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Legend hasn't set foot in a Leaf rink for years, but he'll be at the ACC Saturday night Feb 15, 2007 04:30 AM Mark Zwolinski -- Sports Reporter
"It was nice we won the Cup, which was the goal, but from a personal standpoint it wasn't good. ... It was the first time I didn't score 20 goals, I had 19," said Keon, who had scored 20 or more in his previous six seasons with the Leafs. Keon was snug in his south Florida home this week, missing all the nasty weather in the city he once ruled along with the likes of Frank Mahovlich, Johnny Bower, Terry Sawchuk, George Armstong, and other Leaf legends. At 66 years old and an avid golfer, Keon's sturdy value system clearly has not eroded over the years. Leaf fans are expected to reserve a huge welcome for the player who hasn't set foot in a Leaf arena since those Stanley Cup days, aside from a 1991 old-timers appearance at Maple Leaf Gardens. His absence was prompted by a well-documented feud, starting with a bitter contract dispute with former club owner Harold Ballard and continuing today with how the club honours former players. None of that, however, will spoil his reunion. "Of course I'm looking forward to it," he said. "I think it's going to be a good event. I was part of that team and nothing has changed since then; I'm still part of that team." Keon was a crewcut kid, a tenacious checker and penalty killer that helped drive not only that club, but all the Cup-winning Leaf teams earlier that decade. Assistant coach King Clancy kept meticulous statistics and referred to Keon with high praise for leading the team in hits despite his smaller size. "It was part of the way I played," a self-effacing Keon said in a telephone interview this week. "I didn't hit anyone, I just got in their way." "I just kept trying to do things that made me better. I tried that season and every season I played," Keon said. "I didn't think it was rocket science. You skate, pass, shoot. ... I always thought when you played, you never stayed the same. You had to get better, or there were times when it went the other way." The early indications for the Leafs that season suggested the team was in for a rough ride into Canada's Centennial year. Keon, along with Mahovlich, Bob Pulford, Eddie Shack, Bob Baun and Mike Walton, entered the final week of the pre-season without a contract. Carl Brewer's amateur status was restored on Dec. 1, 1966, signalling the beginning of what would become the foundation of the current NHL Players' Association. Two weeks later, the suspension of three NHL players prompted a wildcat strike by the players that lasted a week. |
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Leafs coach and GM Punch Imlach was hospitalized with what he feared was a heart attack on Feb. 18. That coincided with a losing streak that took the club below .500, but Clancy took over the coaching reins and went 7-1-2 in the 10 games Imlach lay in the hospital. All the while, Keon was the steady leader. On a personal level, he was somewhat frustrated with his inability to reach 20 goals, something he'd done 11 times in his 15 years as a Leaf. "I tried a curved stick the next year, just a little curve," Keon said. "But every batch of sticks I got, the curve kept getting bigger. I got into a scoring drought so I went back to the straighter stick." The Leafs disposed of Chicago in six games and triumphed over the Canadiens in the final. Keon wound up with playoff MVP honours, then took part in his third victory parade. "That (playoff MVP) was nice, but the Cup is how you judge the season," Keon said. "After the team, you judge yourself. But the ultimate goal was to win the Stanley Cup. "We really accomplished something when most people thought it couldn't be done. Through work, determination and caring for one another, we did something important." |
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NEIL STEVENS Published Friday February 16th, 2007
