Tonight's the night. Prior to tonight's Leafs game at the ACC, sixteen players from our last Stanley Cup winning squad will be on the ice for an emotional reunion. The biggest draw is the inclusion of 1967 playoff MVP Dave Keon who surprised us all by agreeing to participate in this ceremony.
For those who struggle with math, 1967 was 40 years ago. As a fan who is less than 40 years old, I've never witnessed a Leafs Stanley Cup victory but I've looked back at the history books with great appreciation for these "old guys" who won the last cup of the original six era. At the time, this city must have assumed there would be more cups in the near future. Little did we know....
The sixteen players we'll see tonight are:
- George Armstrong
- Bobby Baun
- Johnny Bower
- Brian Conacher
- Ron Ellis
- Aut Erickson
- Larry Hillman
- Larry Jeffrey
- Red Kelly
- Dave Keon
- Jim Pappin
- Marcel Pronovost
- Eddie Shack
- Allan Stanley
- Pete Stemkowski
- Mike Walton
This is going to be something special. You'll catch it on CBC at 7pm EST. I'm sure MLSE will take Ron Ellis' advice and announce Davey Keon's name last. I've got goosebumps already.
Here's some footage of Keon if you're in my boat and missed his entire career.