1966–67 NHL season

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 defeated the Montreal Canadiens four games to two in the 1967 Stanley Cup Finals to win their thirteenth Stanley Cup in franchise history; to date this was the Leafs' last Stanley Cup victory.

1966–67 NHL season
LeagueNational Hockey League
SportIce hockey
DurationOctober 19, 1966 – May 2, 1967
Number of games70
Number of teams6
Draft
Top draft pickBarry Gibbs
Picked byBoston Bruins
Regular season
Season championChicago Black Hawks
Season MVPStan Mikita (Black Hawks)
Top scorerStan Mikita (Black Hawks)
Playoffs
Playoffs MVPDave Keon (Maple Leafs)
Stanley Cup
ChampionsToronto Maple Leafs
  Runners-upMontreal Canadiens

League business

President David Molson of the Canadian Arena Company announced that the Montreal Forum would undergo major alterations 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

Pos Team Pld W L T GF GA GD 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

Playoff bracket

Semifinals Stanley Cup Finals
      
1 Chicago 2
3 Toronto 4
3 Toronto 4
2 Montreal 2
2 Montreal 4
4 New York 0

(1) Chicago Black Hawks vs. (3) Toronto Maple Leafs

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 series 4–2

(2) Montreal Canadiens vs. (4) New York Rangers

Montreal swept the Rangers in four games.

Montreal won series 4–0

Stanley Cup Finals

Toronto won series 4–2

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 MikitaChicago Black Hawks7035629712
Bobby HullChicago Black Hawks6652288052
Norm UllmanDetroit Red Wings6826447026
Ken WharramChicago Black Hawks7031346521
Gordie HoweDetroit Red Wings6925406553
Bobby RousseauMontreal Canadiens6819446358
Phil EspositoChicago Black Hawks6921406140
Phil GoyetteNew York Rangers701249616
Doug MohnsChicago Black Hawks6125356058
Henri RichardMontreal Canadiens6521345528
Alex DelvecchioDetroit Red Wings7017385510

Source: NHL.[1]

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 HallChicago Black Hawks321664662.3819552
Denis DeJordyChicago Black Hawks4425361042.46221274
Charlie HodgeMontreal Canadiens372055882.60111573
Ed GiacominNew York Rangers6839811732.613027119
Johnny BowerToronto Maple Leafs271431632.6412932
Terry SawchukToronto Maple Leafs281409662.8115542
Roger CrozierDetroit Red Wings5832561823.35222944
Eddie JohnstonBoston Bruins3418801163.7082120

Coaches

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

  • Diamond, Dan, ed. (1994). Years of glory, 1942–1967: the National Hockey League's official book of the six-team era. Toronto, ON: McClelland and Stewart. ISBN 0-7710-2817-2.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Diamond, Dan, ed. (2000). Total Hockey. Kingston, NY: Total Sports. ISBN 1-892129-85-X.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Toronto, ON: Dan Diamond & Associates. ISBN 978-1-894801-22-5.
  • Dryden, Steve, ed. (2000). Century of hockey. Toronto, ON: McClelland & Stewart Ltd. ISBN 0-7710-4179-9.
  • Fischler, Stan; Fischler, Shirley; Hughes, Morgan; Romain, Joseph; Duplacey, James (2003). The Hockey Chronicle: Year-by-Year History of the National Hockey League. Lincolnwood, IL: Publications International Inc. ISBN 0-7853-9624-1.
  • McFarlane, Brian (1973). The Story of the National Hockey League. New York, NY: Pagurian Press. ISBN 0-684-13424-1.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
Notes
  1. Dinger 2011, p. 150.
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