1961–62 NHL season

1961–62 NHL season
League	National Hockey League
Sport	Ice hockey
Duration	October 11, 1961 – April 22, 1962
Number of games	70
Number of teams	6
Regular season
Season champion	Montreal Canadiens
Season MVP	Jacques Plante (Montreal Canadiens)
Top scorer	Bobby Hull (Chicago Black Hawks)
Stanley Cup
Champions	Toronto Maple Leafs
Runners-up	Chicago Black Hawks

The 1961–62 NHL season was the 45th season of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Toronto Maple Leafs were the Stanley Cup champions as they defeated the Chicago Black Hawks four games to two.

League business

At a meeting of the owners and governors, Conn Smythe resigned as Toronto's governor, to be replaced by his son, Stafford Smythe. Thereupon, Conn Smythe was appointed honorary governor.

Pre-season

A big trade took place between the Montreal Canadiens and the New York Rangers with Doug Harvey and Albert Langlois going to the Rangers for Lou Fontinato. Harvey was named player-coach of the Rangers.

In an exhibition game in Trail, British Columbia, Jean Beliveau tore knee ligaments and would be unavailable for some time. This followed a knee injury to Dickie Moore.

Several holdouts on the Stanley Cup champion Chicago Black Hawks were reported. Stan Mikita, Reg Fleming and Dollard St. Laurent refused to sign their contracts, but they eventually came to terms.

Regular season

Glenn Hall got one of the greatest standing ovations in NHL history just before the NHL All-star game began. He had difficulty suppressing his emotions at the tremendous welcome he received. The All-stars defeated the Black Hawks 3–1.

Doug Harvey scored a goal in his debut as player-coach of the Rangers when they trounced the Boston Bruins 6–2 right at Boston Garden. The Rangers downed the Bruins again at Madison Square Garden 6–3 as Andy Bathgate had the hat trick and Camille Henry had two goals.

Montreal downed the Rangers 3–1 in their home opener as Henri Richard led the way with two goals playing with Beliveau and Moore, two cripples who were not expected to play. Doug Harvey was given an ovation by the crowd as he skated out in a Ranger uniform. The new defence pair of Al MacNeil and Lou Fontinato turned in a good game.

Earl Ingarfield, Sr. had a hat-trick on November 19 as the Rangers beat the Maple Leafs 5–3. The Broadway Blueshirts were showing some power, and three nights later, Doug Harvey picked up three assists and Gump Worsley picked up a shutout as the Rangers blanked the Red Wings 4–0. The win put the Rangers into first place and the following night they beat the Bruins 4–3 as Harvey scored the winner.

Ab McDonald had the hat trick December 6, as Chicago drubbed the Rangers 8–3 right at Madison Square Garden. Red Hay had four assists for the Black Hawks.

Toronto took over first place January 10 when they beat the Bruins 7–5. Frank Mahovlich scored two goals on his 24th birthday and Dave Keon also had two goals.

Glenn Hall played his 500th consecutive game January 17, but was beaten 7–3 by Montreal. In a losing cause, Bobby Hull scored two goals, including his 20th of the season. Glenn Hall received a car from James D. Norris, president of the Black Hawks.

Percy LeSueur, famous Ottawa goaltender in the old NHA, died on January 28, 1962 at age 79.

Bobby Hull scored four goals February 1 as the Black Hawks defeated Detroit 7–4.

The Rangers defeated the Red Wings 3–2 at home March 14, but the two highlights were Gordie Howe's 500th goal on Gump Worsley and a penalty shot for the Rangers Andy Bathgate. Howe took a pass from Alex Delvecchio and made a nice move to get by Doug Harvey. Howe switched to a left-handed shot and beat Worsley with a backhander for the 500th goal. Midway through the third period, Dean Prentice had a breakaway and was skating toward the Detroit goal, when Hank Bassen, the Detroit goalkeeper, slid his stick to break up the play. Referee Eddie Powers awarded a penalty shot, but somehow forgot that the rules had been changed that season to read that the offended player must take the shot, not one of his teammates, and Powers permitted Andy Bathgate to take the shot. Bathgate gave Bassen some of his slick dekes and Bassen flopped on his face, allowing Bathgate to fire the puck into the open net for the winning goal. From there, the Rangers held on and made the playoffs for the first time since 1958.

