JULY 19, 1948
VALS CUT TIES WITH TOUHEY
After two straight seasons of missing the playoffs the Montreal Valiants have decided major changes are needed. The club elected not to resign five regulars from last season's club including veteran goaltender Millard Touhey. Touhey, who took a lot of heat a year ago for reporting to camp out of shape and has been wildly inconsistent at times, was given his walking papers along with defenseman Leo Bernard and forwards Max Ducharme, Nick Haines and Doug Lynch. Between them the three forwards combined for 39 goals and 116 points last season but it is the decision to drop Touhey that comes as the biggest surprise.
The move leaves the Vals in desperate need for goaltending help as they currently only have 23-year-old Peter Beliveau, a 1944 6th round pick of the Detroit Motors who played his first two NAHC games for the Valiants last season, under contract. It appears a new certainty the Valiants will need to trade for a goaltender as the only free agent of note at the position is Ronnie Flanagan - a 31-year-old journeymen who spent most of the past three seasons as the New York Shamrocks backup netminder.
A Valiants spokesmen commented off-the-record in stating the entire organization is getting a little sick of Touhey, which clearly prompted the decision to make a change. The 32-year-old has been Montreal's number one netminder for the past five seasons and led the club to the Challenge Cup finals three years ago after upsetting first place Toronto in the opening round. There were high expectations two seasons ago but the Vals stumbled, in no small part due to the fact that their goaltender did not come to camp in game shape. Touhey had a strong start last year but, after challenging for first place through Christmas, the Valiants feel apart in the second half of the season and Touhey finished with a 22-26-2 record with a 3.18 goals against average. Overall, in five seasons with Montreal he was 63-45-16 with a 2.65 GAA.
The big question now is where will Touhey land? There are not a lot of teams in need of a goaltender. Perhaps league champion Toronto looks at him as a back-up to Gordie Broadway although his salary demands may preclude that from happening. The alternative is Detroit, but that depends upon how comfortable the Motors are with Henri Chasse. The 25-year-old was very good two years ago in leading Detroit to the playoffs but he had a down season this past year.
Leo Bernard is a 28-year-old defenseman who has been a fixture on the Vals blueline all decade. He is probably not a top pairing defender but could probably fit in on the second or third line with a number of teams so he should draw some interest from the Vals NAHC rivals. A year ago Bernard suited up for 49 games and had 16 points including 5 goals.
The three forwards will likely land somewhere although it is quite possible it will be in the Hockey Association of America for at least two of them. Max Ducharme, a versatile player who can handle all three forward positions, will likely be in high demand after the 24-year-old had a career high 40 points in 59 games last season. Nick Haines is 26-years-old and dealing with a serious back injury that will force him to miss the first half of the season so he may not get a look from NAHC clubs. The center/right winger had 33 points in 49 games a year ago. Doug Lynch was the long-time captain of the Vals but was cut loose despite notching 39 points in 54 games. The 35-year-old may end up with the minors as his only option.
They are interesting decisions by Montreal's management, which is clearly gambling that shocking moves like those light a fire under a club that has had prolonged losing streaks each of the past two seasons and underachieved as a result. The move with Touhey -with no replacement in sight- seems to be an especially risky decision.
OTHER HEADLINES THIS WEEK
- New York Stars outfielder Bill Barrett led the Continental Association to an 11-3 win over the Federal loop in the 16th annual FABL All-Star Game. The series is now tied at 8 wins each with the CA claiming victory in each of the last three.
- The American Basketball Conference is no more as all 8 of its teams have decided to join Rollie Barrell's Federal League, doubling the third year loop to 16 clubs.
- The anti-Truman Southern delegates to the Democratic National Convention, held this past week in Philadelphia, failed to get behind the candidacy of Arkansas Gov. Ben Laney and began splitting up their votes.
- As a result, President Truman was selected as the Democratic candidate for the 1948 presidential election. Truman used his acceptance speech to call for a special session of Congress to begin July 26.
- Tension mounts in the Russian blockade of Berlin and fear are increasing it may lead to war. First comes news that Britain has built up its troop strength, including sending some formations withdrawn from Palestine, to Western Germany and a day later the US Air Forces reveals that a vanguard of 60 B-29 Super Fortresses are off to England for what it is calling special training missions in an announcement that was quickly followed by a Russia response alerting the Allies that Soviet fighter planes will be training in the air corridors to Berlin.
Full national sports coverage is available in this week's edition of
THIS WEEK IN FIGMENT BASEBALL.