1936 Great Britain National Team Jon Coward Jersey

The 1936 Winter Olympics were held in Garmisch-Partenkirchen in far southern Germany.

15 teams took part in a three round format. The First Round saw the teams divided into three groups of four and one group of three teams, with the first two teams advancing to the Second Round.

The picturesque outdoor venue for the 1936 Olympic hockey tournament

Group A saw Canada and Austria advance over Poland and Latvia. Group B was led by host Germany followed by the United States, with Italy and Switzerland eliminated. In Group C, both Czechoslovakia and Hungary moved on with France and Belgium eliminated, while in Group D, Great Britain and Sweden moved on with Japan falling by the wayside.

Great Britain vs Sweden in Group D action

In the Second Round Group A had Great Britain winning with a 2-0-1 record followed by Canada at 2-1, keyed by a 2-1 British win over Canada as Edgar Brenchley scored with 1:30 remaining in the third period, which would have an enormous impact on the final standings. Both Germany and Hungary were eliminated from Group A, while Group B saw the United States advance to the Final Round with a 3-0 record, as did Czechoslovakia at 2-1 with both Sweden and Austria knocked out of the competition.

The 1936 Great Britain National Team

Thus, in the Final Round, four teams met to determine the three medal placings in yet another round robin format, with the medals determined by their final placings in the group standings, rather than a knockout playoff format as is done today.

Rather than have Great Britain and Canada, as well as the United States and Czechoslovakia, play again, the rules called for their Second Round results to carry over to the Final Round. Thus Great Britain's surprising 2-1 win over Canada and the United States shut out the Czechs 2-0 gave the winners a leg up entering the Final Round and denied the losers the opportunity for a rematch.

Play began on February 14 as Great Britain assured itself a medal with a 5-0 blanking of the Czechs, who were then thrashed by Canada 7-0 the next day, February 15. Later that same day, Great Britain and the United States waged a scoreless battle that stretched to three overtimes before being scored as a 0-0 tie. This left Great Britain with 5 points in the standings, with the United States at 3 and their game against Canada remaining on this date in 1936, needing a win to tie for the top spot and a shot at gold through tiebreakers.

But it was not to be, as Canada defended a first period goal to defeat a tired United States 1-0 following the Americans six period marathon the day before to relegate the US to third place and the bronze medal. Their win gave Canada the silver at 2-1 and four points, leaving the British alone at the top with 5 points and as gold medal champions for the only time in their history, with the difference being Brenchley's goal during their meeting in the Second Round.

The concluding game of the tournament, Canada vs. the United States

While the British had iced teams in both 1924 and 1928 that were largely comprised of Canadians living in the United Kingdom, in 1936 it was determined that the players must be British-born this time out. Still, nine of the 13 players had grown up in Canada and 11 had played hockey in Canada at some point in their lives. The gold medal for Great Britain marked the first time in the five Olympic hockey tournaments that Canada had not won gold, and to date, some 78 years later, the last medal won by Great Britain in Olympic hockey competition.

A happy Great Britain National Team celebrates

Today's featured jersey is a 1936 Great Britain Jon Coward jersey worn in the Olympics in Germany as the British upset the world of hockey to take their memorable, and only, gold medal in their history. His jersey is on display at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto.

In the early days of international hockey, Great Britain won the European Championship in 1910, won a bronze at the winter Olympics in 1924, took 4th in 1928 and won gold in 1936. Following the resumption of the Olympics following World War II, Great Britain returned for the 1948 games with a 5th place but have since failed to qualify for the Olympics again. This year they won Group J in the Olympic Pre-Qualification Round over South Korea, Japan and Romania, but were eliminated during the Final Qualification Round.

Despite their absence from the Olympics since 1948, the British still compete at the World Championships, currently at the second level of the IIHF ladder system, Division I, Group A. They are ranked 22nd in the world, with their highest placing being 21st in 2011. 1993 was a high point, as they finished first in the B pool, earning their only promotion to the Top Division for 1994, especially impressive when you consider they were in the D pool as recently as 1990, a miraculous rise through the ranks, having won Group D in 1990, Group C1 in 1992 and Group B in 1993! Since that time they competed in the B Pool in 1995 through 2000 and the renamed Division I since then, avoiding relegation for 19 years now.

