| 1950–51 NHL season | |
|---|---|
| League | National Hockey League |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Duration | October 11, 1950 – April 21, 1951 |
| Number of games | 70 |
| Number of teams | 6 |
| Regular season | |
| Season champion | Detroit Red Wings |
| Season MVP | Milt Schmidt (Bruins) |
| Top scorer | Gordie Howe (Red Wings) |
| Stanley Cup | |
| Champions | Toronto Maple Leafs |
| Runners-up | Montreal Canadiens |
The 1950–51 NHL season was the 34th season of the National Hockey League. The Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Montreal Canadiens four games to one for the Stanley Cup to win their fifth Cup in seven years.
League business
The league implemented a rule requiring all teams to provide an emergency goaltender for every game, for use by either team in case of illness or injury.[1]
Regular season
The biggest trade in NHL history at the time took place in July 1950 with Sugar Jim Henry, Gaye Stewart, Bob Goldham and Metro Prystai of Chicago going to Detroit for Harry Lumley, Black Jack Stewart, Al Dewsbury, Don Morrison and Pete Babando, an exchange of nine players altogether.
Joe Primeau was named coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs with Hap Day kicked upstairs to assistant general manager. Toronto came flying out of the gate, undefeated in 11 games. Al Rollins had a great year, finishing with a 1.75 goals against average in 40 games. The Leafs had hoped to have Rollins share the Vezina Trophy with Turk Broda, but the league decided Rollins alone would be the recipient. The Leafs' .679 win percentage remains their all-time best for a season, despite the fact that they were second in the league standings behind Detroit.
With the New York Rangers slumping this season, they hired a hypnotist, Dr. David Tracy, to help relax the team. The treatment remained in doubt and the Rangers lost to Boston November 12. Asked why the treatment didn't work, Dr. Tracy said that he should have worked with the goaltender (Chuck Rayner) as he wasn't relaxed enough.
Montreal fans were excited when it was reported that two junior stars, Jean Beliveau and Bernie Geoffrion, would be given a trial in a December 16 game with the Rangers. The Canadiens played a 1–1 tie before 14,158 fans. Geoffrion scored the Canadiens goal in his debut.
Chicago was in third place at mid-season when bad luck struck. Their captain, Black Jack Stewart, ruptured a disc in his back and had to undergo surgery. He was finished for the season and his career was in jeopardy. Aggravating things were injuries to Gus Bodnar and Bill Gadsby. The Black Hawks won only two games in the second half and finished last.
In March, Rocket Richard ran into trouble in a game with Detroit. Richard was tripped and rose with a cut between the eyes. No penalty was called and Richard commenced an argument with referee Hugh McLean. He continued his argument too long and was given a misconduct penalty. Richard then skated to the penalty box and found Leo Reise of Detroit there to welcome him with derisive remarks which infuriated Richard, who then punched Reise, and when linesman Jim Primeau rushed to intervene, Richard took a poke at him and Richard was given a game misconduct. The Canadiens took a train to New York for a game against the Rangers, and the next morning, Richard encountered referee McLean and linesman Primeau in the lobby of the Picadilly Hotel. No punches were thrown, but Richard grabbed McLean by the tie and then Primeau intervened. Considerable profanity filled the air, but cooler heads separated the trio before fists could fly. NHL President Clarence Campbell took a dim view of the matter and fined the Rocket $500 for conduct prejudicial to the welfare of hockey.
The Detroit Red Wings got hot in the second half, overtaking Toronto and finished in first place again, becoming the first team with more than 100 points. Gordie Howe led the NHL in goals, assists, and points while goaltender Terry Sawchuk won the Calder Memorial Trophy as the league's best rookie. Sawchuk set a record for most wins by a goalie, as he was in net for all 44 Detroit victories.
Final standings
| GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | DIFF | Pts | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Detroit Red Wings | 70 | 44 | 13 | 13 | 236 | 139 | +97 | 101 |
| 2 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 70 | 41 | 16 | 13 | 212 | 138 | +74 | 95 |
| 3 | Montreal Canadiens | 70 | 25 | 30 | 15 | 173 | 184 | −11 | 65 |
| 4 | Boston Bruins | 70 | 22 | 30 | 18 | 178 | 197 | −19 | 62 |
| 5 | New York Rangers | 70 | 20 | 29 | 21 | 169 | 201 | −32 | 61 |
| 6 | Chicago Black Hawks | 70 | 13 | 47 | 10 | 171 | 280 | −109 | 36 |
Record vs. opponents
| 1950–51 NHL Records [3] | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | BOS | CHI | DET | MTL | NYR | TOR | ||||||
| Boston | — | 9–4–1 | 2–8–4 | 5–6–3 | 4–2–8 | 2–10–2 | ||||||
| Chicago | 4–9–1 | — | 1–13 | 4–8–2 | 2–9–3 | 2–8–4 | ||||||
| Detroit | 8–2–4 | 13–1 | — | 8–4–2 | 8–3–3 | 7–3–4 | ||||||
| Montreal | 6–5–3 | 8–4–2 | 4–8–2 | — | 5–3–6 | 2–10–2 | ||||||
| New York | 2–4–8 | 9–2–3 | 5–7–2 | 3–5–6 | — | 3–10–1 | ||||||
| Toronto | 10–2–2 | 8–2–4 | 3–7–4 | 10–2–2 | 10–3–1 | — | ||||||
Playoffs
The second seed Toronto Maple Leafs eliminated the fourth seed Boston Bruins in five games, and the third seed Montreal Canadiens upset the first overall Detroit Red Wings in six, setting up a Leafs – Canadiens Stanley Cup Finals, won by the Leafs 4–1.
