1939 NHL All-Star Eddie Shore Jersey

Prior to the NHL All-Star Game being an annual affair, which began with the first annual game in 1947, three previous benefit games took place featuring a team of NHL All-Stars on one side of the contest.

The third and final of those benefit games took place on this date in 1939 in memory of Babe Siebert, a former NHL player who had recently been named head coach of the Montreal Canadiens who drowned in Lake Huron while swimming before he began his new job as coach.

Babe Siebert from his playing days with the Montreal Maroons

To benefit his family, a game was organized by the Montreal Canadiens and Montreal Maroons, both of whom Siebert had played for during his career.

Siebert as a Montreal Canadien

Held in the Montreal Forum, 6,000 fans attended the game between the Montreal Canadiens and a team of NHL All-Stars, raising $15,000 for Siebert's family.

The program from the Babe Siebert Memorial Game

Syl Apps, of the Toronto Maple Leafs, scored four points, one goal and three assists, in a 5-2 win for the All-Stars over the defending Stanley Cup champion Canadiens.

"Busher" Jackson and Eddie Shore were named to the All-Star team, the only two players to appear in all three of the Benefit Era games, as well as referee King Clancy, who had participated in the first two benefit games as a player.

The All-Stars got on the board first with a pair of goals in the first period, first by Bobby Bauer from Apps and Johnny Gottselig at 8:30 followed by Shore for the All-Stars at 10:07, also from Apps and Gottselig.

Apps got his goal at 2:05 of the second from Bauer before Montreal got on the board when Earl Robinson scored on an assist from George Mantha and Ray Getliffe at 5:49.

The All-Stars get that one back two minutes later when Gottselig scored at 7:49 from Apps and Art Coultier and widened their lead to 5-1 when Earl Seibert (note the different spelling from Siebert) scored an unassisted goal at 11:21. Louis Trudel closed out the scoring at 19:15 of the second period when he scored on the All-Stars Frank Brimsek from Polly Druin and Rod Lorrain, as there was no scoring in the third period. Wilf Cude took the loss in goal for the Canadiens. Gottselig would finish the game with a goal and two assits.

Today's featured jersey is a 1939 NHL All-Star Eddie Shore jersey as worn in the Siebert Memorial Game on this date in 1939. This wool sweater was used just the single time during the All-Star contest and has survived in immaculate condition. Shore left it behind in his locker in New York after retiring while a member of the New York Americans after spending the majority of his career with the Boston Bruins.

Bonus jersey: Today's bonus jersey is a 1937 Montreal All-Stars Babe Siebert jersey as worn in the 1937 Howie Morenz Memorial game just two years prior to the Babe Siebert Memorial Game.

The Morenz game featured a team of NHL All-Stars taking on a team comprised of All-Stars from the Montreal Canadiens and Montreal Maroons following Morenz's death following a severely broken leg suffered during a game and a subsequent heart attack while still hospitalized for the broken leg.

photo courtesy of Classic Auctions

2000-01 New Jersey Devils John Madden Jersey

On this date in 2000, the New Jersey Devils traveled to Pittsburgh to take on the Penguins. It was the Devils 9th game of the season and they brought a 5-2-1 record into the game as well as a three game winning streak. Pittsburgh, meanwhile, stood at 5-3-1 after starting their season with a pair of games in Tokyo, Japan, tied with the Devils with 11 points atop the Atlantic Division.

Martin Brodeur got the start in goal, while Jean-Sebastien Aubin got the nod for Pittsburgh.

Turner Stevenson got the scoring started with with a goal from Sergei Nemchinov and John Madden at 2:02 of the first period to put the Devils up by one.

The same line struck again at 4:45, this time with Madden scoring from Nemchinov and Stevenson. Randy McKay put the Devils up by three when he scored on the power play at 12:32 from Bobby Holik and Colin White at 11:18. Before the period ended, McKay scored his second off a goal post from Ken Sutton and Holik at 19:30 to send the Devils into the locker room with a stout 4-0 lead.

Madden scores his first goal of the night

The second period began with Garth Snow taking over in goal for Pittsburgh and he held the Devils off the scoreboard for half a period until Madden scored his second at 11:10 on Nemchinov's third assist. The rout was on when McKay completed his hat trick at 12:32 from Brian Rafalski. It was the third hat trick of his career.

McKay completes his hat trick

Five minutes would pass before McKay scored his fourth of the night on a rebound off the back boards on a shot from Patrik Elias with the second assist from Rafalski at 17:44 before Madden made good in his bid for his first career hat trick with assists from Stevenson and Sutton at 18:57, putting the Devils out of reach at the end of 40 minutes 8-0.

