National Post (National Edition)
Toronto obvious choice to mark NHL centennial
Maple Leafs to host Wings in outdoor game
TORONTO • From Squamish to St. John’s, from Calgary to Charlottetown, from Medicine Hat to Moncton, they are the five words that has can anger this entire country outside of the GTA.
“Centre of the Hockey Universe.”
Whenever that description is used in reference to Toronto, the protests immediately begin to come pouring in from every nook and cranny of Canada. And rightly so.
Montrealers pound on their chests with pride when pointing out the Canadiens have won 24 Stanley Cups, more than any other franchise. Those in the Prairies boast about how the Canadian heartland is where the sport’s true pulse exists at the grassroots level. Edmonton has been known as the City of Champions for several decades and has been the professional hockey home for some of the sport’s greatest players, including the likes of Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Paul Coffey and, now, Connor McDavid. These are just a few of the examples. Legitimate arguments all. But this upcoming weekend, as both the National Hockey League and the Maple Leafs franchise usher in their 100th anniversary festivities with the New Year’s Day Centennial Classic between the Leafs and Detroit Red Wings in the frosty outdoor elements of BMO Field, Toronto will, at least on this occasion, come by that phrase honestly.
Don’t take our word for it though. Indeed, it’s NHL commissioner Gary Bettman who feels that way.
When the league was examining the ideal way to honour a century of NHL hockey, Toronto quickly was identified as the perfect fit, given that the Leafs were celebrating the same milestone. It’s a marriage, according to Bettman, that is obvious.
“Toronto is a great hockey town,” Bettman said during an interview with Postmedia. “As I’ve said, when you’re at the rink watching the Leafs on a Saturday night, you sometimes feel, with Hockey Night In Canada and everything else going on, that you’re in the centre of the hockey universe. Where better than to start our Centennial celebration?
“As part of the festivities this weekend, we’ll be honouring members of our top 100 all-time players who played in the first 50 years of the league — many of whom played for the Leafs — as part of this awesome celebration. It’s also part of the Leafs 100th year celebrations, 125 years of the Stanley Cup, the Confederation of Canada 150 years.
“This is the perfect place for us to begin celebrating.”
Prior to the Red Wings-Leafs contest on Sunday, those players in the Top 100 who played the meat of their careers between 1917-67 will be part of a pre-game tribute.
“We had a panel of 58 people from all walks of NHL life — with 1,800 years of NHL experience and connection — to select the 100 greatest players in the history of the game,” Bettman said. “Those players who played in the first 50 years will be honoured as part of the Centennial Classic. If you played in 1968 but you played 20 years prior, you’ll be in the first 50. And for players who are no longer with us, members of their families have been invited to be there with us.
“I had the honour of calling all 100 of them or their family members. It was one of the most exciting and emotional things I’ve ever had the privilege to do.”
The Centennial Classic will be the curtain-raiser to a year-long series of events in what can only be described as an NHL Love-in.
“This is a really big deal,” Bettman said.
“We are the second oldest sports league in North America. Only baseball is older. How many things that people still connect with are 100 years old? And we’re very proud of it.
“We as a league have always been proud of our history and tradition.”