Walter “Turk” Broda
On my walk last week through Glendale Cemetery in Rexdale, with my trusty Leafs puck in hand, I visited the grave of the late, great Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender, Walter “Turk” Broda.
Remarkably, Turk spent his entire 16-year NHL career with the Maple Leafs, collecting 302 career wins—a club record at the time. (For comparison, Martin Brodeur, the NHL’s all-time wins leader, tallied 691 victories over 22 seasons.) The only break in Turk’s career came during the Second World War, when he, along with many NHL players and executives, served his country with valour.
Like Johnny Bower, Broda hailed from the Canadian west—born in Brandon, Manitoba, into a Ukrainian family.
Originally property of the Detroit Olympics of the IHL, Broda’s rights were sold to the Leafs in 1935–36. Just a few years later, he emerged as the team’s star between the pipes—never looking back. He would go on to:
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Win 2 Vezina Trophies
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Hoist the Stanley Cup 5 times
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Earn 302 NHL wins, a franchise record that stood for decades
Broda famously struggled with his weight, prompting Leafs owner Conn Smythe to issue an ultimatum: lose weight or lose the net. Turk complied—but later admitted the team had rigged the scales to help him meet his goal. A classic hockey story.
Smythe: “Lose weight or lose the net”.
After retiring, Broda coached the Toronto Marlboros to back-to-back Memorial Cup championships in 1955 and 1956. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1967, and later ranked the 60th greatest player in NHL history.
His jersey number #1 was retired by the Maple Leafs, and his legacy now lives on in Legends Row outside Scotiabank Arena.
Off the ice, Broda was a gentleman, a horse-racing enthusiast, and an avid golfer. Sadly, he passed away in Toronto on October 17, 1972. He was just 58.
As for his nickname? As a kid, he had a face full of freckles, earning him the nickname “Turkey Egg”—which was eventually shortened to simply, “Turk.”
1914-1972
