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Maple Leaf's goalkeeper Terry Sawchuk fields a shot by Jean Beliveau of Montreal Canadiens during third period of last night's game. Close to the action areMontreal's Dick Duff and Maple Leaf's Bobby Baun, right.

Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Terry Sawchuk fields a shot by Jean Beliveau of the Montreal Canadiens. Close to the action are Montreal’s Dick Duff and Toronto’s Bobby Baun, right.

John Maiola for The Globe and Mail

Editor's note: This article originally appeared in the October 6, 1966, edition of The Globe and Mail. It's being republished here as part of our Leafs '67 Today project.

Color Montreal Canadiens repeat champions of the National Hockey League and odds-on favorites to defend the Stanley Cup. Drop the names of the remaining five clubs into a hat and draw them out one at a time. You will be as close as anyone to guessing the finish next April.

No longer are Boston Bruins and New York Rangers the automatic doormats of the league. They have strengthened while Chicago, Detroit and Toronto have run into problems of retirements, injuries and players' contracts.

A tour of the NHL training camps produced many signs of a fight for playoff survival behind Montreal Canadiens.

In Montreal, coach Toe Blake with a pat team from last season, worried about complacency. In Chicago, the Black Hawks had greater worries. Glenn Hall gave up his goalie stick for a paint brush and pitchfork. Centre Red Hay gave up hockey for geology and defenseman Moose Vasko just gave up. In Detroit, the Red Wings sought replacements for their anchorman, veteran defense star Bill Gadsby who finally retired after 20 years without a Stanley Cup crest, and Doug Barkley, who was forced out of hockey by an eye injury.

The three other teams trained away from home. In Kingston, Rangers looked for better things with Bernie Geoffrion, out of retirement, their prize. In London, rookie Bobby Orr was being surrounded with pressure as the man to lift Boston into the playoffs and in Peterborough, Leafs were beset by injuries and unsigned players.

Thus, in assessing the individual clubs, Canadiens lead off with the others in alphabetical order. Leafs could be second or sixth. So could Bruins, Hawks, Rangers or Wings.

The Toronto Maple Leafs in action against the Montreal Canadiens at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, April 8, 1965. Richard (not shown) cashed Beliveau's pass-out in front of Leafs' Douglas.

The Toronto Maple Leafs in action against the Montreal Canadiens at Maple Leaf Gardens on April 8, 1965. Montreal swept Toronto out of the playoffs last spring en route to a Stanley Cup championship.

Montreal

Hector (Toe) Blake, coach of the Stanley Cup champion Montreal Canadiens, would like to see the experts pick his team to finish second or third in this the National Hockey League's Golden Anniversary season.

Blake, who frets continually and stalks the aisle behind the Habitant bench as though his team was fighting to stay out of last place, is concerned that overconfidence will affect his players.

There are five other coaches in the NHL who wish overconfidence were the only problem they face.

The Habs again will be powered by three of the best centres in hockey, [Jean] Beliveau, Henri Richard and Ralph Backstrom. All were 20-goal scorers last season and Beliveau was the league's alternate all-star centre.

On the left side, Blake is just as powerful with Gilles Tremblay, a 27-goal scorer, Dick Duff, 21 goals, the muscular John Ferguson and Dave Balon.

Blake has a pleasant problem with his right wingers. He isn't sure who is best, although [Bobby] Rousseau, a 30-goal man who tied for second place in scoring last season with Chicago's Stan Mikita and was named to the second all-star team, deserves consideration.

Behind Rousseau comes Clause Provost, a brilliant two-way performer (ask Bobby Hull), Jim Roberts, Yvan Cournoyer, Claude Larose and Leon Rochefort. All are good enough to play in the NHL but Blake may ship one or two to the minors when Canadiens get down to the league limit of 18 players.

On defense Habs possess youth and experience in [Jacques] Laperriere, an all-star, Terry Harper, J.C. Tremblay, Ted Harris and Jean-Guy Talbot. If one gets hurt, he can call upon Noel Price.

Goal is solid also with Vezina Trophy winners Gump Worsley and Charlie Hodge, who gave Canadiens the best goals-against average in the league.

Boston

The job of getting Boston Bruins back into the upper echelon this season may fall on the shoulders of two rookies.

