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The NHL revealed the first 33 of their top 100 players at the Centennial Classic in Toronto, representing those who played the majority of their career from 1917 to 1967.
The remaining 67 players were unveiled to officially kick off All-Star weekend in Los Angeles, CA and 10 former Toronto Maple Leafs, including Legend’s Row members Borje Salming, Darryl Sittler and Mats Sundin, were honored.
Hockey Hall of Famers Ron Francis, Grant Fuhr, Mike Gartner, Brian Leetch, Eric Lindros, Joe Nieuwendyk, Bernie Parent were selected, joining Syl Apps, Andy Bathgate, Max Bentley, Johnny Bower, Turk Broda, King Clancy, Charlie Conacher, Tim Horton, Red Kelly, Ted Kennedy, Dave Keon, Frank Mahovlich, Dickie Moore, Jacques Plante and Terry Sawchuk.
Gretzky, Bower, Bucyk, Keon, Hall and Kelly. A group of hockey immortals. #Leafs #NHL pic.twitter.com/LaLM3VY4qv
— Michael Augello (@MikeInBuffalo) January 1, 2017
Whenever lists like this are put together, there is always controversy raised by those who are left off and when it comes to ex-Leafs, the names of Ed Belfour, Doug Gilmour, Lanny McDonald and Alexander Mogilny stand out.
Here’s the complete list of the NHL 100 pic.twitter.com/9GTdl1P6OK
— John Shannon (@JSportsnet) January 28, 2017
All four are Stanley Cups winners, and only Mogilny is not a member of the Hall of Fame (which should be rectified in the next few years).
Belfour is third in league history with 484 wins (behind only Martin Brodeur and Patrick Roy), Gilmour is 18th all-time in NHL scoring with 1,414 points, McDonald ended his career with 500 career goals and Mogilny with over 1,000 points.
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When the Toronto Marlies embarked on a six-game road trip last weekend, they were in last place in the AHL’s North Division and without leading goal scorer Kasperi Kapanen.
In spite of losing points leader Brendan Leipsic, the Leafs AHL affiliate were able to climb back to .500, going 5-1-0 during their swing through New England and the Maritimes.
The Marlies completed a back-to-back weekend sweep of the Ice Caps with a 4-0 win in St. Johns on Saturday afternoon.
Dmytro Timashov picks up his second goal of the game and its 4-0 Marlies in the third period. Just a total rout this afternoon. pic.twitter.com/rz9pUXaLa1
— Jeff Veillette (@JeffVeillette) January 28, 2017
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