Q: How Many Hall-of-Famers does it take to win the Stanley Cup?

The answer appears to be approximately 4.8 players.

Using the Great Expansion of 1967 as our dividing line, there have been 42 Cup champions.  Of those 42 teams, only the last six champs have not boasted a current Hall-of-Famer in the lineup, and that only makes sense, as a player has to be retired for three seasons before they can be inducted into the Hall.

So let’s subtract those six teams, and just consider all the Cup winning teams from 1967-68 up until 2002-03.

All of those 36 Cup champions featured at least one future Hall-of-Famer in their lineup, 176 Hall-of Famers in all.  These totals include, for instance, counting Bryan Trottier six different times, four for his tenure with the Islanders, and two Cups with the Penguins.

As time moves forward, this number will change. 

For instance, defenceman Chris Chelios got into seven games with the Atlanta Thrashers last season, and it finally appears as if his NHL career is over, though recently there was talk of him going over to the KHL.

If he were to visit Russia, then that would only delay the inevitable, his enshrinement in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

When that day finally dawns, the number of Hall-of-Famer who played for the 1985-86 Canadiens, the 2001-02 Red Wings, and the 007-08 Red Wings will increase by exactly one.

This master list not complete, nor will it ever be.  Consider the case of Dick Duff.

The native of Kirkland Lake, Ontario played in the NHL from 1954 until 1972, winning six Stanley Cups, and compiling 572 points in 1030 regular-season games.

Thirty-four years after stepping off the ice for the final time, Duff was part of the 2006 Hockey Hall-of-Game class, one that was led by goaltender Patrick Roy.

There was considerable discussion that day whether or not Duff deserved to be there.  That is an argument for another day; what his induction illustrates is that a good player from the past is never truly out-of-the HOF picture.  There is hope for the Rogie Vachon’s and Kevin Lowe’s of the game.

Taking a glance at the list, there’s no doubt the likes of Jaromir Jagr, Nicklas Lidstrom, Dominik Hasek, Scott Niedermayer, and Joe Sakic will be first ballot Hall of Famers.  They are listed, along with more marginal candidates, as possible Hall-of-Famers, though we all know the names listed above are pretty much guaranteed to be enshrined in the near future.

As for the other names in that category, consider this.  Who knew that a young Steve Shutt, he of eight goals in his rookie season, would one day be in the Hall?  It’s probably safe to assume that the likes of Pavel Datsyuk, Teemu Selanne, and Chris Pronger have already accomplished enough in their NHL careers to make the cut.  The same can probably be said of Sidney Crosby, after only six seasons, if one projects the next decade of his career.

But what about players such as Evgeni Malkin, or Dan Boyle, or Chris Osgood?

How about veterans such as Doug Weight, or Bill Guerin, or Mark Recchi?

To avoid making subjective judgments, only players already in the Hall-of-Fame are factored into the equation.

One thing that can be said, since the NHL expanded over forty years ago, every Stanley Cup winning team had at least one Hall-of-Famer in their lineup.

Considering that there were only six teams in the league for twenty-five straight years, one would most likely find a Hall-of-Famer on every one of those championship teams.

Keep all this in mind when your team magically makes a deep run in the playoffs.  Somewhere in that cobbled together roster, is there a future Hall-of-Famer lurking?

There’d better be.

(This list does not include coaches or general managers, only players).

2009-10 Chicago Blackhawks          

Possible HOF’s – Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Brian Campbell, Marian Hossa

2008-09 Pittsburgh Penguins            

Possible HOF’s – Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Bill Guerin, Sergei Gonchar,

2007-08 Detroit Red Wings             

Possible HOF’s – Nicklas Lidstrom, Chris Chelios, Pavel Datsyuk, Dominik Hasek, Chris Osgood, Henrik Zetterberg

2006-07 Anaheim Ducks                  

Possible HOF’s – Scott Niedermayer, Chris Pronger, Teemu Selanne, Ryan Getzlaf

2005-06 Carolina Hurricanes                       

Possible HOF’s – Rod Brind’Amour, Glen Wesley, Mark Recchi, Eric Staal, Doug Weight

2003-04 Tampa Bay Lightning         

Possible HOF’s – Dave Andreychuk, Vincent Lecavalier, Martin St. Louis, Brad Richards, Dan Boyle

2002-03 New Jersey Devils

Hall-of-Famer: Scott Stevens  (1)