Bobby Hull joined the 50 goal club when he scored his 50th goal at about the five-minute mark of the first period as the Chicago Black Hawks beat the New York Rangers 4–1 at Madison Square Garden in the final game of the season.

Hall and Jacques Plante of the Canadiens played every minute of every game in goal; other than Eddie Johnston of the Bruins two seasons later in 1964, they were the last major professional goaltenders to do so.

The first 43 seasons saw only one 50 goal scorer, Maurice "Rocket" Richard. Then last season, 1960–61, Bernie Geoffrion scored 50. This season saw another 50 goal scorer in Bobby Hull of the Chicago Black Hawks. From this point onwards until the new century, far more seasons than not would see at least one player score fifty in a season.

Final standings

National Hockey League

		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	DIFF	Pts
1	Montreal Canadiens	70	42	14	14	259	166	+93	98
2	Toronto Maple Leafs	70	37	22	11	232	180	+52	85
3	Chicago Black Hawks	70	31	26	13	217	186	+31	75
4	New York Rangers	70	26	32	12	195	207	−12	64
5	Detroit Red Wings	70	23	33	14	184	219	−35	60
6	Boston Bruins	70	15	47	8	177	306	−129	38

Playoffs

Series

The Black Hawks returned to the Final, by defeating the first-place Canadiens four games to two in one semi-final. In the other, the second-place Maple Leafs defeated the Rangers, also in six games to advance to the Final.

Toronto Maple Leafs vs. New York Rangers

Date	Visitors	Score	Home	Score	Notes	Report
March 27	New York	2	Toronto	4		[1]
March 29	New York	1	Toronto	2		[2]
April 1	Toronto	4	New York	5		[3]
April 3	Toronto	2	New York	4		[4]
April 5	New York	2	Toronto	3	2OT	[5]
April 7	New York	1	Toronto	7		[6]

Game 1

March 27

New York Rangers

2–4 0 – 1, 2 – 2, 0 – 1

Toronto Maple Leafs

Maple Leaf Gardens

Game reference
	Gump Worsley	Goalies	Johnny Bower	Referee: Frank Udvari Linesmen: Ron Wicks George Hayes
	11:56 – Ken Schinkel 1 (Dave Balon) 19:25 – Earl Ingarfield 1 (Andy Bathgate)	0 – 1 0 – 2 1 – 2 1 – 3 2 – 3 2 – 4	Dave Keon 1 (Dick Duff) – 6:53 Red Kelly 1 (Ron Stewart, Frank Mahovlich) – 0:24 Tim Horton 1 (Bob Pulford, Bob Nevin) (PP) – 14:22 George Armstrong 1 (Dick Duff) – 19:19
	11:55 – Harry Howell 19:12 – Larry Cahan min	Penalties	Al Arbour – 4:28 Bob Baun – 8:01 Dick Duff – 13:29 min
	26	Shots	27

Game 2

March 29

New York Rangers

1–2 0 – 0, 1 – 2, 0 – 0

Toronto Maple Leafs

Maple Leaf Gardens

Game reference
	Gump Worsley	Goalies	Johnny Bower	Referee: Vern Buffy Linesmen: Ron Wicks George Hayes
	12:42 – Earl Ingarfield 2 (Andy Bathgate, Dean Prentice) (PP)	0 – 1 1 – 1 1 – 2	George Armstrong 2 (Tim Horton, Dick Duff) (PP) – 9:37 Bob Pulford 1 (Bob Nevin, Ed Litzenberger) – 18:08
	11:08 – Harry Howell 15:24 – Harry Howell 7:48 – Jean-Guy Gendron min	Penalties	Bob Pulford – 0:34 Al Arbour – 2:47 Tim Horton – 12:01 Bob Baun – 15:20 min
	37	Shots	27