One is a teenager, Bobby Orr, the most publicized rookie and highest paid freshman ever to enter the league. The other is a man who was never considered good enough to play big-league hockey, coach Harry Sinden.

The 18-year-old Orr, touted as a future NHL star when he broke into the Ontario Hockey Association junior A league with Oshawa Generals at the age of 14, has demonstrated in Bruins' preseason games that the ballyhoo preceding his entry into the NHL was deserved.

Playing defense, a difficult position for a rookie, Orr has shown poise and made plays in exhibition games that have amazed his critics.

"It's impossible for a kid that young to play that well," said one scout. "He will make mistakes when the season gets going but he's bound to be an all-star within a year or two. He's another (Doug) Harvey."

Sinden, who played defense when Whitby Dunlops won the world title in Oslo, coached Oklahoma City of the Central, Professional League last season.

Sinden has instilled great spirit in the Boston camp, a spirit that never existed before, say Bruin veterans.

"This is the best camp I've ever attended," said Ron Stewart, the ex-Toronto right-winger. "Harry has mapped out a schedule that makes training interesting. You don't mind working at this camp."

SInden is satisfied with his goaltending and defense but is worried about his size and depth at centre and left wing.

A daily, real-time look at the historic 1966-67 Toronto Maple Leafs 50 years after their march to the Stanley Cup.

In goal, Bruins have Ed Johnston and Bernie Parent, with Gerry Cheevers ready to step in should either falter.

Defense appears to be Boston's strongest suit. Sinden has the tough, aggressive Ted Green, who could be an all-star if his knee – operated on last spring – is sound, also Orr, Gilles Marotte, Al Langois, Dallas Smith and Bob Woytowich.

Other candidates include Joe Watson, Bob Awrey and Paul Popiel. Gary Doak, who showed great promise last season, is out with a broken ankle suffered while roller skating.

At centre, Bruins have two good but small men in Murray Oliver and Pit Martin. Other pivots are Tom Williams, Bob Leiter, Ron Schock, Ron Buchanan and Ed Westfall, a right-winger Sinden is experimenting with at the centre position.

Bruins have no depth on the left side. They have one of the top left-wingers in John Bucyk, and Bon Murphy but little else. Dick Cherry, a Kingston school teacher who has been out of hockey for three years, Bob Dillabough and Jean Parise are battling for the other position.

On right wing, Buins have Stewart, John McKenzie, Wayne Connelly, rookie Ted Hodgson and Westfall, if he does not stick at centre.

Peerless crowd-pleaser Eddie Shack (23) of the Toronto Maple Leafs literally drapes himself around Chicago Black Hawks' great Bobby Hull in battle for puck during Saturday action, December 25,1965, at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.

Eddie Shack of the Toronto Maple Leafs drapes himself around Chicago Black Hawks’ forward Bobby Hull in a battle for puck possession on Dec. 25, 1965, in Toronto. Hull scored an NHL-record 54 goals in the 1965-66 season.

John Maiola For The Globe and Mail

Chicago

Glenn Hall tended goal in the NHL for 11 years, gaunt and anguished, often so emotionally wretched that he threw up before games and between periods.

"I love hockey," Hall used to say, "but playing goal is a lousy way to make a living. Some year I'll go back to Edmonton and decide farming is easier on the nerves and never come back."

Coach Billy Reay of Chicago Black Hawks says: "I knew in June that Glenn was thinking of quitting, but I still don't think he'll make it stick. Right now I hear he's out painting the other side of his barn."

Either Hall has the biggest barn in Alberta or he's taking a more leisurely time painting it than he ever did whitewashing opposing teams. The Hawks have been in training three weeks and he hasn't budged. Meanwhile defenseman Moose Vasko has retired.

Chicago has also lost Red Hay from the team that finished second in Montreal last winter. He retired to enter the petroleum business in Calgary and is the only one of the three Reay is certain won't be back.

"We might coax Glenn with more money," Reay says, "and Vasko may return after he settles his personal problems in St. Catharines."

Dave Dryden and Denis DeJordy have split goalkeeping duties in training camp. It is debatable if Dryden, who backed up Hall last season, is capable of first-string assignments on any more than a stop-gap basis. DeJordy has been called the best goaler outside the NHL. But last year he was away outside it, at St. Louis with Hawks' farm team of the Central League. The job is DeJordy's if Hall stays away.