McKay celebrates

Clearly owning the hot hand, their teammates kept feeding McKay and Madden the puck in the third period and Madden converted from a bad angle with assists from Ed Ward and Jim McKenzie for his fourth goal of the night at 15:55 of the third period to tie New Jersey's largest margin of victory ever at 9, accomplished twice before.

Madden matched McKay's four goals with 4 minutes to play

When Madden scored his fourth goal, he and McKay became the first teammates to score four goals in a game since Odie and Sprague Cleghorn did it for the Montreal Canadiens way back on January 14, 1922, a gap of over 78 years.

Odie and Sprague Cleghorn during their final season in
Montreal wearing their 1924-25 World's Champions sweaters

Madden and MaKay's four goals in a game also tied a team record held by Pat Verbeek since February 28, 1988.

Lost in the offensive fireworks was Broduer's shutout on 21 saves and McKay nearly stole the spotlight from Madden when he hit the pipe in the third period, just missing his fifth goal of the night.

McKay was named as The First Star of the Game despite Madden having five points in the game. "Randy's goals were much more fashionable than mine, so I'm sure they gave it to him for that even though I had one more point than he did." Madden needled after the game.

McKay was the first star of the game despite

being outscored by Madden

"I was in the right spot in the right time tonight, and it seemed like every time I got in the open, someone got me the puck," McKay said. "It was one of those nights where every time I touched the puck, I felt I had a shot. The last one, it came back to me, flat as could be, right in my wheelhouse and I had an open net to shoot at. Every time I came back to the bench, Bobby Holik was shaking his head. He couldn't believe it."

Holik concurred, "That's because he didn't just get goals, he got pretty goals, three of them. I was like, 'whooooo'. They weren't just going in, the goalie had no chance on them. It was hard to believe."

The reason for the extra celebration and incredulous reaction was that McKay was not known as much of a goal scorer and generally was a member of the Devils "Crash Line" of checkers and grinders. In his nine previous season in New Jersey, he averaged 12 goals a season with a career high of 24. After his four goal outburst, McKay would score just 16 goals in the Devils 73 remaining games.

"I scored one, I was happy with one," Madden Said. "The puck was coming my way."

"I would like to say I'm sorry to the people who bought tickets," Penguins coach Ivan Hlinka said. "I would like to say thanks to the people who stayed to the finish. I believe we ware not a bad team like tonight. I hope we will show our face over the next game and the next week."

Penguins defenseman Bob Boughner went farther, saying, "Maybe we should all take money out of our next checks and pay all the fans who stayed to watch the rest of that game. It's a joke."

Today's featured jersey is a 2000-01 New Jersey Devils John Madden jersey as worn during his record tying four goal game against Pittsburgh on this date in 2000.

This game was played back in the era when the home team traditionally wore white jerseys, but with the increasing number of colored alternate jerseys now in use, the visiting teams often had to wear white on the road to accommodate the home teams wearing their third jerseys, as was the case in the game where Madden and McKay each scored four goals, as Pittsburgh had just reintroduced the skating penguin logo on their new alternate jerseys in 2000-01.

In order to eliminate the need for the road teams equipment managers to have to pack two sets of jerseys for road trips, the rule was changed for the 2003-04 season onwards, where the road team would nearly always wear white, regardless of the home team was wearing their dark home jersey or colored alternates. There are of course always exceptions to this rule, but in general it made life easier for the traveling equipment managers league wide.

Today's Bonus jersey is a 2000-01 New Jersey Devils Randy McKay jersey. The Devils jersey is on it's way to joining the Canadiens, Red Wings and Blackhawks as one of the longest tenured iconic jerseys in the NHL, as team president Lou Lamoriello steadfastly remains against any changes to the Devils jersey adopted in 1992, including the adoption of an alternate jersey for the Devils.

Today's video segment begins with a McKay overtime game winner in the 1995 playoffs, in what was until then a scoreless tie against the Boston Bruins.

In this next clip, Madden seals a win over Patrick Roy and the Colorado Avalanche in the 2001 Stanley Cup playoffs.

1944-45 Toronto Maple Leafs Frank McCool Jersey

Frank McCool, born on this date in 1918, played senior hockey in his hometown of Calgary in the late 1930's before enrolling at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington, where he would play for three seasons starting with the 1939-40 season. He would then enroll in the Canadian Army. While in the military, he continued to compete on the ice with the Calgary Currie Army team.

Duty called McCool to serve in World War II, causing him to miss a chance to play in the 1943-44 season. Another player also away from the ice during the war was Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Turk Broda. Broda had been entrenched in the Maple Leafs goal for the past seven seasons, but his absence left the Maple Leafs in need of a replacement. For the 1943-44 season Toronto had turned to Paul Bibeault, who was on loan from the Montreal Canadiens, and Benny Grant, who had not been in the NHL for ten years, to split the time in goal.

