NHL Hockey Trivia: Edmonton Oilers Retired Numbers

The Edmonton Oilers began as the Alberta Oilers in the World Hockey Association. The Oilers played in the WHA from 1972-73 until 1978-79. Edmonton was one of four WHA teams to merge into the NHL for the 1979-80 season as the WHA came to an end.

In all, the Oilers have retired seven numbers. Test and expand your knowledge of Edmonton Oilers retired jersey numbers with these trivia questions.

Q. Number 3 is retired by the Edmonton Oilers for which original Oiler?

A. Al Hamilton was with the Oilers for each of their seasons in the WHA and served as the team’s first captain. Hamilton played in the NHL from 1965-66 to 1971-72 with the New York Rangers and Buffalo Sabres then played one more season in 1979-80 with the Oilers before retiring.

Although a native of the hockey rich Flin Flon, Manitoba, Hamilton played much of his junior career with the Edmonton Oil Kings. He competed in three consecutive Memorial Cup finals, winning with the Oil Kings in 1965-66, his final year of junior.

Al served as team captain of the Oilers from their inception in 1972-73 until 1975-76. He also played three games for Team Canada in the WHA version of the Summit Series in 1974.

Hamilton is the only one of the seven to have their numbers retired by Edmonton to not have a place in the Hockey Hall of Fame. He is also the only one of the seven to not have won a Stanley Cup with the Oilers.

Q. The Oilers retired number 7 in honour of what player?

A. Paul Coffey played with Edmonton from 1980-81 to 1986-87. Coffey’s NHL career lasted until 2000-01 and he played for Edmonton, the Pittsburgh Penguins, Los Angeles Kings, Detroit Red Wings, Hartford Whalers, Philadelphia Flyers, Chicago Blackhawks, Carolina Hurricanes and Boston Bruins. Paul was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2004.

Q. Which Oiler is the number 17 retired in honour of?

A. Jari Kurri played for the Oilers from 1980-81 to 1989-90. His NHL career concluded after the 1997-98 season after also playing for the Los Angeles Kings, New York Rangers, Anaheim Mighty Ducks and the Colorado Avalanche. Kurri had seasons of 71 and 68 goals with the Oilers and his final regular season NHL total was 601. Jari was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2001.

Kurri came to the NHL already a seasoned pro. He played three years with Jokerit in Finland's SM-Liiga before joining the Oilers in 1980-81. Before the European invasion, Kurri was a lowly fourth round pick by Edmonton at he 1980 NHL Entry Draft, 69^th overall. He is now the general manager of Jokerit with the team now playing in the KHL.

On the international stage, Jari has played at two Olympic Games for Finland. His first was in 1980, before he reached the NHL. His last was in 1998, during his final year in the NHL. Because Kurri always found himself on successful teams in North America, he was only able to play at the IIHF World Championships on four occasions.

Q. What goaltender has his number 31 retired by the Edmonton Oilers?

A. Grant Fuhr played between the pipes in an Oilers uniform from 1981-82 to 1990-91. He played until the end of the 1999-00 season with Edmonton, the Toronto Maple Leafs, Buffalo Sabres, Los Angeles Kings, St. Louis Blues and Calgary Flames. Fuhr has his name on the Stanley Cup five times and entered the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2003.

A true goalie from the 1980's and 1990's, Fuhr got into the HHOF with a career NHL goals against average of 3.38 and a save percentage of .887. Those numbers would get a goalie dropped to the ECHL in today's game.

Like Al Hamilton, Grant reached the Memorial Cup as a junior. With the Victoria Cougars in 1980-81, Fuhr helped the team to the tournament but it was the Cornwall Royals of the QMJHL beating out the Kitchener Rangers of the OHL in the final game.

1974-75 WHA Goal Scoring Leaders

In the short-lived seven year history of the World Hockey Association, 1974-75 was one of the more significant as far as individual performances go. Bobby Hull of the Winnipeg Jets scored 77 goals, the most any player would score in a single WHA season.

Bobby Hull – Winnipeg Jets

Hull, a five time 50 goal scorer in the National Hockey League with the Chicago Blackhawks, once owned the NHL record for a short time with the 58 goals he scored in 1968-69. He played in each of the seven WHA seasons, all with the Jets. In his first four years in the league, he surpassed the 50 goal plateau. He scored 303 goals over his WHA career and 610 in the NHL. Including playoff goals, Bobby scored over 1,000 goals during his professional hockey career.

