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Monday, December 21, 1998 By Shelly Anderson, Post-Gazette Sports Writer
The Toronto Maple Leafs are in the midst of a seven-game homestand. All the better to give teams a chance to take one last look and one last skate at storied old Maple Leaf Gardens.
Tonight, it's the Penguins' turn.
The unassuming, brown brick building near the heart of Toronto's city center is the last of the old-time hockey houses. It is full of history. And about to become history.
The next time the Penguins play in Canada's cultural capital, they will step onto the ice in the Air Canada Centre, a sparkling $265 million arena that is nearly complete near SkyDome and the CN Tower.
The Maple Leafs' first game in their new home will be Feb. 20 against Montreal. Their final game at Maple Leaf Gardens will be Feb. 13 against Chicago - the same opponent as on the night the Gardens opened in 1931.
When the building closes, Pittsburgh's Civic Arena will become the oldest in the league. But the Igloo, built in 1961 and home to an NHL team since 1967, doesn't have the history and tradition that Maple Leaf Gardens does.
Millions of aspiring hockey players across Canada have spent many Saturday nights watching "Hockey Night in Canada" telecasts from Maple Leaf Gardens. Many dreamed of playing there.
"You grow up watching games from there," Penguins winger Rob Brown said yesterday after the team held a short, optional practice. "Any time you watch the old games, they're in those rinks. When we play there, we're a part of that."
The next generation of NHL players won't have that chance.
Already gone are relics such as Chicago Stadium, Boston Garden, the Montreal Forum and Buffalo's Memorial Auditorium. Those cities and others - including expansion sites - have built new, high-tech arenas that are more cavernous than the old-style rinks, with lots of luxury boxes and suites.
"I miss playing in the old places," Penguins defenseman Bobby Dollas said. "Even the old St. Louis Arena used to rock. But it's nice to play in the new buildings, too."
It seems most NHL players achieved a milestone at Maple Leaf Gardens or have a memorable moment there.
Dollas, when he played with Detroit, scored his first NHL goal there. A back-hander, top shelf, off a feed from Steve Yzerman, he recalled.
Penguins defenseman Ian Moran has a slightly ignominious claim to fame from Maple Leaf Gardens. His tussle with Toronto center Darby Hendrickson made Canadian broadcaster Don Cherry's Fight of the Week.
"That's my big memory," Moran said, grinning.
For Penguins center Martin Straka, the memorable moment was his first NHL game.
Straka grew up in the Czech Republic, but he quickly came to understand Canada's love for Maple Leaf Gardens.
"It's one of the best buildings," he said. "[The fans] are right next to you - people are walking right in back of you with their hot dogs and their Cokes. It's special."
The design is one of the Gardens' endearing qualities. Balconies jut out so that the first rows are not all that far back from the ice. The visiting team's bench is not fully enclosed, with fans in some cases sitting just a couple feet from players.
"It's one of those intimate places," Brown said. "It's always amazing standing there for the national anthem and seeing all those people so close."
"You could actually just turn around and walk into the crowd," Moran said.
Which might be problematic in some cities because, in turn, the fans could just as easily make their way to the visiting team's bench or could spill their beverages in that direction.
But that rarely has happened.
"They've always been great fans in Toronto," Brown said. "They not only come to see their team, but they like to see the Mario Lemieuxs and the Jaromir Jagrs, too."
"In general, Toronto fans have respect for all the players in the league," Moran said.
The fans in the stands might not change when the Maple Leafs move several blocks toward Lake Ontario in a couple of months. But the venue will be quite different.
The Air Canada Centre will hold just under 20,000. The exterior will have a lot of glass, and the interior will be loaded with luxury seating and a bar/restaurant overlooking the ice.
And, unlike the old hockey arenas, it probably won't need cats living in its bowels to control the rodent and pest population.
At least not right away.
"You know what they say." Dollas said. "It only takes a couple of weeks for a cockroach to walk across the street."
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Matchup: Penguins at Toronto Maple Leafs, 7:30 p.m.