JANUARY 7 LEAFS CLAIM LARRY REGAN FROM BRUINS, 1959

Larry Regan finally got his shot at the NHL. After spending a decade playing the semi-professional circuit, Regan made his debut for the Boston Bruins in the 1956–57 season. The 27-year- old winger finished the campaign with 14 goals and 33 points in 69 games to earn the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie that year. At the time, Regan was the oldest player to win the award, a distinction he would hold until 31-year- old Sergei Makarov won it in 1989, which led to a rule change.

Following his first year with the Bruins, Regan spent another full season in Boston before he was claimed by the Maple Leafs on January 7, 1959. He would play two full seasons in Toronto before finishing his hockey career abroad in Europe, later returning to the NHL as a scout for the Los Angeles Kings. Not long into the 1968–69 season, Regan, who was the Kings’ GM at the time, was fined $1,000 by NHL president Clarence Campbell after he slugged referee Bruce Hood following a game against the California Seals.

HOWIE MEEKER SCORES FIVE GOALS, 1947

On January 8, 1947, Maple Leafs rookie Howie

Meeker scored five goals in a game. Or did he? In the newspaper coverage following the game, it was noted that two of the goals were originally credited to Wally Stanowski, but after a conference between the officials and the players, they were attributed to Meeker. More than six decades later, Stanowski suggested there was more to that story.

In an interview with the National Post ’s Joe O’Connor in 2015, Stanowski says when he returned to the bench after scoring a goal, Toronto coach Hap Day told him they were going to give the goal to Meeker. Following another supposed goal by Stanowski, Day issued the same directive. According to Stanowski, the team was trying to build up Meeker’s case to win the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie. After the five-goal game, Meeker added 11 more goals down the stretch to finish with 27 and win the Calder. While there may be some truth to Stanowski’s claim, we will never know for sure.

LEAFS TRADE FÉLIX POTVIN TO ISLANDERS FOR BRYAN BERARD, 1999

After the Maple Leafs signed goaltender Curtis Joseph to a four-year deal during free agency in 1998, the Félix Potvin era in Toronto was over. It wasn’t a matter of whether Potvin would be moved elsewhere, it was when. A few months into the season, Potvin had appeared in only a handful of games and was eager to end the saga. After several deals fell through, he was finally sent to the New York Islanders on January 9, 1999, along with a sixth-round pick, in exchange for defenceman Bryan Berard and a sixth-round pick.

In Toronto, Berard, an offensively gifted blueliner, picked up 19 points in 38 games down the stretch. The following season, after recording 30 points through the first 64 games, Berard sustained what many believed would be a careerending injury to his right eye in a game against the Ottawa Senators. Although he never played for Toronto again, Berard did return to the NHL after taking a year off and won the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, awarded annually to the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey in 2004.

MIKE NYKOLUK BECOMES HEAD COACH, 1981

Instead of broadcasting Maple Leafs games from the radio booth, Mike Nykoluk would be calling them from behind the team’s bench. On January 10, 1981, Nykoluk was named head coach, replacing Joe Crozier, who was fired two days earlier following a 13-22-5 start to the season, one of the worst openings in franchise history. Back in his playing days, Nykoluk suited up for 32 games for Toronto in the 1956–57 season.

After hanging up his skates, Nykoluk got into coaching, becoming one of the first full-time assistant coaches in NHL history when he worked with Fred Shero and the Philadelphia Flyers in the early 1970s. Following a stint with the New York Rangers as an assistant coach, he worked as a radio broadcaster for the Maple Leafs until he got the call to join the bench. Under Nykoluk’s direction, Toronto went 15-15-10 to close out the campaign and qualify for the playoffs. In the opening round, however, the Leafs were swept by the New York Islanders, who went on to win their second straight Stanley Cup.