1960–61 NHL season
The 1960–61 NHL season was the 44th season of the National Hockey League. The Chicago Black Hawks defeated the Detroit Red Wings in the Stanley Cup Finals four games to two to win the Stanley Cup. It was the first series since 1950 with two American-based teams. It was Chicago's first Cup win since 1938; they would not win another until 2010.
| 1960–61 NHL season | |
|---|---|
| League | National Hockey League |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Duration | October 5, 1960 – April 16, 1961 |
| Number of games | 70 |
| Number of teams | 6 |
| Regular season | |
| Season champion | Montreal Canadiens |
| Season MVP | Bernie Geoffrion (Canadiens) |
| Top scorer | Bernie Geoffrion (Canadiens) |
| Stanley Cup | |
| Champions | Chicago Black Hawks |
| Runners-up | Detroit Red Wings |
Red Wings' forward Gordie Howe became the first player in NHL history to score 1,000 regular-season points. It took seven more seasons before the Montreal Canadiens' Jean Beliveau would match the feat.
League business
The original Hart Trophy was retired, as all its plaques were filled and its general condition had deteriorated. A new trophy was commissioned and the award was renamed the Hart Memorial Trophy.
Off-season
On September 15, 1960, Maurice "Rocket" Richard announced his retirement from hockey. During his career, he had led all scorers with a record 544 goals plus an additional 82 goals in the playoffs. Despite the league expanding the number of games in a season to 70 games from 50 since Richard's famous 50 goals in 50 games, Richard remained the only player to score 50 goals in a season, until this season.
Regular season
By this season, the Chicago Black Hawks were a strong team. They had an especially powerful defence, which had Pierre Pilote, Al Arbour, Jack Evans, and Elmer Vasko. Up front, youngsters Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita led the offense, and goaltender Glenn Hall was the Hawks' steady presence between the pipes.
It was reported that Eddie Shore, the great Boston Bruins defenceman and four-time league MVP from the 1930s, had been stricken with a heart attack, but was resting comfortably in a Springfield, Massachusetts hospital.
On October 13, the Canadiens routed the Rangers 8–4, with Bernie Geoffrion and Dickie Moore each scoring hat tricks.
Jack McCartan got his only NHL shutout for the New York Rangers by blanking the Black Hawks 2–0 on October 19. Chicago's Reg Fleming set a record with 37 penalty minutes in this game. They included three major penalties for battles with Dean Prentice, Eddie Shack, and John Hanna, a misconduct, and a game misconduct.
On December 1, the Canadiens, who had traded André Pronovost to Boston for Jean-Guy Gendron, defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 6–3 at the Montreal Forum. Gendron had a goal, but the main feature was the 21 penalties referee Frank Udvari had to call, including several majors in the third period. Henri Richard took on Frank Mahovlich, Dickie Moore squared off with Bob Pulford, and Marcel Bonin scrapped with Bobby Baun. Toronto general manager and head coach George "Punch" Imlach was in a bad mood following the game and said to the press among other things that Udvari and linesmen Loring Doolittle and George Hayes should have been picked as the three stars for the help they gave to Montreal. Imlach's comments were brought to the attention of NHL president Clarence Campbell, who fined the Leafs bench boss $200.
In the new year, Stan Mikita helped to spark Chicago. He scored two goals in a 3–2 win over the Rangers on January 4 and scored the winner when the Black Hawks beat Boston 4–3 the following night.
Former Canadiens defenceman Leo Lamoureux died in Indianapolis on January 11 at age 45.
Chicago defeated the Rangers 4–3 on March 8. New York goalie Gump Worsley pulled a hamstring muscle and Joe Shaefer replaced him with the score 1–1. The next night, the Rangers were eliminated from the playoffs as Bernie Geoffrion potted a hat trick in a 6–1 pasting by the Canadiens.
