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Authors: Paul Henderson
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put his mark on the team right away, but it wasn’t enough to salvage the season. We finished last in the East Division with seventy-one points, and I managed twenty goals and twenty-two assists for forty-two points. I was severely hampered by a groin problem that season. It was so bad that by the end of the year my right thigh was an inch and a half bigger than my left because I was essentially skating on one leg all year. I shouldn’t have been in the lineup, but I wanted to play so badly that I didn’t take the time off to heal properly, and the Leafs really wanted me to stay in the lineup. That would never happen today – NHL trainers and players now realize how damaging it can be to any player to play through an injury that needs time to heal, but at that time there was a lot of pressure to keep on playing.
That off-season meant time for a new contract, which certainly wasn’t the best timing for me, and the Leafs management knew it. They sent me a contract offer in the mail that had a raise of just $1,500.
Jim Gregory and King Clancy called me after they sent it and basically said they didn’t think I should get much of a raise since my offensive numbers were down. That got me steaming! I reminded them that I had played hurt all yearwith the groin injury and shouldn’t even have been playing. I really couldn’t believe that they would overlook such an obvious reason for my decline in production and offer me such a small raise.
They apologized and came back with a better offer, but I never forgot the slight. It convinced me beyond a doubt that hockey was just a business and management would only look after me if it was in their best interests. From then on, I realized that only Paul Henderson would look after Paul Henderson.
The Leafs were basically turning over completely from the team that had won four Stanley Cups in six years. George Armstrong, “The Chief,” was the captain of those great teams, Dave Keon was a huge star, and the incomparable Johnny Bower was in goal. We still had Armstrong and Keon, but they were all that remained from the dynasty days.
There have been a lot of great captains and leaders in the history of the Toronto Maple Leafs over the years, and George Armstrong was our very capable captain during this time. His “Chief” nickname came from his native roots, but it also described what a presence he was in the locker room and on the ice for more than two decades in the NHL , a good portion of that as Leafs captain.
I always respected George on the ice when I played against him. He was a battler who played the game hard but fairly. When I got to Toronto, though, I was impressed to discover just how competitive he was. He sure came to play every night and had no patience for those players who didn’t.
But George was certainly a different cat. I saw him not that long ago at a Toronto Maple Leafs game, and he was as colourful as always. I asked him, “George, how is Betty[his wife] doing?” And he said, “I can’t get her to die! I keep saying to her, ‘When are you going to die?’ ” I know how much George loves his wife, so I just laugh at comments like that, but that’s George. I mean, who says that about his wife?! He’s a very different character, that’s for sure.
And oddly enough, even though he’s so outgoing and friendly when you see him in a press box, scouting, or wherever, he never gives interviews and has never even been to the Hall of Fame – and he’s a member! He just doesn’t think he truly belongs there and he stays away. Like I said, he’s different in a lot of ways, but a good man and a capable captain.
Dave Keon was one of the most finicky people I’ve ever seen, especially when it came to his equipment. He couldn’t stand anything not being exactly as he wanted it to be, and he wouldn’t play until everything was just right for him. But he was a leader by example, with an impeccable work ethic, and maybe one of the best forecheckers of his
That off-season meant time for a new contract, which certainly wasn’t the best timing for me, and the Leafs management knew it. They sent me a contract offer in the mail that had a raise of just $1,500.
Jim Gregory and King Clancy called me after they sent it and basically said they didn’t think I should get much of a raise since my offensive numbers were down. That got me steaming! I reminded them that I had played hurt all yearwith the groin injury and shouldn’t even have been playing. I really couldn’t believe that they would overlook such an obvious reason for my decline in production and offer me such a small raise.
They apologized and came back with a better offer, but I never forgot the slight. It convinced me beyond a doubt that hockey was just a business and management would only look after me if it was in their best interests. From then on, I realized that only Paul Henderson would look after Paul Henderson.
The Leafs were basically turning over completely from the team that had won four Stanley Cups in six years. George Armstrong, “The Chief,” was the captain of those great teams, Dave Keon was a huge star, and the incomparable Johnny Bower was in goal. We still had Armstrong and Keon, but they were all that remained from the dynasty days.
There have been a lot of great captains and leaders in the history of the Toronto Maple Leafs over the years, and George Armstrong was our very capable captain during this time. His “Chief” nickname came from his native roots, but it also described what a presence he was in the locker room and on the ice for more than two decades in the NHL , a good portion of that as Leafs captain.
I always respected George on the ice when I played against him. He was a battler who played the game hard but fairly. When I got to Toronto, though, I was impressed to discover just how competitive he was. He sure came to play every night and had no patience for those players who didn’t.
But George was certainly a different cat. I saw him not that long ago at a Toronto Maple Leafs game, and he was as colourful as always. I asked him, “George, how is Betty[his wife] doing?” And he said, “I can’t get her to die! I keep saying to her, ‘When are you going to die?’ ” I know how much George loves his wife, so I just laugh at comments like that, but that’s George. I mean, who says that about his wife?! He’s a very different character, that’s for sure.
And oddly enough, even though he’s so outgoing and friendly when you see him in a press box, scouting, or wherever, he never gives interviews and has never even been to the Hall of Fame – and he’s a member! He just doesn’t think he truly belongs there and he stays away. Like I said, he’s different in a lot of ways, but a good man and a capable captain.
Dave Keon was one of the most finicky people I’ve ever seen, especially when it came to his equipment. He couldn’t stand anything not being exactly as he wanted it to be, and he wouldn’t play until everything was just right for him. But he was a leader by example, with an impeccable work ethic, and maybe one of the best forecheckers of his
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