Murray Costello, who spearheaded the development of national and international women's hockey, was hired to run the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association on this date in 1979

Fans of junior hockey and women’s hockey in Canada owe Murray Costello a huge debt of gratitude.

Costello, a lawyer and a former NHL player, was hired as the first full-time president of the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association on this date in 1979. In this role, he spearheaded the development of both programs at the national level and also helped establish the women’s sport internationally.

Costello was the ideal choice for the job of running the CAHA, having not only a legal background but ample experience as a hockey player and administrator. The younger brother of Les Costello, a Stanley Cup winner with the Toronto Maple Leafs who famously gave up hockey to enter the priesthood, Murray played 167 NHL games with the Chicago Black Hawks, the Boston Bruins, and the Detroit Red Wings in parts of four seasons between 1954 and 1956.

He completed a university degree while playing out the string in Senior A hockey, then worked for many years for the Seattle Totems of the Western Hockey League, first as marketing director and eventually as head of hockey operations. Costello also handled publicity for the WHL before moving to Ottawa in 1973 and becoming involved with the CAHA while working toward a law degree at the University of Ottawa.

After finishing his degree, Costello worked as an arbitrator for the World Hockey Association Players’ Association and then for the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission. He was called to the Ontario bar in April 1979.

Costello was hired after the CAHA decided to evolve to a corporate structure, having recognized the need for a full-time rather than volunteer president. The organization's first paid employee, his tenure was a great success. He was responsible for proposing the Program of Excellence that quickly turned Canada into a major power in junior hockey, he oversaw the establishment of Canada’s national women’s team, and he helped to organize the first women’s world championship tournament, which took place in Ottawa in March 1990.

He also facilitated the 1994 merger of the CAHA and Hockey Canada, a rival governing body, and continued to lead the combined organization. Costello retired in 1998, after which he served in various roles on the International Ice Hockey Federation council until his final retirement in 2012.

Inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame as a builder in 2005 and into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame in 2013, Costello’s other honors included the Order of Canada and the Order of Hockey in Canada. He was 90 years old when he died in July of this year.

Also on this date:

1933 – The Montreal Canadiens and the Toronto Maple Leafs swapped goalies at the NHL’s annual meeting. George Hainsworth, who had recorded 75 shutouts in seven seasons with the Habs and led them to back-to-back Stanley Cups in 1930 and 1931, went to Toronto. In return, the Leafs sent Lorne Chabot to Montreal. Chabot had also been no slouch, chalking up 32 shutouts in five seasons with the Leafs and winning the Cup in 1932. It’s believed the Canadiens wanted Chabot to bolster their French-Canadian identity. In another swap the same day, the Montreal Maroons traded Lionel Conacher to the Chicago Black Hawks for Teddy Graham.

1933 – At the same meeting, the NHL lowered the salary cap for teams from $70,000 to $65,000 for the 1933-34 season. The highest salary any one player could receive was $7,500, which was unchanged from the previous campaign. As the Montreal Gazette reported, the fact that the stars could still make the same money while their teams could offer less money overall meant that “some of the lesser lights will be affected.”

1949 – Conn Smythe, the bombastic manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs, announced that he had “fooled around long enough” and was going to get tough with Danny Lewicki, a junior-aged player who was resisting efforts to compel him to join the Leafs organization. The 18-year-old Lewicki wanted to play with a team in Stratford, Ont., but he had been committed to the Leafs under the sponsorship system then in effect. When he refused to comply and join the Toronto Marlboros, the Leafs’ flagship junior team, he was suspended and unable to play anywhere. Eventually, he gave in and joined the Marlboros. He made the Leafs in 1950-51 at age 19 and won the Stanley Cup with them as a rookie.

1967 – The California Seals won their first pre-season exhibition game, beating the Los Angeles Kings 3-1 in Guelph, Ont. Unfortunately, they had played six previous games without a win, meaning their record leading up to this contest was a pretty good indicator of how their first NHL season was going to play out. They finished last in the 12-team league with a 15-42-17 record. Along the way that season, they changed their name to the Oakland Seals; it didn't help.

1987 – The Quebec Nordiques dealt disgruntled winger John Ogrodnick and defenseman David Shaw to the New York Rangers for Terry Carkner and Jeff Jackson. Ogrodnick had come to the Nordiques after the Detroit Red Wings traded him to Quebec earlier in the year, but he was vocal about his dislike for his new home. He didn’t impress Nordiques’ coach Andre Savard or general manager Maurice Filion when he blew off the start of training camp, arriving several days late and not in shape, and continued to grouse about wanting to be traded. The deal ended up not doing much for either team in the short term – both the Nordiques and the Rangers missed the playoffs in 1987-88 – but ultimately the Rangers got the marginally better outcome. In 1989-90, they won their division while the Nords finished dead last in the NHL with a 12-61-7 record.

1993 – The New Jersey Devils signed Bobby Carpenter as a free agent. Carpenter was the third overall pick in the 1981 NHL Entry Draft, and he burst into the league fresh out of high school with no need for tutelage in the minors. He scored 145 goals before his 22^nd birthday and became the first American-born player to score 50 goals in an NHL season. But as he aged and matured, he evolved into a well-regarded defensive center. New Jersey would be the final stop in his 18-year career; he played there for six seasons and won his only Stanley Cup as a player in 1995.

1997 – Mats Sundin became the first non-Canadian to captain the Toronto Maple Leafs. The native of Brumma, Sweden succeeded Doug Gilmour in the role and would wear the ‘C’ for 10 seasons, becoming Toronto’s all-time scoring champ in the process. His 420 goals and 987 points in a Leafs jersey remain franchise records . . . for the time being. Coincidentally, Sundin announced his retirement from the NHL on this same date in 2009, after having spent his final season in Vancouver. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2012 and was named one of the NHL’s 100 greatest players in 2017.

Other captains named on this date:

1999 – Kenny Jonsson, by the New York Islanders. He was the franchise’s eighth captain, having succeeded Trevor Linden, but he was never comfortable as the team’s leader and resigned in November 2000.

2000 – Tony Amonte, by the Chicago Blackhawks. He replaced Doug Gilmour, as Sundin had in Toronto three years earlier. Amonte was the Hawks’ 31^st captain and held the role until 2002, when he left as a free agent to sign in Phoenix.