Possible HOF’s – Martin Brodeur, Scott Niedermayer, Joe Nieuwendyk,         

2001-02 Detroit Red Wings

Hall-of-Famers: Steve Yzerman, Brett Hull, Luc Robitaille, Igor Larionov (4)                

Possible HOF’s – Nicklas Lidstrom, Chris Chelios, Pavel Datsyuk, Dominik Hasek, Sergei Fedorov, Brendan Shanahan 

2000-01 Colorado Avalanche                       

Hockey Hall-of-Famers: Patrick Roy, Ray Bourque  (2)

Possible HOF’s – Joe Sakic, Rob Blake, Peter Forsberg

1999-2000 New Jersey Devils         

Hockey Hall-of-Famers: Scott Stevens  (1)

Possible HOF’s – Scott Niedermayer, Martin Brodeur, Alexander Mogilny

1998-99 Dallas Stars                        

Hockey Hall-of-Famers: Brett Hull  (1)

Possible HOF’s – Mike Modano, Ed Belfour, Joe Nieuwendyk

1997-98 Detroit Red Wings             

Hockey Hall-of-Famers: Steve Yzerman, Igor Larionov, Larry Murphy, Viacheslav Fetisov  (4)

Possible HOF’s – Sergei Fedorov, Nicklas Lidstrom, Chris Osgood, Brendan Shanahan

1996-97 Detroit Red Wings             

Hockey Hall-of-Famers: Steve Yzerman, Igor Larionov, Larry Murphy, Viacheslav Fetisov  (4)

Possible HOF’s – Sergei Fedorov, Nicklas Lidstrom, Chris Osgood, Mike Vernon, Brendan Shanahan

1995-96 Colorado Avalanche                       

Hockey Hall-of-Famers: Patrick Roy  (1)

Possible HOF’s – Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg

1994-95 New Jersey Devils             

Hockey Hall-of-Famers: Scott Stevens  (1)

Possible HOF’s – Martin Brodeur, Scott Niedermayer, Bill Guerin

1993-94 New York Rangers             

Hockey Hall-of-Famers: Mark Messier, Glenn Anderson, Brian Leetch  (3)

Possible HOF’s – Mike Richter, Kevin Lowe, Steve Larmer, Alex Kovalev,

1992-93 Montreal Canadiens                       

Hockey Hall-of-Famers: Patrick Roy, Denis Savard  (2)

1991-92 Pittsburgh Penguins            

Hockey Hall-of-Famers: Mario Lemieux, Ron Francis, Bryan Trottier, Larry Murphy, Joe Mullen  (5)

Possible HOF’s – Jaromir Jagr, Tom Barrasso, Rich Tocchet

1990-91 Pittsburgh Penguins            

Hockey Hall-of-Famers: Mario Lemieux, Ron Francis, Bryan Trottier, Larry Murphy, Joe Mullen, Paul Coffey  (6)

Possible HOF’s – Jaromir Jagr, Tom Barrasso, Rich Tocchet, Mark Recchi

1989-90 Edmonton Oilers                 

Hockey Hall-of-Famers: Mark Messier, Jari Kurri, Glenn Anderson, Grant Fuhr  (4)

Possible HOF’er – Kevin Lowe

1988-89 Calgary Flames                   

Hockey Hall-of-Famers: Lanny MacDonald, Al MacInnis, Joe Mullen  (3)

Possible HOF’s – Mike Vernon, Gary Roberts, Theoren Fleury, Joe Nieuwendyk, Doug Gilmour

1987-88 Edmonton Oilers                 

Hockey Hall-of-Famers: Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Jari Kurri, Glenn Anderson, Grant Fuhr  (5)

Possible HOF’er – Kevin Lowe

1986-87 Edmonton Oilers                 

Hockey Hall-of-Famers: Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Jari Kurri, Glenn Anderson, Grant Fuhr  (5)

Possible HOF’er – Kevin Lowe

1985- 86 Montreal Canadiens                      

Hockey Hall-of-Famers: Patrick Roy, Larry Robinson, Bob Gainey  (3)

Possible HOF’er – Chris Chelios

1984-85 Edmonton Oilers                 

Hockey Hall-of-Famers: Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Jari Kurri, Glenn Anderson, Grant Fuhr, Paul Coffey  (6)

Possible HOF’er – Kevin Lowe

1983-84 Edmonton Oilers                 

Hockey Hall-of-Famers: Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Jari Kurri, Glenn Anderson, Grant Fuhr, Paul Coffey  (6)

