The Hockey Hall of Fame induction weekend is an annual social calendar high point for the NHL's who's who, past and present, who descend on Toronto.
It's a festive and nostalgic get-together complete with opportunities for the public to spend money on old-timer games, autograph sessions, memorabilia and of course the induction ceremony dinner that culminates things Monday. There's a chance you might even manage to find yourself at one of many hospitality receptions around town, or at another watering hole that ends up just as good.
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| Ron Wilson is having the Maple Leafs playing a lot better than many expected. (Getty Images) |
That's not something schedulers could have predicted last summer when they slotted Montreal to visit the Maple Leafs for the Saturday night matchup. The two teams were expected to have wildly different fortunes at this juncture, but since the Canadiens are in their 100th anniversary year and their rivalry with the Maple Leafs is the NHL's oldest, the narrative was right.
And the game could be even better.
After finishing first in the East, Montreal brought some serious expectations into the new season, and after one month, there are no signs of the team wilting under pressure. Newcomer Alex Tanguay has been very productive offensively, the Canadiens are getting good secondary scoring and the defense has been sharp and reliable.
Most notably, second-year goalie Carey Price is having an All-Star caliber season at age 21. Price was probably the biggest question mark facing Montreal. Now it might be the power play, which was the best in the league last season and now ranks 20th. Even so, Montreal has lost only once in regulation and has the best point-percentage rate in the East.
Toronto has dropped a few more games, but the Maple Leafs come into the game as the league's best early overachievers. This was, and realistically still is, a rebuilding season in Toronto, but new coach Ron Wilson has the Leafs playing a lot better than almost anyone thought possible. At least he did until this past week.
Toronto has played sound defense and has some pretty good speed to go along with a solid goalie in Vesa Toskala. Those factors were all roles in a good start. The Leafs scored enough upsets to come out of October above the .500 mark, but their past few games suggest they might be getting back to a more appropriate level.
Toronto did steal a win at home last Saturday with five goals in the third period against the Rangers, and nearly did the same the following day in Carolina. But it has lost three in a row and has developed a bad habit of digging into holes early.
Still, this is one of those games that nobody on either team has any trouble getting up for because its being televised nationally in Canada and it's something everyone in the world really gets into. Kind of like the international games during the 1980, events like the Canada Cup and 1987 Rendez Vous All-Star Classic, when the NHL's top players would meet those from the old Soviet Union for bragging rights about hockey supremacy.
Two of the players from that era -- Glenn Anderson, who spent much of his career with the Edmonton Oilers, and Igor Larionov, a star of the era's great Soviet teams who came over at age 29 and retired at 42, will be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame this weekend. Both played crucial roles in some of those great series and on several more on their NHL teams and are generally remembered for coming through in clutch situations. Anderson and Larionov will be part of a formal evening and ceremony Monday, when the Hall will also induct the late Ed Chynoweth, who spent decades as one of the most important junior hockey executives, and former referee Ray Scapinello.
But the real highlights from the weekend should be on the ice. Here are a few things to look for.
