My years working in the Maple Leafs front office were never short of surprises. While many nights blend together in my memory bank, one of the games that has stuck with me was on Dec. 3, 1980, and it had nothing to do with our 4-4 tie against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Then-GM Punch Imlach called me into his office that evening and sent me on what turned out to be a wild-goose chase to find forward Mark Kirton after the game to tell him that he had been traded to the Detroit Red Wings. Imlach said that Kirton needed to get on the first flight out of É«É«À² the next morning, making it essential that I broke the news to him as quickly as possible after the game. He also didn’t want the media to find out.
So I looked around for Kirton in the Leafs dressing room, trying to be discreet. Unbeknownst to me, he had slipped out a different exit. When I got home at around 11:30 p.m., I tried calling the 22-year-old every 15 minutes or so. No answer. It was almost 2 a.m. when he finally picked up my 10th call and I still remember the cold winter air coming through my parents’ kitchen window (yes, I lived at home) as I informed him that not only had he been traded for Jim Rutherford but he had to catch a flight in six hours.
I’m not sure if Kirton thought it was a practical joke at first, but he quickly came to realize that his Leafs career was over just two years after he was drafted in the third round and only 13 games into his NHL career. Kirton easily could have said, “Get lost, I have lots to do,” but we were the same age, had lots in common and, to my surprise, we ended up having a memorable 20-minute conversation in the wee hours of the morning.
Leafs forward Mark Kirton skates against the New York Islanders during NHL pre-season action in September 1980 at Maple Leaf Gardens.
Graig Abel/Getty ImagesI never knew it at the time, but that phone call was the beginning of a long, meaningful friendship, which is why the news of his passing last weekend at the age of 67, after a hard-fought battle with ALS, really hit home.
In the hockey world, Kirton was known as a checker, penalty killer and energy guy. While he played 266 NHL games with the Leafs, Red Wings and Vancouver Canucks, the Regina native spent the majority of his pro career in the American Hockey League, which is where we reconnected.
I had been named GM of the Newmarket Saints, É«É«À²’s AHL affiliate, to go along with my assistant-GM title with the Leafs for the 1987-88 season. In my first week on the job, I met with Kirton on a patio to welcome him back to the organization. He would play his last two professional seasons in Newmarket for a salary of $35,000 per season.
After hockey, Kirton entered the world of real estate during a period when the housing market wasn’t so strong. But just like he did as a hockey player, his work ethic, determination, vibrant personality and people skills made him successful.
Around 2010 or so, he sent me the first of what would become an annual invite to golf with our great friend Bruce Boudreau. It was always a fun round with lots of chirping and I looked forward to it every summer.
The last invite came in the summer of 2017, when it became apparent that Kirton was having some health issues. He was losing strength in parts of his body and his entire physical sense was out of whack. Eventually, he was diagnosed with ALS.
Kirton’s response to the unfortunate news paralleled his professional hockey and real estate careers. He put that same determination and worth ethic into doing all he could to fight the disease. He constantly raised awareness about ALS and even founded ALS Action Canada alongside Patients with ALS, a patient-led initiative created to raise money and help find a cure.
Every September, Maple Leafs alumni meets for a general meeting and golf game, and each year Kirton was there to promote his work around ALS and garner support. As the years went on, it was obvious that his situation had diminished, ultimately leaving him in a wheelchair, but he always made the biggest emotional impression on his fellow alumni.
Last night, we presented a cheque to Mark Kirton, Maple Leafs alumni, and member of ALS Action Canada in recognition of the funds raised in honour of Börje Salming and his fight against ALS.
— É«É«À² Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs)
Thank you to all those who donated and supported 💙💛
In the summer of 2022, the Leafs organization reached out to Kirton after Börje Salming also had been diagnosed with ALS and asked if he could support and provide insight to his former teammate and his family. Kirton did just that.
When Salming made his final appearance at Scotiabank Arena before a Leafs game later that year, just 11 days before he died, his family and friends went to a private box after the emotional opening ceremony. I was fortunate to stop by and have one last visit with Salming and I’ll always remember chatting with his daughter, who told me how much support Kirton had provided for her and her dad.
Meanwhile, as Kirton sat in the box and watched the game, the last person he was worried about was himself. He joked about how the emotional night was taking a toll on Boudreau, who was behind the bench for the opposing Vancouver Canucks. “Gabby has been turning beet red most of the game,” he said, with a smile.
When the Leafs alumni gather again in a few weeks for their annual event, there will be former franchise stars and others who played just a handful of games in É«É«À². There’s no question, though, that the alumnus with the largest stature will be absent for the first time — at least in person.
Mark Kirton will always be there in spirit.
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