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| Photo Credit: Vintage Detroit Collection |
10. Jack Gelineau (1949-50)
Gelineau grabbed the Calder Trophy as the backstop for
the Boston Bruins in 1949-50, winning 22 games while posting four shutouts and
a goals against average of 3.28 in 67 games. Despite this feat, Gelineau would
only play a total of two full-time seasons at the NHL level, getting 46 wins
with a 3.13 GAA in 143 games.
9. Larry Regan (1956-57)
Regan earned the 1956-57 Calder Trophy for the Boston
Bruins, thanks to his 14 goals and 19 assists. This would be the peak of
Regan’s playing career, however, as he played in just 280 total regular season
games with 41 goals and 95 assists before being out of the league after 1960-61.
Regan is more known for his post-playing career as a coach/general manager, heading
the Los Angeles Kings from their inaugural 1967-68 season until 1973-74.
8. Camille Henry (1953-54)
Henry captured the Calder as a member of the New York
Rangers in 1953-54, nabbing 24 goals and 15 assists. Despite the strong rookie
season, Henry was sent down to the minor leagues for most of the next couple
seasons, before rejoining the Rangers proper in 1957-58. Catching a second
wind, Henry significantly improved his output even compared to his
Calder-winning season, becoming a consistent 50-60 point scorer for the next
several years. His career-best season came in 1962-63, scoring 37 goals and 23
assists in 60 games played for exactly a point per game.
After leaving the Rangers, Henry reached the Stanley
Cup Finals twice, doing so with the Chicago Black Hawks (now Chicago
Blackhawks) in 1965 and the St. Louis Blues in 1969, but would come up short on
both occasions. He retired from playing early on in the 1969-70 season,
finishing his career with 279 goals and 249 assists for 528 points in 727 games
played, mostly with New York.
7. Ed Litzenberger (1954-55)
Litzenberger has a unique claim to fame amongst Calder
Trophy winners, as his 1954-55 Calder-winning campaign was split between two
different teams. After starting the year with the Montreal Canadiens,
Litzenberger was traded to the Chicago Black Hawks near the midway point of the
season. Even with the abrupt change in scenery, he still posted an impressive
23 goals and 28 assists. Litzenberger remained with the Black Hawks for the
majority of his career, getting a career-high 33 goals and 44 assists in
1958-59, though his only season with end-of-season All-Star consideration came
two seasons earlier with an even 32 goals and 32 assists.
While his offensive production dropped off in the second
half of his career, it would ironically feature by far the most postseason
success. In 1961, Litzenberger helped put a definitive end to the malaise which
had loomed over the Black Hawks throughout the previous decade, captaining the
team to a Stanley Cup title by taking down the Detroit Red Wings in the Finals.
However, with Litzenberger only scoring 10 goals during the regular season and
a lone assist during the six-game Finals, he was traded away in 1961-62 to the
very same Red Wings team (interesting trade partner choice), who in turn
flipped him a couple months later to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
While Litzenberger’s stats never really improved
again, his veteran leadership proved valuable as Toronto went on a run of three
straight Stanley Cups from 1962 to 1964. In the first of these, he defeated his
former team in the Black Hawks, before taking home the hardware against another
former team in Detroit the other two years. Litzenberger exited the NHL after
1963-64 as a four-time champion, claiming 178 goals and 238 assists for 416
points in 619 games (mainly for Chicago) along the way.
6. Ralph Backstrom (1958-59)
An incredibly underrated talent of the Canadiens’
dynasty years, Backstrom collected the Calder Trophy for Montreal in 1958-59 on
the strength of 18 goals and 22 assists. That same season, the Canadiens made
it back to the Stanley Cup Finals, seeking their fourth consecutive
championship. After being held to just one assist in the semifinals, Backstrom exploded
against the Toronto Maple Leafs, especially in the series-deciding game five. After
potting the opening goal of the contest, Backstrom went on to add three assists
as Montreal took care of business for their 11th championship in franchise
history. While Backstrom was now already a Stanley Cup winner at 21 years old,
this would, of course, be far from his last title with the Canadiens.
