WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.520 Apple podcast title, The End of the Original 00:00:02.520 --> 00:00:07.400 Six. Inside the Historic 1966 -67 NHL Season, 00:00:07.620 --> 00:00:10.740 Apple podcast description. Join us for a fascinating 00:00:10.740 --> 00:00:15.320 deep dive into the 1966 -67 NHL season, the 50th 00:00:15.320 --> 00:00:17.760 in league history, and the definitive end of 00:00:17.760 --> 00:00:20.859 the Original Six era. We unpack the behind -the 00:00:20.859 --> 00:00:22.859 -scenes business moves that birthed the modern 00:00:22.859 --> 00:00:25.440 amateur draft, relive the electrifying rookie 00:00:25.440 --> 00:00:27.960 debut of Bobby Orr, and examine the absolute 00:00:27.960 --> 00:00:30.640 dominance of Stan Mikita. Plus, we break down 00:00:30.640 --> 00:00:32.740 the historic playoffs that culminated in the 00:00:32.740 --> 00:00:35.280 Toronto Maple Leafs' 13th and to date last Stanley 00:00:35.280 --> 00:00:37.789 Cup victory. Whether you're a sports history 00:00:37.789 --> 00:00:39.850 buff or a curious learner wanting to understand 00:00:39.850 --> 00:00:42.210 the foundation of modern hockey, this deep dive 00:00:42.210 --> 00:00:45.609 delivers the ultimate aha moments. 1966 -67 NHL 00:00:45.609 --> 00:00:47.310 season, original six errors, Stanley Cup history, 00:00:47.490 --> 00:00:49.409 Toronto Maple Leafs last cup, Bobby Orr rookie 00:00:49.409 --> 00:00:51.929 year, Stan Nikita, NHL expansion, hockey history. 00:00:52.149 --> 00:00:54.810 Welcome to the deep dive. We're jumping into 00:00:54.810 --> 00:00:57.729 a single truly monumental pivot point in history 00:00:57.729 --> 00:01:00.950 today. A massive one. Yeah, the 1966 -67 NHL 00:01:00.950 --> 00:01:02.630 season. And look, before you assume this is just 00:01:02.630 --> 00:01:04.450 a deep dive for sports fanatics, stick around. 00:01:04.650 --> 00:01:06.250 Because the reporting... we pulled from this 00:01:06.250 --> 00:01:08.629 specific 50 -year -old season is. It's a masterclass. 00:01:08.790 --> 00:01:11.790 It really is a masterclass in how a deeply entrenched 00:01:11.790 --> 00:01:14.409 monopoly is forced to adapt to a changing world. 00:01:14.549 --> 00:01:17.290 Exactly. Even if you don't follow the sport at 00:01:17.290 --> 00:01:20.609 all, what we're looking at here is a huge organizational 00:01:20.609 --> 00:01:23.870 restructuring. You have a business scrambling 00:01:23.870 --> 00:01:26.689 to modernize its labor practices. Right. You 00:01:26.689 --> 00:01:28.790 have an antiquated media landscape trying to 00:01:28.790 --> 00:01:31.230 catch up with audience demand. And honestly, 00:01:31.390 --> 00:01:34.290 you have an entire city. burdened with a championship 00:01:34.290 --> 00:01:37.650 curse that continues to impact its culture today. 00:01:37.769 --> 00:01:40.670 Oh, heavily. Understanding the mechanics of this 00:01:40.670 --> 00:01:43.950 one specific year really helps explain the billion 00:01:43.950 --> 00:01:46.129 -dollar sports and entertainment complexes we 00:01:46.129 --> 00:01:48.189 interact with right now. So to set the stage 00:01:48.189 --> 00:01:50.750 for you, we are looking at the 50th season in 00:01:50.750 --> 00:01:53.489 league history. Which is widely recognized as 00:01:53.489 --> 00:01:55.670 the definitive end of an era. The original six 00:01:55.670 --> 00:01:58.230 era. Exactly. This was the final year of the 00:01:58.230 --> 00:02:00.469 so -called original six before the NHL completely 00:02:00.469 --> 00:02:03.769 transformed, literally doubling its size to 12 00:02:03.769 --> 00:02:07.069 teams the very next year. Which is a huge jump. 00:02:07.370 --> 00:02:10.289 Massive. So imagine an entire professional league 00:02:10.289 --> 00:02:12.889 with only six teams. You've got the Boston Bruins, 00:02:13.030 --> 00:02:15.830 the Chicago Blackhawks, the Detroit Red Wings, 00:02:15.889 --> 00:02:18.349 the Montreal Canadiens, the New York Rangers, 00:02:18.509 --> 00:02:20.750 and the Toronto Maple Leafs. And they're playing 00:02:20.750 --> 00:02:24.250 a 70 -game regular season schedule. Which means... 