Hockey Hall of Famer George Armstrong passes away at the age of 90.
George Edward “Chief” Armstrong (July 6, 1930- January 24, 2021) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played 21 seasons in the NHL for the Toronto Maple Leafs. He played in 1,188 NHL games from 1950-1971, all with the Maple Leafs, setting a franchise record. Armstrong was team captain for 13 years and a winner of four Stanley Cups. He was also the last player to score a goal as a member of the original six-team league era, winning his fourth cup in 1967.
Before turning pro with the Maple Leafs, Armstrong played for the Toronto Marlboros of the OHA Jr. from 1947-1949 and with the Toronto Marlboros of the OHA Sr. from 1948-1949 to 1949-50. He made his NHL debut on December 3, 1949; he appeared in two games before returning to the Marlboros. In 1950 he was a member of the Allen Cup-winning team as senior champions of Canada. When his playing career concluded, he returned to the Marlboros, where he coached the junior team to two Memorial Cup championships. He was later employed as a scout for the Quebec Nordiques and later took on the general manager position for the Toronto Maple Leafs for part of the 1988-89 season and head coach. Armstrong was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1975. On October 15, 2016, the Toronto Maple Leafs officially retired his number 10.
Toronto Maple Leafs
Before joining the Toronto Maple Leafs, Armstrong played for Toronto’s minor league farm team, the Pittsburgh Hornets. In 71 games with the Hornets, he accumulated 15 goals and 48 points. Although he had damaged his hands in fights that season, he still managed to become the AHL’s leading scorer by mid-season in 1951-52 and was second in points. Upon being called up to the big club later that season, he would score his first NHL goal against Gerry McNeil of the Montreal Canadians. from this point in his career, Armstrong would be a mainstay in the NHL, playing the right-wing for the Maple Leafs and winning four cups with the team in 1962, 1963, 1964 and 1967. He would play in seven NHL All-Star Games.
George Armstrong was known as a reliable, consistent, hardworking, robust player throughout his NHL career. He was considered to be the ultimate team leader. Conn Smythe commented that Armstrong was “the best captain, as a captain, the Leafs ever had.” His 1,188 games remain the most games played by any player in franchise history, and he still holds the record for most assists in Maple Leafs history (417) and (713) points as a right-winger. George Armstrong became a Hockey Hall of Famer in1975 and entered the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame in 2010. George Edward Armstrong passed away on January 24, 2021.
Keep You’re Stick on the Ice.
Career statistics[edit]
Source: [46]
Playing career[edit]
| Regular season | Playoffs | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
| 1946–47 | Copper Cliff Redmen | NOJHA | 9 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 10 | |
| 1947–48 | Stratford Kroehlers | OHA Jr. | 36 | 33 | 40 | 73 | 33 | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 1948–49 | Toronto Marlboros | OHA Jr. | 39 | 29 | 33 | 62 | 89 | 10 | 7 | 10 | 17 | 2 | |
| 1948–49 | Toronto Marlboros | OHA Sr. | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 6 | |
| 1949–50 | Toronto Marlboros | OHA Sr. | 45 | 64 | 51 | 115 | 74 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1949–50 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 1949–50 | Toronto Marlboros | Allan Cup | — | — | — | — | — | 17 | 19 | 19 | 38 | 18 | |
| 1950–51 | Pittsburgh Hornets | AHL | 71 | 15 | 33 | 48 | 49 | 13 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 6 | |
| 1951–52 | Pittsburgh Hornets | AHL | 50 | 30 | 29 | 59 | 62 | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 1951–52 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 20 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 30 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| 1952–53 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 52 | 14 | 11 | 25 | 54 | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 1953–54 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 63 | 17 | 15 | 32 | 60 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | |
| 1954–55 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 66 | 10 | 18 | 28 | 80 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | |
| 1955–56 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 67 | 16 | 32 | 48 | 97 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 0 | |
| 1956–57 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 54 | 18 | 26 | 44 | 37 | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 1957–58 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 59 | 17 | 25 | 42 | 93 | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 1958–59 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 59 | 20 | 16 | 36 | 37 | 12 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 10 | |
| 1959–60 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 70 | 23 | 28 | 51 | 60 | 10 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 4 | |
| 1960–61 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 47 | 14 | 19 | 33 | 21 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | |
| 1961–62* | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 70 | 21 | 32 | 53 | 27 | 12 | 7 | 5 | 12 | 2 | |
| 1962–63* | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 70 | 19 | 24 | 43 | 27 | 10 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 4 | |
| 1963–64* | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 67[a] | 20 | 17 | 37 | 14 | 14 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 10 | |
| 1964–65 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 59 | 15 | 22 | 37 | 14 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | |
| 1965–66 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 70 | 16 | 35 | 51 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | |
| 1966–67* | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 70 | 9 | 24 | 33 | 26 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | |
| 1967–68 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 62 | 13 | 21 | 34 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 1968–69 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 53 | 11 | 16 | 27 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1969–70 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 49 | 13 | 15 | 28 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 1970–71 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 59 | 7 | 18 | 25 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | |
| NHL totals | 1188 | 296 | 417 | 713 | 721 | 110 | 26 | 34 | 60 | 52 |
* Stanley Cup Champion.
