Eddie Shack was strong influence early in Jim Rutherford's career with Penguins

Before he was his teammate, Jim Rutherford was a fan of Eddie Shack.

As a teenager in Ontario during the 1960s, Rutherford watched his favorite team, the Toronto Maple Leafs, win four Stanley Cup titles during the decade.

Shack, a power forward, was a major component of that success and even scored the Stanley Cup-clinching goal in 1963 when a shot hit off his backside and deflected into the net.

Beyond his abilities, Shack’s flamboyance made him wildly popular personality in Toronto. Known to wave his arms on the bench to spur on “We Want Shack!” chants at Maple Leaf Gardens, Shack would also perform a pirouette at center ice on the occasions he was one of the game’s three stars.

One of the NHL’s most physical players of his era, Shack was even the subject of a popular novelty song titled “Clear The Track, Here Comes Shack” which topped the charts in Canada during the 1960s.

Suffice it to say, he was a big deal.

“Oh, big deal,” Rutherford said in a telephone interview with the Tribune-Review on Monday. “As a kid growing up as a Maple Leafs fan, he was a big part of their Cup wins. He played an important role on them.”

Shack, who died Sunday following a bout with throat cancer at age 83, was important for Rutherford as a teammate as well.

Rutherford, 12 years younger than Shack, was only in his second NHL season with the Penguins at age 22 when “The Entertainer” joined the Penguins via trade March 4, 1972.

At age 34, Shack still had plenty left in the tank after tallying 14 points in 13 games to help the Penguins reach the postseason for the second time in franchise history that spring.

He opened the 1972-73 season on a line with Ken Schinkel and Ron Schock on the alliteration-friendly “Schink-Schock-Shack Line.” During his lone full campaign with the Penguins, Shack appeared in 74 games and scored 45 points, including 25 goals. That allowed him to become the first player in NHL history to reach the 20-goal mark with five different franchises, including the Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins, Los Angeles Kings and Buffalo Sabres.

“He was a veteran and I was at the start of my career,” Rutherford said. “He was really good to me. Just enjoyed him as a teammate. A fun guy to be around all the time. He was a good player. Of course, people viewed him as ‘The Entertainer’ and he had some fun out there. But with that, he was a good player on our team.”

Beyond that, Shack and his effervescent personality made him a lifelong friend to Rutherford.

“I got to play golf with him a little bit in the offseason,” Rutherford said. “He had a golf course in Toronto. When I spent summers in Canada, we used to get together and play golf.

“I’m happy that I got to have him as a teammate.”

Follow the Penguins all season long.