1950–51 NHL season

1950–51 NHL season
League	National Hockey League
Sport	Ice hockey
Duration	October 11, 1950 – April 21, 1951
Number of games	70
Number of teams	6
Regular season
Season champion	Detroit Red Wings
Season MVP	Milt Schmidt (Bruins)
Top scorer	Gordie Howe (Red Wings)
Stanley Cup
Finals champions	Toronto Maple Leafs
Runners-up	Montreal Canadiens
NHL seasons
← 1949–50 1951–52 →

The 1950–51 NHL season was the 34th season of the National Hockey League. The Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Montreal Canadiens four games to one for the Stanley Cup 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 of 1950 with Sugar Jim Henry, Gaye Stewart, Bob Goldham, and Metro Prystai of Chicago going to Detroit for Harry Lumley, Black Jack Stewart, Al Dewsbury, Don Morrison, and Pete Babando, an exchange of nine players altogether.

Joe Primeau 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 12th. 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 16th 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 and Bill Gadsby. The Black Hawks won only two games in the second half and finished last.

In March, Rocket Richard 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 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 led the NHL in goals, assists, and points while goaltender Terry Sawchuk won the Calder Trophy as the league's best rookie. Sawchuk set a record for most wins by a goalie, as he was in net for all of Detroit's 44 victories.

Final standings

National Hockey League	GP	W	L	T	Pts	GF	GA	PIM
Detroit Red Wings	70	44	13	13	101	236	139	566
Toronto Maple Leafs	70	41	16	13	95	212	138	823
Montreal Canadiens	70	25	30	15	65	173	184	835
Boston Bruins	70	22	30	18	62	178	197	656
New York Rangers	70	20	29	21	61	169	201	774
Chicago Black Hawks	70	13	47	10	36	171	280	615

Playoffs

The second seed Toronto Maple Leafs eliminated the fourth seed Boston Bruins in five games, and the third seed Montreal Canadiens upset first overall Detroit Red Wings in six, setting up a Leafs – Canadiens Stanley Cup final series, won by the Leafs 4–1.

Semi-finals

Boston Bruins vs. Toronto Maple Leafs

Date	Away	Score	Home	Score	Notes
March 28	Boston Bruins	2	Toronto Maple Leafs	0
March 31	Boston Bruins	1	Toronto Maple Leafs	1	OT1
April 1	Toronto Maple Leafs	3	Boston Bruins	0
April 3	Toronto Maple Leafs	3	Boston Bruins	1
April 7	Boston Bruins	1	Toronto Maple Leafs	4
April 8	Toronto Maple Leafs	6	Boston Bruins	0

¹ Note: March 31st game called after one overtime due to curfew

Toronto wins best-of-seven series 4 games to 1

Montreal Canadiens vs. Detroit Red Wings

Date	Away	Score	Home	Score	Notes
March 27	Montreal Canadiens	3	Detroit Red Wings	2	4 OT
March 29	Montreal Canadiens	1	Detroit Red Wings	0	3 OT
March 31	Detroit Red Wings	2	Montreal Canadiens	0
April 3	Detroit Red Wings	4	Montreal Canadiens	1
April 5	Montreal Canadiens	5	Detroit Red Wings	2
April 7	Detroit Red Wings	2	Montreal Canadiens	3

Montreal wins best-of-seven series 4 games to 2

Final

Montreal Canadiens vs. Toronto Maple Leafs

Date	Away	Score	Home	Score	Notes
April 11	Montreal	2	Toronto	3	OT
April 14	Montreal	3	Toronto	2	OT
April 17	Toronto	2	Montreal	1	OT
April 19	Toronto	3	Montreal	2	OT
April 21	Montreal	2	Toronto	3	OT

Toronto wins best-of-seven series 4 games to 1

Playoff bracket

	Semifinals					Finals
	1	Detroit Red Wings	2
	3	Montreal Canadiens	4
						3	Montreal Canadiens	1
						2	Toronto Maple Leafs	4
	2	Toronto Maple Leafs	4
	4	Boston Bruins	1

Awards

• Prince of Wales Trophy: Detroit Red Wings
• Art Ross Memorial Trophy: Gordie Howe, Detroit Red Wings
• Calder Memorial Trophy: Terry Sawchuk, Detroit Red Wings
• Hart Memorial Trophy: Milt Schmidt, Boston Bruins
• Lady Byng Memorial Trophy: Red Kelly, Detroit Red Wings
• Vezina Trophy: Al Rollins, Toronto Maple Leafs

