Glenn Anderson took part as a member of the Canadian team during the Legends of Hockey Game that took place Sunday at Toronto's Air Canada Centre.

Legends add luster
to Fame weekend
By James Murphy | Special to NHL.com
Nov. 7, 2005

TORONTO -- The Maple Leafs may have been on the road Sunday, but the Air Canada Centre was still at least half-full as the 2005 Legends Classic Tour came to town to help celebrate the 2005 Hockey Hall Of Fame Induction weekend. The Legends Classic Tour is a six-city journey across Canada pitting former Russian and Canadian players against each other and re-visiting one of hockey's fiercest rivalries.

The tour travels through six cities, Winnipeg, Edmonton, Ottawa, Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver. A portion of the proceeds from the tour going to the "Shoot for a Cure" campaign of the Canadian Spinal Research Organization, Athletes in Action, and the Hockey Hall of Fame.

There was no shortage of former superstars as the newest Hall of Famer, Cam Neely, joined Dale Hawerchuk, Bobby Hull, Rod Langway, Peter Stastny, Lanny McDonald, Borje Salming, Steve Shutt, Billy Smith and many others donned the Maple Leaf for Canada, while Viacheslav Fetisov, Valeri Kamensky and Vladimir Krutov, Igor Kravchuk and Dmitri Khristich were some of the stars for Russia.

Canada fell behind by two goals twice, but rallied for a 7-4 win, with Neely sparking the comeback, potting a goal and two assists with two points in his first two shifts. But while it was great to see Neely show he still has the touch that helped get him in the Hall, the real joy in this exhibition and the whole weekend has been in the fans' response and the celebration of its heroes.

"This about the game, charity, and most of all the fans," Langway said. "It's a treat to be able to entertain these fans and also to just break a sweat. Its just great for the game and great for everyone involved."

Langway admitted maybe the fans were too kind even coming to see some players who haven't played in over 15 years.

"We're just a bunch of old goats trying to entertain fans and thank them for coming," he joked. "I mean some of us haven't played in a while, but you knew at least here in cities like Toronto, Edmonton, Winnipeg and all Canadian cities they love their hockey and we're grateful for that."

Stastny, a Slovakian who plays for Canada, echoed Langway's thoughts.

"I mean, we just look at this as an opportunity to do something we did so long and hopefully we can please the fans but you know that Canadians love this game and they support us no matter what," Stastny said of the exhibition.

Stastny said that the response of the fans this weekend brought memories of his time in Quebec, when he became one of the best players in NHL history.

"I was thinking a lot of the passion for hockey in that city and it's nice to see fans still have that for the sport," he said.

Former NHL referee Ron Hoggarth is the referee for the six-game tour and also the emcee during the game.

"I try to get the crowd into it and we just basically want to have a good game because that's what this is about," Hoggarth said. "This is a great time and I'm a big fan of these players as well, so it's wonderful to be a part of this."