Wayne Rivers – San Diego Mariners

Wayne Rivers of the San Diego Mariners finished second with 54 goals, 23 less than Bobby Hull. This proved to be the pinnacle of his professional hockey career that lasted from 1961-62 to 1978-79. Rivers played five years in the WHA, scoring 158 goals in 357 regular season games. Between 1961-62 and 1968-69, Rivers played 108 games in the National Hockey League with the Detroit Red Wings, Boston Bruins, St. Louis Blues and New York Rangers, scoring just 15 goals.

Serge Bernier – Quebec Nordiques

Serge Bernier of the Quebec Nordiques also finished the 1974-75 season with 54 goals and actually should get the tie-breaker nod over Rivers because he played two less games. Serge was in his second of six years in the WHA, all with Quebec. He made the jump back to the NHL with the Nordiques in 1979-80 but his career was over after the following season.

Bernier was the fifth overall pick at the 1967 NHL Amateur Draft, taken from the Sorel Eperviers and going to the Philadelphia Flyers. He was the only player of the first fifteen picked in that draft to play in the NHL. Before jumping to the WHA for the 1973-74 season, Serge played for the Flyers and Los Angeles Kings. In total, he played 302 regular season games in the NHL, scoring just 78 goals while appearing in 417 in the WHA and scoring 230.

Anders Hedberg – Winnipeg Jets

Anders Hedberg of the Winnipeg Jets played his first of four seasons in the World Hockey Association in 1974-75. He finished fourth with 53 goals in just 65 games. As a bit of hockey trivia, Hedberg followed Mark Howe as only the second of five recipients of the Lou Kaplan Trophy as WHA rookie of the year. Hedberg scored more than 50 and totalled more than 100 points in each of his four years in the WHA. He topped out in 1976-77 with 70 goals and 131 points while only playing 68 games.

Hedberg moved to the National Hockey League in 1978-79, a year before the demise of the WHA. He signed with the New York Rangers and played with the club until retirement after the 1984-85 season. He played a total of 286 regular season games in the WHA and scored 236 goals. In 465 NHL regular season games, his goal total was a much lower and still respectable 172.

Tom Simpson – Toronto Toros

Finishing fifth with 52 goals was Tom Simpson of the Toronto Toros. Simpson was in his third of five years in the WHA. Tom was drafted in the sixth round of the 1972 NHL Amateur Draft by the St. Louis Blues but chose to jump from the Oshawa Generals directly to the WHA for the inaugural 1972-73 season. Simpson began with the Ottawa Nationals and continued with the franchise as it moved to Toronto then on to Birmingham, Alabama where they became the Birmingham Bulls. He also played 15 games with the Edmonton Oilers in his final season.

10 NHL Stars That Shunned The WHA

The World Hockey Association was a rebel hockey league that existed from 1972 to 1979 to compete against the National Hockey League. In the inaugural WHA draft, many NHL stars were selected by the original 12 WHA teams and many of these players were in their prime as stars in hockey.

The original World Hockey Association General Player Draft was held on February 12 and 13 of 1972. Although the draft lasted 123 rounds, the first round or preliminary round played the most important role in attempting to secure superstar talent away from the National Hockey League. In that preliminary round, each of the twelve proposed franchises wrote down four players, secret ballot style, and submitted them.

Of the names selected in that preliminary round, few would play a single game in the WHA. The following players that declined and stayed in the NHL would have changed the history of professional hockey if they’d made a different decision.

Stan Mikita – Chicago Cougars

Stan Mikita was selected by the Chicago Cougars. Chicago Black Hawks legend and Hockey Hall of Famer played 22 seasons in the National Hockey League, all with the Blackhawks. The year he retired from the NHL was the year the WHA and NHL merged, 1979-80.  Stan was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1983.

Bobby Clarke – Alberta Oilers

In February of 1972, Bobby Clarke was just coming into his own with the Philadelphia Flyers. Two years later, Clarke captained the Flyers to their first of two consecutive Stanley Cup victories. Clarke was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1987 and might well have been a member of the Alberta Oilers if the offer was right in 1972. Would that one move have had the butterfly effect enough to keep both the Flyers and Oilers from Stanley Cup championships over the next decade and a half?