TORONTO (CP) - Matt Stajan has a special reason for wearing 14 on the back of his Toronto Maple Leafs sweater and it has nothing to do with Dave Keon. If the NHL club ever decided to honour Keon by retiring 14, however, Stajan says he'd readily give it up. Keon and most of his teammates from the 1966-67 lineup that was the last to win the Stanley Cup for Toronto are to be introduced prior to the Leafs-Edmonton Oilers game Saturday night (7 p.m. ET). Keon's participation - he's flying in from Florida for the big night - ends an estrangement from the organization that dates back to bitter contract negotiations that saw the 1967 Conn Smythe Trophy winner leave the team. Keon is also said to disagree with the club's policy to raise banners honouring certain sweater numbers rather than outright retiring the numbers. "He was my dad's favourite player growing up," Stajan said after practice Friday. For Mike Stajan's 40th birthday 12 years ago, family members bought him a throwback Leafs sweater with Keon's 14. It's on the basement rec room wall where he watches hockey on TV. Matt Stajan has never met Keon and was looking forward to the chance to shake his hand Saturday. "I've heard what he's done for the Leafs," he said. "He's one of the best players to ever wear a Leafs jersey so wearing his number, I feel privileged. "I respect the guy. He did a lot for this organization when he played. There was a little falling out there but it'll be good to have him back. "It's going to be great to see him back here along with his teammates. I'm sure there'll be a nice ovation for those guys." It's often presumed he chose 14 because of his dad's preference for Keon. "People think that's the reason I wear it, but that's not the reason I wear it," he explained. "When I was young, my uncle (Robert) wore it. "He was a big athlete. He passed away of cancer when he was only 22 years old. I was six or seven. I've worn 14 ever since then. It kind of stuck with me. It's been kind of weird. Everywhere I've played the number has opened up because the person who wore it before me left the team. Here, Jonas Hoglund left the team." Stajan said he might have had trepidations about putting on 14 had nobody else worn it since Keon. "I don't think I'd have been the first one to put it on," he said. "But there's been probably six or seven guys who have worn it since he played here. "If they said to me right now they're going to retire it, I'd be more than happy to change my number." As it is, "Hopefully, I represent it well." Stajan and his teammates all are eager to see the oldtimers take their bows in front of a capacity Air Canada Centre crowd of 19,600, and it's time the championship drought ended, he added. "Toronto needs another Cup here," he said. "It's been 40 years. "You don't want to be celebrating (another) 40 years without a Cup. Hopefully, we can feed off them, enjoy the moment and get two points." The Leafs moved into a share of eighth place in the Eastern Conference with a 4-2 win in Philadelphia on Thursday. Now they aim to climb higher and claim one of the eight playoff berths. After that, anything could happen. "It would be unbelievable," Stajan replied when asked what he imagines it might be like if the city's championship-started hockey community got to celebrate an NHL title after all these years without. "Everybody's hoping for it here in Toronto, including myself," he said. "It don't know what would happen. "There'd probably be some riots. But it'd be great. It's one of the most historic organizations and greatest fans. We've got to get a Stanley Cup here, that's for sure. The fans are deserving. As players, we're doing everything we can here." |
To the Fans of Dave Keon -- Dave will attend!Toronto Maple Leafs Of 1967 To Be SalutedJanuary 19, 2007
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 Mike StrobelThursday, November 23, 2006Davey Keon will never stand at centre ice as his jersey is raised to the ACC rafters. He simply won't do itBy MIKE STROBELBut, Davey, you're a Leaf. Forever. Always. Right? The line from Florida goes quiet. "No," murmurs the greatest Leaf who ever lived. "I am not. "I just played for them." Ouch. Jeez. Oooomph. That takes the wind out of our sails, we Dave Keon diehards. Who does Davey think he is, a Whaler? A Minnesota Fighting Saint? An Indianapolis Racer? I get on the blower to Bill Pauhl in Hamilton. Bill, 50, is the chief keeper of