Meeker, former Maple Leafs player and analyst for Hockey Night in Canada, dies

Howie Meeker, a four-time Stanley Cup champion with the Toronto Maple Leafs, best known by later generations of fans as an analyst on Hockey Night in Canada, died Sunday. He was 97 years old.

The Kitchener, Ontario forward was the last living member of the Toronto Cup winning teams from 1947-49 and 1951. He played in the NHL All-Star Game in 1947, 1948 and 1949.

Meeker joined the Maple Leafs in 1946-47 and was named NHL Rookie of the Year Calder Trophy winner after scoring 45 points (27 goals, 18 assists) in 55 games. Five of his goals came in a game against the Chicago Black Hawks at Maple Leaf Gardens on January 8, 1947, setting an NHL record for beginners in one game. He scored three goals and six points in eleven Stanley Cup playoff games and helped the Maple Leafs win their first of three straight championships – the first team in NHL history to do so.

WAH MacBrien, Vice President of Maple Leaf Gardens, received the Calder Memorial Trophy for the NHL’s best rookie on October 13, 1947, just before the first NHL All-Star Game in Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Though Meeker never produced nearly offensively as he did as a rookie, he was a valued member of the Toronto championship teams in 1948, 1949 (although he missed the playoffs with a broken collarbone), and 1951. After 1953, he retired from the NHL -54 season with 185 points (83 goals, 102 assists) in 346 regular season games and 15 points (six goals, nine assists) in 42 playoff games, although he did until the late 1960s Years continued to play with senior teams in Canada.

Meeker coached the Maple Leafs from 1956-57 when they finished with 15 draws 21-34 and did not qualify for the playoffs.

From the 1970s onwards, a new generation of ice hockey fans met Meeker through his work on television, especially on “Hockey Night in Canada”. He was one of the first analysts to use a telestrator, and his catchphrase “Stop it right here” became a trademark. He was the 1998 winner of the Hockey Hall of Fame’s Foster Hewitt Memorial Award for Outstanding Achievement in Hockey Broadcasting and was named a member of the Order of Canada in 2010.

Meeker was involved in Special Olympics for nearly 50 years, starting Special Olympics Canada after being invited to participate by former NHL referee Harry “Red” Foster. He also gave his name and support to the Howie Meeker Charity Golf Classic and hosted the fundraiser through 2018.

Photos courtesy of the Archives of Hockey Hall of Fame Images