Where was the Cup?!

Some impertinent thoughts on pertinent topics:

• I know a lot of people will criticize the Toronto Maple Leafs 1967 celebration for lacking that certain magic that only Montreal captures, but kudos to the Leafs for having a short, simple and most importantly short ceremony. After recently enduring celebrations for Mike Vernon and Steve Yzerman, this celebration was a welcome relief.
• That being said, where was the Stanley Cup?! They are Stanley Cup champions, gathered together to celebrate a trophy most of them haven't seen since 1967. The Cup is housed literally like 3 blocks away, and Ron Ellis actually works at the Hockey Hall of Fame. It's not like he couldn't have arranged for something.
• It's too bad Eddie Shack couldn't have been there. "The Entertainer" usually loves these alumni get-togethers, and the crowd always loves him. I'd assume Shack had some serious commitments to uphold, although Sun Media reports he is on vacation. I found one internet posting suggesting he's at a hockey tournament in Dubai.
• By the way, that same Sun Media report suggested Milan Marcetta is too ill to attend. We all hope he gets better soon. Marcetta, along with Aut Erickson, John Brenneman, Bruce and Dick Gamble, Gary and Al Smith, Brit Selby, Swoop Carlton, Duane Rupp and Jim McKenney were the forgotten men of 1967.
• Did you know you can watch the final game of the 1967 Cup finals courtesy of Google Video, and completely for free.
  
• One last thing about the Leafs: wouldn't it have been nice to have this game at Maple Leaf Gardens? I know, too many logistics and cost too much money, and Dave Keon probably would have stayed away.
  

On to other topics:

• NHL.com catches up with Terry Crisp, who won Stanley Cups as a player in Philadelphia and as a coach in Calgary. Crispy admits his first taste of champagne from the Cup is the sweetest. “When you win the Stanley Cup for the first time,” Crisp says, “that’s the first thing you think of when you look back on your career. That’s when you know you’ve reached the epitome of your chosen sporting career. I look back at 1974 and think about my teammates and the friends that I still have from that team, and it’s something I’ll always remember.”
• Not to get back to the '67 Leafs, but NHL.com also catches up with Pete Stemkowski. Though a member of 67 Leafs, he's best known as a New York Ranger. I found this history altering statement interesting: "In those days we used to steal goals. I had a deal with Dale Rolfe when we were with the Rangers. Anything close in front of the net, he didn't have a bonus, he was a defenseman. I used to have a bonus for goals. There were deals in those days between forwards and defensemen."
• I'm still trumpeting Robert L's blog Eyes On The Prize. He has an interesting look at the dismantling of the 1970s Montreal Canadiens dynasty.
• A new blog I'm now reading is Lowetide. He's a good writer, and an obviously seasoned hockey fan. Plus he puts hockey history to use in current discussion, such as this post suggesting what the Edmonton Oilers need right now is more Ross Lonsberries. Check out my updated Hockey Blog Power Rankings in the right hand column.
  
• Over at my extremely popular Hockey's Tough Guys blog, I've posted YouTube videos of Big Behn Wilson beating up Terry O'Reilly and Willi Plett. The newest video footage is of the Ron Hextall-Chris Chelios feud in the 1989 playoffs.
• Lastly, this week watch for my next big feature here at Legends of Hockey Network. February is Black History Month, and I will be featuring the greatest black hockey players dating back to 1899 in a special report.