Maven's Memories: Comparing Isles and Leafs Dynasties

The term "Dynasty" has been volleyed around plenty in the past year.
First there was the two-time Stanley Cup champion Lightning aiming for a trio of titles.
And since one legitimate definition of "Dynasty" is winner of three straight Stanleys or more, Tampa Bay was one Cup away from earning The Big D.

But when current champ Colorado said nix to that, it immediately inspired Denver scribes to suggest -- premature as they were -- that their beloved Avs were motoring on Dynasty Turnpike.
As we who follow the Islanders know only too well, few teams can match a four-straight Cup run and no team in the universe can match this accomplishment -- 19 straight playoff series victories.
That said, it's a worthwhile exercise in Comparative Hockey 101 to rate the Islanders with dynasties past. And, in this case, I've chosen a team that I covered closely, G.M.-coach Punch Imlach's Maple Leafs.
MAVEN'S MEMORIES
WRITTEN COVERAGE
Butch Goring's Wise Words
Garry Howatt: Toy Tiger
King Kvasha
How 50-in-50 was Born
Trottier Wins Hart Trophy
Behind the Scenes with Bryan Trottier
Stan's Fans: Jake April
Terrific Pierre Turgeon
Maven's Haven
A former minor league defenseman with Jean Beliveau's Quebec Aces in the late 1940's and early 1950's, Imlach took over a sagging Toronto team in the late 1950's and by 1962, he drank from the first of four Stanleys.
Led by Hall of Famers Frank (Big M) Mahovlich on left wing and goalie Johnny (China Wall) Bower, the Torontonians complimented their trio of titles (1962, 1963, 1964) with a surprising fourth championship in 1967.
Which brings me to the dauntless debate ignited by the question: "Who's better?"
For starters, we're talking about teams that were liberally sprinkled with Hall of Famers and were well balanced from the crease to its special teams.
Imlach's goaltender, Bower, didn't achieve stardom until he reached his 30s. But Johnny-On-The-Spot was reliable to a fault and seemingly invincible even as he grew older and playing minus a mask.
On the Islanders side, Bill Smith -- like Bower -- was a "hybrid" goalie who adjusted his style to fit the shooter and the circumstance. "Smitty was," said one long time hockey reporter, "the best clutch goalie in history."
Both Bower and Smith were blessed with a hockey version of a castle moat -- a formidable barrier known as defense.
"I had some good young guys like Carl Brewer and Bobby Baun," said Imlach, "and dependable vets -- Allan Stanley, Tim Horton, Marcel Pronovost and Kent Douglas"
Interestingly, the Isles leader, Al Arbour, was a defender on the 1962 and 1964 champ Leafs. Like Punch, Radar considered his blue liners among the Isles prime assets.
No Toronto blueliner could match the all-round excellence of Denis Potvin who historians rate as one of the best defensemen in NHL annals.
"Potvin's teammates on defense had a variety of skills," said Jim Devellano, Torrey's chief scout and aide de camp. "Fellas like Stefan Persson, Kenny Morrow and Dave Langevin -- as a group -- were a coach's dream come true."
But it was up front where the Nassaumen took the lead in this debate which, by the way, is not a knock against the Leafs attacking corps.
Imlach's heaviest shooter was Frank Mahovlich, a left wing built along the lines of Clark Gillies. Big M was a splendid skater with a devastating shot. He blended smoothly with center Red Kelly and right wing Bob Nevin, a defensive specialist who owned an accurate shot.

As good as the Leafs' lead trio may have been, they would have to be rated -- qualitatively and quantitatively -- behind the Isles Trio Grande of Bryan Trottier, Mike Bossy and Gilles.
Imlach's second center was the splendid little speedster, Dave Keon but Arbour boasted Butch Goring without whom the Isles never would have won four in a row.
"If Toronto had an edge," said a Newsday reporter, "It would have been at third-line center. Wayne Merrick was a good one between Bob Nystrom and John Tonell, but Punch had Bob Pulford, one of the best two-way centers there ever was."
Tim Burke, a respected Montreal Gazette columnist, had covered both teams. As objective as any NHL commentator, Burke favored the Isles over the Leafs.
"The Islanders," wrote Burke, "had a better all-round unit. The Leafs were molded exclusively for playoff hockey. During that era, it meant fierce checking and 1-0 and 2-1 scores.
"Only one of Imlach's players -- Mahovlich -- was an exceptional scorer. Toronto, though, was loaded with clutch-and-grab performers. On the other hand, the Islanders were more similar to the great Montreal teams of the 1950's and 1970's.
"They were talented enough, yet rugged enough to beat opponents at any style of game that was thrown at them."
A major difference between the comparative teams was the coaching. "Al was tough alright," said Bob Nystrom, "but we all loved him. Just about everybody will tell you Radar was just the best."
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The opinion of the boisterous Imlach is far from unanimous. Some of his best players -- especially Mahovlich, Brewer and Andy Bathgate -- feuded with Punch.
Even though Bathgate scored the Leafs Cup-winning goal in 1964, Andy went public, disapproving of Punch's spartan techniques.
Bathgate: "Imlach never spoke to Mahovlich or myself for most of the season. And when he did, it was to criticize."
Arbour maintained a warmth between himself and his superstars as opposed to Imlach's abrasive touch. That explains why the Islanders boasted a more stable group in which the core remained together through the 19-playoff series skein.
"I remember something Al Arbour said to us the season after we'd won our first Cup," the late defenseman Jean Potvin pointed out. "We'd played badly in a couple of games and lost them both, and Al was really upset with us. 'You should have won those games,' he told us at practice one morning, and one of the guys said, 'Geez, Al, you can't expect us to win every game.' And Al just got this hard look on his face and said, 'WHY NOT?'"
Hero coach of the 1980 U.S. Olympic team, Herb Brooks had innumerable looks at Arbour's dynastic team. Once asked by a newsman to explain the Islanders dominance, Brooks put it clearly:
"They could play you any way you want to play them," Brooks asserted. "They had skilled players like Bossy, Trottier and Potvin and tough guys like Garry Howatt and Bob Nystrom. They could finesse with anyone and grind with the best of them."
In the end, it could fairly be said that the Islanders had more better players than the Leafs last dynasty. Furthermore, Arbour was a better coach than Imlach. The Islanders won, in part, because of Radar. The Leafs won in spite of Imlach.
Brian Conacher, who played on Toronto's 1967 -- and last -- Cup-winning team, made a similar point.
"Our Leafs won because the guys won under their own steam," Conacher said. "We were prepared to put up with Punch's idiosyncrasies and excessive training methods. Punch had fear, and respect, confused."
With Al Arbour, it was 100 percent respect!