Ken Dryden – Los Angeles Sharks

Ken Dryden already had one Stanley Cup and the Calder Trophy under his belt when he was drafted by the Los Angeles Sharks of the WHA. In what could have been his first season with Los Angeles, Dryden won his second of six Stanley Cup championships he would win with the Montreal Canadiens. Dryden entered the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1983.

Gilbert Perreault – Los Angeles Sharks

Gilbert Perreault was in his second season of his Hall of Fame career with the Buffalo Sabres when the Los Angeles Sharks selected him in the preliminary round. Perreault played seventeen seasons in the NHL, all with the Sabres. The closest Gilbert came to a Stanley Cup ring was when Buffalo fell to the Flyers in the 1974-75 final. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1990.

Peter Mahovlich – Minnesota Fighting Saints

With his size, toughness and scoring ability, Peter Mahovlich would have been the leader of the Minnesota Fighting Saints. Mahovlich remained with the NHL’s Montreal Canadiens where he was part of four Stanley Cup winning teams. In all, Peter played nearly 900 NHL regular season games with the Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens and Pittsburgh Penguins. If he had jumped to the WHA, he wouldn’t have been able to play in the historic 1972 Summit Series for Team Canada. However, his brother Frank Mahovlich did choose the WHA route, playing 237 regular season games between 1974-75 and 1977-78 with the Toronto Toros and Birmingham Bulls.

Steve Shutt – New York Raiders

Steve Shutt was drafted by the WHA’s New York Raiders right out of the OHA’s Toronto Marlboros. Shutt chose to take his chances with the powerful Montreal Canadiens and despite the odds, he played in 50 games with the Habs in his rookie NHL season, 1972-73. The following year, he was a regular with the club. A 60 goal scorer in 1976-77, Shutt was a part of five Stanley Cup winning teams with Montreal and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1993. He appeared in 930 regular season games in the NHL between 1972-73 and 1984-85 with the Canadiens and Los Angeles Kings.

Brad Park – Ottawa Nationals

Already established as one of the NHL’s top defenseman, Brad Park chose to stay with the New York Rangers instead of jumping ship to the WHA’s Ottawa Nationals. Park enjoyed a long NHL career with the Rangers, Boston Bruins and Detroit Red Wings before his induction to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1988. Considering Ottawa’s instability and short-lived stay in the WHA, it was a good move on Brad’s part.

Eddie Shack – Ottawa Nationals

Eddie Shack was nearing the end of his interesting NHL career when the Ottawa Nationals selected him. One has to wonder what Eddie Shack would have become in the WHA. Perhaps, Shack would have finally been able to showcase his offensive talents. A veteran of 1,047 regular season games in the National Hockey League, Shack played for the New York Rangers, Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins, Los Angeles Kings, Buffalo Sabres and Pittsburgh Penguins between 1958-59 and 1974-75.

Jacques Lemaire – Quebec Nordiques

Jacques Lemaire finished his NHL career with his name engraved on the Stanley Cup eight times as a player, all with the Montreal Canadiens. When the Quebec Nordiques selected him in the WHA draft, Lemaire already had three of those Stanley Cups under his belt. Despite having a 1974-75 hockey card depicting him as a member of the Buffalo Sabres, Lemaire played his entire NHL career with the Habs, appearing in 853 regular season games between 1967-68 and 1978-79. Jacques was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1984. He won another Stanley Cup in 1995 as the head coach of the New Jersey Devils.

Guy Lapointe – Quebec Nordiques

Guy Lapointe won six Stanley Cups with the Montreal Canadiens and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1993. Lapointe, like his long time teammate Jacques Lemaire, was selected by the Quebec Nordiques but never played in the World Hockey Association. Guy appeared in 894 regular season NHL games between 1968-69 and 1983-84 with the Canadiens, St. Louis Blues and Boston Bruins.

What would have happened if even half of these players had joined Bobby Hull, Bernie Parent, Norm Ullman and Derek Sanderson in pioneering hockey history in the WHA? The league certainly would have competed better with the NHL from the beginning. Perhaps, earlier merger plans that the WHA had with the NHL would have gone through with the Houston Aeros and Cincinnati Stingers surviving extinction and becoming NHL clubs along with the Edmonton Oilers, New England Whalers, Quebec Nordiques and Winnipeg Jets. Or, perhaps, the WHA would still be in existence, living in conjunction with a smaller, weaker NHL.