The 1960 playoff run saw the Canadiens get sweeps over
the Chicago Black Hawks in the semifinals and the Maple Leafs in the Finals itself,
with Backstrom having a three-assist showing in game three against Chicago. With
multiple Stanley Cup titles already under his belt, Backstrom had now
established himself as a consistent force in the Habs’ lineup. In 1961-62, he
had the best season of his NHL career offensively, setting career highs with 27
goals and 38 assists.
In 1965, Montreal reached the Finals once again, where
they would hold off the Black Hawks in seven games for Backstrom’s third career
Cup, capping off a season in which he crossed the 50-point mark for a second
time. The team ran it back the next year, sweeping Toronto in the semifinals as
Backstrom registered a goal and two assists in the four-game set. He and
Montreal took care of business against the Red Wings, winning the Finals in six
games to etch his name on the Stanley Cup for a fourth time.
While the Maple Leafs would get their revenge against
the Canadiens in the 1967 Stanley Cup battle, they bounced back big time in
1968. Facing the Boston Bruins in the opening round, Backstrom grabbed two
goals and two assists for a four-game sweep. Against the expansion St. Louis
Blues in the Finals, he scored a goal and an assist to help complete the sweep
and give himself a whole hand’s worth of Stanley Cup rings. With no reason to
stop there, the Canadiens easily made their way back to the Finals in 1969,
defeating the New York Rangers in the first round in a sweep as Backstrom
notched a goal and two assists. The series turned out to be a rematch with the
Blues, and predictably had similar results as the Canadiens again won it in
four games. Backstrom assisted on the game-winning goal in game four, along
with getting the opening goal of game two for his sixth career Stanley Cup.
After a shocking postseason miss in 1970, the
Canadiens traded Backstrom to the Los Angeles Kings midway through 1970-71. Although
the Kings were nowhere near Montreal’s caliber, Backstrom would put up his
strongest offensive numbers in years, scoring 23 goals and 29 assists in
1971-72 before netting 26 goals and 32 assists in 1972-73. However, the latter
season wasn’t entirely spent in Los Angeles, as he was moved to the Black Hawks
at the trade deadline. Although he clearly had plenty left in the tank,
Backstrom’s NHL career came to an end after the 1972-73 campaign, with him
jumping ship to the newly formed World Hockey Association. Backstrom would play
in the WHA through the 1976-77 season, wrapping up his NHL time with 278 goals
and 361 assists for 639 points in 1,032 games played. This was in addition to
his six Stanley Cup championships, all of which with the Canadiens.
5. Frank Mahovlich (1957-58)
Mahovlich secured the 1957-58 Calder as a member of
the Toronto Maple Leafs, getting 20 goals and 16 assists on the year. While the
Maple Leafs had a rare playoff miss that year, they made it to the Finals in
each of the next two seasons, but Mahovlich and company were unable to solve
the Montreal Canadiens either time. After three seasons of solid play at the
NHL level, Mahovlich had his breakthrough campaign in 1960-61. There, he more
than doubled his previous career goal total with 48, adding 36 assists as well
to take a first-team All-Star nomination.
Now that Mahovlich had officially arrived, he put
together another impressive season in 1961-62 with 33 goals and 38 helpers to
collect a second-team All-Star nod. Mahovlich also had a major impact on Toronto
in that year’s Finals, scoring four goals and three assists against the Chicago
Black Hawks, including getting two goals and two assists in game five. The
third time would indeed prove to be the charm for Mahovlich, as the Maple Leafs
won the series in six games for his first of many Stanley Cups.
