Darryl Sittler 1972-73 O-Pee-Chee Vintage Hockey Card

 A quick look at a young Darryl Sittler of the Toronto Maple Leafs. In this 1972-73 O-Pee-Chee 188 hockey card, Sittler was struggling to find his spot in the National Hockey League. However, it was that 1972-73 season when Darryl began to be an offensive threat in the NHL. It was that year where his Hockey Hall of Fame career really started to take off.

Darryl Sittler Toronto Maple Leafs 1972-73 O-Pee-Chee 188 Hockey Card [Video]

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This Day In Hockey History: Tim Horton's Birthday

On January 12, 1930, the legendary Tim Horton was born in Cochrane, Ontario. 

Tim Horton 1963-64 Birthday Game

It's hard to find an actual game played by Tim Horton that took place on a January 12. But, on January 12, 1964, Horton and the Toronto Maple Leafs took on the Boston Bruins at the Boston Garden. The teams were opposite ends of the standings and it would be an understatement to say the game ended in an upset.

Going into the game, the Maple Leafs were 21-11-6. The Bruins were having a rough season with just seven wins, 24 losses and eight ties. It should have been a birthday cake walk for Tim and the Buds.

It was not. Boston came out on top 6-3. Goalie Eddie Johnston turned away 38 of 41 shots in the victory. The winning goal was scored by Dean Prentice in the second period with an assist from Andy Hebenton.

As for Horton, he was held off the scoresheet. In fact, he didn't even get a minor penalty. However, Tim led the Maple Leafs with five shots on net.

About Tim Horton

Tim Horton played 1,446 regular season and 126 playoff games in the National Hockey League between 1949-50 and 1973-74. Although most of his career was played with Toronto, he also played for the New York Rangers, Pittsburgh Penguins and Buffalo Sabres.

Horton helped the Maple Leafs to four Stanley Cup championships. He was a First Team All-Star defenseman on three occasions and was selected Second Team All-Star the same number of times.

Tim was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame posthumously in 1977. His number 2 was retired by the Buffalo Sabres in 1996. The Toronto Maple Leafs retired his number 7 in 2016.

NHL Hockey Trivia: The Stanley Cup

The Stanley Cup is the holy grail of hockey. Lord Stanley’s Mug is handed to the National Hockey League’s playoff champion each season. Test your knowledge and broaden your hockey horizons with the following four bits of trivia.

Q. What was the first non-‘Original Six’ NHL team to win the Stanley in the post expansion era?

A. The Philadelphia Flyers, known as the ‘Broad Street Bullies’ won the Stanley Cup with a victory over the Boston Bruins in the 1974 Stanley Cup. The Flyers would repeat the accomplishment the following season with a victory over the Buffalo Sabres. Those were the only two times the Flyers have ever won the Cup, although Philadelphia reached the finals in 1975-76 against the Montreal Canadiens, 1979-80 against the New York Islanders, 1984-85 and 1986-87 against the Edmonton Oilers, 1996-97 against the Detroit Red Wings and 2009-10 against the Chicago Blackhawks.

The Flyers entered the NHL for the 1967-68 season. Previous to their first Stanley Cup championship in 1973-74, Philadelphia had won just one playoff series. In 1972-73, the Flyers knocked off the Minnesota North Stars in the quarter-finals before falling to the Montreal Canadiens in the semi-finals.

Q. Unfortunately, there are defunct franchises throughout the history of the NHL. What was the last now-defunct team to win the Stanley Cup?

A. The Montreal Maroons were the darlings of the English population in Montreal. The Maroons won the Stanley Cup in 1935. In that 1934-35 NHL season, Montreal was just fourth in the nine team league during the regular season. In the finals, they swept the Toronto Maple Leafs in three games. Toronto had finished first overall.

The Maroons entered the National Hockey League for the 1924-25 season. The following year, they captured their first of two Stanley Cup championships. Montreal would also lose in the finals in 1927-28 to the New York Rangers. It was New York's first ever championship in only their second year in the league. The Maroons played their final NHL season in 1937-38.

Q. How many Stanley Cups did the Montreal Canadiens win during the 1970’s?

A. The Habs won a total of six Stanley Cups in the 1970’s. They dominated the Cup from four years from 1976 to 1979. They also won in 1971 and 1973. Montreal has won 24 championships, to date. Since the 1970's, however, the Canadiens have won the Stanley Cup just twice, in 1985-86 over the Calgary Flames and in 1992-93 over the Los Angeles Kings.

Q. What team has gone the longest without winning the Stanley Cup?

A. Until the 2009-10 season ended, the answer to this question was the Chicago Blackhawks, not having won the Stanley Cup since 1961. Chicago's win left the Toronto Maple Leafs as the team that has gone the longest without a Stanley Cup victory. The Leafs last won in 1967, a year before the league expanded to twelve teams. The St. Louis Blues remain the only 1967 expansion team to have never won a Stanley Cup but entered the league a year after Toronto won their last Cup.

Vintage Hockey Card Video Series

As I write this, I'm fighting with some sort of glitch that is freezing up the upload for the final of six videos featuring vintage hockey cards from the NHL's Original 6 teams. This is just a shout out to anyone reading 'Hockey History Hub' that these videos are nearly 100% online at YouTube. If you're reading something here and enjoying this site, then chances are you'll want to kill some time looking at some of the greatest in the game's history on some classic cardboard.

Each of the Original 6 team videos has at least 100 different vintage hockey cards and each video lasts between three and five minutes. Each is produced with what I think is some pretty great background music. So, if you're at work, yes - there is audio so turn it down...

