Big M Be-Leafs

Call Frank Mahovlich a believer.

The Liberal Senator, known in his hockey days as the Big M, says he still thinks the Toronto Maple Leafs have a shot to make the playoffs.

The Leafs are five points out of a postseason berth with just four games to play, but history shows it can be done, said Mahovlich, in Thunder Bay briefly on Saturday for a pre-Masters campaign visit in support of Thunder Bay-Superior North Liberal hopeful Yves Fricot.

“In 1959 we were 10 points out of a playoff spot, 10 points. We had to win five games, the Rangers had to lose five games. And it happened, so miracles do happen,” said the 73-year-old Timmins native, horns honking behind him in the CLE parking lot.

 “The Leafs are (five) points out, they have four games left, they still have a chance.”

 Of course Mahovlich, who sported a Stanley Cup ring on each hand on Saturday, has plenty of allegiances during the current playoff stretch.

The hockey hall of famer won four Stanley Cups with Toronto between 1956 and 1967, then spent parts of three seasons with Thunder Bay’s Alex Delvecchio in Detroit before being dealt to Montreal in 1970-71, where he joined little brother Peter and captured two more NHL titles.

The Habs have had their finest stretch run, winning just four of their last 10 outings, but unlike the Leafs, it appears Montreal has a lock on a playoff spot, and once you get there, anything can happen.

“They’ve had some good and bad games, but with Montreal you know that they’re going to come to play. They’ll put it all out. They did a great job last year and I think the same thing’s going to happen. If they can get into the playoffs, I think you’re going to see some great hockey in the series.”

Asked where his allegiances lie, Mahovlich took the high road, though Fricot took a page out of Conservative Leader Stephen Harper’s playbook.

“That’s an unfair question,” Fricot said, smiling.

“I think I’ll just sit back and enjoy the games,” Mahovlich added. “Either way it doesn’t mean much to me. I had great success on both teams and we had great teams.”

Mahovlich, who spent four seasons in the WHA with Toronto and Birmingham, also weighed in on the Zdeno Chara hit on Max Pacioretty incident, which saw Boston’s Chara slam his Montreal opponent into a stanchion, fracturing his fourth vertebrae in the process.

Saying the players are bigger and stronger in today’s game, Mahovlich said in his mind, there’s an easy solution to end some of the injury parade.

“I think they need to make the rinks a little larger so they don’t bang into the boards as quickly, there’s more room for them to escape some of the situations they’re getting themselves into,” said Mahovlich, who retired with 533 goals and 1,103 points in 1,181 games, retiring for good in 1978.

It wasn’t all hockey talk on Saturday, as fans approached for autographs and photos.

At least one passerby screamed out, “Liberals suck!” as Mahovlich spoke with media.

He wasn’t afraid to start talking politics, saying he fully supports an appointed senate – as does Fricot – in the midst of his Northern Ontario tour.

He’s out for one reason, and one reason only, said Mahovlich, who was named a senator in 1998.

“The last election we didn’t get enough Liberals out to vote, so we’re hoping for much more,” he said. “We’re going to try to clarify things a little more and we’re hoping to get some of those NDP voters back and vote Liberal. The last election we took a real beating, and the Liberal party’s been a little injured now.”

Fricot is seeking to unseat NDP MP Bruce Hyer in a race that also includes Conservative Richard Harvey and the Green Party’s Scott Kyle.