1962–63 NHL season

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1962–63 NHL season
LeagueNational Hockey League
SportIce hockey
DurationOctober 10, 1962 – April 18, 1963
Number of games70
Number of teams6
TV partner(s)CBC, SRC (Canada)
None (United States)
Regular season
Season championToronto Maple Leafs
Season MVPGordie Howe (Red Wings)
Top scorerGordie Howe (Red Wings)
Stanley Cup
ChampionsToronto Maple Leafs
  Runners-upDetroit Red Wings
NHL seasons

The 1962–63 NHL season was the 46th season of the National Hockey League. Six teams each played 70 games. The Toronto Maple Leafs won their second Stanley Cup in a row as they defeated the Detroit Red Wings four games to one.

Regular season[]

Some diversionary news hit the sports pages the day of the All-Star Game when it was reported that Toronto had sold Frank Mahovlich to Chicago for $1 million and James D. Norris produced a cheque for the amount. On the advice of Conn Smythe, Leafs general manager and head coach Punch Imlach declined the deal, saying that a million dollars does not score goals, and Mahovlich would remain a Maple Leaf.

A serious incident took place on October 23 between the Montreal Canadiens and Chicago Black Hawks. A vicious stick-swinging duel took place between Gilles Tremblay and Reg Fleming that was said to be the worst since the Bernie Geoffrion-Ron Murphy fight in 1953. Both players received match penalties and $100 fines. Tremblay emerged with a bad cut on his head that required many stitches. Montreal coach Toe Blake had some caustic remarks for Fleming when he was leaving the ice, which almost resulted in another fight. The Canadiens and Black Hawks played to a 4–4 tie. President Clarence Campbell suspended both Tremblay and Fleming for three games.

Glenn Hall's consecutive game streak came to an end on November 8 when he suffered a pinched nerve in his back and he was relieved by Denis DeJordy in the first period of a game in which Hall's Black Hawks tied Boston 3–3. DeJordy played well in the next game as the Black Hawks beat the Canadiens 3–1.

Chicago was improving and moved into a first-place tie with Detroit when they blanked Boston 5–0 on November 29. Stan Mikita scored two goals and Bobby Hull had one. The same night, the Rangers shut out the Red Wings 5–0 as Gump Worsley played a fine game. Worsley was unlucky in his next game, however, as Chicago beat the Rangers 5–1. Worsley badly injured his shoulder and had to be replaced by Marcel Pelletier. Gump went to the hospital where he would have his shoulder in traction for ten days.

Andy Hebenton had the hat trick on December 16 as the Rangers beat Detroit 5–2 at Madison Square Garden. The game was spoiled by a brawl, the chief participants being Dave Balon, Bill Gadsby, Doug Barkley and Terry Sawchuk. All were fined.

Andy Bathgate got both goals when the Rangers tied Montreal 2–2 at the Montreal Forum on January 5. This was the tenth consecutive game in which he had scored. The streak was terminated when Jacques Plante blanked the Rangers 6–0 in New York.

Jean Beliveau scored his 300th NHL goal on January 26 when the Rangers beat the Canadiens 4–2 at the Forum. Goals had not come very fast this year, and he hinted that this might be his last season. The writers did not take him seriously, however. The next night, the Canadiens beat the Black Hawks 3–1 at Chicago Stadium and Beliveau scored a spectacular goal, giving a beautiful exhibition of stick-handling.

Bernie Geoffrion and Don Marshall were back on January 31, but the Canadiens lost 6–3 to Toronto at the Forum. Coach Toe Blake was not pleased with the officiating and was quoted in a French newspaper that referee Eddie Powers handled the game as if he had bet on the outcome. This attracted the attention of NHL president Clarence Campbell, who said the matter would be investigated. Later, Blake was fined $200 by Campbell. Powers considered the fine inadequate and submitted his resignation as a referee. He cited Red Storey when Campbell would not support decisions he made. Powers then sued Blake for libel.

Bobby Hull scored all three goals as Chicago beat Boston 3–1 on February 17. On the same night, Montreal beat Detroit 6–1 and Howie Young established a penalty record when he high-sticked a Canadiens player and then commenced a tantrum, which drew him a minor, a major, a misconduct and a game misconduct totalling 27 minutes. His season total was now 208 minutes in penalties. NHL president Campbell then tacked on a three-game suspension.

