Dedicated to Toronto's Hockey Fans: Jim Manners' NHL Dream

The excitement was beginning to die down.  After a decade and a half of futility, the Winnipeg Jets were back in the NHL.

Jim Manners, one of Toronto’s newest multi-millionaires, put down the newspaper with astonishment.

“All this excitement over an old WHA team,” he thought.

Manners was in his mid-50s, old enough to remember when Toronto won the Stanley Cup regularly under Punch Imlach, when the Leafs found ways to win the Cup, instead of ways to lose.

“Good luck to Winnipeg,” he muttered wistfully. 

Manners was thinking back to the Imlach years and then the sad times that followed, the years of incompetence, bad ownership and management, when the Leafs were a laughingstock of the NHL. 

Only the Gilmour-Sundin years brought a little sunlight, though not a championship, to the once-great team.

When Manners thought of his own situation, he brightened considerably.  He saw himself as the first great challenger to the Microsoft computer domination.

It had not been easy to put together a brand new operating system, but once completed, he made it easy to work as Microsoft’s Windows system.

It took off locally, but now, it was spreading around the world, and with it, a line of competitive software products.

Manners was quick to realize that there was much resentment about Microsoft and its products; it was the Microsoft way or no way.

Manners decided to do things differently.  He built software that was as flexible as possible, that acted as protectors, not censors, that allowed for more style creativity, that projected a company that didn’t try to act as a monopolist.

The result was that Manners was now one of Toronto’s wealthiest citizens, with money to invest in other activities.  One of his recent purchases was huge piece of land in Toronto’s underdeveloped eastern waterfront area.  He was thinking of developing it into a housing or condominium estate.  This was the result of his challenge to Microsoft.

“That is what Microsoft needed,” he thought, “Good competition.  That’s the problem with the Toronto Maple Leafs.  They’ve never had to compete for a dollar and everyone mindlessly supports them no matter how bad they are.  If they had some real competition, they’d be forced to ice a good product or go out of business.”

Before going to sleep that night, Manners thought again about the return of the Winnipeg Jets.

“It’ll be the return of the Quebec Nordiques next.  What then?  The Hartford Whalers?  Maybe they’ll even bring in WHA teams that didn’t survive.  The Cincinnati Stingers, the Birmingham Bulls... the Bulls... the Bulls...the Bulls...”

Somehow, it was 1976 again.  Young Jim Manners stood outside Maple Leaf Gardens and saw an angry businessman coming out.

“You won’t see my face in here again!” he shouted to someone inside.

Jim recognized him.

“Hey Mr Bassett!”  he called.

The angry owner became a bid saner when he turned and saw the young teenager.

“Oh hello,” he muttered gruffly.

“Do you think the Toros will finally challenge the Leafs and ice a better team than them?”

“I don’t think so,” he replied with anger in his voice.  “Not in Toronto any more.  It’s over.  That bastard Ballard has made things so intolerable that we can’t ice a competitive team any more.  Attendance dropped off by 2,000 people a game, and we didn’t even qualify for the playoffs.  He’s piled so many petty expenses on us that it is not worth staying.  So that will be our last year in Toronto.  I’m going to look for a better market.”

“That’s too bad,” replied Jim.  “I still love the Leafs the best, but I was getting attached to the team.  It’s been nine years since Toronto won the Stanley Cup, but it looks like a long time before anyone will challenge Montreal.  They set a record for points last year.  The Leafs still have too many holes to challenge them.  I’ll be sorry to see the Toros leave.  Maybe you could build a team good enough...”

“That’s over.  I’m not staying in Toronto any more.  Certainly not in Maple Leaf Gardens.”

“Why don’t you find another local arena?  Or build your own.”

“Kid, I can’t afford to do that.  Where am I going to get the money from?”

“Well, get some partners.  There’s got to be other wealthy people in Toronto.”

“That’s true.”

“What about the Westons, the Thomsons, the Eatons?”

“I hadn’t really thought about it...What’s your name?”

“Jim, sir.  Jim Manners.”

