Thanks Lloyd, that explains a lot. The New York papers didn't delve
into this much and it was hard to know if it was a controversial
decision or not at the time. It may have been more controversial in
Toronto, obviously.

As for the defencemen, I thought Jim Dorey was playing well then and
hadn't heard any complaints about him.

Jay

--- In hockhist@yahoogroups.com, Lloyd Davis <ldaviseditor@...> wrote:
>
> In the Toronto Star on April 14, Jim Proudfoot wrote that the
Rangers
> had been targeting Bob Baun, who had missed the last six games of
the
> 1970-71 season due to neck and back injuries. He quoted Ted Irvine
as
> saying "I think we're finally getting to Bobby Baun just a little
> bit," and "He's the guy we've got to go after, because he's the
key
> to their defence." Bear in mind, the rest of the Leafs defence
were
> fairly green.
>
> In the same day's Star, Red Burnett commented, "In the past, when
> Leafs faced a win-or-else obstacle, coach John McLellan called on
> goalie Jacques Plante, veteran miracle worker, to pull the team
out
> of the skid.
>
> "On those occasions, however, Plante was replacing a shaky Bruce
> Gamble, now with Philadelphia Flyers. This time, he will be called
on
> to improve on a brilliant Parent. And, goal was the one place
Leafs
> looked respectable last night."
>
> "However, Plante has the knack of settling down Leafs' young
> defencemen. And, for this reason, one has to figure the veteran
will
> get the assignment in this win-or-pack-up contest."
>
> In game 5, Ted Irvine scored 34 seconds into the first period. He
was
> on the checking line, which Emile Francis started to neutralize
the
> Henderson-Ullman-Ellis line. "[Parent] made three saves before
Irvine
> sank his own rebound."
>
> Burnett wrote that the Rangers defence "played solid, clever
hockey.
> They either sent their forwards away with quick, smooth passes or
> lugged the puck out of danger. By comparison, the Leaf defenders,
> with the exception of Baun, were guilty of too much stickhandling
> near their goal crease. This created havoc for Parent and anchored
> the forwards."
>
> The next day, Milt Dunnell of the Star wrote: "So what does
McLellan
> hope to gain by making a change? It's strictly a psychological
thing,
> professor. Now that the Rangers are congratulating themselves on
> getting rid of the Parent hex, which was a hangover from his days
in
> Philadelphia, maybe Plante will throw them out of gear.
>
> "There is also the possibility that McLellan might be thinking of
> next season. He wouldn't want to send Jacques into summer quarters
> suffering from a suspicion that his services no longer are
> appreciated in these parts. ..."
>
> So we have a few possibilities which are not mutually exclusive:
1)
> that McLellan just wanted to throw something different at the
> Rangers; 2) that McLellan had a habit of turning to Plante in big
> games; 3) that Plante had a positive effect on a disorganized
defence
> corps (a role Baun also played), and with him in net the Rangers
> might not get fourth chances the way they had against Parent in
game 5.
>
>
> Lloyd Davis
> ldaviseditor@...
> --
>