1950–51 NHL season

National Hockey League season August 2023 1950–51 NHL season National Hockey League Ice hockey October 11, 1950 – April 21, 1951 Regular season 70 6 Season champion Detroit Red Wings Hart Memorial Trophy Milt Schmidt (Bruins) Gordie Howe (Red Wings) Art Ross Trophy Stanley Cup 1951 Stanley Cup Finals Toronto Maple Leafs Montreal Canadiens 1951–52 NHL season 1949–50 NHL season 1951–52 1949–50 NHL The 1950–51 NHL season was the 34th season of the National Hockey League. Six teams played 70 games each. The Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Montreal Canadiens four games to one for the Stanley Cup to win their fifth Cup in seven years. League business The league implemented a rule requiring all teams to provide an emergency goaltender for every game, for use by either team in case of illness or injury.Fischler Fischler Hughes Romain 2003 196 Regular season The biggest trade in NHL history at the time took place in July 1950 with Sugar Jim Henry, Gaye Stewart, Bob Goldham and Metro Prystai of Chicago going to Detroit for Harry Lumley, Black Jack Stewart, Al Dewsbury, Don Morrison and Pete Babando, an exchange of nine players altogether. Joe Primeau was named coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs with Hap Day kicked upstairs to assistant general manager. Toronto came flying out of the gate, undefeated in 11 games. Al Rollins had a great year, finishing with a 1.75 goals against average in 40 games. The Leafs had hoped to have Rollins share the Vezina Trophy with Turk Broda, but the league decided Rollins alone would be the recipient. The Leafs' .679 win percentage remains their all-time best for a season, despite the fact that they were second in the league standings behind Detroit. With the New York Rangers slumping this season, they hired a hypnotist, Dr. David Tracy, to help relax the team. The treatment remained in doubt and the Rangers lost to Boston November 12. Asked why the treatment didn't work, Dr. Tracy said that he should have worked with the goaltender (Chuck Rayner) as he wasn't relaxed enough. Montreal fans were excited when it was reported that two junior stars, Jean Beliveau and Bernie Geoffrion, would be given a trial in a December 16 game with the Rangers. The Canadiens played a 1–1 tie before 14,158 fans. Geoffrion scored the Canadiens goal in his debut. Chicago was in third place at mid-season when bad luck struck. Their captain, Black Jack Stewart, ruptured a disc in his back and had to undergo surgery. He was finished for the season and his career was in jeopardy. Aggravating things were injuries to Gus Bodnar and Bill Gadsby. The Black Hawks won only two games in the second half and finished last. In March, Rocket Richard ran into trouble in a game with Detroit. Richard was tripped and rose with a cut between the eyes. No penalty was called and Richard commenced an argument with referee Hugh McLean. He continued his argument too long and was given a misconduct penalty. Richard then skated to the penalty box and found Leo Reise of Detroit there to welcome him with derisive remarks which infuriated Richard, who then punched Reise, and when linesman Jim Primeau rushed to intervene, Richard took a poke at him and Richard was given a game misconduct. The Canadiens took a train to New York for a game against the Rangers, and the next morning, Richard encountered referee McLean and linesman Primeau in the lobby of the Picadilly Hotel. No punches were thrown, but Richard grabbed McLean by the tie and then Primeau intervened. Considerable profanity filled the air, but cooler heads separated the trio before fists could fly. NHL President Clarence Campbell took a dim view of the matter and fined the Rocket $500 for conduct