Mostly, the cards are from the 1951-52 to 1979-80 range and come from sets produced by Parkhurst, Topps and O-Pee-Chee. There are cards from before and after the range in some of the videos but not a whole lot. Because it just didn't look right to have 'landscape' card fronts mixed with the usual 'portrait' fronts, some years have been left out. These would be your 1963-64 Topps, 1968-69 O-Pee-Chee and sets like that. Also, we didn't put in any of the 1964-65 Topps tallboys because they just wouldn't fit the format (yep, I'm a little anal about that stuff...).

All the cards are included in the Virtual Hockey Card Collection at Vintage Hockey Cards Report. This is what is becoming a fairly complete online collection of hockey cards (front and back). This is a project that I hope will expand beyond the NHL and the range of years given above. I plan to move into minor league, junior and even European sets in the relatively near future. It's pretty time consuming, though. The images have to be collected, straightened, cropped then added to a template and uploaded. I'm not the most technical so my method is pretty labour intensive (aka slow).

I've embedded one of the videos below to give you a taste. Hopefully you'll head over to the YouTube channel to check out the others. Links to each video are found in the index of the Virtual Collection. I've also grouped them into a clean and tidy YouTube playlist so they can be watched consecutively without having to keep hitting play...

The video below features the Chicago Blackhawks. Of course, there's a fair share of Bobby Hull, Glenn Hall and Stan Mikita cards but there's a lot more there, as well. Be sure to hit the Thumb's Up if you like it!

3 Goalies in 1st Two Rounds of 1990 NHL Entry Draft

The 1990 NHL Entry Draft is best known for an outstanding crop of first round skaters, including Owen Nolan, Mike Ricci and Jaromir Jagr. Something that set the 1990 draft apart from other years was the number of goalies picked in the early rounds. It is rare to have a goaltender go in the first round. In 1990 there were two. In fact, over the first two rounds there were three goaltenders selected. Each of the three went on to successful NHL careers.

Trevor Kidd – Calgary Flames

Kidd was taken in the first round by Calgary, eleventh overall out of the Brandon Wheat Kings of the Western Hockey League. Trevor played three years in the WHL from 1988-89 to 1990-91. Most of his time was spent in Brandon until a midseason trade sent him to the Spokane Chiefs in his final year. He was selected as the Canadian Hockey League goaltender of the year for 1989-90. Kidd was on the Team Canada roster for the 1990, 1991 and 1992 IIHF World Junior Championships.

Trevor played in the National Hockey League from 1991-92 to 2003-04 with the Flames, Carolina Hurricanes, Florida Panthers and Toronto Maple Leafs. He was picked up by the Atlanta Thrashers at the 1999 Expansion Draft but was traded to the Panthers before playing a game. He finished his pro hockey career with a year in Germany’s Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL) with the Hannover Scorpions in 2005-06.

Martin Brodeur – New Jersey Devils

Shame on the nineteen teams that passed over Brodeur at that 1990 NHL Entry Draft. Active in the NHL until 2014-15, Brodeur is not only a given for the Hockey Hall of Fame, likely his three year wait period will be waived, an honour reserved for the chosen few like Gordie Howe, Terry Sawchuk, Bobby Orr and Wayne Gretzky.

Martin was a third round pick of the Verdun Junior Canadiens at the QMJHL Entry Draft in 1989. In 1989-90, Verdun was relocated and became the St. Hyacinthe Laser. Brodeur played with St. Hyacinthe from 1989-90 to 1991-92. The franchise is now the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies.

Brodeur got his start in the NHL playing four games for the Devils in 1991-92. He became a regular with the club in 1993-94 and has been there since. He holds NHL records for most games played by a goalie, most wins, most shutouts, etc, etc, etc. Martin won the Calder Trophy as NHL rookie of the year in 1993-94. He has been awarded the Vezina Trophy four times. The Devils have won the Stanley Cup three times and lost in the finals two other times, largely due to the goalkeeping of Martin Brodeur.

Internationally, Brodeur has played in four Olympic Winter Games for Canada. The team won gold in 2002 and 2010. Martin has appeared at the World Championships twice for Canada, winning gold in 2004. That number would have been higher if the Devils had not been so successful in the Stanley Cup playoffs through the years.

Felix Potvin – Toronto Maple Leafs

Another goalie out of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, Potvin played for the Chicoutimi Sagueneens from 1988-89 to 1990-91. Chicoutimi took him in the second round of the 1988 QMJHL Entry Draft. In 1990-91, Felix was named the CHL goaltender of the year. The following year, 1991-92, he was honoured with the Dudley ‘Red’ Garrett Award as the top rookie in the American Hockey League.

Potvin played in the NHL from 1991-92 to 2003-04 with the Maple Leafs, New York Islanders, Vancouver Canucks, Los Angeles Kings and Boston Bruins. Known as a decent puck handler, Felix totalled 16 assists over his NHL career.

5 That Played 1,000 Games In A Toronto Maple Leafs Jersey

Throughout the long and storied National Hockey League history of the Toronto Maple Leafs, five players have appeared in over 1,000 regular season games with the club. The team has existed in the NHL since 1917. However, four of the five players played during generally the same era.

George Armstrong – 1,187

George Armstrong leads the way with 1,187 regular season games played in a Toronto Maple Leafs jersey. Armstrong played from 1949-50 to 1970-71, always with Toronto. In that time, he totaled 713 points and appeared on four Stanley Cup winning teams (1961-62, 1962-63, 1963-64 and 1966-67). His number 10 is honoured by the Maple Leafs and George was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame 1975.

