The Toronto Maple Leafs won the first of three consecutive
Stanley Cup championships in 1961-62. The second place Leafs met the third
place Chicago Black Hawks in the finals with Toronto coming out on top in six
games. Montreal dominated the regular season while the Boston Bruins reached
franchise lows. Boston’s .271 winning percentage that year still stands as the
second lowest in team history today. The lowest came in their first year of
existence, 1924-25, when the team won just 6 of its 30 games, equal to .200.
Bobby Hull – Chicago Black Hawks
Bobby Hull led the Chicago Black Hawks with 84 points and
was awarded the Art Ross Trophy as league leader. Andy Bathgate of the New York
Rangers also ended up with 84 points. Hull and Bathgate both played the full 70
game schedule but Hull was awarded the scoring championship on his 50 goals to
Bathgate’s 28. It was the second of three times that Bobby received the Art
Ross.
Andy Bathgate – New York Rangers
Andy Bathgate
and the Rangers squeaked into the post season, four points better than fifth
place Detroit. The Maple Leafs took six games to oust New York in the first
round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Andy was named to the First All-Star Team at
right wing.
Gordie Howe – Detroit Red Wings
Gordie Howe’s consistent finish in the top five was not
enough to push the Red Wings into the post season. Howe tied Chicago’s Stan
Mikita for third in the NHL with 77 points. The team had only Gordie, Alex
Delvecchio and Norm
Ullman to rely on for offense. The trio scored 84 of the team’s 184 goals.
Frank Mahovlich – Toronto Maple Leafs
Frank
Mahovlich led the Stanley Cup champion Toronto Maple Leafs with 71 points,
good enough for fifth in the NHL. However, surprisingly it was defenseman Tim
Horton that led the team in the playoffs with 16 points in 12 games. Mahovlich
contributed 12 points in 12 games, en route to the championship.
Ralph Backstrom – Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal Canadiens finished first overall with an
outstanding 98 points, 13 more than second place Toronto. The team scored 27
more goals than any other team and allowed 14 less than their next opponent.
Yet, Ralph Backstrom led the team with just 65 points, a total that was good
for seventh place in the race for the Art Ross
Trophy. Despite their domination during the regular season, Montreal fell
to the third place Black Hawks in the opening round of the playoffs.
Johnny Bucyk – Boston Bruins
Johnny Bucyk led the downtrodden Boston Bruins with 60
points. Boston’s 177 goals was the lowest in the league but the killer was the
306 they allowed. The next highest goals against belonged to the Red Wings at
219.