 

The 4 Bill Hunter Trophy Winners In The WHA

Over the entire seven year history of the WHA, the Bill Hunter Trophy was given out each year to the player in the rebel league that finished the regular season with the most points. To put it another way, it was the World Hockey Association’s equivalent to the NHL’s Art Ross Trophy.

 Just four players won the award over the seven years, three winning on two occasions. Looking back, one would think that hockey greats Bobby Hull and Gordie Howe would be among this select group. However, that is not the case.

Andre Lacroix

Playing for the Philadelphia Blazers in the WHA’s inaugural season, Andre Lacroix was the first ever recipient of the Bill Hunter Trophy. Lacroix scored 50 goals and assisted on 74 others in 1972-73 for a total of 124 points. He was also the Bill Hunter Trophy winner two years later in 1974-75 as a member of the San Diego Mariners. That season, he scored just 41 but assisted on 106 for 147 points. He is one of just four major league hockey players to surpass 100 assists in a season. The other three are Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux and Bobby Orr.

Andre was no stranger to being at the top of a scoring race. He won the Eddie Powers Trophy in 1965-66 as the OHA’s top point-getter while playing major junior for the Peterborough Petes. Lacroix played in every WHA season from 1972-73 to 1978-79. He also appeared in 325 NHL games with the Philadelphia Flyers, Chicago Black Hawks and Hartford Whalers.

Mike Walton

In between Lacroix’s two Bill Hunter Trophy wins was Mike Walton, WHA scoring champion in 1973-74. Walton scored 57 goals and assisted on 60 for 117 points with the Minnesota Fighting Saints. It was the first of three years Walton would play in the WHA, all with Minnesota. He had a respectable NHL career, playing in 588 regular season games between 1965-66 and 1978-79 with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins, Vancouver Canucks, St. Louis Blues and Chicago Blackhawks. Not a Calder Trophy winner in the National Hockey League, Walton made some hockey trivia, winning the CHL rookie of the year in 1964-65 and the AHL rookie of the year in 1965-66.

Marc Tardif

The Quebec Nordiques dominated the Bill Hunter Trophy for the final four years of the WHA with Marc Tardif and Real Cloutier alternating victories. Tardif won in 1975-76 with 71 goals and 77 assists for 148 points. His 154 points on 65 goals and 89 assists in 1977-78 will forever be a WHA record for most points in a single season. At the time, it was a major league record, two points better than Phil Esposito’s total with the Boston Bruins in 1970-71.

Tardif was the second overall pick at the 1969 NHL Amateur Draft by the Montreal Canadiens. He played parts of four seasons with the Habs before jumping to the Los Angeles Sharks of the WHA for the 1973-74 season. He moved to the Nordiques midway through the 1974-75 season and remained with the club throughout their WHA days and four years into their existence in the NHL.

Real Cloutier

Real Cloutier is the only one of the four players to begin his career in the WHA. He was a ninth overall draft pick of the Nordiques at the 1974 WHA Amateur Draft. He played with Quebec from 1974-75 until the demise of the WHA after the 1978-79 season. He carried on with the NHL Nordiques for four more years and ended his NHL career with two partial seasons with the Buffalo Sabres.

Cloutier was the Bill Hunter Trophy winner in 1976-77 and 1978-79. In his first win, he scored 66 and assisted on 75 for 141 points. He reached 75 goals in 1978-79, adding 54 assists for 129 points. In 1973-74, as a junior with the Quebec Remparts of the QMJHL, Cloutier honed his scoring touch with 93 goals and 123 assists for 216 points in just 69 games. However, Real was a full 35 points behind league leader Pierre Larouche of the Sorel Eperviers who led the league with 251 points.

Hockey Trivia: Bobby Hull of the Chicago Black Hawks

Perhaps the greatest goal scorer in the history of the National Hockey League, Bobby Hull, along with Stan Mikita, wowed them in Chicago throughout the 1960’s. There were two distinctive parts to the Golden Jet’s professional hockey career:  The National Hockey League and the World Hockey Association. As an indicator of his success and popularity, the Bobby Hull rookie card from the 1958-59 Topps series is worth a whopping $3000.