Mahovlich posted similar stats the following season, nabbing
36 goals and 37 assists to claim his second first-team All-Star selection. The
Leafs qualified for the postseason with the best record in the league and although
Mahovlich was held to just two assists during the 1963 playoff run, Toronto
still handled the Detroit Red Wings in the Final with a five-game triumph. The
now two-time champ kept the momentum going in 1963-64, contributing 26 goals
and 29 assists for another second-team All-Star. Still, Mahovlich saved his
best for the playoffs, leading the entire postseason field with 11 assists. After
surviving the Canadiens in the semifinals, the Red Wings proved even more
daunting this time around. Mahovlich scored a pair of two-assist games, including
the decisive game seven. The Maple Leafs ultimately came out on top against the
Red Wings, giving Mahovlich his third Stanley Cup ring.
In both 1964-65 and 1965-66, Mahovlich was a
second-team All-Star again, securing 23 goals and 28 assists in the former and
32 goals with 24 assists in the latter. In 1966-67, however, his regular season
scoring took a bit of a dip, scoring less than 50 points for the first time in
seven seasons, but the Maple Leafs qualified for the playoffs again
nonetheless. The opening round against the Black Hawks saw him have an
impressive three-assist performance in game four, on the way to another Finals
date with the Canadiens. Mahovlich was limited to two assists in the Finals,
but the Maple Leafs came out on top, defeating their arch-rival in six games.
Of course, 1967 remains the most recent championship for the Maple Leafs, and
it would also be Mahovlich’s last full season with the franchise.
Near the end of the 1967-68 campaign, Mahovlich was
involved in a massive eight-player trade which sent him to the Red Wings.
Interestingly, the deal did not pay immediate dividends for either side, with
both Toronto and Detroit missing the playoffs that season. However, Mahovlich quickly
embraced the change of scenery, as 1968-69 saw him score a career-high 49 goals
to go along with 29 assists for another second-team All-Star nod. He would
repeat as a second-team All-Star in 1969-70, adding 38 goals and 32 assists for
the red and white.
For 1970-71, Mahovlich was off to another strong
start, but found himself on the move once again. This time, he was traded to
the Canadiens midway through the year, and immediately showed that Montreal had
made the right choice. With the Canadiens looking to bounce back from their playoff
miss a year earlier with a strong run in 1971, Mahovlich dominated the
postseason, leading in both goals and points on the way to another Finals
appearance. In a seven-game bout with Chicago, Mahovlich put up two goals in
game three with a goal and two assists coming in game six, earning his fifth
Stanley Cup title and the 17th in the history of the Canadiens.
Now playing alongside younger brother Pete, Mahovlich
found himself right at home in Montreal. He crossed the 50-assist mark for the
first time in his NHL career in 1971-72, before claiming first-team All-Star
honors for the first time in over a decade in 1972-73 with 38 goals and a
career-high 55 assists. The Habs posted the best record in the league to easily
reach the playoffs, with Mahovlich just as much of a scoring threat there as he
was in the regular season. The Canadiens eventually made it all the way to the
Finals for a rematch against the Black Hawks. Mahovlich was remarkably
consistent throughout the series, scoring at least a goal and an assist in all
but one game of the six-game series. Naturally, Montreal emerged victorious,
allowing Mahovlich to add his name to the Stanley Cup for a sixth time. He had
another successful season with the team in 1973-74, but would leave the NHL
behind to join the WHA, playing in the upstart league until 1977-78. Mahovlich
retired as one of a few players at the time to reach 500 goals, getting 533 in
total along with 570 assists for 1,103 points in 1,181 games.
4. Gump Worsley (1952-53)
Worsley captured the Calder Trophy for 1952-53 with
the New York Rangers, grabbing 13 wins with a 3.02 goals against average in 50
games played. Even with this impressive introduction to the league, Worsley was
sent down to the minors for the next season before re-emerging in 1954-55. His
second year in the NHL was a significant sophomore slump, but Worsley would flip
a switch in 1955-56. Playing in all 70 games that season, he nabbed an
impressive .923 save percentage to become a finalist for the Hart Trophy, losing
in a tight three-way battle between himself, Toronto Maple Leafs veteran Tod
Sloan and Montreal Canadiens great Jean Beliveau.
