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Page THE HERALD Wedaeaday April 12 1989 Fans deserve winning team say exToronto players No quick fix for Leafs ByPAULSVOBODA Herald Editor Tbey used to say Ron Ellis had special skates that fit into slots cut along the right wing ice in Maple Leaf Gardens Rather than a potshot at old No that summation best described the hardworking upanddown style of one of the Toronto Maple Leafs steadiest wingers During lengthy Leaf career Ellis patrolled his wing with a solid if unspectacular work ethic He was steady man and his defensive work was top notch I Today a successful businessman with sporting goods outlets in the Brampton area Ellis admits to still being a Leaf through and through and the current sad sack state of the club near the bottom of the NHL standings doesnt please him one bit I spent 20 years in the Leaf chain and its very discouraging to see the disintegration of the fran chise said Ellis at the Hockey Heritage dinner on Mar Theres no simple solution the Leafs still should be one of the greatest franchises Its very hard now with 21 teams but Im confi dent that in due time itll turn around Ellis says theres no single pro blem with the Leaf organization to day but he does acknowledge the weight that oftmeddling owner Harold Ballard must bear on bis shoulders Harold has to take some major responsibility thats where the buck stops said Ellis The Leafs have bad some bad drafting made some bad trades and some bad decisions The Su tler situation the Lanny McDonald situation they all bad an impact Once they dismantled the team after Roger Neilson was coach it was hard to get back Sutler Leaf captain and leader up until the end of the Neilson era in the late 70s was caught in the middle of the power struggle that destroyed an upward ly mobile Leaf team that had upended the New York Islanders in the playoffs and had just missed doing the same to- the Philadelphia Flyers both Stanley Cup squads at that time We went from a very strong hockey team to a very weak hockey team said Sittler the guest speaker at the Mar Hockey Heritage gathering I dont know if it the situation with Leafs to- Bridge winners Doris Barber and Gladick teamed up to take first- place honors in duplicate bridge play at the Georgetown Legion on Apr 10 Harry and Jack Kaarsemaker combined for se cond place and and George Farrow played to a thirdplace finish day hurts personally but for Leaf fans they deserve a more competitive hockey team To be down as long as theyve been theyve got to be disheartened One of the moves made when an aging Punch Imlach was brought back to Toronto as general manager by Ballard was the actual trading of Sittler That move which sent Sittler to Philadelphia for Rich and a draft choice was akin to the Edmonton Oilers moving Wayne Gretzky Ron Ellis I was expecting to get traded said who had removed his captains C weeks prior to the trade in protest of some of lachs moves What was more disappointing was being traded to Detroit from Philly on the day the Flyers were going to make me cap tain ended his career in Detroit while Philadelphia receiv Murray Craven a scorer whos still with the Flyers It was a good trade for both dubs said Sittler Darryl Sittler Like Ellis Sittler says theres no short term answer to the current Leaf problems Theyre not going to do it overnight he said He also admitted nothing is likely to hap pen as long as Ballard exerts ma jor control over hockey operations Thats not going to change a lot he admitted Ellis says the Leafs need a fran chise player although he acknowledged that Wendel Clark recently returned from a nagging back problem may go a long way in that respect Hes a tremen player said Ellis They need people like Clark to build Custom Rod a Reel Repairs Parts Sales Service Fishing Licences RR ACTON around The Leafs recent trade of Ken Wreggett to Philadelphia for two first round draft choices may not be an immediate answer either according to Ellis Unfortunately this is not a banner year for the draft he said Meanwhile Ellis agrees with several hockey people who say the Leafs need to call upon their heritage more than is being done currently at Maple Leaf Gardens There are no past championship banners hanging at the Gardens and no Leaf alumni club there Its one of those little things that helps to create that snowball effect said Ellis He added that younger players can often miss out on learning about the winning Maple Leaf legacy by not rubbing elbows occasionally with the older players from past championship teams That situation may change however as Ellis said the NHL players alumni association a group headed up by exNHLer Larry Regan is hoping to work closely with the Gardens in the future While Ellis is busy with his sports stores Sittler keeps busy with public relations work in eluding that with Purolator Courier which sees him work close ly with the Canadian bantam hockey championships Unlike former Hab Hall of Guy Lafleur who is enjoy a successful comeback with the New York Rangers at the age of 37 and after being out of the NHL for four years the 39yearold Sittler says he never had the Itch to return to the big league wars once he hung up his blades When I retired I was ready to retire he said As for any further association with hockey particularly at the management level Sittler says hes never had the opportunity although he would have to consider anything that came along Are you listening Mr Ballard SAVE SAVE SAVE 10 OFF ALL MODELS IN STOCK Georgetown Hobby Joy A SHOP LOCALLY WIN LUCKY LICENCE NUMBER HERES HOW TO WIN Each week the Herald will select a licence number from the parking lot of a different Haiton Hills retailer and publish that number In this feature The owner of that vehicle then has seven days to claim hisher prize of a FREE Lube Oil and Filter PLAY THE GAME WIN A LUBE OIL FILTER FROM SVJFBMt AND COMPLETE CAR CLEANING THIS WEEKS NUMBER Prize Includes Armstrong Ave the HERALD UP TO 5 LITRES OF10W3OOIL OIL FILTER LUBEIFREQD On the block A United RentAlls defeficeman got a piece of the puck as he went down for a block during he championship game In the Hills Hockey League last Sunday at Arena The league couldnt have asked for a more thrilling finish to its 198889 campaign as It took two overtime periods to decide a winner The McGibbon Hotel eventually prevailed edging United by a score Herald photo Have your small change READY STOCK 1989 Nissan 3 Door Hatch 5 Speed O Transmission Reclining Seats Tinted Glass Power Brakes H C Engine Up to P Highway CASH PRICE PLUS Other Models Available At Sightly Higher Prices IQ9 MONTH COME ON DOWN TO MILTON Were Just South of The on Hwy 25 NORTH END NISSAN 61 0 MARTIN ST MILTON 87841 37 100000 Km Bit NISSAN