- ^ Some sources (e.g. www.hockey-reference.com) list Armstrong as playing 66 games, for a career total of 1187.
Coaching record[edit]
Professional hockey[edit]
Source: [47]
| Team | Year | Regular Season | Post Season | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | L | T | OTL | Pts | Finish | Result | ||
| TOR | 1988–89 | 47 | 17 | 26 | 4 | — | (62) | 5th in Norris | Missed playoffs |
| NHL Totals | 47 | 17 | 26 | 4 | — | 38 | 0 Stanley Cups (0–0, 0.000) |
Junior hockey[edit]
| Team | Year | Regular Season | Post Season | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | L | T | OTL | Pts | Finish | Result | ||
| TOR | 1972–73 | 63 | 47 | 7 | 9 | — | 103 | 1st in OHA | Won in quarter-finals (8–0 vs. STC) Won in semi-finals (8–0 vs. OTT) Won J. Ross Robertson Cup (8–6 vs. PBO) Finished in 1st in round-robin at Memorial Cup (1–1) Won Memorial Cup (9–1 vs. QUE) |
| TOR | 1973–74 | 70 | 30 | 31 | 9 | — | 69 | 8th in OHA | Won in quarter-finals (9–1 vs. LDN) Lost in semi-finals (0–8 vs. STC) |
| TOR | 1974–75 | 70 | 48 | 13 | 9 | — | 105 | 1st in OMJHL | Won in quarter-finals (9–7 vs. KGN) Won in semi-finals (9–7 vs. SBY) Won J. Ross Robertson Cup (8–6 vs. HAM) Finished in 2nd in round-robin at Memorial Cup (1–1) Won Memorial Cup semi-finals (10–4 vs. SHE) Won Memorial Cup (7–3 vs. NWB) |
| TOR | 1975–76 | 66 | 26 | 30 | 10 | — | 62 | 3rd in Emms | Won in division semi-finals (8–2 vs. LDN) Lost in division finals (1–9 vs. HAM) |
| TOR | 1976–77 | 66 | 31 | 23 | 12 | — | 74 | 3rd in Emms | Lost in division semi-finals (3–9 vs. LDN) |
| OHA Totals | 335 | 182 | 104 | 49 | — | 413 | 2 J. Ross Robertson Cups (35–28–5, 0.551) 2 Memorial Cups (5–2, 0.714) |
Awards and honours[edit]
| Award | Year | Ref. |
|---|---|---|
| Red Tilson Trophy OHA most valuable player | 1947–48 1949–50 | [8] |
| Allan Cup champion | 1949–50 | [3] |
| Played in the NHL All-Star Game | 1956, 1957 1959, 1962 1963, 1964 1968 | [7] |
| J. P. Bickell Memorial Award TOR – Outstanding performance | 1959 | [34] |
| Stanley Cup champion | 1961–62, 1962–63 1963–64, 1966–67 | [7] |
| Charlie Conacher Humanitarian Award | 1968–69 | [42] |
| Memorial Cup champion | 1973, 1975 (as coach) | [31] |