Tim Horton – 1,185

Tim Horton fell just two games shy of Armstrong with 1,185 games played with Toronto. However, Horton did play more NHL games, totaling 1,446 in a career that spanned from 1949-50 to 1973-74. Horton finished his career, playing with the New York Rangers, Pittsburgh Penguins and Buffalo Sabres.

Horton was part of the same four Stanley Cup winning teams as George Armstrong. His number 7 is honoured by the team and he posthumously entered the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1977.

 

Borje Salming – 1,099

Borje Salming played 1,099 games with Toronto from 1973-74 to 1988-89. He played one more NHL season with the Detroit Red Wings and retired with 1,148 regular season games. He totalled 768 points from the Toronto blue line and his 620 assists are a Toronto Maple Leafs record for most career assists. Borje’s number 21 has been honoured by the Maple Leafs. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1996 and two years later he became a member of the IIHF Hall of Fame.

Dave Keon – 1,062

Dave Keon played 1,062 of his 1,296 NHL games with the Toronto Maple Leafs between 1960-61 and 1974-75. Keon played an additional 301 games in the World Hockey Association with the Minnesota Fighting Saints, Indianapolis Racers and New England Whalers. 

Keon returned to the NHL to play three years with the Hartford Whalers before retiring. Dave was part of the four Stanley Cup teams in the 1960’s. He won the Calder Trophy as NHL rookie of the year in 1960-61, the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP in 1966-67 and two Lady Byng Trophies. Keon was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1986.

Ron Ellis – 1,034

Ron Ellis played 1,034 games with Toronto in an NHL career that spanned from 1963-64 (1 game) to 1980-81. In that time, he scored 332 goals and accumulated 640 points. He was a big part of the 1966-67 Stanley Cup winning team. Ellis is the only one of the five not in the Hockey Hall of Fame. If there were an honourable mention category, Ron would be there.

 

1960-61 NHL Top 5 Goal Scorers

The hockey gods looked down with irony on the National Hockey League in 1960-61. Maurice ‘Rocket’ Richard became the first 50 goal scorer in the NHL with 50 goals in 50 games in 1944-45. The next 50 goal scorer didn’t come until 1960-61, the first year that Richard was absent from the league after retiring. Let’s take a look at the top five goal scorers in that 1960-61 NHL season.

Bernie Geoffrion – Montreal Canadiens

Bernie ‘Boom Boom’ Geoffrion of the Montreal Canadiens led the NHL with 50 goals while playing in 64 of the team’s 70 regular season games. He also led the league with 95 points, earning the Art Ross Trophy. To top things off, Geoffrion was named the recipient of the Hart Memorial Trophy as the NHL’s MVP. It was a career season for Bernie, who played in the NHL from 1950-51 to 1967-68.

Frank Mahovlich – Toronto Maple Leafs

Frank Mahovlich of the Toronto Maple Leafs came a close second with 48 goals. In a National Hockey League career that lasted from 1957-58 to 1973-74, Mahovlich would have just one season with more goals, 1968-69, scoring 49 with the Detroit Red Wings.

Dickie Moore – Montreal Canadiens

Dickie Moore was a two time winner of the Art Ross Trophy in 1957-58 and 1958-59. 1960-61 was Moore’s swan song, finishing third in the NHL with 35 goals. His numbers would drop drastically over the next two years before retiring. Dickie would make two comeback attempts in 1964-65 with Toronto and 1967-68 with the St. Louis Blues but neither were lengthy or successful.

Jean Beliveau – Montreal Canadiens

Jean Beliveau was the third member of the Canadiens among the top five goal scorers. Beliveau finished with 32 goals, a far cry from his career best of 47 in 1955-56. Beliveau played his entire NHL career with the Canadiens from 1953-54 to 1970-71.

Bobby Hull – Chicago Blackhawks

Bobby Hull of the Chicago Black Hawks had a lull in his NHL career in 1960-61 but still finished fifth in the league with 31 goals. The season before, he scored 39. The following season, he would become just the third NHLer to score 50. Hull would score 50 or more five times during his career with the Black Hawks, including a career high 58 in 1968-69.

With all that goal scoring power, the Canadiens finished first overall in the six team league during the regular season. Montreal finished just two points ahead of second place Toronto but scored 20 more goals. Despite finishing in third, fifteen points behind the Canadiens, the Chicago Black Hawks eliminated Montreal in the opening round of the playoffs. Chicago met the Detroit Red Wings in the finals and won the Stanley Cup in six games.

 

NHL Hockey Trivia: Toronto Maple Leafs Individual Records

The Toronto Maple Leafs are one of the oldest franchises in the National Hockey League and were once one of the most successful. The individual records of the Toronto Maple Leafs may not be as flashy as other NHL teams but the players involved are often legends of the game.

Test and expand your knowledge of Toronto Maple Leafs records with these four hockey trivia questions and answers.

Q. Before Rick Vaive came along in the early 1980’s and lifted Toronto’s goal scoring record above the 50 goal plateau, the Maple Leafs record for most goals in a season had stood since the 1960-61 season. Who held Toronto’s record for most goals in a season previous to the 1981-82 NHL season?

A. In 1960-61, Frank Mahovlich finished the season with 48 goals. The total was good for second in the NHL behind Bernie Geoffrion of the Montreal Canadiens who scored 50. It should be noted that Mahovlich did this when the Maple Leafs only played a 70 game schedule. Frank topped his personal best in 1968-69 as a member of the Detroit Red Wings, scoring 49.

