1983-84 Winnipeg Jets Dale Hawerchuk Jersey

Dale Hawerchuk, born on this date in 1963, scored 103 points for the Cornwall Royals of the QMJHL in 1979-80 and followed up his stellar rookie season with another astonishing 45 points in 18 playoff games from 20 goals and 25 assists to lead the Royals in playoff scoring on their way to the 1980 Memorial Cup championship. He was subsequently named as the league's Rookie of the Year and Playoff MVP.

Still too young to be drafted, Hawerhcuk returned for a second season with the Royals, leading not only the team but the entire QMJHL with 81 goals and 102 assists for 183 points in just 72 games, an average of over 2.5 points per game. He tied with future NHL head coach Marc Crawford to lead the Royals in playoff points with 35 as the Royals became back-to-back Memorial Cup champions.

Hawerchuk was then named the Memorial Cup MVP as well as the QMJHL Player of the Year as well as the CHL Player of the Year, making him the prime pick in the upcoming draft.

That same season Hawerchuk made his international debut for Canada, playing in the 1981 World Junior Tournament, making a name for himself with 5 goals and 9 points in 5 games.

Thanks to their distant last place finish during their second season of play in the NHL following the demise of the WHA, the Winnipeg Jets were in prime position to select Hawerchuk with the first overall pick in the 1981 NHL Entry Draft.

Hawerchuk did not disappoint, leading the Jets to an NHL record 48 point single season improvement in the standings thanks to a team leading 45 goals and 103 points, making him the youngest player to ever reach 100 points. Additionally, he played in that season's NHL All-Star Game and won the Calder Trophy as the league's Rookie of the Year.

Following the Jets early exit from the playoffs, he made his World Championships debut, scoring three times on his way to earning a bronze medal.

Another 40 goal season followed in 1982-83 before he reeled off five consecutive seasons of 100 points or more, highlighted by his stellar 1984-85 season of 53 goals and 77 assists for 130 points, all career highs, which saw him finish 3rd in the NHL scoring race. This was also the same season when Hawerchuk was named as the Jets team captain.

During that stretch of 100+ point seasons from 1983-84 to 1987-88, Hawerchuk also participated in the 1986 World Championships (6 points in 8 games, earning a second bronze medal), Rendez-vous '87, in which a team of NHL All-Stars took part in a two game series against the Soviet Union, and the prestigious 1987 Canada Cup, during which he scored 4 goals and 6 points in 9 games as Canada emerged victorious.

While his streak of 100 point seasons would end in 1988-89 with "just" 96 points, he would extend his streak of consecutive 40 goal seasons to five. With the Jets missing the playoffs, Hawerchuk would captain Team Canada at the 1989 World Championships in Stockholm, Sweden, totaling 12 points in 10 games as the Canadians brought home a silver medal.

He would play one final season in Winnipeg before being traded to the Buffalo Sabres, along with a first round draft pick (which became Brad May) , in a blockbuster trade for Phil Housely, former Royals teammate Scott Arniel, Jeff Parker and Buffalo's first round pick, which the Jets used to select Keith Tkachuk.

Hawerchuk's goal scoring in Buffalo not approach is totals in Winnipeg, but his playmaking skills would come to the fore, as he helped set up snipers such as Dave Andreychuk, Pierre Turgeon, Alexander Mogilny and Pat LaFontaine, which allowed him to lead the club in scoring in 1991, 1992 and 1994, with a high of 98 points in 1991-92.

Prior to his second season with Buffalo, Hawerchuk made his final international appearance, skating once again for Team Canada at the 1991 Canada Cup, contributing 5 points in 8 games as the Canadians again won the tournament for the second time in his career.

For the 1995-96 season, Hawerchuk signed as a free agent with the St. Louis Blues, where he played 66 games of the 1995-96 season, which included his 500th NHL goal before a trade to the Philadelphia Flyers for the final 16 games of the season. He would return to the Flyers for the final season of his career in 1996-97, although he was limited to 51 games of the regular season, Hawerchuk closed out his career with the longest playoff run of his career which concluded with his only appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals.

