A Decade Later, Maple Leaf Gardens Stands and Waits Alone

http://tinyurl.com/aepf39
Posted Feb 13th 2009 2:00PM by Ted Starkey (author feed)
Filed Under: Maple Leafs, NHL Economics

Ten years ago tonight, the Maple Leafs played their final game at Maple Leaf Gardens, a 6-2 loss to the Blackhawks that ended a 68-year run for the franchise at the old barn off Carlton Street, as the team moved down Yonge Street to their new home, Air Canada Centre.

But a decade later, the last of the NHL's Original Six arenas still is standing, waiting for its fate.

The old Boston Garden and Chicago Stadium were turned into parking lots for their teams' new buildings. The Montreal Forum is now living a new life as an entertainment complex. Madison Square Garden lives on in name only, as the current home of the Rangers only has been open since 1968. Detroit's Olympia is long gone, having been torn down in 1980 when the team moved to Joe Louis Arena.

Even the Aud in Buffalo, while only an NHL arena since the Sabres joined the NHL in 1970 but built in 1939 and which housed the AHL's Bisons for years, is currently getting taken apart piece-by-piece and will be gravel by May.

One junior hockey owner wanted to take the Garden and put the St. Michael's major team in there, but the Leafs' owner didn't want it to be used as competition to their new building.

Then, five years ago, the Canadian grocery chain Loblaw's bought the Garden, wanting to turn it into a superstore. But with some disputes in the neighborhood and the downturn of the economy, that plan has been shelved.
Loblaw was supposed to keep the Gardens' facade and build a flagship superstore at the site. But after announcing two years ago it was about to begin a cleanup that would be followed by a 22-month construction for the store, those plans have been shelved.
"Loblaw is still intending to develop Maple Leaf Gardens into a grocery store," Loblaw spokesperson David Primorac said. "Currently, our main focus is on improving our existing stores prior to building new stores in the greater Toronto area."
Still, it's a sad fate for the last of the old barns, as while the new buildings have the bells-and-whistles - and money-making revenue streams which make them desirable for their owners - they lack the charm of the old buildings. There was something special about seeing a game at Boston Garden or the Montreal Forum, while TD Banknorth Garden and the Bell Centre are more corporate and resemble features of the other buildings constructed in this era.

The Aud, after sitting unused for over a decade, finally succumbed to demolition this past year, remarkably in decent shape for sitting around unused for a dozen years, even as fans walking to HSBC Arena parked in front of the old for games.

For Canadians, seeing the yellow rails of tiny Maple Leaf Gardens and its steep stands was a staple of Hockey Night and Canada, and while the ACC certainly holds its own, it's still not the same experience. Parts of "Cinderella Man" were filmed in the Garden as a throwback to the 1930s, as it was small, intimate and the fans were on top of the action.

It was the last of the old buildings to close, and now it stands waiting to join the others in the pages of history.

Decade in the dark

From: http://tinyurl.com/bc8364

TIM WHARNSBY
From Friday's Globe and Mail
February 12, 2009 at 9:31 PM EST

TORONTO — George Bigliardi admits he is at a crossroads in his professional life.

The popular Toronto restaurateur, who in 1977 opened Bigliardi's on Church Street, two blocks north of Maple Leaf Gardens, is considering his options on what to do with his once-trendy eating place.

Since the final Toronto Maple Leafs game was played at the Gardens, 10 years ago today, business at Bigliardi's has slowed.

Does he sell? Does he move to another location? Does he attempt to reinvent the steakhouse that was the place to be seen before and after Leafs games?

"It's really a sad thing," Bigliardi said. "I have loyal clients and was hoping they would still come here, but they don't come back that often. I guess I'm a little too far from the [Leafs' current home at the Air Canada Centre]."

Bigliardi has entertained many celebrities such as Frank Sinatra, Tony Curtis and Joe Torre at his place since he opened the doors, but there was nothing like the atmosphere at Bigliardi's on a game night.