Toronto's Johnny Bower, who appeared on his way to winning the Vezina Trophy, strained a leg muscle and would have to take a rest. Cesare Maniago played in goal for the Leafs on March 16 and lost 5–2. It looked like two players, Toronto's Frank Mahovlich and Montreal's Bernie "Boom Boom" Geoffrion, were going to hit 50 goals, but Mahovlich ended up slumping near the end of the season and missed 50 by two goals. Geoffrion scored his 50th goal that night and got a wild ovation. He also added 45 assists and led the league in scoring.
Toronto played a 2–2 tie with the Rangers in their final game of the season and Bobby Baun was a victim of his own hard-hitting. Camille Henry of the Rangers ran into Baun and Henry's skate cut Baun in the neck. Baun returned for the third period, but after the game, while boarding the team bus, he began to gasp desperately. He groped for attention and waved his arms, and his teammates finally realized he was in trouble and rushed him to the hospital where an emergency operation was performed to permit breathing. Baun missed some action in the playoffs as the result of the injury.
Final standings
| GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | DIFF | Pts | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Montreal Canadiens | 70 | 41 | 19 | 10 | 254 | 188 | +66 | 92 |
| 2 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 70 | 39 | 19 | 12 | 234 | 176 | +58 | 90 |
| 3 | Chicago Black Hawks | 70 | 29 | 24 | 17 | 198 | 180 | +18 | 75 |
| 4 | Detroit Red Wings | 70 | 25 | 29 | 16 | 195 | 215 | −20 | 66 |
| 5 | New York Rangers | 70 | 22 | 38 | 10 | 204 | 248 | −44 | 54 |
| 6 | Boston Bruins | 70 | 15 | 42 | 13 | 176 | 254 | −78 | 43 |
Playoffs
For the Montreal Canadiens, two streaks came to an end. The Canadiens' streak of ten consecutive Finals appearances and five consecutive Finals wins came to an end with a defeat to eventual Stanley Cup champion Chicago Black Hawks in the first round. The Detroit Red Wings defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs in the other semifinal to set up an all-American final between Chicago and Detroit.
Playoff bracket
| Semifinals | Stanley Cup Finals | ||||||||
| 1 | Montreal | 2 | |||||||
| 3 | Chicago | 4 | |||||||
| 3 | Chicago | 4 | |||||||
| 4 | Detroit | 2 | |||||||
| 2 | Toronto | 1 | |||||||
| 4 | Detroit | 4 | |||||||
(1) Montreal Canadiens vs. (3) Chicago Black Hawks
| March 21 | Chicago Black Hawks | 2–6 | Montreal Canadiens | Montreal Forum | Recap | |||
| Tod Sloan (1) – 11:04 | First period | 02:53 – Bernie Geoffrion (1) | ||||||
| Pierre Pilote (1) – pp – 19:23 | Second period | 01:21 – Gilles Tremblay (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 03:23 – Claude Provost (1) 06:10 – Dickie Moore (1) 07:57 – Phil Goyette (1) 10:06 – pp – Jean-Guy Talbot (1) | ||||||
| Glenn Hall | Goalie stats | Jacques Plante | ||||||
| March 23 | Chicago Black Hawks | 4–3 | Montreal Canadiens | Montreal Forum | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Stan Mikita (1) – pp – 09:02 Kenny Wharram (1) – 13:18 |
Second period | 16:02 – Bernie Geoffrion (2) 18:36 – Henri Richard (1) | ||||||
| Bobby Hull (1) – 08:23 Ed Litzenberger (1) – 17:05 |
Third period | 10:26 – Phil Goyette (2) | ||||||
| Glenn Hall | Goalie stats | Jacques Plante | ||||||
| March 26 | Montreal Canadiens | 1–2 | 3OT | Chicago Black Hawks | Chicago Stadium | Recap | ||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 18:33 – Murray Balfour (1) | ||||||