Possible HOF’er – Kevin Lowe

1982-83 New York Islanders            

Hockey Hall-of-Famers: Bryan Trottier, Mike Bossy, Denis Potvin, Billy Smith, Clark Gillies  (5)

1981-82 New York Islanders            

Hockey Hall-of-Famers: Bryan Trottier, Mike Bossy, Denis Potvin, Billy Smith, Clark Gillies  (5)

1980-81 New York Islanders            

Hockey Hall-of-Famers: Bryan Trottier, Mike Bossy, Denis Potvin, Billy Smith, Clark Gillies  (5)

1979-80 New York Islanders            

Hockey Hall-of-Famers: Bryan Trottier, Mike Bossy, Denis Potvin, Billy Smith, Clark Gillies  (5)

1978-79 Montreal Canadiens                       

Hockey Hall-of-Famers: Ken Dryden, Guy Lafleur, Yvan Cournoyer, Bob Gainey, Larry Robinson, Serge Savard, Guy Lapointe, Steve Shutt, Jacques Lemaire, Rod Langway  (10)

1977-78 Montreal Canadiens                       

Hockey Hall-of-Famers: Ken Dryden, Guy Lafleur, Yvan Cournoyer, Bob Gainey, Larry Robinson, Serge Savard, Guy Lapointe, Steve Shutt, Jacques Lemaire  (9)

1976-77 Montreal Canadiens                       

Hockey Hall-of-Famers: Ken Dryden, Guy Lafleur, Yvan Cournoyer, Bob Gainey, Larry Robinson, Serge Savard, Guy Lapointe, Steve Shutt, Jacques Lemaire  (9)

1975-76 Montreal Canadiens                       

Hockey Hall-of-Famers: Ken Dryden, Guy Lafleur, Yvan Cournoyer, Bob Gainey, Larry Robinson, Serge Savard, Guy Lapointe, Steve Shutt, Jacques Lemaire  (9)

1974-75 Philadelphia Flyers             

Hockey Hall-of-Famers:  Bernie Parent, Bobby Clarke, Bill Barber  (3)

1973-74 Philadelphia Flyers             

Hockey Hall-of-Famers:  Bernie Parent, Bobby Clarke, Bill Barber  (3)

1972-73 Montreal Canadiens                       

Hockey Hall-of-Famers:  Henri Richard, Jacques Laperriere, Ken Dryden, Yvan Cournoyer, Jacques Lemaire, Serge Savard, Guy Lapointe, Frank Mahovlich, Guy Lafleur, Larry Robinson, Steve Shutt  (11)

1971-72 Boston Bruins                     

Hockey Hall-of-Famers: Bobby Orr, Phil Esposito, Johnny Bucyk, Gerry Cheevers  (4)

1970-71 Montreal Canadiens                       

Hockey Hall-of-Famers: Jean Beliveau, Henri Richard, Yvan Cournoyer, Jacques Laperriere, Guy Lapointe, Jacques Lemaire, Frank Mahovlich, Serge Savard, Ken Dryden  (9)

Possible HOF’er – Rogie Vachon

1969-70 Boston Bruins                     

Hockey Hall-of-Famers: Bobby Orr, Phil Esposito, Johnny Bucyk, Gerry Cheevers  (4)

1968-69 Montreal Canadiens                       

Hockey Hall-of-Famers: Jean Beliveau, Henri Richard, Yvan Cournoyer, Jacques Laperriere, Guy Lapointe, Jacques Lemaire, Dick Duff, Serge Savard, Gump Worsley, Tony Esposito  (10)

Possible HOF’er – Rogie Vachon

1967-68 Montreal Canadiens                       

Hockey Hall-of-Famers: Jean Beliveau, Henri Richard, Yvan Cournoyer, Jacques Laperriere, Dick Duff, Serge Savard, Jacques Lemaire, Gump Worsley  (8)

Possible HOF’er – Rogie Vachon

The 1972-73 edition of the Montreal Canadiens leads the way with 11 Hall-of-Famers, even though that team is often overlooked in favour of the Habs’ dynasties from the late 1950’s, or the Scotty Bowman-coached teams from the late 1970’s.

Montreal is loaded with Hall-of-Famers, as will be the Detroit Red Wings, when the Hall gets around to inducting players as they become eligible.  The 2001-02 Wings could end up having ten players in the Hall.

The 1990-91 Pittsburgh Penguins already have six players with Hall-of-Fame credentials, will certainly add a seventh in Jaromir Jagr, and Mark Recchi is making a solid case for his inclusion every time he takes to the ice.