Coward, like many of his teammates in 1936, was born in Great Britain but learned to play hockey while living in Canada. He returned to England in 1935 and joined the Richmond Hawks of the English National League for two seasons. In addition to being a member of the 1936 Olympic team, he was on the 1937 Great Britain National Team that won a silver medal at the 1937 World Championships. In 1993, he was inducted into the British Ice Hockey Hall of Fame.

Today's video selection is some remarkable footage from the United States vs. Canada game, the outcome of which gave Great Britain their surprising gold medal.

Here is a great video, which deserves to be seen by more people, Philip Erhardt, the son of gold medal winner and Great Britain team captain Carl Erhardt showing his father's medal and other memorabilia, as well as telling stories of his father's experience in Germany, which was under control of Adolph Hitler and the Nazi party by then. The hockey sticks alone are worth your time, as well as seeing his father's jersey. Simply awesome stuff.

1993-94 Pittsburgh Penguins Tom Barrasso Jersey

Arriving on the scene in unprecedented fashion, Tom Barrasso became the only goaltender in history to make the jump directly from high school to the NHL without playing a single game of major junior, college or minor pro hockey first.

He made his debut at the age of 18, having just come off a 22-0-1 season for the Acton-Boxborough Colonials in his native Massachusetts, when he suited up for the Buffalo Sabres, who had drafted him 5th overall in 1983. He made the transition to the NHL in fine style, playing in 42 games and posting a 26-12-3 record with a 2.84 goals against average, which earned him not only the Calder Trophy as NHL Rookie of the Year, but also the Vezina Trophy as the top goaltender that season as well, a truly remarkable achievement for someone not only so young, but so inexperienced. It was only the third time a player had won both the Calder and Vezina in the same season after Frank Brimsek and Tony Esposito.

Barrasso won both the Calder and Vezina Trophies in 1984

He would follow up his stunning debut season by first participating in the 1984 Canada Cup for the United States before sharing the Jennings Trophy with teammate Bob Sauve for the fewest goals allowed by a team for the 1984-85 season as well as making his first NHL All-Star Game in 1985. His workload increased to 54 games  that season while his goals against average dropped to 2.66 thanks in part to 5 shutouts.

Barrasso in his USA jersey during the 1984 Canada Cup

Sauve and Barrasso display their Jennings Trophy

Barrasso would play three additional seasons in Buffalo, including playing in the 1987 Canada Cup for the United States, before beginning the 1988-89 season by playing 10 games for the Sabres before being traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins, a team on the rise with the arrival of Mario Lemieux in 1984. Barrasso would nearly equal his previous playoff experience of 12 games with Buffalo over the course of five seasons with 11 playoff games with the Penguins in 1989 alone.

Barrasso was dealt to the Penguins in 1989

After being limited to 24 games in 1989-90, Jaromir Jagr would arrive the following season and the Penguins where on their way, winning the Stanley Cup in 1991 as Barrasso led them to the playoffs with a 27-16-3 regular season record followed by a 12-7 playoff mark.

Barrasso defending against the Minnesota North Stars during the 1991 finals

The Penguins would repeat as champions again the following season, with Barrasso winning all 16 of Pittsburgh's playoff games, which included an NHL record of 14 consecutive playoff wins, en route to a second consecutive Stanley Cup.

Barrasso lifts the Stanley Cup for the second time

His workload reached a peak in 1992-93 with 67 games played while setting a league and career best record of 43 wins while losing just 14 and tying 5. His goals against average of 3.01 was his finest since his 2.66 back in 1985 with the Sabres.

The 1993-94 season would see Barrasso win his 253rd game on this date in 1994 with a 5-3 win over the Winnipeg Jets to become the winningest goaltender born in the United States, passing Brimsek's record which stood for 44 years.

