The quiet hockey giant who just walked away
THE BIG M — FRANK MAHOVLICH — GIVES US A RARE GLIMPSE INTO HIS REMARKABLE LIFE AND CAREER
Imagine being a kid from northern Ontario, who played hockey, lived hockey and idolized Rocket Richard, and you get called up as a teenager for your first NHL game at Maple Leaf Gardens, all set to face the iconic Montreal Canadiens.
This isn’t a children’s book. This was Frank Mahovlich’s life.
“Howie Meeker was the coach, and before the game he looked at me and said ‘you’ll be checking rocket richard tonight,’” the great Mahovlich, now 83, said in a rare and lengthy interview.
“I’m 19 at the time. I think rocket was 38. I had read so many books on him. The first time I’m on the ice, Meeker tells me ‘don’t let him get away, he’s too dangerous.’
“I’m right beside rocket at the red line. And everything I knew about him was, if he got the puck at the red line, we were finished. I panicked, of course. I was bigger than him. I wrapped both my arms around him and held on. He got a little frustrated. At one point, we were so close together his nose was touching mine.”
“Let go kid,” richard said. “And I’m thinking, rocket richard just spoke to me. He spoke to me.
“‘yes Mr. Richard,’” I said, “and I let him go.”
That was the first shift of Mahovlich’s marvellous National Hockey League career, the first of 720 games he would play for the Toronto Maple Leafs. He would go on to win four Stanley Cups in Toronto in the 1960s, two more in Montreal in the 1970s, and when the Leafs traded him to detroit, he was in fact the Toronto franchise leader in goals scored in a career (296) and goals scored in a season (48). It would be another 22 years before Rick Vaive, playing in a season with more games, would pass Mahovlich.
The records didn’t end when he left the Leafs. In detroit, Mahovlich scored 49 goals for the Wings, tying Gordie Howe for the most in franchise history. And he remains the single season playoff point getter for the historic Habs to this day, with 27 points in 1971. The sometimes forgotten Mahovlich left his mark everywhere he played.
The magical year for Leafs fans is 1967, the last Stanley Cup season. but the magical year for Mahovlich was 1968, the year he was traded out of Toronto, and escaped from Punch Imlach.
Mahovlich calls his last four seasons with the Leafs “the worst four years of my life. I wouldn’t want anyone to experience that. It was a waste of time.”
Whatever happened between the late Imlach and Mahovlich has left significant scars on the big M. Mahovlich doesn’t hide his dislike of the legendary coach and general manager.
“He was great the first four years. And then, if you lost a game, if you did something wrong, he would punish you. It just became ridiculous after a while,” he said. “The last four years were a disaster, really. It was laborious for me.
“you have to realize the times we were living in. We were slaves, really. When I played in the NHL, if they said jump, you said how high. We were getting a minimum wage. rookies were getting paid $7,000 a season. Today a first-year player gets $1 million up front. In our days, we were like slaves.
“At one time, Chicago offered $1 million to buy my contract,” said Mahovlich. “Imagine that today? What would that be? $100 million? I don’t know. Leafs turned it down.”
but everything in Toronto, for Mahovlich, came back to Imlach, including emotional challenges that forced him to miss some games.
“It was one man — Punch,” said Mahovlich. “Nobody liked him after a while. No one said anything because nobody did in those days.
“I remember when I was a rookie, and (NHL president) Clarence Campbell came to speak to us about our pensions. In the meeting, I raised my hand to ask a question. I was only 19. I asked about the amount of money involved.
“He told me to sit down and shut up. He didn’t answer. This is what you were dealing with at the time. you kept your mouth shut or you might get shipped out.”
On March 3, 1968, Mahovlich was shipped out, sent to detroit, along with Pete Stemkowski, Garry unger and the rights to Carl brewer in exchange for Norm ullman, Paul Henderson, Floyd Smith and doug barrie.
In his second season with the red Wings, he played on a line with Howe and Alex delvecchio, the best line he ever played on. It was Howe’s only 100-point season NHL season. Mahovlich scored 49 goals, second to only Bobby Hull that season.
