1966–67 NHL season

1966–67 NHL season
League National Hockey League
Sport Ice hockey
Duration October 19, 1966 – May 2, 1967
Number of games 70
Number of teams 6
Regular season
Season champion Chicago Black Hawks
Season MVP Stan Mikita (Chicago Black Hawks)
Top scorer Stan Mikita (Chicago Black Hawks)
Playoffs
Playoffs Playoffs MVP Dave Keon (Toronto Maple Leafs)
Stanley Cup
Champions Toronto Maple Leafs
  Runners-up Montreal Canadiens

The 1966–67 NHL season was the 50th season of the National Hockey League. Six teams each played 70 games. Since the 1942–43 season, there had only been six teams in the NHL, but this was to be the last season of the Original Six as six more teams were added for the 1967–68 season. This season saw the debut of one of the greatest players in hockey history, defenceman Bobby Orr of the Boston Bruins. The Toronto Maple Leafs won the Stanley Cup over the Montreal Canadiens; this would be the Leafs' most recent Stanley Cup as of 2016.

League business

President David Molson of the Canadian Arena Company announced that the Montreal Forum would undergo major alterations done in a $5 million work program commencing in April 1968.

NHL sponsorship of junior teams ceased, making all players of qualifying age not already on NHL-sponsored lists eligible for the amateur draft.

Regular season

Bobby Orr made his NHL debut on October 19, with an assist in a 6–2 win over Detroit.

Terry Sawchuk got his 99th shutout when Toronto blanked Detroit 4–0 on February 25. He got his 100th career shutout on March 4, when Toronto defeated Chicago 4–0.

Bobby Hull scored his 50th goal of the season when Chicago lost to Toronto 9–5 on March 18 at Maple Leaf Gardens. Another superlative for the Black Hawks was Stan Mikita, who tied the league scoring record with 97 points in claiming the Art Ross Trophy for the third time. Mikita was also awarded the Hart Memorial Trophy as most valuable player.

The Chicago Black Hawks, who had won three Stanley Cups, finished first overall in the standings for the first time in their history, a full seventeen points ahead of the Montreal Canadiens and nineteen ahead of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The Boston Bruins missed the playoffs, their last time before their record 29-season playoff streak.

Final standings

National Hockey League[1]
GP W L T GF GA DIFF Pts
1 Chicago Black Hawks 70 41 17 12 264 170 +94 94
2 Montreal Canadiens 70 32 25 13 202 188 +14 77
3 Toronto Maple Leafs 70 32 27 11 204 211 −7 75
4 New York Rangers 70 30 28 12 188 189 −1 72
5 Detroit Red Wings 70 27 39 4 212 241 −29 58
6 Boston Bruins 70 17 43 10 182 253 −71 44

Playoffs

For more details on this topic, see 1967 Stanley Cup playoffs.

Despite Chicago's impressive regular season marks, it was the third seed Toronto Maple Leafs who beat the Black Hawks in the first round of the playoffs. Toronto won games 2,3,5,and 6. Montreal swept the Rangers to advance to the final.

Playoff bracket

Semi-finals Stanley Cup Final
      
1 Chicago Black Hawks 2
3 Toronto Maple Leafs 4
2 Montreal Canadiens 2
3 Toronto Maple Leafs 4
2 Montreal Canadiens 4
4 New York Rangers 0

Finals

The Maple Leafs faced off against second-place Montreal for the Cup. The teams split the first four games, the third game in Toronto won in overtime by Toronto (on a goal by Bob Pulford against Rogie Vachon, whom Pulford would later coach in Los Angeles). The Leafs then won the next two to win the Cup on home ice.

Awards

1966–1967 NHL awards
Prince of Wales Trophy:
(Regular season champion)
Chicago Black Hawks
Art Ross Trophy:
(Top scorer)
Stan Mikita, Chicago Black Hawks
Calder Memorial Trophy:
(Best first-year player)
Bobby Orr, Boston Bruins
Conn Smythe Trophy:
(Most valuable player, playoffs)
Dave Keon, Toronto Maple Leafs
Hart Trophy:
(Most valuable player, season)
Stan Mikita, Chicago Black Hawks
James Norris Memorial Trophy:
(Best defenceman)
Harry Howell, New York Rangers
Lady Byng Memorial Trophy:
(Excellence and sportsmanship)
Stan Mikita, Chicago Black Hawks
Vezina Trophy:
(Goaltender(s) of team with the best goals-against average)
Glenn Hall & Denis DeJordy, Chicago Black Hawks
Lester Patrick Trophy:
(Outstanding service to U.S. hockey)
Gordon Howe, Charles F. Adams, James E. Norris

All-Star teams

Ed Giacomin, New York Rangers G Glenn Hall, Chicago Black Hawks
Pierre Pilote, Chicago Black Hawks D Tim Horton, Toronto Maple Leafs
Harry Howell, New York Rangers D Bobby Orr, Boston Bruins
Stan Mikita, Chicago Black Hawks C Norm Ullman, Detroit Red Wings
Kenny Wharram, Chicago Black Hawks RW Gordie Howe, Detroit Red Wings
Bobby Hull, Chicago Black Hawks LW Don Marshall, New York Rangers

Player statistics

Scoring leaders

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points

Player Team GP G A Pts PIM
Stan Mikita Chicago Black Hawks 70 35 62 97 12
Bobby Hull Chicago Black Hawks 66 52 28 8052
Norm Ullman Detroit Red Wings 68 26 44 7026
Ken Wharram Chicago Black Hawks 70 31 34 65 21
Gordie Howe Detroit Red Wings 69 25 40 65 53
Bobby Rousseau Montreal Canadiens 68 19 44 63 58
Phil Esposito Chicago Black Hawks 69 21 40 6140
Phil Goyette New York Rangers 70 12 49 616
Doug Mohns Chicago Black Hawks 61 25 35 6058
Henri Richard Montreal Canadiens 65 21 34 55 28

Source: NHL.[2]

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
Glenn Hall Chicago Black Hawks 32 1664 66 2.38 19 5 5 2
Denis DeJordy Chicago Black Hawks 44 2536 104 2.46 22 12 7 4
Charlie Hodge Montreal Canadiens 37 2055 88 2.60 11 15 7 3
Ed Giacomin New York Rangers 68 3981 173 2.61 30 27 11 9
Johnny Bower Toronto Maple Leafs 27 1431 63 2.64 12 9 3 2
Terry Sawchuk Toronto Maple Leafs 28 1409 66 2.81 15 5 4 2
Roger Crozier Detroit Red Wings 58 3256 182 3.35 22 29 4 4
Eddie Johnston Boston Bruins 34 1880 116 3.70 8 21 2 0

Debuts

The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1966–67 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs):

Last games

The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1966–67 (listed with their last team):

See also

References

Notes

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Monday, April 18, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.