prejudicial to the welfare of hockey. The Detroit Red Wings got hot in the second half, overtaking Toronto and finished in first place again, becoming the first team with more than 100 points. Gordie Howe led the NHL in goals, assists, and points while goaltender Terry Sawchuk won the Calder Memorial Trophy as the league's best rookie. Sawchuk set a record for most wins by a goalie, as he was in net for all 44 Detroit victories. Final standings Playoffs Playoff bracket The top four teams in the league qualified for the playoffs. In the semifinals, the first-place team played the third-place team, while the second-place team faced the fourth-place team, with the winners advancing to the Stanley Cup Finals. In both rounds, teams competed in a best-of-seven series (scores in the bracket indicate the number of games won in each best-of-seven series). Stanley Cup Finals Semifinals 1 Detroit 2 3 Montreal 4 2 Toronto 4 4 Boston 1 3 Montreal 1 2 Toronto 4 Semifinals (1) Detroit Red Wings vs. (3) Montreal Canadiens Montreal Canadiens Detroit Red Wings Montreal Forum Olympia Stadium March 27 3–2 4 1 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/mtl-vs-det/1951/03/27/1950030111#game=1950030111,game_state=final Butch Bouchard (1) – 13:35 12:15 – Gordie Howe (1) No scoring No scoring Bert Olmstead (1) – 09:08 01:10 – Leo Reise (1) Maurice Richard (1) – 01:09 No scoring Gerry McNeil Terry Sawchuck March 29 1–0 3 1 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/mtl-vs-det/1951/03/29/1950030112#game=1950030112,game_state=final No scoring No scoring No scoring No scoring No scoring No scoring Maurice Richard (2) – 02:20 No scoring Gerry McNeil Terry Sawchuck March 31 2–0 2 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/det-vs-mtl/1951/03/31/1950030113#game=1950030113,game_state=final No scoring No scoring No scoring Gordie Howe (2) – 16:23 No scoring Sid Abel (1) – 13:45 Gerry McNeil Terry Sawchuck April 3 4–1 2 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/det-vs-mtl/1951/04/03/1950030114#game=1950030114,game_state=final No scoring Leo Reise (2) – 08:40Metro Prystai (1) – 10:10 14:28 – pp – Elmer Lach (1) No scoring No scoring Gerry Couture (1) – 10:26Sid Abel (2) – 13:14 Gerry McNeil Terry Sawchuck April 5 5–2 1 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/mtl-vs-det/1951/04/05/1950030115#game=1950030115,game_state=final No scoring 01:09 – Sid Abel (3)14:27 – Gordie Howe (3) Billy Reay (1) – sh – 04:04Bert Olmstead (2) – pp – 11:48Bernie Geoffrion (1) – 17:51 No scoring Maurice Richard (3) – 14:45Calum MacKay (1) – 18:07 No scoring Gerry McNeil Terry Sawchuck April 7 2–3 1 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/det-vs-mtl/1951/04/07/1950030116#game=1950030116,game_state=final No scoring No scoring No scoring No scoring 06:49 – Billy Reay (2)09:39 – Maurice Richard (4)15:45 – Ken Mosdell (1) Sid Abel (4) – 07:31Gordie Howe (4) – 19:15 Gerry McNeil Terry Sawchuck Montreal won series 4–2 (2) Toronto Maple Leafs vs. (4) Boston Bruins Game two was the last Stanley Cup playoff overtime game to end in a tie. The game was played on a Saturday night and as game crept closer to midnight it had to be stopped due to city bylaws and the federal Lord's Day Act that were in effect at the time in Toronto.How City Curfews Used to Affect Toronto Sporting Events https://www.vice.com/en/article/how-city-curfews-used-to-affect-toronto-sporting-events/ March 30, 2017 August 11, 2020 These laws prevented businesses from operating on Sunday. Despite the second game ending in a tie, Boston set an NHL record for fewest goals scored in a six-game series, with a total of five. Boston Bruins Toronto Maple Leafs Boston Garden Maple Leaf Gardens March 28 2–0 1 