Montreal recalled Bibeault for 1944-45 and the 35-year-old Grant now retired, Toronto turned to McCool, who had been discharged from the Army due to his chronic stomach ulcers, hardly the condition suited for the high pressure world of NHL hockey. McCool though, performed brilliantly.

He played every minute of every one of the Maple Leafs 50 games that season and led the league in shutouts with four, despite sipping milk between periods in an effort to calm his stomach condition. His effort was recognized when he was named the 1945 recipient of the Calder Trophy as the rookie of the year.

McCool admires his Calder Trophy

He continued his stellar play in the postseason, shutting out Montreal in the opening game on his way to eliminating the Canadiens in six games, including a gutsy effort in Game 3 when he took an Elmer Lach shot to the forehead one minute into the game. Bleeding profusely, he was led off the ice and emerged ten minutes later, bandaged and ready to play the rest of the game.

He then really caught fire in the finals against the Detroit Red Wings, posting a record three consecutive shutout to open the series, which included taking a break midway through period two of Game 2 to calm his stomach. While Detroit fought back to tie the series at 3-3, thanks to shutting out Toronto 2-0 and 1-0 in games 5 and 6, McCool capped off his dream season by holding the Red Wings at bay 2-1 in Game 7 to capture the Stanley Cup in his rookie season. It was the first time in NHL history that a road team had won a Game 7 of the cup finals.

The 1945 Stanley Cup Champion Toronto Maple Leafs

He did not play at the start of the 1945-46 season due to a contract dispute with the Maple Leafs. The situation was settled 14 games into the season and McCool returned to the nets, stomach ulcers and all. The 3-9-1 Leafs played 10-9-3 with McCool back in goal, but with 15 games remaining in the season Broda returned from his deployment in January of 1946 and reclaimed his position in the crease for the Maple Leafs.

Rather than seek a job with another team, either in the NHL or in a lower level of play, his stomach ulcers forced McCool to call it a career after just two seasons, yet in possession of a Calder Trophy, a Stanley Cup, the NHL record for most consecutive shutouts in the playoffs and the Maple Leafs team record for most postseason shutouts. Additionally, he became the first goaltender in NHL history to record a point when he was credited with an assist. Quite a resume for a player whose career lasted but a season and a half!

It would take another 26 years for a rookie goaltender to win the Stanley Cup (Ken Dryden in 1971) and his mark of just 9 goals allowed during the finals would stand until 2011 when it was eclipsed by Tim Thomas, who only allowed 8

Today's featured jersey is a 1944-45 Toronto Maple Leafs Frank McCool jersey. This style Maple Leafs jersey was first adopted in 1938 when this style 35 point leaf crest replaced the previous version. This style jersey would remain in use through 1957-58, a run of 20 seasons.

This particular game worn jersey sold at auction in 2006 for $15,617.21, one of the few jerseys McCool would wear during his brief NHL career.

1955-56 Montreal Canadiens Doug Harvey Jersey

The story of Doug Harvey begins in 1945-46 when he began to play for the Royal Montreal Hockey Club of the Quebec Senior Hockey League. During his second season with the club, he helped the Montreal Royals capture the prestigious Allan Cup as senior champions of Canada.

He joined the Buffalo Bisons of the American Hockey League for the 1947-48 season, and after 24 games the defenseman then made his NHL debut with his hometown Montreal Canadiens for the remaining 35 games of the season.

Harvey, playing in an era where defenseman did not rush up the ice with the puck, never put up the same kind of offensive numbers seen in today's game in the post-Bobby Orr era. He was however, a key factor in the Canadiens offensive attack of the day, as he utilized his speed and passing ability to help make Montreal into a championship squad and earn him the recognition as the NHL's first offensive defenseman, paving the way for the likes of Orr.

Another way Harvey changed the game was by controlling the tempo of the action, either by making a rush up the ice or a quick pass to speed up the Montreal transition to offense, or by holding onto the puck and slowing the tempo of the game to slow down an opponent and give his teammates a chance to catch their breath. Harvey, Eddie Shore and Orr are widely regarded as the three men who had the greatest impact on the position of defense over the history of the NHL.

During Harvey's fourth NHL season of 1950-51, he would make his first of ten consecutive trips to the Stanley Cup finals. The 1951-52 season would see Harvey gain recognition as one of the game's best, as he would make his first of 11 straight NHL All-Star Game appearances.

The 1952-53 season saw Harvey's name engraved on the Stanley Cup for the first time following a 4 games to 1 defeat of the Boston Bruins.