00:02:24.250 --> 00:02:26.629 It means these six teams are playing each other 00:02:26.629 --> 00:02:30.590 constantly. Like 14 times a year. Right. It was 00:02:30.590 --> 00:02:33.930 an incredibly intimate, brutal, and geographically 00:02:33.930 --> 00:02:37.379 concentrated professional loop. The rivalries 00:02:37.379 --> 00:02:40.020 weren't just competitive in a sports sense. They 00:02:40.020 --> 00:02:42.219 were deeply personal. You're seeing the same 00:02:42.219 --> 00:02:44.500 guys over and over. But the real revolution of 00:02:44.500 --> 00:02:46.219 this season, it didn't actually start on the 00:02:46.219 --> 00:02:48.199 ice. No, it didn't. It started in the boardroom. 00:02:48.280 --> 00:02:52.159 In April of 1966, the fourth ever amateur draft 00:02:52.159 --> 00:02:54.560 took place at the Mount Royal Hotel in Montreal. 00:02:54.879 --> 00:02:57.060 A very different draft than what we see today. 00:02:57.400 --> 00:03:00.340 Oh, completely. The Boston Bruins picked a defenseman 00:03:00.340 --> 00:03:03.699 named Barry Gibbs first overall, but... The draft 00:03:03.699 --> 00:03:05.900 itself was kind of overshadowed by a massive 00:03:05.900 --> 00:03:09.020 shift in how teams acquired talent. There was 00:03:09.020 --> 00:03:11.099 this new professional agreement announced by 00:03:11.099 --> 00:03:13.699 the NHL president, Clarence Campbell, and the 00:03:13.699 --> 00:03:15.919 Canadian Amateur Hockey Association. And what's 00:03:15.919 --> 00:03:18.219 fascinating here is the absolute elimination 00:03:18.219 --> 00:03:22.020 of a deeply entrenched and highly controversial 00:03:22.020 --> 00:03:25.719 sponsorship system. The A, B and C forms. Yes. 00:03:26.719 --> 00:03:28.979 For decades, these professional clubs effectively 00:03:28.979 --> 00:03:32.180 owned the rights to teenagers before they even 00:03:32.180 --> 00:03:34.060 reached the professional level. I want to stop 00:03:34.060 --> 00:03:35.620 you there for a second. Sure. Because when I 00:03:35.620 --> 00:03:37.620 was reading through the archives on this, these 00:03:37.620 --> 00:03:40.240 forms sounded more like, I don't know, tax paperwork 00:03:40.240 --> 00:03:43.500 than sports contracts. What exactly is a C -form? 00:03:43.759 --> 00:03:46.199 Okay, think of it like an ironclad non -compete 00:03:46.199 --> 00:03:49.020 clause, but designed for a 14 -year -old kid. 00:03:49.139 --> 00:03:52.639 14. Yes. Under the old system, an NHL team could 00:03:52.639 --> 00:03:55.879 sponsor an entire amateur junior team. So if 00:03:55.879 --> 00:03:57.680 a teenager wanted to play high -level hockey 00:03:57.680 --> 00:04:00.240 in their local town, they often had to sign one 00:04:00.240 --> 00:04:02.199 of these forms. And once they did? Once they 00:04:02.199 --> 00:04:05.000 did, their professional rights belonged entirely 00:04:05.000 --> 00:04:09.120 to that specific NHL club. Their geographic movement 00:04:09.120 --> 00:04:12.139 was restricted, and they had virtually zero leverage 00:04:12.139 --> 00:04:15.639 to negotiate or play for anyone else. Which is 00:04:15.639 --> 00:04:18.500 just staggering by today's labor standards. It 00:04:18.500 --> 00:04:20.319 really is. It sounds like the professional teams 00:04:20.319 --> 00:04:22.959 were operating regional monopolies on human talent. 