| Henri Richard (2) – pp – 19:24 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third overtime period | 12:12 – pp – Murray Balfour (2) | ||||||
| Jacques Plante | Goalie stats | Glenn Hall | ||||||
| March 28 | Montreal Canadiens | 5–2 | Chicago Black Hawks | Chicago Stadium | Recap | |||
| Phil Goyette (3) – 04:02 Dickie Moore (2) – 17:57 |
First period | 04:24 – Dollard St. Laurent (1) | ||||||
| Bill Hicke (1) Dickie Moore (3) – pp – 14:18 |
Second period | 09:28 – Stan Mikita (2) | ||||||
| Bill Hicke (2) – 04:24 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Jacques Plante | Goalie stats | Glenn Hall | ||||||
| April 1 | Chicago Black Hawks | 3–0 | Montreal Canadiens | Montreal Forum | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Moose Vasko (1) – pp – 08:34 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Ab McDonald (1) – 13:17 Stan Mikita (3) – 15:40 |
Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Glenn Hall | Goalie stats | Jacques Plante | ||||||
| April 4 | Montreal Canadiens | 0–3 | Chicago Black Hawks | Chicago Stadium | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 01:15 – Bill Hay (1) 05:49 – pp – Bobby Hull (2) 15:58 – Eric Nesterenko (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Jacques Plante | Goalie stats | Glenn Hall | ||||||
| Chicago won series 4–2 | |
(2) Toronto Maple Leafs vs. (4) Detroit Red Wings
| March 22 | Detroit Red Wings | 2–3 | 2OT | Toronto Maple Leafs | Maple Leaf Gardens | Recap | ||
| Alex Delvecchio (1) – 00:14 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 02:20 – pp – Bob Nevin (1) | ||||||
| Howie Young (1) – 01:46 | Third period | 14:26 – Ron Stewart (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second overtime period | 04:51 – George Armstrong (1) | ||||||
| Terry Sawchuck | Goalie stats | Cesare Maniago | ||||||
| March 25 | Detroit Red Wings | 4–2 | Toronto Maple Leafs | Maple Leaf Gardens | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Marcel Pronovost (1) – 07:49 Leo Labine (1) – sh – 16:27 |
Second period | 04:04 – Billy Harris (1) | ||||||
| Gerry Melnyk (1) – 05:34 Vic Stasiuk (1) – 08:02 |
Third period | 09:49 – Frank Mahovlich (1) | ||||||
| Terry Sawchuck | Goalie stats | Cesare Maniago | ||||||
| March 26 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 0–2 | Detroit Red Wings | Olympia Stadium | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 04:51 – Gordie Howe (1) 06:13 – Val Fonteyne (1) | ||||||
| Johnny Bower | Goalie stats | Terry Sawchuck | ||||||
| March 28 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 1–4 | Detroit Red Wings | Olympia Stadium | Recap | |||
| Bert Olmstead (1) – pp – 12:52 | First period | 19:08 – pp – Leo Labine (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 11:20 – Gordie Howe (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 03:24 – Marcel Pronovost (2) 19:55 – Val Fonteyne (2) | ||||||
| Johnny Bower | Goalie stats | Terry Sawchuck | ||||||
| April 1 | Detroit Red Wings | 3–2 | Toronto Maple Leafs | Maple Leaf Gardens | Recap | |||
| Gordie Howe (3) – sh – 04:26 Len Lunde (1) – pp – 14:11 |
First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Al Johnson (1) – 05:27 | Second period | 16:11 – pp – Red Kelly (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 13:51 – Dave Keon (1) | ||||||
| Terry Sawchuck | Goalie stats | Johnny Bower | ||||||
| Detroit won series 4–1 | |
Stanley Cup Finals
Chicago defeated the Red Wings in six games to win their first Cup since 1938, and their last until 2010.