Hawerchuk's final NHL totals were 518 goals and 891 assists for 1,409 points, which still ranks as #19 all-time 15 years after his retirement.

Following his career, Hawerchuk was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2001, had his #10 retired by the relocated Jets, now known as the Phoenix Coyotes, in 2007 and named to the Buffalo Sabres Hall of Fame in 2011.

Today's featured jersey is a 1983-84 Winnipeg Jets Dale Hawerchuk jersey. This style Jets jersey was first worn in 1979-80 as the Jets marked a new era in franchise history as they gained entry into the NHL. This style would be worn through 1989-90 when the club changed to a new style, and would be the only style worn by Hawerchuk while a member of the Jets.

Bonus jersey: Today's bonus jersey is a 1989 Team Canada Dale Hawerchuk jersey as he captained Canada to a silver medal at the World Championships. This jersey was produced by Tackla and featured the company's diamond shape logo along the shoulders. Tackla supplied jerseys for the World Juniors, the World Championships and the Olympics from 1987 to 1993.

Today's video section begins with one of our favorite videos of all time, Les Dale Hawerchuks performing their utterly brilliant song "Dale Hawerchuk".

Next, an extended look at the playing career of Hawerchuk.

1983-84 Calgary Flames Håkan Loob Jersey

On this date in 1988, Håkan Loob became the first Swedish-born player in the NHL to score 50 goals, a record that still stands today. The previous high for a Swede was 49, set in 1981 by Loob's former Calgary Flames teammate Kent Nilsson, who had 40 or more three times. Nilsson was the first Swede to reach the 40 goal mark, which he did in 1980.

Håkan Loob

The only other Swedes to have registered 40 goal NHL seasons are the Ottawa Senators Daniel Alfredsson, who had 43 in 2005-06 and 40 in 2007-08, Markus Naslund, who did it on three occasions with a high of 48 in 2002-03 while with the Vancouver Canucks, Mats Naslund, who had back to back seasons of 42 and 43 while with the Montreal Canadiens in the mid 80's, Mats Sundin, who also accomplished it three times, with a high of 47 in 1992-93 while with the Quebec Nordiques and twice more with 41 while with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Henrik Zetterberg of the Detroit Red Wings totaled 43 in 2007-08 and Daniel Sedin, also of the Canucks become the most recent to score 40 when he reached 41 in 2010-11 when he won the scoring title, but Loob still remains the only Swede to have reached 50 goals.

Loob played one season with Färjestads BK Karlstad before being drafted 181st overall by Calgary in the 1980 NHL Entry Draft. He would play three more seasons for Färjestads BK, including winning a championship in 1981 and setting the Elitserien scoring record with 42 goals and 76 points in just 36 games in 1982-83 and being named Swedish Player of the Year before joining the Flames in 1983-84.

In his first season in Calgary, Loob scored 30 goals, the first of three consecutive 30 goal seasons to begin his NHL career. After a down year in 1986-87 with just 18 goals, Loob would rebound with the best offensive season of his time in the NHL, with his record 50 goals plus 56 assists for 106 points.

Following the 1986-87 season, Loob would score nine points in eight games as Sweden captured gold at the World Championships in Vienna, Austria.

The 1988-89 was a magical one for the Flames. Loob would have 27 goals and 85 points during the regular season and add another 8 goals and 17 points in 22 playoff games as the Flames would capture the 1989 Stanley Cup for the only time in franchise history.

Håkan Loob celebrating with the Stanley Cup

Winning the Stanley Cup was the last thing Loob would do in the NHL, as he returned to Färjestads BK the following season, where he would play the final seven seasons of his career, which included scoring the 250th goal of his Elitserien career.

Loob would finish his career with 262 goals and 499 points in 405 Elitserien games as well as 193 NHL goals and 429 points in 450 NHL games.

In 2005-06, on the Elitserien's 30th Anniversary, the league created the Håkan Loob Trophy, which is awarded to the leading goal scorer each season.

