Konsolen Treiber » recently beleaguered club open to ribbing

The Toronto Maple Leafs will award Stanley Cup rings next month to players who won championships for the team during the 1960s, a move that leaves the recently beleaguered club open to ribbing but also helps to repair possibly bruised relations with some alumni. In September, the Leafs will hand out $5,000 rings to players such as Bob Pulford, Johnny Bower and Bobby Baun at a ceremony in Toronto. TSN first reported on Aug. 4 that the rings would be distributed to the teams former stars. The gold rings feature a leaf outlined in black, emblazoned with a diamond fixed in the centre and the words "Stanley Cup Champions" around the perimeter. A raised image of the Stanley Cup is on the side. The rings are being made for Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment by Tiffany & Co. Bob Pulford, who played for championship teams in Toronto from 1962 to 1964 and in 1967, said he approached Leafs management several years ago about honouring former players. Even though the Hockey Hall of Fame says members of the first team to win a Stanley Cup, the Montreal Hockey Club, were given rings after winning the championship in 1893, the gesture disappeared in subsequent years. During the 1960s, it wasnt common for players to receive a new ring after every Stanley Cup win. In 1959, Montreal Canadiens players had to pay for their own rings after winning the championship and in 1971, Canadiens management decided to give players colour TVs instead of rings. "I got one in 1962, and then after we won in 63 and 64, they took it back, added an engraving on it and re-set it with a bit bigger diamond," Pulford, 78, told TSN. Pulford also has two rings from his work as an executive with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2010 and 2013. "I have four kids and Id love to be able to give them each a ring one day," he added. The Hall of Famer will receive three new rings at the ceremony - which will give him a total of six Stanley Cup rings. "I dont wear the ones from Chicago because the rings have gotten too big," he said. "I still wear my Leafs ring. Its classy." The ring ceremony also promises to help the Leafs salve any wounds left after the clubs controversial decision last year to take down photos at the Air Canada Centre of former players. While Maple Leaf Sports president Tim Leiweke ordered the move in an attempt to create a new culture within the organization, saying he didnt want todays players looking at players from 1962 as they walked to and from the ice, critics ripped the team for not paying proper respect to its past players. Bower was among the former Leafs stars who talked Leiweke out of the move, The Toronto Stars Dave Feschuk reported in September. "I think Tim realized that was a mistake," Pulford said. "And to his credit, hes trying to rectify that. A lot of former players are going to be so happy about this ring ceremony. When I found out I almost cried." Shannon Hosford, vice president of marketing and communications, said the Leafs move is about, "treating our alumni right." "We had heard from players over the past few years that (those who won multiple Stanley Cups in the 1960s) really wanted to receive an additional ring," Hosford said. "We are trying to do the right thing heading into our centennial year and tie up loose ends. This is about working to bring our alumni closer into the fold." Hosford added that the team is spending $200,000 to produce about 50 of the rings. Ten players have confirmed their attendance so far at the Leafs fan fest and will receive the rings on Sept. 5. Award-winning journalist Rick Westhead is TSNs Senior Correspondent for TSNs platforms - TSN, TSN Radio, TSN.ca and TSN GO. He has covered a wide variety of sports issues for a slate of leading publications, among them the Toronto Star, Bloomberg News, Canadian Press, Globe and Mail, New York Times, and Saturday Night Magazine. Earlier this year, Westhead was part of a team that won the prestigious Project of the Year at the National Newspaper Awards. He was also honoured with the Toronto Stars Reporter of the Year Award in 2007. Share your comments with Rick Westhead on Twitter at @rwesthead. Cheap College Basketball Jerseys . - Henrik Samuelsson and Curtis Lazar each had two goals and two assists as the Edmonton Oil Kings secured top spot in the Eastern Conference by defeating the host Red Deer Rebels 7-4 on Saturday in Western Hockey League action. Cheap NCAA Jerseys China . The alley-oop looked easy -- just like everything else after halftime for the Miami Heat. James scored 32 points, Wade added 22 points and eight assists, and the Heat trailed by 11 early in the second half before running away to a 107-88 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night. http://www.cheapncaajerseysauthentic.com/. 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"Competing with Canada written on my skin suit has been the biggest honour I could ever ask for, and something that I have never taken for granted," Schussler said on her website. "I could not be more proud to be Canadian, and that was never more true than at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics. The energy and support of the crowd that I felt in my first Olympic race, the 1,000 metres, is perhaps my favourite moment of my entire career." Schussler represented Canada at three Olympic Games. In Vancouver in 2010, she took fifth place in the team pursuit event, 25th in the 1,000 metres and 35th in the 1,500. In Sochi in 2014, she was fifth in the pursuit, 19th in the 3,000 metres, 26th in the 1,500 and 30th in the 1,000. She was aalso an alternate for the 500-metre and pursuit events at the 2006 Turin Games.dddddddddddd Schussler was part of team pursuit squads that won gold at the 2009 and 2011 world single distance long-track championships and silver in 2008 and 2012. She was also part of nine pursuit World Cup gold medals, to go with five silver and a bronze. Individually, she won one World Cup silver and five bronze medals in the 1,500, along with a bronze in the 3,000. Her final medal was a bronze in the 1,500 last November in Astana, Kazakhstan. Schussler is part of the Canadian trio that set the womens pursuit record time of two minutes 55.79 seconds at Calgarys Olympic Oval on Dec. 6, 2009. "The devotion and passion she brought to the sport helped to promote speed skating and values promoted by our sport not only on the ice, but also outside the rink," Speed Skating Canada president Jim Allison said in a release. "Congratulations Brittany and good luck for your next steps." ' ' '