The Maple Leafs announcement last week that three Hall-of-Famers would be chosen for the Legend’s Row monument located outside Air Canada Center began a debate over which of the organization’s greats will be honored.
The monument to be located just outside Gate 5 in Maple Leaf Square will consist of a 30-foot granite bench with bronze statues to recognize the club’s most prominent players over their 97 year history.
The Leafs revealed that former captain Ted “Teeder” Kennedy will be one in the initial selections and that the other two will be announced at the club’s Fan Fest in early September.
Kennedy’s choice is a no-brainer, as he was a member of five Stanley Cup winning Leafs clubs in 1945,1947-49 and 1951 and won the league’s MVP in 1955, but the question is which players are most deserving to be selected.
According to the Toronto Sun’s Lance Hornby, the two players are still living, which eliminates goalie Turk Broda, forward Charlie Conacher or defensemen Tim Horton or Red Horner. The selections will come either from the Leafs 60’s Cup dynasty or from modern day greats like Darryl Sittler, Borje Salming or Doug Gilmour.
In the ongoing “Who’s the Best” series, there is no disputing Hall-of-Famers Mats Sundin and Dave Keon being the top players to wear #13 and #14, but will either of their names be uttered in the same breath as Kennedy.
As the Leafs all-time leading goal and points leader, it is a forgone conclusion that Sundin will be one of the nearly dozen to be immortalized, but the lack of a Stanley Cup coupled with refusing to waive his no-trade clause in 2008 is still fresh in the minds of Leafs fans.
Keon was arguably the best and most consistent player on the Leafs four-time Cup winners from 1962 to 1967 and scored 20 goals or more 11 times in his 15-year tenure in Toronto, but the relationship with the Leafs ended badly in 1975 due to owner Harold Ballard.
Keon was forced to jump to the WHA’s Minnesota Fighting Saints after a contract dispute with Ballard.
When the club folded in 1976, Keon wanted to return to the NHL and had interest from the Islanders, but the Leafs owner was so unreasonable in his request for compensation that New York soon lost interest, forcing Keon to remain in the WHA for three more seasons before the leagues merged in 1979.
In spite of the Leafs organization treating their alumni with proper respect after Ballard’s death, Keon refuses to have his number honored by the club and has only been present for only a few ceremonies in recent years, which could make for a public relations embarrassment if he refused to participate after being selected for Legend’s Row.
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Food for thought in the wake of San Jose coach Todd McLellan stripping Joe Thornton of the captaincy. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman(who deserves kudos for breaking the Leiweke departure story) indicated on Wednesday that the Leafs had put out feelers prior to the 2013 Trade Deadline about wanting to deal for the former #1 overall pick.
Sharks GM Doug Wilson had moved winger Ryane Clowe to the Rangers and defenseman Douglas Murray to Pittsburgh and was not willing to trade Thornton at that time. It is unknown whether Leafs GM Dave Nonis is still intrigued at the prospect of trading for “Jumbo Joe”, but it is likely that Wilson is more willing to listen now.
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