Maybe not all that surprisingly, the New Jersey Devils boast the least amount of Hall worthy players.  Defenceman Scott Stevens is the only one in at the moment, but without a doubt, they are preparing a place in the Hall for goaltender Martin Brodeur, and defenceman Scott Niedermayer.  But is that it for the Devils, who effectively rode a team-first concept to three Cups?

The 1992-93 Canadiens only had two Hall-of-Famers, and the second, forward Denis Savard, got into the Hall mostly for his stellar play with the Chicago Black Hawks during the 1980’s.

That scenario is similar to the 1968-69 Canadiens, who had a plethora of legitimate Hall-of-Famers, though goaltender Tony Esposito was not one of them.

Make no mistake about it, Tony O is a legitimate Hall-of-Famer, but that’s for his great career in Chicago, not his rookie season in Montreal.  Nonetheless, that year would be the only time the younger Espo would win the Cup, as he was on the roster for the Stanley Cup Final, so he’s counted as part of the total, even though it’s misleading.

For comparison’s sake, we’ve included the last NHL team to win the Stanley Cup before the 1967 expansion changed the landscape of the game.

That would be the Toronto Maple Leafs, who boasted a whopping twelve Hall-of-Famers.

Which brings up the chief criticism of the Hall, the impression that it’s relatively easy to gain access through their pearly gates.

Some point out the inclusion of Bob Pulford as a prime example of the old boy’s network at work.  This might explain why so many Maple Leafs and Canadiens are in the Hall.

Even if one disregards Pulford, that team still had a glittering array of stars…even if most of them were greybeards by then.

 1966-67 Toronto Maple Leafs         

Hockey Hall-of-Famers: George Armstrong, Andy Bathgate, Johnny Bower, Dave Keon, Tim Horton, Red Kelly, Frank Mahovlich, Bob Pulford, Al Arbour, Terry Sawchuk, Marcel Pronovost, Allan Stanley  (12)

- Mick Kern
(if we missed a player, please advise us)

Sometimes when you’re watching a game, and it drags to a 3-2 conclusion, it’s easy to reach back into the past and glorify hockey as it used to be played.

The trouble with such nostalgia is that we only remember the very best, and the very worst.  The highs and lows.  We tend to forget the drab, everyday matters, the faceless games that ran into each other, week after week, month after month, season after season.  An uninspired mid-season Tuesday evening game is the same in any decade.

One part of life that appears to have gone by the wayside here in North America is the infusion of colour in the mainstream wardrobe.  Everyone now seems to wear the subdued shades of black and grey, as if we’re all in a collective state of mourning for something we’re not exactly sure about.

There is one aspect of the mainstream 80’s that Retro Nights get right; the parading of day-glo colours, and other wacky, over-the-top pastels that screamed at you then, and scream at you now.  Everyone did seem to dress up as an extra from the “Let’s Get Physical” video or any Culture Club offering.  There were those of us that rallied around the Johnny Cash man-in-black look, but for the most part, that approach was relegated to the shadows.

In the long history of hockey, there probably wasn’t an NHL team that better represented those overly colourful eighties than the Team of that Decade, the Edmonton Oilers.  They won four Stanley Cups in five seasons, and probably should have won five-in-a-row.  If Gretzky had remained in Northern Alberta, then that team could have taken seven Cups in-a-row, easily.

Recently on The War Room, Peter Berce and I were kicking around some great games from the past, games we would have liked to have attended.  One that leapt to mind for me was the 11-9 game between the Oilers and the Toronto Maple Leafs.

January 8th, 1986.  At Maple Leaf Gardens.

The lowly Leafs really must have put up a fight that night, scoring nine goals against the defending Stanley Cup champions.

Except it was the Leafs who scored the eleven goals.  They won the game 11-9.

That’s twenty goals in sixty minutes of play.  An average of a goal every three minutes.

You wouldn’t have wanted to leave your seat for popcorn in case you missed something.

I was at the Montreal Forum that same January evening, watching the Canadiens beat, ahh, someone.  Trouble is, over the years, I can’t recall who.  We were too busy keeping an eye on the Forum out-of-town scoreboard.  As the digits rose in that game, the hub-bub at the Forum rose in tandem.

To my knowledge, there had never been an NHL game where both teams scored in double digits.  Most of the crowd around me were tickled pink that the Leafs were scoring that many goals on the Oilers, a team not renowned for its defence, but a team that could easily give up five goals and still win the game.  Their offense was that explosive.