Barrasso would miss essentially the entire 1994-95 season due to injury, playing in just two games, but rebounded with 49 games and 29 wins in 1995-96 only to suffer the same fate in 1996-97 when he was restricted to only 5 appearances. He rebounded even more strongly this time around, setting a career best goals against average of 2.07. He also reached the second highest totals of his career with 63 games played and 31 wins, which made him the first American goaltender to ever reach 300 wins.

During the 1999-00 season, after 12 seasons with the Penguins, Barrasso was dealt to the Ottawa Senators, with whom he would only play a total of seven games.

Barrasso only played seven games for the Senators

He did not play in 2000-01 to be with his daughter while she was battling cancer, but returned for the 2001-02 season with the Carolina Hurricanes. Refreshed, he played in 34 games that season while splitting time with incumbent Arturs Irbe before a late season move to the Toronto Maple Leafs for just 4 games. Also during that season, Barrasso would return to international hockey for the first time since 1987 when he was on the roster of the 2002 US Olympic Team, with whom he won a silver medal in Salt Lake City.

Barrasso won a silver medal at the 2002 Olympics

His career concluded with six games with the St. Louis Blues in 2002-03 before he retired as a Penguin after signing a symbolic one day contract.

Barrasso's final team in the NHL was with St. Louis

His career totals were 777 games played, 369 wins, two Stanley Cups, a Calder, Vezina and Jennings trophy, an Olympic silver medal and NHL records for most points and assists by a goaltender with 48 and the record for Most Consecutive Playoff Wins and Most Playoff Wins in a Season. 2009 would see Barrasso inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame.

Toady's featured jersey is a 1993-94 Pittsburgh Penguins Tom Barrasso jersey as worn on this date when he set a new record for most wins by an American goaltender when he passed Brimsek's record, which had stood since his retirement in 1950.

The Penguins debuted their new, modern jerseys in 1992-93 after having worn their original skating penguins logo since their second season of 1968-69. This jersey broke new ground with it's pointed shoulder yoke and remained in use through the 2001-02 season.

Bonus jersey: Today's bonus jersey is a 1993-94 Pittsburgh Penguins Tom Barrasso jersey . This is the road half of the Penguins 1993-94 set. One of our favorite jerseys ever, this jersey was a fantastic mix of new and old, with the classic diagonal "Pittsburgh" cresting taken from the Penguins original sweaters from their 1967-68 debut season paired with their sleek, new modern penguin logo on the shoulders. These jerseys served the Penguins well through the 1996-97 season until being replaced by their odd, depressing and asymmetrical alternate jersey in 1997-98.

Today's video segment begins with an interview with Barrasso on the occasion of his induction into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame, where he discusses his entry into the NHL at such a young age as well as the rest of his career.

Never one to back down, Barrasso engages in a fight while with the Sabres.

Al Hill - NHL Record Five Points in His NHL Debut - 1979-80 Philadelphia Flyers Al Hill jersey

After playing in Junior A hockey for the Nanaimo Clippers of the British Columbia Hockey League in the 1973-74 season, center Al Hill moved up to the Major Junior level with the Victoria Cougars of the Western Canadian Hockey League for the 1974-75 season, scoring 21 goals and 57 points in a 70 game schedule. He continued to progress with a 26 goal 66 point season in 1975-76, but that was not enough for Hill to be drafted by an NHL club.

He was invited to the Philadelphia Flyers training camp and signed with the organization for the 1976-77 season after impressing with his sound fundamentals and hustle. Philadelphia assigned Hill to the Springfield Indians of the American Hockey League, where he played in 63 games, scoring 13 goals and 41 points in 63 games. The Flyers, hurt by injuries to Bill Barber and Paul Holmgren, recalled Hill to make his NHL debut on this date in 1977 against the St. Louis Blues at The Spectrum in Philadelphia.

Hill made his NHL debut on this date in 1977

Hill wasted no time in making his mark in the NHL, scoring the first goal of his career just 36 seconds into the game, firing a 40 foot slapshot past Yves Belanger, who made the start in goal for St. Louis. Hill was assisted by Bob Kelly and Terry Murray.