After a somewhat underwhelming 1956-57 campaign,
Worsley returned to form in 1957-58- sort of. While he led the NHL with a .927
SV%, this was obtained in just 37 games as he missed a massive chunk of the
regular season due to injury. Three goalies in the then six-team league started
all 70 contests that season, though their final save percentages were all
significantly lower than Worsley’s. He got the net back full-time for the
Rangers going forward, but his next couple seasons were nothing to write home
about. Starting in the 1960-61 season, however, Worsley truly began to come
into his own.
That season, Worsley posted an impressive .913 save
percentage with 20 wins in 59 games, followed up in 1961-62 as he claimed 22
wins and a .912 SV% in 60 games played. Both save percentages were on par with that
of Chicago Black Hawks netminder Glenn Hall and Toronto goalie Johnny Bower,
both future Hall of Famers, though New York was unable to convert Worsley’s
strong play into postseason success. 1962-63 was more of the same in this
regard, as the Rangers missed the playoffs despite Worsley getting a .914 SV%
and 22 wins in a league-leading 67 games played. This wound up being Worsley’s
final season in the Big Apple, as he was abruptly traded due to his involvement
in what would become the NHL Players’ Association. However, in a twist of fate,
this would be the catalyst to Worsley making the transition from really good
goalie to future Hall of Famer, as the trade landed him with the Montreal
Canadiens.
As you’ve probably guessed by now, the Canadiens were
the team to beat in the late 1960s, though Worsley would have to wait his turn as
Charlie Hodge was holding down the net for Montreal at the time of the trade. In
1964-65, Worsley remained the backup as Hodge led the team to the playoffs, but
would be thrust into action shortly into the playoff run when Hodge sustained a
groin injury. He led the way past the Maple Leafs in the first round, before getting
the first two wins in the Finals against Chicago. Hodge returned to the lineup
in time to get the third victory, but went down again prior to the decisive
game seven. Despite being thrown into the fire for a second time, Worsley proved
that the moment wasn’t too big for him, collecting a 20-save shutout for his
first Stanley Cup title.
Worsley got the bulk of the starts for Montreal in
1965-66, earning 28 victories in 51 games with a .917 SV%. The team qualified
for the playoffs as the #1 seed, knocking off the Maple Leafs in a series sweep
in the opening round. Worsley started all four contests, including a shutout in
game two. In the Finals versus the Detroit Red Wings, Worsley recovered from an
early stumble to win it in six games, going back-to-back for the Canadiens’ 14th
championship in franchise history. The Cup came in addition to multiple
personal accolades for Worsley, who also claimed a second-team All-Star
nomination and his first Vezina Trophy. I must note that the Vezina Trophy
winner(s) at this time was determined by fewest goals allowed (similar to the
current Jennings Trophy) rather than the voting-based award it is today.
In 1967-68, Worsley missed a significant amount of
time with injuries, playing in just 40 games, but performed well in the games
he did play as he collected 21 wins and a .922 SV% along with a career-high six
shutouts. This gave Worsley his first and only first-team All-Star selection,
along with another Vezina which was shared with teammate Rogie Vachon. When the
playoffs rolled around, however, Worsley was the full-time starter once again
and immediately captured the opening series sweep against the Boston Bruins. The
Finals set the Canadiens up against the expansion St. Louis Blues, where
Worsley picked up a crucial shutout in a 1-0 win in game two on the path to
another series sweep and his third career championship.
Worsley dealt with the injury bug again in 1968-69,
appearing in just 30 games during the regular season, but returned in time to lead
Montreal into the playoffs. In the first round against his former club in the
Rangers, Worsley scored the win in three of the four matchups as the Canadiens
advanced in a sweep. After playing the first three games of the semifinals
against the Bruins, however, he sustained a hand injury which caused him to
miss the rest of the playoffs. Vachon took over in his absence and led the team
to back-to-back Cups once again. Although Worsley didn’t play in the Finals
itself, he was nonetheless credited with his fourth Stanley Cup title. The
injury and subsequent strong play by Vachon spelled the end for Worsley’s time
in Montreal, as he was traded away during the ill-fated 1969-70 season. He
finished out his career as a backup for the Minnesota North Stars and retired
after the 1973-74 campaign, claiming a total of 333 wins, 43 shutouts and a
2.87 goals against average in 860 games played.
