The 1950–51 NHL season was the 34th

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey sports league, league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranke ...

. The

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

defeated the

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

four games to one for the

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...

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.

Regular season

The biggest trade in NHL history at the time took place in July 1950 with Sugar Jim Henry, Gaye Stewart,

Bob Goldham Robert John "Golden Boy" Goldham (May 12, 1922 – September 6, 1991) was a Canadian ice hockey defenceman and broadcaster. He played two seasons for the Toronto Marlboros earning the name "Golden Boy". He was later called the "Second Goalie" be ...

and Metro Prystai of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

going to

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

for Harry Lumley, Black Jack Stewart,

Al Dewsbury Albert Percy "Dews" Dewsbury (April 12, 1926 – December 16, 2006) was a Canadian ice hockey defenceman. He played in the National Hockey League with the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Black Hawks between 1946 and 1956. He was born in Goderich, ...

, Don Morrison and

Pete Babando Pete or Petes or ''variation'', may refer to: People * Pete (given name) * Pete (nickname) * Pete (surname) Fictional characters * Pete (Disney), a cartoon character in the ''Mickey Mouse'' universe * Pete the Pup (a.k.a. 'Petey'), a character ...

, an exchange of nine players altogether.

Joe Primeau Alfred Joseph Francis "Gentleman Joe" Primeau (January 29, 1906 – May 14, 1989), was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. Playing career Born in Lindsay, Ontario, and raised in Victoria, British Columbia, Primeau moved to Toronto at an e ...

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 August "Gus" Bodnar (April 24, 1923 – July 1, 2005) was a Canadian professional ice hockey centre who was the Calder Memorial Trophy winner as the National Hockey League's rookie of the year for the 1943-44 season. He played 12 seasons in the ...

and Bill Gadsby. The Black Hawks won only two games in the second half and finished last. In March,

Rocket Richard Joseph Henri Maurice "Rocket" Richard (; ; August 4, 1921 – May 27, 2000) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played 18 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Montreal Canadiens. He was the first player in NHL hist ...

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 The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference, and are ...

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 Gordon Howe (March 31, 1928 – June 10, 2016) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. From 1946 to 1980, he played 26 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) and six seasons in the World Hockey Association (WHA); his first 25 seaso ...

led the NHL in goals, assists, and points while goaltender Terry Sawchuk won the

Calder Memorial Trophy The Calder Memorial Trophy is an annual award given "to the player selected as the most proficient in his first year of competition in the National Hockey League (NHL)." It is named after Frank Calder, the first president of the NHL. Serving as ...

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

The second seed Toronto Maple Leafs eliminated the fourth seed Boston Bruins in five games, and the third seed Montreal Canadiens upset the first overall Detroit Red Wings in six, setting up a Leafs – Canadiens

Finals, won by the Leafs 4–1.

Playoff bracket

Semifinals

(1) Detroit Red Wings vs. (3) Montreal Canadiens

(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. These laws prevented businesses from operating on Sunday.

Stanley Cup Finals

Awards

Player statistics

Scoring leaders

''Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points'' Source: NHL

Leading goaltenders

''Note: GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts''

Coaches

*Boston Bruins: Lynn Patrick *Chicago Black Hawks: Ebbie Goodfellow *Detroit Red Wings:

Tommy Ivan Thomas Nathaniel Ivan (January 31, 1911 – June 25, 1999) was a Canadian ice hockey coach and general manager. He served as a National Hockey League (NHL) head coach for the Detroit Red Wings from 1947 to 1954 where he won three Stanley Cups, ...

*Montreal Canadiens:

Dick Irvin James Dickinson "Dick" Irvin Jr. (or II) (July 19, 1892 – May 16, 1957) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player and coach. He played for professional teams in the Pacific Coast Hockey Association, the Western Canada Hockey League, and th ...

*New York Rangers: Neil Colville *Toronto Maple Leafs:

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 Alexander Peter "Fats" Delvecchio (born December 4, 1931) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player, coach, and general manager who spent his entire National Hockey League (NHL) career with the Detroit Red Wings. In a playing car ...

, Detroit Red Wings * Bernie Geoffrion, Montreal Canadiens * Jean Beliveau, Montreal Canadiens *

Dollard St. Laurent Joseph Dollard Herve St. Laurent (May 12, 1929 – April 6, 2015) was a Canadian ice hockey defenceman. Dollard started his National Hockey League career with the Montreal Canadiens in 1951. He would spend eight years in Montreal before bei ...

, Montreal Canadiens *

Danny Lewicki Daniel Vladimir Lewicki (March 12, 1931 – September 25, 2018) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. He played for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Chicago Black Hawks and New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL) in the 1950s and ear ...

, 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 Joseph Gordon Carveth (March 21, 1918 – August 15, 1985) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player in the National Hockey League with the Boston Bruins, Montreal Canadiens, and Detroit Red Wings between 1940 and 1951. He was born in Regin ...

, Detroit Red Wings *

Glen Harmon David Glen Harmon (January 2, 1921 – March 9, 2007) was a Canadian ice hockey defenceman who played for the Montreal Canadiens from 1942 to 1951. He was born in Holland, Manitoba and died in Mississauga, Ontario. Playing career Harmon's profes ...

, Montreal Canadiens *

Wally Stanowski Walter Peter Stanowski (April 28, 1919 – June 28, 2015) was a Canadian ice hockey defenceman. He was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Stanowski started his National Hockey League career with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1939. In 1941, he was a member ...

, New York Rangers * Pat Egan, New York Rangers (last active

New York American :''Includes coverage of New York Journal-American and its predecessors New York Journal, The Journal, New York American and New York Evening Journal'' The ''New York Journal-American'' was a daily newspaper published in New York City from 1937 t ...

) * Buddy O'Connor, New York Rangers * Bill Barilko, Toronto Maple Leafs * Johnny Peirson, Boston Bruins

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * * * * * *

External links

Hockey Database

NHL.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:1950-51 NHL season 1950–51 in American ice hockey by league 1950–51 in Canadian ice hockey by league