ScottM

I think all three of those guys fit very nicely into the group of players that you love if they play for your team, and you hate if they don't. When you look at guys like them, you find a lot of very interesting characters. They always seemed to know exactly which buttons to press. Guys like Williams, Hunter, and Lemieux add a lot of personality to the sport.

Some players seem to spend more time in the penalty box than on the ice. Sometimes called enforcers, goons, or thugs, these players are generally known more for their physicality and fighting than for their scoring touch. However, there are exceptions to this, of which the most extreme may be Dave "Tiger" Williams. The all-time NHL career leader in penalty minutes, Williams led the league in PIM three times, and six times eclipsed 300 penalty minutes in a season. In 962 career games, he amassed an incredible 3,966 penalty minutes, an average of over four PIM per game. Williams came about being a tough guy naturally. His father boxed, and shared his knowledge o fighting with his sons. Tiger once said, “I'm the only boy in the six Williamses that didn't win an amateur boxing championship.” It is doubtful that fact gave any comfort to his opponents on the ice, however, especially when considering how Williams received his nickname. Dave once played in a youth hockey game that was officiated by his older brother. After a disagreement over a call his brother made, Dave punched his older sibling, and became known as “Tiger” from that day forward. Nine players in NHL history have racked up at least 3,000 infraction minutes. Of those nine, it is probably fair to say that seven earned their keep entirely or nearly entirely as enforcers. Two, however – Williams and Dale Hunter – proved to be quite capable goal-scorers. Hunter scored 323 career goals and Williams lit the lamp 241 times. Because Hunter played more games, Williams’ goals per game average is slightly higher, and “Tiger” accomplished a scoring feat that Hunter never reached – a 30-goal season. In fact, Williams did not only do that once, he did it twice. Fittingly, Williams had a habit of infuriating his opponents after scoring by riding his stick down the ice. Williams spent his first five-plus seasons in Toronto. During his tenure with the Maple Leafs he twice led the league in penalty minutes, but it was his last season with the Maple Leafs, the 1979-80 season, during which he was traded to the Vancouver Canucks that could be considered his “breakout” season. Before the trade, Williams scored 22 goals in 55 games. Only Darryl Sittler scored goals at a faster pace for the Leafs that season. After the trade, Williams notched eight more tallies to post his first 30-goal campaign. The trade would prove to be beneficial to the Canucks. In his first full season with Vancouver, Williams found the net 35 times – a career high. In addition to once again leading the league in penalty minutes, he led his team in goals – not an accomplishment expected from an enforcer. For his efforts that season, he was named an all-star, and played on a line with Wayne Gretzky and Mike Bossy in the all-star game. Imagine this: the two men who share the NHL records for most 50 and 60-goal seasons on the ice at the same time with the man who holds the record for penalty minutes – as teammates, no less. The next season, Williams’ goal production would drop again, and the 1980-81 season would prove to be his final season with 30 goals, but it was not his final season as a productive player. Though he scored only 17 goals in the 1981-82 season, Tiger was still an instrumental member of the Canucks team, which made its first Stanley Cup Finals appearance in team history. Even though Vancouver was swept out of the Finals by the defending champions, the New York Islanders, the season could only be considered a success. The Canucks were not expected to fare as well as they did, and the outcome was a vast improvement over the previous season, when the Canucks were swept out of the first round of the playoffs. Williams remained with the Canucks through the end of the 1983-84 season. After his departure from Vancouver, he spent four more seasons in the NHL, playing for the Red Wings, Kings, and Whalers during those years. After leaving the Canucks, Williams never led the league in penalty minutes, although he did post two more seasons with over 300 PIM. Ironically, he did not lead the league in penalty minutes in the year he posted his career high. In the 1986-87 season, Williams earned 358 infraction minutes, but was edged out for the penalties “title” by Calgary’s Tim Hunter, who edged him out with 361 minutes. Tiger Wiiliams was the type of player that could make his opponents think twice in multiple ways. If someone wanted to get rough with one of his teammates, they had to fear the wrath of his iron fists. However, to write him off as “only” a goon was a major risk as well, since he was more than capable of slipping the puck past the goalie. Hockey has seen few players in the mold of Williams, and it seems safe to say will see few more. The case of Tiger Williams is a strange one indeed.

