A decade has passed since Leafs vacated Gardens

Can't believe its been 10 years since I was in Toronto!
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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.