|
|
|
Marner, Nylander contract sagas reminiscent of Horton, Mahovlich
By Luke Garrison
Thursday September 5th, 2019
Thursday September 5th, 2019
PICTURED—TIM HORTON AS A MEMBER OF THE TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS // Original Photo—Wikipedia
The Toronto Maple Leafs are no stranger to the ebb and flow of contract holdouts.
Throughout history, multiple star players have suffered excruciatingly long negotiation processes with Leafs management.
Players such as William Nylander and Mitchell Marner instantly come to mind; however, there are much older examples with even more intriguing back stories.
One former Leaf who fits this description is none other than the ‘Big M’—Frank Mahovlich.
Toronto originally signed the Timmins, Ontario native in 1954 and assigned him to the Toronto St. Michael’s Majors, their Ontario Hockey Association affiliate.
Mahovlich officially became a full-time Leaf in 1957 and won the Calder Trophy on the back of a 20-goal season.
The buds were abysmal at the time, but the addition of Mahovlich was the start of a dynasty.
The Leafs won the Stanley Cup in 1962 and the ‘Big M’ was a large part of that by leading the team in goals scored. His 48 regular-season goals actually set a franchise record.
Unfortunately, Mahovlich’s contract expired in the summer that followed and he had to negotiate with the ever-polarizing general manager/head coach—George ‘Punch’ Imlach.
Despite leading Toronto to a cup, the star winger’s asking price was low-balled and frustrations quickly took hold of both parties.
The 1962 NHL All-Star Game was set to take place in Toronto at the beginning of September.
There was a fancy reception held for NHL executives in one of the days preceding the game and Chicago Blackhawks’ owner James D. Norris boldly offered $1 million for Mahovlich.
Co-owner Harold Ballard was said to have been in agreement and even took a deposit of $1,000.
The plan was for the rest of the money to be transferred via cheque the following day, but it never came to fruition.
Toronto returned the deposit to Norris claiming there had been some sort of ‘misunderstanding’ and proceeded to pay Mahovlich exactly what he had asked for.
The Leafs went on to win two more Stanley Cups in 1963 and 1964 as the ‘Big M’ lead the team in goals scored during each of those seasons as well.
In total, Mahovlich was a Leaf for 720 games over 12 seasons finishing with 296 goals, 597 points, six all-star game appearances, and four Stanley Cups.
It appears he may have been worth the investment.
Throughout history, multiple star players have suffered excruciatingly long negotiation processes with Leafs management.
Players such as William Nylander and Mitchell Marner instantly come to mind; however, there are much older examples with even more intriguing back stories.
One former Leaf who fits this description is none other than the ‘Big M’—Frank Mahovlich.
Toronto originally signed the Timmins, Ontario native in 1954 and assigned him to the Toronto St. Michael’s Majors, their Ontario Hockey Association affiliate.
Mahovlich officially became a full-time Leaf in 1957 and won the Calder Trophy on the back of a 20-goal season.
The buds were abysmal at the time, but the addition of Mahovlich was the start of a dynasty.
The Leafs won the Stanley Cup in 1962 and the ‘Big M’ was a large part of that by leading the team in goals scored. His 48 regular-season goals actually set a franchise record.
Unfortunately, Mahovlich’s contract expired in the summer that followed and he had to negotiate with the ever-polarizing general manager/head coach—George ‘Punch’ Imlach.
Despite leading Toronto to a cup, the star winger’s asking price was low-balled and frustrations quickly took hold of both parties.
The 1962 NHL All-Star Game was set to take place in Toronto at the beginning of September.
There was a fancy reception held for NHL executives in one of the days preceding the game and Chicago Blackhawks’ owner James D. Norris boldly offered $1 million for Mahovlich.
Co-owner Harold Ballard was said to have been in agreement and even took a deposit of $1,000.
The plan was for the rest of the money to be transferred via cheque the following day, but it never came to fruition.
Toronto returned the deposit to Norris claiming there had been some sort of ‘misunderstanding’ and proceeded to pay Mahovlich exactly what he had asked for.
The Leafs went on to win two more Stanley Cups in 1963 and 1964 as the ‘Big M’ lead the team in goals scored during each of those seasons as well.
In total, Mahovlich was a Leaf for 720 games over 12 seasons finishing with 296 goals, 597 points, six all-star game appearances, and four Stanley Cups.
It appears he may have been worth the investment.