Playoff bracket
| Semifinals | Stanley Cup Finals | ||||||||
| 1 | Detroit | 2 | |||||||
| 3 | Montreal | 4 | |||||||
| 3 | Montreal | 1 | |||||||
| 2 | Toronto | 4 | |||||||
| 2 | Toronto | 4 | |||||||
| 4 | Boston | 1 | |||||||
Semifinals
(1) Detroit Red Wings vs. (3) Montreal Canadiens
| March 27 | Montreal Canadiens | 3–2 | 4OT | Detroit Red Wings | Olympia Stadium | Recap | ||
| Butch Bouchard (1) – 13:35 | First period | 12:15 – Gordie Howe (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Bert Olmstead (1) – 09:08 | Third period | 01:10 – Leo Reise (1) | ||||||
| Maurice Richard (1) – 01:09 | Fourth overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
| Gerry McNeil | Goalie stats | Terry Sawchuck | ||||||
| March 29 | Montreal Canadiens | 1–0 | 3OT | Detroit Red Wings | Olympia Stadium | Recap | ||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Maurice Richard (2) – 02:20 | Third overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
| Gerry McNeil | Goalie stats | Terry Sawchuck | ||||||
| March 31 | Detroit Red Wings | 2–0 | Montreal Canadiens | Montreal Forum | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Gordie Howe (2) – 16:23 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Sid Abel (1) – 13:45 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Terry Sawchuck | Goalie stats | Gerry McNeil | ||||||
| April 3 | Detroit Red Wings | 4–1 | Montreal Canadiens | Montreal Forum | Recap | |||
| Leo Reise (2) – 08:40 Metro Prystai (1) – 10:10 |
First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 14:28 – pp – Elmer Lach (1) | ||||||
| Gerry Couture (1) – 10:26 Sid Abel (2) – 13:14 |
Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Terry Sawchuck | Goalie stats | Gerry McNeil | ||||||
| April 5 | Montreal Canadiens | 5–2 | Detroit Red Wings | Olympia Stadium | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 01:09 – Sid Abel (3) 14:27 – Gordie Howe (3) | ||||||
| Billy Reay (1) – sh – 04:04 Bert Olmstead (2) – pp – 11:48 Bernie Geoffrion (1) – 17:51 |
Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Maurice Richard (3) – 14:45 Calum MacKay (1) – 18:07 |
Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Gerry McNeil | Goalie stats | Terry Sawchuck | ||||||
| April 7 | Detroit Red Wings | 2–3 | Montreal Canadiens | Montreal Forum | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Sid Abel (4) – 07:31 Gordie Howe (4) – 19:15 |
Third period | 06:49 – Billy Reay (2) 09:39 – Maurice Richard (4) 15:45 – Ken Mosdell (1) | ||||||
| Terry Sawchuck | Goalie stats | Gerry McNeil | ||||||
| Montreal won series 4–2 | |
(2) Toronto Maple Leafs vs. (4) Boston Bruins
Game two was the last Stanley Cup playoff overtime game to end in a tie. The game was played on a Saturday night and as game crept closer to midnight it had to be stopped due to city bylaws and the federal Lord's Day Act that were in effect at the time in Toronto.[4] These laws prevented businesses from operating on Sunday.
