strange but true

Thirty years ago, Ken Hitchcock coached a Western League team that would have driven the NHL version of Ken Hitchcock bonkers. And 30 years ago yesterday, Hitchcock coached in one of the craziest games ever.

The Maple Leafs last won the Stanley Cup in 1967 with a past-their-prime roster and a coach-GM who had a gut feeling.

Go figure, a goalie nicknamed ‘Tubby’ was the victim of 15 goals as the war-ravaged Rangers were shut out in Detroit.

Jack McCartan burst onto the scene in the Rangers net after a miracle Olympic run. But he was gone almost as fast as he arrived.

A shocking trade that almost happened involved two partying owners, a superstar and $1 million. It was killed at the 11th hour.

Legendary netminder Lorne Worsley battled over booze and bellies with coach Philipe Watson during their openly hostile Rangers relationship. But who won out when all was said and done?

A generation before the fictional bench-clearing brawls in Slap Shot, Montreal and New York went at it for real, and for keeps, and Madison Square Gardens.

Historians have argued for decades over the precise birth of hockey in Canada. But when it comes to when and where professional table hockey was born in Manhattan, Stan Fischler has no problem citing the site, players and purse. After all, he and his wife, Shirley, were behind the whole thing.

‘Little Major ruled Toronto with an iron fist, fining and trading players who loved anything except hockey. To cross him was to buy a ticket out of town.

If the supreme boss of an NHL team tells his son – who had been the team’s leading scorer – he’s no longer good enough to make the club, how could the son possibly outwit his dad and get back on the squad? Stan Fischler explains…

The Chicago Black Hawks were a bit of a gong show under owner Frederic McLaughlin, but all the pieces fell into place one magical spring, resulting in one of the NHL’s most unlikely champions

Toronto pulled off its epic and unmatched Stanley Cup comeback against the Red Wings in 1942 thanks to some weird and wacky moves by legendary coach ‘Hap’ Day, explains Stan Fischler in this Strange But True tale.

Elwyn ‘Doc’ Romnes is the first Minnesotan in the NHL and on the Cup. But he’s better known for a brutal episode of on-ice surgery

Sam LoPresti’s heroism didn’t stop with his 80-save game. Later, he bailed out a different team: the United States Navy

The two New York teams shared Madison Square Garden for a while and it was typically the classy Rangers who won. But on this occasion that didn't end until almost 2 in the morning, the Americans came out on top.

‘Baldy’ Cotton lost a few more hairs when Charlie Conacher dangled his teammate outside a 20th-floor hotel room window

The Toronto Maple Leafs were having goaltending problems in the mid-1940s when they turned to a 26-year-old goalie with no pro experience. Frank McCool had issues with ulcers, but he led the Maple Leafs to the Stanley Cup. Less than two years later, he was out of hockey.

Don Metz never played a full season with the Toronto Maple Leafs, but he's one of only three players to ever win five Stanley Cups with the team. How did he accomplish such a feat?

The infamous incident between Wings legend Gordie Howe and Leafs icon Ted 'Teeder' Kennedy led to intriguing ramifications not just for them – but also for Gus Mortson, who played for both franchises.

Maritimes cities wage war as Glace Bay GM tries to pull a fast one on archrival Sydney by plugging his ‘Leaky’ Boates with a ringer

Here's the story of how legendary NHLer Alec Connell had a brush with the New York mob after a 1932 game at Madison Square Garden.

In a Strange But True feature from THN magazine, Stan Fischler looks at legendary Bruin Eddie Shore's memorable journey to Montreal to play in a crucial game.

In a new Strange But True feature, Stan Fischler examines legendary Leafs coach Punch Imlach and Toronto's improbable run to the playoffs in 1959.

In his time in Detroit and Toronto, Hockey Hall-of-Famer Red Kelly excelled both at forward and on defense – and he wasn't shy about letting management know how he felt.