ON THE MARK.

HABS-LEAFS RIVALRY:  THE GOOD 'OL DAYS.

In 1993, the Toronto Maple Leafs were one high-sticking penalty away from facing the Montreal Canadiens in the Stanley Cup final.  One missed call.  And then, of course, that Gretzky fellow had to go and ruin it all.  It could've been an all-Canadian final between two of the most storied franchises in the history of the sport.  Most importantly, it would be an opportunity to exact revenge for Maple Leaf fans who had been tormented and tortured by their Montreal counterparts.  Thanks a lot, Kerry Fraser.
    20 years ago, the Maple Leafs were roaring through an incredible season, the likes of which had not been seen for many years.   In their two meetings with Montreal the Leafs had won both, 5-4 in Montreal and 4-0 in Toronto.  But the Toronto-Montreal rivalry had cooled by then.  Don't forget, the two teams only played each other twice a season (The Leafs were in the Western Conference at the time), so the possibility of them meeting in the Stanley Cup final was almost too much to bear. Canadians were giddy with the thought. And let's face it.  The Leafs were a much better team than Montreal in '93.  They would've won the Stanley Cup that year.  Of course, you know the real story.  The L.A. Kings, much to the delight of the NHL and many American fans, went to the final instead of Toronto, and the Habs-Leafs playoff rivalry had to be put on hold again.  
   Not since the spring of 1979 have the Leafs and Habs met in the playoffs.  Back then, the rivalry was at it's peak. It was no longer a six team NHL, and Montreal was in the midst of winning four straight Stanley Cups.  But the Leafs were an up and coming team.  There was also the political rivalry.   The controversial french language Bill 101 in Quebec led many Habs fans, anglophones, to leave La Belle Province in favour of Ontario, home of the Leafs.   This fueled the rivalry even more because Ontarians now had foreigners in their midst, and when it came to hockey, if you were a Habs fan in Ontario, you were viewed with suspicion.    In Toronto, they played a recorded version of O Canada, and a few dozen people might sing along (in English).  But in Montreal, singer Roger Doucet, clad in a tuxedo, belted out our National Anthem in both official languages "live", and got the crowd going before the puck was even dropped.   It was many years before the Leafs allowed anthem singers. 
      As good as the Maple Leafs were, they should've been even better.  Since Harold Ballard refused to call the WHAs bluff, the Leafs lost a lot of  good players to the upstart league.  Men like Dave Keon, Paul Henderson, Bernie Parent, Rick Ley and Jim Harrison were cast aside.   Had they remained, Toronto may have had a better chance against Montreal.  In the spring of 1978, the Leafs won two playoff rounds and then faced the Habs in the semi-finals.   They had no chance.  Montreal swept the Leafs aside, outscoring Toronto 16-6.  A few weeks later they won their 3rd Cup in a row.    The following spring, The Leafs and Habs met once again.  This time it was the quarterfinals, and while the Habs won the first two games at home, the next two at Maple Leaf Gardens would speak volumes.  On April 21st, the two teams went all the way to double overtime before Cam Connor (a former Toronto Marlie) scored the winner.   The next night, the two teams once again went to overtime before Larry Robinson (a former Kitchener Ranger) eliminated the Maple Leafs.    Even though the Habs were known as "The Flying Frenchmen", there were plenty of good anglophones from Ontario.   Steve Shutt, Ken Dryden, Bob Gainey and Mark Napier come to mind.
    The rivalry will never be the way it once was, and that's a shame.   But the legacy lives on.   If , by chance, the Leafs and Montreal EVER meet in a playoff series, you won't believe the excitement and the passion.  I got to experience it first hand.   But that was a long, long time ago.