Detroit ousted the Rangers from the playoffs on March 3 with a 3–2 win.

Bernie Geoffrion was in trouble for an incident during a game on March 5 in which Montreal beat Detroit 4–3. Referee Vern Buffey had given Jacques Plante a penalty for slashing Howie Young and then a bench penalty when the Canadiens protested. Geoffrion threw his stick at Buffey and his gloves as well. Geoffrion was given a match penalty and President Campbell assessed Geoffrion a five-game suspension.

The career of the Canadiens' Lou Fontinato came to a tragic end on March 9 when he tried to check Vic Hadfield and instead was thrown headlong into the boards by the Ranger player. Fontinato lay motionless on the ice for some time before being carried off the ice on a stretcher and taken to Montreal General Hospital where the diagnosis was a fractured neck, a crushed cervical vertebra. He gradually recovered from his paralyzed condition, but would never play hockey again. Jacques Laperriere replaced Fontinato on the Canadiens defence.

It was quite a race for playoff positions, as five points separated fourth and first. Gordie Howe led the Red Wings and the NHL as he won his sixth and last Art Ross Trophy and Hart Trophy.

Final standings[]

National Hockey League[1]
GP W L T GF GA DIFF Pts
1 Toronto Maple Leafs 70 35 23 12 221 180 +41 82
2 Chicago Black Hawks 70 32 21 17 194 178 +16 81
3 Montreal Canadiens 70 28 19 23 225 183 +42 79
4 Detroit Red Wings 70 32 25 13 200 194 +6 77
5 New York Rangers 70 22 36 12 211 233 −22 56
6 Boston Bruins 70 14 39 17 198 281 −83 45


Playoffs[]

Playoff bracket[]

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

Semifinals[]

(1) Toronto Maple Leafs vs. (3) Montreal Canadiens[]

March 26 Montreal Canadiens 1���3 Toronto Maple Leafs Maple Leaf Gardens Recap  
No scoring First period 03:30 – Bob Pulford (1)
Jean Beliveau (1) – pp – 08:46 Second period 01:42 – Dick Duff (1)
05:35 – pp – George Armstrong (1)
No scoring Third period No scoring
Jacques Plante Goalie stats Johnny Bower
March 28 Montreal Canadiens 2–3 Toronto Maple Leafs Maple Leaf Gardens Recap  
Jean Beliveau (2) – 06:07 First period 06:54 – George Armstrong (2)
Terry Harper (1) – 06:14 Second period 03:15 – Allan Stanley (1)
16:35 – Dave Keon (1)
No scoring Third period No scoring
Jacques Plante Goalie stats Johnny Bower
March 30 Toronto Maple Leafs 2–0 Montreal Canadiens Montreal Forum Recap  
No scoring First period No scoring
Eddie Shack (1) – 13:14 Second period No scoring
Bob Pulford (2) – 14:16 Third period No scoring
Johnny Bower Goalie stats Jacques Plante
April 2 Toronto Maple Leafs 1–3 Montreal Canadiens Montreal Forum Recap  
Ron Stewart (1) – 06:12 First period No scoring
No scoring Second period 00:26 – Henri Richard (1)
14:00 – pp – Gilles Tremblay (1)
No scoring Third period 05:29 – pp – Gilles Tremblay (2)
Johnny Bower Goalie stats Jacques Plante
April 4 Montreal Canadiens 0–5 Toronto Maple Leafs Maple Leaf Gardens Recap  
No scoring First period 06:56 – pp – Dave Keon (2)
09:43 – Dick Duff (2)
10:11 – Ron Stewart (2)
No scoring Second period 16:37 – Dave Keon (3)
No scoring Third period 11:27 – Kent Douglas (1)
Jacques Plante Goalie stats Johnny Bower
Toronto won series 4–1


(2) Chicago Black Hawks vs. (4) Detroit Red Wings[]