A new trophy was introduced to the NHL for the 1953-54 season, the Norris Trophy, which would be awarded to the league's top defensive player. Harvey would become the second recipient of the award in 1955 and make it virtually his own, as he would win it for seven of the next eight seasons, including 1955, 1956, 1957 and 1958 thanks to his stellar defensive skills in addition to his offensive contributions, which made him a complete player unlike any other defenseman in the previous history of the league.

1955-56 would also see the beginning of not only another streak, but a dynasty, as the Canadiens would capture their first of a record five consecutive Stanley Cups from 1956 to 1960, giving Harvey a career total of six. During this streak of consecutive All-Star Game appearances, Norris Trophies and championships, Harvey would set a personal best in 1956-57 when he would set a personal high with the only 50 point season of his career from 6 goals and 44 assists. Recall, this was an era when the NHL schedule was shorter, at just 70 games.

With Harvey quarterbacking the deadly Canadiens powerplay, they would often score twice on a single penalty, as players were required to serve their entire two minutes as per the rules of the day. That rule was finally amended in 1956 to allow the penalized player to return to the ice once a goal was scored in response to the Canadians domination.

After teammate Tom Johnson won the Norris Trophy in 1959, Harvey reclaimed the award in 1960 and 1961.

After the retirement of Maurice Richard, Harvey would be named to the prestigious position as captain of the Canadiens for the 1960-61 season.

His time with Montreal would soon come to an end however, as he was an outspoken critic of the team's ability to own players for life, which kept them not only tied to their clubs, but keep their salaries low. Also questioning how players pensions were being handled and funded, he and Detroit's Ted Lindsay went so far as to attempt to organize the players association, which infuriated the Canadiens ownership to the point that they traded their perennial Norris Trophy winning All-Star to the lowly New York Rangers, who had not even qualified for the playoffs in a six team league for 8 of the last 11 seasons.

Harvey responded with winning his third consecutive Norris Trophy during his first season with the Rangers. After one more season in New York, he split the 1963-64 season between the Rangers (14 games), St. Paul Rangers (2 games) and the Quebec Aces of the AHL (52 games).

He spent all of 1964-65 with Quebec and moved to the Baltimore Clippers, also of the AHL for the 1965-66 season. 1966-67 was divided between the Clippers and the Pittsburgh Hornets, as well as making a brief return to the NHL when he appeared in two games with the Detroit Red Wings.

With the NHL doubling in size for the 1967-68 season by adding an additional six clubs, there were plenty of opportunities created, one of which was for Harvey, as the St. Louis Blues came calling for the playoffs after Harvey had been a player/coach during the regular season with the Kansas City Blues of the Central League. Harvey would see action in 8 of the Blues 12 playoff games, as they were the West Division's representatives in the Stanley Cup Finals.

Harvey would return to the Blues for the 1968-69 regular season at the age of 44, playing in the final 70 games of his long and illustrious NHL career.

His final NHL totals were 1,113 games, 88 goals and 452 assists for 540 points. In addition, he would appear in 137 playoff games, scoring 8 goals and 64 assists for 72 points on his way to six Stanley Cups and seven Norris Trophies, which still remains second all time after Orr's eight.

He was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1973 and became the first defenseman to ever have his number retired by the Montreal Canadiens on this date in 1985 when his #2 was lifted to the rafters.

In 1998, The Hockey News ranked Harvey as the #6 player on their list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players. In 2000, he was honored by the Government of Canada by having his picture on a postage stamp.

Today's featured jersey is a 1955-56 Montreal Canadiens Doug Harvey jersey. Harvey was an NHL All-Star, Norris Trophy winner and Stanley champion that season.

The Canadiens would first adopt a red sweater with a blue band as far back as 1912-13 in order to differentiate their barberpole style jersey from that of the Ottawa Senators, five years before the formation of the NHL.

They would adopt the "CH" logo in 1916 and the jersey would remain essentially unchanged ever since.

photo courtesy of Classic Auctions

Bonus jersey: Today's bonus jersey is a 1961-62 New York Rangers Doug Harvey jersey as worn later in his career after being traded away from Montreal for his union organizing activites. Harvey would win yet another Norris Trophy during his first year with the Rangers.

The Rangers debuted in 1926 wearing blue jerseys with RANGERS diagonally across the front and, aside from having arched lettering in 1946-47 and wearing jerseys with their shield logo in 1976-77 and 1977-78, they have worn basically the same jerseys ever since, especially since arriving at their current font for the cresting in 1941.

photo courtesy of Classic Auctions

Our video selection today is an excellent biography of Harvey with great video footage of him in action.

Next, a TV commercial where Doug and his son Doug Jr. battle it out for the household table hockey championship. Man, what we would give to be able to buy one of those today for $5!