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/bos-vs-tor/1951/03/28/1950030121#game=1950030121,game_state=final Lorne Ferguson (1) – 15:58 No scoring No scoring No scoring Woody Dumart (1) – 01:12 No scoring Jack Gelineau Al Rollins, Turk Broda March 31 1–1 1 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/bos-vs-tor/1951/03/31/1950030122#game=1950030122,game_state=final No scoring 03:47 – Bill Barilko (1) Johnny Peirson (1) – 09:26 No scoring No scoring No scoring No scoring No scoring Jack Gelineau Turk Broda April 1 3–0 2 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/tor-vs-bos/1951/04/01/1950030123#game=1950030123,game_state=final No scoring No scoring No scoring Cal Gardner (1) – 03:02Fern Flaman (1) – pp – 13:11 No scoring Max Bentley (1) – 05:30 Jack Gelineau Turk Broda April 3 3–1 2 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/tor-vs-bos/1951/04/03/1950030124#game=1950030124,game_state=final 07:50 – Dunc Fisher (1) No scoring No scoring Sid Smith (1) – pp – 12:17Max Bentley (2) – 14:33 No scoring Bill Barilko (2) – 14:08 Jack Gelineau Turk Broda April 7 1–4 2 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/bos-vs-tor/1951/04/07/1950030125#game=1950030125,game_state=final No scoring 19:38 – sh – Joe Klukay (1) No scoring 11:12 – Fleming MacKell (1) Bill Ezinicki (1) – 09:53 04:46 – Joe Klukay (2)09:15 – Ted Kennedy (1) Gord Henry Turk Broda April 8 6–0 2 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/tor-vs-bos/1951/04/08/1950030126#game=1950030126,game_state=final No scoring Ted Kennedy (2) – 10:16Joe Klukay (3) – 14:36 No scoring Fleming MacKell (2) – 12:42 No scoring Sid Smith (2) – 06:42Tod Sloan (1) – 09:42Joe Klukay (4) – 15:01 Gord Henry Turk Broda Toronto won series 4–1 Stanley Cup Finals 1951 Stanley Cup Finals Montreal Canadiens Toronto Maple Leafs Montreal Forum Maple Leaf Gardens April 11 2–3 1 2 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/mtl-vs-tor/1951/04/11/1950030211#game=1950030211,game_state=final Maurice Richard (5) – 15:27 00:15 – Sid Smith (3)15:42 – Tod Sloan (2) Paul Masnick (1) – 04:02 No scoring No scoring No scoring No scoring 05:51 – Sid Smith (4) Gerry McNeil Turk Broda April 14 3–2 1 1 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/mtl-vs-tor/1951/04/14/1950030212#game=1950030212,game_state=final Paul Masnick (2) – 03:44 No scoring Billy Reay (3) – 09:24 16:31 – pp – Sid Smith (5) No scoring 08:16 – pp – Ted Kennedy (3) Maurice Richard (6) – 02:55 No scoring Gerry McNeil Turk Broda April 17 2–1 1 2 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/tor-vs-mtl/1951/04/17/1950030213#game=1950030213,game_state=final 02:18 – pp – Maurice Richard (7) No scoring No scoring Sid Smith (6) – pp – 05:58 No scoring No scoring No scoring Ted Kennedy (4) – 04:47 Gerry McNeil Al Rollins April 19 3–2 1 2 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/tor-vs-mtl/1951/04/19/1950030214#game=1950030214,game_state=final 14:41 – Maurice Richard (8) Sid Smith (7) – 00:38 No scoring Howie Meeker (1) – 01:27 13:49 – Elmer Lach (2) No scoring No scoring Harry Watson (1) – 05:15 Gerry McNeil Al Rollins April 21 2–3 1 2 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/mtl-vs-tor/1951/04/21/1950030215#game=1950030215,game_state=final No scoring No scoring Maurice Richard (9) – 08:56 12:00 – Tod Sloan (3) Paul Meger (1) – 04:47 19:28 – Tod Sloan (4) No scoring 02:53 – Bill Barilko (3) Gerry McNeil Al Rollins Toronto won series 4–1 Awards + Award winners Prince of Wales Trophy:(Regular season champion) Detroit Red Wings Art Ross Trophy:(Top scorer) Gordie Howe, Detroit Red Wings Calder Memorial Trophy:(Best first-year player) Terry Sawchuk, Detroit Red WingsHart Trophy:(Most valuable player) Milt Schmidt, Boston BruinsLady Byng Memorial