Wouldn't the Toronto Maple Leafs Love To Have Johnny Bower Now!

The Toronto Maple Leafs are dead last in the goals against department, having given up 164 goals to this point and have had multiple injuries to their starting goalies.

The problems between the pipes for the Leafs may be solved in the future by Jonas "The Monster" Gustavsson, who has shown signs of greatness but is still feeling his way around the NHL.

Vesa Toskala is in the last year of his contract and I am pretty sure he won’t be resigned in Toronto.

Where they find the right goal tending tandem for the future is up to GM Brian Burke and staff. They will hopefully appease the hunger of Toronto fans for solid net minders.

If only Leafs Nation could get the great Johnny Bower, the last man to win a Stanley Cup for the Toronto Maple Leafs, back in net!

Johnny Bower was born in 1924 in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, but now resides in the outskirts of Toronto, Ontario.

Nicknamed "The China Wall," Bower played 12 years in Toronto and amassed 250 wins and 37 shutouts and had a regular season goals against average of 2.51.

From 1940-1943, Mr. Bower served Canada in WWII while stationed in England.

He won three consecutive Stanley Cups for Toronto in 1962, '63, and '64 and added another championship in 1967, which would turn out to be the Leafs' last title.

He was the second oldest goalie to appear in the playoffs at the age of 42 years, five months, and 13 days.

He still holds the record for most shutouts in the AHL and won two Vezina Trophies for the best goalie in the NHL.

Mr. Bower makes multiple appearances and is considered one of the most fan friendly players ever to have played the game. He is always willing to give an autograph to a fan. A lot of people I have talked to have stories about meeting Mr. Bower, and he has touched many people’s lives with his generosity and kindness.

Now in his 80s, Mr. Bower still has been seen out on a pond near his house cleaning off the ice with local kids and even playing a bit with them.

Every team in the NHL would love to have a scrappy goalie in net for them like Johnny Bower. But alas, it seems they are few and far between, and in the case of Mr. Bower, one-of-a-kind!

I will have the pleasure of having the great Hall of Famer, "The China Wall," the one and only Mr. Johnny Bower, as a guest on my show Get The Puck Out on www.morencysports.com on Saturday, Jan. 16th between 6-7 PM EST.

In case you didn’t know, Gabe Morency (formally of The Score) has launched his new Web site. Mark "The Hard Hitter" Ritter, my B/R counterpart, and I will be throwing down our podcast Get The Puck Out every Saturday from 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM.

Next show will be Jan. 16th.

We’ll be giving you our opinion and taking your calls on the hottest topics in the hockey world.

The live podcast will be broadcast in studio from downtown Toronto featuring some betting analysis, fantasy advice, trivia, team/player updates, and more puck talk than you can imagine.

Be sure to call in and let your opinion be known. Don’t miss it, puckheads!
You can catch Morency and Get The Puck Out at www.morencysports.co