Tony Leswick

Tony Leswick

Leswick pictured with the Saskatoon Quakers, circa 1941
Born (1923-03-17)March 17, 1923
Humboldt, SK, CAN
Died July 1, 2001(2001-07-01) (aged 78)
Coquitlam, BC, CAN
Height 5 ft 6 in (168 cm)
Weight 155 lb (70 kg; 11 st 1 lb)
Position Left Wing
Shot Right
Played for New York Rangers
Detroit Red Wings
Chicago Black Hawks
Playing career 1942–1960

Anthony Joseph Leswick (March 17, 1923 – July 1, 2001) was a Canadian ice hockey forward who played mostly for the New York Rangers and Detroit Red Wings of the NHL. Nicknamed "Tough Tony" and "Mighty Mouse", he was known also as a little pest. Little, because he stood just 5'7" tall and weighed 160 lbs. He is most famous for scoring the final goal in overtime of game seven of the 1954 Stanley Cup final.

Playing career

Minor league hockey

Leswick played his junior hockey in Saskatoon with the Dodgers and Quakers, and quickly started turning heads. In 1942, Leswick finally jumping into the AHL with the Cleveland Barons and scored 40 points in only 52 games. He moved onto the PCHL in the following season to play for the New Westminster Royals. Scoring 36 points in 19 games there, he followed up his great season by joining with HMCS CHIPPAWA of the Winnipeg Navy, where he helped to win the 1944–1945 Basil Baker trophy for inter-service hockey. The New York Rangers (who acquired him in June 1945) had seen enough and brought him into their lineup for the remainder of the 1945–46 season.

Professional career

Leswick delivered. He scored 15 goals in his shortened rookie season for the Rangers and quickly established himself as one of the few bright spots in New York. He loved getting under peoples skin, including that of Montreal Canadiens' Rocket Richard, and Gordie Howe of the Detroit Red Wings. Leswick recorded consecutive 20-goal seasons in 1947 and 1948, but the Rangers continued to miss the playoffs or get knocked out in the early rounds. After scoring 44 points in 1949–50, he was named to the NHL second all-star team. During this time, he formed a successful combination with Edgar Laprade and Dunc Fisher.

Detroit had seen the way that Leswick would go after Howe and knew that took guts. They decided to trade for Leswick after the 1950–51 season. On June 8, Tony Leswick became a Detroit Red Wing after a blockbuster trade that saw Gaye Stewart going to New York. Leswick would continue his pestering ways and was inserted on a line with Marty Pavelich and Glen Skov. He would help lead Detroit to Stanley Cups in 1952, 1954, and 1955. He is probably most remembered for his winning goal in game seven of the 1954 Stanley Cup finals against the Montreal Canadiens. Leswick had this to say in an interview with Chuck O'Donnell :

"It was early in overtime, I don't know, maybe four or five minutes in. We were trying to change our forwards. I had the puck around centre ice or so and I just wanted to do the smart thing and throw it in. If I get caught with the puck and the Canadiens steal it, we may get caught and they may get an odd-man break. Just like that, the game could be over. So, I'm just thinking of lifting the puck down deep in their end, just making the safe play. So I flipped it in nice and high and turned to get off the ice. The next thing I know, everyone's celebrating. It had gone in. I said, "You've got to be kidding. It went in? Get out of here!""

Defenceman Doug Harvey went back to glove the puck, but instead deflected it past goaltender Gerry McNeil and into the net for the game-winning goal.

Following his third Stanley Cup victory in 1955, Leswick was traded to the Chicago Black Hawks along with Glen Skov, Johnny Wilson and Benny Woit for Jerry Toppazzini, John McCormack, Dave Creighton and Gord Hollingworth, on May 27. He would score 11 goals and 11 assists in the 1955–56 season for Chicago before jumping to the rival WHL. The Edmonton Flyers welcomed his 53 points in the 1956–57 season and he was invited to another All-Star team. After a brief 22 games for Detroit in 1957, Leswick would again join the Edmonton Flyers until the close of the 1959 season. He would play 9 games the following season for the Vancouver Canucks of the WHL before retiring from playing hockey.

Leswick the coach

Leswick tried his hand at coaching starting in 1958. He replaced the current coach of the Edmonton Flyers midseason in 1957–58 and would continue until midseason of 1958–59. He felt he was more of a help to the team on the ice. He would try his hand at coaching one more time with the Indianapolis Capitals/Cincinnati Wings of the Central Hockey League in the 1963–64 season. They would finish last in the league with a 12–53–7 record and Leswick would retire from the world of hockey.

Awards and achievements

Trivia

Career statistics

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1939–40 Saskatoon Dodgers N-SJHL 4 5 2 7 13 2 4 1 5 0
1940–41 Saskatoon Jr. Quakers N-SJHL 11 15 10 25 34 2 1 6 7 2
1940–41 Saskatoon Quakers S-SJHL 1 0 0 0 2 — — — — —
1940–41 Saskatoon Jr. Quakers M-Cup 12 7 4 11 14 — — — — —
1941–42 Saskatoon Quakers SSHL 32 21 21 42 45 9 3 5 8 4
1941–42 Saskatoon Quakers Al-Cup — — — — — 5 2 3 5 4
1942–43 Cleveland Barons AHL 52 14 26 40 43 4 3 3 6 4
1942–43 Victoria VMD NNDHL 2 0 2 2 0 — — — — —
1943–44 Saskatoon Navy SSHL 18 26 26 52 50 4 3 2 5 18
1943–44 New Westminster Royals NWIHL 19 25 11 36 10 2 0 2 2 0
1944–45 Winnipeg Navy WNDHL 12 9 8 17 33 6 7 2 9 12
1945–46 New York Rangers NHL 50 15 9 24 26 — — — — —
1946–47 New York Rangers NHL 59 27 14 41 51 — — — — —
1947–48 New York Rangers NHL 60 24 16 40 76 6 3 2 5 8
1948–49 New York Rangers NHL 60 13 14 27 70 — — — — —
1949–50 New York Rangers NHL 69 19 25 44 85 12 2 4 6 12
1950–51 New York Rangers NHL 70 15 11 16 112 — — — — —
1951–52 Detroit Red Wings NHL 70 9 10 19 93 8 3 1 4 22
1952–53 Detroit Red Wings NHL 70 15 12 27 87 6 1 0 1 11
1953–54 Detroit Red Wings NHL 70 6 18 24 90 12 3 1 4 18
1954–55 Detroit Red Wings NHL 70 10 17 27 137 11 1 2 3 20
1955–56 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 70 11 11 22 71 — — — — —
1956–57 Edmonton Flyers WHL 60 22 31 53 107 8 2 1 3 6
1957–58 Detroit Red Wings NHL 22 1 2 3 2 4 0 0 0 0
1957–58 Edmonton Flyers WHL 42 10 15 25 46 — — — — —
1958–59 Edmonton Flyers WHL 36 3 13 16 27 — — — — —
1959–60 Vancouver Canucks WHL 9 3 6 9 0 11 0 1 1 0
NHL totals 740 165 159 324 900 59 13 10 23 91
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