Toronto Maple Leafs Roster 1972 – Whether or not David Keone is the greatest Maple Leafs player of all time has been debated for years.
(As I wrote in a Maple Leafs Hot Stove and Yahoo! Sports article a few years ago, I suggest it might be).
Toronto Maple Leafs Roster 1972
Regardless of his opinion on the matter, there’s no question that Dave Keon deserves to be one of the greatest men to ever wear a Toronto Maple Leaf hat.
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So the news that Keon will be recognized as the newest member of the organization’s Legends Row this weekend gives old-timers like me (I was born in 1953) who grew up Leafs fans a little bit of closure. Keon’s exploits in the 1960s.
Unfortunately, at various points along the way, the relationship between Keon and the Maple Leaf organization soured. It remained that way for decades. To be fair, the organization has tried over the years to include Keon while honoring past greats. But for (I think) good reasons, the ex-captain was not interested in full reconciliation. Although Keon has attended several Leafs events recently, he hasn’t attended a Leafs event in decades.
How did Conn Smith, the team’s founder and proud owner of the franchise, become one of the greatest men in exile?
A little background might help, today I’m trying to capture some personal memories of Keon’s time with the Maple Leafs. (If my memory fails me on various reference points, I’m sure illustrious MLHS readers will provide their recollections…)
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Most Leafs fans know the story – born and raised in Noranda, Quebec, Keon was spotted by a Leafs scout (the late Bob Davidson, I believe) as a teenager or so. To acquire his rights (at the time, if I recall correctly, NHL teams acquired player rights through a sponsorship system; there was no draft until the mid-1960s), the Maple Leafs essentially bought his team. Keon later became a better player.
Keon St. He played at Michaels College with the Toronto Marlies, major minor franchises and the Maple Leaf Hockey Channel’s “Family”. Can Toronto beat the Marlies or St. He owns the rights to almost all of Mike’s players. (There may be exceptions: future Red Wing greats Ted Lindsey and Red Kelly come to mind, guys who played at St. Mike’s, but I’ll have to repeat that.) Young Keon had a good junior career. Saint Michael Interestingly, Keon played for Canada in the 1960 US Olympics. For reasons I can’t remember, he missed that opportunity (I think future Montrealer Bobby Russo will replace him).
At St. Michael’s, Keown was a powerful attacker. Although he was small by the standards of the time (5-foot-9, maybe 160 pounds), he could skate and make plays. What he lacked, the story goes, was solid defensive play.
It was his trainer, Fr. David Bauer. Fr. Bower taught Keon a check-down technique that allows the young center to use his speed and superior anticipation to disrupt opponents using mount angles. This tuning was a game changer for the little center.
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Keon Leaf was invited to camp in the fall of 1960, but was not expected to make the roster. Why? He was still a child, he was small. The NHL was a men’s league, and Toronto had centers like Bob Pulford, Red Kelly and Billy Harris on the roster. General manager and coach Panch Imlach felt Keon needed to mature in the minor leagues.
But after a few exhibition games (they weren’t called “preseason” games) against some minor league teams in West Coast training camp, Keon Imlach felt the need to keep “Davy.” In the early days of the Leafs, he was called up to the big club roster.
Imlak never regretted his decision. Although his first-year statistics were solid but relatively modest (20 goals and 25 assists), Keon was named NHL Player of the Year and the prestigious Calder Trophy. Leaf in early years.
The Leafs were unexpectedly eliminated from the playoffs in the finals in the spring of 1961, but won three consecutive Stanley Cups between 1962 and 1964. There have been too many playoff games here to remember. I will say this: The 1962-63 Leaf roster remains, in my opinion, the best Leaf team of my lifetime. They finished first in the NHL regular season standings, something they haven’t done in a long time and, believe it or not, haven’t accomplished since. (Incidentally, Keon Pennant scored a goal with seconds remaining at Maple Leaf Gardens in a season-ending game against Jacques Plante and the hated Habs in a dramatic 3-3 tie that night). All Toronto needed was a win over the Canadiens and Red Wings in 10 playoff games to win their second consecutive Cup.
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To put it bluntly, these Leaf teams outplayed Keon. Johnny Bauer was the best goaltender, but Don Simmons was in net on the night the Leafs won the championship in April 1962 in Chicago against Bobby Hull, Glenn Hall and Stan Mikita and a great Blackhawks team. Leafs fans know the names of Bourne and Brewer, Horton, Stanley, Red Kelly, “Big M” (Frank Mahovlich), Pulford, Eddie Litzenberger, Ron Stewart and Eddie Scheck.
Toronto Maple Leafs center Dave Keon receives the Conn Smith Trophy in 1967 (Hockey Hall of Fame).
Keone was outstanding in those playoff years and would have been named the 1963 playoff MVP had that honor existed at the time. In fact, Imlach wrote an article for Hockey Illustrated at the time saying, “I wouldn’t take a million dollars for Keon.” (Ironically, the Leafs traded star player Frank Mahovlich to Chicago for $1 million a couple of years ago).
Although the Leafs were eliminated in the playoffs in 1965 and 1966, Keon remained the Leafs center ice man. He was an exceptional penalty killer, scored important goals (though scoring wasn’t his calling card in the NHL) and was called upon to check the league’s best opposing centers in those early years – and he did very well. .
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Consistency was his trademark. He was constantly moving, checking guys off the puck, digging and taking them out of the game. Killed penalties by creating many chances for his teammates and didn’t take a single penalty himself. (As a young fan, I like to keep track of how many hits Keon has
In short, Keon was the best player in the NHL from 1960-1967. As former coach and Hockey Night in Canada pundit Harry Neal said, “If you make yourself a complete hockey player, you make yourself a great player. Keon was respected because he did everything we want from a player.) Last trophy: 1967.
In the 1966-67 season, the Leafs had several young players (Pete Stemkowski, Ron Ellis, Mike Walton, Brian Conacher, Jim Papin, etc.).
They also suffered a 10-game losing streak in the winter of ’67, which coincided with Imlach’s hospitalization with a nervous breakdown, according to published reports at the time.
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But somehow, the combination of Bowyer and former Red Wing legend Terry Sochukin produced two major upsets in Toronto: first-place Chicago and the Canadiens. Keon, who excelled in both series, won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP, not for offensive prowess, but for his overall game. End of the Imlak era.
In the following two seasons the leaves were again reduced. They missed the playoffs after winning the Cup (in the first year of expansion), and although they made the playoffs in the spring of 1969, they were destroyed by a Bruins team led by the incomparable Bobby Orin, who would soon become known. . As the “Big Bad Bruins”. Early 1970s
When Jim Gregory replaced the fired Imlak before the 1969–70 NHL season, the roster began to rebuild. Keon was appointed captain
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