In a city that remembers its hockey heroes as family, Wilf Paierement is something of a forgotten name. For a short window in the early 80s, one of the most productive players was on the Toronto Maple Leafs. His 40-goal, 97-point season in 1980-81 remains one of the best by a correct wing player in the franchise history-even when it doesn’t stand much in Barroom Maple Leafs debates.
Paiemement was part of a trade in Maple Leafs that shook the room
The road from Paiemement to Toronto was not paved with applause. On December 29, 1979, the Maple Leafs fan favorite Lanny McDonald and Joel Quenneville exchanged to the Colorado Rockies for Paiement and Pat Hickey. It was all Part of the Harold Ballard Fiasco -Seese.
Related: Today in Hockey History: 2 September
McDonald was not only a scorer – he was the emotional heartbeat of the team, and fans did not take his departure lightly. That made it complicated for Paiemement from the start. Honestly or not, he got into a dressing room – and a city – that was not ready to embrace him.
Paiemement had a fast start in blue and white
Despite the luggage that came to the exchange, Paierement immediately left his mark. He noted 20 goals and 48 points in 41 games to end the 1979–80 season. He was tough, skilled and able to create his own opening – the kind of attacker who could hold on to the corners but still defeated a keeper Schone.
(Photocredit: 1975-76 Kansas City Scouts Media Guide).
There was little that he could do to erase the Angel of losing McDonald, but it gave fans a glimpse of what Paierement could bring. Nothing he did was different from added value; He just wasn’t McDonald.
The peak of the forces of Paierement ended in a season of 40 goals.
Everything clicked the next season. In 1980-81, Paiemement exploded for 40 goals and 97 points in 77 games. That is the kind of season that is remembered – or at least it should be. He was also not a filling statistics – he was a significant part of the attacking burden on a team that did not have much margin of error.
Related: Remembering Maple Leafs Tough Guy Jim Dorey
Paiemement played with a lead. He was never afraid of becoming physically involved, and that mix of scoring and Snarl made him a player who you noticed every night – even if the team around him was not built to go deep in the play -offs.
Short time in blue and white, and a quick farewell for Paiemement
The numbers of Paiemement fell in 1981–82. He ended with 18 goals and 58 points in 69 games – still productive, but not entirely the same impact. With the Maple Leafs in a new direction, they treated him at the Quebec Nordiques.
Paiemement got Stints with the Nordiques, New York Rangers, Buffalo Sabres and Pittsburgh Penguins before he retired in 1988. His days in Toronto ended so fast as they started – just fewer than 200 games in total – in total falls below 200 games – but that one great season still falls.
Why don’t we talk much about Paiemement in Toronto?
Why is a player with one of the best attacking seasons in team history rarely called? It is a mix of timing and circumstance. The Maple Leafs did not set him up and he did not stay long. Perhaps the most meaningful reason is that he came in under difficult circumstances.
Related: Matthew Knies is perhaps the most flexible part of the Maple Leafs
The team himself was in the middle of one of his more chaotic decades, with front office drama often overshadowed what happened on the ice. But strip that all that away, and the numbers don’t lie. Paiemement was a difference maker. For a while he was one of the best attackers in the NHL, and he did it in a maple -sweater sweater while Wear #99.
Paiemement gave Maple Leafs -Fans a season that was worth remembering at a time they wanted to forget.
Wilf Paemement may never get his name raised to the trusses of the Maple Leafs, but his 1980-81 season deserves a place under the large Maple Leafs versions. Not every contribution has to take a decade. For a few years, Paiemement brought size, scoring, skills and excitement to the line -up of Toronto, who desperately needed it.
That 40-goal season? It is still one of the best of a right wing that the franchise has ever seen. Sometimes the history books forget a name. But that does not mean that fans of Maple Leafs have to. Paiemement was one of those players who should get a little more appreciation in Toronto.
[Note: I’d like to thank Brent Bradford (PhD) for his help co-authoring this post. His profile can be found at www.linkedin.com/in/brent-bradford-phd-3a10022a9]
#Wilf #Paient #Maple #Leafs #Forgotten #40GoalScorerThe #Hockey #Writers #Toronto #Maple #Leafs #Latest #News #Analysis