Armstrong led Leafs to four Stanley Cups
George Armstrong, who captained the Toronto Maple Leafs to four Stanley Cups in the ’60s and wore the blue and white his entire career, has died.
He was 90.
The Maple Leafs confirmed the death Sunday on Twitter.
Armstrong played a record 1,187 games with 296 goals and 417 assists over 21 seasons for the Leafs, including 13 seasons as team captain. The rightwinger added another 26 goals and 34 assists in 110 playoff games.
Known as the Chief, Armstrong was one of the first players of Indigenous descent to play professional hockey.
Armstrong was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1975. Some 41 years later, Armstrong was voted No. 12 on the franchise’s list of 100 greatest Maple Leafs in its centennial season.
“George is part of the very fabric of the Toronto Maple Leaf organization and will be deeply missed,” Maple Leafs president Brendan Shanahan said in a statement. “A proud yet humble man, he loved being a Maple Leaf but never sought the spotlight even though no player played more games for Toronto or captained the team longer. Always one to celebrate his teammates rather than himself, George couldn’t even bring himself to deliver his speech the day he was immortalized on Legends Row.”
A young Armstrong met Syl Apps when the Maple Leafs star came to his bantam team’s annual banquet. Armstrong would go on to wear No. 10, the first Leaf to do so after the retirement of talismanic Cupwinning captain Apps.
Armstrong would also become one of a select number of Leafs honoured with a banner at Scotiabank Arena and his number was officially retired in October 2016 at the team’s centennial anniversary home opener.
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman also paid tribute Sunday to the former Leafs’ captain.
“The National Hockey League family is saddened to learn of the passing of George Armstrong,” Bettman said in a statement. “For 70 years, he represented his beloved Maple Leafs and the entire NHL with class and distinction as a player, coach, executive and ambassador.
“A humble man and revered leader, Armstrong captained the Leafs for 12 seasons — including to three straight Stanley Cups in 1962, 1963 and 1964 and the stunning 1967 title — and scored the final goal of the Original Six Era in Game Six of the ’67 Final.
“Our game will miss him dearly. The NHL extends its deepest sympathies to George’s wife Betty, their children, grandchildren and the entire Armstrong family.”