March 26 Detroit Red Wings 4–5 Chicago Black Hawks Chicago Stadium Recap  
Marcel Pronovost (1) – 13:37 First period 09:08 – Bobby Hull (1)
15:02 – pp – Bobby Hull (2)
Vic Stasiuk (1) – 09:50 Second period 08:19 – pp – Ab McDonald (1)
12:50 – Eric Nesterenko (1)
16:46 – Bill Hay (1)
Alex Delvecchio (1) – 01:18
Gordie Howe (1) – 03:05 		Third period No scoring
Terry Sawchuck Goalie stats Glenn Hall
March 28 Detroit Red Wings 2–5 Chicago Black Hawks Chicago Stadium Recap  
Vic Stasiuk (2) – 10:54 First period 12:58 – pp – Bobby Hull
No scoring Second period 06:24 – Bill Hay (2)
16:45 – pp – Bill Hay (3)
Gordie Howe (2) – 10:51 Third period 01:56 – pp – Stan Mikita (1)
07:43 – pp – Ab McDonald (2)
Terry Sawchuck Goalie stats Glenn Hall
March 31 Chicago Black Hawks 2–4 Detroit Red Wings Olympia Stadium Recap  
Stan Mikita (2) – pp – 04:31 First period No scoring
Stan Mikita (3) – 17:33 Second period 10:36 – Gordie Howe (3)
19:40 – pp – Parker MacDonald (1)
No scoring Third period 06:02 – Alex Faulkner (1)
06:43 – Bruce MacGregor (1)
Glenn Hall Goalie stats Terry Sawchuck
April 2 Chicago Black Hawks 1–4 Detroit Red Wings Olympia Stadium Recap  
No scoring First period 12:34 – pp – Alex Faulkner (2)
Bobby Hull (4) – pp – 08:37 Second period 01:11 – pp – Gordie Howe (4)
18:20 – Andre Pronovost (1)
No scoring Third period 00:18 – Floyd Smith (1)
Glenn Hall Goalie stats Terry Sawchuck
April 4 Detroit Red Wings 4–2 Chicago Black Hawks Chicago Stadium Recap  
Floyd Smith (2) – 15:51 First period No scoring
Norm Ullman (1) – 04:53
Parker MacDonald (2) – pp – 19:05 		Second period 08:32 – Kenny Wharram (1)
15:17 ��� Bobby Hull (5)
Norm Ullman (2) – pp – 17:25 Third period No scoring
Terry Sawchuck Goalie stats Glenn Hall
April 7 Chicago Black Hawks 4–7 Detroit Red Wings Olympia Stadium Recap  
Bobby Hull (6) – 07:35 First period 05:43 – Parker MacDonald (3)
16:49 – pp – Norm Ullman (3)
Bobby Hull (7) – 03:53
Bobby Hull (8) – 14:34
Eric Nesterenko (2) – 17:43 		Second period 04:12 – Larry Jeffrey (1)
05:01 – Alex Delvecchio (2)
No scoring Third period 07:09 – Alex Faulkner (3)
10:46 – pp – Norm Ullman (4)
16:29 – Bill Gadsby (1)
Glenn Hall Goalie stats Terry Sawchuck
Detroit won series 4–2


Stanley Cup Finals[]

Main article: 1963 Stanley Cup Finals


April 9 Detroit Red Wings 2–4 Toronto Maple Leafs Maple Leaf Gardens Recap  
No scoring First period 00:49 – Dick Duff (3)
01:08 – Dick Duff (4)
14:42 – sh – Bob Nevin (1)
Larry Jeffrey (2) – 05:36
Larry Jeffrey (3) – pp – 08:05 		Second period No scoring
No scoring Third period 05:08 – Bob Nevin (2)
Terry Sawchuck Goalie stats Johnny Bower
April 11 Detroit Red Wings 2–4 Toronto Maple Leafs Maple Leaf Gardens Recap  
No scoring First period 05:31 – Ed Litzenberger (1)
18:42 – Ron Stewart (3)
Gordie Howe (5) – 01:32 Second period 00:49 – Bob Nevin (3)
08:55 – pp – Ron Stewart (4)
Gordie Howe (6) – 02:03 Third period No scoring
Terry Sawchuck Goalie stats Johnny Bower
April 14 Toronto Maple Leafs 2–3 Detroit Red Wings Olympia Stadium Recap  
Dave Keon (4) – 14:56 First period 00:33 – Vic Stasiuk (3)
Tim Horton (1) – 13:06 Second period 08:13 – Alex Faulkner (4)
13:39 – Alex Faulkner (5)
No scoring Third period No scoring
Johnny Bower Goalie stats Terry Sawchuck
April 16 Toronto Maple Leafs 4–2 Detroit Red Wings Olympia Stadium Recap  
No scoring First period 02:54 – Gordie Howe (7)
George Armstrong (3) – 01:17
Red Kelly (1) – 17:41 		Second period 02:38 – pp – Eddie Joyal (1)
Dave Keon (5) – 09:42
Red Kelly (2) – pp – 17:45 		Third period No scoring
Johnny Bower Goalie stats Terry Sawchuck
April 18 Detroit Red Wings 1–3 Toronto Maple Leafs Maple Leaf Gardens Recap  
No scoring First period 17:44 – sh – Dave Keon (6)
Alex Delvecchio (3) – 00:49 Second period No scoring
No scoring Third period 13:28 – Eddie Shack (2)
19:55 – sh – Dave Keon (7)
Terry Sawchuck Goalie stats Johnny Bower
Toronto won series 4–1