| March 28 | Boston Bruins | 2–0 | Toronto Maple Leafs | Maple Leaf Gardens | Recap | |||
| Lorne Ferguson (1) – 15:58 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Woody Dumart (1) – 01:12 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Jack Gelineau | Goalie stats | Al Rollins, Turk Broda | ||||||
| March 31 | Boston Bruins | 1–1 | OT | Toronto Maple Leafs | Maple Leaf Gardens | Recap | ||
| No scoring | First period | 03:47 – Bill Barilko (1) | ||||||
| Johnny Peirson (1) – 09:26 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | First overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
| Jack Gelineau | Goalie stats | Turk Broda | ||||||
| April 1 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 3–0 | Boston Bruins | Boston Garden | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Cal Gardner (1) – 03:02 Fern Flaman (1) – pp – 13:11 |
Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Max Bentley (1) – 05:30 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Turk Broda | Goalie stats | Jack Gelineau | ||||||
| April 3 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 3–1 | Boston Bruins | Boston Garden | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 07:50 – Dunc Fisher (1) | ||||||
| Sid Smith (1) – pp – 12:17 Max Bentley (2) – 14:33 |
Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Bill Barilko (2) – 14:08 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Turk Broda | Goalie stats | Jack Gelineau | ||||||
| April 7 | Boston Bruins | 1–4 | Toronto Maple Leafs | Maple Leaf Gardens | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 19:38 – sh – Joe Klukay (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 11:12 – Fleming MacKell (1) | ||||||
| Bill Ezinicki (1) – 09:53 | Third period | 04:46 – Joe Klukay (2) 09:15 – Ted Kennedy (1) | ||||||
| Gord Henry | Goalie stats | Turk Broda | ||||||
| April 8 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 6–0 | Boston Bruins | Boston Garden | Recap | |||
| Ted Kennedy (2) – 10:16 Joe Klukay (3) – 14:36 |
First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Fleming MacKell (2) – 12:42 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Sid Smith (2) – 06:42 Tod Sloan (1) – 09:42 Joe Klukay (4) – 15:01 |
Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Turk Broda | Goalie stats | Gord Henry | ||||||
| Toronto won series 4–1 | |
Stanley Cup Finals
| April 11 | Montreal Canadiens | 2–3 | OT | Toronto Maple Leafs | Maple Leaf Gardens | Recap | ||
| Maurice Richard (5) – 15:27 | First period | 00:15 – Sid Smith (3) 15:42 – Tod Sloan (2) | ||||||
| Paul Masnick (1) – 04:02 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | First overtime period | 05:51 – Sid Smith (4) | ||||||
| Gerry McNeil | Goalie stats | Turk Broda | ||||||
| April 14 | Montreal Canadiens | 3–2 | OT | Toronto Maple Leafs | Maple Leaf Gardens | Recap | ||
| Paul Masnick (2) – 03:44 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Billy Reay (3) – 09:24 | Second period | 16:31 – pp – Sid Smith (5) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 08:16 – pp – Ted Kennedy (3) | ||||||
| Maurice Richard (6) – 02:55 | First overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
| Gerry McNeil | Goalie stats | Turk Broda | ||||||
| April 17 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 2–1 | OT | Montreal Canadiens | Montreal Forum | Recap | ||
| No scoring | First period | 02:18 – pp – Maurice Richard (7) | ||||||
| Sid Smith (6) – pp – 05:58 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Ted Kennedy (4) – 04:47 | First overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
| Al Rollins | Goalie stats | Gerry McNeil | ||||||
| April 19 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 3–2 | OT | Montreal Canadiens | Montreal Forum | Recap | ||
| Sid Smith (7) – 00:38 | First period | 14:41 – Maurice Richard (8) | ||||||
| Howie Meeker (1) – 01:27 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 13:49 – Elmer Lach (2) | ||||||
| Harry Watson (1) – 05:15 | First overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
| Al Rollins | Goalie stats | Gerry McNeil | ||||||
| April 21 | Montreal Canadiens | 2–3 | OT | Toronto Maple Leafs | Maple Leaf Gardens | Recap | ||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Maurice Richard (9) – 08:56 | Second period | 12:00 – Tod Sloan (3) | ||||||
| Paul Meger (1) – 04:47 | Third period | 19:28 – Tod Sloan (4) | ||||||
| No scoring | First overtime period | 02:53 – Bill Barilko (3) | ||||||
| Gerry McNeil | Goalie stats | Al Rollins | ||||||
| Toronto won series 4–1 | |
Awards
| Prince of Wales Trophy: (Regular season champion) | Detroit Red Wings |