00:04:23.180 --> 00:04:25.319 That's exactly what they were doing. And according 00:04:25.319 --> 00:04:27.759 to the coverage from that year, the parents of 00:04:27.759 --> 00:04:29.839 these young players were finally pushing back. 00:04:30.000 --> 00:04:32.620 There were serious legal threats happening when 00:04:32.620 --> 00:04:35.139 pro teams refused to release a kid who wanted 00:04:35.139 --> 00:04:37.899 to play somewhere else. The pressure was really 00:04:37.899 --> 00:04:40.720 mounting from all sides at that point. Parents 00:04:40.720 --> 00:04:43.459 were lawyering up. The public was souring on 00:04:43.459 --> 00:04:46.000 the idea of corporate teams holding kids hostage 00:04:46.000 --> 00:04:48.819 to a single franchise. Yeah. But the real catalyst 00:04:48.819 --> 00:04:51.740 for abolishing the system was the looming 1967 00:04:51.740 --> 00:04:54.680 expansion. Right. The new teams. Yeah, exactly. 00:04:55.209 --> 00:04:58.589 You can't successfully launch six brand new franchises 00:04:58.589 --> 00:05:01.029 if the original six teams have every talented 00:05:01.029 --> 00:05:03.949 teenager in North America locked down in an exclusive 00:05:03.949 --> 00:05:06.949 sponsorship contract. The new teams would be 00:05:06.949 --> 00:05:09.610 completely starved for players. They'd have nobody 00:05:09.610 --> 00:05:12.790 to draft. So the league finally caves. They agree 00:05:12.790 --> 00:05:15.829 to phase out direct sponsorship. Junior -aged 00:05:15.829 --> 00:05:18.389 players would instead become eligible for an 00:05:18.389 --> 00:05:20.970 actual amateur draft once they graduated. Or 00:05:20.970 --> 00:05:23.379 they could sign as free agents at age 20. Right. 00:05:23.540 --> 00:05:26.579 It essentially birthed the modern draft system 00:05:26.579 --> 00:05:28.819 as we know it today. It did. It leveled the playing 00:05:28.819 --> 00:05:31.540 field and created a mechanism for talent distribution 00:05:31.540 --> 00:05:34.519 that didn't rely on those geographic monopolies. 00:05:34.560 --> 00:05:37.319 Right. It was a massive structural pivot for 00:05:37.319 --> 00:05:39.620 the business of hockey. Okay. So while the executives 00:05:39.620 --> 00:05:41.720 are restructuring the future of the game behind 00:05:41.720 --> 00:05:45.399 closed doors, the actual product on the ice during 00:05:45.399 --> 00:05:49.459 the 66 -67 season is just explosive. Unbelievable 00:05:49.459 --> 00:05:52.259 hockey. Let's look at the Chicago Blackhawks. 00:05:52.339 --> 00:05:54.819 Their regular season dominance that year genuinely 00:05:54.819 --> 00:05:57.180 looks like a misprint. It does. They finished 00:05:57.180 --> 00:05:59.139 first overall for the very first time in their 00:05:59.139 --> 00:06:01.220 franchise history, but it wasn't even a contest. 00:06:01.600 --> 00:06:05.339 They completely dismantled the competition. Chicago 00:06:05.339 --> 00:06:08.019 ended up a full 17 points ahead of the second 00:06:08.019 --> 00:06:10.620 -place Montreal Canadiens and 19 points ahead 00:06:10.620 --> 00:06:13.120 of the third -place Toronto Maple Leafs. But 00:06:13.120 --> 00:06:15.060 the most glaring statistic, the one that really 00:06:15.060 --> 00:06:17.199 jumps out, is their goal differential. Oh, I 00:06:17.199 --> 00:06:20.959 have this right here. They scored 264 goals and 00:06:20.959 --> 00:06:25.439 allowed only 170. That is a plus 94 differential. 00:06:25.740 --> 00:06:28.339 Plus 94. Right. And to put that in perspective 00:06:28.339 --> 00:06:30.500 for you, especially if you're used to modern 00:06:30.500 --> 00:06:33.019 league parity where everything is so tight. Games 00:06:33.019 --> 00:06:36.079 are won by a single goal now. Exactly. The next 00:06:36.079 --> 00:06:38.879 closest team that season was Montreal with a 00:06:38.879 --> 00:06:42.860 plus 14. That's absurd. Plus 94 versus plus 14. 