| April 6 | Detroit Red Wings | 2–3 | Chicago Black Hawks | Chicago Stadium | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 09:39 – pp – Bobby Hull (3) 10:10 – Kenny Wharram (2) 13:15 – Bobby Hull (4) | ||||||
| Len Lunde (2) – pp – 16:14 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Al Johnson (2) – 19:18 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Terry Sawchuck, Hank Bassen | Goalie stats | Glenn Hall | ||||||
| April 8 | Chicago Black Hawks | 1–3 | Detroit Red Wings | Olympia Stadium | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 08:10 – Howie Young (2) 17:39 – pp – Alex Delvecchio (2) | ||||||
| Pierre Pilote (2) – 00:41 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 19:22 – Alex Delvecchio (3) | ||||||
| Glenn Hall | Goalie stats | Hank Bassen | ||||||
| April 10 | Detroit Red Wings | 1–3 | Chicago Black Hawks | Chicago Stadium | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 11:54 – Stan Mikita (4) 14:19 – Ron Murphy (1) 18:16 – Murray Balfour (3) | ||||||
| Gordie Howe (4) – 09:28 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Hank Bassen | Goalie stats | Glenn Hall | ||||||
| April 12 | Chicago Black Hawks | 1–2 | Detroit Red Wings | Olympia Stadium | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Bill Hay (2) – 07:34 | Second period | 08:48 – pp – Alex Delvecchio (4) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 13:10 – Bruce MacGregor (1) | ||||||
| Glenn Hall | Goalie stats | Terry Sawchuck | ||||||
| April 14 | Detroit Red Wings | 3–6 | Chicago Black Hawks | Chicago Stadium | Recap | |||
| Leo Labine (3) – 02:14 Howie Glover (1) – pp – 15:35 |
First period | 09:36 – Murray Balfour (4) 10:04 – Ron Murphy (2) | ||||||
| Vic Stasiuk (2) – 18:49 | Second period | 16:25 – Murray Balfour (5) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 02:51 – pp – Stan Mikita (5) 07:02 – Pierre Pilote (3) 13:27 – Stan Mikita (6) | ||||||
| Terry Sawchuck | Goalie stats | Glenn Hall | ||||||
| April 16 | Chicago Black Hawks | 5–1 | Detroit Red Wings | Olympia Stadium | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 15:24 – pp – Parker MacDonald (1) | ||||||
| Reg Fleming (1) – sh – 06:45 Ab McDonald (2) – 18:49 |
Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Eric Nesterenko (2) – 00:57 Jack Evans (1) – 06:27 Kenny Wharram (3) – 18:00 |
Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Glenn Hall | Goalie stats | Hank Bassen | ||||||
| Chicago won series 4–2 | |
Awards
| 1960–61 NHL awards | |
|---|---|
| Prince of Wales Trophy: (Regular season champion) | Montreal Canadiens |
| Art Ross Trophy: (Top scorer) | Bernie Geoffrion, Montreal Canadiens |
| Calder Memorial Trophy: (Best first-year player) | Dave Keon, Toronto Maple Leafs |
| Hart Memorial Trophy: (Most valuable player) | Bernie Geoffrion, Montreal Canadiens |
| James Norris Memorial Trophy: (Best defenceman) | Doug Harvey, Montreal Canadiens |
| Lady Byng Memorial Trophy: (Excellence and sportsmanship) | Red Kelly, Toronto Maple Leafs |
| Vezina Trophy: (Goaltender of team with the best goals-against average) | Johnny Bower, Toronto Maple Leafs |
All-Star teams
| First team | Position | Second team |
|---|---|---|
| Johnny Bower, Toronto Maple Leafs | G | Glenn Hall, Chicago Black Hawks |
| Doug Harvey, Montreal Canadiens | D | Allan Stanley, Toronto Maple Leafs |
| Marcel Pronovost, Detroit Red Wings | D | Pierre Pilote, Chicago Black Hawks |