This article deals with Bobby Hull’s career in the National Hockey League. Test and expand your hockey trivia knowledge of Bobby Hull’s NHL accomplishments with these four trivia questions.

Q. Despite having eleven more total points in his rookie season, who did Bobby Hull finish second to in the 1957-58 Calder Memorial Trophy voting?

A. Frank Mahovlich of the Toronto Maple Leafs won the Calder in 1958. Ironically, both players were still in their teens and straight out of junior. Typically, back in the day, a player spent several years in the minor pro leagues before behind brought up to take one of the scarce NHL jobs.

With the Black Hawks in that first year, at the age of just 18, Hull scored 13 goals and assisted on 34 for 47 points while playing the full 70 game schedule. Mahovlich, a year older than Hull, totalled 36 points on 20 goals and 16 assists over 67 games for the Maple Leafs.

Q. Bobby Hull was a five time 50+ goal scorer in the National Hockey League. In which year did Bobby score his NHL career high 58 goals?

A. 1968-69 saw Hull create a new NHL goal scoring record. Bobby’s 58 goals would stand as a record for just two seasons before Phil Esposito shattered the mark in 1970-71 with 76. Hull was on pace for 58 in 1965-66 but missed five games and scored just 54.

His last 50 goal season in the NHL came in 1971-72 when he scored exactly 50 for the Blackhawks. In the WHA, Bobby exploded for 77 goals over 78 games with the Winnipeg Jets in 1974-75.

Q. From 1957-58 until the end of 1971-72, Hull played exclusively with the Chicago Black Hawks. Which two teams did he play for in his final NHL season?

A. After the WHA merged with the NHL for the 1979-80 season, Hull followed the Winnipeg Jets as they switched leagues. After 18 games with the Jets, Bobby jumped ship to the Hartford Whalers where he played another nine games before retiring.

Q. Better known for his offensive abilities, in what year was Bobby Hull awarded for his gentlemanly play with the Lady Byng Trophy?

A. Hull won the Byng in 1964-65 while sitting 32 minutes in the penalty box over 61 regular season games. He was also awarded the Hart Memorial Trophy that same year as the NHL’s most valuable player.

In a five year stretch from 1963-64 to 1967-68, Chicago dominated the Lady Byng. Ken Wharram won the trophy the year before Hull. Stan Mikita went from king of the sin bin early in his NHL career to a two time winner of the Lady Byng in 1966-67 and 1967-68.

Hockey Trivia: The WHA And Its Amateur Draft

The World Hockey Association existed for just seven years in the 1970’s. Most years, they ran an amateur draft alongside that of the National Hockey League. Often, the results of the drafts in each league were quite similar and the prospects had the option to choose between the two professional hockey leagues. The NHL was stable and the WHA was a risky venture that offered a chance to make a whole lot of money or lose everything.

Test and expand your knowledge of hockey trivia with these four questions based on the WHA’s Amateur Draft.

Q. In 1973, the first overall draft pick at the WHA Amateur Draft opted to play for what NHL team?

A. Bob Neely was selected first overall in the 1973, WHA Amateur draft but decided to sign with the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Maple Leafs chose Neely tenth overall in the 1973 NHL Entry Draft. Bob went on to play 283 regular season games in the NHL, scoring 39 goals and assisting on 59 for 98 points. He played an additional 26 games in the Stanley Cup playoffs, adding 12 points.

Neely played pro hockey from 1973-74 to 1979-80 in the NHL, CHL and AHL. Typically, a player will go from being an offensive star in junior to a role player and even enforcer in the NHL. Bob is an odd case study where that went nearly in reverse.

With the Roger Neilson coached Peterborough Petes of the OHL in 1972-73, Neely led the league with 304 penalty minutes over 55 regular season games. However, he also scored 24 and totalled 76 points. With the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1976-77, he wasn’t exactly a powerhouse but his 17 goals and 33 points over 70 games were decent numbers for that time in NHL history. However, his penalty minute totals were certainly eye-catching at just 16 PIM.