A check of the 1985-86 Oilers’s game-by-game record bears that out.

They won a total of seven games when the opposition scored at least five goals against them.  One of those barnburners was a 12-9 win at Chicago on December 11th.  At that point, the gun slinging Oilers sported a 21-5-and-4 record.

This team could play it all ways.  They could squeeze out a tight, defensive victory, such as a 3-2 win over the New Jersey Devils on November 23rd.

They could blow a team out of the arena, such as the 13-0 pasting of Wayne Gretzky’s favourite punching bag, the Vancouver Canucks, on November 8th, or a 12-3 win over the Detroit Red Wings on March 14th.

For a team that led the circuit with 426 goals that season (the second highest total in NHL history after the 446 by the 83-84 Oilers), those three games represented the only times they cracked double-digits in goals scored in a game.

Speaking of records, the 1980’s Oilers hold the top five marks for most goals scored in one NHL season.

That 12-9 win over the Blackhawks tied a Montreal Canadiens/Toronto St. Patrick’s game from 1920 for the most goals scored in one NHL game…not counting All-Star Games.

That 11-9 loss to the Leafs is tied with a 12-8 win by the Oilers over the Minnesota North Stars in January of 1984 for the second-most goals scored in one NHL game.

Image that happening today.  Last week, the Tampa Bay Lightning survived a 8-7 arm wrestling contest with the Philadelphia Flyers, and we got all excited about a mere 15 goals in a game.

Back to the 80’s.

During the 1985-86 season, the Toronto Maple Leafs managed to light the lamp a total of 311 times, which was only good enough for the 12th best total in the 21 team league.

The Oilers led the league with 119 points; the Maple Leafs were 19th with 57 points.

On that January night, it shouldn’t even have been close.

A search of the internet brings up the game summary for that contest.  Hold on, it’s gonna get busy.

Every time the Oilers made their way to Eastern Canada, it was a media circus.  Everyone wanted a piece of Wayne Gretzky.  Even back then, there were calls for the Great One to be moved to the Maple Leafs, or the New York Rangers, in the name of getting the NHL more exposure in the eastern-based U.S. media.

That night the Leaf faithful, who were probably bracing themselves for a beating, were just sitting down with their lattes when Russ Courtnall opened things up with a pair of goals, the first at the 2:40 mark of the first period, the second almost five minutes later.

Seven minutes into the game, the Maple Leafs had a 2-0 lead.

Make that 3-0, after Miroslav Frycer potted one on the power play at the 12:25 mark.

Old MLG must have been rocking.

Gretzky got the Oilers on the board at 14:03 with his 29th goal, but that would be it for the big boys, as the Maple Leafs pumped in two more goals before the end of the period.
Steve Thomas and Brad Smith (Brad Smith!!!) got the goals.

5-1 Leafs after one. 

Going into this game, the Oilers had won five in-a-row, and eleven of their last thirteen.  Maybe they were due for an off-night.

So who were the goaltenders for this epic?  The game summary shows that Andy Moog and Grant Fuhr split this one, while the Leafs went all the way with Tim Bernhardt.

With just under five minutes gone in the second period, the 16,282 in attendance must have been feeling pretty good.  Leave it to Wayne Gretzky to put some doubt in their minds. 

His 30th at the 4:58 mark made it 5-2 Toronto.  All still seemed fine for the home team.

In game that featured twenty goals, there was about a six-and-a-half minute stretch where the red lights got to catch their breath.

At 11:19, Raimo Summanen scored.  And then Gretzky completed his hat-trick less than four minutes later.  C’mon, in a game with twenty goals, you knew Gretzky had to have some of them.

That made the score 5-4 Maple Leafs, with five minutes left to play in the second.

Toronto stopped the Oilers’ express with the second goal by Steve Thomas, a mere 24 seconds after the Gretzky tally.  Undaunted, Kevin McClelland responded for Edmonton just over a minute later.

The Oilers finally tied things up, when Paul Coffey got on the score sheet with his 18th goal of the season.

Toronto had blown a four-goal lead, and was going to head into the dressing room tangled up in a 6-6 tie.

Until Wendel Clark scored 33 seconds after Coffey tied it.

Toronto went to the dressing room with an improbable 7-6 lead.  Edmonton had outscored them 5-2 in that second frame, and still the Leafs led the game.

By the time they dropped the puck for the third period, it was probably safe to assume that nobody had left the game early.  Who could be sure what would unfold in the third?  Often these sort of games calm down by the third period.  There was no worry of that happening on this night.