Keon's flame. I have written lately about his online petition urging the Maple Leafs to retire No. 14 and end the blood feud with its old captain. Unless you have been dead or in Ottawa the past 30 years, you know that Davey does not tread on Leaf Nation soil. Not since shallow Hal Ballard forced him to jump to the WHA. So Davey refuses to come to the ACC to have his number "honoured" in the rafters and join the likes of Salming, Sittler, Bower, Kelly, Armstrong and Apps. No matter that Ballard long ago moved his box seats to Park Lawn Cemetery. "I feel sorry for Davey, really, to carry it on so much," says Bill Pauhl. "Most people would have to get help for that kind of bitterness." Bill is a tad sour, too, after last week. The petition was up to 1,664 when he drove it in to the Hockey Hall of Fame. Keon was signing autographs. "You'll have to wait in line," said Ron Ellis. Just as the session ended, Keon pulled Bill aside. They last met, briefly, memorably for one of them, at Keon's hockey camp eons ago. Now, Keon said: Thanks, but no thanks. Please deep-six the campaign. Little has changed, he told Bill, between him and team brass. "I really don't like them. We're at an impasse. They say they've changed, but they haven't." Bill left crestfallen. "I felt like I had just run into a brick wall head-first," he reported on the petition site. "I am very sad and disappointed ... knowing that I was wasting my time while at the same time getting everyone's hopes up for nothing. "Many nights I dreamt of Dave standing at centre ice receiving such a huge ovation as his number was raised to the rafters. "(Now) we will never have our day with Dave Keon." When I reach Bill, he is still reeling. "I've never heard such bitterness in a man's voice. "Dave could have done it for us. He could have said, 'Yes, I have issues with the Leafs' organization, but because of my wonderful fans, I'll do it.' "But this ... Bill Pauhl pauses. "This is very selfish." A heartbreaker, our Davey. The man is maddening. Smoothest, prickliest, sweetest, tartest, openest, stubbornest, cheeriest, dourest, calmest, fieriest guy you'd ever want to meet. Depends who you ask. Polite as pie to Bill and me. Old school gentleman. Clean and classy. Remember that in 22 pro seasons he amassed just 137 penalty minutes. This, though possessing the heart of a lion, as Dick Duff reminded us at his own HHOF ceremony last week. Principled, too, by golly. But there is line between being principled and being a jerk. I have suggested lately that the rift between Keon and the Leafs is a curse that explains our Stanley Cup drought of 40 years. Crikey. There is no Keon Curse. The Decades Of Corporate Complacency Curse is more like it. But it would do a world of good to clear the air with Keon. Any chance, Davey? "No." But your fans... "You have to get on with life. I have." What if John Ferguson changes policy and retires your jersey, not just "honours" it? "No." Nothing on God's green earth we can do to thaw your heart? (Pause.) "I doubt it." Oh, no. Someone put us Keon fans out of our misery. Mike Strobel's column runs daily, Wednesday to Saturday. |
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November 8th, 2006 Will Dave Keon's number take its rightful place in the ACC rafters?By MIKE STROBELEditor's NOTE: A gremlin (the Keon Curse?) consumed Strobel's column last Saturday and replaced it with a rerun of an older opus. Here is the latest on the drive to honour #14. The online petition to retire Dave Keon's number, and chase a dark cloud from the Leafs, is near 1,400 names. As in 14 hundred. That is a splendid omen. So is this, from Leafs GM John Ferguson: "We're reaching out to him," Fergie Jr. tells me. "I've got his phone number from Davey Jr. (who works at the ACC) and I will be talking to him." It's late in the third, folks. Can it be long before #14 floats high above centre ice? Can it be long before a Stanley Cup banner follows suit? Last month I put two and two together and realized we have been bereft of Cups since the team and its greatest-ever player divorced. The Curse of Davey Keon. The split, you know, was ugly. Mostly over contract and playing rights. Davey has not set foot on