Ranking Every NHL Rookie of the Year (1960s)

Photo Credit: Primetime Sports

By Zane Miller

10. Brit Selby (1965-66)

Selby took the Calder Trophy for the 1965-66 season as a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs, scoring 14 goals and 13 assists in 61 games played. He remained in the NHL as a journeyman for the next few seasons, leaving the league in favor of the World Hockey Association after the 1971-72 season. During that time, Selby played mainly for the Maple Leafs and Philadelphia Flyers, posting 55 goals and 62 assists for 117 points in his 347 NHL games. His best season came with the Flyers in 1967-68, adding 15 goals and 15 assists for the expansion club.

9. Kent Douglas (1962-63)

Douglas scored the Calder in 1962-63 with the Maple Leafs, getting seven goals and 15 assists as a defenseman with a +18 plus/minus rating. Not only that, Douglas’ play would carry over into the playoffs that season, as he helped the Maple Leafs to the Stanley Cup title in five games over the Detroit Red Wings. However, he would largely be unable to follow up the success of his rookie season, as he was out of the NHL after the 1968-69 campaign with 33 goals, 115 assists and a career plus/minus of -1, spending the majority of his career as a Maple Leaf.

8. Bill Hay (1959-60)

Hay took home the Calder for 1959-60 as a member of the Chicago Black Hawks (now Chicago Blackhawks), netting 18 goals and 37 assists. His sophomore season would see Hay reach the pinnacle of his career, lifting the 1961 Stanley Cup as Chicago took down the Red Wings in six games. He then posted arguably his best career numbers in 1961-62, crossing the 50-assist mark for the only time in his career with 52, while also contributing 11 goals. Hay remained a consistent scorer in the Black Hawks lineup for the next handful of seasons before retiring after the 1966-67 season, finishing with a total of 113 goals and 273 assists for 386 points in 506 games to go along with his Stanley Cup win. Although his playing career was better than most, Hay became more well known in his post-playing career after becoming the Chairman and CEO of the Hockey Hall of Fame from 1998 to 2012, which he himself would be inducted into as a builder in 2015.

7. Danny Grant (1968-69)

Before capturing the Calder in the 1968-69 season with the Minnesota North Stars (now Dallas Stars), Grant had a rather interesting start to his NHL career as he played a limited number of games in 1967-68 with the Montreal Canadiens. Despite not playing the requisite amount of games to qualify as his official rookie season, Grant made it onto the postseason roster and won the Stanley Cup in a sweep of the newly-formed St. Louis Blues. In the offseason, Grant was traded to the North Stars and wasted no time in showing Montreal what they were missing out on with 34 goals and 31 assists. He continued on as a reliable 60-point scorer for the remainder of his time in Minnesota, before being traded again to the Red Wings in 1974-75. In his debut season in the Motor City, Grant had the finest season of his career with a team-leading 50 goals to go along with 37 assists, serving as a bright spot in a rough year for the team. However, he was hampered by injuries throughout the late ‘70s, eventually retiring in 1978-79 with 263 goals and 273 assists in 736 total games, mostly with the North Stars.

6. Derek Sanderson (1967-68)

Sanderson claimed the Calder Trophy in 1967-68 with the Boston Bruins, collecting 24 goals and 25 assists. He wouldn’t need to wait too long for his first Stanley Cup championship, as he and the Bruins took down the Blues in a four-game sweep for the team’s first title since 1941. Sanderson was a dominant presence in the sweep, nabbing three goals and three assists, including the helper on Bobby Orr’s spectacular “flying goal” to clinch the series. After hitting the 25-goal mark with over 30 assists in each of next two seasons, Sanderson again joined the Bruins on another Stanley Cup bout in 1972. Though he was held to just a goal and an assist during the playoffs, Boston nonetheless knocked off the New York Rangers in six games for both the team and Sanderson’s second title in three seasons.