3. Glenn Hall (1955-56)
Hall entered the fray for the Detroit Red Wings in
1955-56 and immediately showed that he would be something special, earning the
Calder and second-team All-Star honors with 30 victories, a .925 save
percentage and league-leading 12 shutouts while playing in all 70 games with
the team. Although they came up short in the Stanley Cup Finals that year, Hall
played just as well, if not better, in 1956-57. He improved his already stellar
save percentage to .928 while leading the NHL with 38 wins. He again played in
all 70 games, a feat he would accomplish in every season through 1961-62.
However, Hall wouldn’t be in the Motor City for long, as the Red Wings made one
of the all-time boneheaded trades, shipping him and fellow future Hall of Famer
Ted Lindsay out of town due to the pair’s interest in forming a players’ union.
The Red Wings would come to regret the trade in a quite direct manner just a
few years down the road.
With Hall now finding himself on the struggling
Chicago Black Hawks, he didn’t have the same stat totals he had been used to
with 24 victories and a .906 SV%, but was still named a first-team All-Star for
1957-58. After a turbulent 1958-59, Hall bounced back with an outstanding
1959-60 campaign to put an exclamatory end to Chicago’s miserable 1950s decade.
Hall posted an NHL-best six shutouts with 28 wins and a .918 SV%, winning
first-team All-Star for the third time and finishing as a finalist for the Hart
Trophy along with teammate and forward Bobby Hull.
Hall dominated throughout the 1960-61 season, collecting
29 wins, a .920 SV% and six shutouts to lead the league in that category once
again (in fact, he would end up leading the NHL in shutouts for four
consecutive seasons). Despite being the #3-seed in the playoffs, they upset the
Montreal Canadiens in the first round to thwart their attempt at a sixth
straight championship, before facing none other than the Red Wings in the
Finals. Hall started every game during the series and, while he was unable to
lock down a shutout, never allowed more than three goals in any of the six
games as the Black Hawks claimed their first Stanley Cup in 23 years. Hall had
the last laugh against his former team, taking a Stanley Cup ring in his second
attempt at the Finals.
Now nicknamed “Mr. Goalie”, Hall picked up a second
straight second-team All-Star nod in 1961-62 with 31 victories, a .914 SV% and
nine shutouts. He led the Black Hawks to another Finals appearance, but the
chance at the repeat was stopped by the Toronto Maple Leafs. In 1962-63, Hall
led in wins for the first time since joining Chicago, winning 30 games while
posting an NHL-leading .918 SV% in 66 games and five shutouts. This effort gave
him the first of three career Vezina trophies, going along with first-team
All-Star honors.
The good times continued to roll in 1963-64, as Hall
again led in wins with 34 with a career-best .930 SV% in 65 games for his fifth
career first-team All-Star award. While an injury forced him to miss about half
of the regular season in 1964-65, he still claimed a .923 SV% and returned in
time for the playoffs. In the first round, Hall again helped to eliminate Detroit,
but the Black Hawks were unable to seal the deal as the Canadiens took the
Finals in an exciting seven-game series. Undaunted, Hall secured another 34-win
campaign in 1965-66, leading in wins for the fourth time in his career, with a
.916 SV% to again receive a first-team All-Star nod. Injuries began to catch up
to Hall in 1966-67, as he was limited to 32 games, yet he was still good enough
to earn second-team All-Star with a .923 SV%. He also took the Vezina Trophy,
sharing it with teammate Denis DeJordy. However, this would be Hall’s final
chapter with the Black Hawks, as he was selected in the 1967 expansion draft by
the St. Louis Blues.
