TORONTO (May 23) – Though the Philadelphia Flyers and Montreal Canadiens have made historic advances in the playoffs this spring, neither club will measure up with odds-makers once the Stanley Cup final pairing is determined. Having finished 24 points beyond both the Flyers and Canadiens in the regular season – and coming off a staggering dismissal of San Jose in the Western Conference championship – the Chicago Blackhawks will be a prohibitive favorite to win their first Stanley Cup in 49 years.
Philadelphia can wrap up the Eastern Conference title in Game 5 against Montreal on Monday night at the Wachovia Center. If that happens, the Cup final will likely start on Saturday at the United Center. The Blackhawks will have to maintain their edge in order to dispose of the Flyers, who have proven stunningly resilient in the Cup tournament. Philly repeated history, of course, by rebounding from a 3-0 series deficit against Boston in the conference semifinals, becoming only the third such team in playoff history. The Canadiens, meanwhile, were the first No. 8 seed to ever claw back from a 3-1 series hole against a top seeded conference opponent. If any club deserves recognition and latitude, it’s the 2010 Habs, though the gas-tank appears to be emptying with a flourish.
In a bizarre playoff year, it is best to keep an open mind with any situation, but there is virtually no way to comprehend the Blackhawks losing four of seven games to either Philadelphia or Montreal. If the ‘Hawks win the Stanley Cup, the Maple Leafs will move from the on-deck circle to home plate in the category of longest title drought. Moreover, the Blackhawks will strike a resounding note for the conventional method of building a championship team – through the NHL draft. All of Chicago’s top performers in the playoffs this spring [Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, Dustin Byfuglien, Dave Bolland] are in-house selections, ranging from No. 1 overall [Kane] to No. 245 [Byfuglien in 2003]. Same goes with support players Troy Brouwer, Adam Burish and Niklas Hjalmarsson, who were drafted by the ‘Hawks. Barring trade, Chicago has eight picks in seven rounds this year, including its first and second-round choices.
For the record, the Blackhawks and Philadelphia have met only once in the playoffs – 1971 – Chicago breezing to a four-game sweep over five nights during the Stanley Cup quarterfinals, winning 5-2 and 6-2 at Chicago Stadium; 3-2 and 6-2 at the Spectrum. That was just before the Flyers beefed up to become the so-called “Broad Street Bullies”. In ’71, Philadelphia was led by passive skaters such as Serge Bernier, Andre Lacroix, Jean-Guy Gendron, Jim Johnson, and – yes – even a young Bobby Clarke, who played much “bigger” once surrounded by Dave Schultz, Don Saleski, Andre (Moose) Dupont, Mel Bridgman, Jack McIlhargey and others in the Stanley Cup years.
The Blackhawks have lost in the Cup final five times since they last won the mug – 1962 to Toronto; ’65, ’71 and ’73 to Montreal, and ‘92 to Pittsburgh. Paramount in Chicago’s half-century Cup drought is two of the worst trades in NHL history. General Manager Tommy Ivan dealt Phil Esposito to Boston on May 15, 1967. Mike Keenan traded Dominik Hasek to Buffalo on Aug. 7, 1992.
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A couple of good pals have authored excellent hockey books this year. Chuck Gormley, a Flyers beat writer since 1988 for the Courier-Post in Cherry Hill, N.J., penned ORANGE, BLACK & BLUE – THE GREATEST PHILADELPHIA FLYERS STORIES EVER TOLD. I read it while in Vancouver for the Winter Olympics. In the book, Bobby Clarke opens up to Gormley about his stinging feud with Eric Lindros, and how Clarke believed it affected Roger Neilson, who coached Philly in the late-‘90s.
“When Roger was in New York, he went to war with [Mark] Messier and got fired,” Clarke told Gormley. “He made sure he was close to Eric, but I think that ended up hurting Roger because the other players felt like Eric was in his office all the time. Roger was making sure the star player was on his side. I think Roger was a really, really good coach and was really good to the players, and we had a chance to be a good team, but all the problems with Lindros just destroyed it.”
This book is available for purchase by logging onto Gormley’s personal website: www.chuckspuck.com
Then there’s my long-time friend from the old Etobicoke Guardian days in the late-‘70s and early-‘80s: Steve Ludzik. “Ludzy” played for Chicago from 1981-89, and later coached the Tampa Bay Lightning. He has written a hilarious book entitled BEEN THERE, DONE THAT. “I know you’re going to love it; I couldn’t put it down,” is the endorsement from Don Cherry on the front cover, and “Grapes” is bang-on… the book was indeed difficult to break away from.
The gallows humor in the game was explored by Ludzik. While playing for the Blackhawks’ AHL affiliate in Moncton, New Brunswick, Ludzik was teammates with veteran defenseman Dave Farrish, who reveled in getting young players into trouble. On a bus ride one day, Farrish told Ludzik and pal Steve Larmer to sit near the front of the vehicle, in a spot normally reserved for Moncton rough-neck Mel Hewitt.
“All the rookies thought [Hewitt] was a madman, and the veterans used to take advantage of the fact the youngsters were scared stiff of him,” wrote Ludzik. “On our first bus trip, Dave Farrish pointed to two seats and said, ‘Those are your seats, rights there.’ We dutifully sat down. Hewitt got on the bus and went ape. He started yelling at us for disrespecting him and how dare we sit in his seat. Who the hell did we think we were? We were pretty scared of this guy, but it was all a set-up.
“One day, soon after, Farrish told me if I wanted to get in Mel’s good books, I should ask Hewitt about his sister, who was apparently in the National Ballet of Canada. So, of course, I took the bait. ‘Hey, Mel,’ I said, ‘I hear your sister’s in the National Ballet of Canada.’ He looked at me and angrily replied, ‘You trying to be a funny guy?’ I just kind of stood there, speechless, and he continued, ‘Thanks, my sister has no fu—ing legs!’
“…I stayed away from Mel after that.”
If you want a copy of this book, visit www.ludzy.com
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And, we close with hearty congratulations to one of my old traveling pals, Bob Harwood, formerly of Leafs-TV; now a rink-side reporter with Versus. On Thursday, Bob’s wife, Julie, gave birth to the couple’s first child – Allyson Suzanne Harwood – arriving at a healthy eight pounds, three ounces. “Mom and baby are well… and dad is over the moon!” Bob wrote in an e-mail.
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