Anthony Stolarz's strong playoff start stirs Maple Leafs memories for Ken Wregget
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So, the former maple Leaf goalie can just imagine how imposing he must look to the Ottawa Senators.
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'I was 6-foot-1 in the 1980s and considered big,' Wregget told the Sun on Friday morning after watching Game 3. 'He's 6-foot-6, but's he's moving well and playing great. From what I've heard about him as a person, this is a great moment for him, too.'
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Wregget and Stolarz now share a unique Leafs mark as the only two Toronto netminders to have won their first three playoff games in blue and white.
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For Wregget, now 61, Stolarz has opened the memory bank to the 1986 best-of-five division semifinal. After a turtle derby in the very-forgiving NHL post-season format of the day. Toronto had finished 2-7-1 in their last 10 games with 57 points yet still qualified and it swept the Chicago Blackhawks, who were almost 30 points ahead.
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'Oh man, the Snorris Division,' Wregget said. 'That was a special series, but being a best-of-five, they were all important games.
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'I think it was my first game at Chicago Stadium, with that pipe organ and the crowd noise from the national anthem. It didn't stop when the game started. They won the opening faceoff, shot it in our corner and our defencemen and I couldn't hear each other shouting.'
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Unlike Stolarz, who had a role on the 2024 Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers, Wregget's Leafs hadn't made the playoffs for three years and he hadn't played a full season.
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'It was almost like ignorance was bliss,' he said of 5-3 and 6-4 wins, led by young guns Wendel Clark, Gary Leeman, Steve Thomas and Russ Courtnall, in tandem with Rick Vaive. 'I didn't fully understand the pressure. Then we came home for Game 3 (many corporate subscribers hadn't used their playoff option on a bad team so 'real fans' snapped up tickets) and it was crazy when we won (7-2).
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'What's courage? It's belief in yourself and that can go a long way.'
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Wregget's bid for a fourth straight win was stopped in Game 1 of the Norris final against St. Louis. Still, Toronto forced the Blues to a seventh game, a 2-1 loss. After being traded to the Flyers in 1989, Wregget joined the Pittsburgh Penguins to back up Tom Barrasso on their '92 Cup team.
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'That gave me a lot of perspective. I see myself doing what Stolarz probably did for his team this year, as the part-time starter, helping on the bench, carrying sticks, drying equipment. But watching Tom in net, the biggest thing for me was always making sure you were ready to play at a moment's notice. You never wanted to get thrown in and embarrass yourself.'
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'I make sure the Leafs games are on,' he said. 'I really like the team Craig Berube has put together up there, how tight they play. If Pittsburgh's not in, the Leafs are in my heart.'
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14 minutes ago
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Arrivederci. Toronto FC buys out hefty contracts of Italy's Insigne, Bernardeschi
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Insigne scored 19 goals and added 18 assists in 76 games for Toronto across all competitions. That includes one goal and three assists in 12 appearances this season. Bernardeschi scored 26 goals and added 22 assists in 99 appearances across all competitions. An all-star in 2024, he has four goals and four assists through 15 matches this season. Bernardeschi offered a parting message via social media. "Every single day on the pitch, I gave everything I had. All my passion. All my drive. All of myself. I never held back," he wrote. "I gave everything for this shirt, for this city, for its fans." "Now a new journey begins for me," he added. "A new chapter, a new challenge. But the bond with this city, with its people, will forever live in my heart. Toronto FC, MLS: thank you for this extraordinary adventure. This is not goodbye. It's see you soon." Bernardeschi has been linked to a move to Italy's Bologna. Insigne sat out the last two TFC games. He did not make it off the bench in a 1-1 draw with the New York Red Bulls and did not dress for Saturday's 3-0 win over Portland. At the time, Toronto coach Robin Fraser said the club wanted to give other players a chance. Toronto sat Insigne for the first four games of this season after failed attempts to move him to clubs in Italy, Spain, Turkey and Brazil. Insigne kept training with the first team while out of favour. "It wasn't a happy time for me," he told The Canadian Press in May. "But I'm not going to keep thinking about it." "I've always been happy here, and as long as my contract lasts, I'm going to do the best I can to make us win," he added. The club eventually returned him to action, but with one goal and three assists in 12 league outings, he did not make much of an impact. Bernardeschi has not played since May 24 when he picked up a fifth yellow card that earned him a one-game suspension. 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And as long as my contract's here, that is my goal at the end — I'm here to work hard and respect everybody." Hopes were high when the two made their debut in July 2022, when Bernardeschi scored one goal and set up another and Insigne collected a stylish assist in a 4-0 romp over expansion Charlotte FC. The Italians' debut drew an announced sellout of 29,067, well above the average of 23,676 over the previous 11 home matches that season. Compare that to the 14,019 that Toronto drew this season for a 1-0 home loss to FC Cincinnati on May 14. The two Italians reportedly bumped heads with former coach Bob Bradley. John Herdman, who succeeded Bradley. converted Bernardeschi to wingback with Fraser returning him to his more accustomed winger position. Bernardeschi arrived with a Grade-A resume. "We are thrilled to add Federico to our team," said Bill Manning, TFC's president at the time. 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Winnipeg Free Press
an hour ago
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