Feel free to go ahead and give the answer if you'd like.

I think I'll revive this since it has just been sitting here for a good while without a new question. The NHL was formed from the NHA to exclude a particular team owner. Who was it and what was the name of his team?

Both, actually. He was with the Aeros from 1973-77 and with the Whalers from 1977-80, with the last season being an NHL season post-merger.

Howe actually came out of retirement (and underwent surgery) to return to play in the WHA. If not for that league, he might not have had that later part of his career.

That story I had never read. Of all the things to have as an afterthought, the trophy is a doozy. Lol

I thought you'd enjoy this one, yave. The WHA definitely has its fair share of stories, especially considering how short its lifespan was. I really didn't get to put everything I would have liked to into this, because I didn't want to make it too long. In doing my research for this post, I could easily see how I could do quite a few posts about the league without having any trouble. I may do that at some point in the future.

Thank you very much.

The history of top level North American professional sports is littered with the debris of numerous upstart leagues that burst onto the scene to challenge the “big kids” on the block. Some, most notably the American Football League, which accomplished a full merger with the NFL, have been quite successful, while others have disappeared after only a season or two, leaving little trace of their existence. The success of such leagues can be measured in many different ways. In this post, I want to take a look at the legacy of the World Hockey Association. In one respect, it was not as successful as the AFL in that it never fully gained the acceptance of the NHL and was not part of a total merger with all of its teams accepted as the AFL was, but it still cannot be denied that it had a major impact on the sport of hockey in North America and the NHL itself. In the 1970’s, professional sports did not offer the high salaries that athletes draw today. The average salary in the NHL in 1972 was around $25,000, equivalent to about $140,000 in 2015 dollars. Additionally, the NHL had a reserve clause at that time, which automatically renewed a player’s contract with his team for one year upon its expiration. As such, unlike today, players were not able to bargain with other teams, possibly gaining a higher salary from another team. The players were locked into contract with their team, leaving them at the mercy of the organization for their pay. It was the reserve clause and the low salaries that drove the founders of the WHA to establish their new league. Dennis Murphy and Gary Davidson, who had previously created the American Basketball Association to rival the NBA, turned their attention to rectifying the injustice they saw in the NHL’s contract rules. Upon its creation, the WHA promised not only to avoid the reserve clause, but to offer higher salaries than the NHL. Knowing that it would have to attract star players to achieve an appearance of legitimacy, the WHA immediately set its sights on the biggest star of the day, Bobby Hull. Winnipeg Jets owner Ben Hatskin approached Hull, intending to lure him into the upstart league. When asked what it would take to get him to defect to the WHA, Hull jokingly replied, “A million dollars.” Enlisting the help of other league owners, Hatskin raised the necessary funds and offered Hull a contract with a one million dollar signing bonus, an additional million for the first four years and $100,000 a year for the next six. It was an offer too good to pass up, and Hull decided to make the jump. The NHL and the Chicago Black Hawks had no intention of letting their top star go without a fight. The result was a legal battle that struck down the NFL’s reserve clause, opening professional hockey up to free agency once and for all, thus accomplishing the top goal of the league’s founders. While contract reform was the number one priority for the WHA, that is not the only major change that the league brought about. Of the four major professional sports leagues, the NHL proved to be the most resistant to expansion. From the 1942-43 season until the 1966-67 season, the NHL existed with only six teams, the so-called “Original Six.” The league showed no interest in any expansion until it was informed in 1965 that without expansion, it would not receive a television deal, and that the networks would consider broadcasting Western Hockey League games. Fearing the loss of television revenues and the emergence of a rival league, the NHL expanded to twelve teams for the 1967-68 season. Following outrage over Vancouver’s being passed over for expansion, the league expanded once more in the 1970-71 season, growing to fourteen teams. Whether or not the NHL would have pursued further expansion at that point could be debated, but what cannot be debated is that the WHA sped up the expansion process. The WHA attempted to challenge NHL supremacy directly in some markets, but also placed teams in certain markets that were unserved by the established league. That pushed the NHL to action, and the league added the New York Islanders and Atlanta Flames to its ranks in the 1972-73 season in an effort to keep the WHA out of the newly built Nassau Coliseum and Omni Coliseum. After the two leagues “merged” prior to the 1979-80 season, the NHL was composed of 21 teams, more than tripling its size in only twelve years. One final aspect of the WHA’s impact that we will consider is its creation of the modern international flavor of North American Hockey. In the 1966-67 season, the last of the Original Six era, 97% of NHL players hailed from Canada. In the 1971-72 season, the last season before the creation of the WHA, the number was 95%. A noticeable drop in that number took place during the WHA’s existence, and in the first post-merger season, the number was 84%. After the 1977-78 expansion of the NHL, the two leagues had a combined 30 teams, five times more than the number of top level teams barely a decade earlier. This rapid expansion strained the talent pool, and to cope, teams in both leagues looked to American and European players to fill their rosters. In the 2014-15 season, eight nations can claim to be home to at least one percent of players active during the season, with six producing over three percent each – a far cry from the earlier single nation domination of the sport. The WHA disappeared from the scene 35 years ago, but its impact on the sport of hockey is still obvious. Whether we realize it or not, the game as we know it today would be far, far different if not for an upstart league than appeared and disappeared within a decade, but shook the status quo to its core. This is the legacy of the World Hockey Association.