Q. What Hockey Hall of Fame member holds the Toronto Maple Leafs record for most assists in a single season?

A. Doug Gilmour holds the record with 95 in 1992-93. This is the seventeenth highest single season total in NHL history. Gilmour also holds the number 2 spot in this category with 84 assists in the following season.

Gilmour totalled 964 assists over his NHL career. He played in the league from 1983-84 to 2002-03 with the St. Louis Blues, Calgary Flames, Toronto, New Jersey Devils, Chicago Blackhawks, Buffalo Sabres and Montreal Canadiens. Doug was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2011.

Q. What Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender holds the team career record for most shutouts, most wins and most losses?

A. Walter ‘Turk’ Broda played with Toronto from 1936-37 to 1951-52. Toronto was Broda’s only NHL club and finished his career with 62 shutouts, 302 wins and 224 losses. In eight of his seasons with the Maple Leafs, Broda appeared in every single regular season game. Twice, he was the recipient of the Vezina Trophy. In 1967, 15 years after retiring as a player, Turk was finally inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Q. There are four players that have scored more than 300 goals as a Toronto Maple Leaf. Who holds the record for most goals in a Maple Leafs jersey?

A. Mats Sundin left Toronto after the 2007-08 season having scored 420 goals for the Maple Leafs. Darryl Sittler had held the mark at 389 before that. Dave Keon scored 365 as a Maple Leaf and Ron Ellis scored 332 in Toronto.

Sundin scored 564 goals over his National Hockey League career. That total ties him for 21^st overall with Joe Nieuwendyk. The first overall pick at the 1989 NHL Entry Draft by the Quebec Nordiques played in the NHL from 1990-91 to 2008-09 with Quebec, Toronto and the Vancouver Canucks. Sundin entered the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2012.

Pat Burns: Only 3 Time Winner Of The Jack Adams Award

The Jack Adams was first awarded to the NHL's top head coach for the 1973-74 season. Fred Shero was the first recipient and Pat Burns is the only three time winner. Both Shero and Burns are deceased and both were inexplicably denied entry to the Hockey Hall of Fame while still alive.

In a National Hockey League head coaching career that lasted from 1988-89 to 2003-04, Pat Burns became the only person to win the Jack Adams Award as the NHL’s top coach three times. The Jack Adams Award was introduced for the 1973-74 season, with Fred Shero of the Philadelphia Flyers being the first recipient.

1988-89 Montreal Canadiens

Burns won the Jack Adams in his first year of coaching in the NHL, 1988-89. The Montreal Canadiens finished first overall in the Prince of Wales Conference and second overall in the NHL, behind only the Calgary Flames. The Canadiens and Flames met in the Stanley Cup finals with Calgary coming out victorious in six games.

1992-93 Toronto Maple Leafs

In 1992-93, in his first year as head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Burns saw a 32 improvement over the previous season. In 1991-92, Toronto had finished last in the Norris Division with just 67 points. Their point total improved to 99 points under Pat and the team made it to the Conference finals before losing to the Los Angeles Kings in seven games.

1997-98 Boston Bruins

In 1997-98, in his first year as coach of the Boston Bruins, the team saw a similar turnaround that the Maple Leafs had experience under Burns. The team improved 30 points over 1996-97. The previous year was the first time Boston had failed to qualify for the post season since the 1966-67 season. The team bowed out to the Washington Capitals in the first round of the playoffs.

Pat Burns

Never a player at the professional level, Burns rose quickly to prominence in the coaching world. He was behind the bench of the Hull Olympiques of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League for three years, from 1984-85 to 1986-87. In the second year, the Olympiques won the Jean Rougeau Trophy as regular season champions and the President’s Cup as champs in the playoffs. Pat was selected as QMJHL First Team All-Star coach.

The Olympiques qualified for the Memorial Cup that season, making it through to the final game. The Guelph Platers (today’s Owen Sound Attack) were crowned Memorial Cup champions with a 6-2 victory over Hull. Hockey Hall of Fame member Luc Robitaille was a member of that Olympiques team.

After a year coaching the Sherbrooke Canadiens of the American Hockey League in 1987-88, it was straight up to the NHL Canadiens. Along with coaching in Montreal, Toronto and Boston, Burns won a Stanley Cup with the New Jersey Devils, where he coached in 2002-03 and 2003-04.

Along with Fred Shero, now both deceased, the Hockey Hall of Fame were under fire for denying the two entry. Shero won two Stanley Cups and was a finalist on two other occasions, as well as winning championships in three other professional league and was inducted posthumously in 2013. Pat’s qualifications for the Hall of Fame are obvious from his accomplishments stated above and is finally allowed entry for 2014.

 

1950-51 NHL Season By The Numbers

 

1950-51 was quite an important year in the National Hockey League. Many say that that season marked the NHL’s entry into the modern era. For the history of the Toronto Maple Leafs, it was an infamously significant season. The Maple Leafs won the Stanley Cup championship on an overtime goal by Bill Barilko. However, Barilko would die in a plane crash not long after the celebration. Take a look back at the 1950-51 season by the numbers.

1

Milt Schmidt won his only Hart Memorial Trophy as the NHL’s most valuable player. Schmidt played his entire NHL career with the Boston Bruins from 1936-37 to 1954-55, appearing in 776 regular season games in an era of much shorter schedules. Milt was inducted to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1961.

