Remembering Maple Leafs Icon Howie Meeker
Howie Meeker died just over five years ago at the age of 97, and for many older Toronto Maple Leafs fans, the news still lands with that strange mix of warmth and nostalgia. He wasn’t just part of hockey history—he was part of how a lot of people learned to see the game in the first place.
Meeker was a memorable Hockey Night in Canada broadcaster.
If you grew up watching Hockey Night in Canada, you probably still hear him in your head. “Golly gee willikers.” “Jiminy Cricket.” It sounds almost too colourful for modern broadcast hockey, but that was Meeker. Fully animated, fully invested, and completely convinced that every shift mattered. He didn’t just call games—he broke them open so fans could understand what was really happening.
Before the television personality, though, there was the player. Meeker spent eight seasons with the Maple Leafs and was part of four Stanley Cup-winning teams. He also earned a place among the franchise’s greats, being named one of the 100 Greatest Maple Leafs of All Time. And even though his NHL playing career ended when he was still young by today’s standards, hockey never really let him go. He kept playing professionally in Newfoundland into his mid-40s.
Meeker was a larger-than-life personality.
His on-ice résumé is easy to forget only because it came with such a larger story. He won the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year in 1946–47, and he still holds an NHL record for most goals in a game by a rookie—five in a single night. And then there’s the moment that ties him forever to Maple Leafs mythology: in the 1951 Stanley Cup Final, Meeker set up the behind-the-net pass to Bill Barilko for the overtime winner against the Montreal Canadiens.
That goal became legend. And later, it became a song. Fifty-Mission Cap by The Tragically Hip turned that moment into something even bigger in Canadian hockey culture.
Before being a hockey player, Meeker was wounded in WWII.
What often gets overlooked is just how improbable Meeker’s hockey life was in the first place. During the Second World War, he served in Europe, was seriously wounded by a grenade, and suffered broken legs along with dozens of shrapnel injuries. At one point, he even wrote to the Maple Leafs asking to be removed from their player list, believing his career was over before it truly began.
Of course, it wasn’t. He came back, played, scored, won, and eventually built a second career as a coach, broadcaster, and teacher of the game. For over 30 years, he helped fans understand hockey in a way that felt simple, honest, and human.
Meeker was awarded the Order of Canada.
Meeker’s contributions were recognized with the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award and the Order of Canada, fitting for someone who gave so much to the game on and off the ice. And for a lot of fans, that’s the lasting image—someone who never stopped loving hockey, and never stopped sharing it.