Oct. 26, 2023

Gerry McNamara, Discovering Borje & Drafting Wendel

Gerry McNamara, Discovering Borje & Drafting Wendel

Former Toronto Maple Leafs GM [and goalie!] Gerry McNamara talks about Brandon Walsh/Jason Priestley playing him in the upcoming Borje Salming bio-pic, Maple Leafs President Brendan Shanahan personally reaching out to bring him back into the Maple Leafs alumni family, the first time he hit that Maple Leaf Gardens ice [replacing Johnny Bower!], the day he got hired as a Maple Leafs Special Assignment Scout, the incredible story behind his Xmas 1972 trip to Sweden where he discovered Borje Salming/Inge Hammarstrom/Anders Hedberg/Ulf Nilsson, why owner Harold Ballard treated him great but was ultimately a Jekyll & Hyde personality, the deliberations behind selecting Wendel Clark #1 overall at the 1985 NHL entry draft [instead of Craig Simpson!], why he won’t reveal where he keeps his 1989 Stanley Cup championship ring earned as a scout with the Calgary Flames, the strange speculation that Bobby Orr could NOT skate backwards, and he clears the air on a few things he wanted to get off of his chest!

Thanks to Joe Tilley for sharing some great audio clips...JOE TILLEY’S GREAT CANADIAN SPORTS SHOW can be enjoyed at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJVqzgKh3yXVv5Z88UIgVBw

Thanks to Sean Mitton for arranging the interview with Gerry! Sean is a past TORONTO LEGEND, and his episode of this podcast can be enjoyed at https://www.torontolegends.ca/sean-mitton/

TORONTO LEGENDS is hosted by Andrew Applebaum at andrew.applebaum@gmail.com

All episodes available at https://www.torontolegends.ca/episodes/

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