1993-94 Toronto Maple Leafs Felix Potvin Jersey

The Toronto Maple Leafs opened their 1993-94 season by hosting the Dallas Stars at the Maple Leaf Gardens on October 7, 1993. Dave Andreychuk scored the first Toronto goal of the season at the 17:26 mark of the first period on a power play from Doug Gilmour and Nikolai Borschevsky. Andreychuk would score again in the second period for a 2-1 Maple Leafs lead before a run and gun third period saw Dallas tie the score at 2:56 before the Maple Leafs scored three times in less than six minutes to take control of the game. Borschevsky got his first at 3:43 followed by Hall Gill 34 seconds later. Robert Pearson gave Toronto a 5-2 lead and team captain Wendel Clark put the final nail in the coffin with an empty net goal at 19:09 for a final score of 6-3 win for the home team with the win going to Felix Potvin in goal.

Felix Potvin

Two days later Potvin out dueled the Chicago Blackhawks' Ed Belfour in a 2-1 Toronto win, with Potvin making 29 saves to Belfour's 23. Gill's second period goal evened the game at 1-1 and Clark got the game winner from Jamie Macoun at 10:49 of the third.

Wendel Clark

The very next day Toronto hit the ice in Philadelphia against the Flyers. They fell behind 2-0 before they caught fire and goals by Nolan Baumgartner, Pearson and a pair by Andreychuk in under seven minutes gave the Maple Leafs a temporary two goal advantage. The Flyers fought back to tie the game in the third, but John Cullen beat Flyers goaltender Tommy Soderstrom with less than two minutes remaining to give Toronto their first road win of the season.

John Cullen

Three days later, on October 13th, the Washington Capitals traveled to Maple Leaf Gardens, where they were rudely greeted by the host Maple Leafs, who led by 2 after the first period thanks to Pearson's third and fourth goals of the season. After Washington got on the board to make it 2-1 early in the second, Peter Zezel, Clark and then Andreychuk made the score 5-1 for Toronto and chased Don Beaupre from the Capitals goal before Clark's second of the game and Borschevsky made the final score 7-1 for the Maple Leafs. Potvin made 27 saves on 28 shots for his fourth win of the young season.

Rob Pearson

Two days later, the Detroit Red Wings came to Toronto to begin a home and home series with the Maple Leafs. Gill, Bob Rouse and Doug Gilmour's first two goals of the season staked the home team to a 4-0 lead and ended the night for Detroit starting goaltender Chris Osgood. The teams traded goals later in the second period to make it 5-1 after two periods. Detroit scored the first goal of the third period before Gilmour completed is hat trick at 18:18 of the third with a shorthanded, empty net goal. The Red Wings scored a meaningless goal with one second remaining in the game to make the final score 6-3.

Doug Gilmour

The teams met again the next day in Detroit with Vincent Riendeau, who came on in relief of Osgood the night before in Toronto, getting the start in goal for the Red Wings. By the end of the first period Andreychuk, with his seventh goal of the season, and Cullen gave the Maple Leafs all the goals they would need as Potvin limited Detroit to one goal on 33 shots for his second win in two days.

Three days later the Hartford Whalers would take the lead over the Maple Leafs 1:10 into the game. The high powered Toronto offense would take control of the game from there, as Andreychuk, Gilmour, Dave Ellet and Mike Krushelnyski, the latter two with their first goals of the season, would end another goaltender's night early as Frank Pietrangelo would be yanked in favor of Mario Gosselin at 5:09 of the second period. Gosselin then surrendered third period goals to Clark, twice, and Glenn Anderson, his first of the season. Hartford scored a second goal with less than two minutes remaining in the contest to bookend the seven Maple Leaf goals.

