There has long been speculation about the whereabouts of the puck that Paul Henderson used to score the winning goal in the 1972 Summit Series. The Team Canada defenceman has often been questioned over the years, but never confirmed or denied the rumours. Yesterday, when contacted by The Globe and Mail at the family farm near Strathroy, Stapleton decided to fess up. It was stored away about 20 years ago, and it's still there. Stapleton also said he has never received a call from any collectors interested in making him rich by selling it.
People get excited about it only every so often, and then they forget about it.
He said he decided to keep quiet about his prize after a discussion with an official from the Hockey Hall of Fame. The official said if anyone ever claimed to have the puck, there would be no way of authenticating it because in those days game pucks were plain black. The custom of stamping pucks with league, team or association logos was just being introduced. He said he grabbed the puck because he developed a habit over his hockey career of saving pucks from significant moments. He always marked them to identify the occasion, which is why Stapleton is sure he knows which puck was used by Henderson.