After a brief stop in the World Hockey Association, Sanderson rejoined the Bruins for 1972-73. However, a hip injury left Sanderson out of the lineup for each of the next two seasons, prompting the team to trade him to none other than the Rangers for 1974-75. After strong seasons for the Rangers and St. Louis Blues, Sanderson struggled with both injuries and off-ice issues, leading to his retirement after the 1977-78 season with 202 goals and 250 assists in 598 games, primarily as a Bruin.

5. Roger Crozier (1964-65)

Crozier broke onto the scene in 1964-65 with the Red Wings, taking the Calder Trophy thanks to a league-leading 40 wins and six shutouts while also posting a .913 save percentage. Not only did he win the Calder, the outstanding rookie campaign gave Crozier first-team All-Star honors and a fourth-place spot in Hart Trophy voting for league MVP. Although his win totals dropped off to 27 in 1965-66, it was far from a sophomore slump as he again led the NHL with six shutouts for a .904 save percentage. In the playoffs, he led Detroit to a Stanley Cup Final appearance with a .914 SV%, but the Red Wings came up short in six games against the Canadiens. Even so, Crozier claimed the dubious distinction of being the first player to win the Conn Smythe Trophy for playoff MVP despite being on the losing team.

Even more unfortunately for Crozier, the Red Wings began to fall apart as the league exited the Original Six era, causing his stats to plummet as he split the net with teammate Roy Edwards. Crozier was traded to the expansion Buffalo Sabres for their inaugural season in 1970-71, but this change in scenery turned out to be a bit of a mixed bag. As is usually the plight of good goalies playing on bad teams, Crozier’s win totals were largely underwhelming in Buffalo. That being said, he managed to secure a .902 save percentage during the team’s abysmal 16-win 1971-72 season, followed up by getting a .905 SV% and three shutouts in 1972-73. This would be the final season in which Crozier saw the majority of starts, staying on as a backup for a few more seasons before retiring in 1976-77 to transition into a coaching role. In 515 career games, Crozier collected 206 victories, 29 shutouts and a career save percentage of .903 with most of his appearances coming with the Red Wings and Sabres. Crozier was inducted into the Buffalo Sabres Hall of Fame in 1980.

4. Bobby Rousseau (1961-62)

Rousseau captured the Calder Trophy in 1961-62 for the Montreal Canadiens, scoring 21 goals and 24 assists. He continued to establish himself as a mainstay in the Canadiens forward group for the next few seasons, before getting his first chance at a Stanley Cup ring in 1965. Although Rousseau had an underwhelming regular season by his standards, he saved his best for the postseason as he grabbed five goals and eight assists. The Canadiens knocked off the Black Hawks in a nailbiting back-and-forth series in seven games, with Rousseau being credited with the three assists in the deciding game.

In 1965-66, Rousseau kept up the positive momentum for his best career season at the NHL level, getting 30 goals and a league-leading 48 assists in the quest for back-to-back Stanley Cups. The Maple Leafs were no match for Montreal in the first round of the playoffs, with Rousseau earning three goals and two assists in the four-game sweep. He and the team did not have as easy of a time against the Red Wings, but still took care of business in six games to lift the Cup for the second straight season.

Rousseau was again one of the league’s best passers in each of the next two seasons, as fellow championship hopefuls were well aware of the threat he posed on the ice. After losing the Stanley Cup to Toronto in 1967, he and the Canadiens came hungry to avenge the defeat in 1968. Facing the Bruins in the first round, Montreal advanced to the semifinals in a sweep with Rousseau adding two assists. In the Stanley Cup Final itself, the team took out the expansion Blues in another sweep, as Rousseau got his third Stanley Cup title despite after scoring an overtime goal in game three.