Philadelphia's 1-0 lead stood for ten minutes until Red Berenson scored for the Blues at 10:38, but just 55 second later Hill struck again for the second goal of the period, and his career, with assists from Rick MacLeish and Gary Dornhoefer at 11:33.

Hill made his NHL debut wearing #37

Reggie Leach extended the Flyers lead to 3-1 at the 17 minute mark with assists to Hill, his third point of the period coming as he skated the puck behind the net and fed Leach in front after a dump in by Joe Watson.

That was enough for Blues coach Emile Francis, who replaced Belanger with veteran Eddie Johnston in goal for the start of the second period.

At the 5:55 mark of the second period, Hill completed what is likely the fastest Gordie Howe Hat Trick from the start of a career when he fought the Blues Bob MacMillan.

Hill had a Gordie Howe Hat Trick just 26 minutes into his NHL career

Bob Dailey extended the Flyers advantage to 4-1 with a goal from MacLeish at 6:28 and then Mel Bridgman made it 5-1 with his goal at 14:19 from captain Bobby Clarke and debutante Hill, his fourth point of the game.

Bruce Affleck cut the margin to 5-2 at 15:42 as the second period would end with Philadelphia leading by three.

Less than a minute into the third period, Clarke scored his 21st goal of the season at 57 seconds with an assist from Hill and Kelly. Hill's third assist of the game gave him an NHL record which still stands, as combined with his two first period goals, his 5 points were the most ever scored by a player during his first NHL game.

The Spectrum scoreboard announced Hill's record

St. Louis attempted a comeback, with goals by Berenson at 13:31 and Bob Hess at 14:59, but Wayne Stephenson in goal for Philadelphia held the Blues off the scoreboard for the remainder of the game to give the Flyers a 6-4 win.

"I didn't think too much of it at the time," Hill recalled years later. "I really wasn't that type of player, and [the record] was just one of those things. Everything went my way that night. I played a little bit on all four lines in that game and the puck just seemed to find me."

Hill celebrating his 5 point NHL debut

When asked about his rookie phenom, Flyers head coach Fred Shero remarked. "I didn't even know we had him on the team!"

(In addition to Hill's five points, we also suspect that the game may very well have set a record for the most players named Bob taking part, as the Blues had Bob Gassoff, Bob Plager, MacMillan and Hess, while the Flyers roster had Dailey, Kelly, Clarke and Bob Ritchie for a total of eight Bobs on the night!)

Hill played three more games without scoring another point before he was sent back down to the Indians, but now armed with a story to tell his Springfield teammates!

Hill would end up playing in 4 more games for the Flyers that season with a grand total of one assist to add to his unexpected and remarkable 5 point debut.

He would play nearly the entire 1977-78 season with the Maine Mariners of the AHL, scoring 91 points in 80 games from 32 goals and 59 points to lead the Mariners in scoring while finishing third overall in the AHL. The Mariners would then go on to win the Calder Cup in five games over the New Haven Nighthawks. In addition, Hill would see action in 3 games for the Flyers, but did not register a point.

For the 1978-79 season, Hill would divide his time between the Mariners, scoring 25 points in 35 games, and the Flyers, playing in 31 games while contributing 16 points.

Hill would set a career best scoring mark in 1979-80

Hill would play exclusively in the NHL for the next three seasons with the Flyers, setting an NHL career highs with 16 goals and 26 points in the 1979-80 season and nearly equaled that with 25 points in 1980-81. For the 1981-82 season, he was limited to 41 games while on pace for a fine season with 19 points.

Hill had three straight seasons in the NHL from 1979-82

He signed with the Edmonton Oilers as a free agent in November of 1982 and played 78 games for their minor league affiliate, the Moncton Alpines of the AHL, scoring 22 goals and 44 points that season. He returned to the Maine Mariners for the 1983-84 season, with 24 points in 51 games as well as 18 points in 17 playoff games, good for third on the team in playoff scoring as the Mariners defeated the Rochester Americans in five games for Hill's second Calder Cup championship with Maine.