Q. Bob Neely was a draft pick of what World Hockey Association team?

A. The Chicago Cougars selected Bob Neely. The Cougars were an original WHA team that played three seasons before folding. Their greatest success came in their second season when they lost in the Avco Cup finals to the Houston Aeros.

Q. What first overall pick in 1974 played one season in the WHA then moved to the NHL where he had a 700+ regular season game career?

A. Pat Price was selected first overall by the Vancouver Blazers. Price played one full season with the Blazers then went on to play for the New York Islanders, Edmonton Oilers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Quebec Nordiques, New York Rangers and Minnesota North Stars.

In 1975, Pat was the eleventh overall pick at the NHL Amateur Draft by the Islanders after four years of junior with the Saskatoon Blades. The defenseman topped out with eleven goals as a member of the Edmonton Oilers in 1979-80, the team’s first year in the NHL. Price retired after playing just 14 games with the North Stars in 1987-88.

Q. Who was the last first overall pick in the WHA Entry Draft?

A. Scott Campbell was taken first overall by the Houston Aeros in 1977. The league would continue for one more season but did not have a draft before that last season. Campbell played a year for the Aeros then moved on to the Winnipeg Jets.

Scott was also taken ninth overall by the St. Louis Blues at the 1977 NHL Amateur Draft. He would play three games with St. Louis but not until 1981-82. After three years of junior with the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League, Campbell played pro from 1977-78 to 1981-82 in the WHA, NHL and CHL.

 

Hockey Trivia: Bernie Parent

Bernie Parent is easily the best goaltender to ever wear the jersey of the Philadelphia Flyers. Until the untimely end to his National Hockey Career in 1978-79 due to an eye injury, Parent was one of the best goalies of that era in the NHL.

Test and expand your hockey trivia knowledge of Bernie Parent with the following four trivia questions.

Q. Bernie Parent played one season in the World Hockey Association. Which WHA team did he play for?

A. Originally signed by the Miami Screaming Eagles, after not playing a single game in Florida, the Screaming Eagles were moved to Philadelphia where they were known as the Philadelphia Blazers for the 1972-73 season. Parent played 63 games for the Blazers in their only season in the WHA before becoming the Vancouver Blazers.

Parent left the Toronto Maple Leafs to play in the WHA’s inaugural season. Upon returning to the National Hockey League for the 1973-74 season, Bernie returned to the Flyers, the team that had traded him to Toronto during the 1970-71 season.

Q. Bernie Parent played his first NHL game with what team?

A. Parent was originally a prospect of the Boston Bruins. He played 39 games with the team in his rookie season, 1965-66, winning only eleven games. He played 18 games with the Bruins the following season before being drafted by the Philadelphia Flyers in the 1967 NHL Expansion Draft.

In his first year with Boston, Parent moved right into the number one position, playing 39 games for the Bruins. Ed Johnston played 33 games and Gerry Cheevers appeared in seven. By 1966-67, Johnston and Cheevers had taken over as Boston’s goaltending duo and the 1967 expansion was a blessing for Bernie.

Q. In 2006-07, what record did Martin Brodeur break that Bernie Parent set in 1973-74?

A. It took over three decades for someone to break Parent’s record for most wins by a goalie in a season. In 1973-74 Bernie won 47 games for the Philadelphia Flyers while losing only 13 in 73 games. Brodeur’s season was four games longer than Parent’s and Marty had the advantage of overtimes and shootouts. In the end, Marty broke the record by just one win with 48. Bernie tied 12 games in 1973-74 which would have been potential wins in today’s game.

Q. Bernie Parent won a Memorial Cup in 1964-65 with what Ontario Hockey Association team?

A. Ironically, Parent’s junior success came with a team also called the Flyers. The Niagara Falls Flyers were an OHA team sponsored by the Boston Bruins. The team won the Memorial Cup in 1965 with the help of future NHLers Jean Pronovost, Derek Sanderson and Don Marcotte.

Niagara Falls met the Edmonton Oil Kings in the Memorial Cup final series. The series was entirely held at the Edmonton Gardens in Edmonton, Alberta. The Flyers won four games to one, outscoring their opponents 16-3 in the final two games. Bill Long coached Niagara Falls and would go on to coach the Ottawa 67’s and London Knights in the OHL.