Leaf soil since, though nemesis Harold Ballard is dead for, lo, these 16 years. Now's the time to square things. "Even his family wants to get it done," says superfan Bill Pauhl, 50, keeper of the petition. (davekeon14.com) Keons named Steven, Holly, Rick and Lynsey and a bevy of kin, friends and neighbours have signed, with comments. "Dave Keon is my grandpa. I am proud of him." There's even a Keon Bishop, named after the great captain. Same for a few Davids. And this: "I'm a Habs fan, but Keon's why I like hockey." The Habs? They have retired nine numbers (1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 12 and 16). This has hardly slowed them down. Montreal has won, ahem, 10 Cups since our last. The Leafs retire numbers only of "distinguished players who have died or had their careers shortened due to tragic or catastrophic circumstances while being a member of the team," says the press guide. So, #5 (Bill Barilko) and #6 (Ace Bailey) are out of circulation. But not Keon's 14. Is getting screwed by Old Man Ballard not a "catastrophic circumstance?" Look at retired numbers around the league. Dit Clapper, Ken Daneyko, Clark Gillies, Yvon Labre, Dale Hunter, Al MacInnis, Bob Nystrom, Stan Smyl, Thomas Steen... Not bad players, sure. But not a Keon in the bunch. "This can't wait forever," says Pauhl. "If they wait 'til Davey dies, I'll rip up my Leafs jersey. It should not come to that, Bill. Something is afoot. The planets are lined up at centre. Keon turns 67 next March 22. Ah, yes, '67. Forty years have passed since Keon hoisted our last Cup. At Young's Point, north of Peterborough, Marg Briggs, 55, is collecting more names in support of Keon, while pumping gas at the Petrogold. "A lot of us grew up with Davey's Leafs," she says. "Some people ask if he's still alive. "Kids ask who he was. I tell them, and they sign the petition. "A lot of women sign. They say he's kind of cute." There. Another reason to hoist that jersey. Anyway: BALLARDISDEAD, DAVEY! "I can't change history," says John Ferguson. "Davey has an open invitation to come back and be honoured and have his number raised to the rafters." Officially retired? "We've discussed that internally and out of respect for everyone who has gone before ... it wouldn't be appropriate for one player." Sounds like there's wriggle room. Besides, the current Leafs are chugging along nicely. Why not get that curse out of the way? Plan the parade. "It's a perfect time for the Leafs to do this for Davey Keon," says Pauhl. "And it's a perfect time for Mr. Keon to give in. For the fans." Odd thing. No NHL team has ever retired a #14. Brendan Shanahan likely will be the first. Unless... |
Mike Strobel
October 13, 2006
Fans push for Davey KeonMark your calendar: March 22, 2007. Anniversary of the first Stanley Cup playoffs. (Montreal went on to beat Ottawa in 1894.) It is also Bill "Captain Kirk" Shatner's birthday. Also Chico Marx. Karl Malden, Reese Witherspoon. Elvis Stojko. Marcel Marceau, Andrew Lloyd Webber. Best of all ...
On March 24, the Leafs host Buffalo.
Last week I told you about superfan Bill Pauhl, whose davekeon14.com website includes a petition asking the Maple Leafs to do the right thing by our Davey.
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Mike Strobel
Wednesday, October 4, 2006
The Davey Keon curseWe'll have to break it if the Leafs are to have a chance at the CupForty years without a sniff at the Stanley Cup. How can this be, in hockey's Mecca? It's damn unnatural. We might as well face facts. Move over Billy Goat, Bambino, Billy Penn ...
"Born in Noranda in the spring of forty,
Sing it out loud. Call it what it is.
"Fought single-handed through the Ballard war, Till the crap got too much and Hartford paid more, And while he was battling that stingy old whore, Made himself a legend, forevermore, Davey, Davey Keon, we fans just want you near." Since then, Keon has not set foot in Leaf Nation, not in Maple Leaf Gardens or the ACC.
"Well, he lost his love, and his grief was gall, In his heart he wanted to stick it to 'em all, If we raise his shirt, maybe even this fall, I bet he answers at last, Leaf Nation's call. Davey, Davey Keon, let's end the curse right here."