To give further proof to what you just said, if I'm not mistaken, only two members of the 1960 roster ever played in the NHL. McCartan (who only played 12 games) and Tommy Williams. In fact, between Frank Brimsek's retirement and Williams' debut, no American regularly played in the NHL. It really wasn't until the WHA came onto the scene that that started to change much at all, but I won't go into that because I'll step on a future blog post I have planned. Compare that to the 1980 team, from which several players would end up in the NHL. It was definitely a different world.

I think you're right. I think most people felt like we were losing -- or even being embarrassed -- in the Cold War, and the international scene as a whole, and the Miracle on Ice was a shot in the arm. I don't want to belittle the cultural significance of the 1980 squad, because they were just what the country needed, but as a hockey accomplishment, 1960 was just as big. It's all in the prism through which things are viewed.

I read about the documentary when I was doing research for the blog post. I was curious about it, so I'd love to hear your impressions of it when you do watch it. If it's good, I might try to find a copy.

“Do you believe in miracles? YES!” That iconic call from legendary broadcaster Al Michaels gave one of the most memorable moments in U.S. sports history its name: “The Miracle on Ice. Thanks to the Cold War and the animosity between the United States and the Soviet Union, many people in areas that barely knew the meaning of the word ice – and who certainly were not hockey fans – watched the game and can tell you exactly where they were when they heard that quote from Michaels. Ask virtually any sports fan what year the United States won the Olympic gold medal in hockey and they will answer, “1980.” Ask them to name another year, however, and they just might draw a blank. It is that fact that gives the only other U.S. gold medal run its related name: “The Forgotten Miracle.” The 1960 team has not been forgotten because it was any more of an underdog than the 1980 squad. Canada had just ended a dominant run that lasted from 1920 to 1952 in which they won every Olympic gold save one. In the previous Olympics, 1956, the Soviet Union began its period of dominance in the games. From 1956 to 1988 (1992 if the Unified Team is included), the USSR won every gold medal save in 1960 and 1980. Rather, the reason for so many overlooking the 1960 games is likely found with a look at the media of the day. Television was in its infancy, and of all the games the American team played, only the game against the Soviet team was aired in full. When the Stars and Stripes faced the Czechoslovakian team for the gold medal, only the third period was aired. Beyond that, the masters of those broadcasts were taped over, meaning that very little footage of the event survives. I do not think it would be unfair to say that the lack of tape from 1960 is where the dissimilarities between two miracles end. Should you find someone familiar with the 1960 team, the first name they mention is likely to be someone who did not make the team, but who was instrumental in the 1980 tournament: Herb Brooks. The coach of the 1980 team was the final cut made by 1960 coach Jack Riley, and the decision was very controversial among the players. As the team played its pre-Olympic schedule, the results were not good, and Riley felt that a bit of a roster shakeup was needed. He decided to add goalie Jack McCartan, defenseman John Mayasich the leading scorer from the silver medal-winning 1956 team, and forward Bill Cleary, the number two scorer from four years earlier. Cleary, however, refused to join the team without his brother, Bob, and Riley finally agreed to Bill’s terms, cutting Brooks to make room on the roster. The established players on the team were upset with the move, nearly mutinying, and did not think Bob was good enough for the team. To refocus the team, Riley, just as Herb Brooks would do 20 years later pushed the team extremely hard, allowing them to focus their anger on him. Just as it would happen for Brooks 20 years later, this stance by their coach had the effect of drawing the team together, and at just the right time. In their first five games of the tournament, Team USA downed Czechoslovakia 7-5, Australia 12-1, Sweden 6-3, Germany 9-1, and Canada 2-1. Then, just as they would do 20 years later, the team faced the Soviet Union in their penultimate game. Again, just like 20 years later, the U.S. team fell behind the Soviets, 2-1 in this case, before scoring two late goals to steal a win. In a final parallel to the 1980, the 1960 team needed to win one more game to take home the gold, and did so, defeating Czechoslovakia for the second time in the tournament, this time 9-4. The roster change, as controversial as it was, proved to be a stroke of genius by Riley. McCartan was brilliant in net, as acknowledged by Coach Riley who called McCartan’s work “the best goal-tending performance I have ever seen.” Mayasich and the Cleary brothers were all among the team’s leading scorers, with Mayasich posting 12 points and Bill and Bob 14 and 10, respectively. As Brooks’ father would say to him as they watched the team win the gold, “It looks like the coach made the right decision.” Hockey is a team sport. Considering the Canadian and Soviet dominance in the Olympics, both U.S. victories are quite remarkable. On paper, those teams still look very overmatched. Hockey, though, is played on ice, and not on paper. The U.S. may not have had the most skilled players in those tournaments, but it would be hard to argue that they did not give the best team effort in 1960 and 1980. Both teams had coaches that pushed them to be their best, the first inspiring the second. One is well remembered, the other nearly forgotten, but the 1960 and 1980 miracles should be remembered side by side.