PICTURED—LEAFS' FORWARD FRANK MAHOVLICH // Original Photo—www.thesportgallery.com
|
|
|
Another intriguing contract holdout in Leafs history occurred during negotiations with a star defenceman/up-and-coming entrepreneur by the name of Tim Horton.
Ever heard of him?
Horton actually used his delicious donuts as a point of leverage during discussions as well. Talk about genius!
The buds originally signed Horton in 1948 and sent him to the Pittsburgh Hornets, their AHL affiliate.
He played his first NHL game in 1950 but wasn’t a full-time major leaguer until 1952.
He was a quirky, versatile player who was extremely important to the franchise during his tenure (which lasted nearly two decades).
He even played stints at right wing and was known for doing silly things off the ice such as giving ‘incredibly tight bear hugs’.
There were multiple times when Horton had to negotiate a new contract with the Leafs; however, one instance ahead of the 1965-66 season stands out the most.
The negotiation process between Horton and Imlach was sometimes portrayed as ‘tense’ that year.
That was surprising as the two of them generally had a very friendly relationship.
September rolled around and Horton remained unsigned. There had been multiple phone conversations between Punch and himself, but they remained quite far apart in terms of dollars.
Horton was a veteran who wasn’t easily intimidated and he showed Imlach that he might not even need to play hockey at all.
After skipping training camp that year, Horton took six pieces of donuts from his fryer and sent them in a package to Punch with a note stating ‘With a product like this, who needs hockey!’
Imlach called Horton and asked him why he hadn’t sent more.
Luckily, Horton didn’t really need training camp to get into game shape and was signed before the first regular-season game began.
He remained a Leaf for 18 seasons scoring 109 goals and 458 points over 1,184 games.
He appeared in six different all-star games, but unfortunately never won a Norris Trophy despite being a top-five finalist on six separate occasions.
Although he spent most of his career with Toronto, his biggest contract came from Pittsburgh where he signed a one-year, $100,000 contract as a 41-year-old.
Horton is also the only player in NHL history to have two different numbers retired with two different franchises.
His number seven has been retired by the Leafs and his number two has been retired by the Buffalo Sabres.
He passed away in a tragic car accident at the young age of 44 in 1974, but his legacy as both a star defenceman and a successful entrepreneur will always live on.
Ever heard of him?
Horton actually used his delicious donuts as a point of leverage during discussions as well. Talk about genius!
The buds originally signed Horton in 1948 and sent him to the Pittsburgh Hornets, their AHL affiliate.
He played his first NHL game in 1950 but wasn’t a full-time major leaguer until 1952.
He was a quirky, versatile player who was extremely important to the franchise during his tenure (which lasted nearly two decades).
He even played stints at right wing and was known for doing silly things off the ice such as giving ‘incredibly tight bear hugs’.
There were multiple times when Horton had to negotiate a new contract with the Leafs; however, one instance ahead of the 1965-66 season stands out the most.
The negotiation process between Horton and Imlach was sometimes portrayed as ‘tense’ that year.
That was surprising as the two of them generally had a very friendly relationship.
September rolled around and Horton remained unsigned. There had been multiple phone conversations between Punch and himself, but they remained quite far apart in terms of dollars.
Horton was a veteran who wasn’t easily intimidated and he showed Imlach that he might not even need to play hockey at all.
After skipping training camp that year, Horton took six pieces of donuts from his fryer and sent them in a package to Punch with a note stating ‘With a product like this, who needs hockey!’
Imlach called Horton and asked him why he hadn’t sent more.
Luckily, Horton didn’t really need training camp to get into game shape and was signed before the first regular-season game began.
He remained a Leaf for 18 seasons scoring 109 goals and 458 points over 1,184 games.
He appeared in six different all-star games, but unfortunately never won a Norris Trophy despite being a top-five finalist on six separate occasions.
Although he spent most of his career with Toronto, his biggest contract came from Pittsburgh where he signed a one-year, $100,000 contract as a 41-year-old.
Horton is also the only player in NHL history to have two different numbers retired with two different franchises.
His number seven has been retired by the Leafs and his number two has been retired by the Buffalo Sabres.
He passed away in a tragic car accident at the young age of 44 in 1974, but his legacy as both a star defenceman and a successful entrepreneur will always live on.
PICTURED—TIM HORTON WAS KNOWN FOR GREATLY ENJOYING HIS OWN DOUGHNUTS // Original Photo—www.buffalonews.com
|
|
|
|