Dale Patterson wrote:

I still say Paul Henderson should be in the Hockey Hall of Fame. He scored the winning goal in all of the last three games of the Summit Series. He scored 236 goals in the NHL and another 140 in the WHA for a total of 376. He has been inducted (twice) into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame and the International Ice Hockey Federation Hall of Fame. Received the Order of Canada in 2013.

Been saying for decades that Henderson should be in the HHOF.  In fact, he should have his own room.  That's how important he is to Canadian hockey.  Nobody will ever beat what he did in 72.
 

torontostan wrote:

Walter wrote:

Nobody will ever beat what he did in 72. 

In terms of player legacy, Crosby has. In terms of cultural supremacy, McDavid might've just tied him.

Crosby and McDavid are fantastic, and have done their country proud, to be sure.  In 1972, Canada has never been so united, and proud, something it could sorely use now.  Henderson delivered that euphoria.  Henderson should be in the HHOF, side by side with Sid and Connor.
 

Walter wrote:

torontostan wrote:

Walter wrote:

Nobody will ever beat what he did in 72. 

In terms of player legacy, Crosby has. In terms of cultural supremacy, McDavid might've just tied him.

Crosby and McDavid are fantastic, and have done their country proud, to be sure.  In 1972, Canada has never been so united, and proud, something it could sorely use now.  Henderson delivered that euphoria.  Henderson should be in the HHOF, side by side with Sid and Connor.

For me the best part was being in Grade 5 Russian class at the time (in Toronto, not Vladivostok). We had the radio going ... man, what Henderson et al did was electric. No question Henderson should be in the HHOF...

Last edited by Saul (February 21, 2025 12:57 pm)

Walter wrote:

torontostan wrote:

Walter wrote:

Nobody will ever beat what he did in 72. 

In terms of player legacy, Crosby has. In terms of cultural supremacy, McDavid might've just tied him.

Crosby and McDavid are fantastic, and have done their country proud, to be sure.  In 1972, Canada has never been so united, and proud, something it could sorely use now.  Henderson delivered that euphoria.  Henderson should be in the HHOF, side by side with Sid and Connor.
 

Not disagreeing, I think Paul Henderson certainly belongs in the HHOF, however 2010 easily surpasses what you've described ("Canada has never been so united, and proud"). '72 is remembered with heavy bias by the baby boom generation because they were all in school at the time watching and listening to the game. The Vancouver 2010 final had 100% of the country watching that could, we'll never see anything like that again, the pride was immeasurable by all ages coast-to-coast. 

Walter wrote:

torontostan wrote:

Walter wrote:

Crosby and McDavid are fantastic, and have done their country proud, to be sure.  In 1972, Canada has never been so united, and proud, something it could sorely use now.  Henderson delivered that euphoria.  Henderson should be in the HHOF, side by side with Sid and Connor.
 

Not disagreeing, I think Paul Henderson certainly belongs in the HHOF, however 2010 easily surpasses what you've described ("Canada has never been so united, and proud"). '72 is remembered with heavy bias by the baby boom generation because they were all in school at the time watching and listening to the game. The Vancouver 2010 final had 100% of the country watching that could, we'll never see anything like that again, the pride was immeasurable by all ages coast-to-coast. 

Agreed.  It helps if you were young and excited during the great moments you remember.  I must assume you are too young to remember the 72 summit series.  I've never seen the nation so unified behind one event, including the great 2010 final.
 

Quite great indeed. I was around albeit was probably too young to care much. 
 

I also firmly believe The Monkees should be in the R&R hall of fame, but that's another debate!

And don't forget these guys.
When the subject turns to World Hockey Champions, there aren’t too many Canadian communities that can top the City of Trail. The West Kootenay city boasts two World Champions, as both the 1939 and 1961 Trail Smoke Eaters returned victorious from the World Ice Hockey Championships.The first victory for the Trail Smoke Eaters came in Switzerland in 1939 – the last world championship tournament to be played before the outbreak of the Second World War. The 1939 Smokies rolled through the eight-game tournament without a loss, in fact, they only gave up one goal in the eight games!The Trail Smoke Eaters returned to the world stage in 1961, as they returned to Switzerland. At that tournament, the Smoke Eaters went into their final game tied with the Czechs in the standings. Because the two teams had identical records, and there was no championship game to decide the overall winner, the outcome would be decided by a goal differential.The Smokies not only had to beat the Soviet Union in their last game, but they had to win by at least four goals. Leading 4-1 in the third period, Norm Lenardon intercepted a clearing attempt by the Soviet’s Nikolai Sologubov inside the Russian zone. Off-balance, Lenardon rifled the puck into the net for a 5-1 win, and the World Championship!

Retaw wrote:

torontostan wrote:

Walter wrote:

Nobody will ever beat what he did in 72. 

In terms of player legacy, Crosby has. In terms of cultural supremacy, McDavid might've just tied him.

I think it's insulting to compare a gold medal game and the Summit Series to this. McDavid will undoubtedly be in the Hockey Hall of Fame, but this will likely be a footnote.

This tournament's a publicity stunt for the NHL and is less reflective of the best the sport has to offer than the largely throwaway IIHF tournaments held in the late spring. A certain country's lack of involvement due to actual real world strife means this isn't even the best the NHL has to offer. Two months ago it meant less than the World Cup of Hockey, which is saying something.

The only notoriety comes from real world politics, but the animosity is artificial. This isn't the Summit Series where people with very opposing ideologies met for the first times in their lives. These are all millionaires who are going to be playing on the same teams in a few days. Leafs management aren't going to have to separate Marner and Matthews.

You could argue this was good for the country's moral, but I'd argue a game doesn't change reality. Prior to this year, nationalism and pride in being Canadian had reached historic lows under our post-nationalist Prime Minister. This is a dead cat bounce. Those tariffs either come in and wreck things, they don't, or they get repealed after Trump's term is up. The outcome of a sporting event changes none of that.

Firstly, the summit series was also a made up tournament, just not by the NHL (as this one is). Second, The animosity between the U.S. & Canada is very real, not artificial. We have a president (from a neighbouring country nonetheless) threatening to annex our country, not some differing ideas of government like Canada & USSR had. Will Matthews and Marner be separated in the dressing room? No, but that doesn't mean these players weren't really putting 100% into performing for their country. I wouldn't be surprised if Brady Tkachuk asks for a trade to a U.S. team soon.

 

I remember it well.  It was very one-sided.  Tretiak was the star.