Trophy:(Excellence and sportsmanship) Red Kelly, Detroit Red WingsVezina Trophy:(Goaltender of team with best goals-against record) Al Rollins, Toronto Maple Leafs + All-Star teams First team   Position   Second teamTerry Sawchuk, Detroit Red Wings GChuck Rayner, New York RangersRed Kelly, Detroit Red Wings DJimmy Thomson, Toronto Maple LeafsBill Quackenbush, Boston Bruins DLeo Reise Jr., Detroit Red WingsMilt Schmidt, Boston Bruins CTed Kennedy, Toronto Maple Leafs Sid Abel, Detroit Red Wings (tied)Gordie Howe, Detroit Red Wings RWMaurice Richard, Montreal CanadiensTed Lindsay, Detroit Red Wings LWSid Smith, Toronto Maple Leafs Player statistics Scoring leaders Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points Player Team GP G A PtsGordie Howe Detroit Red Wings 7043 43 86Maurice Richard Montreal Canadiens 65 42 24 66Max Bentley Toronto Maple Leafs 67 21 41 62Sid Abel Detroit Red Wings 69 23 38 61Milt Schmidt Boston Bruins 62 22 39 61Ted Kennedy Toronto Maple Leafs 63 18 43 61Ted Lindsay Detroit Red Wings 67 24 35 59 Tod Sloan Toronto Maple Leafs 70 31 25 56Red Kelly Detroit Red Wings 70 17 37 54 Sid Smith Toronto Maple Leafs 70 30 21 51 Source: NHLDinger 2011 148 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 SOAl Rollins Toronto Maple Leafs 40 2373 70 1.77 27 5 8 5Terry Sawchuk Detroit Red Wings 70 4200 139 1.99 44 13 13 11Turk Broda Toronto Maple Leafs 31 1827 68 2.23 14 11 5 6Gerry McNeil Montreal Canadiens 70 4200 184 2.63 25 30 15 6Jack Gelineau Boston Bruins 70 4200 197 2.81 22 30 18 4Chuck Rayner New York Rangers 66 3940 187 2.85 19 28 19 2Emile Francis New York Rangers 5 260 14 3.23 1 1 2 0Harry Lumley Chicago Black Hawks 64 3785 246 3.90 12 41 10 3Marcel Pelletier Chicago Black Hawks 6 355 29 4.90 1 5 0 0 Coaches Boston Bruins: Lynn Patrick Chicago Black Hawks: Ebbie Goodfellow Detroit Red Wings: Tommy Ivan Montreal Canadiens: Dick Irvin New York Rangers: Neil Colville Toronto Maple Leafs: Joe Primeau Debuts The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1950–51 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs): Alex Delvecchio, Detroit Red Wings Bernie Geoffrion, Montreal Canadiens Jean Beliveau, Montreal Canadiens Dollard St. Laurent, Montreal Canadiens Danny Lewicki, Toronto Maple Leafs Last games The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1950–51 (listed with their last team): Joe Carveth, Detroit Red Wings Glen Harmon, Montreal Canadiens Wally Stanowski, New York Rangers Pat Egan, New York Rangers (last active New York American) Buddy O'Connor, New York Rangers Bill Barilko, Toronto Maple Leafs Johnny Peirson, Boston Bruins See also 1950–51 NHL transactions List of Stanley Cup champions 4th National Hockey League All-Star Game National Hockey League All-Star Game 1950 in sports 1951 in sports References Notes Bibliography Years of glory, 1942–1967: the National Hockey League's official book of the six-team era Diamond, Dan 1994 McClelland and Stewart Toronto, ON 0-7710-2817-2 Total Hockey Diamond, Dan Total Sports 2000 1-892129-85-X Dinger Ralph 2011 The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012 Dan Diamond & Associates 978-1-894801-22-5 Toronto, ON registration https://archive.org/details/nationalhockeyle0000unse_u6g5 Dryden Steve Century of hockey McClelland & Stewart Ltd. Toronto, ON 2000 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 Publications International Inc. 0-7853-9624-1 Lincolnwood, Illinois McFarlane Brian The Story of the National Hockey League Pagurian Press New York 1973 0-684-13424-1 registration https://archive.org/details/storyofnationalh0000mcfa External links Hockey Database NHL.com 1950 Category:1950–51 in American ice hockey by league Category:1950–51 in Canadian ice hockey by league