Hard Level Answers
1. Who was the youngest player to captain the Toronto Maple Leafs?
A: d) Rick Vaive
Rick Vaive was 22 when he was named captain for the 1981-82 season. Others were also young when they got a ‘C’ placed on their jerseys. Hap Day was 26 when he got the honour. Syl Apps was also 26 years old. Ted Kennedy was the second youngest at 23 years old when he was given the captaincy for the 1948-49 season. Dion Phaneuf was 25 and current Leafs captain, John Tavares, was 29.
2. Which legendary player scored their last Stanley Cup Playoffs goal against the Toronto Maple Leafs?
A: c) Maurice Richard
Passed to him by his brother Henri, Rocket Richard scored his last goal in his final NHL game. It was a contest that ended with the Canadiens lifting the Stanley Cup. That 1960 cup was their fifth consecutive championship.
3. True or False: The Toronto Maple Leafs are the only Original Six team to finish the season in fourth place and win the Stanley Cup
A: a) True
The Leafs were 22-25-13 at the end of the 1948-49 season heading into the playoffs. They didn’t allow their position to thwart their chances at winning the cup. Toronto went on to beat the Boston Bruins in the Semi-Finals and swept the Detroit Red Wings in the Stanley Cup Finals.
4. Robert Reichel put the puck in his own net to give which Sabres goaltender an NHL goal?
A: d) Mika Noronen
There was a crazy game in 2004 when the Maple Leafs had a hot start. They came out to a 3-0 lead, chasing Martin Biron from his net. This gave Mika Noronen the chance to help his team. That’s exactly what he did. The Buffalo Sabres came back to not just tie the game but take the lead 5-4.
The Leafs pulled their goalie in favour of an extra attacker. This hurt them when Robert Reichel made an unadvised pass. He tried to center a pass from behind Noroven’s net, but instead of finding a teammate, the puck missed every stick and sailed down the ice and into Toronto’s goal. Since Noronen was the last Sabre to touch the puck, he was credited with the goal.
5. Who is the only Toronto Maple Leafs Player to wear #99 on his sweater?
A: b) Wilf Paiement
The most famous person to ever wear the number 99 was the Great One, Wayne Gretzky. The only person to wear it with the Leafs was Wilf Paiement. He did so in his three seasons with the team, from 1979-1982.
6. Which Toronto Maple Leafs Player won the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy on more than one occasion?
A: d) Sid Smith
All the players listed won the Lady Byng at one point in their respective careers, however, only Sid Smith won it twice. Alexander Mogilny also won the award while with the Maple Leafs. He too captured the prize just once.
7. Which defunct OHL team did Doug Gilmour play for before being drafted to the NHL?
A: b) Cornwall Royals
Doug Gilmour played in three junior leagues. He played for the Kingston Voyageurs in the Metro Jr. B Hockey League (MJBHL) and the Belleville Bulls in the Ontario Junior A Hockey League (OPJHL) that same year. He then joined the Cornwall Royals in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and stayed with the team when it moved to the Ontario Hockey League (OHL).
Gilmour was drafted by the St Louis Blues in the seventh round of the 1982 NHL Entry Draft. He was the steal of the draft, going 134th overall.