Often customers would return to the restaurant after two periods, hand a ticket over to Bigliardi so he could run down and catch the third. Now, when Bigliardi either walks or drives by the Gardens at the northwest corner of Carlton and Church Streets, he is saddened to see the empty 78-year-old hockey shrine.

"It was a wonderful place," Bigliardi said. "It was like part of the family, but now that part of the family is gone."

Bigliardi said the odd player or hockey executive periodically visits and recently Detroit Red Wings senior vice-president Jim Devellano, a Toronto resident, brought the Stanley Cup to celebrate with his friends at the restaurant.

The Gardens saw the Leafs win Stanley Cups, Canada beat the Soviet Union in the 1972 Summit Series, Muhammad Ali box, Elvis Presley and the Beatles perform.

The Toronto Raptors played their final NBA game at the Gardens four days before the Leafs' swan song. After the Leafs' finale at the Gardens, the only remaining tenant was the Toronto Rock, but following their National Lacrosse League championship seasons in 1999 and 2000, the Rock also moved down the road to the ACC.

Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment didn't close on a deal to sell the Gardens building until July of 2004, for an estimated $13-million to supermarket operator Loblaw Cos. Ltd.

Prior to the sale there were different ideas floated on what to do with the historic venue. There were whispers about a condominium development or turning the sports arena into an entertainment complex. Building supply giant Home Depot was interested in snapping up the venue.

Ottawa Senators owner Eugene Melnyk wanted to buy the property for his junior team, the St. Michael's Majors of the Ontario Hockey League, and as a concert venue. But MLSE didn't want the competition and rejected Melnyk's proposal.

Loblaw was supposed to keep the Gardens' facade and build a flagship superstore at the site. But after announcing two years ago it was about to begin a cleanup that would be followed by a 22-month construction for the store, those plans have been shelved.

"Loblaw is still intending to develop Maple Leaf Gardens into a grocery store," Loblaw spokesperson David Primorac said. "Currently, our main focus is on improving our existing stores prior to building new stores in the greater Toronto area."

The building has been home to only a few happenings since the Rock moved out. Part of the movie Cinderella Man, about depression-era boxer James Braddock, was filmed there.

Last September, actor Matt Damon hosted a charity concert at MLG in support of OneXOne during the Toronto International Film Festival, and a few weeks later, part of the city's annual Nuit Blanche contemporary art celebration was held there.

The Last Game

Chicago Blackhawks enforcer Bob Probert scored the final NHL goal at Maple Leaf Gardens a decade ago, when he beat Toronto Maple Leafs goalie Curtis Joseph at 11 minutes 5 seconds of the third period. Here are the rosters from the finale the Hawks won 6-2:

Chicago

Goalies Jocelyn Thibault, Mark Fitzpatrick

Defence Brad Brown, Christian Laflamme, Doug Zmolek, Chris Chelios, Dave Manson, Jamie Allison

Forwards Tony Amonte, Nelson Emerson, Chad Kilger, Ed Olczyk, Ethan Moreau, Mark Janssens, Jean-Yves Leroux, Bob Probert, Todd White, Reid Simpson, Eric Dazé, Doug Gilmour

Toronto

Goalies Curtis Joseph, Glenn Healy

Defence Sylvain Côté, Jason Smith, Bryan Berard, Dmitri Yushkevich, Dany Markov, Alexander Karpovtsev

Forwards Derek King, Todd Warriner, Garry Valk, Steve Sullivan, Kris King, Mats Sundin, Fredrik Modin, Mike Johnson, Igor Korolev, Tie Domi, Steve Thomas, Sergei Berezin

A decade has passed since Leafs vacated Gardens

Can't believe its been 10 years since I was in Toronto!
--------------------------------------------------------
Howard Berger, National Post Published: Friday, February 13, 2009

"We all laugh and we all cry; we all live and we all die; but through it all and in between ... time flies."