00:06:43.600 --> 00:06:45.699 Chicago was essentially playing a different sport 00:06:45.699 --> 00:06:49.279 that year. So who is driving that kind of unprecedented 00:06:49.279 --> 00:06:52.319 offense? Because I know Bobby Hall scored his 00:06:52.319 --> 00:06:54.980 50th goal of the season that March against Toronto, 00:06:55.139 --> 00:06:57.560 actually. He finished the year with 52 goals. 00:06:57.740 --> 00:07:00.060 Which is incredible on its own. Right. But the 00:07:00.060 --> 00:07:01.939 real standout in the reporting, the guy who just 00:07:01.939 --> 00:07:05.060 owned the year, is Stan Mikita. Oh. Stan Mikita 00:07:05.060 --> 00:07:07.939 had what is arguably one of the greatest individual 00:07:07.939 --> 00:07:10.600 seasons in sports history. It really did. He 00:07:10.600 --> 00:07:12.980 tied the league scoring record with 97 points. 00:07:12.879 --> 00:07:16.000 points in just 70 games. But it's the specific 00:07:16.000 --> 00:07:18.939 combination of awards he won that makes this 00:07:18.939 --> 00:07:21.660 season so incredibly legendary. He swept the 00:07:21.660 --> 00:07:24.439 major ones. He did. He won the Art Ross Trophy 00:07:24.439 --> 00:07:26.939 as a top scorer, the Hart Memorial Trophy as 00:07:26.939 --> 00:07:29.639 the season's most valuable player, and the Lady 00:07:29.639 --> 00:07:32.029 Bing Memorial Trophy. And the Lady Bing, that's 00:07:32.029 --> 00:07:34.990 for excellence and sportsmanship. Taking all 00:07:34.990 --> 00:07:36.949 three of those in one season during the original 00:07:36.949 --> 00:07:39.889 six era seems almost contradictory to me. How 00:07:39.889 --> 00:07:43.930 so? Well, to be the most dominant player in a 00:07:43.930 --> 00:07:47.810 brutally physical enclosed six team league where 00:07:47.810 --> 00:07:50.430 guys are practically going to war every night 00:07:50.430 --> 00:07:53.129 while also being recognized as the most sportsmanlike. 00:07:53.269 --> 00:07:55.430 It's a great point. It highlights a real shift 00:07:55.430 --> 00:07:58.170 in how the game could be played. You didn't necessarily 00:07:58.170 --> 00:08:01.079 have to be a bruiser or an enforcer. to dominate 00:08:01.079 --> 00:08:03.519 if your skill level was just that transcendent. 00:08:03.540 --> 00:08:06.220 Right. Makita and Hall provided this incredible 00:08:06.220 --> 00:08:08.879 one -two punch that just completely overwhelmed 00:08:08.879 --> 00:08:10.579 the rest of the league. But Chicago wasn't the 00:08:10.579 --> 00:08:13.540 only team making history. We also saw some incredible 00:08:13.540 --> 00:08:15.819 milestones on the defensive side of the puck. 00:08:16.019 --> 00:08:19.980 Terry Sawchuck. Yes. Terry Sawchuck. the veteran 00:08:19.980 --> 00:08:23.779 goalie for Toronto. He secures his historic 100th 00:08:23.779 --> 00:08:27.259 career shutout by completely blanking that exact 00:08:27.259 --> 00:08:30.920 same powerhouse Chicago offense in early March. 00:08:31.120 --> 00:08:33.120 Which was no small feat against that roster. 00:08:33.279 --> 00:08:36.019 Not at all. And then we have the arrival of an 00:08:36.019 --> 00:08:38.679 absolute legend. Maybe the biggest arrival. On 00:08:38.679 --> 00:08:41.519 October 19th, a young defenseman named Bobby 00:08:41.519 --> 00:08:44.519 Orr makes his debut for the Boston Bruins, picking 00:08:44.519 --> 00:08:48.009 up an assist in his very first game. What's fascinating 00:08:48.009 --> 00:08:50.649 about Orr's arrival is that he would go on to 00:08:50.649 --> 00:08:52.950 win the Calder Memorial Trophy as the best rookie, 00:08:53.090 --> 00:08:55.919 and eventually he just completely revolutionizes 00:08:55.919 --> 00:08:57.659 the defenseman position. Why, becoming an offensive 00:08:57.659 --> 00:09:00.279 threat? Exactly. Rushing the puck up the ice. 00:09:00.480 --> 00:09:03.039 Yet there is a deep irony to his rookie year. 00:09:03.279 --> 00:09:05.820 Despite adding a generational talent like Bobby 00:09:05.820 --> 00:09:08.620 Orr, the Boston Bruins finished dead last in 00:09:08.620 --> 00:09:11.200 the standings. They only managed 17 wins all 00:09:11.200 --> 00:09:13.139 season. And missed the playoffs entirely. Which 00:09:13.139 --> 00:09:15.200 just has to be agonizing for a fan base. You 00:09:15.200 --> 00:09:17.000 finally get the prodigy, the guy everyone's been 00:09:17.000 --> 00:09:18.879 talking about, and you still finish in the basement. 