The 1959–60 NHL season was the 43rd

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

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 ...

were the Stanley Cup winners as they defeated 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 ...

four games to none for their fifth straight

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 ...

Regular season

This regular season, like the two preceding it and the two following it, belonged to the

, who were in the midst of five straight first overall finishes and at the tail end of five straight

victories. 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 ...

, who were dead last and missed the playoffs the previous season, squeaked into the playoffs by riding a

Hart Memorial Trophy The Hart Memorial Trophy, originally known as the Hart Trophy, is an annual award for the most valuable player in the National Hockey League (NHL), voted by the members of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association. The original trophy was dona ...

performance by their ageless star right-winger,

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 ...

. The season was marked by important changes in the NHL, as Canadiens goaltender

Jacques Plante Joseph Jacques Omer Plante (; January 17, 1929 – February 27, 1986) was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender. During a career lasting from 1947 to 1975, he was considered to be one of the most important innovators in hockey. He played ...

, like Clint Benedict before him, began to wear a mask in hockey games. Plante, who had

asthma Asthma is a long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wheezing, co ...

-related problems throughout his career, first began wearing a mask in practice shortly after a sinus operation in

1957 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, the 57th year of the 20th century, and the 8th year ...

. On November 1, 1959, Plante's nose was broken by a shot from

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its ho ...

right-winger

Andy Bathgate Andrew James Bathgate (August 28, 1932 – February 26, 2016) was a Canadian professional ice hockey right wing who played 17 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the New York Rangers, Toronto Maple Leafs, Detroit Red Wings and Pittsbu ...

. After being stitched up, Plante insisted on wearing a mask for the remainder of the game. Montreal coach Toe Blake was bitterly opposed to the idea, but did not have a backup goaltender and relented after Plante said he would not return to the ice without a mask. Although many in the NHL disapproved of Plante's decision due to NHL tradition at the time, many followed suit after Plante went undefeated in ten games with the mask on. Phil Watson suffered an ulcer and was quietly dismissed as Ranger coach and replaced by

Alf Pike Alfred George Pike (September 15, 1917 – March 1, 2009) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who spent six National Hockey League (NHL) seasons with the New York Rangers between 1939 and 1947. Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, he was a prod ...

Gump Worsley Lorne John "Gump" Worsley (May 14, 1929 – January 26, 2007) was a professional ice hockey goaltender. Born and raised in Montreal, Quebec, 'Gump' was given his nickname because friends thought he looked like comic-strip character Andy Gump. ...

was demoted to the

Springfield Indians The Springfield Indians were a minor professional ice hockey franchise, originally based in West Springfield, Massachusetts and later Springfield, Massachusetts. The Indians were founding members of the American Hockey League. They were in exi ...

of the AHL and Worsley screamed he was finished with hockey, but reported to Springfield anyway. Indians owner

Eddie Shore Edward William Shore (November 23, 1902 – March 16, 1985) was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman, principally for the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League, and the longtime owner of the Springfield Indians of the American ...

, known for his criticism of his players, gave Worsley a surprise vote of confidence. Gump played well for the Indians. There was trouble brewing for Rangers right-winger

, who had ripped open Plante's nose on the night of the goalie mask's official NHL debut. In a January 1960 True Magazine article ghosted by Dave Anderson, the defending league MVP listed the names of players whom he considered guilty of the dangerous act of spearing. This was brought to the attention of NHL President

Clarence Campbell Clarence Sutherland Campbell, (July 9, 1905 – June 24, 1984) was a Canadian ice hockey executive, referee, and soldier. He refereed in the National Hockey League (NHL) during the 1930s, served in the Canadian Army during World War II, th ...

, who fined Bathgate $500 and Ranger general manager

Muzz Patrick Frederick Murray "Muzz" Patrick (June 28, 1915 – July 27, 1998) was a Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and general manager. He played in the National Hockey League with the New York Rangers from 1938 to 1941, and then from 1945 to 1946. He wa ...

$100 on the grounds the article was prejudicial to and against the welfare of the league. After being demoted to Springfield, Gump Worsley was brought back up as Marcel Paille was even worse in goal for New York. Gump and the Rangers beat the Canadiens 8–3 in his first game back on January 3, but on January 21, Montreal bombed Worsley 11-2. Later against 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 ...

, Worsley suffered an injury that finished him for the season; Hawks' winger

Bobby Hull Robert Marvin Hull OC (born January 3, 1939) is a Canadian former ice hockey player who is regarded as one of the greatest players of all time. His blonde hair, skating speed, end-to-end rushes, and ability to shoot the puck at very high velo ...

skated over his catching glove and severed two tendons in his fingers.

Al Rollins Elwin Ira Rollins (October 9, 1926 – July 27, 1996) was a professional Canadian ice hockey goaltender who played for the Chicago Black Hawks, New York Rangers and the Toronto Maple Leafs. Playing career Before joining the NHL, Rollins playe ...

was called up to replace him. Later, Olympic hero Jack McCartan played a few games for the Rangers, acquitting himself very well. The

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making ...

narrowly missed the playoffs despite a flurry of offense, sparked by the "Uke Line" of

Johnny Bucyk John Paul Bucyk (born May 12, 1935) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger and member of the Hockey Hall of Fame. Having played most of his career with the Boston Bruins, he has been associated in one capacity or another with th ...

