Legendary hockey reporter Stan Fischler writes a weekly scrapbook for NHL.com. Fischler, known as "The Hockey Maven," shares his humor and insight with readers each Wednesday.
This week recalls Toronto Maple Leafs owner Conn Smythe's rare feat of crafting not one but two championship "Kid Lines" over two separate NHL eras. They made decisive contributions to four Stanley Cup titles while spawning four Hockey Hall of Famers.
Conn Smythe didn't plan it that way, but when "The Little Major" helped develop his first Stanley Cup championship team in 1932, it became the talk of Canada, all because of a dynamic trio called "The Kid Line."
Center Joe Primeau flanked right wing Charlie Conacher and Harvey "Busher" Jackson. They debuted Dec. 7, 1929, 95 years ago. All three are in the Hockey Hall of Fame.
"Once we started playing together, I knew we were a pretty fair line," Primeau said. "Harvey was a natural; he did things with the puck without having to think about them. Charlie owned a booming shot and was aware of every move that he made -- and could tell you about each one. The pair of them had lots of fire and confidence, which boiled over to me."
It wasn't until Jan. 4, 1930, that the line was given a nickname. It was a postgame headline in the Toronto Star, "KID FORWARD LINE LEADS LEAFS TO VICTORY," that fed their popularity.
Star reporter Lou Marsh waxed musical over Toronto defeating the Montreal Canadiens.
"Canadiens 3, Leafs, 4," wrote Marsh. "Play that on your old tambourine and see how nice it sounds. It was the Kid Line that turned the trick."
Smythe realized he had something rare with the line, especially Primeau's magical passing skills.
"Joe produced a continual flow of playmaking ideas crowded into his head. He set a pattern of unselfishness in organizing plays," wrote author Ron McAllister in his book, "More hockey stories, from the Canadian sports album."
Conacher led the NHL with 34 goals in the 48-game 1931-32 season, Primeau's 37 assists and Jackson's 53 points also ranking first. Primeau won the Lady Byng Trophy given "to the player adjudged to have exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability."
The line starred in the 1932 Stanley Cup Final against the New York Rangers, sweeping the best-of-5 series. Toronto won the opener 6-4 on Jackson's hat trick. The line starred again in Game 2, a 6-2 victory when Conacher scored twice and Jackson once.
Said Primeau: "We won the final game 6-4 and Smythe, who loved horse racing, named one of his two-year-olds 'Six to Four,' and another 'Three Straight' and a third one 'Stanley Cup' all because of the series."
Legendary Maple Leafs and Canadiens executive Frank Selke put it this way: "Jackson was the classiest player I've ever seen, but Conacher was the greatest all-round athlete. Meanwhile, Primeau was the perfect center for them."
The line broke up when Primeau retired after the 1935-36 season.
"I had given my best to hockey and gotten the same in return," he said.
Smythe never imagined that another championship Kid Line would emerge and win more than twice as many titles as the original. Yet in the fall of 1946 something unexpected took place at Maple Leafs training camp in St. Catherines, Ontario.
"One of the best things to come out of that camp was a trio that would be dubbed 'The New Kid Line,'" wrote author and hockey historian Eric Zweig in "The Toronto Maple Leafs: The Complete Oral History."
By chance, Maple Leafs coach Hap Day placed Ted Kennedy between right wing Howie Meeker and Vic Lynn.
"Ted Kennedy wasn't a skater," said Meeker in "The Leafs in Autumn" written by Jack Batten, "but 'Teeder' was very competitive and a heck of a puck handler. Lynn was a good hockey player and always looking for a fight. If anybody could make the two of us into something, it was Kennedy. And he sure did."