That's pretty cool about your getting to meet Tretiak. I'd love to have that chance one day. It's always good to hear about guys who are genuine when you actually meet them. As I understand it, the Miracle on Ice game was the only time in Tretiak's career that he was pulled. He was furious about it and to this day thinks his team would have won if he had remained in net. He may very well be right. I say this with no malice toward Tretiak, but I'm still glad things played out the way they did, considering that's my favorite sports moment. That said, Tretiak himself pinpointed the top reason the Soviet team lost that game when he said they didn't respect the American team.

@thenewestlights The Habs' history at goalie is insane. The thought of adding Tretiak to that is unbelievable. I didn't mention it in the article, but I once read that when Tretiak was hired as the goaltenders coach for the Blackhawks, it was the impression of the rest of the coaching staff and the players that he was still very capable of playing in the NHL at age 38. In some ways, it feels like we got robbed in not getting to see him strap on the pads over here. @JagerMeister Don't be surprised if you see some of those things coming up. I want to do a variety of things on the blog. I do hope to feature some little known but interesting stories. There will be player biographies, team features, and general stories.

Thank you very much!

Most great players have at least one signature moment they are remembered for. Maurice Richard is remembered for his 50 goals in 50 games. Ray Bourque is remembered for jubilantly hoisting the Stanley Cup at the very end of his Hall of Fame career. Ken Dryden will always be remembered for leading his team to the Stanley Cup title and winning the Conn Smythe Trophy before his Calder winning rookie campaign. It is most unusual to find a case in which one of the greatest players in history is most remembered for his role in a loss. Yet, that is exactly what happened to Vladislav Tretiak. It is easy for those of us who have lived most – if not all – of our entire lives in North America to forget that hockey exists outside of the NHL other than World Championship and Olympic tournaments. Yet, before the collapse of the Soviet Union, many of the best players in the world were trapped in Eastern Europe and had no chance to play in the NHL even if they so desired. Unfortunately for Tretiak, that also means that he is best known to many North American fans for being pulled late in the first period of the “Miracle on Ice.” In the 1970's, many in North America – particularly in Canada – refused to believe that Soviet players could compete with top NHL players. Those critics were proven wrong by the Summit Series tournaments in 1972. While some predicted a Canadian sweep of the USSR in 1972, the Soviets stunned the Canadian all-stars by winning the first game. In fact, after a 3-1-1 start for the Soviets, the Canadian team had to scramble to win the last three games to salvage the contest. Even then, the Soviets nearly managed to salvage a win or a tie in the series before a final game three-goal third period for Canada capped off by Paul Henderson’s famous goal with 34 seconds remaining. Tretiak later called Henderson’s goal, “the most maddening of all goals scored on me in hockey.” In the