In the late 1980s, my Dad drove a blue Chrysler sedan; I think it was a "Le Baron". Yes, a blue Chrysler LeBaron! Manual windows and doors, carpeted seating, a pop-up antenna that I whacked with a hockey stick to see how many times it would bounce back and forth, and less interior features than anyone knew what to do with. Dad loved his Le Baron, and nothing put a smile on his face quite like a trip to Knob Hills Farms on a Saturday afternoon. A kid growing up in the suburbs of Mississauga, before the urban sprawl of the 2000s, had millions of things to do during his summer vacation. However, if your name started with "Phil", ended with "Wood", and lived on Autumn Leaf Crescent, then you were going with him. "Phil, get in the car; we're going to Knob Hill Farms."
I
cried, pleaded, made excuses, and begged, but nothing I could do or say
would prevent my Dad from taking me back to the "most boring place in
the world". My Dad threw me into the backseat of the Le Baron, got in
the car, and drove off to parts unknown (i.e. North York).It was during one road trip to the depths of...vegetables that Dad tuned in his special AM/FM Stereo radio to CFRB 1010 to hear good old Wally Kreuter talk sports. I remember that cloudy day as if it was yesterday. Wally said...
"...Maple Leafs General Manager Gord Stellick announced today that the team traded forward Russ Courtnall to the Montreal Canadiens for defenceman John Kordic..."
Suddenly, the rear wheel drive gave way, Dad lost control of the steering wheel, and I could feel my body being thrust from one side of the car to another! Could this be the end? Has the apocalypse begun? Will the specter of the four horsemen signalled the beginning of at least twenty years of Ballard wrought futility? What will become of me? Will I survive, or have I fallen under the icy grip of death?
"Phil, we're here."
I woke up in the backseat of the LeBaron in the Knob Hill Farms parking lot; we arrived safe and sound (albeit safe is not the right word given the circumstance). I passed out before hearing Gord Stellick trying to explain his actions in his squeaky, lilting voice. Nevertheless, the dream was true: The Leafs traded their best player in Russ Courtnall to the dreaded Montreal Canadiens for...John Kordic?! We traded the future star and goal scoring phenom in the "Hound Line" with him, Gary Leeman, and Wendel Clark for a do nothing goon?
(While Russ Courtnall's addition to the Habs' lineup did not produce Cups, his trade to the Minnesota North Stars before the '93 season for Brian Bellows contributed to the team's eventual Cup triumph. John Kordic's story does not have the happy ending; he died in 1992 after an alcohol-related altercation with police)
Fast forward to 2010. Driving on Highway 403 in a Discount rent-a-van to the office in Brampton, I turn on the FAN 590 and hear the announcer proclaim "...Canadiens General Manager Pierre Gauthier announced today that the team traded goaltender Jaroslav Halak to the St.Louis Blues for prospect Lars Eller and..." I forgot the rest of what he said as I was trying to keep the van from tumbling off the overpass!
It happened again! I never thought something like "The Kordic Trade" would ever happen again, but it did this afternoon! Halak, who carried Slovakia to semi-finals of the 2010 Olympics ahead of three of the world's six hockey superpowers and the 'saving grace' of the Canadiens' in last year's postseason run and comeback hero against all things Ovechkin and Backstrom and Crosby and Malkin, is gone to the Blues for...Danish '07 draft pick Lars Eller and Ian Schultz (one of these two does not have a wiki on Wikipedia; guess which one!)
As they say in Slovakia, "Buckle up, this will be a bumpy ride!"
No comments:
Post a Comment