In his first year in St. Louis, Hall shared the net
with rookie Seth Martin and scored 18 wins with a .912 save percentage in 49
games. Once the playoffs got underway, though, the much more experienced Hall was
the Blues’ go-to throughout the postseason. He led the team to seven-game
series victories over the Philadelphia Flyers and Minnesota North Stars to
reach the Finals, but the Blues ran out of steam against Montreal. Even so,
Hall was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy for playoff MVP as he maintained a .916
SV% in the 18 games.
Hall stayed with the Blues in 1968-69, as the team
opted for a tandem with him and fellow goaltending legend Jacques Plante. Even
with playing in just 41 games, Hall amazingly led the league in shutouts for a
sixth time with eight, collecting 19 victories and a .928 SV%. This gave him
his seventh career first-team All-Star, along with a third career Vezina Trophy.
However, the team gave Plante the majority of starts throughout the 1969
playoff run, and though they swept Philadelphia and the Los Angeles Kings on
the way to another Finals appearance, the run would again end in a sweep at the
hands of the Canadiens. Hall retired after the 1970-71 season, claiming an
impressive 407 wins, 84 shutouts and a save percentage of .918. Hall also had a
record streak of 502 consecutive starts from 1955 to 1963, which stands to this
day and is largely considered unbreakable.
2. Bernie Geoffrion (1951-52)
After joining the Montreal Canadiens for their Stanley
Cup Finals appearance in 1951, Geoffrion made a name for himself in his
official rookie season of 1951-52, scoring 30 goals and 24 assists to guide the
Canadiens back to the Finals again. During the postseason, Geoffrion nabbed a
hat trick in the first round versus the Boston Bruins, but Montreal’s championship
run came to an end in the Finals as they were swept by the vaunted Detroit Red
Wings squad. Determined as ever, the Canadiens returned to the playoffs in
1953, but Geoffrion found an extra gear while facing the Chicago Black Hawks in
the first round. In the seven-game series, he contributed five goals and five
assists as Montreal recovered from a three-game losing skid to reach the Finals
again. Geoffrion added a lone goal in the Finals, but he and the Canadiens
needed just five games to beat the Bruins for his first Stanley Cup title.
After losing a hard-fought battle to the Red Wings in
the 1954 Finals, Geoffrion appeared to have a chip on his shoulder in 1954-55. He
led the NHL in goals that season with 38, getting 37 assists to also lead the
league in points at 75. This, of course, gave him the Art Ross Trophy, as well
as second-team All-Star as the Canadiens rolled into the playoffs. After disposing
of Boston in the first round, they were set to face Detroit for the Cup yet
again. Geoffrion had an exceptional series, which included a hat trick in game
three and a pair of goals in game six, but the Red Wings ultimately came out on
top in seven games, just as they had the year prior.
Geoffrion had a solid season in 1955-56, but saved his
best for the playoffs, kicking off the first round against the New York Rangers
with two goals and two assists. The Canadiens advanced past New York for a
third straight Finals matchup with Detroit. This time, however, Geoffrion would
not be denied, getting on the scoresheet in all four of Montreal’s victories as
they finally solved the Red Wings in five games. Geoffrion’s second Stanley Cup
would be far from his last.
In 1956-57, Geoffrion missed a significant amount of time
with injury, but recovered in plenty of time for another postseason run. In the
opening round against the Rangers, “Boom-Boom” went off for seven goals and
five assists, including a game three hat trick as Montreal went on the Finals after
a five-game victory. Taking on the Bruins for the Cup, Geoffrion was again a
significant contributor, posting a multi-goal game three as the Canadiens went
back-to-back in five games. Now with three Stanley Cup rings, Geoffrion was
keen to continue carrying the torch for Montreal’s run of dominance, but he
would soon be met with the largest adversity of his career.