• You can call Mike Strobel at (416) 947-2265 or e-mail at mike.strobel@tor.sunpub.com |
Seeing Matt Stajan wear number causes pause for retirement By John Kernaghan The Hamilton Spectator Toronto Thu, October 5, 2006 Bill Pauhl watched the jerseys of three Leaf legends lofted in honour at the Air Canada Centre last night and wished for the thousandth time or so that his hero, Dave Keon, would some day take his bows. Pauhl, an operating engineer who lives on East 19th Street on Hamilton Mountain, has been gathering names on an online petition asking the Maple Leafs to retire Keon's No.14. "We're up to around 1100 names on the web site www.davekeon14.com and though Dave wrote thanking me for the support, he asked me not to promote it." Still, he kept soliciting names because he felt only a petition would sway the hockey club. But the Leafs choose to honour numbers, not retire them, and last night Borje Salming's No. 21, Red Kelly's No. 4 and another No.4, Clarence 'Hap' Day's, were raised to the rafters. The only Leaf numbers retired were as a result of shortened careers due to tragedies. Ace Bailey's No.6 was set aside after a serious head injury ended his career in the 1930s and Bill Barilko's No. 5 was immortalized after he died in a plane crash in the 1950s. Keon, meantime, rarely speaks to the media and not about the sweater retirement issue. There's no doubt he has not shaken the deep hurt in being chased from the team during the reign of the dysfunctional Harold Ballard in the early 1970s. But last night as he watched Matt Stajan skate with Keon's No. 14, Pauhl admitted he is rethinking the issue of retiring the number. It rekindled memories of the sweetest skating Leaf ever and the guy with the most complete game. "I see that 14 on the ice and I get a thrill thinking of him when he was with the Leafs, so I'm torn now. Maybe the problem could be solved if Keon's name was honoured somewhere, maybe the sleeve, on whoever wears No.14." So Keon remains in limbo, an acknowledged cornerstone of the franchise but still harbouring deep resentment, even though ownership and management has changed. Kelly was a contemporary of Keon's and a member of the three 1960s Leaf Stanley Cup winners. He switched from defence in Detroit to centre in Toronto and didn't lose a beat. He coached the Leafs in the mid-1970s, too. Day, who will be honoured posthumously, was an original Leaf in 1927 and team captain, coach and manager in a 30-year career with the franchise. He played two years with Hamilton Seniors before joining Toronto. Salming was brilliant and brave in paving the way for Europeans in the NHL, taking a horrific hammering in the early stages of his 16-year Leaf career to finish fourth, with 768 points, on the team's all-time list. Current players relished the special moments last night. "It will be just as exciting seeing Borje Salming's No.21 going up to the rafters as my first game as a Leaf," said centre Michael Peca before the game. "He definitely deserves it with all the abuse he took when he played here," said winger Alex Steen. " |
Mike StrobelThu, October 5, 2006
When will the Leafs honour Dave Keon?By MIKE STROBEL Give me nine Dave Keons and I will win you a Stanley Cup every year. -- Punch Imlach "Hey, kid," barks Davey Keon. "You in the blue." Billy Pauhl, 14, skates forward of the line, tongue-tied. In shinny games, he is Davey Keon, wears No. 14, plays centre, mimics that hurly-burly bullet style. Keon throws him a pass, smooth as fresh cream, smack on the tape. Class in session. Harris-Keon Hockey School, a couple of years after the '67 Cup. The old Forum in downtown Hamilton is cold and dank like a hockey bag. They call it The Barn. Keon is making his token appearance. Sideburns. Dark curly hair. The greatest Leaf who ever lived tells Billy and the other boys how to skate. "Get on your toes and dig in really hard and fast. "It's a violent, violent move. You should actually tear up the ice." Then Keon speeds down the boards to the blue line and picks the top corner with a snapshot. "My, that was something to see," Bill Pauhl, 50, tells me. Now he is a building engineer with two kids and still Davey Keon's truest fan. The Hamilton Forum is long gone. Keon is long gone from the Leafs. Gone and bitter, still gagging on the bad taste of Harold Ballard. Ballard is