Internationally, Loob competed for Sweden in the World Junior Championships twice, the World Championships four times, winning gold in 1987 and 1991, the Canada Cup in 1985 and the Olympics twice, first in 1992 and then again in 1994 as Sweden won the gold medal, making Loob, along with teammates Tomas Jonsson and Mats Naslund, the first players to win World Championship gold, the Stanley Cup and Olympic Gold, in what is know known as The Triple Gold Club. To date, only 25 players have ever accomplished the feat.

Loob, Naslund and Jonsson celebrate their Olympic gold medals

Today's featured jersey is a 1983-84 Calgary Flames Håkan Loob jersey that features the City of Calgary 100th Anniversary patch, the first patch ever worn by the franchise, including their time in Atlanta where they wore no additional patches. This jersey was worn by Loob during his rookie season in the NHL when he scored 30 goals and 25 assists for 55 points in 77 games and was named to the NHL All-Rookie Team.

Bonus Jersey: Today's bonus jersey is a 1994-95 Färjestad BK Håkan Loob jersey. This mesh jersey features the typical European sponsorship logos and distinctive Adidas triple stripes down each sleeve. This garish purple and gold jersey was worn during a season in which Loob had 38 points in 39 games, the next to last season of his career.

Extra bonus jersey: Today's extra bonus jersey is a 1978 Sweden National Team Håkan Loob jersey worn during the 1978 World Junior Championships, Loob's first international experience, which would eventually lead to him becoming a charter member of the Triple Gold Club.

Thanks to their sponsorship with Polar Caravans, this jersey was worn during one the brief period of time when Sweden did not sport the Tre Kronor "Three Crowns" cresting on their national team jerseys.

While it does not have the classic three crowns crest, it's a very attractive jersey with the addition of the third color white to the mix and the appealing polar bear logo, not only on the front and back, but as a secondary logo on the shoulders as well.

photo courtesy of Classic Auctions

Our first video today is a feature on the NHL career of Loob.

This next video is from the Elitserien playoffs in 1996 and shows Loob scoring a goal. We believe this to be Loob's final game, as he is shown waving as he leaves the ice after the loss.

1988-89 Los Angeles Kings Kelly Hrudey Jersey

New York Islanders goaltender Kelly Hrudey began his 1988-89 season with a 4-4 tie against the Calgary Flames on October 10th. His first win came in his third start of the season, a 3-2 win on the road against the Vancouver Canucks. The Islanders returned home to defeat the Montreal Canadiens 2-1 on October 15th followed by another victory over the Canucks on the 18th by the same 3-2 score as their first meeting to extend his winning streak to three games.

Four straight losses followed before Hrudey and the Islanders put together back-to-back wins on November 5th over the Washington Capitals and the New York Rangers on the 8th, both by identical 4-3 scores.

Following a tie and three losses, Hrudey won his 6th game over the Pittsburgh Penguins 6-4 on November 19th. Unfortunately, the Islanders would suffer a ten game losing streak, with Hrudey taking the loss in eight of those games.

The streak was broken on December 26th in Toronto, as the Islanders would defeat the Maple Leafs 4-3.  Five days later, on New Year's Eve back at home at the Nassau Coliseum, the Capitals would fall to Hrudey and the Islanders again, this time 6-4.

The Islanders lost their next three games before traveling to face the New Jersey Devils, who they defeated on January 13th 5-3.

A six game home stand for the Islanders began with a defeat by the Chicago Blackhawks, with goaltending partner Billy Smith taking the loss after allowing 4 goals in the first 14 minutes before Hrudey played the final 46 minutes without allowing a goal. Hrudey's tenth win of the season came on the 17th over the Penguins 5-2, which was quickly followed by two more victories over the Los Angeles Kings and the Minnesota North Stars.

Hrudey dons his trademark headband

A tie against New Jersey was followed by a win over the Winnipeg Jets to conclude the homestand on January 26th. Two losses on the road were matched by two wins, at home against the Hartford Whalers  and on the road versus the Quebec Nordiques. After two more road games, both losses, the Islanders returned to Long Island for a three game homestand, all wins over the Edmonton Oilers, St. Louis Blues and Philadelphia Flyers. Those three wins gave Hrudey 18 wins for the season.