Finally, a recap of the 1960 Stanley Cup Finals, Harvey's sixth and final championship.

1986-87 Toronto Maple Leafs Wendel Clark Jersey

Toronto Maple Leaf fan favorite Wendel Clark was born on this date in 1966.

Clark played two seasons with the Saskatoon Blades of the WHL during which he averaged 27 goals, 50 assists, 77 points and 239 penalty minutes per season, catching the eyes of NHL scouts everywhere.

Clark with the Blades during his junior days

while wearing the notorious Cooperalls long pants

The rugged Clark was drafted first overall in the 1985 NHL Entry Draft by Toronto and made his debut for the Maple Leafs later that year. He actually played defense in junior hockey, but was converted to a forward by the Maple Leafs, a club he would return to again and again during his career.

1985 first overall draft pick Wendel Clark

A true heart and soul player, the tireless Clark became a hugely popular player with the Toronto faithful for putting everything he had in to every shift, every game. Plus, he sported one of the top, yet underrated mullets in hockey history. Clark rocked the hockey hair in 1996 like few others before or since, not to mention the classic hockey mustache to go with it.

Clark with the buzz cut mullet in 1996

While it may lack the sheer volume of the Jagr or the overexposure of the Melrose, the ratio of the shortness of the buzz cut on top to the length of the "mud flap" out back ranks it among the greatest mullets in NHL history.

Clark would announce his presence in the league with 227 penalty minutes in during his rookie season in addition to his 34 goals despite a broken foot limiting  him to 66 games. The legend of Clark's toughness would begin to grow as the broken foot happened when he was hit in the skate by a teammate's slapshot, but he continued to play the rest of the game before it was diagnosed. Clark would raise his reputation the following year by increasing both totals to 37 goals and 271 penalty minutes.

A back injury suffered after being cross-checked into the crossbar during the 1987-88 season would limit him to 28 games and his physical style would take its toll as he would see the ice in just 15 games the following season and only 38 in the following, mainly due to recurrent episodes of his back problems.

His games played would increase over the next four seasons of 1990-91 to 1993-94, but he would still average just under 60 games with 59 per season during that time period. After campaigns of 18, 19 and 17 goals, he would explode for a career high with 46 in 64 games of the 1993-94 season. His drive and leadership were recognized when he was named team captain in 1991. The Maple Leafs would make it as far as the memorable conference final seven game series against the Wayne Gretzky-led Los Angeles Kings in 1992-93, with Clark scoring a hat trick in Game 6 as part of his 20 points in 21 playoff games that season.

The summer after his 46 goal season, with his trade value at it's highest in years, the physically aggressive but physically unreliable Clark was traded to the Quebec Nordiques in a blockbuster deal which brought Mats Sundin to Toronto.

Clark would begin to frequently move from team to team for the remainder of his career, being traded by the Nordiques to the New York Islanders after just one season with Quebec following a contract hold out which meant Clark never played in Colorado when the Nordiques moved there for the 1995-96 season despite two years remaining on his contract. He would only play 58 games with the Islanders before another deal saw him finish the season back in Toronto.

Two more seasons in Toronto, of just 65 and 47 games, would be followed by a 65 game stint with the Tampa Bay Lightning, during which he scored an impressive 30 goals to prove he had not lost his offensive skills. It was not enough to afford him any level of stability however, as he was again traded, this time to the Detroit Red Wings at the deadline. His 12 games with Detroit gave him a total of 77 for the season, easily his highest total in 12 years.

Clark scored 30 goals during his brief time in Tampa Bay

He would begin his final NHL season with the Chicago Blackhawks, but once more return to the Maple Leafs to finish out his career with a final 20 games in Toronto where it all began.

Clark during the final 20 games of his career back in Toronto

Clark's final career totals were 793 games played (an average of just 53 per season) 330 goals, 234 assists, 564 points and 1.690 penalty minutes. Such was the impact of injuries on Clark's career totals, his 147 goals scored during his four seasons of 30 goals or more accounted for 45% of his career total at an average of 37 goals per season, while his remaining 11 seasons saw him average just 17 goals.

Clark had his #17 jersey raised to the rafters of the Air Canada Centre in November of 2008, the 16th player to have his number honored by the Maple Leafs.

Today's featured jersey is a 1986-87 Toronto Maple Leafs Wendel Clark jersey. The Maple Leafs ushered in the 1970's with a brand new jersey style for the 1970-71 season featuring a new modern style with a full length arm strip and matching, single, bold waist stripe. It still carried over a classic lace-up collar. The jersey changed to a v-neck in 1972-73 but then reverted back to the lace-up collar in 1973-74 for two seasons. The v-neck was reinstated permanently starting in 1975-76. Begrudgingly, names on the back arrived on the blue jerseys late in the 1977-78 season and the whites followed in 1978-79.