00:09:19.240 --> 00:09:21.450 It's tough. But looking at the broader timeline, 00:09:21.789 --> 00:09:26.389 that 1966 -67 season was actually the very last 00:09:26.389 --> 00:09:28.629 time the Bruins would miss the playoffs before 00:09:28.629 --> 00:09:31.830 launching into a record -setting 29 -season playoff 00:09:31.830 --> 00:09:34.870 streak. Talk about a turning point. Right. They 00:09:34.870 --> 00:09:38.289 hit rock bottom one final time, and then Orr 00:09:38.289 --> 00:09:40.409 essentially carries them into three decades of 00:09:40.409 --> 00:09:43.590 contention. It really illustrates the intense 00:09:43.590 --> 00:09:46.669 psychological pressure cooker of these 16 markets. 00:09:46.909 --> 00:09:49.830 Every single game mattered. and the fans were 00:09:49.830 --> 00:09:53.429 deeply, sometimes aggressively invested. Aggressively 00:09:53.429 --> 00:09:55.830 is the right word. The margin between being celebrated 00:09:55.830 --> 00:09:58.730 as a hero and being run out of town was razor 00:09:58.730 --> 00:10:01.070 thin. There is a story from the archives that 00:10:01.070 --> 00:10:03.190 perfectly captures that exact fan psychology. 00:10:03.850 --> 00:10:06.210 It involves the New York Rangers and their goalie, 00:10:06.230 --> 00:10:09.149 Ed Geocoman. Oh, this is a wild story. In early 00:10:09.149 --> 00:10:11.090 November, the Rangers are playing the Bruins 00:10:11.090 --> 00:10:13.350 at Madison Square Garden. The Bruins mount a 00:10:13.350 --> 00:10:15.409 comeback. They tie the game at 3 -3. And the 00:10:15.409 --> 00:10:18.049 New York fans just absolutely turn on Geocoman. 00:10:18.250 --> 00:10:20.049 The reports from the arena that night describe 00:10:20.049 --> 00:10:23.509 it as a truly vicious display of fan abuse. Yeah. 00:10:23.610 --> 00:10:25.250 They weren't just booing him. They were actually 00:10:25.250 --> 00:10:27.710 pelting him with garbage out on the ice. Throwing 00:10:27.710 --> 00:10:30.769 trash at their own goalie. But fast forward a 00:10:30.769 --> 00:10:33.600 few months. The Rangers start stringing together 00:10:33.600 --> 00:10:36.539 some wins. They secure a playoff spot. At one 00:10:36.539 --> 00:10:39.299 point, they were even leading the league. Right. 00:10:39.379 --> 00:10:41.879 And those exact same fans who were throwing trash 00:10:41.879 --> 00:10:44.639 at Jock Coleman completely flip the script. They 00:10:44.639 --> 00:10:46.940 start cheering for him like a conquering hero. 00:10:47.240 --> 00:10:48.840 That's amazing. He ends up leading the league 00:10:48.840 --> 00:10:51.419 with 30 wins, gets named to the first all -star 00:10:51.419 --> 00:10:55.179 team, and suddenly the city loves him. In a 16 00:10:55.179 --> 00:10:58.779 -league, before the era of a 24 -hour national 00:10:58.779 --> 00:11:01.919 sports cycle, There was nowhere for a player 00:11:01.919 --> 00:11:04.919 to hide. You were either the local savior or 00:11:04.919 --> 00:11:07.279 the local scapegoat every single night. There's 00:11:07.279 --> 00:11:09.840 no in -between. None. The emotional volatility 00:11:09.840 --> 00:11:12.399 of the fans was incredibly intense, and that 00:11:12.399 --> 00:11:14.539 pressure only magnified once the regular season 00:11:14.539 --> 