Wally Stanowski, who was believed to be the last living link to the Toronto Maple Leafs’ Stanley Cup championship team in 1942, has died at the age of 96.
“The Whirling Dervish,” as he was affectionately known, was a member of four Cup winning Maple Leafs teams (1942, 1945, 1947, and 1948).
The 1942 Maple Leafs famously crawled back from a 3-0 series deficit versus the Detroit Red Wings to win the franchise’s fourth Stanley Cup. It is the only instance of a team coming back from down 3-0 in a Cup final, and it was the first NHL championship series to go seven games.
Stanowski was a rare talent in his era — a defenceman who rushed with the puck. He totalled 23 goals and 111 points in a 428-game career with the Maple Leafs and New York Rangers.
“I just loved playing hockey,” Stanowski said in a 2012 Toronto Star profile. “Whatever you do in life, you should love it. We would have played for nothing because we loved the game so much.”
Stanowski served in the Canadian Air Force during World War II between the 1941-42 and 1944-45 seasons.
