Documentary in production on Leafs legend Barilko - BERITAJA

The thought started pinch a unrecorded tv interview.

Steve Paikin, a longtime TVOntario journalist and erstwhile big of existent affairs show “The Agenda,” was interviewing writer Ronnie Shuker about his lucky book “The Country and the Game,” backmost successful December 2024. One of the chapters successful the book was about Toronto Maple Leafs fable Bill Barilko.

As Paikin says, conception formed successful existent time.

“As I’m doing the interview, I said to Ronnie, ‘Ronnie, I sewage a awesome idea. After the interview’s over, you instrumentality around. I sewage to talk to you because I sewage a awesome task for you and maine to activity on,'” Paikin said.

“And we vanished the interview. And aft it was over, I said to him, ‘Ronnie we’re 15, 16 months distant from the 75th day of the top extremity ever scored successful Toronto Maple Leafs history. We sewage to do a documentary together connected it, you and I.’ And he agreed correct astatine that moment, and we’ve been moving connected it ever since.”

Melbar Entertainment Group has announced the accumulation of “Frozen successful Time: The Bill Barilko Story,” a documentary about his life and mysterious disappearance. Tuesday’s announcement marks the 75th day of Barilko’s Stanley Cup-winning goal, which besides turned retired to beryllium his last.

Barilko was calved successful 1927 successful Timmins, Ont., and played successful 3 all-star games, winning 4 Stanley Cups pinch the Leafs. He famously scored the game-winning extremity successful overtime to clinch the 1951 Cup for Toronto.

Just 4 months aft the Cup win, Barilko vanished connected a sportfishing travel pinch his friend Henry Hudson, an knowledgeable pilot. The Royal Canadian Air Force searched extensively for the pair, but aft 2 months and the costliest search-and-rescue ngo successful Canadian history to date, the cognition was called off.

The Leafs did not triumph different Stanley Cup until the plane’s wreckage and Barilko’s remains were yet located successful 1962, contempt the squad having made the playoffs 7 times and making the title last doubly successful those 10 seasons.

The communicative of Barilko is 1 that has been told complete time, done the opus “Fifty Mission Cap,” by The Tragically Hip successful 1993 — of which a licence has been acquired for usage successful the documentary — and books from 1988 and 2004. However, it had been the taxable of a documentary.

“And it makes it moreover much troubling to maine that group don’t cognize about conscionable really astonishingly melodramatic a communicative it is, peculiarly because it’s the top extremity ever scored successful the history of a franchise that’s much than a period old,” said Paikin who is penning and directing the documentary.

“Hockey fans successful Canada, I don’t deliberation cognize the Bill Barilko story. And you know, understandably successful immoderate respects, it was 75 years agone aft all. It doesn’t clasp the spot successful our nation’s mythology and lore successful a measurement that I wish it did. And truthful that’s our information for wanting to show this story.”

Paikin, who is from Hamilton and was raised successful a family of Leafs fans, said location isn’t a timeline yet for erstwhile the documentary will beryllium complete.

The movie will characteristic conversations pinch notable Canadians and lucky personalities, including Timmins-born Leafs fable Frank Mahovlich, Hockey Hall of Fame curator and “Keeper of the Cup” Phil Pritchard, Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment president and main executive serviceman Keith Pelley, among others.

Mahovlich is among those who had watched Barilko play and Paikin says the worth of interviewing those who knew him and watched him cannot beryllium overstated. Paikin saw that firsthand erstwhile he decided to bring his 92-year-old father, Larry, for a meal pinch investors.

“At the extremity of each of the feedback, I said to my dad, thing you want to opportunity here?” Paikin recalled. “And he says, ‘Well, arsenic I look about the room here, I deliberation I must beryllium the only personification who ever saw Bill Barilko play.’ Because of course, my dada started going to lucky games astatine Maple Leaf Gardens successful the 1940s. So he did spot him play.

“And I could spot each the eyes of each the group successful that room conscionable commencement to get a small wider and conscionable commencement moisten up a small spot arsenic my dada talked about his firsthand memories of watching Bill Barilko play.”

This study by BERITAJA was first published April 20, 2026.