Aug. 21: Blake born in Ontario

THIS DATE IN HISTORY: Aug. 21
1912:
Toe Blake
, who plays on or coaches 11 Stanley Cup-winning teams on the way to earning induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame, is born in Victoria Mines, Ontario.

Blake, whose real name is Hector, signs with the
Montreal Maroons
in February 1935, then plays eight regular-season games and one in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. He gets his name on the Cup for the first time when the Maroons defeat the Toronto Maple Leafs in the Cup Final.
The Maroons send Blake to the Montreal Canadiens on Feb. 13, 1936, and he spends the rest of his hockey career helping them win championships.
Two come as a player; he combines with
Elmer Lach
and
Maurice Richard
to form the "Punch Line," one of the great three-man units in NHL history. The line helps the Canadiens win the Stanley Cup in 1944 and 1946. It stays intact until Jan. 11, 1948, when Blake breaks his leg in a game against the New York Rangers, ending his playing career after 13 seasons. He's elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame as a player in 1966 and is named to the
100 Greatest NHL Players
in 2017.
Blake turns to coaching and gets the job with the Canadiens in 1955. Montreal
wins the Cup
in each of his first five seasons and finishes with eight championships in Blake's 13 seasons as coach. He steps down after the Canadiens sweep the St. Louis Blues in the 1968 Cup Final.

MORE MOMENTS
1969:The Hockey Hall of Fame unveils its newest members. Longtime NHL players
Red Kelly
,
Sid Abel
,
Roy Worters
and
Bryan Hextall Sr.
are elected. Former Detroit Red Wings owner Bruce Norris is elected in the Builders category.
2006: The Los Angeles Kings announce they will retire
Luc Robitaille
's No. 20 in a ceremony on Jan. 20, 2007. The announcement comes four months after Robitaille plays his final game, ending a career that sees him score 557 of his 668 NHL goals with Los Angeles.
2019:The
Minnesota Wild hire Bill Guerin
as the fourth general manager in their history. The move comes 14 months after they pass on Guerin and hire Paul Fenton as GM to replace Chuck Fletcher. Guerin comes to the Wild after five seasons as an assistant GM with the Pittsburgh Penguins following a playing career that sees him score 429 goals in 18 seasons and win the Stanley Cup with the New Jersey Devils and Pittsburgh Penguins.