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Christmas Day In The Original 6 Era

from Terry Jones of the Edmonton Sun,

It’s a bit of a test of a person’s memory considering it’s going back 58 years in the case of Bruce and Audrey MacGregor and their first experiences with hockey on Christmas Day in the NHL.

There are few people who can take you back and better than the MacGregors.

Back in the Original Six days there was no NHLPA and no collective bargaining agreements. Pro players were forced to play on Christmas Day.

“During our days in Detroit, we never had Christmas together for about seven seasons, I think it was,” said Audrey of her NHL husband that scored 213 goals in 893 games with Detroit and New York before becoming a WHA Oiler and assistant general manager of the five-time Stanley Cup champion Oilers in the NHL.