Today in hockey history, a player is born that becomes a part of an amazing coincidence, the league makes a much-needed rule change, a team folds after just one season, a team losing the right to play in an arena leads to their downfall, and one of the most important goal in one country’s history is scored.
1911 – Hall-of-Famer Syd Howe was born in Ottawa, Ontario. Howe played most of his 18-season career with the Red Wings – which probably sounds familiar – and retired in 1947, having played in Detroit from 1934-46. Interestingly (very interestingly), Gordie Howe, who has no relation to Syd, joined the Wings in 1946, the season directly after the one in which Syd retired from the NHL. So Detroit had Syd Howe from 1934-46, and Gordie Howe from 1946-1971. Yes, the Red Wings had exactly one star Hall-of-Fame forward named Howe on their roster for 37 consecutive seasons (and they weren’t related). Now how’s that for a coincidence! That must have been pretty confusing too, although they didn’t have to get a new nameplate made up for Gordie.
1929 – At the semi-annual NHL meetings (held in New York), the league came to their senses and amended the rules on passing: At the time, forward passes (when a team passes the puck in any direction towards the opponent’s net) were not permitted in the offensive zone, just in the neutral zone and a team’s defensive zone, but the league changed the rule to allow forward passing any of the three zones, although passing across either blue line still wasn’t permitted. Could you imagine watching hockey when teams couldn’t pass forward after gaining the blue line? Offense would be boring. There would be as many scoring chances as an international soccer match featuring the USA and an official who, by default, has to whistle every American play dead (because soccer hates America).
1935 – The St. Louis Eagles, having played their first and only season after the Ottawa Senators relocated to Missouri, requested permission to suspend operations for one season so they could rework and straighten out their finances. The NHL rejected their plan, and one month later, the league purchased the franchise and had a dispersal draft for the players. The league was down to eight teams.
1942 – At the semi-annual NHL meetings (in Toronto), President Frank Calder announced that Madison Square Garden declined to renew the lease of the Brooklyn Americans (formerly the New York Americans), who shared the arena with the Rangers, causing the team to suspend operations. Americans’ owner Red Dutton had changed the city name of the team to “Brooklyn” the year prior in anticipation of moving the team there, and, in the promise of having a deal worked out, toiled to finance an arena in Brooklyn in the midst of World War II, while the team wasn’t in action. In 1946, he learned that his bid to move the team was denied, and the team officially folded. They were the last victims to fall to what became known as the “Original Six Era” from 1942-67.
1972 – Remember the issue from two days ago when Paul Henderson scored the go-ahead goal in Game 7 of the Summit Series with two minutes left to help Canada tie their series with the Soviet Union? Well, in the decisive game (both teams tied at 3-3-1) played in Moscow, Henderson scored another goal…and again it was the game-winner…and again it was scored late in the game – With 34 seconds remaining, to be exact! Henderson was once again the hero in what turned out to be one of the most important goals in Canadian hockey history. With that goal, Canada won the game 6-5 and the series 4-3-1. He didn’t much else significant throughout the rest of his career, but his name lives forever in the hearts of Canadians, this American writer presumes.
Source: Hockey Hall of Fame
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