“Playing with Gordie was something special. He was over 40 by then. Playing on that line is a great memory.”
That season, ending in 1969, saw all three members of their line in the top 10 in a scoring race that included Phil esposito, Hull, Stan Mikita, yvan Cournoyer and Jean beliveau. Terrific company, Mahovlich kept.
A lot of his friends are gone. So many in the last few years. George Armstrong. eddie Shack. bob Nevin. red Kelly. Johnny bower. So many from the Stanley Cup teams of the 1960s.
“I’m still close with dickie duff and I speak to davey (Keon) every once in a while,” said Mahovlich. “He’ll call from Florida. Or I’ll call him. It’s been tough seeing so many go. These days, I keep to myself and my family. I don’t go out much, maybe for a walk, especially not now.”
He doesn’t watch much hockey, either. He prefers football or basketball or a little golf on TV. The last time Montreal and Toronto were 1-2 in the NHL standings was 1961. The Leafs haven’t played Montreal in the playoffs in 42 years.
Mahovlich played in seven series against the Habs with Toronto, winning three, the final victory coming in 1967. He lost in the Stanley Cup final to Montreal twice. In the two Stanley Cup wins over the red Wings, the Leafs beat Montreal in the first round each time. And personally, for six seasons, between 1961-66, Mahovlich was voted first or second team all-star at left wing. In a league that had Bobby Hull, that was a remarkable acknowledgment.
Today, Mahovlich says he hasn’t been to a Leafs game in Toronto in more than 20 years. He doesn’t know when or if he’ll go again. He’s just not engaged with the team the way bower or others have been.
“I got away from hockey and I never really went back,” said Mahovlich. “I don’t know why. I can’t identify with this game anymore.
“I did go to one game when I was in Ottawa (he was in the Senate for 14 years), it was (Auston) Matthews’ first game. He scored four goals. That was beautiful. but I haven’t met anybody from this team. And I haven’t seen them since.”
He’s appreciative, though, that the Alumni Association sent him a Leafs winter jacket this season. A token of appreciation.
“It has come in really handy,” said Mahovlich. “It’s nice and warm when I’m going for walks.”
In the final game of the 1970 season, Mahovlich’s red Wings eliminated the Canadiens from qualifying for the playoffs. It was the first time in 22 years that Montreal missed the post-season.
The following year, Mahovlich was traded to Montreal.
“First year I get there we win the Stanley Cup and we weren’t supposed to,” said Mahovlich. “(Goaltender) Ken dryden came in, I think he played just six games for us in the season. It all worked out pretty well.”
Well, not for everyone. Al Macneil was the Habs’ coach. Henri richard was a Montreal legend. In the playoffs, Macneil benched richard, who came back and wound up scoring the Cup-winning goal: The benching of richard and the furor that followed cost Macneil his job.
“I was really upset when they let him go,” said Mahovlich. “Al Macneil was the best coach I ever had. I had a great playoffs as (leading scorer) and it all got crazy when the Pocket rocket got benched. When it was happening, I asked Henri, ‘What are you doing?’ He said, ‘I lost my temper.’”
Sam Pollock was the legendary general manager of the Habs.
“He hired Scotty bowman to replace Al. I asked Sam, why did you let Al go? Sam had an answer for everything, he was that smart. He told me he didn’t let him go, all he did was shuffle the deck.”
Macneil was assigned to Halifax. Scotty Bowman was brought in to coach Montreal. Two years later, in Mahovlich’s second-last NHL season, the Canadiens again won the Cup and the big M finished third in playoff scoring, one point behind dennis Hull and two behind teammate Cournoyer. That would be his sixth and final Cup.
“It’s not like Henri,” he said with a laugh. “He’s got 11. yvan has nine, I think. but six is pretty good.”
before one playoff game that year, Mahovlich went to the ticket window at the Forum to pick up his wife’s seats for that night. And standing there, picking up tickets, was the great Rocket Richard.
“It struck me that day, he was picking up tickets for a game I was playing in,” said Mahovlich.
They shook hands and hugged, a different hug than that first time, on the ice. Hockey lives coming full circle.