Eddie Shack, who won four Stanley Cups with the Toronto Maple Leafs and scored the Cup-winning goal in 1963, has died. He was 83.
The Leafs announced his death on Sunday.
The Maple Leafs are deeply saddened by the passing of Eddie Shack.
A three-time all star and four-time Stanley Cup champion, Eddie entertained Leafs fans on the ice for nine seasons and for decades off of it. He will be greatly missed.
The son of Ukrainian immigrants, Shack was born in Sudbury, Ont., and his playing career began in an unorthodox way.
At the age of 15 — and after struggling in school — Shack left his job as a butcher to try out for the Guelph Biltmores, an Ontario Hockey Association team, where he played for five seasons and became one of its stars before being signed by the New York Rangers.
Shack made his NHL debut in 1958-59 and played for New York for two seasons where, despite having been a prolific scorer in junior hockey, he was expected to fill the role of a checker. He scored only 16 goals in parts of three seasons with the Rangers, before being traded to the Maple Leafs in 1960, where he would go on to enjoy his most successful playing years.
For seven seasons, Shack skated on the Maple Leafs’ wings, playing the part of colourful third-line agitator and endearing himself to fans despite his name rarely coming up in the goals or assists columns of box scores.
The longer he spent wearing blue and white, the more his popularity grew. So much so that in 1966, Brian McFarlane wrote the song, “Clear the Track, Here Comes Shack” in his honour. Performed by The Secrets, the song reached the top of Canada’s pop charts for two weeks and remained on the chart for over two months.
On the ice, Shack’s play earned him the nickname “The Entertainer,” a persona he drew on in a second career as a TV pitchman. His role as an agitator meant being a willing fighter, too.
Eddie Shack salutes one of his Pop Shoppe posters. (Photo by Ron Bull/Toronto Star via Getty Images)
Famously, in the 1964 playoffs against the Montreal Canadiens, Shack fought Henri Richard — which culminated in Shack head-butting Richard because his arms were pinned and unavailable to keep throwing punches, sending Richard out of the game for stitches. Toronto went on to win the game, and the series, en route to claiming the Stanley Cup.
Shack’s enthusiasm for the game of hockey was on display whenever his blades hit the ice. So too was his commitment to winning, and whether it was by firing his teammates up in the dressing room between periods or by being a comedian and getting those around him to loosen up, Shack was always whatever his team needed him to be.
Shack won four Stanley Cups with the Maple Leafs in 1962, 1963, 1964 and 1967.
Although much of his tenure was spent as a third- or fourth-line forward, Shack’s most famous goal was historic. During the 1963 playoffs, Shack scored the Stanley Cup-winning goal — which, he claimed at the time in typical colourful fashion, he unintentionally deflected into the net with his backside.
As a member of the Maple Leafs, he also played in three All-Star Games from 1962 to 1964.
Toronto Maple Leafs’ forward Eddie (The Entertainer) Shack, decked out in a cowboy hat, heads up ice with the puck during the Heroes of Hockey oldtimers game at the NHL All-Star weekend in Toronto, Saturday, Feb. 5, 2000. (Kevin Frayer / CP)
In his post-Maple Leafs NHL career, Shack played for the Boston Bruins — where his Stanley Cup-winning experience earned him a more prominent role in the offence, scoring 23 goals — the Los Angeles Kings, Buffalo Sabres and Pittsburgh Penguins.
The twilight of Shack’s career saw him reunited with Toronto, where he played his final two seasons before retiring in 1975.
During his 17-year NHL career, Shack scored 239 goals, while picking up 226 and 1,437 penalty minutes throughout 1,047 regular-season games. He added six goals, seven assists and 151 penalty minutes in 74 playoff games.
Eddie Shack (L) and Red Kelly (R) share a moment during a ceremony commemorating the 50th anniversary of the 1964 Stanley Cup for the Toronto Maple Leafs. The ceremony was held on February 8, 2014. (Abelimages/Getty)
After retiring, Shack — like his former Maple Leafs teammate, Tim Horton — lent his name to donut shops, with the Eddie Shack Donuts chain opening in 1994.
His oversized personality led to him starring in television ad campaigns, too, acting as a spokesman for companies like Esso, Journey’s End Hotels and, perhaps most famously, the Pop Shoppe — for whom he appeared on billboards and in radio spots.
Throughout his post-hockey life, Shack used his fame to advocate for literacy in schools, with the hope of inspiring students to study so they wouldn’t endure the same academic struggles that he did.
DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Red Wings signed forward Lucas Raymond to an eight-year, $64.6 million contract Monday, completing a deal with one of their best young players less than 72 hours before training camp begins.
Raymond will count $8.075 million against the salary cap through 2032. The 22-year-old was a restricted free agent without a contract for the upcoming NHL season and was coming off setting career highs with 31 goals, 41 assists and 72 points.
The Red Wings have another one of those in defenceman Moritz Seider, who won the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year in 2021-22.
Detroit is looking to end an eight-year playoff drought dating to the Original Six franchise’s last appearance in 2016.
Raymond, a Swede who was the fourth pick in 2020, has 174 points in 238 games since breaking into the league.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Kirk Cousins led a flawless last-minute drive for Atlanta and connected with Drake London for a 7-yard touchdown with 34 seconds left to give the Falcons a 22-21 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday night.
Saquon Barkley dropped a short pass that stopped the clock with 1:46 left and forced the Eagles to settle for a field goal instead of a game-sealing first down. That was plenty of time for Cousins — especially against an Eagles defense playing soft coverage with a nonexistent pass rush.
The 36-year-old veteran, playing his second game since tearing his Achilles tendon last Oct. 29 while playing for Minnesota, shook off an uneven effort and hit Darnell Mooney for 21 and 26 yards on consecutive plays during the decisive drive.
