Situated at the corner of Denman and Georgia Streets in Vancouver, sitting on the shore of Coal Harbour, the Denman Arena was once the largest in the world. Built in 1911 by Frank and Lester Patrick at a cost of $300,000 it was the main venue for their newly formed Pacific Coast Hockey Association. Until the Montreal Forum was built in 1926, it was the largest artificial ice arena in the world seating 10,500. Constructed of wood and brick, the large brick facing led Vancouverites to refer to it as The Pile. The Patrick brothers simultaneously built the 3,500 seat Patrick Arena in Victoria to help house their three team league which also included New Westminster. They would proceed to raid the established National Hockey Association of much of it’s top talent to stock their teams. The Pile would host the Vancouver Millionaires Stanley Cup championship in March, 1915, boxing matches featuring Max Baer and “Cinderella Man” James Braddock, movie star Rudolph Valentino as well as bicycle r
Read more