WordsOfWisdom Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 I guess the question I have now is... who the bleep is Dave Keon? Okay, so I'm not that blissfully unaware of the past. I know who he is -- sort of. That being said, he played well before my time. I've never even seen photos, videos, or highlights of him playing. I've never heard the team speak about him. He might as well be Joe Nobody as far as I'm concerned. Coming "out of exile" is one thing, but the team media blackout that has been on this guy for decades is going to take quite some time to repair. So, is Dave Keon really the greatest Maple Leaf of all time? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Podein25 Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 14 minutes ago, WordsOfWisdom said: who the bleep is Dave Keon? Umm...REPORTED!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blocker Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 who the bleep is Dave Keon? Why, you young whipper-snapper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluPuk Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 He was definitely one of the best I ever saw. Rumor has it that the Leafs bought an entire team in order to get him. I believe he was from Noranda Que. (Habs territory in those days). He was a leader and the best backchecker I ever saw. A real hockey mind. He made the players around him better. A good comparison in today's NHL would be Toews. My all-time favourite Leaf. Here is a nice little (10 mins.) video on him and his Leafs : Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WordsOfWisdom Posted January 21, 2016 Author Share Posted January 21, 2016 49 minutes ago, BluPuk said: He was definitely one of the best I ever saw. Rumor has it that the Leafs bought an entire team in order to get him. I believe he was from Noranda Que. (Habs territory in those days). He was a leader and the best backchecker I ever saw. A real hockey mind. He made the players around him better. A good comparison in today's NHL would be Toews. My all-time favourite Leaf. Interesting. Or the closest ex-Leaf comparison would be Gilmour? My initial post is partly being humorous, but there is indeed an entire generation of Leafs fans that don't know anything about this guy. People make references to the last Leafs team to win a Cup, but I don't know many people that really dive into the details of who was on those teams. It's just too long ago now. The only comparable I can think of is how Cubs fans must feel. I think the Leafs need to get the message out about this guy. They have some "brand building" to do here. Any time I have ever seen a celebration for an ex-Leaf, it has been names like Gilmour, Clark, Sittler, Sundin, Domi, etc..... Keon was effectively "erased" from team history. It's going to take some time to really bring him back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Podein25 Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 7 minutes ago, WordsOfWisdom said: They have some "brand building" to do here Indeed they do. Good point. But one thing at a time eh? First, get the parade route finalized! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yave1964 Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 4 hours ago, WordsOfWisdom said: I guess the question I have now is... who the bleep is Dave Keon? Okay, so I'm not that blissfully unaware of the past. I know who he is -- sort of. That being said, he played well before my time. I've never even seen photos, videos, or highlights of him playing. I've never heard the team speak about him. He might as well be Joe Nobody as far as I'm concerned. Coming "out of exile" is one thing, but the team media blackout that has been on this guy for decades is going to take quite some time to repair. So, is Dave Keon really the greatest Maple Leaf of all time? Is he the greatest Leaf of all time? Quite possibly, Our Pal Hal ran him out, Davey Keon refused to come back for old timer games forever now, he went to the WHA and then finished his career with Hartford after the merger. Simply HATED Ballard, quite justifiably by the way. Probably the greatest two way center of all time, makes Bergeron and Datsyuk look positively ordinary. I wrote requesting an autograph several years ago down in Florida, he sent the auto with a thank you letter for remembering him. We have actually exchanged three letters each way since then. Just a classy guy.A hell of a scorer and a big game player but his defense, wow....... My favorite story of Keon and his defensive prowess: Mike 'Shaky' Walton talks about going into the corner with the puck and feeling Keon behind him. He timed his move and faked left and spun hard and fast to the right, a move that Walton said he had perfected and that he always left the opponent in the dust, and Walton was a heck of player in his day. This time he did it, and when he spun hard to the right, BAM there was Keon who took the puck off his stick and fired a perfect clearing pass. "You didn't think that move was going to work on me?" Keon said as the man he passed it to went in for a breakaway in the opposite zone. The greatest defensive center of all time, period. And you wanted the puck on his stick at crunch time too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WordsOfWisdom Posted January 22, 2016 Author Share Posted January 22, 2016 32 minutes ago, yave1964 said: Is he the greatest Leaf of all time? Quite possibly, Our Pal Hal ran him out, Davey Keon refused to come back for old timer games forever now, he went to the WHA and then finished his career with Hartford after the merger. Simply HATED Ballard, quite justifiably by the way. Probably the greatest two way center of all time, makes Bergeron and Datsyuk look positively ordinary. I wrote requesting an autograph several years ago down in Florida, he sent the auto with a thank you letter for remembering him. We have actually exchanged three letters each way since then. Just a classy guy.A hell of a scorer and a big game player but his defense, wow....... My favorite story of Keon and his defensive prowess: Mike 'Shaky' Walton talks about going into the corner with the puck and feeling Keon behind him. He timed his move and faked left and spun hard and fast to the right, a move that Walton said he had perfected and that he always left the opponent in the dust, and Walton was a heck of player in his day. This time he did it, and when he spun hard to the right, BAM there was Keon who took the puck off his stick and fired a perfect clearing pass. "You didn't think that move was going to work on me?" Keon said as the man he passed it to went in for a breakaway in the opposite zone. The greatest defensive center of all time, period. And you wanted the puck on his stick at crunch time too. 1. You can always endear yourself to Leafs fans by sharing a hatred of team ownership. 2. It kind of gives me goosebumps when you say something like that because I've never seen a Leafs player in my lifetime that was the best at anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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