The 68-game plan puts Leafs in post-season
Just a couple of random thoughts about the NHL completing the 2019-2020 season: (1) I believe that all teams have played at least 69 games, so they should use each team’s record after 69 games, and then start the playoffs the way they normally would, with the top three teams plus a wild-card team in each division, competing in a neutral arena without fans. (2) When these players were young, they most likely had to play with full face shields. Would these face shields help stop the spread of the coronavirus? — Ken C. The fewest number of games played by an NHL team is 68 (Carolina, fourth in the Metropolitan, first wild-card). The Leafs (81 points) got to 70 games. They lost Game 69, won Game 70. In this plan, they would retain third place in the Atlantic and come in seventh in the East. The idea has been discussed. Plus just about any other idea you can think of.
Face shields, too, are under discussion. Infectious disease specialists have already weighed in with that as a recommendation. Deputy commissioner Bill Daly told TSN “we would consider anything our infectious disease experts and advisers might recommend. But I’m not sure given the circumstances of our game that any dramatic modifications will really be necessary.” Is there any way we can get a petition going for Kevin Lowe to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. He deserves to be there: six Stanley Cups, great defence, played with broken ribs in the Stanley Cup final, blocked shots, great motivator. — W.P. Good point. Only nine players have had their name etched on the Cup more than Lowe and eight of them played for the Montreal Canadiens. The other is Red Kelly, a winner four times with the Red Wings and four more times with the Leafs.
Petitions, though, won’t work. The Hockey Hall of Fame has its board, which nominates players, discusses and votes. Are playoff games included in the NHL iron-man consecutivegames record? If not, why? — Rob T. No, playoffs do not count for iron-man streaks. Very few records the league tracks count both regular-season and postseason games.
I have a bit of a personal beef that Patrick Marleau’s ironman streak is still intact. He missed games at the beginning of the season when he was a free agent. The league’s stance: Marleau’s streak continued because he was unsigned at the beginning of the season and thus not eligible to play in any of the games he missed. Alittle while back you mentioned that you were friends or know Bobby Baun well. This tweaked an old memory. Back in the early 1960s, a buddy and I would go to the Gardens to watch the game from standing room. Well, the night of the cherry bomb, we were standing next to the guy that threw it. We didn’t say anything. Probably should have but that’s hindsight. We were 16 years old.
What I am wondering is did the guys (there were three of them) confess to Baun? He knew them because they were Marlies players. Can you ask him? I now only can recall two of the three by name. If you want to pass my contact information to Mr Baun, please do so. — Graham T. I called Bobby Baun for this and I’m afraid he couldn’t add anything to what you said, reminding me it happened a long time ago.
It would be wrong to categorize me as a friend of Baun, who seems like a terrific gentleman. But I’ve had dealings with him since the late 1980s when I was covering the oldtimers’ court battle for a better pension.
The thrilling part of this job for me isn’t the games I go to, it’s the NHL alumni I speak with from time to time. The hockey heroes of my youth. I only remember Baun from the end of his career, but I heard all the stories. He’s interesting.
Baun ended our conversation with a toast: “My toast is health and happiness and a little bit of money and time to enjoy it. That’s the Baun toast at every major dinner.”
Seems like a toast for all of us now.
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