Jeff Hackett took the loss for the Islanders on February 19th against Philadelphia before Hrudey was tagged with a loss on the 21st at home against the Detroit Red Wings to make his record 18-24-3.

The next day, Hrudey was sent across the continent when he was traded to the Kings for goatlender Mark Fitzpatrick, defenseman Wayne McBean and future considerations, which ended up being defenseman Doug Crossman.

Hrudey made his debut for the Kings on February 24th with a loss to the Oilers in Edmonton. The Kings next travelled to New Jersey where they tied the Devils 1-1. Hrudey's first win for the Kings came on March 1st in Buffalo against the Sabres. Their long road trip ended with a loss in St, Louis.

Hrudey fresh off the plane from New York with

an undecorated mask and his Islanders colored goal pads

A four game winning streak followed with victories over the Flyers and Penguins in Los Angeles and the Oilers and Nordiques on the road. After a defeat at Montreal, Hrudey won his second game in Edmonton in nine days.

A defeat in Calgary was followed by a another win versus Edmonton in Los Angeles. Unusually, the Kings hosted Winnipeg on back-to-back nights at hime, the first ending in a tie and the second a 2-1 win for Los Angeles.

The Kings season then concluded with a home-and-home series against the Canucks, a 6-4 win on April 1st in Los Angeles followed by a 5-4 win in Vancouver on this date in 1989 to give Hrudey a 10-4-2 record while with the Kings, making him the first goaltender in 72 years of NHL history to win ten games for two different teams in the same season.

Also of note, dating back to March 12th in Edmonton, the final ten games of Hrudey's season all came against Canadian teams - Edmonton, Quebec, Montreal, Calgary, Winnipeg and Vancouver. If that weren't enough, the Kings then eliminated Edmonton in six games in the first round of the playoffs before being swept by Calgary in four straight, pushing Hrudey's Canadian-based opposition to 21 consecutive games!

Today's featured jersey is a 1988-89 Los Angeles Kings Kelly Hrudey jersey, as worn the season he became the first goaltender to win ten games for two different teams in the same season.

1988-89 was the first season for the Kings new jerseys, which coincided with the arrival of Wayne Gretzky to California. The first three seasons saw the white jerseys with silver names and numbers outlined in black. In 1991-92 they changed to silver trimmed in white and outlined in black, but the names were very difficult to read and were changed the following season to one color black names, as well as finally changing the numbers from the lower contrast silver to black, which was trimmed in white and outlined in silver for the final six years for the black and silver look.

Today's video selection is Hrudey being honored by the Kings on Legends Night.

1994-95 Jokerit Helsinki Teemu Selanne Jersey

It only seems appropriate to feature a club on April Fool's Day named the "Jokers". 

Founded in 1967 in Helsinki, Finland when Aimo Mäkinen saw the opportunity to establish a semi-professional sports club following the demise of the Töölön Vesa sports club hockey team, Mäkinen paid half of Vesa's hockey related debts and received all the previous club's assets, including their junior players and a spot in the second highest Finnish league, the Suomi-sarja, for his new club which he named "Jokerit", which is Finnish for "Jokers" and whose name and logo were inspired by the joker from a deck of playing cards.

Two years after it's founding, Jokerit would earn promotion to the top level of Finnish hockey, the SM-sarja. Once accomplished, Mäkinen began aggressively adding star players to his roster. With rules changing allowing bodychecking in 1969, hockey in Finland underwent a change to a more physical style, which then coach Matti Lampainen felt was unsuitable for the roster he had at the time. He guided his club toward a more clever and tactical style which paid off with a championship in 1973.

The club would pass through several ownerships during the 1980's and an infusion of young talent at the end of the decade, such as defenseman Waltteri Immonen, who would captain the team from 1991-1999, Mika Strömberg, the club's all-time highest scoring defenseman, Ari Sulander, their main goaltender from 1993-1998 and Teemu Selänne, who would go on to set NHL rookie scoring records and eventually score 600 NHL goals, would return the club quickly to the top level, now called the SM-liiga, after having been relegated in 1987.

With their ownership now settled by 1991, the club became the wealthiest in Finland, which led to a dynasty that captured the Finnish championship in 1992, 1994, 1996 and 1997.

