"Many of the colorful yarns involving Francis Michael "King" Clancy, whose Hall of Fame career extended to refereeing, coaching and serving as an assistant general manager, ambassador and raconteur, come in different versions, perhaps seasoned with a touch of blarney, including those stories he told himself.
"Some things, however, are indisputable: The King, a defenseman for the Ottawa Senators and Toronto Maple Leafs, was one of hockey's most beloved figures, spry with a high-pitched voice and a face that looked, as Toronto journalist Trent Frayne once wrote, 'like a Dublin back alley.'
"Clancy believed that 'hockey was a joyous kind of game.' And that's how he played it -- for fun. His professional playing career lasted 15 full seasons during some of the game's wildest years and began when half the League still played on natural ice. He was part of the NHL's first dynasty -- the Senators of Eddie Gerard, Frank Nighbor, Cy Denneny, Punch Broadbent, Clint Benedict and Georges "Buck" Boucher, all Hall of Famers -- and played with Toronto in the early years of the hockey palace on Carlton Street, Maple Leaf Gardens.
"Maple Leafs owner Conn Smythe credited Clancy's box office appeal with making the Gardens possible. In an era that included huge gate attractions Eddie Shore and Howie Morenz, the effervescent Clancy was probably their equal, or at least close to it, in selling tickets."
Artist Tony Harris said he got a little itchy painting Clancy's portrait.
"Painting this portrait of King Clancy was fun from start to finish," Harris said. "I love replicating the old felt Leafs logo and the wool sweaters but I can't help thinking how incredibly uncomfortable itchy they must have been."
Chris Pronger, who won the Stanley Cup with the Anaheim Ducks in 2007, and played in the Stanley Cup Final three times during his 18-season career, was a physical presence at 6-foot-6, 220 pounds who could quarterback a power play, make a quick pass out of the zone and seemingly skate all night.
Pronger won an Olympic gold medal with Canada at Salt Lake City in 2002 and Vancouver in 2010, and holds the Canadian record for most Olympic games played (25). He also won gold with Canada at the 1993 World Junior Championship and 1997 World Championship, the latter putting Pronger in the Triple Gold Club -- the exclusive group of players who have won the Stanley Cup, Olympic gold and a World Championship.
He played for the Hartford Whalers, St. Louis Blues, Edmonton Oilers, Ducks and Philadelphia Flyers. He won the Hart Trophy with the Blues in 1999-2000, the first defenseman to be League MVP since Bobby Orr in 1971-72.
Author Bob Duff, in his
NHL100 profile of Pronger
, writes how much of a factor the defenseman was when the Ducks won the Stanley Cup.