Glenn Anderson

The Maple Leafs made their first ever trip to Florida on October 21st to face the expansion Panthers, who gave Toronto all they could handle. Both teams scored in the first period, with the red hot Andreychuk scoring his ninth goal of the season. Florida opened the scoring in the second before Pearson and Kent Manderville countered for the Maple Leafs, who led 3-2 after two. Florida tied the game at 13:16 of the third and regulation ended deadlocked. Facing overtime for the first time, Toronto pulled out the victory when Pearson's 6th goal of the season won it for the Maple Leafs at 2:17 which allowed Toronto to tie the NHL record for the most consecutive wins from the start of a season with eight. Getting his first start of he year, Damian Rhodes got the win after making 26 saves for the Maple Leafs.

Damian Rhodes

October 23rd saw Toronto remaining in the state of Florida, having made the trip up to St. Petersburg to take on the Tampa Bay Lightning. Mark Osborne was the hero of the night for the Maple Leafs as he scored his first goal of the season at the 10:49 mark of the second period and added his second goal of the game at 6:55 of the third for an insurance goal as Toronto blanked Tampa Bay 2-0 behind 25 saves by Potvin to claim the record for most consecutive wins to start a season with nine.

Mark Osborne

The Maple Leafs then had four days off to before having to travel to Chicago to face the Blackhawks for the second time on this date in 1993. The first period passed with no scoring as Potvin made 12 saves and Belfour only faced 6 shots. After Chicago scored early in the second period, Toronto responded just over a minute later when Borschevsky tied the game with his 3rd goal of the season. Clark scored his 7th of the year at 12:22 and added his 8th at 18:48 on a power play. At the 5:55 mark of the third period Manderville extended the Maple Leafs lead to 4-1. A goal by Chicago midway through the final period made the final score 5-2 for Toronto despite the Blackhawks holding a whopping 48-24 edge in shots on goal.

Nikolai Borschevsky

The win extended the Pat Burns coached Maple Leafs NHL record for Most Wins From the Start of a Season to 10, a record which still stands today. It was equalled by the 2006-07 Buffalo Sabres, who required three shootout wins.

Head Coach Pat Burns

The streak would end two days later with a 5-2 loss in Montreal, but was followed by a five game unbeaten run of 2 wins and 3 ties to put them at 12-1-3.

The streak of ten straight wins put the Maple Leafs on top of the Central Division with 20 points, 6 clear of the Dallas Stars (6-3-2) at 14 points. Toronto outscored their opponents 45-20 with goaltender Potvin getting 9 of the wins with Rhodes having the remaining one. During the record setting streak, Andreychuk led the team in goals with 9, followed by Clark with 8 and Pearson with 6 and one hat trick, that belonging to Gilmour.

Dave Andreychuk

A 1-7-1 stretch in late December and finishing the season 5-8-1 allowed the Red Wings to catch them for the Central Division title. The Maple Leafs were seeded third in the Western Conference Playoffs behind Detroit and Pacific Division champion Calgary Flames, despite the Maple Leafs having 98 points in the standings vs. 97 for the Flames.

Toronto was paired with Chicago in the conference quarterfinals and defeated the Blackhawks in six games before outlasting the San Jose Sharks in seven. Their season then came to an end in the conference finals when they were defeated by the seventh seeded Vancouver Canucks. The teams split the first two games in Toronto and then the Canucks won the next three on home ice in Vancouver before the series could return to Maple Leaf Gardens.

Today's featured jersey is a 1993-94 Toronto Maple Leafs Felix Potvin jersey. as worn by Potvin as the Maple Leafs set the record for Most Consecutive Wins From the Start of a Season with ten. This style of Maple Leafs jersey was first used in 1992-93 and was inspired by their 1991-92 Turn Back the Clock throwback style worn for the NHL's 75th Anniversary season.

So popular was the retro jersey that the Maple Leafs kept it's striping pattern (first appearing on their 1934-35 jerseys) and used the TBTC jersey's retro leaf crest (originally used in 1938) as their secondary shoulder logos. This was paired with their modern logo first used in 1970-71 for a classic look that has remained essentially unchanged since.

