Terry Harper

Terry Harper
Born	January 27, 1940 Regina, SK, CAN
Height	6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight	197 lb (89 kg; 14 st 1 lb)
Position	Defence
Shot	Right
Played for	AHL Quebec Aces NHL Montreal Canadiens Los Angeles Kings Detroit Red Wings St. Louis Blues Colorado Rockies
Playing career	1962–1981

Terrance Victor Harper (born January 27, 1940) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. Harper played in the National Hockey League from 1962 to 1981. During this time, he played for the Montreal Canadiens, Los Angeles Kings, Detroit Red Wings, St. Louis Blues, and Colorado Rockies.

Playing career

Harper was a classic stay at home defensive oriented defenceman. He would often total over 90 penalty minutes per season due to his physical play, but his goaltenders were very appreciative of his ability to clear offensive players out of the area in front of the goal crease. Harper was frequently part of his teams' top penalty killing unit. Harper rarely scored, and the "Harper hat trick" was when he scored 3 goals in a season (vs. 3 in one game). He accomplished this 5 times in his 18 year career, erupting for a career high 8 goals in the 1975-76 season with the Detroit Red Wings.

Harper played his first 10 seasons with the Montreal Canadiens. While with Montreal, Harper had his greatest success, winning five Stanley Cups between 1963 and 1972.

Prior to the 1972-73 season, Harper was traded to the Los Angeles Kings, where he anchored a defence that became one of the league's stingiest. Harper was immediately named team Captain, a position he held for 3 seasons until his trade to Detroit after the 1974-75 season.

After the 1974-75 season, Harper was traded to Detroit as part of the blockbuster trade that sent hall of famer Marcel Dionne to Los Angeles. After 4 solid seasons for a struggling Red Wings team, he played his final two seasons for the St. Louis Blues and Colorado Rockies.

For his career, Harper finished with 35 goals, 221 assists, 1,362 penalty minutes, and a plus/minus total of +169 (this statistic did not become official until the 1967-68 season, Harper's 6th in the league).

Harper would become the assistant coach of the Colorado Rockies in 1980-81.

Awards and achievements

• Stanley Cup champion – 1965, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1971 (with Montreal)
• Los Angeles Kings Team Captain, 1973 - 1975

See also

• List of NHL players with 1000 games played

External links

• Terry Harper's career statistics at The Internet Hockey Database

• Note: Harper served as Red Wings captain during most of the 1975–76 season. Danny Grant was injured and out of the lineup.