Game 3

April 1

Toronto Maple Leafs

4–5 1 – 0, 1 – 3, 2 – 2

New York Rangers

Madison Square Garden

Game reference
	Johnny Bower	Goalies	Gump Worsley	Referee: Eddie Powers Linesmen: Matt Pavelich Neil Armstrong
	5:59 – Tim Horton 2 (Dick Duff) (PP) 6:46 – George Armstrong 3 (Dick Duff) 4:47 – Red Kelly 2 (Tim Horton) (PP) 13:43 – Bob Pulford 2 (Bob Nevin)	1 – 0 1 – 1 2 – 1 2 – 2 2 – 3 3 – 3 3 – 4 3 – 5 4 – 5	Jean-Guy Gendron 1 (Andy Hebenton, Earl Ingarfield) – 1:25 Johnny Wilson 1 (Dave Balon) – 7:05 Johnny Wilson 2 (unassisted) – 19:50 Andy Hebenton 1 (Dean Prentice, Earl Ingarfield) – 5:02 (PP) Dave Balon 1 (Johnny Wilson, Rod Gilbert) – 8:17
	10:50 – Ed Litzenberger 14:38 – Eddie Shack 5:10 – Bob Pulford 8:38 – Eddie Shack 11:29 – Tim Horton 4:57 – George Armstrong 18:28 – Frank Mahovlich min	Penalties	Johnny Wilson – 4:45 Andy Bathgate – 7:43 Larry Cahan – 3:15 Camille Henry – 5:10 Rod Gilbert – 4:30 Harry Howell – 10:57 Larry Cahan – 18:28 min
	26	Shots	36

Game 4

April 3

Toronto Maple Leafs

2–4 0 – 2, 0 – 0, 2 – 2

New York Rangers

Madison Square Garden

Game reference
	Johnny Bower	Goalies	Gump Worsley	Referee: Frank Udvari Linesmen: Neil Armstrong Matt Pavelich
	11:56 – Bob Pulford 3 (Red Kelly, Allan Stanley) 16:22 – Bob Nevin 1 (Tim Horton, Frank Mahovlich)	0 – 1 0 – 2 1 – 2 1 – 3 2 – 3 2 – 4	Rod Gilbert 1 (unassisted) – 0:41 Rod Gilbert 2 (Johnny Wilson, Dave Balon) – 15:46 Dave Balon 2 (Rod Gilbert, Doug Harvey) – 14:03 Jean-Guy Gendron 2 (Andy Hebenton) – 19:30
	5:04 – Bob Pulford 9:45 – Eddie Shack 16:00 – Al Arbour 5:38 – Frank Mahovlich 8:37 – Allan Stanley 9:04 – Bob Pulford 9:15 – Eddie Shack 16:00 – Al Arbour 17:12 – Frank Mahovlich min	Penalties	Earl Ingarfield – 2:50 Pat Hannigan – 9:04 Larry Cahan – 16:34 min
	36	Shots	40

Game 5

April 5

New York Rangers

2–3 0 – 1, 1 – 1, 1 – 0, 0 – 0, 0 – 1

Toronto Maple Leafs

Maple Leaf Gardens

Game reference
	Gump Worsley	Goalies	Johnny Bower	Referee: Eddie Powers Linesmen: George Hayes Ron Wicks
	13:41 – Jean-Guy Gendron 3 (Ted Hampson) 12:31 – Earl Ingarfield 3 (Al Langlois, Rod Gilbert)	0 – 1 0 – 2 1 – 2 2 – 2 2 – 3	Ron Stewart 1 (Red Kelly) – 7:46 Frank Mahovlich 1 (Red Kelly) – 12:21 Red Kelly 3 (Frank Mahovlich) – 4:23
	8:32 – Vic Hadfield 19:41 – Al Langlois 4:16 – Earl Ingarfield 10:15 – Andy Bathgate min	Penalties	Dick Duff – 3:39 Allan Stanley – 8:32 Bob Nevin – 9:04 Frank Mahovlich – 4:16 Carl Brewer – 10:15 min
	59	Shots	41

Game 6

April 7

New York Rangers

1–7 1 – 3, 0 – 3, 0 – 1

Toronto Maple Leafs

Maple Leaf Gardens

Game reference
	Gump Worsley	Goalies	Johnny Bower	Referee: Frank Udvari Linesmen: Matt Pavelich Neil Armstrong
	18:21 – Andy Bathgate 1 (Jean-Guy Gendron, Harry Howell)	0 – 1 0 – 2 0 – 3 1 – 3 1 – 4 1 – 5 1 – 6 1 – 7	George Armstrong 4 (Dave Keon, Carl Brewer) – 9:36 Bob Pulford 4 (Ed Litzenberger) – 12:43 Dave Keon 2 (Tim Horton, Dick Duff) – 17:52 Dick Duff 1 (Allan Stanley, Tim Horton) – 3:17 Frank Mahovlich 2 (Tim Horton) – 5:01 Dick Duff 2 (George Armstrong, Dave Keon) (PP) – 17:34 Dave Keon 3 (Red Kelly, Dick Duff) – 9:53
	6:43 – Dave Balon 9:25 – Johnny Wilson 17:06 – Rod Gilbert 9:30 – Larry Cahan 11:54 – Irv Spencer min	Penalties	Carl Brewer – 18:45 Bob Pulford – 13:03 Ron Stewart – 3:55 Billy Harris – 11:54 min
	40	Shots	25

Final

Further information: 1962 Stanley Cup Finals

In the final, the Maple Leafs would defeat the defending champions in six games. It would be the first of three consecutive Stanley Cup wins by the Maple Leafs.

