Known to all in hockey as "The Entertainer" or "The Nose," Eddie Shack was a unique talent. Not too many players have a song made that is inspired by his play, called, "Clear the Track, Here Comes Shack."
Shack was working in a butcher shop when he decided to try out for the Guelph Biltmores. When he made the team and moved away from his family, he left with the knowledge that he could always go back and be a butcher. From 1952 to 1957 he played in Guelph before making the move to the New York Rangers farm team in the AHL, the Providence Reds. After only one season in Providence, he was called up to New York where he was expected to become a scorer. Shack was not living up to expectations and when the Rangers tried to make a trade in 1960 with the Detroit Red Wings that involved Red Kelly, the transaction was cancelled when Kelly refused to report to New York. He was finally traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs later that year.
Moving to the Leafs was a resurgence for Shack as he fit in with the team right away. In his first full season with the team, the Leafs brought home the Stanley Cup and won three in a row from 1961-62 to 1963-64. Shack scored a Cup-winning goal and later told the press that the puck had gone off his behind and that he was just trying to get out of the way! Shack won another cup with Toronto in 1967 before being traded to the Boston Bruins the next season.
Shack moved around to several other teams including the L.A. Kings, Buffalo Sabres, and Pittsburgh Penguins before ending up back in Toronto as a Leaf. He retired from the game with four Stanley Cup rings and having made three consecutive All-Star appearances from '62 to '64.
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