rematch tournament in 1974, Tretiak and the Soviet team got their revenge, demolishing Canada 4-1-3. One Soviet player that was thrust into the limelight by those two tournaments was Vladislav Tretiak. Tretiak’s stellar play was a one of the biggest reasons for the success of the USSR team, which, while a surprise to many in North America, was expected by some who were familiar with Tretiak. Billy Harris, a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs Stanley Cup three-peat of 1962-64 was the coach of the Swedish national team in 1972 predicted that the Soviets would win the tournament, based largely his impression of Tretiak. Ironically, while his prediction was incorrect in 1972, he was the Coach of Team Canada in the 1974 edition of the tournament. While the Summit Series performances may have been the best of Tretiak’s career, simply due to the level of competition, by no means do they represent the entirety of his international achievements. Over the course of his career, Tretiak backstopped the Soviet Union to a win the 1979 NHL Challenge Cup, a gold medal in the 1981 Canada Cup, thirteen World Championship medals (ten gold, two silver, one bronze), as well as three gold and one silver Olympic medals. With such a record, it is no surprise than NHL teams were desirous to have Tretiak. Knowing that bringing Tretiak to North America would be a difficult task, however, no NHL team chose to spend a draft pick on him until 1983. That year, the Montreal Canadiens selected him with the 138th overall pick. Montreal GM Serge Savard worked aggressively to strike a deal with Soviet officials to allow Tretiak to make a move to Canada, but was unsuccessful. Tretiak regrets that he was never able to play in the NHL. “I would have loved to play in the Forum. I was hoping to one day play in the NHL. I would have liked to do it even for just one season. Unfortunately, it didn't work out that way. I regret not having the chance.” One cannot help but wonder how the history of the NHL might have changed had Savard been successful. Tretiak was only 31 in 1983. It is not inconceivable that he could have played through 1986 and 1993 when the Canadiens hoisted the Stanley Cup. Would the Canadiens have still won those Cups? Would they have won more? What would that have meant for Patrick Roy? The next year, having been denied his chance to fulfill his dream of playing in the NHL, and exhausted by the grueling schedule of the Soviet National Team, Tretiak retired from hockey. While not as well known in North America as he might have been, Vladislav Tretiak had established himself as one of the greatest netminders in the history of the sport. In 1989, he became the first Soviet player elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame. In 2008, he was selected as the goaltender of the International Ice Hockey Federation’s Centennial Team. To many on this continent, Vladislav Tretiak is either unknown or little known. As such, he may often be left out of discussions on hockey history. Whether he is ever acknowledged by the masses or not, Tretiak’s talent is still undeniable. Where the NHL is concerned, he may well be “The Best That Never Was.”

Thanks for the kind words. Hockey has such a rich history, and it deserves to be explored. I learn a lot myself while researching these posts.

