Larry Hillman

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Larry Hillman
1958 Topps Larry Hillman.JPG
Born (1937-02-05) February 5, 1937 (age 85)
Kirkland Lake, Ontario, Canada
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 180 lb (82 kg; 12 st 12 lb)
Position Defence
Shot Left
Played for Detroit Red Wings
Boston Bruins
Toronto Maple Leafs
Minnesota North Stars
Montreal Canadiens
Philadelphia Flyers
Los Angeles Kings
Buffalo Sabres
Cleveland Crusaders
Winnipeg Jets
Playing career 1955–1976

Lawrence Morley Hillman (born February 5, 1937) is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey defenceman and coach. He is one of the most travelled players in hockey history, having played for 15 different teams in his 22 professional seasons. He played in the National Hockey League between 1955 and 1973, and then in the World Hockey Association from 1973 to 1976. After retiring he spent parts of three seasons as a coach in the WHA. Hillman won the Stanley Cup four times during his playing career.

Playing career[]

Hillman started his career by playing one season for the Windsor Spitfires of the OHL in 1953. He split the next season between the Buffalo Bisons of the AHL and the Detroit Red Wings of the NHL. He won his first Stanley Cup Championship with Detroit in 1955. He became the youngest player to be engraved on the Stanley Cup. 18 years, 2 months, 9 days. (This is a record that cannot be broken under the current rules, as a player must be eighteen years old by September 15 to be eligible to play in the NHL that season.) Hillman left the Red Wings after 1957 and went to the Boston Bruins. His firs goal with Boston occurred on December 19, 1957 at Boston Garden in the Bruins' 3-3 tie with New York. He played two full seasons in Boston before being sent to their minor league team, the Providence Reds, for most of the 1960 season.

In 1961, Hillman went to the Toronto Maple Leafs where he continued to bounce from the minor leagues to the NHL and back. He played on four Stanley Cup winning teams in Toronto in 1962, 1963, 1964 and 1967. In between those cup wins he played parts of six season with the Rochester Americans and the Springfield Indians.

After the 1968 season, he signed with the expansion Minnesota North Stars who later traded Hillman to the Montreal Canadiens where he won his sixth and final Stanley Cup Championship. He is one of only 11 players in Stanley Cup history to win the Cup with three or more different teams.[1]

After Montreal, he played for the Philadelphia Flyers, Los Angeles Kings and Buffalo Sabres. Following the 1973 season, Hillman left the NHL for the WHA. He played two seasons for the Cleveland Crusaders. His final season was in 1976, playing for the Winnipeg Jets. Hillman took over as coach of the Jets in 1977, winning the Avco Cup in his rookie season. However, he was fired 61 games into the 1978–79 campaign.

Career statistics[]

Regular season and playoffs[]

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1952–53 Windsor Spitfires OHA 56 2 4 6 39
1953–54 Hamilton Tiger Cubs OHA 58 6 14 20 99 7 0 2 2 10
1954–55 Hamilton Tiger Cubs OHA 49 5 20 25 106 3 0 1 1 9
1954–55 Detroit Red Wings NHL 6 0 0 0 2 3 0 1 1 9
1955–56 Detroit Red Wings NHL 47 0 3 3 53 10 0 1 1 6
1955–56 Buffalo Bisons AHL 15 1 3 4 21
1956–57 Detroit Red Wings NHL 16 1 2 3 4
1956–57 Edmonton Flyers WHL 46 4 2 6 87 8 0 4 4 2
1957–58 Boston Bruins NHL 70 3 19 22 60 11 0 2 2 6
1958–59 Boston Bruins NHL 55 3 10 13 19 7 0 1 1 0
1959–60 Boston Bruins NHL 2 0 1 1 2
1959–60 Providence Reds AHL 70 12 31 43 159 5 0 1 1 4
1960–61 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 62 3 10 13 59 5 0 0 0 0
1961–62 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 5 0 0 0 4
1961–62 Rochester Americans AHL 26 1 14 15 16
1962–63 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 5 0 0 0 2
1962–63 Springfield Indians AHL 65 5 23 28 56
1963–64 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 33 0 4 4 31 11 0 0 0 2
1963–64 Rochester Americans AHL 32 1 18 19 48
1964–65 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 2 0 0 0 2
1964–65 Rochester Americans AHL 71 9 43 52 98 10 3 5 8 31
1965–66 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 48 3 25 28 34 4 1 1 2 6
1965–66 Rochester Americans AHL 22 2 20 22 34
1966–67 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 55 4 19 23 40 12 1 2 3 6
1966–67 Rochester Americans AHL 12 1 12 13 16
1967–68 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 55 3 17 20 13
1967–68 Rochester Americans AHL 6 0 1 1 0
1968–69 Minnesota North Stars NHL 12 1 5 6 0
1968–69 Montreal Canadiens NHL 25 0 5 5 17 1 0 0 0 0
1969–70 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 76 5 26 31 73
1970–71 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 73 3 13 16 39 4 0 2 2 2
1971–72 Los Angeles Kings NHL 22 1 2 3 11
1971–72 Buffalo Sabres NHL 43 1 11 12 58
1972–73 Buffalo Sabres NHL 78 5 24 29 56 6 0 0 0 8
1973–74 Cleveland Crusaders WHA 44 5 21 26 37
1974–75 Cleveland Crusaders WHA 77 0 16 16 83 5 1 3 4 8
1975–76 Winnipeg Jets WHA 71 1 12 13 62 12 0 2 2 32
WHA totals 192 6 49 55 182 17 1 5 6 40
NHL totals 790 36 196 232 579 74 2 9 11 36

Coaching record[]

Team Year Regular season Post season
G W L T Pts Finish Result
Winnipeg Jets 1977–78 80 50 28 2 102 1st in WHA Won Avco Cup
Winnipeg Jets 1978–79 61 28 27 6 62 3rd in WHA Fired
Total 141 78 55 8

Achievements[]

  • 1955 Stanley Cup champion (Detroit Red Wings)
  • 1964 Stanley Cup champion (Toronto Maple Leafs)
  • 1965 Calder Cup Champion (Rochester Americans)
  • 1967 Stanley Cup champion (Toronto Maple Leafs)
  • 1969 Stanley Cup champion (Montreal Canadiens)
  • 1976 Avco Cup champion (Winnipeg Jets)
  • 1978 Avco Cup champion (Winnipeg Jets) (Head Coach)

Personal[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Players on Stanley-Cup Winning Teams". Retrieved 2010-04-13.

External links[]

Preceded by Head coach of the original Winnipeg Jets
197779
Succeeded by
Retrieved from ""