“The Best Captain, As A Captain, The Leafs Have Ever Had,” Was Indigenous

When it comes to names in hockey, few are larger than Conn Smythe. That’s why, when Smythe called George Armstrong “the best captain, as a captain, the Leafs have ever had,” it meant something.

George Armstrong played 1188 games in the NHL, all with the Toronto Maple Leafs. He had 713 points. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1975, and had his number 10 retired by the Toronto Maple Leafs.

And, Armstrong was Indigenous.

Armstrong was born in 1930 in Skead, Ontario. His father was Irish-Canadian, and his mother was Ojibwe.

Nicknamed “Chief” while playing with the Toronto Marlies who were visiting the Stoney Indian Reserve in Alberta, Armstrong was a 7 time NHL All-Star, and won 4 Stanley Cups, including the 1967 Cup, the last year the Toronto Maple Leafs won a Cup.

Armstrong was one of the games greatest, he was dubbed the Leafs “best captain,” and he was Indigenous.