The annual NHL All-Star Game is a favorite event for many fans. The festivities span an entire weekend and include the Skills Competition, and in years past, a young stars game. The format has changed over the years – it began as a matchup between the reigning Stanley Cup champions and all-stars from the other teams, turned into a matchup between conferences, went through a stage when it was North America against the world, and now has the flavor of a pickup game where team captains choose their players – but it has remained immensely popular over the decades. The All-Star game became an officially sanctioned annual NHL event in 1947, but that was not the first time NHL players took part in an All-Star game. To find the first such event, we must jump into our time machines and travel back to 1934. Before we do that, however, let us see why the game was played. The date is December 12, 1933. The Toronto Maple Leafs are riding high in the world of ice hockey. They are on their way to posting the best regular season record in the league. Last season, they advanced to the Stanley Cup finals, and the season before that, they won the Stanley Cup. The man that scored the Cup clinching goal for the Leafs was Irvine “Ace” Bailey. At the beginning of the game between the Maple Leafs and the Boston Bruins, no one could have known what fate held for Ace Bailey. During the game that night, Boston’s Eddie Shore was violently checked by Toronto’s King Clancy as he skated into the Toronto zone, pushing Shore into a rage. Intent on getting revenge, Shore spun around to see what he believed to be Clancy, charged at him from behind and tripped him. Shore had not found his intended target, however. Rather, it was Ace Bailey whose head slammed into the ice, fracturing his skull. Bailey was knocked unconscious and began bleeding from his head. In retaliation, Bailey’s teammate Red Horner knocked Shore out with a punch to the head. When he regained consciousness and learned of Bailey’s condition, Shore went to the locker room where Bailey was to apologize. By now, Ace had also come to, and despite believing that he was going to die, upon receiving Shore’s apology gave a remarkable display of grace and forgiveness in his response: “It’s all part of the game.” Bailey then lost consciousness once again. By the next morning, that Bailey would die seemed all but certain because of cerebral hemorrhaging. Shore, meanwhile, was interviewed by homicide detectives who announced that should Bailey die, Shore would be charged with manslaughter. Shore was indefinitely suspended by league president Frank Calder (he ended up missing 16 games). Shore was devastated by the guilt – enough so that he took a three week convalescence to Bermuda – and was not allowed to visit Bailey in the hospital. Boston manager Art Ross was able to do so, however, and when he did, Bailey once again said that Shore had not intentionally injured him. Miraculously, Bailey survived, and eventually recovered to live a normal life, but his hockey career was over. On January 24, 1934, the NHL Board of Directors decided to schedule a game between Bailey’s Maple Leafs and a team of All-Stars from the other teams in the league to raise money to benefit Ace and his family. The game was scheduled for Valentine’s Day, and would be played in Toronto’s Maple Leafs Gardens. Two players were selected from each of the other teams in the league, and Lester Patrick, the coach of the defending Stanley Cup champion Rangers was selected as the coach. During the festivities, the Maple Leafs retired Bailey’s number six jersey, making it the first jersey to be retired by an NHL team. Bailey presented a trophy to Calder which he hoped would be awarded at an annual All-Star game held to benefit the families of injured players. But, the most dramatic moment of the night took place while Bailey, Patrick, and Calder presented jerseys to the All-Stars. Black Hawks goalie Charlie Gardiner (who died, sadly, only four months later) was first, and after him came Eddie Shore. The crowd of over 14,000 fans became totally silent as Shore skated toward Bailey. The mood of the building changed entirely when Bailey extended his hand to Shore. As the two men shook hands, the crowd roared its approval. During the game, Shore, who was extremely nervous about how he would be received was cheered by the crowd. At the end of the game, the scoreboard showed a 7-3 win for the Maple Leafs. The event raised $20,909, and the Bruins organization added another $6,000. Bailey’s desire for an annual benefit game did not come to fruition, but similar events were held in 1937 and 1939 to benefit the families of Howie Morenz and Babe Siebert. Even if the tradition was not immediately established, that night with the stars set a precedent, and achieved a lot of good for the Bailey family. The first NHL All-Star Game is an excellent demonstration of the sportsmanship that those of us who call ourselves hockey fans so greatly value in the athletes that we cheer for.

Yes, Nedomansky was here a few years earlier. I think he came over in 1974. He was one of the "very few" that I referred to at the end of the third paragraph. I chose the Stastny family story just for the fact that, as you said, it is a wonderful story. The separation and reunion of the brothers to play together once again is a very touching story. But you're right about the contributions of Nedomansky. It would be nearly 20 years before he could return to his native country.