In 1950-51, Milt totalled 61 points in 62 regular season games, finishing fifth in the NHL. His 22 goals placed him ninth in the league while his 39 assists placed him fourth. Milt helped the Bruins squeak into the Stanley Cup playoffs, finishing just one point ahead of the New York Rangers for the final post season position. The Toronto Maple Leafs were too much for the Bruins in the opening round, winning the series in five games. Boston was able to score just five goals on the Maple Leafs over the series.

3

Three future Hockey Hall of Fame players played their first NHL games in 1950-51. Alex Delvecchio appeared in one game for the Detroit Red Wings and would play his entire NHL career with the club. Delvecchio appeared in 1,550 regular season games between 1950-51 and 1973-74 with Detroit. He directly followed that up with a four year stint as the head coach of the Red Wings.

Montreal greats Bernie ‘Boom Boom’ Geoffrion and Jean Beliveau both began their careers with the Canadiens in 1950-51. Geoffrion played 18 games in 1950-51 and posted an impressive 14 points. Bernie played with Montreal until the end of the 1963-64 season. Beliveau played just two games for the Habs in 1950-51 and wouldn’t be a regular with the team until 1953-54. Jean played his entire NHL career with the Canadiens, retiring after the 1970-71 season with 1,125 regular season games under his belt.

Delvecchio entered the Hall of Fame in 1977 while both Geoffrion and Beliveau were inducted in 1972.

5

Each of the five games in the Stanley Cup finals series between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Montreal Canadiens went to overtime. With each of the games decided by a single goal, the Toronto outscored Montreal 13-10 over the series. The Maple Leafs won the Stanley Cup in overtime of the fifth game when defenseman Bill Barilko pinched in and scored on Montreal goalie Gerry McNeil.

10

It took the Toronto Maple Leafs ten games to win the 1951 Stanley Cup. As with any Original Six era season, there were just two rounds of playoffs with only four teams qualifying for the post season. In the first round, Toronto took out the Milt Schmidt led Boston Bruins in five games. In the other semi-final, the Montreal Canadiens beat the Detroit Red Wings in six. Toronto took five more games to eliminate Montreal and win the Cup.

11

Terry Sawchuk shutout his opponents eleven times, en route to earning the Calder Memorial Trophy as the league’s top rookie. Sawchuk’s total while playing all of Detroit’s 70 games was equalled by the duo of goaltenders in Toronto, Al Rollins and Turk Broda. Toronto was the first team in the NHL to use a two goalie system.

Terry had appeared in seven games for the Red Wings the previous season but it was not enough to erase his rookie status. Sawchuk’s 1.99 goals against average was not enough to win the Vezina Trophy in 1950-51 but he won the award three out of the next four years. He was a four time Vezina winner over his National Hockey League career.

13

The Chicago Black Hawks won just 13 games in 1950-51, while the Detroit Red Wings lost just 13. Highlighting Chicago’s disastrous season was an 11-3 loss to Detroit, a 10-2 loss to Boston and a 12-2 loss to Montreal. Chicago finished 25 points behind the fifth place New York Rangers in the six team league. Detroit ended the year with 65 more points.

Chicago was not without big name players. Roy Conacher, Bill Mosienko, Doug Bentley, Gus Bodnar and Bill Gadsby were in the lineup. In net was eventual member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, Harry Lumley.

70

1950-51 marked the first season the National Hockey League moved to a 70 game schedule. The previous season, each team played 60 games. The 70 game schedule would remain an annual tradition until the expansion year of 1967-68 when six teams and four games each were added. At that point, the schedule increased to 74, changing several times over the next few decades to settle on the current day 82 games.

86

Gordie Howe of the Detroit Red Wings won the Art Ross Trophy as the league’s top point-getter in 1950-51 with 86 points. Howe finished an astonishing 20 points ahead of the next player, Maurice ‘Rocket’ Richard of the Montreal Canadiens. Gordie led the NHL in goal scoring with 43, just one more than Richard. He tied Ted Kennedy of the Toronto Maple Leafs for the league lead in assists with 43.

NHL Hockey Trivia: Darryl Sittler

Darryl Sittler is one of the greatest legends in the history of the National Hockey League’s Toronto Maple Leafs. Sittler is a Hockey Hall of Fame member that has certainly left his mark on the game. His record of ten points in a single game that was set in 1976 against the Boston Bruins still stands today. Test and expand your hockey knowledge with the following four hockey trivia questions and answers.

Q. When Darryl Sittler was traded from the Philadelphia Flyers to the Detroit Red Wings for the start of the 1984-85 season, what player, who would play over 1,000 career NHL games, went in the other direction?

A. Sittler was traded to Detroit for an unproven youngster named Murray Craven. Philadelphia got the best of the deal with Sittler playing just 61 games with Detroit before retiring. Craven played 1,071 regular season NHL games with the Red Wings, Flyers, Hartford Whalers, Vancouver Canucks, Chicago Blackhawks and San Jose Sharks.

Joe Paterson also went to the Flyers in the deal. Joe played just six games for Philadelphia in 1984-85 and five more with the club in 1985-86 before being traded to the Los Angeles Kings. Paterson, who played his junior hockey for the same OHL team as Sittler, appeared in 291 NHL regular season games between 1980-81 and 1988-89 with the Red Wings, Flyers, Kings and New York Rangers.

Q. In 1977-78, Darryl Sittler finished third in the race for the Art Ross Trophy with 117 points. Who finished first in the NHL that season?