Vic Stasiuk Victor John Stasiuk (born May 23, 1929) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger and a former NHL head coach. Biography Stasiuk played junior hockey in his native Lethbridge, Alberta before signing with the Chicago Black Hawks. He ...

, and

Bronco Horvath Bronco Joseph Horvath (March 12, 1930 – December 17, 2019) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played 434 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) between 1955 and 1968. Early life Horvath was born to an ethnic Hungarian family ...

. Horvath finished a close second to Chicago's Bobby Hull in the scoring race and was named to the Second All-Star Team. Slick centre

Don McKenney Donald Hamilton McKenney (April 30, 1934 – December 19, 2022) was a Canadian ice hockey forward and coach. He played in the National Hockey League between 1954 and 1968 with five teams, mostly with the Boston Bruins. After retiring he worked ...

led the NHL in assists while winning the Lady Byng Trophy and versatile Doug Mohns also contributed. 1959–60 saw two veteran Bruins, centre

Fleming MacKell Fleming David Mackell (April 30, 1929 – October 19, 2015) was a Canadian ice hockey forward who played with two Stanley Cup winners in his 13-season National Hockey League career. Playing career After a stage with St-Michaels, the Toronto Ma ...

and goaltender Harry Lumley, play their last campaigns before retirement. This season marked the first season of the

Original Six The Original Six () are the teams that comprised the National Hockey League (NHL) between 1942 and 1967. The six teams are the Boston Bruins, Chicago Black Hawks, Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers, and Toronto Maple Leaf ...

era during which every active player had played for Original Six teams only.

Ken Mosdell Kenneth "Kenny" Mosdell (July 13, 1922 – January 5, 2006) was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward. Mosdell played in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1941 to 1942, and 1944 to 1959, with the Brooklyn Americans, Montreal Canadiens, ...

, the last player to play for another team, retired the previous season.

Final standings

Stanley Cup playoffs

Montreal played the minimum number of games, 8, to win the

and in the process, became the last Cup winners in NHL history to go undefeated in the playoffs to date. After winning the Stanley Cup,

Maurice 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 ...

retired from the NHL as a champion.

Playoff bracket

Semifinals

(1) Montreal Canadiens vs. (3) Chicago Black Hawks

(2) Toronto Maple Leafs vs. (4) Detroit Red Wings

Stanley Cup Finals

Awards

won the Hart Trophy to become the first five-time winner of the Hart. In voting, he received 118 votes of a possible 180, twice as many as runner-up

. Howe was the last winner of the original Hart Trophy. The trophy was retired to the

Hockey Hall of Fame The Hockey Hall of Fame (french: Temple de la renommée du hockey) is a museum and hall of fame located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dedicated to the history of ice hockey, it holds exhibits about players, teams, National Hockey League (NHL) rec ...

and the NHL began presenting a new trophy, which was dubbed the ''Hart Memorial Trophy'' in its place. Hull won the Art Ross Trophy for the scoring championship, his first. Doug Harvey won the Norris Trophy for the fifth time, and the fifth time in the seven times it had been awarded. The Canadiens had the lowest goals against average, for the fifth consecutive time, and

was awarded his fifth Vezina Trophy. The Black Hawks'

Glenn Hall Glenn Henry Hall (born October 3, 1931) (aka Gunner Hall) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. During his National Hockey League career with the Detroit Red Wings, Chicago Black Hawks, and St. Louis Blues, Hall seldom missed ...

was named to the First All-Star team as goaltender.

All-Star teams

Player statistics

Scoring leaders

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

Leading goaltenders

''Note: GP = Games played; MIN = Minutes played; GA = Goals against; SO = Shut outs; AVG = Goals against average''

Coaches

*Boston Bruins: Milt Schmidt *Chicago Black Hawks:

Rudy Pilous Rudolph Pilous (August 11, 1914 – December 5, 1994) was a Canadian ice hockey player and coach, born in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Pilous won the Stanley Cup coaching the Chicago Black Hawks in 1960–61, and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame ...

*Detroit Red Wings: Sid Abel *Montreal Canadiens: Toe Blake *New York Rangers: Alfred Pike *Toronto Maple Leafs:

Punch Imlach George "Punch" Imlach (March 15, 1918 – December 1, 1987) was a Canadian ice hockey coach and general manager best known for his association with the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Buffalo Sabres. He is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, an ...

Debuts

The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1959–60 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs): * Dallas Smith, Boston Bruins * Bill Hay, Chicago Black Hawks *

J. C. Tremblay Joseph Henri Jean-Claude Tremblay (January 22, 1939 – December 7, 1994) was a Canadian ice hockey defenceman for the NHL Montreal Canadiens and the WHA Quebec Nordiques, notable for play-making and defensive skills. Playing career After an a ...

, Montreal Canadiens *

Dave Balon David Alexander Balon (August 2, 1938 – May 29, 2007) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player and coach. Balon played 14 seasons in the National Hockey League between 1959 and 1973 before multiple sclerosis led to his retirement. Playing ...

, New York Rangers * Ken Schinkel, New York Rangers

Last games

The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1959–60 (listed with their last team): *

, Boston Bruins *