This style would remain unchanged through the 1991-92 season, a run of 22 seasons but with very little on ice success, advancing past the second round of the playoffs just once and missing the postseason seven times.

This 1986-87 jersey features the King Clancy Memorial patch in honor of the Maple Leafs legend. Five different patches were worn on this style, the first being in 1983-84, the first patch ever worn on a Maple Leafs jersey in their long history, that being the City of Toronto 150th Anniversary patch.

In addition to the King Clancy patch in 1986-87, the home white jerseys also had the "Heart and Stroke" patch that same season to raise awareness of health issues. 1990-91 saw another memorial patch, that for Maple Leafs owner Harold Ballard. The final patch worn during this jersey's final season was the NHL 75th Anniversary patch, worn by all players league wide, the first time every player in the NHL would all wear the same patch.

photo courtesy of Classic Auctions

Bonus jersey: Today's bonus jersey is a 1995-96 New York Islanders Wendel Clark jersey, representative of the frequent changes in teams Clark was subjected to during the second half of his career, with stops in Quebec, Long Island, a return to Toronto, Tampa Bay, Detroit, Chicago and a final return to Toronto.

The unfortunate Fishsticks jersey was derided by the fans, media and players upon it's introduction. While Clark only had to wear it for 58 games, the Islanders were forced to wear it for two seasons before a hybrid version with the classic Islanders crest replaced it full time in 1997-98.

Extra bonus jersey: Today's extra bonus jersey is a 1993-94 Toronto Maple Leafs Wendel Clark jersey. Following the success of the Maple Leafs Turn Back the Clock jerseys worn by the Original Six teams the prior season in celebration of the NHL's 75th anniversary, the Maple Leafs redesigned their jerseys for the 1993-94 season, finally ending the run of their previous jerseys which had been worn since 1970.

The Maple Leafs went back to 1934 for the simple but classy jersey template which had been worn through 1966-67, only now mated with the modern maple leaf crest first used in 1970 and the throwback maple leaf crest from the TBTC jersey of the previous season now used as the secondary shoulder logos.

This style has remained in use by Toronto ever since, with a few minor tweaks and a variety of number fonts, even surviving the loss of the waist stripes with the introduction of the new Reebok Edge jerseys in 2007, supposedly due to the original concept of the jerseys being tucked in.

Still, the waist stripes returned in 2010-11, as did the retro maple leaf secondary logos, which had been discontinued in 2000-01.

photo courtesy of Classic Auctions

Extra extra bonus jersey: Today's extra extra bonus jersey is a 1999 NHL All-Star Game Wendel Clark jersey as worn during the 1999 edition held in Tampa, Florida for the second of Clark's two all-star games, with the other being in 1986 although he was named to the 1994 game, but was forced to withdraw due to an injury.

This style was worn for twice, first in 1998 and again in 1999 during the era of the World vs. North America format, with the North Americans wearing red, while the World wore white trimmed in blue.

photo courtesy of Classic Auctions

Normally we research the daily video section just hoping to find some relevant video of an NHL player or perhaps something, anything, on an obscure European player, but not today. Oh, no. Clark was so popular in Toronto, and had we had an embarrassment of riches to choose from.

 If you are not familiar with Clark, we urge you to watch today's first video clip to truly understand the type of player he was, as just statistical numbers don't capture the spirit of a player like Clark. Without further delay, strap on your helmet for The Best of Wendel Clark!

Hell yea! Now that was some Old Time Hockey!

Here is a profile of Clark which looks back on his rookie season.

In advance of his number being honored, Clark revisits Maple Leaf Gardens and recounts some of his favorite memories as a Maple Leaf in a very well done piece.

Next is the ceremony where the Maple Leafs honored Clark's #17 in 2008.

Finally, here is Clark's first game back in Toronto to begin his second stint with the Leafs. Feel the love people, feel the love...

1979-80 Boston Bruins Terry O'Reilly Jersey

During his junior hockey career with the Oshawa Generals, right wing Terry O'Reilly started out with 5 goals and 20 points in 46 games during the 1968-69 season while compiling 8 penalty minutes to  illustrate the tough part of his game. His offensive numbers jumped to 13 goals and 49 points in 1969-70 as his penalty minutes sank to 60. He put it all together in 1970-71 with a ten goal increase to 23, which combined with an improvement in his assist total, saw his points rise to 65 while his penalty minutes increased 150% to 151.

This caught the attention of the Boston Bruins, who drafted O'Reilly 14th overall in the 1971 NHL Amateur Draft.