00:11:16.759 ended and the playoffs began. Okay, so take that 00:11:16.759 --> 00:11:19.000 intense fishbowl environment and put it into 00:11:19.000 --> 00:11:21.840 a postseason scenario. The format back then was 00:11:21.840 --> 00:11:23.659 a straightforward best -of -seven. Right. The 00:11:23.659 --> 00:11:25.440 first -place team plays the third -place team, 00:11:25.539 --> 00:11:27.799 and the second plays the fourth. Which sets up 00:11:27.799 --> 00:11:31.279 a semifinal matchup between the unstoppable first 00:11:31.279 --> 00:11:35.259 place Chicago Blackhawks and the third seed Toronto 00:11:35.259 --> 00:11:37.879 Maple Leafs. A classic David and Goliath. Exactly. 00:11:38.039 --> 00:11:40.440 On paper, Chicago should have walked right over 00:11:40.440 --> 00:11:43.000 them. Everyone expected a coronation for Chicago. 00:11:43.220 --> 00:11:45.779 They were just too good. But the playoffs are 00:11:45.779 --> 00:11:49.340 a different animal entirely. And Toronto had 00:11:49.340 --> 00:11:51.539 something Chicago couldn't quite crack. That 00:11:51.539 --> 00:11:54.820 goaltending duo. Yes. an incredibly resilient 00:11:54.820 --> 00:11:58.120 veteran goaltending duo in Terry Sawchuck and 00:11:58.120 --> 00:12:00.580 Johnny Bauer. The narrative of this series is 00:12:00.580 --> 00:12:03.379 just a classic underdog story. You have Chicago's 00:12:03.379 --> 00:12:06.179 high -flying offense constantly pressing, but 00:12:06.179 --> 00:12:09.600 Toronto's gritty veteran depth just absorbs the 00:12:09.600 --> 00:12:12.139 blows. They bent, but didn't break. Right. They 00:12:12.139 --> 00:12:14.259 trade games back and forth, but Toronto ultimately 00:12:14.259 --> 00:12:16.000 breaks them down, winning the series in six. 00:12:16.080 --> 00:12:18.100 They completely neutralized the New York Rangers, 00:12:18.320 --> 00:12:21.240 finishing them off in a clean four -game sweep. 00:12:21.789 --> 00:12:24.450 that culminated in a nail -biting overtime winner 00:12:24.450 --> 00:12:27.850 by John Ferguson. Which sets the stage for a 00:12:27.850 --> 00:12:31.730 cinematic finale. The 1967 Stanley Cup Finals. 00:12:31.830 --> 00:12:35.009 The Toronto Maple Leafs versus the Montreal Canadiens. 00:12:35.110 --> 00:12:37.049 Two of the most storied franchises in the sport. 00:12:37.210 --> 00:12:39.490 Clashing at the absolute end of the original 00:12:39.490 --> 00:12:41.830 six era. You couldn't script it better. You really 00:12:41.830 --> 00:12:44.309 couldn't. And the momentum swings in this series 00:12:44.309 --> 00:12:47.350 were staggering. Montreal comes out in game one. 00:12:47.879 --> 00:12:50.320 and completely blitzes Toronto 6 -2. It looked 00:12:50.320 --> 00:12:53.200 like a mismatch early on. It really did. But 00:12:53.200 --> 00:12:56.779 Toronto's veteran core refuses to fold. Johnny 00:12:56.779 --> 00:12:59.639 Bauer shuts the door in Game 2 with a 3 -0 shutout. 00:12:59.679 --> 00:13:01.929 And then Game 3 goes into double overtime. A 00:13:01.929 --> 00:13:04.490 marathon. Yeah, before Bob Pulford finally finds 00:13:04.490 --> 00:13:07.350 the back of the net at 8 .26 of the second OT 00:13:07.350 --> 00:13:10.049 to give Toronto the edge. Huge goal. They trade 00:13:10.049 --> 00:13:12.389 blows all the way to game six at Maple Leaf Gardens 00:13:12.389 --> 00:13:15.389 on May 2nd. It's a tense, scoreless tie for the 00:13:15.389 --> 00:13:18.250 entire first period. But Toronto finally breaks 00:13:18.250 --> 00:13:20.970 through. They get goals from Ron Ellis, Jim Pappen, 00:13:20.970 --> 00:13:22.850 and George Armstrong. They hold on to win the 00:13:22.850 --> 00:13:25.549 game 3 -1. Taking the series and the championship. 