After another strong regular season in which he scored 30 goals and 40 assists, Rousseau was set for another back-to-back Cup run in 1969. In a postseason which would see its fair share of déjà vu moments, the Canadiens again got a first-round sweep, this time eliminating the Rangers with Rousseau getting two goals and two assists. Once Montreal arrived at the Stanley Cup Final, they were again set to face St. Louis for the title. Just like the year before, Rousseau was held to just one goal, but the Canadiens got the sweep regardless for his fourth career championship.

Though Rousseau’s tenure in Montreal ended on a sour note as the team missed the playoffs in 1969-70 (their first time being left on the outside looking in since the 1947-48 season), he still grabbed 24 goals and 34 assists. He ended up playing a few more seasons in the NHL as a member of the Rangers (including another Stanley Cup appearance in 1972) before his retirement in 1974-75. In his 942 career games, Rousseau collected 245 goals and 458 assists for 703 points, most of which being scored for the Canadiens.

3. Jacques Laperriere (1963-64)

Laperriere took yet another Calder for the Montreal Canadiens in 1963-64, as the homegrown defenseman scored two goals and 28 assists with a plus/minus of +25 in 65 games. He came up just short of making first-team All-Star in his rookie season, but would take the award in 1964-65 thanks to his five goals and 22 assists in 67 games. He also challenged Black Hawks legend Pierre Pilote for the Norris Trophy, but was forced to settle for the runner-up spot. If he felt any disappointment about losing the award, it was likely water under the bridge after seeing what the Canadiens did in the playoffs. Montreal won the opening round in six games against the Maple Leafs, but Laperriere was injured in the series’ final game and was unavailable for the Stanley Cup Final, coincidentally against the Black Hawks. While the showdown between the first and second-place finishers in the Norris race didn’t materialize, the Canadiens still managed to hold off Chicago in seven games for their second championship of the decade. Despite being sidelined for the Final itself, Laperriere got his name on the Stanley Cup for the first of several occasions.

In 1965-66, Laperriere would not be denied of the Norris, claiming six goals and 25 assists in 57 games played for a plus/minus of +14. In addition, he captured his second career first-team All-Star nod, but again the Canadiens would be forced to go into the Stanley Cup Finals without him as he missed the entire postseason with a late-season leg injury. The team went on to win the Finals over Detroit in six games, as the Canadiens made sure to have Laperriere’s name engraved along with his teammates. However, due to not appearing in any postseason contests, he was not officially classified as a Stanley Cup winner for 1966. With Laperriere being mostly healthy again in 1966-67, the Canadiens were strong contestants for a three-peat, but were thwarted in the Finals by the Maple Leafs as the curtains closed on the Original Six era.

Laperriere and the Canadiens responded to the bitter defeat in 1967-68, as Laperriere finished fifth in Norris voting with four goals and 21 assists in 72 games for a +23 p/m. They wouldn’t be denied in the playoffs either, sweeping Boston as Laperriere added a goal and an assist for a p/m of +3. After taking down the Black Hawks in the semifinals, Laperriere was finally able to play in the Stanley Cup Final proper. The Canadiens made quick work of the Blues with a sweep and Laperriere had his second Stanley Cup title. Despite being held off the scoresheet in the four-game series, he still registered a +2 p/m for a +7 in the playoffs overall. The Canadiens ran it back in 1968-69, as Laperriere was on top of his game once again, particularly in the playoffs. In the first round sweep against the Rangers, he tacked on an assist with a +2 p/m, followed by another Stanley Cup sweep against St. Louis which saw him improve to a +4 for the series. In the playoffs as a whole, Laperriere was credited for a +6 p/m, taking the Cup for a third time.