gone, too. Cold in his miser's grave. So is the Stanley Cup, it seems, after 40 years of drought in Toronto. Only the curse remains: The Curse of Davey Keon. I wrote of this yesterday and reworked the Ballad of Davy Crockett to suit. A gremlin, maybe even Harold's ghost, screwed up the opening verse. It should go: Born in Noranda in the spring of forty, Nimblest skater in this land of hockey, Everyone thinks he's mighty grumpy, Killed him a bear when he was only three? Davey, Davey Keon, king of the Leafs' Cup years. This leads me to Bill Pauhl's website, davekeon14.com, which includes a petition to retire our Davey's number and hang it from the ACC rafters whether he wants it or not. "This has been bothering me for years," says Bill. Such a gesture is sure to reverse the Keon Curse. Do you believe in curses, Bill? "There's definitely something hanging over that team." Keon sent him a thank-you note and signed photo for the site. But he added: "Please don't promote having my number retired." "Actually, I admire his stand," Bill tells me. "I'm the same kind of guy who'd cut off my nose to spite my face, to make a point." But this super-fan is steadfast in his quest, though he has mixed emotions about taking No. 14 out of action. "It just thrills me to see that number on the ice." Matt Stajan wears it now. Maybe, says Bill, they could "retire" No. 14, but let it be worn by others, with Keon's name getting permanent honourable mention on the back. Last year, Bill called John Ferguson's office to let him know about the petition. He hoped to tell him: "This is what we want as Leaf fans and we're not going to stop until Dave Keon has his day." But he got a secretary and never heard back. This strikes him as odd, since John Sr. played in Montreal, where retiring numbers of the greats is as much a right as a rite. The Leafs fully retire numbers only of tragic figures. So far, Bill Barilko (5) and Ace Bailey (6). Others have been "honoured" in the rafters, but not No. 14. Blame stubbornness all around. Super-fan Bill even has a graceful out for Keon. "All he has to say is, 'I'm doing this for my fans.' "Whatever is bothering him, he can hang on to that. Just come out for one day. For us." I hope Davey sees the light. If not, Mr. Ferguson, just do it. Retire the number. If Davey won't show up, screw him. Do it anyway. This 40-year losing streak sucks. DAVE KEON NO. 14 RETIRED NUMBERS 5 Bill Barilko 6 Ace BaileyHONOURED NUMBERS 1 Turk Broda1 Johnny Bower 7 Tim Horton 9 Charlie Conacher 9 Ted Kennedy 10 Syl Apps 10 George Armstrong 27 Frank Mahovlich 27 Darryl Sittler HONOURED LAST NIGHT 4 Clarence "Hap" Day 4 Leonard "Red" Kelly 27 Borje Salming You can call Mike Strobel at (416) 947-2265 or e-mail at mike.strobel@tor.sunpub.com |
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The Hamilton Spectator | ||||
If you've ever played road hockey -- and I'm betting you have -- you'll know that there are a few things that have happened in every game ever held in this country. Play has been halted and the nets dragged to the side of the street at least a few times by players yelling Caaaaaaaaaaaaaaar! An argument has broken out about who has to retrieve the ball that is now half a block away and still rolling after a wayward slapshot missed the net. Someone has taken home a bruise from a frozen tennis ball smashing into their legs or butt. And before the game, players have claimed the names of their heroes as their roles for the drama about to unfold. Decades ago, you would have yelled, "I'm Richard" or "I'm Syl Apps," depending on your team allegiance. Later years brought the names Sittler, Lafleur, Salming, Gretzky, Lemieux, Bossy and any other favourites to the street. Today Sundin or Yzerman or Iginla are good bets. If you were really lucky, you had a team sweater with that player's number on the back. That usually gave you dibs on that player in the event of a disagreement. When Bill Pauhl was a kid, there was no question who he was going to be when the nets came out. He was Dave Keon. Arguing was pointless. The dozen or so kids he played with regularly didn't even bother. They knew. "I drove them nuts," he says. It was the same when they played on the ice at a local park. Or at Brantdale School. Or playing minor hockey at Inch Park Arena and later Mountain Arena. He was Keon. And he