NHL Hockey Trivia: Minnesota North Stars

The Minnesota North Stars were one of the six expansion teams that doubled the size of the NHL for the 1967-68 season. The North Stars remained in the Twin Cities until the end of the 1992-93 season when they were moved to Dallas where they became known as simply the Stars. NHL hockey returned to Minnesota in 2000 as the Wild entered the league.

Test and expand your knowledge of Minnesota North Stars trivia with the following questions.

Q. In their first trip to the Stanley Cup finals in 1981, which team did the Minnesota North Stars lose to?

A. The North Stars lost to the New York Islanders. For New York, it was their second of four consecutive Stanley Cup victories. The North Stars finished the 1980-81 regular season in third place in the Adams Division, behind the Buffalo Sabres and Boston Bruins. Minnesota knocked off both those teams before upsetting the Calgary Flames in the conference final.

The playoff hero for Minnesota was Steve Payne with 17 goals and 29 points over 19 games. He was followed close behind by Bobby Smith and Dino Ciccarelli. Now in the Hockey Hall of Fame, Ciccarelli played the last half of the 1980-81 season with the North Stars, his first National Hockey League action, after starting the year with the Oklahoma City Stars of the CHL. Minnesota was coached that year by Glen Sonmor with Murray Oliver and J.P. Parise at his side.

Q. In their second trip to the Stanley Cup finals, which team beat the North Stars in 1991?

A. The Pittsburgh Penguins took out the North Stars in six games. The North Stars finished the regular season with an anaemic 27 wins but upset Chicago, St. Louis and Edmonton before bowing out to the Penguins.

That version of the North Stars had a Montreal Canadiens feel behind the bench with Bob Gainey acting as head coach and Doug Jarvis by his side as assistant coach. Minnesota was led in the playoffs by Dave Gagner’s 12 goals and Brian Bellows and his 29 points. Mike Modano was in just his second year in the NHL and contributed 20 points over 23 playoff games.

Q. The Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy was named for the Minnesota North Stars player who died as a result of an on-ice injury during Minnesota’s first season. Who was the only Minnesota North Star to win the Masterton?

A. Al MacAdam won the award in 1979-80. MacAdam started his NHL career with the Philadelphia Flyers, playing just five games with the club in 1973-74. The following year, he was a member of the California Seals and followed that franchise through Cleveland and eventually to Minnesota.

In 1979-80, Al scored 42 goals and assisted on 51 for 93 points, leading the team in goals and points. Over his career, MacAdam played 864 regular season games in the NHL with the Flyers, Seals, Barons, North Stars and Vancouver Canucks.

Q. In their second season in the NHL, which Minnesota North Stars forward won the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie?

A. Danny Grant won the Calder in 1968-69. Grant played the season before with the Montreal Canadiens but didn’t appear in enough regular season games to qualify as a rookie. He helped Montreal in the playoffs as they won the 1969 Stanley Cup. Grant is one of just four players to win the Stanley Cup before winning the Calder.

In that 1968-69 season, Grant scored 34 and assisted on 31 for 65 points over 75 games, leading the North Stars in goals and points. Danny played 736 regular season games in the National Hockey League between 1965-66 and 1978-79 with the Canadiens, North Stars, Detroit Red Wings and Los Angeles Kings. He was a 50 goal scorer with Detroit in 1974-75.

1965-66 NHL Team Leaders

The Montreal Canadiens dominated the 1965-66 National Hockey League season. The Habs finished first overall in the six team league, eight points ahead of second place Chicago. Montreal then swept the Toronto Maple Leafs in the opening round of the Stanley Cup playoffs before capturing the championship in six games against the fourth seed Detroit Red Wings.

Bobby Hull – Chicago Black Hawks

Bobby Hull not only led the Chicago Black Hawks but finished atop the whole NHL with 97 points, capturing the Art Ross Trophy. Hull’s 97 points set an NHL record for most points in a season, eclipsing the previous mark of 96 set by Dickie Moore of Montreal in 1958-59.

Bobby Rousseau – Montreal Canadiens

Leading the Montreal Canadiens with a career high of 78 points and finishing tied for second in the league was Bobby Rousseau. Bobby played in the NHL from 1960-61 to 1974-75 with the Canadiens, Minnesota North Stars and New York Rangers. His next highest point total came in 1968-69 when he totalled 70 with the Habs.

Gordie Howe – Detroit Red Wings

Gordie Howe occupied a familiar spot, leading the Detroit Red Wings in points with 75. Howe was fifth in the race for the Art Ross Trophy and had just three more points than teammate Norm Ullman. However, Ullman proved more of a factor in the Red Wings reaching the Stanley Cup final with 15 playoff points compared to Howe’s 10.

Bob Nevin – New York Rangers

The New York Rangers finished last in the NHL in 1965-66, one point behind the Boston Bruins and 27 points out of a playoff position. Bob Nevin led the club with 62 points. Nevin played in the NHL from 1960-61 to 1975-76 and would only total more points on one other occasion. In 1974-75, with the Los Angeles Kings, Bob contributed 72 points. Of course, the regular season was ten games longer that year than in 1965-66.

Murray Oliver – Boston Bruins

The Boston Bruins had the least goals for and the most goals against in 1965-66. Leading the way for Bruins was Murray Oliver with 60 points. Oliver played in the NHL from 1959-60 to 1974-75 with the Detroit Red Wings, Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs and Minnesota North Stars. In fact, Oliver and Bobby Rousseau were teammates with the North Stars for the 1970-71 season.

Frank Mahovlich and Bob Pulford – Toronto Maple Leafs

As was the way with the ‘Original 6’ era Toronto Maple Leafs, individual scoring numbers were never exceptionally high. In 1965-66, Frank Mahovlich and Bob Pulford tied for the team lead with just 56 points each. Dave Keon was just two points behind with 54. It was a career high for Pulford but a mediocre season for Mahovlich.