Awards[]

1962–63 NHL awards
Prince of Wales Trophy:
(Regular season champion)		 Toronto Maple Leafs
Art Ross Trophy:
(Top scorer)		 Gordie Howe, Detroit Red Wings
Calder Memorial Trophy:
(Best first-year player)		 Kent Douglas, Toronto Maple Leafs
Hart Memorial Trophy:
(Most valuable player)		 Gordie Howe, Detroit Red Wings
James Norris Memorial Trophy:
(Best defenceman)		 Pierre Pilote, Chicago Black Hawks
Lady Byng Memorial Trophy:
(Excellence and sportsmanship)		 Dave Keon, Toronto Maple Leafs
Vezina Trophy:
(Goaltender of team with the best goals-against average)		 Glenn Hall, Chicago Black Hawks

All-Star teams[]

First team   Position   Second team
Glenn Hall, Chicago Black Hawks G Terry Sawchuk, Detroit Red Wings
Pierre Pilote, Chicago Black Hawks D Tim Horton, Toronto Maple Leafs
Carl Brewer, Toronto Maple Leafs D Moose Vasko, Chicago Black Hawks
Stan Mikita, Chicago Black Hawks C Henri Richard, Montreal Canadiens
Gordie Howe, Detroit Red Wings RW Andy Bathgate, New York Rangers
Frank Mahovlich, Toronto Maple Leafs LW Bobby Hull, Chicago Black Hawks

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
Gordie Howe Detroit Red Wings 70 38 48 86 100
Andy Bathgate New York Rangers 70 35 46 81 54
Stan Mikita Chicago Black Hawks 65 31 45 76 69
Frank Mahovlich Toronto Maple Leafs 67 36 37 73 56
Henri Richard Montreal Canadiens 67 23 50 73 57
Jean Beliveau Montreal Canadiens 69 18 49 67 68
John Bucyk Boston Bruins 69 27 39 66 36
Alex Delvecchio Detroit Red Wings 70 20 44 64 8
Bobby Hull Chicago Black Hawks 65 31 31 62 27
Murray Oliver Boston Bruins 65 22 40 62 38

[2]

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 56 3320 138 2.49 22 14 19 5
Don Simmons Toronto Maple Leafs 28 1680 70 2.50 15 8 5 1
Glenn Hall Chicago Black Hawks 66 3910 166 2.52 30 20 15 5
Terry Sawchuk Detroit Red Wings 48 2781 117 2.52 21 17 7 3
Johnny Bower Toronto Maple Leafs 42 2520 109 2.60 20 15 7 1
Hank Bassen Detroit Red Wings 16 960 52 3.25 6 5 5 0
Gump Worsley New York Rangers 67 3980 217 3.27 22 34 10 2
Bob Perreault Boston Bruins 22 1320 82 3.73 3 12 7 1
Eddie Johnston Boston Bruins 50 2880 193 4.02 11 27 10 1

Coaches[]

Debuts[]

The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1962–63 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs):

Last games[]

The following is a list of players of note who played their last game in the NHL in 1962–63 (listed with their last team):

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.
  • Diamond, Dan, ed. (2000). Total Hockey. Kingston, NY: 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, 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.
Notes
  1. ^ "1962–1963 Division Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". National Hockey League.
  2. ^ Dinger 2011, p. 149.

External links[]

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