Nov 22, 2008 - 7:38 PM
0 shoutsTORONTO (Ticker) -- Wendel Clark was a fan favorite during his time in Toronto. The Maple Leafs acknowledged that fact on Saturday.
Prior to their game against the Chicago Blackhawks, the Maple Leafs "honored" the No. 17 of the former left wing, raising it to the rafters of the Air Canada Centre.
Toronto has made a practice of only retiring the uniform numbers of distinguished players who are deceased or have had their careers shortened due to tragic incidents. Bill Barilko (No. 5) and Ace Bailey (6) are the only two who have fallen under that category.
On Saturday, Clark joined other Maple Leafs legends such as Turk Broda and Johnny Bower (1), King Clancy and Tim Horton (7), Borje Salming (21) and Frank Mahovlich and Darryl Sittler (27) as those who have had their numbers "honored."
After a video tribute that included some memorable moments of his time with the Maple Leafs and was accompanied by Aerosmith's "Dream On" was shown on the video screens, the hard-nosed Clark was given a standing ovation by the sellout crowd before making his speech.
"Before this, the two proudest moments in my life were being drafted first overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs and the day I was named captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs," Clark said. "Tonight, the official hat trick. A natural hat trick to be honored in this building and to be in the building forever up there with those great players.
"Finally, I thank the fans of Toronto. You're the greatest fans in the world, and this is the greatest place to play hockey. Thank you."
Selected first overall in the 1985 draft, Clark had three tours of duty with Toronto. The 42-year-old native of Kelvington, Saskatchewan played nine seasons with the club from 1985-94 and returned for another 2 1/2 campaigns from 1996-98 before ending his 15-year career with the Maple Leafs in 2000.
Clark enjoyed the best season of his career with the Maple Leafs in 1993-94, when he recorded personal bests of 46 goals and 76 points in 64 games. He served as captain from 1991-94, leading Toronto to the Western Conference finals twice.
Clark was traded in June 1994, along with Sylvain Lefebvre, Landon Wilson and a first-round draft selection, to the Quebec Nordiques for Mats Sundin, Garth Butcher, Todd Warriner and a first-round pick. He was re-acquired from the New York Islanders in March 1996 but shipped to the Tampa Bay Lightning three years later.
After beginning the 1999-2000 campaign with Chicago, Clark was let go by the Blackhawks and signed with the Maple Leafs, recording two goals and two assists in his final 20 NHL games.
In 608 career contests with Toronto, Clark registered 260 goals, 181 assists and 1,535 penalty minutes, which ranks third on the franchise list. The cousin of former NHL coach Barry Melrose and enforcer Joey Kocur, he amassed 330 tallies, 564 points and 1,690 penalty minutes in 793 career contests with the Maple Leafs, Nordiques, Islanders, Lightning, Detroit Red Wings and Blackhawks.