During the 1957-58 campaign, Geoffrion suffered severe
internal bleeding after an on-ice collision with a teammate, which doctors
feared could be life-threatening. He missed the final two months of the regular
season, but was miraculously able to rejoin the lineup for the playoffs. Geoffrion
didn’t skip a beat, scoring a goal and an assist in the first game of the opening
round against the Red Wings. The team took down Detroit in a four-game sweep on
the way to another Final against Boston. With the series tied up at two games
apiece, Geoffrion again put the team on his shoulders and added a goal and
assist in game five, before claiming two goals and an assist in the
series-clinching game six for the fourth Stanley Cup of his career.
Geoffrion had a largely healthy season in 1958-59, getting
22 goals and 44 helpers as Montreal took the #1-seed into the playoffs. The
Canadiens made their way into the Finals versus the Toronto Maple Leafs and
although Geoffrion failed to score a goal in the first three games, he came in
clutch in game four. There, he was a part of all three Canadiens goals, adding
a goal and two assists in the 3-2 victory. Needing just one more win to take
the series, Geoffrion fired in two goals and an assist for Stanley Cup #5. As
the 1950s came to an end, Geoffrion was still at the top of his game, finishing
1959-60 with 30 goals and 41 assists for another second-team All-Star nod. Needless
to say at this point, Montreal made it to the playoffs, but in 1960 they were
even more dominant than usual. In an opening round sweep of the Black Hawks,
Geoffrion posted a total of two goals and four assists, including the eventual
game winner in game one. The Canadiens took on rival Toronto in the Finals, where
Geoffrion surprisingly could not find the back of the net. However, he made up
for it in assists, getting six of them as the team took care of business with
another four-game sweep. Even after receiving his sixth Cup ring, Geoffrion still
had another historic feat left to go.
In the 1960-61 season, Geoffrion jumped out as the
best player in the league, becoming the first player since now-retired teammate
Maurice Richard (who was the first to do so 16 years earlier) to score 50 goals
in a single season. In fact, with his 45 assists on top of the half-century
mark, Geoffrion nearly became the first player in NHL history to score 100 points
in a season. Not only did he take home his second career Art Ross title, but he
also earned a Hart Trophy along with first-team All-Star honors. While
Geoffrion didn’t reach quite those heights again, he remained a productive fixture
before retiring after the 1967-68 season. With that, Geoffrion finished with
393 career goals and 422 assists for 822 total points in 883 games played.
1. Terry Sawchuk (1950-51)
Sawchuk grabbed the Calder Trophy with the Detroit Red
Wings in 1950-51, immediately setting a new NHL record at the time for most
wins in a season with 44. If that wasn’t enough for you, Sawchuk also led all goalies
with 11 shutouts and had an outstanding 1.97 goals against average in 70 games.
This also allowed him to take home a first-team All-Star award to cap off arguably
the greatest rookie season by a goaltender in NHL history.
Sawchuk again played all 70 contests in 1951-52, earning
another 44 victories with a league-leading 12 shutouts and 1.90 GAA. He claimed
the first-team All-Star spot yet again, while adding a Vezina Trophy to his growing
trophy case. However, one trophy he did not yet have was the Stanley Cup,
though this matter would be resolved in the 1952 playoffs. The Red Wings took a
first round sweep over the Toronto Maple Leafs, before doing the same to the
Montreal Canadiens in the Finals. Sawchuk won all eight games along the way and
was next to unstoppable, posting shutouts in the first two games of the Maple
Leafs series and the last two games against the Canadiens for a 0.620 GAA. This
likely would have given him the Conn Smythe Trophy as well, had the award
existed at the time.
For 1952-53, Sawchuk appeared in 63 games, nabbing a
career-best 1.89 GAA with nine shutouts while continuing to hold down the lead
in wins with 32. He was named first-team All-Star for a third time, as well as
claiming his second Vezina Trophy. Of course, Sawchuk wasn’t done there, as he
nailed down 35 more wins in 1953-54 while holding a 1.93 GAA in 67 games. This
granted him a second-team All-Star selection, but he still had plenty left in
the tank for the playoffs. While not as dominant as they had been in 1952,
Detroit still got through Toronto in the first round to face the Canadiens for
the Cup. In a back-and-forth series which required a game seven overtime
finish, the Red Wings came out on top with Sawchuk earning all eight wins on
the road to his second Stanley Cup title.