always wore Keon's familiar number 14. From the time Pauhl was 10, he was a fan of the little Leaf. It may have been an emotional thing stemming from the fact his father died around the time he began to take a serious interest in Keon. It may be because he always admired Keon's style of play. He was a hard working. A leader. A scorer. The guy with the best backhander in hockey. Every Saturday night was Hockey Night in Canada Night in the Pauhl household. They would eat chips, drink pop and he would study his hero. He even met him once. At a hockey school at the Hamilton Forum, Keon picked Pauhl -- dressed head to toe in blue -- out of a cluster of students and demonstrated a passing drill with him. Now 46, Pauhl is reticent to let go of the good times those days represent. "That name means a lot of good times for me as a kid," he says. "If I was to let go of Number 14, I would have to let go of so many childhood memories and I'm not about to do that." So, in an act that falls somewhere between undying respect and hero worship, he has created a Web site dedicated to Keon. But it's more than just a shrine. Pauhl's site -- http://www.davekeon.com/ -- contains an online petition to ask the Maple Leafs to retire the former captain's number. He hopes to get enough electronic signatures to make it worthwhile to print and deliver to club president Ken Dryden. That, he hopes, would lead to Keon's name and number being hoisted to the Air Canada Centre rafters. "Dave Keon meant a lot to that team," he says. "I think there are a lot of Toronto Maple Leafs' fans because of Dave Keon." He's right. But he's also facing an uphill battle. There are a few challenges that stand in the way of success in this venture. The largest would seem to be the Leafs' reluctance to retire numbers. Only Bill Barilko and Ace Bailey have received that distinction and both were the victims of tragic circumstances. The franchise chooses instead to honour great players. And there's the matter of getting enough people to sign the petition to make it worthwhile. So far he has only 50 names on the list.(Many More Now Since this Article !!) This is partially due to the fact that few people know the site exists. He has only recently been advertising. But it also has something to do with the passage of time. Few young fans know much about Keon. They don't know he is the only Leaf to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP. They don't know he played over 1,000 games for the team. They aren't aware he won back-to-back Lady Byng Trophies. Or that he won the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year in 1961. Or that he is considered one of the greatest penalty killers of all time. They are unaware he's a hall of famer. Or that he won four Stanley Cups. They don't even know that Keon was once traded as part of a package with one of the Hanson Brothers from Slapshot. It's true. In 1975, he fled the Leafs to join the WHA. But a year later, his Minnesota Fighting Saints sent him to Edmonton. The Oilers then turned around and dealt him to the New England Whalers along with Steve Carlson. Pauhl found out just how little some people know about his hero when he visited a Maple Leaf-based Web site a few days ago. He went on a message board and found himself frustrated. "I finally asked if anyone knows who Dave Keon is," he says. "Some guy said, 'yeah, he's the guy from the Via One commercial.'" That doesn't deter him. His son-Jeremy and his 10-year-old nephew-Jacob now wears No. 14 on their sweaters at his urging. Pauhl's bedroom walls have photos of Keon. He's written to the former captain who now lives in Florida and isn't upset by the lack of a reply. ( Dave has sent me a letter and an autographed picture personalized to me. ) If he ever needed a sign that he should continue, he got it earlier this hockey season. It came during an odd moment in his own hockey career. He still plays oldtimers hockey and has always worn No. 14. This season he was traded. When he showed up, he was expecting to have to finally break down and depart with the tradition he established decades ago. Instead, he got a pleasant surprise. "The guy said, 'All I've got is 14,'" he says. "My eyes lit up as he threw it across the room." sradley@thespec.com or 905-526-2440. | ||||
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