Toronto Maple Leafs legend King Clancy once proclaimed, “The Maple Leaf Hockey Club have been champions, and they will be champions again. The legend will be back.”

The 5-foot-7, 155-pound defenceman from Ottawa played seven seasons with the Leafs and would spend decades more with the team as a coach and executive, helping the franchise win four of their thirteen Stanley Cups. Conn Smythe, owner of the team from 1927-1961, once said of Clancy, “I cannot remember any instance in the several years he played for me which would not bring credit to the ‘King.’ The sign printed in the Gardens’ dressing room, ‘Defeat Does Not Rest Lightly on Their Shoulders,’ applied to a great number of good hockey players who played from that room, but none of them were entitled to wear the banner with more pride than King Clancy.” (1) Brian McFarlane, an author and sportscaster, wrote of Clancy, “He could move one almost to tears with devoted references to his parents, his wife, and his family. There was a great joy in his impish Irish heart, a zest for life, and a love for hockey.” (1)

In the early 1980’s, my parents moved into a one-story house on Lawrence Avenue West. Across the street from them lived a hockey legend: Francis “King” Clancy. My father once told me a story of how he would offer to help shovel snow for Clancy and his wife during the winter season. One day, he was invited into the house and realized that Clancy had been sleeping in the living room rather than upstairs. He told my father that ever since his wife had passed away, he could no longer bear to sleep in their bedroom. The reason this story resonated with me as a kid was because it humanized someone that I viewed as a legend, hero and champion. It leads one to wonder if, perhaps, humanizing our current players could be beneficial to both the current Leafs and their fan base, especially when you consider the Toronto market, social media, and the risks they pose to our players. Auston Matthews, the Maple Leafs star 22-year-old centre, was recently charged with disorderly conduct in his home state of Arizona. The news of Matthews’ charges surprised and disappointed Leafs Nation, including Leafs general manager, Kyle Dubas, who learned of the charges through Twitter. Although Clancy and Matthews lived in different times, they both were talented hockey players, team leaders, and most of all, human beings. It’s sometimes easy to forget that he is just 22, an age where most are still in university and have yet to face the day-to-day pressure of adult life, let alone thousands of screaming fans. What advice would Clancy have offered Matthews had he ever been his teammate or coach? Leafs fans must continue to hope the advice Matthews is being offered today helps him learn from his mistake and that he continues to better himself as a person. There is no denying that King Clancy will always be remembered as a Maple Leafs legend, but he will also be remembered as a great person. Someone that was worthy of wearing the old banner as well as the new banner, printed inside of the collar of every Maple Leafs sweater, Honour, Pride, Courage.

The Maple Leafs of today may not seem to have much in common with King Clancy. Smythe bought Clancy’s contract for $35,000 (less than $600,000 today), whereas Mitch Marner just signed a six-year $65.358 million contract. On the night of Clancy’s debut as a Maple Leaf, the population of Toronto was just over 600,000, whereas Matthews now has close to 600,000 followers on Instagram alone. The Leafs of today are known for living steps away from Scotiabank Arena, in the luxury of Toronto condominiums, whereas Clancy lived across the street from my newlywed parents’ bungalow. But there are commonalities shared between Clancy, Leafs legends and the Maple Leafs of today. Both groups were once boys who loved a sport that had the ability and the opportunity to play it professionally. The money, popularity, and lifestyle that are now offered by professional hockey are all just elements of a different time, rather than something to vilify or a change in the character and motivation of the current players.

CANADA – MAY 02: The party wasn’t dry. King Clancy gets the traditional dousing in the showers as Leafs celebrate their Stanley Cup win. Making sure he gets good and wet are Ron Ellis, back to camera, and Johnny Bower. The Leafs also gave Punch Imlach a good dousing. (Photo by Frank Lennon/Toronto Star via Getty Images)

Photo from Toronto Star

The Maple Leafs begin this season with one of the strongest rosters assembled in recent memory, and Leaf fans can’t help but wonder if this team could one day be talked about the way some (older) fans talk about the legendary 1966-67 team. John Tavares leading like George Armstrong, Matthews scoring like “The Big M”, Marner assisting like Dave Keon, Zach Hyman hustling like Red Kelly, Morgan Rielly, Tyson Barrie, and Jake Muzzin defending and hitting like Allan Stanley, Bobby Baun, and Tim Horton, Freddy Andersen poke checking like Johnny Bower, and Mike Babcock on the bench screaming at the referee like Punch Imlach.

Tonight, the Toronto Maple Leafs Hockey Club will start their 102nd NHL season, taking on the Ottawa Senators, the other professional hockey team for which King Clancy once played. Together they begin a 98-plus game journey for the opportunity to be enshrined in bronze on Legends Row, to have their number retired to the rafters or name engraved in the Stanley Cup like King Clancy, to be champions again, to bring the legend back.

Works Cited

McFarlane, B. (2000). Clancy: The King’s Story. Toronto: ECW Press.

Featured Header Image from NHL.com