| Art Ross Trophy: (Top scorer) | Gordie Howe, Detroit Red Wings |
| Calder Memorial Trophy: (Best first-year player) | Terry Sawchuk, Detroit Red Wings |
| Hart Trophy: (Most valuable player) | Milt Schmidt, Boston Bruins |
| Lady Byng Memorial Trophy: (Excellence and sportsmanship) | Red Kelly, Detroit Red Wings |
| Vezina Trophy: (Goaltender of team with best goals-against record) | Al Rollins, Toronto Maple Leafs |
| First team | Position | Second team |
|---|---|---|
| Terry Sawchuk, Detroit Red Wings | G | Chuck Rayner, New York Rangers |
| Red Kelly, Detroit Red Wings | D | Jimmy Thomson, Toronto Maple Leafs |
| Bill Quackenbush, Boston Bruins | D | Leo Reise, Detroit Red Wings |
| Milt Schmidt, Boston Bruins | C | Ted Kennedy, Toronto Maple Leafs
|
| Gordie Howe, Detroit Red Wings | RW | Maurice Richard, Montreal Canadiens |
| Ted Lindsay, Detroit Red Wings | LW | Sid Smith, Toronto Maple Leafs |
Player statistics
Scoring leaders
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gordie Howe | Detroit Red Wings | 70 | 43 | 43 | 86 |
| Maurice Richard | Montreal Canadiens | 65 | 42 | 24 | 66 |
| Max Bentley | Toronto Maple Leafs | 67 | 21 | 41 | 62 |
| Sid Abel | Detroit Red Wings | 69 | 23 | 38 | 61 |
| Milt Schmidt | Boston Bruins | 62 | 22 | 39 | 61 |
| Ted Kennedy | Toronto Maple Leafs | 63 | 18 | 43 | 61 |
| Ted Lindsay | Detroit Red Wings | 67 | 24 | 35 | 59 |
| Tod Sloan | Toronto Maple Leafs | 70 | 31 | 25 | 56 |
| Red Kelly | Detroit Red Wings | 70 | 17 | 37 | 54 |
| Sid Smith | Toronto Maple Leafs | 70 | 30 | 21 | 51 |
Source: NHL[5]
Leading goaltenders
Note: GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts
| Player | Team | GP | MIN | GA | GAA | W | L | T | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Al Rollins | Toronto Maple Leafs | 40 | 2373 | 70 | 1.77 | 27 | 5 | 8 | 5 |
| Terry Sawchuk | Detroit Red Wings | 70 | 4200 | 139 | 1.99 | 44 | 13 | 13 | 11 |
| Turk Broda | Toronto Maple Leafs | 31 | 1827 | 68 | 2.23 | 14 | 11 | 5 | 6 |
| Gerry McNeil | Montreal Canadiens | 70 | 4200 | 184 | 2.63 | 25 | 30 | 15 | 6 |
| Jack Gelineau | Boston Bruins | 70 | 4200 | 197 | 2.81 | 22 | 30 | 18 | 4 |
| Chuck Rayner | New York Rangers | 66 | 3940 | 87 | 2.85 | 19 | 28 | 19 | 2 |
| Emile Francis | New York Rangers | 5 | 260 | 14 | 3.23 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Harry Lumley | Chicago Black Hawks | 64 | 3785 | 246 | 3.90 | 12 | 41 | 10 | 3 |
| Marcel Pelletier | Chicago Black Hawks | 6 | 355 | 29 | 4.90 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
Coaches
- Boston Bruins: Lynn Patrick
- Chicago Black Hawks: Ebbie Goodfellow
- Detroit Red Wings: Tommy Ivan
- Montreal Canadiens: Dick Irvin
- New York Rangers: Neil Colville
- Toronto Maple Leafs: Joe Primeau
Debuts
The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1950–51 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs):
- Alex Delvecchio, Detroit Red Wings
- Bernie Geoffrion, Montreal Canadiens
- Jean Beliveau, Montreal Canadiens
- Dollard St. Laurent, Montreal Canadiens
- Danny Lewicki, Toronto Maple Leafs
Last games
The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1950–51 (listed with their last team):
- Joe Carveth, Detroit Red Wings
- Glen Harmon, Montreal Canadiens
- Wally Stanowski, New York Rangers
- Pat Egan, New York Rangers (last active New York American)
- Buddy O'Connor, New York Rangers
- Bill Barilko, Toronto Maple Leafs
- Johnny Peirson, Boston Bruins
See also
References
- Notes
- ↑ Fischler et al. 2003, p. 196.
- ↑ "1950–1951 Division Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". National Hockey League.
- ↑ "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
- ↑ "How City Curfews Used to Affect Toronto Sporting Events". March 30, 2017. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
- ↑ Dinger 2011, p. 148.
- Bibliography
- Diamond, Dan, ed. (1994). Years of glory, 1942–1967: the National Hockey League's official book of the six-team era. Toronto, ON: McClelland and Stewart. ISBN 0-7710-2817-2.
- Diamond, Dan, ed. (2000). Total Hockey. Total Sports. ISBN 1-892129-85-X.
- Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Toronto, ON: Dan Diamond & Associates. ISBN 978-1-894801-22-5.
- Dryden, Steve, ed. (2000). Century of hockey. Toronto, ON: McClelland & Stewart Ltd. ISBN 0-7710-4179-9.
- Fischler, Stan; Fischler, Shirley; Hughes, Morgan; Romain, Joseph; Duplacey, James (2003). The Hockey Chronicle: Year-by-Year History of the National Hockey League. Lincolnwood, Illinois: Publications International Inc. ISBN 0-7853-9624-1.
- McFarlane, Brian (1973). The Story of the National Hockey League. New York: Pagurian Press. ISBN 0-684-13424-1.