Hill played five seasons with Hershey,

which included winning a Calder Cup

He was resigned by the Philadelphia organization for the 1984-85 season and was assigned to the Hershey Bears for the entire year, contributing 41 points in 73 games. He would spend the final four seasons of his career with Hershey, highlighted by a 17 goal, 57 point season in 1985-86.

In 1986-87, Hill played 76 games for Hershey and was recalled for 7 NHL games by Philadelphia as well as playing in 9 playoff games for the Flyers. The following season of 1987-88, he played the final 12 games of his NHL career with Philadelphia, scoring once.

His final season as a player saw him spend the entire season with the Bears, scoring 33 points in 62 games and ending his career with an additional 8 playoff games.

Hill completed his NHL career with 221 games played with 40 goals and 55 assists for 95 points and one enduring NHL record.

"It's not a bad thing to be known for," Hill stated. "Someone might come along and match it or beat it, but that game is something I'll always remember."

Hill also played 655 games in the AHL, scoring 149 goals and 286 assists for 435 points, putting his combined total as a pro at 530 points. He was also a member of two Calder Cup winning teams in Maine in 1978 and 1984.

He transitioned into coaching the very next season with Hershey before becoming an assistant coach with the AHL's Binghamton Rangers for three seasons, which included a mid season move up the the NHL when Binghamton's Ron Smith took over for Roger Neilson in 1992-93. For the next two seasons, Hill was back with Binghamton, only now as their head coach. He then spent two seasons as an assistant with the Cincinnati Cyclones of the IHL and one as the head coach of the United Hockey League's B.C. Icemen.

Today's featured jersey is a 1979-80 Philadelphia Flyers Al Hill jersey as worn by Hill during his best overall NHL season of 16 goals and 26 points.

The Flyers made their NHL debut in 1967-68 with similar jerseys, only with one color numbers and no names on the back. The numbers were outlined in black starting in 1970-71, names arrived on the back of the home white jerseys in 1972-73 and the road orange ones in 1977-78. They arrived at today's featured style in 1978-79 when the stripes running down the sleeves were widened enough to fully contain the numbers. This version of their jersey lasted three seasons until the waist stripes were removed with the arrival of the controversial CCM Pro Guard long pants, more commonly, but inaccurately, known as "Cooperalls".

Bonus jersey: Today's bonus jersey is a 1983-84 Maine Mariners Al Hill jersey as worn by Hill during the season the Mariners won the Calder Cup as AHL champions.

While an affiliate of the Flyers, the Mariners used the same jersey template as their parent club, complete with their Flyers influenced crest.

Today's video section is a look at Hill's five point debut.

Rendez-vous '87 - 1987 NHL All-Star Wayne Gretzky Jersey

In 1987, the NHL deviated from it's usual All-Star Game format in the form of Rendez-vous '87, a series of two games during which a team of NHL All-Stars faced off against the Soviet National Team in Quebec City, Quebec at Le Colisee, home of the Quebec Nordiques.

Rendez-vous '87 program cover

The event was just a part of the annual Quebec Winter Carnival, a multi-cultural event featuring entertainers and food from Canada, Russia and the United States.

The Soviet lineup was a strong one, and featured over a dozen players who would eventually compete in the NHL within the next six years. The changing face of the NHL was reflected by the increasing international presence on its roster, now sporting players from not only Canada and Sweden, as in the 1979 Challenge Cup, but with the addition of players from the United States and Finland as well.

Game 1 took place on February 11, 1987 and Jari Kurri got the NHL All-Stars off to a 1-0 lead 5:23 in to the game. The Soviets fell behind 2-0 when Glenn Anderson scored with three minutes remaining in the second period but managed to get on the board before the period ended when Alexei Kasatonov got one by Grant Fuhr with 1:18 remaining.

The third period was an exciting affair, as the Soviets tied the game 2:03 into the period. Canada retook the lead five minutes later with Kevin Dineen's goal only to have the Soviets tie the game once more one minute later thanks to Anatoli Semenov.

The game continued scoreless as time began to wind down before Dave Poulin got the game winning goal for the All-Stars with just a minute and fifteen seconds left when he beat goaltender Evgeny Belosheikin, who had the audacity to wear Tretiak's legendary #20!