Pierre Pilote, the best puck handler among modern rearguards, anchors a defense that contains several young players including Matt Ravlich, Doug Jarrett and Pat Stapleton.

Ed Van Impe, up from Chicago's affiliate in Buffalo, and Wayne Smith, of Denver University, are candidates for the fifth defense berth but John Miszuk appears more adept than either.

Miszuk, 26, is built along Vasko's muscular lines, 6 feet 2 and 200 pounds. He joined Hawks for the playoffs last spring after a season in St. Louis.

Ken Wharram and Doug Mohns are set as the wings for the combative Stan Mikita. Bobby Hull, the commanding player in the game, will likely be allied with Ken Hodge, a sophomore right wing, and Phil Esposito, the Cuban Bandit from Sault Ste. Marie.

Hull scored 54 goals last winter, the most any player ever achieved in one NHL season and was asked what his target was this term.

"People ask me if I'm going for 60 goals," Hull said. "I tell 'em the way I feel right now, I might not start the season. I bruised my back in two games we played on the west coast and it's bothering me."

Hawks' third line will come from Chico Maki, Eric Nesterenko, Lou Angotti, Fred Stanfield, Dennis Hull and Wally Boyer.

If DeJordy doesn't play well, and if Hull is hurt much, the Hawks have the makings of a shipwreck in them.

Detroit

Manager-coach Sid Abel of Detroit talked trade with Punch Imlach during the summer. He told the leader of Toronto Maple Leafs: "Look, I've lost the guts of my defense with Doug Barkley done and Bill Gadsby retired. How about a deal for Carl Brewer?"

Imlach said: "Sure, but I want one or two of your young forwards in exchange, say Bruce MacGregor or Paul Henderson."

They began dickering one-for-one and wound up with a three-for-three package, Brewer and two other Leafs for three Red Wings. Abel has second thoughts after discussing the swap with Detroit owner Bruce Norris.

"We weren't sure if Brewer would report to us," Abel says now, "so we decided to stick with what we have and deal for a defenseman elsewhere."

What Abel has on defence is Leo Bolvin, 34, and Gary Bergman, 28, two proved National Leaguers, and Bert Marshall, 23, coming up to a sophomore season. He has Bob Wall up from Pittsburgh and Bart Crashley, a rookie out of Hamilton, N.J., but their pretensions to big-league class remain to be established.

Red Wings are relatively set elsewhere, solid in goal with Roger Crozier and Hank Bassen, blended towards age on the forward lines. Norm Ullman, Dean Prentice, Andy Bathgate, Alex Delvecchio, Floyd Smith, Ab McDonald and Gordie Howe are all over 30.

Abel hopes that Henderson, 23, and MacGregor, 25, will continue the style they exhibited last winter, when they scored 22 and 20 goals, respectively. He is cautiously optimistic about Peter Mahovlich, trying to hurdle from Hamilton Junior Red Wings to the NHL in one year.

Mahovlich is four inches over six feet and still growing, He will be the youngest member of the Wings and the only junior in their lineup on opening night.

One Wing line is likely to be Howe, Delvecchio and Prentice. Ullman will centre Henderson and MacGregor, while Bathgate pivots Mahovlich on the left and Floyd Smith on the right. The useful Val Fonteyne, 32, and truculent Bryan (Buggsy) Watson, 23, will kill penalties.

Howe is 38, and at his best, is better than any man who ever played. As the winter rolls by, however, there my be fewer days when he is at his best. He strained a knee 10 days ago and hasn't returned to the exhibition schedule. Bat as long as the Wings have his muscular leadership, they are a cut obove the ordinary.

New York

New York Rangers will be bigger and possess more depth, but can they escape the cellar?

A successful off-season job of filling gaps by general manager and coach Emile (The Cat) Francis has made the Rangers one of the biggest and roughest teams.

Last season the Rangers gained the fewest points and the most penalties.

This year Rangers could well be the leaders in minutes penalized, but they should be able to stand off the opposition while shorthanded.

At the draft meetings in June, Francis came away with a couple of tough players and one who can bottle up a power play.

