Eddie Shack

Edward Steven Phillip Shack (February 11, 1937 – July 25, 2020), also known by his nicknames "the Entertainer" and "the Nose", was a Canadian professional ice hockey player of Ukrainian descent who played for six National Hockey League (NHL) teams from 1959 to 1975. He spent eight and a half seasons of his career with the Toronto Maple Leafs, with whom he won the Stanley Cup in 1962, 1963, 1964, and 1967.

Early life Edward Steven Phillip Shack was born in Sudbury, Ontario, on February 11, 1937, the son of Ukrainian immigrants Lena and Bill Shack. He had an elder sister named Mary. He had his best season in 1956–57, when he led the league in assists and starred in the Memorial Cup playoffs.

The New York Rangers signed Shack and assigned him to their AHL Providence Reds farm team for half a season. He made the NHL in the 1958–59 season and played two years for the Blueshirts. In 1960, he was to be traded with Bill Gadsby to the Detroit Red Wings for Red Kelly and Billy McNeill, but the transaction was cancelled when Kelly decided to retire rather than accept the trade.

In November of the 1960–61 season, Shack was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs, where he played seven seasons on the left wing as a colourful, third-line agitator who was popular with the fans despite a lack of scoring prowess. Canadian sports writer Stephen Cole likened Shack's playing to that of "a big puppy let loose in a wide field".

During the 1965–66 season Shack broke out, scoring 26 goals on a line with Ron Ellis and Bob Pulford. His popularity was such that a novelty song called "Clear the Track, Here Comes Shack", written in his honour and performed by Douglas Rankine with The Secrets, reached No. 1 on the CHUM pop chart in Toronto and charted for 9 weeks. Playing on the right wing on a line with Derek Sanderson and Ed Westfall, Shack's performance rebounded and he scored 23 goals.

Afflicted by injuries, he spent the next four seasons moving among the Los Angeles Kings, the Buffalo Sabres, and the Pittsburgh Penguins. Although he was never a big scorer or playmaker, he was able to score 20 goals three more times during these years, including a career high of 27 in 1970–71 in 11 games with Los Angeles and 56 games with Buffalo. Pittsburgh sold him back to Toronto for the 1973–74 season. He retired after the 1974–75 season. Wendy's Hamburgers and Schick razors, shaving off his moustache for one of their promotions. He also promoted a small chain of doughnut stores bearing his name. He appeared for a number of years at alumni all-star games. He also revealed he had been illiterate most of his life and subsequently became an advocate for literacy programs in his native Ontario.

Death Shack died from throat cancer at a hospital in Toronto on the night of July 25, 2020. He was 83 years old. Shack was survived by his wife of 58 years, Norma Givens and their two children.

Achievements Shack won the Stanley Cup in 1962, 1963, 1964, and 1967. He scored the winning goal in 1963, famously claiming that he had scored the goal off his backside and was only trying to get out of the way of the shot. He played in the National Hockey League All-Star Game in 1962, 1963, and 1964.

Career statistics Source: Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1952–53 Guelph Biltmores OHA-Jr. 21 2 6 8 43 — — — — — 1953–54 Guelph Biltmores OHA-Jr. 54 13 9 22 46 1 1 0 1 4 1954–55 Guelph Biltmores OHA-Jr. 19 6 7 13 35 2 0 0 0 4 1955–56 Guelph Biltmores OHA-Jr. 48 23 49 72 93 3 1 0 1 10 1956–57 Guelph Biltmores OHA-Jr. 52 47 57 104 129 10 4 10 14 53 1956–57 Guelph Biltmores M-Cup — — — — — 6 2 2 4 26 1957–58 Providence Reds AHL 35 16 18 34 98 — — — — — 1958–59 New York Rangers NHL 67 7 14 21 109 — — — — — 1959–60 New York Rangers NHL 62 8 10 18 110 — — — — — 1959–60 Springfield Indians AHL 9 3 4 7 10 — — — — — 1960–61 New York Rangers NHL 12 1 2 3 17 — — — — — 1960–61 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 55 14 14 28 90 4 0 0 0 2 1961–62 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 44 7 14 21 62 9 0 0 0 18 1962–63 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 63 16 9 25 97 10 2 1 3 11 1963–64 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 64 11 10 21 128 13 0 1 1 25 1964–65 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 67 5 9 14 68 5 1 0 1 8 1965–66 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 63 26 17 43 88 4 2 1 3 33 1965–66 Rochester Americans AHL 8 3 4 7 12 — — — — — 1966–67 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 63 11 14 25 58 8 0 0 0 8 1967–68 Boston Bruins NHL 70 23 19 42 107 4 0 1 1 6 1968–69 Boston Bruins NHL 50 11 11 22 74 9 0 2 2 23 1969–70 Los Angeles Kings NHL 73 22 12 34 113 — — — — — 1970–71 Los Angeles Kings NHL 11 2 2 4 8 — — — — — 1970–71 Buffalo Sabres NHL 56 25 17 42 93 — — — — — 1971–72 Buffalo Sabres NHL 50 11 14 25 34 — — — — — 1971–72 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 18 5 9 14 12 4 0 1 1 15 1972–73 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 74 25 20 45 84 — — — — — 1973–74 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 59 7 8 15 74 4 1 0 1 2 1974–75 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 26 2 1 3 11 — — — — — 1974–75 Oklahoma City Blazers CHL 8 3 4 7 10 — — — — — 1976–77 Whitby Warriors OHA-Sr. 9 5 4 9 8 — — — — — NHL totals 1,047 239 226 465 1,437 74 6 7 13 151