Former Toronto Maple Leafs GM, scout, goalie Gerry McNamara dead at 90
CBC
Gerry McNamara, a former NHL goalie, scout and general manager responsible for landing two of the best-loved players in the history of the Toronto Maple Leafs, has died at the age of 90.
The Toronto Maple Leafs announced McNamara's death in a post on X Saturday night.
"Our thoughts are with Gerry's family and loved ones during this difficult time," the Leafs said. "Gerry made an enduring impact on the organization."
The team did not provide McNamara's cause of death.
The NHL Alumni Association also paid tribute to McNamara in a post on X Saturday, saying the association "is deeply saddened to learn that Gerry McNamara has passed away at the age of 90."
McNamara was general manager of the Maple Leafs for seven difficult seasons between 1981 to 1988, when the team was still owned by the notorious Howard Ballard.
In that time, the team made three playoff appearances, never advancing beyond the second round. McNamara's 166-302-67 record at the helm gives him the worst winning percentage of any general manager in Leafs history (.355).
But McNamara was partly responsible for setting up the successful Leafs teams that came after his firing in 1988. Three years before, in 1985, he drafted future Leafs captain and fan favourite Wendel Clark in the first round.
McNamara is perhaps best remembered by Leafs fans for what he did as a scout.
In December 1972, he travelled to Sweden so he could take a look at a goaltender, but instead found a speedy, playmaking 21-year-old defenceman named Börje Salming. He recommended signing the future hall-of-famer, who became one of the most beloved Leafs of all time and essentially paved the way for the European invasion of the NHL.
Born in Sturgeon Falls, Ont., in 1934, McNamara entered professional hockey in 1955, playing as a goaltender for Pittsburgh's AHL team.
During his playing career, McNamara spent most of his time in the minor leagues, though he made seven total appearances for the Maple Leafs, split up between the 1960-1961 and 1969-1970 seasons.
Though most of his time in hockey was spent with the Maple Leafs organization, he reached the pinnacle of hockey success after he was fired by the club. The following season, he became a scout with the Calgary Flames, where he picked up a Stanley Cup ring in 1989.
Municipal councils across Essex County and in Chatham-Kent and Sarnia have spent this year’s budget season trying to keep tax increases manageable while battling inflation and soaring policing costs and weighing the immediate cost of repairing aging infrastructure against the long-term cost of holding off.
Construction on Marda Loop’s main streets project may have quieted down, but redevelopment work continues at several locations along 34th Avenue. This time, the focus is on preserving the street’s history.
As both the provincial and federal governments hone in on mining opportunities in northern Ontario, supporting local industries and building safer highways are top of mind for regional leaders this year.
Tucked inside Toronto’s leafy, quiet and private residential neighbourhoods are facades that tell the story of another time in the city’s urban planning history.
Ontario’s two main opposition parties will try to turn the page on what was a difficult year, with one rebuilding after an underwhelming leadership vote result and another searching for a new person to take the party helm.
This year, two things will happen to Canada's fiscal watchdog: Interim Parliamentary Budget Officer Jason Jacques will be replaced or made permanent, and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) will publish its review of the office.
As the era of bilateral bad blood between Canada and the U.S. drags on, some snowbirds are facing a choice this January: Go south to warmer climes, or boycott a country that has gone from friend to somewhat of a foe.
RCMP are warning people of slippery conditions on the Trans-Canada Highway after a transport truck slid off the road in the area of Clarenville, N.L.
Sidney Crosby is remembering fellow Nova Scotian Lowell MacDonald, a former NHLer who died Sunday, as an inspiration to his career.
Moncton artist Alan Spinney doesn't usually paint on a five-by-five inch canvas, but he and his wife have started doing that for a new mini-art gallery.
Residents of Pimicikamak Cree Nation are celebrating and relieved now that power and electricity are being restored to the community.
Two people are dead after an early-morning highway collision on New Year’s Day, the Saskatoon Fire Department said Thursday morning.
A small group of Haitian Canadians celebrated the island nation's Independence Day at a B.C. church on Thursday by serving soup that symbolizes freedom.