Darcy Tucker has announced his retirement. The former Leafs forward scored 215 goals and 476 points and amassed 1410 minutes in penalties in 947 career NHL games.
Back in 2002, Darcy Tucker and Bryan McCabe had terrible seasons. That led my brothers and I to believe in the jersey jinx. You see, one brother wore a McCabe jersey while the other wore a Darcy Tucker. I, of course, stayed true to Bill Barilko. Here's a pic of us in our jerseys almost a decade ago.
Way back in 2003, during a comeback year for both Tucker and McCabe, my brother Ryan wrote the following guest blog entry.
A couple of Christmas' back I purchased a Maple Leaf jersey for both brothers. Mike was given the late great jersey of Bill Barilko, and it was given with confidence that his legend would live on and the value of the authentic leaf jersey would never devalue. However I took quite a risk when I grabbed a Darcy Tucker jersey for Steve. Last year I believe he used the jersey to clean up the mess Mike left behind after the Leafs took an exit in the playoffs. This year, however, that Tucker jersey must be worn proudly. Every Boo Tucker takes from every fan in every rink we play at makes me ecstatic!! He not only distracts players and gets them off their game, but he is scoring goals and getting to the right spot on the ice. Tucker is a boon to the Leafs, and I truly believe that every Stanley Cup contender needs a "Tucker" on their team. So continue yapping your yap Tucker... I, for one, love every word you say.. or cry....
Ya had to love #16's intensity and grit. Here's an autograph I got from Tucker many moons ago.
