TORONTO (Dec. 23) — He may not be Garp, but the world according to Glenn Healy is still an interesting place.

The former National Hockey League goalie and rink–side voice for Hockey Night In Canada has never been shy about offering opinion; in fact, that very element of his broadcasting persuaded Rogers to let him go (in 2016). Glenn simply wasn’t kind enough to the home team and Sportsnet, as we know, controls 35% of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment. Be good… or be gone. Healy was rarely “good” in that realm, yet he remains the very best of any person that has stood between the benches on a hockey telecast, in Canada or the United States.

Unencumbered, today, by affiliation — and still among the sharpest minds in the game — Healy is the perfect choice to talk about the Leafs, for whom he played back–up goal to Curtis Joseph from 1998 to 2001. And, what better juncture to focus on the Blue and White than after their worst defensive performance in more than nine years: Thursday night’s 9–3 walloping by the Sabres in Buffalo. During which Ilya Samsonov, Toronto’s starting goalie, appeared completely discombobulated, getting the hook from coach Sheldon Keefe for the fourth time this season. Watching Samsonov in the post–game dressing room was tough; the young fellow is an emotional mess.

“I feel for him,” said Healy over the phone today. “But, I also like him. He has talent and the willingness to compete, neither of which can be taught. I’m sure that’s why the Leafs want to hang onto him. Ilya showed last year that he can play in the NHL. It’s been a lot tougher on him so far this season… but at least he fu**ing cares, which is more than I can say for a lot of guys I played with during my career. Whether Samsonov can get it back together, I don’t know. You are stripped bare every night you venture between the pipes. There is no place to hide.”

DURING HIS TIME BETWEEN THE BENCHES FOR HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA, HEALY JOKED WITH MAPLE LEAFS TOUGH GUY COLTON ORR. GLENN WAS THE BEST RINKSIDE REPORTER IN THE BIZ.
DAVID COOPER TORONTO STAR

Healy claimed that it’s different for other playing positions. “You can hide as a fifth defenseman in the NHL, or as a third–line forward… guys have made careers out of it,” he said. “We call them ‘clock killers’. They go out for 40 seconds without doing anything good, or bad. They just kind of exist, then race back to the safety of the bench. There are dozens of players like that today. No one talks about them; writes about them or has any level of expectation for them. It’s a great gig if you can land it. But, believe me, no goaltender has ever enjoyed that luxury.”

Glenn is still haunted by some of his goaltending misadventures. “I remember with the Islanders, we were playing one night in Washington and leading 3–1 with like 11 seconds remaining. And, they tied the fu**ing game! Try that bus ride afterward to the hotel. When I was with the Leafs, Cujo was on one of his hot streaks where he stopped everything. We had a game upcoming in Edmonton, from where Curtis departed to sign with Toronto, and I figured he would have the night of his life. I didn’t even bring my gloves to the bench. So what happens? The Oilers score two quick goals and Pat Quinn yells ‘Healy, get in there!’ The trainer had to run to the dressing room to get my equipment. Another time with the Leafs, in Vancouver, we were leading the Canucks, 5–1, entering the third period. Then the roof fell in, like it did when Toronto roared back, last week, against Columbus. The friggin’ game went into overtime and Stevie Thomas scored for us. Stumpy always scored in overtime. I was standing, later on, outside the team bus with Mark Askin, the TV producer. I hadn’t said anything to him and I think he was afraid to start conversation. So, I looked over and asked ‘what did you think of me playing the third period in galoshes?’

“That broke the ice and Mark cracked up. To this day, whenever I see him, he brings up the galoshes line.”