The retro leaf shoulder logos were replaced in 2000-01 when a "TML" monogram appeared with the addition of silver trim to the back numbers. There have been some variations in fonts for the names and numbers and a temporary loss of the waist stripes as a result of the transition to the new Reebok Edge jerseys in 2007-08, but not only did the retro leaf shoulder logos return, but so did the excellent addition of a lace up white neck collar when the waist striping returned in 2010-11, giving Toronto a beautiful timeless look, thanks in part to a return to the one color names and numbers used on today's featured jersey.

Bonus jersey: Today's bonus jersey is a 1993-94 Toronto Maple Leafs Doug Gilmour jersey as worn by Gilmour during the Maple Leafs record setting streak. Gilmour would go on to lead Toronto in scoring that season with 111 points, good for fourth overall in the NHL that season and second in assists with 84.

Today's video section begins with Potvin flashing the leather and robbing everyone in sight. Rock on!

Next, Felix the Cat duking it out with Ron Hextall just because we can't resist a good goalie fight.

Here is a tribute to Gilmour on the occasion of his jersey #93 being honored by the Maple Leafs.

Doug Gilmour Part 2

Finally, the rock 'em, sock 'em Clark leaves a path of destruction in his wake with his Old Time Hockey style.

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, which were 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 in 1961-62,  a season he was also the Rangers head coach! 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 1959-60 Montreal Canadiens Doug Harvey jersey as worn during the season in which Harvey would win his fifth of seven Norris Trophies, play in his tenth NHL All-Star Game and win the sixth Stanley Cup of his Hall of Fame career.

Montreal would introduce their first white jersey for the 1935-36 season to be used for games against the Detroit Red Wings. It would not be until the 1941-42 season that the red shoulder yoke and sleeve cuffs would arrive to complete the look. They would use a new style with a blue band around the arms and chest to match their iconic red sweaters from 1944-45 to 1946-47 but revert back to the classic white jersey with red shoulders and cuffs in 1947-48, a look essentially unchanged over 65 years later.

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 Stanely Cup Finals, Harvey's sixth and final championship.

Austrian National Day

On this date in 1955 Austria's Parliament issued The Declaration of Neutrality, declaring the country permanently neutral as a part of the Constitution of Austria. The declaration was as a result of Austria being occupied by the Allied Forces (the Soviet Union, the United States, the United Kingdom and France) following World War II from 1945 to 1955. The occupation was ended with the Austria State Treaty of May 15, 1955, which re-established Austria as an independent and democratic sovereign state.

The Soviets would not have agreed to the treaty if Austria had not committed to declare it's neutrality following the withdrawal of the Allies. As a result of the treaty, the Allies left on October 25, 1955 and the Declaration of Neutrality was enacted the next day, October 26, 1955, the first day of their return to independence, and a date now celebrated as a national holiday known as Austrian National Day.

The Austrian Parliament

On Austrian National Day, memorial ceremonies take place, the main one being the Federal President and Federal Minister of Defense attending a ceremony at the Heldenplatz, a large public space in front of Hofburg Palace in Vienna known as Heroes' Square, during which the President lays a wreath at the tomb of the Unknown Soldier. He later  gives a state of the union speech on TV later that day.

Ceremonies taking place on Austrian National Day

Additionally, flags fly everywhere, concerts and held, new recruits are sworn into the Austrian military, federal museums offer free admission to further the public understanding of Austrian history, and, somewhat uniquely, "fitness marches" are held, which are organized hikes throughout the country to promote fitness and raise awareness of a healthy life style, which attract 100,000 participants annually.

The Austria National Hockey Team is currently ranked 16th in the IIHF World Rankings.

The Austrians have participated in the Olympics in ice hockey 13 times since 1928, with their best result being an 7th place in 1936 and a 8th place in 1948 and again in 1976. 2014 was the first time Austria had qualified for the Olympic tournament since 2002 and they finished classified 10th, their best showing since 9th in 1988. In order to participate at the 2014 Games in Sochi, Russia, the then ranked 15th Austrians had to survive a Qualification Tournament hosted by the 10th ranked Germans.