“Well, you are a visionary.  Would you like job in a new arena?”

“I’d sweep the floors, sir.  I love hockey.”

“Well give me your number then.  I’d like to stay in touch.”

Two months later, there was a stunning announcement.  Bassett had acquired new partners who were committed to keeping the Toros in Toronto and were going to build a new 19,000 seat arena, bigger than any in the NHL, in North York.  Meanwhile the Toros quit Maple Leaf Gardens for the University of Toronto’s Varsity Arena.

The Toros hung in there for two years, but in 1979, the new arena opened and drew capacity crowds of curious fans who were drawn by the novelty of a new sports venue.  Bassett kept his word to Jim and hired him as a concessioner.

Meanwhile, the WHA was winding down.  Everyone was anxious to end the long NHL-WHA feud and restore hockey’s tattered image.

Talks of merger were initiated but kept breaking down thanks to the opposition of renegade Canadian owners like Ballard and Los Angeles Kings owner Jack Kent Cooke.

Ballard was particularly incensed that he would have to share the Toronto market with the Toros, their new arena and arch-rival Bassett.

But not even he could halt the inevitable.  In 1980, the WHA went out of business, and five surviving teams, the Edmonton Oilers, Quebec Nordiques, Winnipeg Jets, New England Whalers and the Toronto Toros joined the NHL.  Only Cincinnati folded forever.

During the final WHA season, one future significant transaction occurred.

The WHA had passed a rule allowing underage teenagers to play, which allowed the Indianapolis Racers the opportunity of drafting Wayne Gretzky.

When it became apparent that even with Gretzky, the NHL was not going to be successful in Indianapolis, owner Nelson Skalbania offered to sell the phenomenon to Edmonton.

But Bassett heard about the offer and submitted a rival bid.

Skalbania put the matter to Gretzky.

“I’ll play anywhere, but I would prefer to stay in Ontario, near my hometown of Brantford,” he said.

Therefore, Skalbania accepted Bassett’s offer, and Gretzky became a Toro.

When the leagues merged, though the WHA teams were stripped of many of their best players, the Toros were allowed to keep Gretzky.

It was the beginning of the golden age for Toronto hockey fans.  By 1984, the Toros had wrested the Stanley Cup away from the New York Islanders and had started a dynasty of their own.

And as the Toros advanced to the top, so did Jim Manners.  Bassett remembered the boy who had inspired him to stay in Toronto at a critical moment and had advanced him to become his own special aide. 

One day, Jim entered his office.

“Sir?”

“What is it, Jim?”

“I’ve been thinking.  Gretzky’s contract is going to be coming up for renewal.  He’s getting older... Are we going to keep him?”

“Don’t be silly, Jim.  We’ll do a deal.  Gretzky is going to be here for life.  Who would be stupid enough to let him go?”

“That’s a relief, sir.”

A lifetime contract was worked out, and Gretzky played his entire career for the Toros.  During that time, they won the Stanley Cup 12 times, one more than the Maple Leafs had managed in over 60 seasons.

Meanwhile, the Leafs fell into the doldrums and became Toronto’s forgotten team.

Despite his publicity antics, crowds began to dwindle when they began to compare the two franchises, and Ballard was finally forced to sell the team.

Things then began to improve a little.  Indeed one of the most memorable Stanley Cup playoff series in Toronto history occurred when the Gretzky-led Toros narrowly defeated the Doug Gilmour-led Leafs in seven games during the semifinals.

But the Toros became Toronto’s premier hockey team.  They won two more Stanley Cups after Gretzky retired during the first decade of the new century.

Only the Montreal Canadiens had won more cups and as the new decade opened, the Toros were hard on their track...

Jim awoke with a start.  The Winnipeg Jets had come back.  The Nordiques would follow when their new arena was built.  And he had that big piece of empty land along Toronto’s waterfront...

When he finally got up, Jim knew what he wanted to do with his growing wealth.  He was already full of dreams and plans.  He was hoping to make the big announcement next month.