NUMBER 14 . . . NUMBER 1
Keon’s lasting impact puts him atop the list of the franchise’s 100 best on the eve of the Leafs’ 100th home opener vs. Bruins (CBC, 7 p.m.).
As Dave Keon — newly minted as the greatest Maple Leaf of all time — was talking about the franchise’s glory years of the 1960s, he made a comment that might jar a young fan who has only known disappointment.
Keon was talking about winning his first Stanley Cup in 1962, his second year in the NHL. That was followed by Cup wins in 1963 and ’64.
“I thought this happened all the time,” said Keon. “I’ve come to find out it doesn’t.”
As every Leaf fan knows, the run of Stanley Cups ended in 1967.
When the Leafs’ top 100 players of all time were announced Friday, it was understandably loaded with players who had won the Cup.
Syl Apps, a three-time champion from the 1940s, finished second in voting by a 30-member panel. Ted Kennedy, a five-time Cup winner who followed Apps as captain in the 1950s, was third.
“The guys from the 1920s, ’30s, and ’40s are the people who made the franchise what it is,” said Keon. “It’s important to recognize them. I’m happy I’m part of it.”
The honour caps a big week for Keon, who also had his statue unveiled on Legends Row at Maple Leaf Square. “I’m thrilled, I’m honoured and terribly pleased,” said Keon. “It’s been a lot of fun.”
The words “fun” and “Maple Leafs” have not always been synonymous since 1967. The franchise survived the tumultuous ownership of Harold Ballard — who sent Keon into exile until president Brendan Shanahan brought him back into the fold — as well as mismanagement of talent under various executives.
While today’s Maple Leafs are left to deal with a legacy of the Cup drought, Keon believes better times are ahead.
“You have to embrace the challenge,” said Keon. “If you get better every year, (they will) put themselves in a position where they can win. It doesn’t happen overnight. It’s going to take a little while. But it seems they’re getting the right players.”
In a way, the Maple Leafs are using this 100th season as a means not just to celebrate the past but to put it to rest. Clean the slate, as it were, and start fresh. The team will be using “001” — the mirror image of “100” — to reflect a new beginning.
“When Mike (Babcock) first came on with the team, I told him about the anniversary that was coming up. He almost felt it was too soon,” said Shanahan. “He wanted the team to be a little bit more developed for this.
“But I think — and he thinks now — it’s the perfect time to have that tran- sition from 100 to 001 with the number of young guys we have.”
Babcock instituted a tradition in the Leafs locker room last year — one imported from his days in Detroit — that has stalls set aside for franchise greats. It’s fairly common to see Keon’s name plate, or Kennedy’s, or Turk Broda’s among the current group. And if alumni happens to be around, Babcock will invite them into the locker room.
“Our players are enjoying it, hearing the stories and bringing some of these names to life,” said Shanahan.
The link to the past is designed to help the future, so Shanahan isn’t worried that the Cup drought might weigh down current players.
“If history is too much of a burden for you as an athlete, then you really aren’t going to be a successful athlete anywhere, whether it’s a market like Toronto or a market where no one watches the games,” said Shanahan. “These guys put pressure on themselves.”
Keon certainly did in his time with the Maple Leafs.
“He won the Stanley Cup, he was the leader of our team, and he had the hardest work ethic,” said Darryl Sittler, fourth on the all-time list, who assumed the captaincy from Keon in the 1970s.
“His work ethic — you couldn’t take a practice off,” said Ron Ellis, 24th on the list and Keon’s right winger. “You saw your captain practising the way he did, the rest of the team followed.”