Cousins found London on a short pass to his right for the tying score, and Younghoe Koo put Atlanta (1-1) on top with a 48-yard extra point after London was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct. The go-ahead drive took just 65 seconds.
Jalen Hurts had his final pass intercepted by Jessie Bates III to seal Atlanta’s win and set off a wild celebration on the sideline.
The Eagles (1-1) went ahead on Hurts’ 1-yard tush push score with 6:47 left. Barkley finished with 95 yards on 22 carries in his home debut for Philadelphia, but his drop provided the Falcons with some hope.
And then Cousins started playing like the QB Atlanta thought it was getting when it signed him to a four-year, $180 million contract.
Cousins finished 20 of 29 for 241 yards and two touchdowns. Atlanta’s first TD was a 41-yarder from Cousins to Mooney, who finished with three catches for 88 yards.
Hurts was 23 of 30 for 183 yards, including a touchdown pass to DeVonta Smith. With No. 1 receiver A.J. Brown out with a hamstring injury, Smith led the Eagles with seven catches for 76 yards and a score.
Jake Elliott kicked two field goals for the Eagles. His 28-yarder with 1:39 left made it 21-15.
Atlanta kept stalling in the red zone, getting three field goals from Koo, before Cousins fired over the middle to Mooney, who shook loose from C.J. Gardner-Johnson and left him on the turf before he somersaulted into the end zone with 1:21 left in the third quarter for a 15-10 lead. Cousins failed on the 2-point conversion pass.
Hurts had some juice in his step during a second-quarter TD drive, running with abandon for big plays much like he did in the 2022 season. He spiked the ball in a rare, raw show of emotion on a 23-yard run, earning a delay-of-game penalty. He shrugged off the 5-yard setback and scrambled for 9 yards and 15 yards to move the Eagles to Atlanta’s 19.
With comedian Shane Gillis and actor Bradley Cooper among the fans cheering on the Eagles, Hurts connected with Smith in the back of the end zone for a 7-yard TD that made it 7-3.
Under new defensive coordinator Vince Fangio, the Eagles have established an early knack for allowing long drives that end with three points instead of seven. Koo kicked field goals of 39, 22 and 34 yards, the last one enough for a 9-7 lead in the third quarter. In their opener, the Eagles held the Packers to just three field goals when they drove inside the 20.
Questionable call
Rather than take a chip-shot field goal from Elliott, the Eagles’ fourth-and-4 gamble at Atlanta’s 9-yard line in the first quarter failed when Hurts threw an incomplete pass.
Elliott kicked a 29-yarder with 4:31 left in the third quarter for a 10-9 lead.
Running wild
Bijan Robinson ran for 97 yards for the Falcons. The Eagles stuffed him late on fourth-and-1 at the Atlanta 39.
Barkley was quiet until the go-ahead drive, a week after he rushed for 109 yards and scored three touchdowns against Green Bay. Eagles fans booed when the opening drive of the game ended without Barkley touching the ball. They went wild when he had consecutive 9-yard runs to open the second drive. Barkley had 40 yards rushing in the first half.
Foles honored
Former Eagles QB Nick Foles, who led the franchise to its only Super Bowl title, served as an honorary captain and led the crowd in a rendition of “Fly, Eagles, Fly.”
Injuries
The Falcons played without LB Nate Landman (calf, quad).
Up next
Atlanta hosts Super Bowl champion Kansas City on Sunday.
TORONTO – Singles star Leylah Fernandez and doubles specialist Gabriela Dabrowski will anchor Canada’s five-player lineup when the team tries to defend its Billie Jean King Cup title in mid-November.
The 26th-ranked Fernandez, the 2021 U.S. Open finalist from Laval, Que., is the lone Canadian in the top 100 of the WTA Tour’s singles rankings.
Dabrowski, from Ottawa, is ranked fourth on the doubles list. The 2023 U.S. Open women’s doubles champion won mixed doubles bronze with Felix Auger-Aliassime at the recent Paris Olympics.
Marina Stakusic of Mississauga, Ont., returns after a breakout performance last year, capped by her singles win in Canada’s 2-0 victory over Italy in the final. Vancouver’s Rebecca Marino is also back and Bianca Andreescu, the 2019 U.S. Open champion from Mississauga, Ont., returns to the squad for the first time since 2022.
“Winning the Billie Jean King Cup in 2023 was a dream come true for us, and not only that, but I feel like we made a statement to the world about the strength of this nation when it comes to tennis,” Canada captain Heidi El Tabakh said Monday in a release. “Once again, we have a very strong team this year with Bianca joining Leylah, Gaby, Rebecca and Marina, making it an extremely powerful team that is more than capable of going all the way.
“At the end of the day, our goal is to make Canada proud, and we’ll do our best to bring the same level of effort and excitement that we had in last year’s finals.”
Fernandez, who beat Jasmine Paolini to clinch Canada’s first-ever title at the competition, is ranked No. 42 in doubles.
Canada, which received an automatic berth as defending champion, will play the winner of the first-round tie between Great Britain and Germany on Nov. 17 at Malaga’s Martin Carpena Arena.
Australia, Italy and wild-card entry Czechia also received first-round byes. The tournament, which continues through Nov. 20, also includes host Spain, Slovakia, the United States, Poland, Japan and Romania.
Stakusic is up 27 spots to No. 128 in the latest world singles rankings. Marino is at No. 134 and Andreescu, the 2019 U.S. Open champion, is ranked 167th.
Canada will look to become the first team since Czechia in 2016 to successfully defend its Billie Jean King Cup title.
Malaga will also host the Nov. 19-24 Davis Cup Final 8. The Canadian men qualified over the weekend with a 2-1 victory over Great Britain in Manchester.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