Sawchuk reached the 40-win mark once again in 1954-55,
picking up a GAA of 1.96 in 68 games and an NHL-best 12 shutouts. With his
third Vezina Trophy and another second-team All-Star nod, Sawchuk led the Red
Wings into another incredible playoff run. Detroit promptly swept the Maple
Leafs in the first round, with Sawchuk getting a shutout in game four, to challenge
Montreal in the Final. It would be another arduous seven-game series, but the
Red Wings would hold on to win their seventh Stanley Cup in franchise history.
This made Sawchuk a three-time champ at just 25 years old, but the upcoming offseason
would bring in a major shakeup.
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before, but the Red
Wings actually made a really stupid trade. In this case, it involved Sawchuk
being sent to the Boston Bruins in a nine-player deal. While Sawchuk didn’t
necessarily play badly in his two seasons with the Bruins, it wasn’t a great
fit for either side and the Red Wings traded to get him back for the 1957-58
season. However, in order to do so, the Red Wings were forced to give up future
Hall of Fame forward Johnny Bucyk, who ended up being one of the greatest
players in Bruins franchise history and who the Red Wings still would’ve kept
if they hadn’t traded Sawchuk in the first place.
Nonetheless, Sawchuk was back in Detroit and while the
second stint wasn’t as successful as the first, though it did have its share of
highlights. In 1958-59, he was able to grab second-team All-Star with 23 wins
and five shutouts in 67 games, before helping the team to a Finals appearance
in 1961 as he shared the goal with Western Hockey League standout Hank Bassen,
though this run came up short. Sawchuk was back as the Red Wings’ primary
option in 1962-63, where he collected 21 wins and a .912 save percentage in his
48 appearances. This got him second-team All-Star yet again, as well as a selection
as a Hart Trophy finalist for the first and only time of his career. Sawchuk got
Detroit back to the Finals against the Maple Leafs, but this time Toronto would
have the upper hand as the Red Wings were eliminated in five games.
Sawchuk was even better in 1963-64, winning 25 games
in 53 contests for a .916 SV%, backstopping the Red Wings to back-to-back
Finals appearances. The team had an opportunity at revenge with the Maple Leafs
also making their way back to the Cup, but Toronto was able to increase their
string of consecutive championships to three with a seven-game series triumph.
With the Red Wings opting to go in a different direction for 1964-65, Sawchuk was
available and, oddly enough, found himself with the Toronto Maple Leafs for the
upcoming season.
The Maple Leafs went with a tandem of veteran goaltenders
for the 1964-65 season, as Sawchuk was paired with a fellow three-time champ in
Johnny Bower. Despite the change in scenery, Sawchuk performed well in his 36
games, taking 16 wins with a .915 SV%. With Bower also doing his part, the
goaltending duo took home the Vezina Trophy for Bower’s second and Sawchuk’s
fourth such award.
By 1966-67, the tandem had evolved into a three-headed
monster in net with Sawchuk, Bower and Bruce Gamble each having more than 20 appearances
on the season. Sawchuk remained solid regardless, grabbing a .917 SV% and 16 wins
in 28 games played as Toronto marched into the postseason. He got all four wins
in the team’s opening round defeat of the Chicago Black Hawks before facing the
Canadiens in the Finals. Although Bower started games two and three, Toronto
went with Sawchuk the rest of the way. This proved to be the right decision, as
he allowed just one goal in each of the final two games to guide the Maple Leafs
to their most recent championship in franchise history. After four Stanley
Cups, Sawchuk retired shortly after in 1969-70, holding the NHL record at the
time for most wins at 445, shutouts at 103 and a career goals against average
of 2.50. Sawchuk’s single-season wins record was not surpassed until 1974, and
is still often brought up in the best NHL goalie of all time conversation.
