When the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Montreal Canadiens collided in the 1964 Stanley Cup semifinal, it was more than just another chapter in hockey’s fiercest rivalry. Montreal had finished seven points ahead in the regular season standings and never trailed in the series heading into Game 7. The odds and momentum, seemed firmly on the Canadiens’ side. But, champions have a way of seizing their moment.
On April 9, 1964, inside the storied Montreal Forum, Dave Keon decided he wasn’t ready to let Toronto’s reign end. Just 8:22 into the first period, Keon struck for his first goal of the series, beating goaltender Charlie Hodge with assists from Don McKenney and Bob Baun.
Minutes later, with Andy Bathgate serving a hooking penalty, Keon struck again, this time shorthanded, finishing a setup from captain George Armstrong. The Leafs suddenly held a 2-0 lead, and the game-winning goal was already on the board.
Montreal pushed back in the third when Ralph Backstrom finally solved Toronto netminder Johnny Bower at 7:27. But that was as close as the Canadiens would get. With just eleven seconds remaining, Keon completed the hat trick with an empty-net goal, silencing the Forum crowd and sending the Leafs to the Final.
Lost slightly in the glow of Keon’s heroics was Bower’s brilliance. The veteran goaltender turned aside 38 of 39 shots in one of his finest postseason performances. Toronto would need every ounce of that resilience moving forward.
The Stanley Cup Final against the Detroit Red Wings went the full seven games as well. Down three games to two, the Leafs survived Game 6 thanks to an overtime goal from Bob Baun. playing on a broken leg, before ultimately securing their third straight championship.
Keon and Me: My Search For The Lost Soul Of The Leafs
A heartfelt journey through the legacy of Dave Keon and the soul of the Toronto Maple Leafs franchise.
The Califonia Golden Seals existed in the National Hockey League
for just a short nine year span from 1967-68 to 1975-76. Originally
dubbed the Oakland Seals, the team was one of six expansion teams to
enter the NHL for the 1967-68 season. Despite the fact that their
nine years were nothing more than dismal, several decent players
passed through the organization.
Harry Howell
Harry
Howell is the only player in the Hockey Hall of Fame that ever
dressed for the Golden Seals. Howell played just the 1969-70 season
and part of the 1970-71 season with the club after 17 years with the
New York Rangers. After 28 games in 1970-71, he was traded down the
California coast to the Los Angeles Kings. The 1966-67 Norris Trophy
winner was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1979.
Bryan Watson
Bryan
‘Bugsy’ Watson was best known for the time he spent in the
penalty box but he was also a decent defenseman. Now 41st on the
NHL’s all-time list of penalty minute leaders, he was once number
one. Watson finished his NHL career with 2212 PIM in 878 games.
Watson played one season with the Oakland Seals, 1968-69. His NHL
career spanned from 1963-64 to 1978-79, also playing for the Montreal
Canadiens, Pittsburgh Penguins, St. Louis Blues, Detroit Red Wings
and Washington Capitals.
Bobby Baun
In the final season of the ‘Original Six’era, 1966-67, Bob Baun was the hero of the Toronto Maple Leafs Stanley Cup victory. The
following season, he was on the blue line for the Oakland Seals, a
team that won just 15 games. 1967-68 was the only season Baun spent
in California during a career that started in 1956-57 and ended after
the 1972-73 season. Baun also played three seasons with the Detroit
Red Wings.
Carol Vadnais
Carol
Vadnais played sparingly for the Montreal Canadiens during the
1966-67 and 1967-68 seasons. He became a regular in the NHL with the
Seals in 1968-69. Vadnais spent two years with California before
moving on to bigger and better things with the Boston Bruins. Carol
played a total of 1087 regular season NHL games between 1966-67 and
1982-83 with the Canadiens, Golden Seals, Bruins, New York Rangers
and New Jersey Devils.
Reg Leach
Drafted third overall by the Boston
Bruins in the 1970 NHL Amateur Draft, Reggie
Leach never really caught on with the Big Bad Bruins, playing
just two partial seasons with the club in 1970-71 and part of 1971-72
and scoring just a total of nine goals. Playing with the California
Golden Seals until the end of the 1973-74 season, Leach’s goal
scoring ability began to blossom. It was with the Philadelphia Flyers
that Leach exploded. He scored 61 in 1975-76 and 50 in 1979-80. He
scored 19 in 16 playoff games in 1975-76 earning him the Conn Smythe
Trophy in a losing effort. He won two Stanley Cups with Philadelphia,
included a victory over the Bruins in 1974.
Charlie Simmer
Charlie Simmer was a third round pick of the Seals in the 1974 NHL
Draft. He was a seldom used forward by California and even by the
Cleveland Barons when the team was relocated there for the 1976-77
season. However, after being traded to the Los Angeles Kings in
1978-79 and being stuck on a line with Marcel Dionne and Dave Taylor,
Charlie showed the hockey world what he could do. Simmer scored 56
goals in each the 1979-80 and 1980-81 seasons as a member of the
Triple
Crown Line. Those goal totals were accomplished in just 64 and 65
games. Simmer played 712 NHL games with the Seals, Barons, Kings,
Boston Bruins and Pittsburgh Penguins.
Dennis Maruk
In the 1975 NHL Amateur Draft, the last for the Golden Seals, they
finally got it right. In the second round, they drafted Dennis Maruk.
Maruk scored 30 goals in his rookie season and 36 with the Barons two
years later. He topped out with 60 goals and 136 points in a
Washington Capitals uniform in 1981-82. Dennis played 888 regular
season NHL games with the Seals/Barons/North Stars and Capitals and
scored 356 goals over that time.
A Bit More About The Team
The California Golden Seals were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL) that existed from 1967 to 1976. Originally known as the California Seals, the team underwent a name change in 1970 to become the California Golden Seals. Based in Oakland, California, the Seals faced financial and on-ice challenges throughout their brief history.
The team struggled to achieve success in terms of playoff appearances and faced difficulties in building a dedicated fan base. Despite their challenges, the California Golden Seals are remembered for their distinctive green and gold jerseys and remain a unique part of NHL history.
The franchise ultimately relocated to Cleveland in 1976 and later merged with the Minnesota North Stars, ceasing to exist as an independent team.