Who knows what the Oiler’s coaching staff barked at their troops during the intermission.  Edmonton came out loaded for bear, and Jari Kurri joined the scoring parade, popping one in a mere 28 seconds into the third.  Less than a minute later, Glenn Anderson scored his 27th goal of the season, giving the Oilers their first lead of the game.

Image the see-saw emotions of the crowd at Maple Leaf Gardens that night.  They watched their team carve out a 5-1 lead after one period, only to fall behind 8-7 less than two minutes into the third.

Maybe that was the point that some of the faithful lost the faith, and beat a hasty retreat to the subway.

They shouldn’t have thrown in the towel so easily. 

That would be the only time the Oilers enjoyed a lead all night, because 45 seconds after the Anderson go-ahead goal, Frycer replied with his second of the game.

And then he completed his hat-trick less than three minutes later, and the Leafs were on top again, 9-8.

But if anyone thought the run-and-gun Oilers were done, they were wrong.  Less than four minutes later…an eternity in this game…Anderson scored again for Edmonton.

With just over a dozen minutes left in the third, things were knotted up at nine apiece.

And then a strange thing happened.  The scoring slowed down considerably.  With nine goals in the first 48 minutes of the game, the Oilers ran out of bullets.

Miroslav Frycer entered his name into Maple Leafs’ lore when he got his fourth goal of the game at the 10:51 mark.  The Leafs had cracked the double-digit barrier for the second time that season.  They had put 10 goals past the Devils in a 10-7 goal marathon on December 4th, so they knew a little bit about these goal fests.

Dan Hodgson got the insurance marker at 18:42, and the Leafs held on for the 11-9 win.

At the Montreal Forum that night, most of the crowd around me were pulling for the upstart Leafs to upend the Oilers, though we all wanted to see Edmonton also get to double digits.

Considering there were twenty goals scored that game, only three of them came on the power play, Toronto with two of those.  Overall, there were only seven minor penalties called all night.

Jari Kurri had a great night, with a goal and five assists.  Gretzky had his usual production, getting three goals and chipping in with three assists.

For the Leafs, Frycer led the way with four goals.  Marian Stastny assisted on the last three Toronto goals. 

Frycer, who defected to the Quebec Nordiques around the same time the three Stastny brothers did, had a couple of good years in Toronto.  His four goals this game represented a career high.  He scored 32 goals that season, also a career high, and retired in 1989 with 147 goals in 415 games, most of them with Toronto, but he also served time with Quebec, Detroit, and Edmonton.

As for shots, the Maple Leafs edged the Oilers 39-31.  Which means there were twenty goals on seventy shots.  Obviously no problem with goaltending equipment being too bulky this game.

Will we ever see a game like this again?  Well, probably not for a while, considering that it took 64 years between 20-goal games.  Then the league had three in short order, but
that’s part of what made 1980’s hockey so invigorating.

The Maple Leafs were unable to build on that game, dropping ten of their next twelve games, including a 10-1 loss in St. Louis a week later.  Two night after 11-9 slugfest, the Leafs lost 9-7 in Buffalo.

How many goals did Toronto surrender that season?

386.  Only the Red Wings and Kings were more porous.

And that team that Montreal beat that same night at the Forum?  None other that their age-old rival, the Boston Bruins.  One would think I would have remembered being at that game, but we were all too busy scoreboard watching…in January.

- Mick Kern

The Tournament Capital of Ontario Board is thrilled to announce official notification from the Guinness World Records that Brantford was successful in achieving  the ‘Largest Street Hockey Tournament’ at the 4^th annual Walter Gretzky Street Hockey Tournament held June 4 to 6, 2010.

The Guinness Work Records website announces Brantford’s accomplishment. “The current record for ‘Largest street hockey tournament’ consisted of 205 teams totaling 2,096 players in the 2010 Walter Gretzky Street Hockey Tournament in Brantford, Ontario, Canada, from 4 to 6 June 2010.  Walter Gretzky is the father of NHL legend Wayne Gretzky and still calls their hometown of Brantford home.  Among participants in the tournament was film director/actor Kevin Smith, who fielded a team and played as goalie.”

Congratulations to Walter Gretzky, Kevin Smith, 2,096 participants, an outstanding team of volunteers and all the community partners for their support in helping Brantford to achieve the Guinness World Records for the ‘Largest Street Hockey Tournament.’

Plans are currently underway for the 5^th annual Walter Gretzky Street Hockey Tournament.

View Certificate (pdf)