After a day of rest, the teams returned to the ice on February 13, 1987 following much the same script, as the NHL again scored 3:32 into the game to lead 1-0 after the first period.

The Soviet Union got two goals early in period two when Valeri Kamensky and Vladimir Krutov scored a minute and a half apart for their first lead of the competition. Doug Wilson evened the scoring at 2-2 with his goal on the power play at 7:33 only to have Kamensky and Krutov each score their second goals of the game to put the Soviets ahead by two. Kamensky's second goal came with 19 seconds left in the second period, while Krutov's game winner came 9:19 into the third period.

Krutov's two goals were key to the Soviet in in Game 2

Andrei Khomutov increased the Soviet lead to 5-2 at 12:59, which proved to be an important goal in not only the game, but in the larger picture of the series as a whole, for when Ray Bourque scored at 19:23 of the third period, it was too little too late as the Soviets not only won the game 5-3, but earned bragging rights for the series by outscoring the NHL All-Stars by a combined 8-7 over the two games thanks to Khomutov's goal.

Following the game, team captains Wayne Gretzky and Viacheslav Fetisov traded jerseys in keeping with the tradition of European soccer players, leading to the most unusual sight of Gretzky wearing a Soviet National Team jersey emblazoned with CCCP across the front as well as a Cyrillic captain's "K".

"Comrade" Gretzky in his Soviet National Team jersey

Despite the loss in the series, the two games together allowed the Canadian members of the NHL All-Star Team a chance to compete together in advance of that fall's thrilling 1987 Canada Cup.

Today's featured jersey is a 1987 NHL All-Star Team Wayne Gretzky jersey as worn in the two game Rendez-vouz '87.

This jersey's unusual customization had sleeve numbers only on the left arm, as the Rendez-Vouz '87 patch was placed on the right sleeve in the location usually occupied by the numbers because of the stars occupying the usual location on the upper right chest for such a patch.

This style of jersey was worn only for the two games of the series in Quebec City and there was no dark "road" version ever produced for the team to wear, as was the norm with NHL All-Star jerseys since the introduction of the East vs. West format in 1969. That said, we have seen an orange version of this jersey, which we assume was a prototype.

Examples of this style jersey for collectors are rather scarce, as retail jersey sales were still in their infancy in 1987.

Bonus Jersey: Today's Bonus jersey is a 1987 Soviet National Team Sergei Priakin jersey as worn during Rendez-vous '87. These jerseys were some of the less visually successful of the Soviet Union's, as the dark red stripes against the red body of the jersey was too similar to create any worthwhile contrast.

Gone were the striking diamond pattern on the waist of the 1979 Challenge Cup jerseys, as well as the more pleasing font for the numbers. Things would improve in the years following, as the jerseys worn in international hockey would soon be made by the Finnish brand Tackla, giving the final jerseys of the Soviet era some much needed graphic design.

Sergei Priakin would become the answer to a trivia question in 1988 when he became the first Soviet player to be allowed to compete in the NHL, which he did with the Calgary Flames. He would also suffer the common plight of the Soviet players during this early era of playing in North America, as the spelling of their names on the backs of their jerseys often varied from appearance to appearance. As seen here, "PRYAKHIN" would latter play for the Flames wearing "PRIAKIN".

Extra bonus Jersey: Today's extra bonus jersey is a 1987 NHL All-Star Team Wayne Gretzky jersey. This orange jersey was never worn by the NHL All-Stars during the two game Rendez-vous '87 event and we assume this was a prototype made in case the series format called for the need for the All-Stars to wear an away jersey or perhaps in anticipation of this style being worn again for the 1988 NHL All-Star Game, which did not happen, as the league reverted back to the template worn in 1987.

Whatever the reason for its existence, it is a sharp looking style but one that raises more questions than it answers.

Note a few inaccuracies in the customization of this particular jersey, such as the event patch placed on the right chest and the sleeve numbers on the right arm, as well as what appears to be a twill nameplate rather than one made out of the same material as the body of the jersey.

