Ron Ellis is proud to be recognized as a member of the last Toronto Maple Leafs team to capture the Stanley Cup.

Fifty-five years later, however, he would gladly surrender that distinction.

In 1967, Ellis was a key member of that last TML team to hoist hockey’s holy grail. Now, he says it’s time for the Leafs to end their lengthy NHL championship drought.

“I hope they do it this year,” said Ellis, 77, now living in Belleville to be close to his son (a former RCAF pilot out of CFB Trenton) and grandchildren. “It’s time to pass the baton. To be frank, I’m tired of being introduced as a member of the last Toronto cup team.”

The Leafs and the Tampa Bay Lightning were tied 1-1 in their best-of-seven opening-round Stanley Cup playoff series heading into Game 3 Friday. Ellis is a huge fan of the current Leafs and says they have what it takes to bring the Stanley Cup back to Bay Street.

“I love the team,” said Ellis. “They play a very entertaining game. This is an excellent hockey team. They have an excellent opportunity. But the problem I have with the NHL playoffs the way they are now is that after the first round, eight great teams are out.

“To get through that first round is a bugger. If Leafs do, I think they have a chance to win it all. They’ve got it all covered. They just have to execute. And I hope they do.”

Ellis said the 1966-67 Leafs, icing the oldest roster in the last season of the NHL's Original Six, were considered underdogs heading into the Stanley Cup playoffs 55 years ago. They proved the experts wrong.

“Nobody expected us to win,” said Ellis, a reliable, resilient and responsible right-winger who spent his entire 16-season NHL career with Toronto. “At one point during the season, we lost 10 in a row. But we had a lot of senior players. It was such a group, with tremendous character.

“The first expansion was coming the next season and a lot of guys would be moving on. So they made up their minds they were going to give it a go, and we ended up having an unbelievable year.”

Leafs dispatched Belleville native Bobby Hull and his offensive juggernaut Chicago Blackhawks in the Stanley Cup semi-finals, then shocked the favoured Montreal Canadiens in the championship affair.

“It was the year of Expo ’67 in Montreal and we’d heard that the organizers had already created a spot for the Stanley Cup to be displayed,” said Ellis. “Years later, Yvan Cournoyer (Habs Hall of Famer) told me they had taken us too lightly.”

Five years later, Ellis cracked the lineup of NHL Team Canada for the unforgettable 1972 Summit Series against the former Soviet Union. Due to his consistent play and attention to detail, Ellis was one of only seven Canadian players to see action in all eight games.

Team Canada went on to win the Summit Series, with Ellis’ Toronto linemate, Paul Henderson, scoring the last three game-winning goals — all in Moscow. Ellis said it was a wonderful experience.

“You’re nervous going into those games, but if that goes away you should retire,” he said, laughing. “We had a job to do and we were focused. It took us a while to get our act together because we had started out as an all-star team but we couldn’t win as an all-star team.

“We never gave up. We had to win those last three games in Moscow to win the series and even though we’d lost the last game before that, we knew we were playing better and better.”

A large and loud contingent of Canadian fans who’d travelled to Moscow to lend their support also helped, said Ellis.

“When we skated off the ice after Game 5, the 3,000 Canadian fans in the stands stood and gave us an ovation,” he said. “Our backs were against the wall, but they were behind us. That meant a lot.”

A lifelong Leaf, Ellis was somewhat tempted when the former World Hockey Association was formed in 1972 and operated for seven seasons as a rival to the NHL. Player salaries jumped overnight. Ellis’ WHA rights were owned by the Houston Aeros, who boasted Mr. Hockey, the legendary Gordie Howe, in their lineup.

“They offered to double my salary, and playing with Gordie would’ve been special,” said Ellis. “But I wanted to finish my career in Toronto.”

And, he did. Finishing with overall career numbers that reflected his drive and dependability.

Ellis posted 10 consecutive seasons with at least 20 goals and never accumulated more than 25 penalty minutes in a single campaign with the Leafs. His disciplined two-way play was his calling card and enabled him to appear in 1,034 NHL games, scoring 332 goals, totalling 640 points and collecting only 207 PMs.

“I believed the best thing I could do was to play the game according to the rules,” said Ellis. “That other stuff was not part of my nature. Not part of my game.

"The way I played kept me around.”