A. Guy Lafleur of the Montreal Canadiens won the Art Ross Trophy with 132 points. Bryan Trottier of the New York Islanders took second spot with 123 points. The three were the only ones to surpass the 100 point plateau that season.

It was the second and last time Darryl would reach the 100 point plateau. He totalled exactly 100 in 1975-76 over 79 games with the Maple Leafs. The 100 points placed him ninth in the race for the Art Ross Trophy.

Q. With what OHA team did Darryl Sittler record 99 points for in 1968-69?

A. Darryl was a member of the London Knights for three years from 1967-68 to 1969-70. 99 points was his highest single season total in the junior league and was accomplished over 53 games on 34 goals and 65 assists. He finished third in the OHA that season behind only Rejean Houle of the Montreal Junior Canadiens and Marcel Dionne of the St. Catherines Black Hawks.

In his third and final year with London, Sittler scored 42 and assisted on 48 for 90 points over 54 regular season games. He was the team’s leader by far with 24 more points than Dan Maloney. He tied Bobby Lalonde of the Montreal Junior Canadiens for sixth in goal scoring. Darryl was also tied for seventh in assists and held the sixth spot for total points.

Q. In what year was Darryl Sittler inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame?

A. Sittler entered the Hall of Fame in 1989. The only other two players to be inducted that season were Herbie Lewis, a member of the Detroit Cougars / Falcons / Red Wings in the late 1920’s and 1930’s and Vladislav Tretiak, the great Russian goaltender.

NHL Hockey Trivia: Maple Leaf Gardens In Toronto

For nearly seventy years, Maple Leaf Gardens was the home of the National Hockey League’s Toronto Maple Leafs. The arena, known in short as MLG, was also home to several other teams over the years in the sports of indoor soccer, lacrosse and basketball. Test and expand your hockey knowledge of Toronto’s Maple Leaf Gardens with the following four hockey trivia questions.

Q. Besides the Toronto Maple Leafs, what other professional hockey team called Maple Leaf Gardens home?

A. The Toronto Toros of the World Hockey Association called MLG home for the 1974-75 and 1975-76 season after played their first year at Varsity Arena. The Toros began as a WHA franchise in Ottawa and moved to Birmingham for the 1976-77 season.

Q. In what season did the Toronto Maple Leafs win the first Stanley Cup in their new home?

A. The Maple Leafs began play at Maple Leaf Gardens in 1931-32. The team won the Stanley Cup that year with a final series victory over the New York Rangers. Toronto swept New York in the best of five series with the final game being played at MLG. Of the three games, only one was played in New York and Toronto each with the other played in Boston due to the Circus taking over Madison Square Garden in New York. Starring for Toronto that year were Busher Jackson, Joe Primeau and Charlie Conacher.

Q. What was the first NBA team to play home games at Maple Leaf Gardens?

A. The Buffalo Braves of the National Basketball Association played a total of 16 home games at MLG over four seasons between 1971 and 1975. The Braves are the predecessors of the current Los Angeles Clippers. The franchise played mainly out of the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium from 1970-71 to 1977-78. They then moved to San Diego where they took on the Clippers name for the first time. The franchise lasted in San Diego from 1978-79 until 1983-84 before moving north to Los Angeles.

The Toronto Raptors never called Maple Leafs Gardens home. The NBA franchise began play for the 1995-96 season and played home games at the SkyDome until the Air Canada Centre opened for the 1999-00 season.

Q. In what year did Maple Leaf Gardens host the first annual NHL All-Star Game?

A. In October of 1947, the first official NHL All-Star Game was played at MLG. 13 years earlier, in 1934, the first NHL All-Star game of any kind was played as a benefit for Ace Bailey. The 1947 game featured the defending Stanley Cup champion Toronto Maple Leafs against an All-Star team from the other five teams in the league. The All-Stars came out on top 4-3 before a crowd of 14,169 with Doug Bentley scoring the winning goal in the third period, assisted by Maurice ‘Rocket’ Richard and Milt Schmidt.

NHL Hockey Trivia: Al Arbour

Al Arbour played 626 games in the National Hockey League from 1953-54 to 1970-71. Yet it was his accomplishments as a head coach with the New York Islanders than earned him a spot in the Hockey Hall of Fame. Test and expand your knowledge of Al Arbour and the NHL with these hockey trivia questions.

Q. What team did Al Arbour begin his NHL career with?

A. Arbour began his NHL career with the Detroit Red Wings during the 1953-54 season. Arbour played with Detroit until the end of the 1957-58 season. He began the next year with the Chicago Black Hawks. He would also play for the St. Louis Blues and Toronto Maple Leafs.

In 1953-54, Al played in 36 games with the Red Wings and contributed just one assists. He also appeared in 19 games in the QHL with the Sherbrooke Saints. Arbour would not play in the National Hockey League again until the Stanley Cup playoffs in 1955-56. After a full season in the WHL with the Edmonton Flyers, Al joined the Red Wings for the playoffs. He played in four of the team’s ten post season games as Detroit fell in the finals to the Montreal Canadiens.

Q. What team did Al Arbour play his final NHL game with?

A. Arbour played his final season, 1970-71 with the St. Louis Blues. He took over as head coach of the Blues during that season. In that final year, Arbour played just 22 regular season games. He was credited with 50 games as head coach of the team before being replaced by Scotty Bowman. In the playoffs, Al played another six games for the Blues. St. Louis fell in the opening round to the Minnesota North Stars in six games, ending their run of consecutive Stanley Cup finals appearances at three. In his four years as a player with St. Louis, Arbour served as team captain.