All-Star teams

First team	Position	Second team
Terry Sawchuk, Detroit Red Wings	G	Chuck Rayner, New York Rangers
Red Kelly, Detroit Red Wings	D	Jimmy Thomson, Toronto Maple Leafs
Bill Quackenbush, Boston Bruins	D	Leo Reise, Detroit Red Wings
Milt Schmidt, Boston Bruins	C	Ted Kennedy, Toronto Maple Leafs Sid Abel, Detroit Red Wings (tied)
Gordie Howe, Detroit Red Wings	RW	Maurice Richard, Montreal Canadiens
Ted Lindsay, Detroit Red Wings	LW	Sid Smith, Toronto Maple Leafs

Player statistics

Scoring leaders

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

Player	Team	GP	G	A	Pts
Gordie Howe	Detroit Red Wings	70	43	43	86
Maurice Richard	Montreal Canadiens	65	42	24	66
Max Bentley	Toronto Maple Leafs	67	21	41	62
Sid Abel	Detroit Red Wings	69	23	38	61
Milt Schmidt	Boston Bruins	62	22	39	61
Ted Kennedy	Toronto Maple Leafs	63	18	43	61
Ted Lindsay	Detroit Red Wings	67	24	35	59
Tod Sloan	Toronto Maple Leafs	70	31	25	56
Red Kelly	Detroit Red Wings	70	17	37	54
Sid Smith	Toronto Maple Leafs	70	30	21	51

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

Player	Team	GP	MIN	GA	GAA	W	L	T	SO
Al Rollins	Toronto Maple Leafs	40	2373	70	1.77	27	5	8	5
Terry Sawchuk	Detroit Red Wings	70	4200	139	1.99	44	13	13	11
Turk Broda	Toronto Maple Leafs	31	1827	68	2.23	14	11	5	6
Gerry McNeil	Montreal Canadiens	70	4200	184	2.63	25	30	15	6
Jack Gelineau	Boston Bruins	70	4200	197	2.81	22	30	18	4
Chuck Rayner	New York Rangers	66	3940	87	2.85	19	28	19	2
Emile Francis	New York Rangers	5	260	14	3.23	1	1	2	0
Harry Lumley	Chicago Black Hawks	64	3785	246	3.90	12	41	10	3
Marcel Pelletier	Chicago Black Hawks	6	355	29	4.90	1	5	0	0

References

• (1994) in Diamond, Dan: 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. 
• (2000) in Diamond, Dan: Total Hockey. Total Sports. ISBN 1-892129-85-X. 
• (2011) The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Toronto, ON: Dan Diamond & Associates. ISBN 978-1-894801-22-5. 
• (2000) Century of hockey. Toronto, ON: McClelland & Stewart Ltd.. ISBN 0-7710-4179-9. 
• (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 (1973). The Story of the National Hockey League. New York, NY: Pagurian Press. ISBN 0-684-13424-1. 

Notes

External links

• Hockey Database
• NHL.com

National Hockey League seasons

1917–18 - 1918–19 - 1919–20 - 1920–21 - 1921–22 - 1922–23 - 1923–24 - 1924–25 - 1925–26 - 1926–27 - 1927–28 - 1928–29 - 1929–30 - 1930–31 - 1931–32 - 1932–33 - 1933–34 - 1934–35 - 1935–36 - 1936–37 - 1937–38 - 1938–39 - 1939–40 - 1940–41 - 1941–42 - 1942–43 - 1943–44 - 1944–45 - 1945–46 - 1946–47 - 1947–48 - 1948–49 - 1949–50 - 1950–51 - 1951–52 - 1952–53 - 1953–54 - 1954–55 - 1955–56 - 1956–57 - 1957–58 - 1958–59 - 1959–60 - 1960–61 - 1961–62 - 1962–63 - 1963–64 - 1964–65 - 1965–66 - 1966–67 - 1967–68 - 1968–69 - 1969–70 - 1970–71 - 1971–72 - 1972–73 - 1973–74 - 1974–75 - 1975–76 - 1976–77 - 1977–78 - 1978–79 - 1979–80 - 1980–81 - 1981–82 - 1982–83 - 1983–84 - 1984–85 - 1985–86 - 1986–87 - 1987–88 - 1988–89 - 1989–90 - 1990–91 - 1991–92 - 1992–93 - 1993–94 - 1994–95 - 1995–96 - 1996–97 - 1997–98 - 1998–99 - 1999–00 - 2000–01 - 2001–02 - 2002–03 - 2003–04 - 2004–05 - 2005–06 - 2006–07 - 2007–08 - 2008–09 - 2009–10 - 2010–11 - 2011–12 - 2012–13 - 2013–14 - 2014–15 - 2015–16 - 2016–17 - 2017–18 - 2018–19 - 2019–20 - 2020–21 - 2021–22 - 2022–23 - 2023–24

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