 

Today's video highlights begin with Poulin tipping in the game winning goal in Game 1 of Rendez-vous '87.

In Game 2 of Rendez-vous '87, Kamensky is a one man highlight reel, scoring two and assisting on Khomutov's goal for good measure.

1975-76 Vancouver Canucks Dennis Ververgaert Jersey

Since the demise of the Brooklyn Americans in 1942, the NHL consisted of just six member teams, commonly referred to as "The Original Six". Finally, following the success of the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants in Major League Baseball on the west coast, the idea of expanding the NHL was first brought up in 1963, partly due to fears that the Western Hockey League was intending to operate as a major league in the near future and also in hopes of making the league more attractive to American television networks with coast-to-coast appeal.
 

The original discussions promoted San Francisco and Vancouver as acceptable locations with Los Angeles and St. Louis also as potential candidates in March of 1965.

In February of 1966, applications were received from groups from Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, Minnesota, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Baltimore, Buffalo and the only Canadian application from Vancouver.

In the end, franchises were awarded to Oakland (across the bay from San Francisco), Los Angeles, Minnesota, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and...

St. Louis?

The Blues were a surprise inclusion in the 1967 NHL expansion

The decision to exclude Vancouver caught many by surprise, especially those involved in the construction of the brand new Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver, and angered not only the locals, but all of Canada, since the six chosen cities were all in the United States. Various reasons emerged to explain the surprise inclusion of St. Louis, despite the fact there was no formal proposal from a group representing St. Louis!

Reportedly, Toronto and Montreal did not want to share Canadian TV revenues with a third club and support for expansion from Chicago was contingent on the creation of a team in St. Louis, which would result in the sale of the run-down St. Louis Arena, which just conveniently happened to be owned by the Chicago Black Hawks ownership group at the time...

The St. Louis Arena dated back to 1929

Less than a year later the Oakland Seals franchise was having financial difficulties and an apparent deal was struck to move the club to Vancouver. The NHL however, did not want to see one of their brand new franchises moved so quickly and killed the deal. In exchange for avoiding a lawsuit, the NHL promised Vancouver a team in the next expansion, which occurred in 1970 when Buffalo and Vancouver were granted entry into the NHL at a cost of $6 million, three times the cost in 1967.

The inaugural 1970-71 Vancouver Canucks

Life for the Vancouver Canucks in the NHL the first few seasons was predictably rough, as the other six expansion franchises who began play in 1967-68 had a three year head start on the Canucks, not to mention the established powerhouses of the Original 6. Even tougher for the Canucks, they were placed in the "East" Division with the Boston Bruins, New York Rangers, Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs, Detroit Red Wings and their expansion cousins the Buffalo Sabres, while the West Division was comprised of the "Second 6" and the Chicago Black Hawks.

The Top 10 scoring leaders that season were all from Original 6 teams and nine of those resided in the East Division with the Canucks. That first season the Canucks were 0-4 against the Montreal Canadiens before managing a pair of late season ties on their way to a 24-26-8 record and a 6th place finish in the East, ahead of only the Red Wings by a single point.

Pat Quinn defends against Montreal's Guy Lafleur

1971-72 was a bit less successful than their debut season, as they dropped to last place in the East with a 20-50-8 record. Although they had four more wins than the Sabres, they fell behind them in the standings due to just 8 ties versus Buffalo's league leading 19. Montreal again dominated the series between the two clubs, including three overpowering shutouts by scores of 6-0, 7-0 and 5-0 on their way to sweeping the Canucks 5 games to none.

Ken Dryden and the Canadiens dominated the Canucks

Vancouver showed little improvement with a 22-47-9 record, but were spared the basement due to the arrival of the expansion New York Islanders in 1972-73. Montreal again swept the board against Vancouver, taking all six meetings including wins of 9-1, 3-0 and 7-3.