O'Reilly would play the 1971-72 season with the Boston Braves of the American Hockey League, finishing the season with 9 goals and 17 points and 134 penalty minutes in 60 games. He would also play in 9 playoff games with 31 additional penalty minutes as well as 4 points. He was called up to the Bruins to make his NHL debut that season, during which he scored his first NHL goal.

He made the Bruins lineup out of training camp in 1972, no easy feat considering they were the defending Stanley Cup champions, and O'Reilly never played another game in the minors for the remainder of his career. He played in 72 games for Boston as a rookie in 1972-73, scoring 5 goals and 27 points while topping 100 penalty minutes with 109.

His durability was noteworthy, as he would never play less than 68 games in a season, and that was the only one under 70 for the first ten seasons of his career. His second season saw a modest increase in his offensive numbers to 11 goals and 35 points and a drop in penalty minutes to 94. The Bruins made a deep playoff run that year, and O'Reilly played in another 16 games with 7 points and 38 penalty minutes.

O'Reilly during the 1973-74 season

The 1974-75 season saw his goals rise to 15 while his point total remained stable at 35, but his toughness began to take shape as his penalties rose to 146 minutes to lead the team for the first time. He also competed in his first NHL All-Star Game that season.

While his penalty totals remained relatively the same over the next two seasons of 1975-76 (a team leading 150) and 1976-77 (147, second on the team to Mike Milbury), his offensive game continued to improve. He achieved his first 20 goal season with 23 in 1975-76 on his way to his first 50 point season with exactly 50, which surpassed the following year with a 14 goal, 41 assist season, good for a new career best of 55 points.

O'Reilly had many tough battles during the brawling 1970's

His game reached another level in 1977-78 when he set a career highs with 29 goals and 61 assists (6th in the entire league) for 90 points to lead the team in scoring while also lead the team in penalty minutes with his first 200 minute season with 211. His 90 points were seventh overall in the NHL that season. His fine play carried over into the playoffs, as he scored 5 goals and 15 points in 15 games with an additional 40 minutes in penalties. His fine play that year was recognized with his second NHL All-Star Game appearance.

While he would never reach 90 points again, it was hardly a fluke, as he followed that up with 26 goals and 77 points in 1978-79 and another 205 minutes in the penalty box.

O'Reilly in the trenches as he cross checks

the Vancouver Canucks Gary Smith

O'Reilly set a career high in 1979-80 with 265 penalty minutes, good for fourth in the NHL, while contributing 19 goals and 61 points during a season marred by an incident on December 23, 1979 when, just after the conclusion of a game against the rival New York Rangers in Madison Square Garden when a scrum of players formed as Rangers goaltender John Davidson confronted the Bruins Al Secord over a sucker punch he delivered earlier to Swede Ulf Nilsson.

The players coming off the bench eventually joined the group, which then moved over next to the stands. It was at this point that a Ranger fan reached over the much lower glass used in those days, and clobbered the Bruins Stan Johnathan in the face with a rolled up program, drawing blood from a cut under his eye. As Johnathan raised his stick, saying it was to protect himself, the fan yanked the stick clean out of his hands, which incensed O'Reilly.

With the fuse now lit, O'Reilly set off the explosion when he immediately scaled the boards and launched himself into the stands and began to wrestle with the attacking fan.

O'Reilly hurtles over the glass, setting off chaos in the stands

"I went into the stands because somebody, who had no right to, punched Stanley," said O'Reilly. "It's none of the fans' business. We don't interfere with them if they leave us alone. When I got in there it was pretty bad. I regret it, but I don't think I had a choice. There was no way he was going to strike one of my teammates and steal his stick, wield it like a weapon and then disappear into the crowd and go to a local bar with a souvenir and a great story. A soon as I got him into a bear hug, I felt like I was being pummeled by multiple people. All I could do was cover up."

Seeing O'Reilly enter the stands, where he was going to obviously be heavily outnumbered, several other Bruins didn't hesitate when the brother of the fan O'Reilly had gone after started hitting O'Reilly and the Bruins poured over the glass into the seats.

Brad McCrimmon, Bob Miller, John Wensink and Secord all scaled the glass while Peter McNab, who was not known as a thug in any way, having totaled just four penalty minutes the previous season, went after the brother of the fan who had clearly been hitting O'Reilly and threw him down onto the seats.

"Peter was usually the guy who'd pick up our gloves for us after a fight," Jonathan said.

Things then reached a level of absurdity when Milbury, who had already left the ice when the incident broke out, rushed to his teammates aid, ripping a shoe off the fan McNab had pinned and hit him with it! "I went from happy and content, and ready to go home for Christmas, to full combat mode in about 20 seconds," he recalled.