“An iron curtain has fallen across the continent.” Those words from Winston Churchill's “Sinews of Peace” speech introduced one of the most well-known terms of the Cold War era. The former British Prime Minister – then leader of the Opposition – spoke accurately of the iron curtain. In some ways, the curtain could be looked at as an actual physical object because of the border defenses set up between the nations of the Western and Eastern blocs. The curtain was a symbol of oppression for those in Eastern Europe and prevented escape to the West and to freedom. Border zones sometimes extended several kilometers from the actual borders, and were guarded by patrols with machine guns and filled with landmines. Needless to say, hockey players did not leave Eastern Europe to play in the NHL; generally speaking, no one left Eastern Europe. Thus, it was a highly unusual event when the Quebec Nordiques used their fourth round draft pick to select Czechoslovakia native Anton Stastny. It was not the first time that an Eastern bloc player had been drafted – in fact, Stastny himself had been chosen by the Philadelphia Flyers in the 12th round of the 1978 draft – but such a selection in such an early round was very bizarre. The chances of Anton ever joining the team were virtually nil, so why bother? After all, at that time, very few Eastern bloc players had successfully defected and made it to the North American game. There was something different about the Stastny family, however. Anton and his older brothers, Marian and Peter never walked in lock-step with the communist authorities in their homeland. In fact, they resented and hated the repressive regime. In 1976, Marian and Peter were members of the Czechoslovakian team that participated in that year’s Canada Cup tournament. Having experienced a taste of the west and NHL hockey only served to make the brothers more eager to escape. It would be four years before any of the Stastnys would have that opportunity. In 1980, the club team that all three Stastny brothers played for, Slovan Bratislava, qualified for the IIHF European Cup final held in Innsbruck, Austria. Discussions about defection began before they even left Czechoslovakia. After talking the idea over, Peter and Anton decided to attempt the defection. Not long after the team made the trip to Austria, Peter and Anton slipped away from the Slovan Bratislava hotel at night. They found a phone booth, and Anton stood watch while Peter dialed the contact number for the Quebec Nordiques that he had found in an NHL media guide. Once connected, he asked for Marcel Aubut, a name he had seen in the media guide. Upon hearing that the Stastnys were calling, Aubut, who was the President and CEO of the Nordiques, eagerly took the call. Peter told Aubut that he and Anton wanted to defect, and Aubut told them that he and a team representative would fly to Austria to meet them the next day. When Aubut and Nordiques director of player development Gilles Leger arrived in Innsbruck, Peter and Anton secretly met with the two executives after their games. Arrangements were made for the defection, and following the final game of the tournament, an 11-1 loss to CSKA Moscow, Peter, Anton, and Peter’s eight-months pregnant wife Darina, who had accompanied her husband to the tournament slipped away from the rest of the team to join the Nordiques officials. All was not yet well, however. There were intense moments before the group even left Innsbruck. During what Peter describes as “the scariest moments of my life,” Anton was separated from his brother and was lost for about an hour in downtown Innsbruck. Shortly after midnight a frantic search for him took place. When he was finally reunited with the others, Aubut, Leger, and the Stastnys made their way to the Canadian embassy in Vienna to finalize the move to Canada. In the following weeks, Aubut managed to arrange the defection of Anton’s girlfriend Galina, whom he soon married. Still, all was not perfect in the Stastnys’ world. Marian, who was told by his brothers about their defection only hours before it took place was trapped in Czechoslovakia. Government officials were suspicious of him because of his brothers’ actions and made life completely miserable for him and his family. He was stripped of his opportunity to play hockey. He was followed everywhere he went. Finally, he decided that his only chance of having any kind of a normal life was to escape the country himself. Marian’s escape would not be as easy as that of his brothers. He did not have a convenient hockey tournament to provide the opportunity. His brothers had not been tailed by government officials. His escape would take some detailed planning. After an incident free vacation to Hungary, Marian began to feel that his own defection might be possible. He devised a plan to go to Hungary, cross into Yugoslavia, visit the Austrian consulate to try to get a three-day visa into Austria, and then contact the Nordiques. After being briefly stopped at the Hungary-Yugoslavia border, Marian and his wife Eva successfully crossed into Yugoslavia. After a couple of failed attempts to get a visa, he finally decided to tell a consulate worker about his situation. The consulate worker then told him that she would not give him a three day visa; rather, she would give him a seven day visa. His plan finally succeeding, Marian and his wife were finally able to rejoin their family in Canada in 1981. The Stastny brothers made a major impact on the ice for the Nordiques. They helped turn a floundering franchise into a contender, leading the team to the Prince of Wales conference championship series in 1982 and 1985. Their impact was much bigger than what happened on the ice, though. The courage they displayed helped to inspire others living under the oppression of communist Eastern Europe to follow in their footsteps. If not for the Stastnys, we might not have Sergei Federov, Alexander Mogilny, or Petr Nedved. The Stastnys helped to turn a trickle into a flood. They put the first crack in the iron curtain.

I voted for Hull's 86. When Gretzky is the only guy to top it, it's rather impressive. In my mind, the three straight Finals appearances have a bit of an asterisk next to them because of the playoff format.