Montreal's winning streak continued in 1972-73

For 1974-75, the Canucks were paroled from the mighty East Division and placed in the brand new Smythe Division with the Chicago Black Hawks, Minnesota North Stars, St. Louis Blues and expansion Kansas City Scouts. The resulting change in the Canucks schedule, as well as the team gaining experience and confidence from playing together for several seasons now, saw them leap up to a 38-32-10 record on their way to not only a Division championship, but their first playoff appearance. Still the specter of the Canadiens loomed, as they defeated the Canucks in all four regular season appearances and eliminated them from the playoffs.

Bob Gainey kept the pressure on the Canucks

The losing streak continued in 1975-76 with a 6-4 loss on November 29th, a 2-2 tie on December 20th. Another 2-2 tie on January 27th extended the Canucks streak of futility against Montreal to 30 games (0-25-5) prior to their meeting on this date in 1976 in Montreal.

Defenseman Mike Robitaille opened the scoring for the Canucks with an unassisted goal at 6:34 against the Canadiens Ken Dryden. Ron Sedlbauer added to the Canucks lead a minute later with his 12th goal of the season at 7:32. The Canucks leading scorer that season, Dennis Ververgaert, scored on the power play at 15:15 with both Mario Tremblay and Bob Gainey in the penalty box for Montreal. Sedlbauer shocked the fans at the forum with his second goal of the period at 18:09 to put the visitors up by a score of 4-0 after just 20 minutes while dominating play with a 16-8 lead in shots on goal.

Ron Sedlbauer

Ververgaert extended the Canucks lead at 2:46 of the second before the Canadiens began their comeback. Jim Roberts scored to get Montreal on the board at 8:55 and Peter Mahovlich cut the lead to 5-2 at 17:07 of the second period.

Dennis Ververgaert

Bobby Lalonde counted Mahovlich's goal just 1:36 into the third period to restore the Canucks four goal lead. Vancouver held Montreal off the board for the first half of the period, but the Canadiens showed signs of life with a pair of goals less than 30 seconds apart at the midway point of the period with scores from Mahovlich and Doug Risebrough at 10:26 and 10:55 to make the score 6-4 with plenty of time remaining for the defending Stanley Cup champions to come back.

Goaltender Ken Lockett held off the Canadiens for the remainder of the game, eventually making 31 saves on 35 shots as the Canucks played a disciplined game and stayed out of the penalty box the rest of the way to secure their first regular season win over the Canadiens in franchise history, and accomplish it on the road in the always tough Montreal Forum.

Ken Lockett delivered the Canucks first win over Montreal

Today's featured jersey is a 1975-76 Vancouver Canucks Dennis Ververgaert jersey as worn during the Canucks first ever win against the Montreal Canadiens after five winless seasons and 30 tries. Ververgaert contributed to the Canucks win with a pair of goals that night.

The Canucks original jerseys had a pair of wide green stripes on the waist and arms, as well as a white "V" over the green stripes on the sleeves. This style lasted for only two seasons before a change to a single green stripe which was trimmed in white. No names were worn on the back until 1977.

Ververgaert was drafted third overall in 1973 by the Canucks and made the jump from junior hockey straight to the NHL. As a rookie he scored 26 goals. Two seasons later he had a career season, netting 37 goals and totaling 71 points. He had two more 20-goal seasons in his six seasons as a Canuck. He as traded to the Philadelphia Flyers halfway through the 1978-79 season. After a year and a half with the Flyers, Ververgaert's final NHL season was spent with the Washington Capitals. In all, he scored 176 goals and 392 points in eight NHL seasons and was the Canucks second leading goal scorer during their first decade.

Today's featured jersey is a 1975-76 Vancouver Canucks Ken Lockett jersey as worn during the Canucks first ever win against the Montreal Canadiens after five winless seasons and 30 tries. Lockett contributed to the Canucks win with 31 saves on 35 shots that night.

Our video section today has home movies of the Canucks taken in 1976, featuring some overly dramatic music which tries to make the footage of warmups seems rather important, but still a nice look at the Canucks jerseys of the day.

Here, the rookie Ververgaert slugs it out with Wayne Cashman of the Bruins, showing no intimidation as he establishes himself in the NHL.

Finally, Ververgaert welcomes a young Mark Messier to the NHL in a fight that seems like it was never going to end.