Hockey Hall Of Fame Analysis

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I’m shifting gears this week from Cape Breton athletes of the past to an old-time Ottawa-born goaltender who played in the NHL from 1917-18 through to 1929-30. Clint Benedict was first a member of his hometown Senators and later the long-since folded Montreal Maroons. Although a couple of his non-conventional “gimmicks” greatly influenced the game, and he is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, Benedict is virtually unknown. When most people talk about the first big-league netminder to ever wear a face mask during an NHL game, former Montreal Canadiens’ legend Jacques Plante usually gets the credit. Not so! The honor belongs to Benedict, who some 30 years previous to Plante wore a goalie mask. It was during a game in January, 1930, when …show more content…

Trivia Question: What NHL defenceman totaled the most points in one season during the 1990s? A: Ray Bourque; B: Brian Leetch; C: Al MacInnis: D: Phil Housley. (Answer at the end of the column.) Former Toronto Maple Leafs’ star Dave Keon was recently in the news for ending his decades-long separation from the team. The 75-year-old Hall of Famer was on four Stanley Cup winning teams with Toronto, won the Calder Memorial Trophy as rookie-of-the-year, twice he took home the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy for the league’s most gentlemanly player and he captured the Conn Smythe Trophy that goes to the playoff …show more content…

In 1,597 games made up of 15 NHL seasons (all spent with Toronto) and seven in the WHA, he racked up a mere 137 penalty minutes (117 in the NHL) for an average of 6.2 minutes per campaign. Amazingly, Keon’s first fight didn’t occur until his 14th NHL season, in 1973-74, versus Boston’s Gregg Sheppard. Speaking of gentlemanly players, does anybody remember Val Fonteyne? He played 13 NHL seasons beginning with Detroit in 1959-60 and later was with the New York Rangers and Pittsburgh. Before retiring in 1974, he suited up or two years in the WHA with Edmonton In 820 regular-season NHL contests, Fonteyne received just 26 minutes in penalties -- all of them the two-minute variety. Not once did he take a five-minute major for fighting. Meanwhile, during his 149 WHA games, Fonteyne took only two minor penalties. Answer to the Trivia: C: Al MacInnis. The Cape Bretoner from Port Hood tallied 103 points (28 goals, 75 assists) in 1990-91 for the Calgary Flames. The three others and their best point totals during the 1990s: Leetch (102 in ‘91-92); Bourque (94 in ‘90-91) and Housley (97 in

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