Austria battles Germany for the right to participate in the 2014 Olympics

Austria entered the 2014 Olympics with three NHLers on it's roster, Michael Grabner and Thomas Vanek of the New York Islanders and Michael Raffl of the Philadelphia Flyers.

Vanek celebrates a goal

Austria has participated in the World Championships dating as far back as 1930, with regular participation since 1959. Austria has won bronze medals at the World Championships in both 1931 and 1947.

Since 1951, Austria was either in Pool B or Pool C nearly exclusively from 1951 to 1992, before a run of 12 out of 13 years in the Top Division before beginning the roller coaster of promotions (2006, 2008, 2010, 2012 and 2014) and relegations (2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013 and 2015), including a bitter relegation in 2009 only because 15th place Germany were saved from their rightful demotion by being scheduled as hosts for the 2010 tournament, which granted the Germans an exemption from relegation for 2009, which sent the 14th place Austrians down to Division I for 2010 instead.

Frequent Austrian National Team captain Gerhard Unterluggauer

Vanek, now a member of he Minnesota Wild, leads all Austrian-born players by far in career NHL scoring with 614 career points, trailed by Grabner at 157. Raffl is third with 51 and all three are still active in the NHL.

Vanek at the 2004 World Championships

The other Austrians to have played in the NHL are Andreas Nodl (36 points with Philadelphia and Carolina), defenseman Thomas Pock (17 with the Rangers and Islanders), Christophe Brandner, the first Austrian to play and score a goal in the NHL in 2003, (9 points with Minnesota) and goaltender Reinhard Divis, who won six games for St. Louis in four seasons.

Reinhard Divis

Today's featured jersey is a 1997 Austrian National Team Christoph Brandner jersey as worn in the 1997 World Championships "B" pool. The "waving flag" style of international jerseys were introduced in 1996 and are best known for being used in the 1996 World Cup of Hockey. They were also used in the various World Championships in 1997 before a new style was debuted for the 1998 Winter Olympic Games in Japan.

Brandner scored a goal and two assists in seven game for Austria at the 1997 World Championships. In 2003 Brandner became the first Austrian to play in the NHL and then became the first Austrian to score an NHL goal on October 12, 2009.

Bonus jersey: Today's bonus jersey is a 2004 Austria National Team Thomas Vanek jersey as worn in the World Junior Championships in Finland. Austria first wore this jersey style in 1998 and continued to wear it through 2004.

Two distinctive features of this jersey are the fine details of the trim running down the arms and the unique font for the numbers on the back, which are much more at home on a soccer jersey.

Extra bonus jersey: Today's extra bonus jersey is a 2005 Austria National Team Gerhard Unterluggauer jersey as worn during the 2005 World Championships, which were held in Austria. This was an unfortunately short lived style, as all national teams received attractive new jerseys for 2005 only to see them replaced with the new Nike Swift styles for the 2006 Olympics.

The now 39 year old Unterluggauer, a defenseman, began his pro career back in the 1992-93 season, playing his entire career in Austria save for a three year stint in the German DEL in the early 2000's. He has won the Austrian championship twice, in 1993 and 1999.

He has been playing for the Austria National Team since 1993 and his resume includes three Olympic Games (1998, 2002 and 2014) and 19 World Championships.

Today's video section are highlights of the final day of Olympic qualifying, highlighted by Austria's vital game against Germany, which sent the Austrians to Sochi.

Next, showing Austria is not to be taken lightly, they dominate Latvia 6-3 at the 2014 World Championships.

1975-76 Quebec Nordiques Rejean Houle Jersey

Born on this date in 1949, Rejean Houle played his junior hockey for the Montreal Junior Canadiens. In the 1967-68 season the right winger scored 65 points in 45 games. The following season Houle scored 53 goals and 55 assists in 54 games for 108 points, an average of 2 points per game. Houle and the Junior Canadiens went on to defeat Regina 4-0 to capture the Memorial Cup as champions of Canadian junior hockey.

