MacHall's Bleacher Creature Trivia, Part Six: Classic Hockey Hodgepodge

Summer. For the hardcore hockey nut, beautiful weather is swapped off for fast-paced sporting glory, and it doesn‘t quite seem like a fair trade. After weeks of intense Stanley Cup ups-and-downs, the months after that final game can be awfully anti-climactic.

It can seem like an unwanted four-month break from ice-based madness. But really, it isn’t. Especially if you know where to look.

Welcome to Part Six of the Quiz! Every week this summer, find new hockey trivia (and answers) here, now twice a week. Test yourself and your friends, and take credit as the King or Queen of hockey knowledge.

Covering various topics (and miscellany) chapter to chapter, it’s a fun and easy way to get into the game over the hot summer months. Take a journey with your fellow Bleacher Creatures and discover the stories that make up over 100 years of ice time.

Think you can handle it? Want to prove your hockey smarts? Grab a pen and paper, or simply type your solutions on your own Bleacher Report profile and play along. Answers for today’s questions will be listed in Friday’s edition, and links to other chapters are at the bottom of the page.

Hockey Hodgepodge is a batch of miscellaneous trivia and stories plucked from various times and topics. So many stories make up the wonderful history of hockey, and these colourful tales weave the fabric of the game.

Individually, these facts are seemingly trivial; collectively, they have given us the versatile and evolving game we each know and love in our own way. Take an inside look at some of hockey’s subtlest secrets spanning a selection of major eras.

1. When the Montreal Canadiens first came into being, what were their team colours?

2. NHL history was changed in the 1920s when Conn Smythe bought the Toronto St. Patricks and created the now-storied Maple Leafs. He paid a pretty penny for the floundering Ontario club, though it was a bit of a steal considering someone else had put in an earlier, higher bid. Where would the St. Pats have been located had the generous offer not been turned down?

3. During the 2004-05 lockout season, when most NHL arenas were empty, one seat retained a fan desperate to see his team. A model skeleton, wearing the home team’s white jersey, held aloft a pair of placards, one of which read, “DROP the PUCK ALREADY!!” Which NHL arena bore witness to the disturbing reminder of the NHL’s first hockey-less season?

4. In the late 1970s, one of the most dominant lines in junior hockey earned itself a nickname with their superb play. They could have just as easily been named “the Triplicate Line,” since all three shared three major vital stats. Two of the players were drafted into the NHL, breaking up this line of carbon copies. Who were the skaters, what was their junior moniker, and what vital stats did they all share?

5. Which legendary NHL goaltender was known by family, teammates, and friends as a fervent knitter?

6. Who is credited with inventing the puck drop?

7. Which legendary player is said to have died of a broken heart when told he would never play hockey again?

8. In his rookie season with the Detroit Red Wings, Gordie Howe’s team sweater bore No. 17. According to Mr. Hockey himself, why did he make the switch to the famous No. 9?

9. Which player did Sidney Crosby pair with for The Kid’s first NHL fight?

10. Which personality coined the phrase, “He shoots, he scores!”?

Photo Question: In 1979, Wayne Gretzky signed an almost unbelievable contract at centre ice of his home arena. In front of cheering crowds and thunderous celebrations, the WHA player signed a monumental contract. What wild terms (number of years and money per annum) were stipulated by which team, and what was Gretz writing on that contract paper in the shot above?

Bonus Question: What added tangible bonus—outside of a pile of cash—was Wayne Gretzky offered that made that deal so attractive to the young hockey star?

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