00:13:26.320 --> 00:13:29.539 Dave Keon wins the Conn Smythe Trophy as the 00:13:29.539 --> 00:13:32.360 playoff MVP. But here is where the story of the 00:13:32.360 --> 00:13:36.120 1966 -67 season shifts from just sports history 00:13:36.120 --> 00:13:38.940 into cultural sociology. Okay, let's unpack this. 00:13:39.100 --> 00:13:42.159 Because this was the Toronto Maple Leafs' 13th 00:13:42.159 --> 00:13:45.580 Stanley Cup victory. And to date, as you listen 00:13:45.580 --> 00:13:48.460 to this, it is their last. Over 50 years ago. 00:13:48.580 --> 00:13:50.580 They have not won a championship since that night 00:13:50.580 --> 00:13:54.419 in May of 1967. It's really difficult to overstate 00:13:54.419 --> 00:13:57.019 the sociological weight of that drought for a 00:13:57.019 --> 00:13:59.960 major city. This final original sixth season 00:13:59.960 --> 00:14:02.639 permanently etched a dividing line into the culture 00:14:02.639 --> 00:14:05.139 of Toronto. A clear before and after. Exactly. 00:14:05.139 --> 00:14:07.179 You have multiple generations of fans who have 00:14:07.179 --> 00:14:10.139 never seen a championship, yet every single modern 00:14:10.139 --> 00:14:12.519 season is measured against the ghosts of 1967. 00:14:13.080 --> 00:14:15.059 It's a generational sports trauma that hangs 00:14:15.059 --> 00:14:17.500 over the entire franchise. It really forces you 00:14:17.500 --> 00:14:20.919 to reconsider how quickly an era can close, and 00:14:20.919 --> 00:14:23.240 how long the sh - of a championship can actually 00:14:23.240 --> 00:14:26.120 last. But to fully grasp the mythology of this 00:14:26.120 --> 00:14:28.779 season, we have to look at how the average person 00:14:28.779 --> 00:14:31.740 actually consumed the games back then. Because 00:14:31.740 --> 00:14:34.240 the media landscape was entirely different from 00:14:34.240 --> 00:14:36.740 the high definition on demand world we live in 00:14:36.740 --> 00:14:38.440 now. It was a completely different universe. 00:14:38.720 --> 00:14:40.600 I was reading through the broadcast notes from 00:14:40.600 --> 00:14:43.740 the archives and this blew my mind. In Canada, 00:14:43.879 --> 00:14:47.440 fans watched Hockey Night in Canada on CBC on 00:14:47.440 --> 00:14:50.879 Saturdays and CTV on Wednesdays. But regular 00:14:51.049 --> 00:14:53.490 season games were rarely broadcast from start 00:14:53.490 --> 00:14:56.009 to finish this is wild to think about today if 00:14:56.009 --> 00:14:58.309 you tuned in the game was usually joined in progress 00:14:58.309 --> 00:15:00.309 usually right around the start of the second 00:15:00.309 --> 00:15:02.590 period or sometimes even later help me understand 00:15:02.590 --> 00:15:04.690 the logic there why would a network deliberately 00:15:04.690 --> 00:15:07.289 choose not to show the beginning of a professional 00:15:07.289 --> 00:15:10.029 sports game it comes down to the perceived value 00:15:10.029 --> 00:15:13.110 of sports broadcasting at the time versus local 00:15:13.110 --> 00:15:16.980 programming priorities okay Today, live sports 00:15:16.980 --> 00:15:20.100 are the most expensive guaranteed ratings juggernauts 00:15:20.100 --> 00:15:23.539 on television. Networks pay billions for exclusive 00:15:23.539 --> 00:15:26.059 start to finish rights. Right. It anchors the 00:15:26.059 --> 00:15:30.080 whole network. But in 1966, the networks prioritized 00:15:30.080 --> 00:15:32.080 their scheduled evening entertainment blocks. 00:15:32.740 --> 00:15:36.019 Hockey was just slotted in wherever it fit, usually 00:15:36.019 --> 00:15:38.340 after the primetime news or a popular variety 00:15:38.340 --> 00:15:40.139 show finished. So you just missed the entire 00:15:40.139 --> 00:15:42.919 first period. You just miss it. And the situation 00:15:42.919 --> 00:15:45.000 in the United States was just as fragmented. 