He drafted centre Orland Kurtenbach from Toronto, an excellent penalty killer who is also noted for a quick pair of fists; the shifty Red Berenson from Montreal and defenseman Al MacNeil from Chicago.

Francis also talked a 371-goal scorer into a comeback, Bernie (Boom-Boom) Geoffrion. Coach of the Quebec Aces the past two seasons, the former Montreal Canadien right-winger arrived at Rangers' camp in Kingston in excellent shape.

The Rangers, built mainly around players acquired from other NHL teams, have several question marks.

One is in goal. Francis admits goaltending was probably the reason for Rangers' sixth-place finish last year. He used Ed Giacomin and Cesare Maniago for most of the season.

If they are unable to give Rangers NHL goaltending, Francis may turn to veteran Don Simmons or rookie Gilles Villemure.

The other question mark is injuries. Captain Bob Nevin, an outstanding two-way player who scored 29 goals last season, suffered a severe knee injury in the first week of training. Rangers need him badly.

Rod Gilbert's back, which underwent a second spinal fusion last February, is another worry. In his first three years with Rangers, Gilbert scored 60 goals. Rangers missed him noticeably in the latter part of the 1965-66 schedule after he counted 25 points in their first 35 games.

Rangers' defense is more than respectable with Harry Howell, who improves with age, Jim Neilson, Wayne Hiffman, MacNeil, Bob Plager and Rod Seiling or Arnie Brown.

Besides Berenson, Kurtenbach, Geoffrion, Nevin and Gilbert, Francis has excellent skaters and potential 20-goal scorers in Don Marshall, Phil Goyette and Earl Ingarfield. Rangers' other forwards include hardrock Reg Fleming, [Bill] Hicke and Doug Robinson.

Gordie Howe of the Detroit Red Wings (#9) fires a shot at Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Johnny Bower during action on March 26, 1966, at Maple Leaf Gardens. Bower led the NHL in goals against average in the 1965-66 season.

Gordie Howe of the Detroit Red Wings (#9) fires a shot at Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Johnny Bower during action on March 26, 1966, at Maple Leaf Gardens. Bower led the NHL in goals against average in the 1965-66 season.

Hockey Hall of Fame

Toronto

Assessing Toronto Maple Leafs' chances is a perplexing chore.

Leafs have been training longer than any other team but problems of unsigned players, an usual number of training-camp injuries and experiments with young players who must be ready to replace the many veterans, make it the least prepared team in the league.

King Clancy, Leafs' conciliation officer, has not been able to sign five star players – Bob Pulford, Frank Mahovlich, Dave Keon, Bob Baun and Eddie Shack. The season opens two weeks today, which should give the loquacious Clancy enough talking time.

Manager-coach Punch Imlach has reiterated two points during training at Peterborough. He was bitterly disappointed by Leafs' quick exit from the playoffs last spring and he has enough players under contract to start the season even if his stars do not come to terms.

Last year Leafs finished third, 11 points behind the champion Montreal Canadiens. They will have to add scoring punch if they are to move up the ladder in 1966-67.

The scoring strength could be provided by Jim Pappin, Mike Walton, Brian Conacher and Wayne Carleton if given the opportunity.

One position Imlach doesn't have to worry about is goal. Johnny Bower at 41 appears headed for another outstanding season. He had the best average of any goalie last season.

Behind Bower come veteran Terry Sawchuk and Bruce Gamble, who registered four shutouts in 10 games as a pinch-hitter last season. And Leafs have two promising young goalies in Al and Gary Smith.

Injuries have hurt Leafs' defense most with Kent Douglas and Allan Stanley sidelined for more than two weeks. Tim Horton, Larry Hillman, Marcel Pronovost and Bob Baun, who has recovered from his fourth nose fracture, are ready.

Leafs best line has Keon at centre with Mahovlich on the left side and Pappin on right wing. Right wing is a problem of selection from among Ron Ellis, Shack, [George] Armstrong, Pappin and Conacher.

At centre the club is solid with Keon, Pulford, [Red] Kelly, Bill McNeill, Walton or Pete Stemkowski.

On left wing, Leafs have Mahovlich, [Brit] Selby, Larry Jeffrey and Don Blackburn. They can also use Carleton or Conacher on the left side.


LEAFS '67 TODAY: A NEW PROJECT FROM THE GLOBE