Q. How many years did Al Arbour coach the New York Islanders?

A. Arbour coached the Islanders for nineteen seasons, beginning in 1973-74. He coached through to the end of the 1985-86 season. He then took over as head coach again in 1988-89 and lasted until the end of the 1993-94 season. He coached one game in the 2007-08 season.

Q. How many Stanley Cup winning teams did Al Arbour coach?

A. Arbour coached the New York Islanders to four consecutive Stanley Cups from 1979-80 to 1982-83. These were the only four Stanley Cups that Arbour would win. Leading up to that dynastic run, the Islanders reached the final four in four of Al’s first six years behind the bench in Long Island. The team fell in the semi-finals in 1974-75, 1975-76, 1976-77 and 1978-79. In 1983-84, New York reached the final again, looking for their fifth straight championship but fell to the Edmonton Oilers in five games. Arbour reached the semi-finals one more time, losing to the Montreal Canadiens in 1992-93.

Keys To The 1931-32 NHL Season

1931-32 marked the fifteenth season of the National Hockey League. A long, long way from the game that is played in thirty NHL cities today, 1931-32 still leaves us with some timeless names like Howie Morenz, King Clancy, Babe Siebert and Busher Jackson. What follows are seven keys to the 1931-32 NHL season.

The Ottawa Senators and Philadelphia Quakers left the league after the 1930-31 season, reducing the NHL to eight teams for 1931-32. The league was divided into two divisions of four teams, the Canadian and American. Ottawa returned the following season but the Quakers were not to rise again.

1931-32 was the last time the Detroit franchise would be nicknamed the Falcons. Following bankruptcy at the end of the season, the team was re-organized and came out as the Red Wings for the 1932-33 season.

The Hart Memorial Trophy for the NHL’s most valuable player went to Howie Morenz of the Montreal Canadiens. Morenz led the Canadiens with 49 points in 48 games as the team finished atop the Canadian Division. Morenz was third in points behind the Toronto duo of Busher Jackson and Joe Primeau.

The Canadiens finished first overall in the league. After winning the Stanley Cup the previous two seasons, Montreal was a heavy favourite to repeat. However, due to injuries, the Canadiens lost to the New York Rangers in the semi-finals.

The Toronto Maple Leafs enjoyed their first season in their new home, Maple Leaf Gardens. MLG was built in under six months at the start of 1931 and was ready for the November start to the 1931-32 season. Maple Leaf Gardens remained the home of the Maple Leafs until 1999.

Toronto christened their new home with a Stanley Cup victory. The Maple Leafs finished third overall and second in the Canadian Division during the regular season. They took out the Chicago Black Hawks and Montreal Maroons to earn a berth in the finals against the New York Rangers. Toronto swept New York in the best of five series. The first game was played at Madison Square Garden in New York. The second was on neutral ground at the Boston Garden and the final game was played at Maple Leaf Gardens.

It was fifteen years before the Art Ross Trophy was first given to the NHL’s top point getter. Busher Jackson was the NHL’s leader in 1931-32 with 53 points. Teammate Charlie Conacher led the league in goals with 34. Uncharacteristic of many defensive minded Toronto teams to come, the Maple Leafs led the league in total goals scored with 155.

NHL Hockey Trivia: Bill Barilko of the Toronto Maple Leafs

Bill Barilko played just five years in the National Hockey League in the late 1940’s and early 1950’s, yet his name remains one of the most recognizable amongst Canadian hockey fans to this day. Barilko went missing in dense Northern Ontario forest following a plane crash. His death came shortly after his overtime goal in game five of the Stanley Cup finals gave Toronto the victory over the Montreal Canadiens.

Test and expand your hockey trivia knowledge of Bill Barilko with the following four trivia questions.

Q. What minor league team did Bill Barilko play for before being called up to the Toronto Maple Leafs?

A. Barilko played 1945-46 and 1946-47 with the Hollywood Wolves of the Pacific Coast Hockey League. Barilko was called away from Hollywood after 47 games in 1946-47. The Wolves finished first in the South Division that season but lost in the play-offs semi-final. It was the last season the Wolves existed. Bill was supposed to be heading to the Pittsburgh Hornets of the American Hockey League when he was called away from Hollywood. He never played in the NHL and instead went directly to the Maple Leafs.

Q. What Montreal Canadiens goaltender was in net when Bill Barilko scored the overtime game winning goal in game five of the 1951 Stanley Cup championships?

A. Gerry McNeil was the unfortunate soul to allow the game and series winning goal by Barilko. It, of course, was the last goal the Bill ever scored. McNeil played in the NHL from 1947-48 to 1956-57, all with the Montreal Canadiens. Gerry was the number one goaltender in Montreal until the end of the 1953-54 season when Jacques Plante took over and McNeil drifted off into obscurity.

Q. How many Stanley Cup winning teams was Bill Barilko a member of?

A. Incredibly, in his five years with the Toronto Maple Leafs, they won the Stanley Cup four times. In 1946-47 and 1950-51 they beat the Montreal Canadiens and in 1947-48 and 1948-49 they beat the Detroit Red Wings. In each series with the Red Wings, Toronto swept the Detroit in four games. Hap Day was the head coach of the Maple Leafs for the first three championships while Joe Primeau was the coach in 1951.

Q. How many all-star games did Bill Barilko play in?

A. In the era when Barilko played in the NHL, the all-star game consisted of the Stanley Cup winning team from the previous spring playing against the best players from the other five teams. Therefore, Barilko played in three all-star games and would have played a fourth in 1951.