-- Canadian country singer Johnny Reid

TAMPA, Fla. -- How can it possibly be an entire decade since the Toronto Maple Leafs and Chicago Blackhawks played the final National Hockey League game at Maple Leaf Gardens?

The weathered shrine on Carlton Street sits lonely and deserted -- almost beckoning for recognition 10 years after the night its most famous tenant moved out. The Blackhawks obliterated the Maple Leafs 6-2 in a game that seemed almost an intrusion after the enormous build-up to the event. The irony lingers that perhaps never in the 68-plus years of the Gardens' existence had a Leafs game been so utterly anti-climactic.

But, memories never seem to fade ... memories of the building as a centrepiece of hockey history, and of a final night that brought together every former Toronto player that could make it back one last time.

"I never would have guessed it's already been 10 years," said Liberal parliamentarian Ken Dryden, who ran the Leafs as president and general manager in 1998-99, and spent countless hours planning for the closing ceremony. "The Gardens was a great, iconic place for the Maple Leafs, but it was time for a new arena; for Leafs fans and the city of Toronto to enjoy the benefits of a next-generation building."

That next generation would open its doors one week later, when the Air Canada Centre hosted its first NHL game between the Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens.

But the final night in the hot, steamy Gardens -- with the baritone-static voice of public-address announcer Paul Morris calling goals, assists and penalties; with the brilliant panel of television lights shimmering down from the west-side girders, and the spectators hovering from end-zone seats that clung to the building's walls ... well, it's already the stuff of legend.

"When planning for that final-night ceremony, it was so important that we do it properly," said Dryden, who had played numerous games in the Gardens as a goaltender during the Canadiens' Stanley Cup dynasty of the 1970s.

"The Habs had closed the Montreal Forum three years earlier and I'd been part of an absolutely perfect ceremony. I remember thinking how that had to be the formula for the last night at the Gardens -- with the players coming out on the red carpet."

But Dryden knew itcouldn't be done exactly the same way.

"The Leafs and Montreal had different histories and it had to be reflected in the post-game ceremony," he said. "If we had replicated what the Canadiens did [in 1996], it would have been embarrassing. The Habs had great stars and living legends [Maurice Richard, Jean Beliveau, Guy Lafleur] that had won numerous Stanley Cups. They were the focal point of the last night at the Forum.

"The Leafs hadn't won in many years, and were not as influenced by a small group of former stars. So, what we did is simply invite every ex-Toronto player we could find. We told them, 'You were a part of it, come along and join us.' And it was obvious how meaningful it became for so many of them.

"The top 10 or 20 stars of a franchise often get a chance to be seen in public," Dryden said. "The players beyond that group rarely do. So, it was wonderful to watch as several hundred former Leafs of all description had their last moment in the spotlight."

A particular memory from that night still causes Dryden to burst out in laughter. It involved Red Horner, the rugged Leafs defenceman of the 1930s, who was closing in on 90 years of age.

"It was Red's responsibility to symbolically pass a Maple Leafs flag to our captain at the time, Mats Sundin," Dryden recalled. "Red was a great guy and in good health, but at an age where you don't go to bed past midnight very often.

"In the director's lounge, prior to the game, someone came up to me and said, 'Ken, you've got to go and talk to Red.' So, I went over and Red suggested that he might leave after the first period. He said he didn't want to get home too late, and hoped to avoid the post-game crowds and traffic.

"Well, my heart nearly sunk. I told him it's really important that he stay for the ceremony, because of his role in it. And, we made sure that as soon as he passed that banner to Mats, we'd quickly escort him out of the building and into a waiting car.

"Thank heavens he agreed."

Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment Ltd. sold the Gardens to the Loblaw grocery chain on Oct. 21, 2003. Plans to convert the arena into a retail/ grocery complex have not materialized. The building is immaculately maintained and has hosted the odd charity event through the years.

It is the last remaining edifice of the NHL's so-called Original Six era, with the Montreal Forum, the Boston Garden, Chicago Stadium, Detroit Olympia and old Madison Square Garden in New York all since demolished or converted to other means.