It seems clear that Samsonov has misplaced whatever confidence he carried into the season. The 26–year–old Russian is brutally honest about himself when in front of reporters, often confessing how the game tears at his emotion. “Confidence is so easy to lose in hockey and a lot more difficult to regain,” said Healy. “There were nights I played when it seemed that I was looking at the game from the wrong end of a telescope. Everything was distant and kind of scary. I just prayed that I would get through the first period. On other nights, I was so focused that I could see the guy selling popcorn in the third row of seats. It happens in other sports, as well. Remember Greg Norman leading The Masters [in 1996] by six strokes heading into the final round? He was making every shot and every putt. It looked as if he would breeze to victory. All of a sudden, he couldn’t play golf anymore. It was like he had never seen a club in his life. He lost by five strokes to Nick Faldo. I remember watching on TV and saying to myself ‘what… the… fu**?!’ There are no guarantees in sport. And, certainly not when you play goal.”

ALWAYS ENJOY RUNNING INTO GLENN, ONE OF HOCKEY’S PREMIER STORYTELLERS.

If you watch Samsonov, he is spending much of the game on his knees — a staple of the butterfly goaltending style. Opposition shooters are routinely waiting for him to go down before beating him up high. And, rather easily. It’s happening way too often. “Teams have a book on all goalies in the NHL,” Glenn insisted. “It’s not like they go into a game and start looking up the rival netminder on Hockey D–B. There are no secrets anymore, with all the games on TV. One thing I can assure the goalies that move around on their pads, not their skates: Hip replacements await them. That joint, playing that way, will not last very long. Trust me. I know. I had two of them.”

As for the Leafs, in general, Healy is asking the same questions as the rest of us… and the same questions we have pondered in the past five or six years. “Are they good enough to compete against a defensive team that gives them nothing in the playoffs? Are they strong enough to face a physical team that takes them to the gutter (as did Florida, last spring, without push back)? Can they outscore their defensive mistakes through four playoff rounds? And, on nights when they have nothing, can their goalies bail them out? Some of these questions, right now, are rhetorical. But, until the Leafs actually go on a long playoff run, nobody will believe they can. For so long now, it’s been ‘show me’ time. And, they just haven’t been able to come through when it counts.”

IN THIS CANADIAN PRESS PHOTO BY DARREN CALABRESE FROM NOV. 20, 2014, CAPTAIN DION PHANEUF (3) SEEMS TO BE CONFIRMING WITH PHIL KESSEL (81) THAT THE MAPLE LEAF PLAYERS WOULD NOT SALUTE THEIR FANS AFTER BEATING TAMPA BAY. IT WAS A TERRIBLE DECISION.

They stuck with it, alright… until two nights later, when the salute returned after a 4–1 triumph over Detroit.

The 2014–15 Maple Leafs were pathetic — more–so than any team in the post–Harold Ballard era (after 1990). Despite a 10–1–1 streak that began with the bounce–back victory over Tampa Bay, that club quit on itself and the city. Coach Randy Carlyle was fired after 6–2 trouncing by Washington at Air Canada Centre on Jan. 7. The players, to their interminable disgrace, had no desire to perform for Carlyle’s replacement, Peter Horachek. They laid down and died on Horachek for the bulk of three months, crafting a 1–13–2 record in 16 games between Jan. 12 and Feb. 20. That mark grew to 5–24–3 in 32 matches ending Mar. 26. A team that should be eternally forgotten.

10 YEARS AGO TODAY (Dec. 23, 2013)

 
IT SHUT DOWN OUR CITY AND CAUSED WIDESPREAD POWER FAILURE THAT LASTED FOR A WEEK. THANKFULLY, MY APARTMENT NEAR YONGE AND EGLINTON HAD ELECTRICITY (AND HEAT!) AFTER THE BIG ICE STORM OF DEC. 23, 2013. HUNDREDS OF TREES ACROSS THE CITY WERE DESTROYED BY THE WEIGHT OF THE ICE. THESE PHOTOS WERE TAKEN FROM MY 14th–FLOOR BALCONY; THE IMAGE, TOP–LEFT, LOOKING NORTH TOWARD THE OFFICE TOWERS OF YONGE AND SHEPPARD.

 
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