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1960–61 NHL season

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1960–61 NHL season
LeagueNational Hockey League
SportIce hockey
DurationOctober 5, 1960 – April 16, 1961
Number of games70
Number of teams6
TV partner(s)CBC, SRC (Canada)
None (United States)
Regular season
Season championMontreal Canadiens
Season MVPBernie Geoffrion (Canadiens)
Top scorerBernie Geoffrion (Canadiens)
Stanley Cup
ChampionsChicago Black Hawks
  Runners-upDetroit Red Wings
NHL seasons

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.

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

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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

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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.

Teams

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1960-61 National Hockey League
Team City Arena Capacity
Boston Bruins Boston, Massachusetts Boston Garden 13,909
Chicago Black Hawks Chicago, Illinois Chicago Stadium 16,666
Detroit Red Wings Detroit, Michigan Detroit Olympia 15,000
Montreal Canadiens Montreal, Quebec Montreal Forum 15,551
New York Rangers New York, New York Madison Square Garden 15,925
Toronto Maple Leafs Toronto, Ontario Maple Leaf Gardens 13,718

Regular season

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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

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National Hockey League[1]
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

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For the Montreal Canadiens, their defeat to eventual Stanley Cup champion Chicago Black Hawks in the first round ended two streaks (ten consecutive Finals appearances and five consecutive Stanley Cup wins). 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

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Semifinals Stanley Cup Finals
      
1 Montreal 2
3 Chicago 4
3 Chicago 4
4 Detroit 2
2 Toronto 1
4 Detroit 4

Semifinals

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(1) Montreal Canadiens vs. (3) Chicago Black Hawks

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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

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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

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Main article: 1961 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

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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

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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

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Scoring leaders

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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

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Leading goaltenders

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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

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Debuts

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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):

Last games

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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):

Broadcasting

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Hockey Night in Canada on CBC Television televised Saturday night regular season games and Stanley Cup playoff games. Games were not broadcast in their entirety until the 1968–69 season, and were typically joined in progress, while the radio version of HNIC aired games in their entirety.

In the U.S., CBS decided not the renew its agreement to continue airing Saturday afternoon regular season games in 1960–61, and the NHL would not be able to attract another American national network until the 1965–66 season.

See also

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References

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  • Coleman, Charles L. (1976), Trail of the Stanley Cup, Vol III, Sherbrooke, Quebec: 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.
  • Diamond, Dan, ed. (2000). Total Hockey. Kingston, New York: Total Sports. ISBN 1-892129-85-X.
  • 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, Massachusetts: 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, Illinois: 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: Pagurian Press. ISBN 0-684-13424-1.
Notes
  1. ^ "1960–1961 Division Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". National Hockey League.
  2. ^ Dinger 2011, p. 149.
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