00:15:45.370 --> 00:15:48.289 This was the first year of a new U .S. rights 00:15:48.289 --> 00:15:52.309 agreement with CBS. But because CBS had prior 00:15:52.309 --> 00:15:54.950 programming commitments on Sundays, they actually 00:15:54.950 --> 00:15:57.429 had to sub -license their afternoon hockey games 00:15:57.429 --> 00:16:00.450 to a different network, RKO General. It's a perfect 00:16:00.450 --> 00:16:02.730 encapsulation of a league caught between two 00:16:02.730 --> 00:16:06.330 eras. Exactly. On the ice, the product is modernizing 00:16:06.330 --> 00:16:08.750 quickly, the players are getting faster, the 00:16:08.750 --> 00:16:10.730 talent pool is about to double with the expansion, 00:16:10.990 --> 00:16:13.149 and the restrictive Loeber contracts are being 00:16:13.149 --> 00:16:15.429 thrown out. But the delivery system... The delivery 00:16:15.429 --> 00:16:17.570 system, the way fans actually experience the 00:16:17.570 --> 00:16:20.070 game from their living rooms, is still stuck 00:16:20.070 --> 00:16:23.149 in this archaic piecemeal format. When you lay 00:16:23.149 --> 00:16:26.330 out all the foundational shifts of the 66 -67 00:16:26.330 --> 00:16:29.070 season, it's astonishing. It really is an unbelievable... 00:16:29.070 --> 00:16:31.269 Unbelievable 12 months. You have the boardroom 00:16:31.269 --> 00:16:33.850 revolution that abolishes the sponsorship forms 00:16:33.850 --> 00:16:36.970 and births the modern draft. You have Bobby Orr 00:16:36.970 --> 00:16:39.409 stepping onto the ice to redefine what a defenseman 00:16:39.409 --> 00:16:43.070 can be. You have Stan Mikita's sheer dominance. 00:16:43.490 --> 00:16:46.250 And you have the Maple Leafs sipping from the 00:16:46.250 --> 00:16:49.309 Stanley Cup one final time before wandering into 00:16:49.309 --> 00:16:52.029 a 50 -year desert. The expansion, the drafting, 00:16:52.210 --> 00:16:55.529 the free agency concepts, it all traces its roots 00:16:55.529 --> 00:16:58.389 back to the pressures of this specific 50 -year. 00:16:58.279 --> 00:17:00.740 season. It really is the bedrock of the modern 00:17:00.740 --> 00:17:03.460 game. Before we wrap up though, I want to leave 00:17:03.460 --> 00:17:05.839 you with a lingering thought to ponder regarding 00:17:05.839 --> 00:17:08.400 that bizarre broadcasting reality we just talked 00:17:08.400 --> 00:17:11.099 about. The join in progress thing. Yeah. In our 00:17:11.099 --> 00:17:13.960 modern era, we have instant analytics, isolation 00:17:13.960 --> 00:17:17.460 cameras, and 4K replays. We see every single 00:17:17.460 --> 00:17:19.700 second of the action from every possible angle. 00:17:19.799 --> 00:17:22.710 Nothing is missed. Nothing. But back in 1967, 00:17:23.150 --> 00:17:25.829 fans watching at home only saw fragments. They 00:17:25.829 --> 00:17:28.690 joined in progress. Which makes you wonder, how 00:17:28.690 --> 00:17:30.589 much of the early mythology of sports, how much 00:17:30.589 --> 00:17:32.450 of the larger -than -life legendary status of 00:17:32.450 --> 00:17:34.690 those original six players, was born precisely 00:17:34.690 --> 00:17:36.829 because fans couldn't see everything? Oh, that's 00:17:36.829 --> 00:17:38.650 interesting. How much did the human imagination 00:17:38.650 --> 00:17:41.269 have to fill in the gaps before the television 00:17:41.269 --> 00:17:44.089 cameras finally turned on? The idea that the 00:17:44.089 --> 00:17:46.009 legend actually grows in the unseen moments, 00:17:46.049 --> 00:17:49.029 what a fascinating concept to leave off on. Thank 00:17:49.029 --> 00:17:50.829 you for joining us for this deep dive into the 00:17:50.829 --> 00:17:54.390 1966 -67 season. It's been an absolute blast 00:17:54.390 --> 00:17:57.069 exploring the archives with you. Until next time, 00:17:57.089 --> 00:17:58.230 keep your curiosity alive.