The Tournament That Didn't Happen

I'm sure there are a few people who question my sanity when it comes to some of the things I find in the online newspaper archives I use simply because it looks like I spend a lot of time there. What normally happens is that I go searching for something, and a story will catch my eye that needs more thorough investigation because of a claim or conjecture made. That's exactly what happened today as one newspaper published an interesting "sports quickie" that absolutely needed context and examination.

First off, let's start off with what caught my attention in the archive.

According to the Austin Herald of Austin, Minnesota, the NHL was planning an "invitational tournament" for all fourteen NHL teams in 1970 that would be played in Winnipeg. Being that my parents and I are all from Winnipeg and had never heard about this tournament, this left me scratching my head. How did the NHL begin plannning a big tournament in a hockey-mad city that never materialized?

With my interest piqued, it was time to start hunting for more information on this tournament that never happened. The internet held no information on this tournament, so the newspaper archive was going to be my source for all the information for something that never happened. The next article that came up was from the Albert Lea Tribune as The Associated Press confirmed the "sports quickie" from the Austin Herald. The good news is there was more information as the NHL seemingly was planning to have the tournament in the fall of 1970 after the proposed World Hockey Tournament was cancelled for host cities Montreal and Winnipeg as Canada disputed the use of professional players at the championship.

There's a bold statement from Maitland Steinkopf, chairman of the Manitoba Centennial Corporation, about this tournament, claiming that, after talking to NHL President Clarence Campbell, there was a "75 per cent chance that it will come off." The former Progressive Conservative politician and longtime businessman made it sound like there was a better than good chance that the tournament would happen for the Manitoba capital. But did it happen, though?

Dozens of newspapers ran The Associated Press's report on between January 30 to February 5, 1970, but an article from MacGregor, Manitoba's The MacGregor Herald gave even more details on what was planned as Steinkopf was aiming for late September or early October for dates, adding "Right now we've just got to clear the dates." All fourteen teams would be able to attend using their players under contract to compete in the one-loss-and-out tournament over the planned week of games. In short, it sounded like a preseason tournament that would have brought the best professional players on the planet together for games. This could have been the start of something that the NHL could build on to spark interest for the coming season.

It appeared that Steinkopf was planning this massive hockey tournament to align with Manitoba's centennial celebration in 1970. He was instrumental in bringing all sorts of projects and events forward that year including the Centennial Concert Hall in downtown Winnipeg and a concert called "Man-Pop" that saw all of Led Zeppelin, Iron Butterfly, the Youngbloods, Chilliwack, the Ides Of March, Dianne Heatherington and the Merry-Go-Round, the Mongrels, and Sugar & Spice perform in Winnipeg for one day. That lineup is insane!

For whatever reason, nothing else was published about this NHL invitational tournament following those early reports in 1970, and it could be because Steinkopf shifted his focus to music as Man-Pop took place on August 29, 1970. My guess is that the dates proposed by Steinkopf didn't work for either the arenas in and around Winnipeg or the NHL clubs themselves, but the tournament evaporated as fast as it seemed to materialize. Winnipeg was not an NHL city in 1970.

There is a bit of a sad note to this story as Maitland Steinkopf passed away on Sunday, November 22, 1970 from a heart attack. Had the tournament happened, his passing would have been just weeks after watching NHL teams compete in the Manitoba capital. It also meant that he missed out on the WHA setting up shop in Winnipeg after luring NHL superstar Bobby Hull to the league which, I believe, would have tickled his showman's heart. Rest peacefully, Mr. Steinkopf.

There's a quick bit of history about what could have been the start of an annual event for the NHL had everything gone to plan with the league-wide invitational tournament. Maitland Steinkopf nearly put Manitoba on the map as a hockey destination with his efforts, but that event simply wasn't in the cards for the city of Winnipeg in 1970.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!