In the end, four fans were charged with disorderly conduct with the charges eventually being dropped. O'Reilly was suspended for eight games, while McNab and Milbury each had to sit out six games. All 18 of the Bruins who entered the stands were fined the princely sum of $500 each.

The 1980-81 season saw a drop in goal production to just 8 on his way to 43 points but he still protected his teammates with the same zeal, racking up 223 minutes in 77 games. His offensive numbers rebounded the next season as he achieved his fourth 20 goal season with 22 as well as 30 assists for 52 points, his sixth of 50 or more. He also had his fifth consecutive season of over 200 penalty minutes with 213.

Not just an enforcer, O'Reilly once led the Bruins in scoring

Injury and age began to extract their toll on O'Reilly and his streak of 68 games or more ended in 1982-83 when he played in just 19 due to a finger injury and later a knee injury. He was named the team captain for the 1983-84 season, which saw him play in 58 games, thanks in part to being suspended for the first 10 games of the season for hitting referee Andy Van Hellemond in April of the previous season, with 124 penalty minutes and his final season of 1984-85 saw him back up over 60 games with 63, scoring 13 goals, including his 200th, and 17 assists, including his 400th, for his second consecutive season of 30 points, which included his 600th point. His 168 penalty minutes also put him over the 2,000 mark for his career.

He retired at the end of the season after spending his entire 14 year career with the Bruins, playing in 891 games with 204 goals and 402 assists for 606 points as well as 2,095 penalty minutes, which included leading the Bruins six times. With the Bruins fielding highly competitive teams during his career, frequent deep playoff runs (seven times he played in 10 or more postseason games) allowed him to score an additional 25 goals (including three overtime game winners) and 67 points as well as 335 career playoff penalty minutes.

Although widely regarded as a tough guy who had over 200 penalty minutes in five consecutive seasons, unlike today's fighting specialists, O'Reilly was a more complete player who scored over 20 goals four times with a high of 29 in 1977-78 when he totaled 90 points to go with his 211 penalty minutes that season. His number 24 was retired by the Bruins on this date in 2002.

O'Reilly's #24 was retired by the Bruins on this date in 2002

O'Reilly remained with the Bruins organization and became their head coach during the 1986-87 season. The following year he led them all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals, which included defeating the rival Montreal Canadiens for only the third time in 22 tries, after guiding them to a 44-30-6 record. He coached them for one more season in 1988-89 to a third straight winning record of 37-29-14.

Today's featured jersey is a 1979-80 Boston Bruins Terry O'Reilly jersey as worn during the infamous brawl when O'Reilly entered the stands at Madison Square Garden in New York to confront a fan who hit Bruins teammate Jonathan.

The Bruins arrived at this jersey style in 1974-75 when they dropped the colored shoulders they had been using since 1967-68, as well as the lace-up collar. In 1976-77 they added the secondary logos to the shoulders followed by names on the back for the first time the following season.

The fonts for the numbers would evolve slightly over time, but essentially this jersey would remain unchanged for 21 seasons and frankly we can see no reason why they ever changed away from it, as this could have been their iconic, steadfast style in the manner of the Canadiens, Detroit Red Wings, Chicago Blackhawks and the Rangers.

The Bruins appear to be in near agreement with us, having brought back the previous version of this jersey with its colored shoulders as a throwback alternate in 2006-07 before promoting it to their primary jersey in 2007-08, albeit with a modern version of their spoked B logo and three color numbers and overly busy three color names, which remains in use to this day.

Bonus Jersey: Today's bonus jersey is a 1984-85 Boston Bruins Terry O'Reilly jersey as worn during his final season of play while serving as the Bruins team captain.

Today's video section begins with a very well done tribute to O'Reilly as he punches, checks, steamrolls and indeed scores goals during his path of destruction and mayhem through his National Hockey League career. He was indeed one of those players you loved if he was on your team and hated if he wasn't, the problem being he only played for the Bruins!

We single out two of O'Reilly's fights, the first against the Philadelphia Flyers Mel Bridgman, which starts about 30 seconds in and is quite violent, and the second against the Flyers Behn Wilson, which starts when O'Reilly hits Wilson like an absolute runaway train, which leads to another slugfest.

Next, footage of O'Reilly's most notorious moment when he invaded the stands at Madison Square Garden to confront unruly Rangers fans, which earned him an eight game suspension, which would likely be ten times that if it were to happen again today.

Next, footage of the gloved swipe against Van Hellemond that earned O'Reilly his ten game suspension and whopping $500 fine in 1983, exacerbated by a questionable penalty against O'Reilly in the final seconds of a 2-1 Game 7 loss against the Quebec Nordiques that was about to end his season.