Spirits of '67 shadow playoffs, but these Maple Leafs in the here and now
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Mention 1967 around Toronto’s older sports populace and few would associate the date with Canada’s centennial or the Beatles-inspired Summer of Love.
More likely they’ll equate it to the start of nuclear winter where the absence of the Stanley Cup is now an NHL record 57 years and counting for the Maple Leafs.
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When the Panthers paraded it ocean-side last June, they became the 16th club to start from scratch and win it since Toronto’s most recent touch. Five other expansion teams have made an appearance in the final, a lesser goal that has also eluded the Leafs.
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The topic can’t help arising now with 82 games in the books and another playoff journey under way. But inside the walls of the Leafs dressing room, where the oldest player has a 1988 birth certificate, ’67 is regarded as ancient history.
“I think my dad was a couple of years old then, it’s a long time ago,” quipped winger Steven Lorentz, who comes from a family of Leafs nuts down the highway in Waterloo.
“But this is 2025, not ’67. We have a job to do and what happened in the past doesn’t matter to this point. This is the group we’re going with and we’re excited to get going.”
Yes, Lorentz says he picked up some negative Cup chirps through the course of his first year, after coming from champion Florida with defenceman Oliver Ekman-Larsson and goaltender Anthony Stolarz. But overall, he believes the Leafs have infused the fan base with a new-look, more playoff-ready team, a vibe he has experienced on the streets.
“I’ve been hearing that (generational Leafs frustration) my whole life,” Lorentz said. “But it’s good that people care. It’s a passionate hockey city and it would be a huge accomplishment to do something like that.
“But you start thinking about that (the Leafs have one opening-series win since 2004) when Round 1 hasn’t started yet, then you’re not doing yourself any favours. Winning it is easier said than done.”
Fan tee-shirts bearing the motto ‘Just Once Before I Die’ are appearing again as the series opener against Ottawa approaches Sunday. There’s a season ticket-holder spotted in the Scotiabank Arena hallways wearing a Leafs sweater with No. 67 with the nameplate: ‘Still Waiting’.
Winger Max Pacioretty, who is hoping to return from injury in the playoffs, became just the third Leaf to wear the cumbersome ‘67’ since 1967, his NHL number with many teams, most notably Montreal.
“Hopefully, it’s good luck,” the Connecticut native said of his choice at training camp. “Some fans say the number could go two ways.”
Toronto-raised defenceman Chris Tanev, whose arrival has helped make the Leafs a sounder defensive team, also acknowledged that ’67 was part of local pop culture for him. Decor around the Leafs quarters pays homage to not just that particular Cup win, but the franchise’s 13 since 1918.
Each game night, they walk past vintage black-and-white photos of their bruised and gap-toothed ancestors embracing the trophy, every home game under giant banners commemorating the same.
“I know what ’67 means,” Tanev said. “But I don’t hear it, I try to stay to myself, hang out with the guys and my family, especially coming down the stretch to the playoffs.
“For us, it’s one day at a time, trying to build for Sunday. Improve where we can to get to where we want to be at the end.”
Lhornby@postmedia.com
X: @sunhornby
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