Former Toronto Maple Leaf and Canadian hockey legend Paul Henderson was a recent guest on Leafs Morning Take with Nick Alberga and Jay Rosehill. Henderson broke down the electricity in the air during the Canada-USA matchup at the 4 Nations Face-Off from Montreal, and he also took a trip down memory lane to relive the iconic 1972 Summit Series.

While many Canadians remember Henderson scoring the game-winner in the decisive eighth game of the series against the Soviet Union, what many don’t remember was the fact Henderson also scored the game-winning goal in the sixth, and seventh games. The former Maple Leaf spoke with Alberga and Rosehill and reflected on the biggest moment of his hockey career, and also had some hot takes on the Canadian 4 Nations Face-Off team.

Rosehill: Mr. Henderson, with your whole NHL career, and how much you played, I think with everybody, obviously it stands out the famous goal you scored in the ’72 Summit Series against the Soviets. How often do you still talk about that goal, and does it bother you that everything you did in your career, that’s probably what you talk about every single time somebody talks to you?

Henderson: I like to say I’m the only guy who played professional hockey for 18 years, and I’m known for one ‘garbage’ goal. The thing is, I scored seven goals, six of them were really nice goals, just snapped it, and I’ve been listening to ‘Henderson makes a wild stab for it and falls’. I mean, you really want to hear that, don’t you? But anyway, it’s been a good ride and I still get it all the time.

Alberga: Do you still get goosebumps talking about it, and reliving that tournament, and do you think we’ll ever get back to that level of hatred? Like, I know last Saturday was fun, but that was some good stuff back in the day.

Henderson: Well, you know, the sadness about it is that the Russians turned out to be terrific guys. They’re just like us, trying to keep a wife happy. Trying to raise their kids. But, they were under that terrible, terrible system, they had no say, they were treated like crap. Of course, in 1972 we hated them, but we should have just hated the ‘system’, not the players.

Rosehill: That makes me wonder, part of what made it so intense, the Summit Series, was the cultural differences. In this day and age, there’s some of that going on as well, as you know, Russia isn’t even invited to the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament. Do you agree with that, or do you think they should be able to be let in and be allowed to play?

Henderson: Well, I don’t have anything to do with it, so I don’t get involved with anything. If I can’t impact it, I keep my mouth shut. I’ve learned that’s the best way to handle things. I’ll leave that to the people in the know.

Rosehill: That Canada-USA game, that’s kind of the slate everyone is looking for, with the two powerhouses. What did you make of that first game, when they went head-to-head, and obviously some fireworks off the start?

Henderson: Well, I tell you what, you have to give the Americans credit, they didn’t allow them to get many chances. The defence, on everybody, nobody had many chances to make a play. So, the Canadians just got outplayed, no question about it. I heard you guys talking about the goaltending, that was definitely the difference, I think.

Alberga: What did you think about the start of that game last Saturday? I don’t know about you, but we’re so pumped for this final on Thursday. But, that start, to have three scraps in nine seconds, very old school, wasn’t it?

Henderson: Well, I don’t know, the U.S. got booed like crazy, so I don’t know if the coach just said – ‘ok, let’s show them’, but it surprised everybody. I don’t think there was one person who thought the game would start like that. And, that was the end of it, so they started playing hockey.

Rosehill: This tournament in general, Mr. Henderson, what were your thoughts on it when they returned to best-on-best, and now that you’ve seen some of it, what’s your take now that you know how it’s gone down, and what it looks like?

Henderson: Well, I think Canada is going to win the next game, I really do. I think it takes a while to get to know one another and get the right lines together. So, I’m really anticipating it, but again, goaltending is usually in these things, whoever has the best goaltending tends to win. Because they’re all so talented, they’re going to get some shots up, so that’s what keeps us excited about it. Canada just seems to be able to do it when they have to. And, that’s our history, and I really think Canada is going to win the game.

Alberga: So, let’s say Team Canada lets you in the room prior to Thursday’s final, what kind of advice would you give them before they get out there?

Henderson: I’d tell them – ‘just go out and have fun’. And, don’t try to be doing more than you should be doing. It’s when you try to do things that you shouldn’t, or are not capable of, or you try to cover for somebody else, that’s when you get in trouble. Go out there and have fun, and don’t get uptight about it. You have such great leaders on there who have done it over, and over again, so, I think we’re in good hands.

Henderson joined the Maple Leafs mid-way through the 1967-68 season and would spend parts of six seasons in Toronto, before joining the Toronto Toros of the WHA. The 82-year-old native of Kincardine, ON would finish his NHL career with 707 career games, scoring 236 goals, and adding 241 assists for 477 points. You can watch Henderson’s full interview and the rest of Tuesday’s edition of Leafs Morning Take below.