| Jean Beliveau, Montreal Canadiens | C | Henri Richard, Montreal Canadiens |
| Bernie Geoffrion, Montreal Canadiens | RW | Gordie Howe, Detroit Red Wings |
| Frank Mahovlich, Toronto Maple Leafs | LW | Dickie Moore, Montreal Canadiens |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bernie Geoffrion | Montreal Canadiens | 64 | 50 | 45 | 95 | 29 |
| Jean Beliveau | Montreal Canadiens | 69 | 32 | 58 | 90 | 57 |
| Frank Mahovlich | Toronto Maple Leafs | 70 | 48 | 36 | 84 | 131 |
| Andy Bathgate | New York Rangers | 70 | 29 | 48 | 77 | 22 |
| Gordie Howe | Detroit Red Wings | 64 | 23 | 49 | 72 | 30 |
| Norm Ullman | Detroit Red Wings | 70 | 28 | 42 | 70 | 34 |
| Red Kelly | Toronto Maple Leafs | 64 | 20 | 50 | 70 | 12 |
| Dickie Moore | Montreal Canadiens | 57 | 35 | 34 | 69 | 62 |
| Henri Richard | Montreal Canadiens | 70 | 24 | 44 | 68 | 91 |
| Alex Delvecchio | Detroit Red Wings | 70 | 27 | 35 | 62 | 26 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charlie Hodge | Montreal Canadiens | 30 | 1800 | 74 | 2.47 | 19 | 8 | 3 | 4 |
| Johnny Bower | Toronto Maple Leafs | 58 | 3480 | 145 | 2.50 | 33 | 15 | 10 | 2 |
| Glenn Hall | Chicago Black Hawks | 70 | 4200 | 176 | 2.51 | 29 | 24 | 17 | 6 |
| Hank Bassen | Detroit Red Wings | 34 | 2120 | 98 | 2.77 | 13 | 12 | 9 | 0 |
| Jacques Plante | Montreal Canadiens | 40 | 2400 | 112 | 2.80 | 23 | 11 | 6 | 2 |
| Terry Sawchuk | Detroit Red Wings | 38 | 2080 | 112 | 3.23 | 12 | 17 | 7 | 2 |
| Don Simmons | Boston Bruins | 18 | 1080 | 58 | 3.23 | 3 | 9 | 6 | 1 |
| Lorne Worsley | New York Rangers | 59 | 3473 | 191 | 3.30 | 20 | 29 | 8 | 1 |
| Bruce Gamble | Boston Bruins | 52 | 3120 | 193 | 3.71 | 12 | 33 | 7 | 0 |
Coaches
- Boston Bruins: Milt Schmidt
- Chicago Black Hawks: Rudy Pilous
- Detroit Red Wings: Sid Abel
- Montreal Canadiens: Toe Blake
- New York Rangers: Alfred Pike
- Toronto Maple Leafs: Punch Imlach
Debuts
The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1960–61 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs):
- Ted Green, Boston Bruins
- Chico Maki*, Chicago Black Hawks
- Bobby Rousseau, Montreal Canadiens
- Gilles Tremblay, Montreal Canadiens
- Rod Gilbert, New York Rangers
- Jean Ratelle, New York Rangers
- Cesare Maniago, Toronto Maple Leafs
- Dave Keon, Toronto Maple Leafs
Last games
The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1960–61 (listed with their last team):
- Willie O'Ree, Boston Bruins (First black player in the NHL)
- Fern Flaman, Boston Bruins
- Tod Sloan, Chicago Black Hawks
- Red Sullivan, New York Rangers
- Larry Regan, Toronto Maple Leafs
See also
References
- Coleman, Charles L. (1976), Trail of the Stanley Cup, Vol III, Sherbrooke, QC: Progressive Publications
- 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.
- Dowbiggin, Bruce (2008), The Meaning Of Puck: How Hockey Explains Modern Canada, Toronto: Key Porter Books, ISBN 978-1-55470-041-7
- Dryden, Steve, ed. (2000). Century of hockey. Toronto, ON: McClelland & Stewart Ltd. ISBN 0-7710-4179-9.
- Duplacey, James (2008), Hockey's Book of Firsts, North Dighton, MA: JG Press, ISBN 978-1-57215-037-9
- 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 (1969), 50 Years Of Hockey, Winnipeg, MAN: Greywood Publishing, ASIN B000GW45S0
- 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
- "1960–1961 Division Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". National Hockey League.
- Dinger 2011, p. 149.