Hartford Whalers in the Hockey Hall of Fame

I can hear Hartford Whalers fans crying foul at the title of this article, already. Indeed, there were six Hockey Hall of Fame members that skated for the Whalers but two didn’t stay long enough to work in their blades.

Bobby Hull, inducted in 1983, played nine games for the Whalers in 1979-80, the last nine games of his NHL career. Paul Coffey began the 1996-97 season with Hartford but was shipped to the Philadelphia Flyers after just 20 games. Then there’s Emile Francis who is in the Hall as a builder. Francis was General Manager of the Whalers from 1983 to 1989.

Gordie Howe

Gordie Howe entered the Hall five years before playing his first game with the WHA’s New England Whalers. In a strange twist of fate, Howe retired after the 1970-71 season and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1972. He was coaxed back into professional hockey by the Houston Aeros of the World Hockey Association so that he could play with his sons, Mark and Marty, for the 1973-74 season. After four years in Houston, the Howe family moved to New England for the last two years of the WHA’s existence. Gordie played one full season with the NHL’s Hartford Whalers in 1979-80 before retiring for good.

Dave Keon

Dave Keon played with the WHA Whalers for three seasons and the NHL Whalers for three more. After a long NHL career with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Keon jumped ship to the WHA for the 1975-76 season. He played with the Minnesota Fighting Saints and Indianapolis Racers before joining New England. Dave Keon is the only player in history to win the Lady Byng Trophy in the NHL and the Paul Deneau Trophy in the WHA. Both awards honour the most gentlemanly player. Keon won two of each. After Bobby Hull and Gordie Howe retired from the Whalers after 1979-80, Keon became the oldest active player in the NHL.

Ron Francis

Ron Francis was the fourth overall pick at the 1981 NHL Entry Draft, taken by the Hartford Whalers. Francis spent the better part of ten seasons with the Whalers from 1981-82 to 1990-91. After a stint with the Pittsburgh Penguins that put his name on the Stanley Cup twice, Francis made a homecoming of sorts, returning to the Carolina Hurricanes, the team formerly known as the Hartford Whalers. Like Keon, Francis was a gentleman, winning the Lady Byng on three occasions. Ron was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2007.

Mark Howe

The WHA career of Mark Howe mimicked his father’s. He began in Houston and ended up in New England. Howe played three years with the NHL Whalers before moving on to the Philadelphia Flyers. Mark’s NHL career came to an end after the 1994-95 season with the Detroit Red Wings. Howe is a member of the most recent Hall of Fame class, inducted in 2011.

 

Marcel Paille: AHL Hall of Fame Goalie

Marcel Paille is one of just 26 members of the American Hockey League Hall of Fame. Paille’s 1964-65 Topps rookie card as a member of the NHL’s New York Rangers is the most valuable rookie card in the series. Yet, how many hockey fans know who Marcel Paille was?

After playing junior for the Quebec Citadelles, Marcel Paille embarked on a professional hockey career as a goaltender that spanned from 1956-57 to 1973-74. In his rookie AHL season, 1956-57, his team, the Cleveland Barons, won the Calder Cup as the AHL playoff champions. Paille played sparingly for the New York Rangers from 1957-58 to 1964-65 with that final season being the only one he didn’t spend part of the year in the AHL.

He starred with the Springfield Indians at the start of the 1960’s. The team won three straight Calder Cups in 1960, 1961 and 1962. In the final two of those three years, Marcel was awarded the Harry Holmes Memorial Award as the goalie in the AHL with the lowest GAA.

Ironically, the year Paille finally got his face on a NHL hockey card was the last year he’d play in the league. His 1964-65 Topps rookie card is worth $250, largely due to scarcity because the card was short-printed.

Marcel did make it back to a major league hockey league for one more stint in 1972-73. In the first year of the World Hockey Association, Paille partnered with Bernie Parent between the pipes for the Philadelphia Blazers. Parent played the bulk of the games for the Blazers with Paille playing in just 15 and recording a ballooned 4.81 GAA.

Marcel passed away in 2002 and posthumously entered the AHL Hall of Fame in 2010. He still owns a handful of AHL records, including: most games by a goaltender, most playoff games by a goaltender, most playoff wins, the longest playoff shutout streak and most playoff minutes played. He was an American Hockey League All-Star on five occasions. Three times he was on the First Team and twice he was on the Second Team.