2 NHL Teams With Losing Records To Win Stanley Cup

In the modern age of the NHL with 30 teams competing for 16 playoff spots, it is inconceivable that a team could win the Stanley Cup with a losing record during the regular season. In the modern era, teams with a better than .500 record often do not even make the playoffs.

Believe it or not, twice in the history of the National Hockey League, teams with a losing record have not only made it to the Stanley Cup final but have taken the Cup home as league champions. It happened once during the ‘Original Six’ era and once even before that when there were eight NHL teams split into two divisions of 4 teams.

Chicago Blackhawks – 1937-38

The first time this happened was during the 1937-38 season. At the time, the teams in the league played just a 48 games schedule and long lost teams, the New York Americans and Montreal Maroons were still going strong. The Toronto Maple Leafs took the Canadian Division during the regular season with a record of 24 wins, 15 losses and 9 ties. The Boston Bruins ran away with the American Division with a record of 30 wins, 11 losses and 7 ties.

The Chicago Black Hawks finished third in the American Division, just two points ahead of the Detroit Red Wings with a dismal record of 14 wins, 25 losses and 9 ties. The only team worse was the Montreal Maroons who were in their last year of existence. Yet, when all was said and done, the Black Hawks were crowned Stanley Cup Champs.

Chicago was coached by Bill Stewart. Never a player in the National Hockey League, it was the only year Stewart was a head coach in the league. The Black Hawks were led offensively during the regular season by Paul Thompson. Thompson scored 22 and assisted on 22 over 48 games. Two years later, Paul was the head coach for Chicago. In the playoffs, it was Russian born Johnny Gottselig that led the team with eight points.

Toronto Maple Leafs – 1948-49

The second time the situation arose was during the 1948-49 season. There were only six teams in the league and only the top four teams competed in the post season playoffs. The Detroit Red Wings took first place easily with 75 points over the 60 game season. Boston and Montreal were second and third with 66 and 65 points and the Toronto Maple Leafs rounded out the top four with 57 points on 22 wins, 25 losses and 13 ties.

Toronto went on to take their third straight Stanley Cup despite the weak regular season showing. This was the last time the feat was ever accomplished and probably will be the last time ever unless the league downsizes or changes its playoff structure in the future. It should be noted that most every season during the ‘Original Six’ era, the fourth place time had a losing record during the regular season so almost every year the opportunity was there for a severe underdog to take the Stanley Cup home.

The Hap Day coached Maple Leafs had Bill Barilko in the lineup and were led offensively by Harry Watson during the regular season. In the playoffs, it was Ted Kennedy leading the way with eight points. Turk Broda played goal for all of Toronto’s regular season and playoff games.

 

Hockey Trivia: Bernie Parent

Bernie Parent is easily the best goaltender to ever wear the jersey of the Philadelphia Flyers. Until the untimely end to his National Hockey Career in 1978-79 due to an eye injury, Parent was one of the best goalies of that era in the NHL.

Test and expand your hockey trivia knowledge of Bernie Parent with the following four trivia questions.

Q. Bernie Parent played one season in the World Hockey Association. Which WHA team did he play for?

A. Originally signed by the Miami Screaming Eagles, after not playing a single game in Florida, the Screaming Eagles were moved to Philadelphia where they were known as the Philadelphia Blazers for the 1972-73 season. Parent played 63 games for the Blazers in their only season in the WHA before becoming the Vancouver Blazers.

Parent left the Toronto Maple Leafs to play in the WHA’s inaugural season. Upon returning to the National Hockey League for the 1973-74 season, Bernie returned to the Flyers, the team that had traded him to Toronto during the 1970-71 season.

Q. Bernie Parent played his first NHL game with what team?

A. Parent was originally a prospect of the Boston Bruins. He played 39 games with the team in his rookie season, 1965-66, winning only eleven games. He played 18 games with the Bruins the following season before being drafted by the Philadelphia Flyers in the 1967 NHL Expansion Draft.

In his first year with Boston, Parent moved right into the number one position, playing 39 games for the Bruins. Ed Johnston played 33 games and Gerry Cheevers appeared in seven. By 1966-67, Johnston and Cheevers had taken over as Boston’s goaltending duo and the 1967 expansion was a blessing for Bernie.

Q. In 2006-07, what record did Martin Brodeur break that Bernie Parent set in 1973-74?

A. It took over three decades for someone to break Parent’s record for most wins by a goalie in a season. In 1973-74 Bernie won 47 games for the Philadelphia Flyers while losing only 13 in 73 games. Brodeur’s season was four games longer than Parent’s and Marty had the advantage of overtimes and shootouts. In the end, Marty broke the record by just one win with 48. Bernie tied 12 games in 1973-74 which would have been potential wins in today’s game.

Q. Bernie Parent won a Memorial Cup in 1964-65 with what Ontario Hockey Association team?

A. Ironically, Parent’s junior success came with a team also called the Flyers. The Niagara Falls Flyers were an OHA team sponsored by the Boston Bruins. The team won the Memorial Cup in 1965 with the help of future NHLers Jean Pronovost, Derek Sanderson and Don Marcotte.

Niagara Falls met the Edmonton Oil Kings in the Memorial Cup final series. The series was entirely held at the Edmonton Gardens in Edmonton, Alberta. The Flyers won four games to one, outscoring their opponents 16-3 in the final two games. Bill Long coached Niagara Falls and would go on to coach the Ottawa 67’s and London Knights in the OHL.