7°c A few clouds
18°c Sunny
Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
Kings fans, media still stick it to McSorley
Marty McSorley (CP)
Related Items
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- Somewhere in Marty McSorley's home in Hermosa Beach is a hockey stick with a blade that's curved at least a quarter-inch more than the legal limit.
The longtime NHL tough guy doesn't keep the most infamous stick in Los Angeles Kings history on display, saying it's not important enough. He's probably correct: The stick's proper place is near the billy goat, the Bambino, the cover of the Madden NFL video game and every other supposed curse-carrying item in sports history.
That stick, and McSorley's resulting penalty for using it, turned the 1993 Stanley Cup finals in favour of the Montreal Canadiens, who knocked off the Kings in Los Angeles' only previous trip to the finals before this season. The Kings will take their second shot at their first NHL title starting Wednesday at New Jersey.
McSorley has grown weary of talking about that Game 2 disappointment over the past 19 years, yet he also believes the full story of the Canadiens' skullduggery isn't known. He hopes the current Kings' run will help fans finally straighten out their bad feelings about the illegal curve, which gets far too much attention, he insists.
"I think there's been a degree of sensationalism, a big degree of sensationalism, and I don't think there's been a lot of honesty," McSorley said Sunday. "Did I have an illegal stick? Yes, I did. Did I stand up after the fact and say, 'Listen, I had an illegal stick?' Yes, I did. The things that have transpired since then, I don't think there has been a lot of honesty."
McSorley quickly makes it clear he's referring to the widespread belief that the biggest penalty in Kings history was the result of an inside job.
As the much-disputed story goes on Los Angeles' side of it, the Canadiens did a sneaky investigation of the Kings' sticks earlier in the series when Los Angeles' portable stick rack was in Montreal's locker-room -- or maybe when the Kings just weren't looking. Habs coach Jacques Demers knew exactly which sticks to challenge at a key moment, violating all sorts of unwritten codes about sportsmanship and trade secrets.
"I think that (then-Kings coach) Barry Melrose, I think that Luc Robitaille, (former Kings trainer) Peter Demers, different guys around, have basically said what happened," McSorley said. "We all know they basically pulled the stick rack into their locker-room. That's honest and that's frank. Am I sitting here complaining? No. But that is what happened. Is it disappointing for me? Yes."
The Canadiens have long denied it, with Demers crediting captain Guy Carbonneau for spotting McSorley's illegal stick on the ice. The Kings hear otherwise: Robitaille says he was told by a Montreal policeman that the Canadiens checked out the Kings' sticks on the sly, while McSorley says he has heard from "three or four" former Canadiens over the years who say they knew of five or six Kings sporting illegal sticks.
"That was an awfully gutsy call without having any information," McSorley said, laughing.
However Montreal got its info, Demers used it at the perfect time. Los Angeles had won Game 1 in Montreal and was up 2-1 in Game 2 with 1:45 to play when Demers called for a measurement. With McSorley serving his unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, Demers pulled goalie Patrick Roy, setting up Eric Desjardins' 6-on-4 tying goal. Desjardins scored again early in overtime, and the Canadiens roared through the following three games to claim the Cup.
McSorley readily acknowledges his stick violated the rules, yet he insists he didn't make it that way: That's how the sticks arrived from the factory, and other players used the same curve without ever getting penalized.
He's also hoping a championship banner would reduce that stick in his closet to a twig in Kings lore.
"If it went to bed, I'm fine with that," McSorley said.
-- The Associated Press
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition May 28, 2012 C3
More Latest News
- Back to Top
- Return to Latest News
More Latest News
(1 of 25 articles for today)
FBI: Man fatally shot after becoming violent under questioning in Boston bombing probe
9:12 AM 0
Poll
Most Popular Latest News
- Man dies after being pulled from vehicle submerged in Winnipeg retention pond
- 87-year-old woman tells jurors, 'Somebody had to stand up to' Donald Trump
- Grocer Joe Cantor dies at 88
- New owner for lumber stores
- Peeping Tom portrayed as sexual deviant in court
- Rainfall warning issued for southern Manitoba
- A new mom's booze-fuelled hell
- Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris evacuated after suicide inside the landmark church
- Mother cries, yells as driver appears in court charged with killing boy on patio
- Apple trick on Ellen falls short for city woman
- 87-year-old woman tells jurors, 'Somebody had to stand up to' Donald Trump
- Aboriginal leader Elijah Harper dies
- Woman killed in head-on crash in southwestern Manitoba
- Man dies after being pulled from vehicle submerged in Winnipeg retention pond
- Horrific crash kills minivan driver near Brandon
- Charleswood deaths being investigated as domestic incident
- Seattle man dribbling soccer ball to Brazil killed by car on Oregon Coast
- Rainfall warning issued for southern Manitoba
- Crushing blow for amateur sport
- US woman credits 'mother's instincts' in chase of 4-year-old daughter's abductor
- Seattle man dribbling soccer ball to Brazil killed by car on Oregon Coast
- 87-year-old woman tells jurors, 'Somebody had to stand up to' Donald Trump
- Driver crashes into tree near golf course
- Arrests made after raids on local head shops
- Aboriginal leader Elijah Harper dies
- News of city's $17-million winner leaks out on FB
- Passengers from diverted flight to leave Winnipeg Thursday night
- No threat from bag found at Winnipeg Square
- Susan Griffiths dies in Switzerland
- Woman killed in head-on crash in southwestern Manitoba
- New owner for lumber stores
- Grocer Joe Cantor dies at 88
- Paying bills and consumer consumption hurting Canadians' ability to save: study
- MP Bruinooge says Bill 18 could infringe on religious freedoms
- Bethania CEO put on leave during investigation
- Elijah Harper: The humble man who said no
- Two charged in golf course burglary
- Doc's memoir portrays ERs as frantic, funny, frightening ... but never dull
- WAG's 100 Masters exhibit drawing more than art aficionados
- Man dies after being pulled from vehicle submerged in Winnipeg retention pond
- Aboriginal leader Elijah Harper dies
- New owner for lumber stores
- Marsh Madness: Photographers Fred Greenslade and Joe Bryksa capture spring migration's grandeur at Delta Marsh
- Prominent Canadians back petition to rename Victoria Day to honour aboriginals
- Horrific crash kills minivan driver near Brandon
- Province removing red tape in alcohol sales
- Animals are animals, new ads say
- Skin picking gets status as distinct disorder, should help sufferers access help
- Crushing blow for amateur sport
- Man charged, victims identified in double homicide
- Aboriginal leader Elijah Harper dies
- Dogs can experience separation anxiety and depression just like humans
- Ontario steps in to help save ELA
- Saskatchewan professor wants to test the health benefits of nose-picking
- 'Revenge of the redheads': Ginger-haired Montrealers gather in celebration
- New owner for lumber stores
- An uncommon phenomenon
- Passengers from diverted flight to leave Winnipeg Thursday night
- Hundreds pitch in to dig out houses damaged, destroyed by Ochre Beach ice floe
- Paul McCartney to play Winnipeg Aug. 12
Ads by Google
You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is register and/or login and you can join the conversation and give your feedback.
Have Your Say
New to commenting? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions.
The Winnipeg Free Press does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comment, you agree to our Terms and Conditions. These terms were revised effective April 16, 2010.