Petri Varis, Otakar Janecký and Juha Lind celebrate

Jokerit's league championship in 1997

In addition to their Finnish titles, the club has also captured the European Cup in 1995 and 1996 and moved into their new home, the Hartwall Areena in 1997.

Kurri and Selänne hoist Immomen in celebration of the 1995 European Cup

The club's sixth championship would come in 2002 behind the goaltending of Kari Lehtonen.

When the Jokerit celebrated their 40th anniversary season in 2007-08 they retired the jersey of former star Jari Kurri, who originally played for the team from 1977-80 and again during the NHL lockout of 1994.

In addition to their six Finnish championships, Jokerit have finished second in 1971, 1983, 1995, 2000, 2005 and 2007 and won the Continental Cup in 2003.

Jokerit has also left it's mark on the NHL, with the only two Finns in NHL history to have scored 1,000 points, Kurri and Selänne, having started with Jokerit.

Other Jokerit players to have gone onto NHL careers include, Ossi Väänänen, Lehtonen, Sean Bergenheim, Valtteri Filppula, Erik Karlsson, Ville Leino, Tuomo Ruutu, and Esa Tikkanen.

Valtteri Filppula

With Russian investors now owning a 49% share of Jokerit, as well as now owning Hartwall Areena, Jokerit became the first club from Scandinavia to join the primarily Russian KHL for the 2014-15 season, which began not only a new era for the club, but the KHL itself.

Jokerit finished fourth in the Western Conference with a 40-20 record. They won their first  KHL playoff series, defeating Dynamo Minsk 4 games to 1 before falling 4-1 to CSKA Moscow, the team which had the best overall record in the league.

Today's featured jersey is a 1994-95 Jokerit Helsinki Teemu Selänne jersey. Selänne returned to Jokerit during the NHL lockout, along with Jari Kurri, and was a part of the 1995 European Cup winning team.

This jersey has the Tackla diamond shapes on the shoulders and the usual European sponsorship logos along with the oh-so-1990's magenta and teal color scheme, not to mention the yellow numbers, which makes for a very distinctive and gaudy look - more fitting for a jester than a professional athlete. Still, the club enjoyed a terrific run of  success during the time of this color scheme, even if it did become dated very quickly.

The original jerseys were all dye-sublimated, but this replica example was expertly customized with the same and numbers in twill as well as the impressive rendition of the Karjala sponsorship on the back with heat-sealed material to match the font used on the front sublimated logo. The Carrols patch on the front was one of our custom made patches that was then also sewn on to complete the look of this most distinctive jersey.

On a personal note, we wore this jersey to a Anaheim Ducks game in the spring of 2013 and stood out enough in it's loud colors that we were given a puck by Selänne during warmups!

Bonus Jersey: Today's bonus jersey is a 2005-06 Jokerit Helsinki Tero Konttinen jersey. While the 1990's Jokerit jerseys may have been memorable for their garish coloring, the club did themselves a great favor at the turn of the century when they adopted navy blue, red and yellow as their color palette. After using the same striping pattern as the Russian National Team, in 2003-04 the club copied the NHL's Florida Panthers 1998-2003 alternate jerseys, sans waist striping to good effect. This jersey style remained in use, albeit with an ever evolving set of sponsorship logos, through the 2007-08 season.

Our first video of today is footage of Jokerit during the 1992 SM-liiga Finals.

Our second video features rabid Jokerit supporters in footage from 2006.

The Gordie Howe Hat Trick

In honor of the 87th birthday of hockey legend Gordie Howe, today at Third String Goalie we take a look at the achievement named in his honor, The Gordie Howe Hat Trick.

Howe, known for both his scoring ability combined with his unquestioned toughness, became the namesake for the combination of being credited for an assist, scoring a goal and engaging in a fight during a game. Despite the feat of having an offensive contribution combined with pugilism being named for Howe, he only managed the feat twice during his lengthy NHL career.

His first came on October 11, 1953 when he fought Fern Flaman of the Toronto Maple Leafs, assisted  on a goal by Red Kelly and later scored a goal. His second Gordie Howe Hat Trick came later that same season when he first scored a goal, assisted on a goal by Ted Lindsay and then fought Teeder Kennedy, again against Toronto, on March 21, 1954.

