The 1951–52 NHL season was the 35th

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

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 ...

won 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 ...

by sweeping 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 none.

League business

A long standing feud between Boston president Weston Adams and general manager

Art Ross Arthur Howe Ross (January 13, 1885 – August 5, 1964) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player and executive from 1905 until 1954. Regarded as one of the best defenders of his era by his peers, he was one of the first to skate with the puck ...

ended on October 12, 1951, when Adams sold his stock in Boston Garden to Walter Brown. The

Chicago Black Hawks (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, who had made the mammoth nine player deal the previous season, now decided to make the largest cash deal for players to this time by paying $75,000 for Jim McFadden, George Gee, Jimmy Peters, Clare Martin,

Clare Raglan Clarence Eldon "Rags" Raglan (September 4, 1927 – April 15, 2002) was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who played 100 games in the National Hockey League with the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Black Hawks between 1950 and 1953. The ...

and Max McNab. The NHL and the

Canadian Amateur Hockey Association The Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA; french: Association canadienne de hockey amateur) was the national governing body of amateur ice hockey in Canada from 1914 until 1994, when it merged with Hockey Canada. Its jurisdiction include ...

(CAHA) agreed to a January 15 deadline for professional teams to call up players from the CAHA's Major Series of

senior ice hockey Senior hockey refers to amateur or semi-professional ice hockey competition. There are no age restrictions for Senior players, who typically consist of those whose Junior eligibility has expired. Senior hockey leagues operate under the jurisd ...

. The agreement gave the NHL a source of emergency replacement players, and prevented teams in Canada from losing players during the Alexander Cup playoffs.

Rule changes

The league mandated that home teams would now wear a basic white uniform, while road teams will wear coloured uniforms. Before then, teams would often play with colored jerseys against each other, and with Television being in black white at the time, this helped viewers at home identify the two teams clearly. The goal crease is enlarged from to . The faceoff circles are expanded from a radius to a radius.

Regular season

Conn Smythe offered $10,000 for anyone who found Bill Barilko, missing since August 26. Barilko and Dr. Henry Hudson had left Rupert House on

James Bay James Bay (french: Baie James; cr, ᐐᓂᐯᒄ, Wînipekw, dirty water) is a large body of water located on the southern end of Hudson Bay in Canada. Both bodies of water extend from the Arctic Ocean, of which James Bay is the southernmost p ...

in the doctor's light plane for

Timmins, Ontario Timmins ( ) is a city in northeastern Ontario, Canada, located on the Mattagami River. The city is the fourth-largest city in the Northeastern Ontario region with a population of 41,145 (2021). The city's economy is based on natural resource ex ...

, after a weekend fishing trip and had not been found. For the fourth straight season, the Detroit Red Wings finished first overall in the National Hockey League.

Highlights

On November 25 in Chicago, Chicago goalie Harry Lumley hurt a knee. At age 46, trainer

Moe Roberts Morris "Maurice, Moe" Roberts (December 13, 1905 – February 7, 1975) was an American ice hockey goaltender with the Boston Bruins, New York Americans, and Chicago Black Hawks for periods between 1925 and 1951, spending the rest of his career in ...

, who played his first game in the NHL for Boston in 1925–26, played the third period in goal for Chicago and did not yield a goal. Roberts would stand as the oldest person to ever play an NHL game until

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 ...

returned to the NHL at age 51 in 1979.Goaltending Legends: Maurice "Moe" Roberts
/ref> Chicago was not drawing well and so they decided to experiment with afternoon games. It worked, as the largest crowd of the season, 13,600 fans, showed up for a January 20 game in which Chicago lost to Toronto 3–1. Elmer Lach night was held March 8 at the Forum in Montreal as the Canadiens tied Chicago 4–4. 14,452 fans were on hand to see Lach presented with a car, rowboat, TV set, deep-freeze chest, bedroom and dining room suites, a refrigerator and many other articles. On the last night of the season, March 23, 1952, with nothing at stake at Madison Square Garden, 3,254 fans saw Chicago's

Bill Mosienko William Mosienko (November 2, 1921 – July 9, 1994) was a Canadian professional ice hockey right winger who played 14 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Chicago Black Hawks. He is best noted for recording the fastest hat trick in ...

score the fastest hat trick in NHL history, 3 goals in 21 seconds. Lorne Anderson was the goaltender who gave up the goals to Chicago.

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 ...

also set a record with the fastest three assists in NHL history as he assisted on all three goals Mosienko scored. Chicago beat the New York Rangers 7–6.

Final standings

Playoffs

Detroit finished 8–0, sweeping the defending Stanley Cup champions Toronto (the first time in NHL history the cup champs were swept in the first round) and Montreal, the first time a team had gone undefeated in the playoffs since the 1934–35 Montreal Maroons. The Wings scored 24 goals in the playoffs, compared to a combined five goals for their opponents. Detroit goaltender Terry Sawchuk did not give up a goal on home ice during the playoffs.

Playoff bracket

Semifinals

(1) Detroit Red Wings vs. (3) Toronto Maple Leafs

(2) Montreal Canadiens vs. (4) Boston Bruins

Stanley Cup Finals

Awards

Player statistics

Scoring leaders

''Note: GP = Games played, G = Goals, A = Assists, PTS = Points, PIM = Penalties in minutes'' 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'' Source: NHL

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: Bill Cook *Toronto Maple Leafs:

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 ...

Debuts

The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1951–52 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs): * Leo Labine, Boston Bruins *

Real Chevrefils Real may refer to: Currencies * Brazilian real (R$) * Central American Republic real * Mexican real * Portuguese real * Spanish real * Spanish colonial real Music Albums * ''Real'' (L'Arc-en-Ciel album) (2000) * ''Real'' (Bright album) (2010 ...

, Boston Bruins *

Kenny Wharram Kenneth Malcolm Wharram (July 2, 1933 – January 10, 2017) was a Canadian professional ice hockey right winger who played 14 seasons in the National Hockey League, all with the Chicago Black Hawks, wearing number 17. He won a Stanley Cup in 1961. ...

, Chicago Black Hawks * Don Marshall, Montreal Canadiens * Dickie Moore, Montreal Canadiens *

Wally Hergesheimer Walter Edgar Hergesheimer (January 8, 1927 —September 27, 2014) was a Canadian ice hockey forward. Playing career In 1944 Hergsheimer lost the index and middle finger on his right hand due to an industrial accident. Hergesheimer started his ...

, New York Rangers * Eric Nesterenko, Toronto Maple Leafs *

Leo Boivin Leo Joseph Boivin (August 2, 1931 – October 16, 2021) was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman and coach who played 19 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL). He played for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins, Detroit Re ...

, Toronto Maple Leafs

Last games

The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1951–52 (listed with their last team): * Bobby Bauer, Boston Bruins *

Roy Conacher Roy Gordon Conacher (October 5, 1916 – December 29, 1984) was a Canadian professional ice hockey left winger who played 11 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Boston Bruins, Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Black Hawks. He was th ...

, Chicago Black Hawks * Jack Stewart, Chicago Black Hawks * Bep Guidolin, Chicago Black Hawks * Turk Broda, Toronto Maple Leafs * Bill Juzda, Toronto Maple Leafs

References

Sources

* * * * * *

External links

Hockey Database

NHL.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:1951-52 NHL season 1951–52 in American ice hockey by league 1951–52 in Canadian ice hockey by league