Chronicles

Over several decades, I’ve known many special "hockey days" in Canada. Some of those memories are wonderful, others bittersweet and some of them forgotten by those old enough and unknown to the next generations.

This is Frank Mahovlich. I don’t know how many of you (if any) remember the trade that sent him from Toronto to Detroit in March of 1968. This was just a few months after Toronto won the Stanley and although Mahovlich would sip from the Cup after that, Toronto waits for Stanley.

The initial reaction to the deal was not good:

I’m here to tell you that housewives and grown men who worked 6 days a week had a few things in common when the trade broke. The Leafs were (and still are) the team of choice for older Canadians across the country, the tradiition dating back to their parents and their parents. The Leafs for the protestant English, Habs for the catholic French. It broke down just that way for decades, and frankly without the Mahovlich trade the tradition may have continued for more generations in my family.

The Mahovlich trade broke the spell at my house. I wasn’t yet 10, but the change in Saturday night tradition was fairly immediate and long running. I honestly don’t recall my Dad or Grandpa talking Leafs as they had before, and in fact there were Saturday nights afterward when it was just Grandma and me (Grandma had to watch to make sure the goalies stayed in their crease. She damn near died during the Mike Palmateer era). It sounds silly to suggest a hockey trade had that kind of impact in any home, but it happened just that way.

My Oiler memories go all the way back to the 1972 WHA team. Bill Hunter by the billboard, Al Hamilton and Jim Harrison and then Rusty Patenaude, Ken Baird, Norm Ullman, Mike Rogers and more. Those were great days, they really were.

My NHL Oiler memories are the best. Oilers-Flames in the 80s was the most exciting hockey I’ll ever see, you honestly couldn’t take time away from the television for fear of missing a two-on-one or three-on-one in both ends. The Gretzky goal above may well represent the climax of that wonderful team, although the memories flood back (Messier with the deke and blast at the blueline, McClelland’s goal and Fuhr’s shutout, Kurri’s brilliant read of the situation and lazer pass to 99 to make it 1-0 in the game that would bring Stanley to Edmonton the first time, Tikk in OT, Coffey on a rush, Anderson a thousand times) from all era’s.

For me, hockey day in Canada is tied to family. Me watching the game, my family playing whist on Saturday night and asking me "what’s the score?" when things got busy.

Beer, smokes, laughter, family when everyone is together and Dad wasn’t working.

Hockey.

 

I’m hoping you’ll email your memories of past hockey days that made a big impact on you; email me and I’ll read them on the air.  Nation Radio is back on the air, we’ll talk about hockey day in Canada (sharing memories) and talk trade deadline with:

Noon, Team 1260 and the entire show will be up at Oilers Nation in the next day or so. Early game, don’t forget. Emails with comments or questions for our guests are always welcome at nationradio@theteam1260.com and you can also check out twitter @ItsNationRadio or @Lowetide_  this afternoon.