Combatants Howe and Kennedy with referee Red Dunn

The first recorded Gordie Howe Hat Trick happened back on December 22, 1920 when Harry Cameron of the Toronto St. Pats had a busy night against the Ottawa Senators.

The all-time leader in Gordie Howe Hat Tricks is Brendan Shanahan, with 17. His first came as a member of the New Jersey Devils on February 11, 1989. He would eventually have three while with New Jersey, five while as a member of the St. Louis Blues, one with the Hartford Whalers and eight for the Detroit Red Wings.

A 1997-98 Detroit Red Wings Brendan Shanahan jersey
from the career leader in Gordie Howe Hat Tricks.

Next on the list of regular season Gordie Howe Hat Tricks is Rick Tocchet with 15 while with the Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Los Angeles Kings, Boston Bruins, Phoenix Coyotes and again for the Flyers. Adding in his playoff totals, Tocchet becomes the all-time leader with 18.

1991-92 Philadelphia Flyers Rich Tocchet jersey

Brian Sutter checks in third with an even dozen, all while with the St. Louis Blues. Sutter also had an additional five Gordie Howe Hat Tricks in the postseason, which elevates him into a tie with Shanahan.

1984-85 St. Louis Blues Brian Sutter jersey

The active leader is Jarome Arthur-Leigh Adekunie Tig Junior Elvis Iginla of the Colorado Avalanche who currently sits at nine.

A 2001-02 Calgary Flames Jarome Iginla jersey from

the current active Gordie Howe Hat Trick leader

photo courtesy of Classic Auctions

Double Gordie Howe Hat Tricks have happened on a few occasions, with the first being on March 9, 2010 when Fedor Tyutin had a goal and two assists and Ryan Getzlaf had a goal and an assist of his own as well as having a fight with each other!

Adam Henrique and Jarome Iginla duplicated the feat when they fought each other on January 10, 2012 with Iginla also having a goal and 2 assists and Henrique having one of each for a Gordie Howe Hat Trick of his own.

In a slightly more unusual variation of the double Gordie Howe Hat Trick, Joe Thornton and Ryan Clowe both had a goal, an assist and a fight for the San Jose Sharks, the only double by two players on the same team during the same game.

The most memorable night in Gordie Howe Hat Trick history was November 14, 1992 game between the Buffalo Sabres and the New York Islanders when Tom Fitzgerald and Benoit Houge of the Islanders, Wayne Presley of Buffalo all achieved the feat for the only triple in Howe history, with Presley and Houge having fought each other in the final minute of the second period and Fitzgerald's fight completing his hat trick with a fight against the Sabres Colin Patterson at 13:46 of the third period.

History was made earlier this season when Steve Pinizzotto of the Edmonton Oilers was recalled  from the Oklahoma City Barons on November 19, 2014 for his 19th career NHL game and managed to record a Gordie Howe Hat Trick on the night he scored his first career NHL goal.

Pinizzotto had his fight early in the game and then

proudly displays his first goal puck after the game

Today's featured jersey is a 1954-55 Detroit Red Wings Gordie Howe jersey. Howe and the Red Wings would win their third Stanley Cup of Howe's career following the 1954-55 season. This sweater can be traced back to that era by the lack of sleeve numbers, which did not appear until later thanks to the advent of television coverage.

photos courtesy of Classic Auctions

While you may expect a rough, offensively skilled player like Shanahan or Tocchet to be a likely candidate for a Gordie Howe Hat Trick, sometimes a player who you might not expect can join the club, such as the offensively gifted Pavel Datsyuk.

Conversely, there are tough guys you don't expect to find on the scoresheet who have the planets align one magical night, allowing them to find the back of the net, such as career 17 goal scorer Kelly Chase of the Blues, who welcomes Jaden Schwartz and Vladimir Tarasenko to the club with a entertaining history lesson for the youngsters.

Finally,  the "Legends of Hockey" profile of Gordie Howe.

Happy birthday, Mr. Hockey!