Playoff bracket

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

Awards

1961–62 NHL awards
Prince of Wales Trophy: (Regular season champion)	Montreal Canadiens
Art Ross Trophy: (Top scorer)	Bobby Hull, Chicago Black Hawks
Calder Memorial Trophy: (Best first-year player)	Bobby Rousseau, Montreal Canadiens
Hart Memorial Trophy: (Most valuable player)	Jacques Plante, Montreal Canadiens
James Norris Memorial Trophy: (Best defenceman)	Doug Harvey, New York Rangers
Lady Byng Memorial Trophy: (Excellence and sportsmanship)	Dave Keon, Toronto Maple Leafs
Vezina Trophy: (Goaltender of team with the best goals-against average)	Jacques Plante, Montreal Canadiens

All-Star teams

First Team	Position	Second Team
Jacques Plante, Montreal Canadiens	G	Glenn Hall, Chicago Black Hawks
Doug Harvey, New York Rangers	D	Carl Brewer, Toronto Maple Leafs
Jean-Guy Talbot, Montreal Canadiens	D	Pierre Pilote, Chicago Black Hawks
Stan Mikita, Chicago Black Hawks	C	Dave Keon, Toronto Maple Leafs
Andy Bathgate, New York Rangers	RW	Gordie Howe, Detroit Red Wings
Bobby Hull, Chicago Black Hawks	LW	Frank Mahovlich, Toronto Maple Leafs

Player statistics

Scoring leaders

Note: GP = Games played, G = Goals, A = Assists, PTS = Points, PIM = Penalties in minutes

Player	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	PIM
Bobby Hull	Chicago Black Hawks	70	50	34	84	35
Andy Bathgate	New York Rangers	70	28	56	84	44
Gordie Howe	Detroit Red Wings	70	33	44	77	54
Stan Mikita	Chicago Black Hawks	70	25	52	77	97
Frank Mahovlich	Toronto Maple Leafs	70	33	38	71	87
Alex Delvecchio	Detroit Red Wings	70	26	43	69	18
Ralph Backstrom	Montreal Canadiens	66	27	38	65	29
Norm Ullman	Detroit Red Wings	70	26	38	64	54
Bill Hay	Chicago Back Hawks	60	11	52	63	34
Claude Provost	Montreal Canadiens	70	33	29	62	22

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
Jacques Plante	Montreal Canadiens	70	4200	166	2.37	42	14	14	4
Johnny Bower	Toronto Maple Leafs	59	3540	151	2.56	31	18	10	2
Glenn Hall	Chicago Black Hawks	70	4200	185	2.64	31	26	13	9
Hank Bassen	Detroit Red Wings	27	1620	75	2.78	9	12	6	3
Lorne Worsley	New York Rangers	60	3531	173	2.94	22	27	9	2
Terry Sawchuk	Detroit Red Wings	43	2580	141	3.28	14	21	8	5
Don Head	Boston Bruins	38	2280	161	4.24	9	26	3	2
Bruce Gamble	Boston Bruins	28	1680	121	4.32	6	18	4	1

Debuts

The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1961–62 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs):

• Ed Westfall, Boston Bruins
• Pat Stapleton, Boston Bruins
• Pit Martin, Detroit Red Wings
• Red Berenson, Montreal Canadiens
• Vic Hadfield, New York Rangers
• Gerry Cheevers, Toronto Maple Leafs

Last games

The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1961–62 (listed with their last team):

• Dollard St. Laurent, Chicago Black Hawks
• Leo Labine, Detroit Red Wings
• Marcel Bonin, Montreal Canadiens
• Johnny Wilson, New York Rangers
• Bert Olmstead, Toronto Maple Leafs

See also

• List of Stanley Cup champions
• National Hockey League All-Star Game
• 1961 in sports
• 1962 in sports

References

Notes

External links

• Hockey Database
• NHL.com