Marc Tardif, Gilbert Perreault and Houle at

the Montreal Junior Canadiens training camp in 1967

Houle did not have to travel far after being selected first overall in the 1969 NHL Amateur Draft, as he was selected by the Montreal Canadiens, who assigned him to the Montreal Voyageurs of the AHL for the start of the 1969-70 season. He would score 25 points in 27 games as well as making his NHL debut for the Canadiens, scoring a single assist in nine games for The Habs.

He would crack the Canadiens lineup for the 1970-71 season and never play another game in the minors again. He saw action in 66 games, scoring 10 goals and 19 points during the regular season and another 7 points in 20 playoffs games as the Canadiens would capture the first Stanley Cup of Houle's career.

His point total rose to 28 in 77 games in 1971-72 and rose another 20 to 48 in the 1972-73 season. Montreal would win another Stanley Cup that year as Houle contributed 9 points in 17 games.

Despite the two championships in three seasons, Houle was under tremendous scrutiny in Montreal as the fans wanted more from the first overall pick. So, despite his progress and the team's success, Houle chose to join the Quebec Nordiques of the rival WHA for the 1973-74 season. The move proved to be a good one for Houle, as he had his first 20 goal season as a professional, scoring 27 goals and 62 points.

Prior to the start of the next season, Houle was a member of Team Canada that took on the Soviet Union in the second Summit Series. He played in 7 of the games, scoring a goal and two points.

Team Canada from the 1974 Summit Series

Houle scored 92 points in 1974-75, a full 30 point increase and good for second on the Nordiques. He added another 10 goals and 16 points in the postseason as the Nordiques made it to the AVCO Cup Finals.

Houle while with the Nordiques - note

the red shoulders on the early Nordiques jersey

He would have his finest season as a professional in 1975-76 as he broke loose for 51 goals and 103 points on the high powered Nordiques, as evidenced by the fact he scored 11 points more than the season before, but only ranked fourth in team scoring!

With increased confidence and maturity after his successful stint in Quebec, Houle returned to the Canadiens for the 1977-78 season, with predictable results. No longer in the wild, wild west of the WHA and a smaller cog in the talent-laden Canadiens lineup, Houle's point totals the next three years hovered between 51 and 58, but he also earned three consecutive Stanley Cups for his troubles. He would set an NHL career highs with 30 goals and 58 points in 1977-78.

Limited to just 60 games in 1979-80, his point total slipped to 45, but he rebounded with 58 in 1980-81 to equal his NHL best. His career was now on the decline, and after scoring 43 points in just 51 games in 1981-82, Houle would play a final 16 games in 1982-83 with just 8 points to end his playing days.

His final combined career totals were 179 goals and 286 assists for 665 points, with 408 of those coming in the NHL, where he was a part of five Stanley Cup championships.

Today's featured jersey is a 1975-76 Quebec Nordiques Rejean Houle jersey as worn during Houle's magical 50 goal season in the WHA.

After three seasons of play, the Nordiques adopted a new, more minimalist style of jersey based on the flag of the province of Quebec for the 1975-76 season. This style would remain unchanged for 20 years, which included joining the NHL in 1979, until the franchise was sold and relocated out of Quebec.

Bonus jersey: Today's bonus jersey is a 1977-78 Montreal Canadiens Rejean Houle jersey as worn during Houle's return to the NHL following his time in the rival WHA.

The genesis of this iconic jersey first appeared back in 1912 when the Canadiens needed an alternate to their barberpole style which was too similar to the Ottawa Senators sweaters. There was some initial evolution as white trim was added to the blue chest stripe in 1913 and the logo went through a series of changes until the "CH" first appeared in 1916, which then went through a series of colorization versions until the final look arrived in 1925.

Today's video section begins with Houle taking on the Ice  Bucket Challenge - but with a unique hockey twist.

Next is an extended interview with Houle in French on the occasion of the Canadiens centennial.