The Quebec native set a career high in points in 1969-70, earning six goals and 31 assists along with a solid +27 p/m to claim the fourth spot in Norris Trophy voting. However, this would be one of the few bright spots for Montreal this particular year, as they shockingly missed the playoffs to end a 21-year postseason streak and squash what could have been a 47-year streak for the franchise. Undeterred, the team returned even stronger in 1970-71, with Laperriere posting a +24 p/m despite being held to just 49 games played due to injury. Once playoff time came around, he had his best postseason from an offensive perspective by a long shot. As a true defensive defenseman, he never scored more than seven goals in a single season, but unexpectedly put up four goals and nine assists in the 20 playoff games. Granted, the Canadiens had a bit more trouble in the playoffs for 1971 than in years past, thus requiring more games to be played, but ultimately the team still emerged victorious as they defeated the Black Hawks in a seven-game bout. Laperriere had his fourth Stanley Cup as he approached his age-30 season.

Laperriere had another strong year in 1971-72 at a +34 p/m in 73 games, but wound up saving arguably his most incredible season for 1972-73. That season, Laperriere blew nearly all other NHL defensemen out of the water with an astounding +77 plus/minus in 58 games, beating his previous career best by over 40 points. The only other defenseman to come close that season was teammate and defensive partner Serge Savard, who finished at a +70. Despite this, Laperriere had to settle for fifth in the Norris race due to a handful of missed games and other defensemen posting far higher offensive totals.

Regardless, the Canadiens were the Stanley Cup favorites, but Laperriere was again bitten by the injury bug. He would only play in two of the Finals contests against the Black Hawks, but one of them was the deciding sixth game of the series. With their longtime defensive anchor back in the lineup, Montreal scored the win to collect their sixth Stanley Cup in 10 years. Now with an entire hand’s worth of Stanley Cup rings, Laperriere was poised for another strong year in 1973-74, but sadly suffered a career-ending knee injury midway through the season. In 692 career games, Laperriere scored 40 goals and 242 assists, but more importantly in his case collected a career plus/minus rating of +256 which was instrumental towards his induction to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1987. This went along with his five Stanley Cup titles, not to mention two more championships as the Canadiens’ assistant coach in 1986 and 1993.

2. Dave Keon (1960-61)

Keon won the Calder after the 1960-61 season thanks to his 20 goals and 25 assists with the Maple Leafs. His scoring totals improved to 26 goals and 35 assists in 1961-62, but his biggest impact of the campaign was yet to come. The Maple Leafs drew the Rangers in the first round of the postseason, and held a single-game lead in the series going into game six. After being kept in check for most of the round, Keon found an extra gear and potted two goals and two assists in Toronto’s 7-1 rout, advancing to the Stanley Cup Finals to face the Black Hawks. Chicago’s hopes of winning back-to-back championships would be dashed in six games by the Maple Leafs, allowing Keon to collect his first Stanley Cup at just 21 years old.

After another consistent season in 1962-63, Keon and the Maple Leafs were hungry (thirsty?) for back-to-back Stanley Cups. They would take down the heated rival Canadiens in the opening round before going up against the Red Wings in the Finals. Keon was a key player throughout the series, but came through the most in the decisive game five with Toronto holding a two-game lead. He got the ball rolling with a shorthanded goal to open the scoring in the first period, before putting in the game-sealing empty net goal to provide Ontario’s capital with another Stanley Cup. With two championships now under his belt, excitement was sky high for Keon to lead the way to another three-peat for the Leafs.

The Maple Leafs previously achieved the rare three-peat with Cups in 1947, 1948 and 1949, and the team wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to make it happen again in 1964. After a solid regular season, Keon initially stumbled in the playoffs as he was held scoreless in the first five games in the opening round against the Canadiens. However, after notching an assist in game six, Keon exploded for a hat trick in game seven as Montreal was held to a lone goal. This set up another Finals battle against the Red Wings, which would end the same as the previous year, though not without a fight from Detroit as they forced the series to go the full seven games. The three-peat was now complete, with Keon contributing on all three squads just four years into his lengthy NHL career.

A couple more productive seasons passed before Keon found his way into the Finals once again in 1967, as the Maple Leafs took on the Canadiens for the Stanley Cup for the fifth and final time in the rivalry’s history. Although Keon was held to just one goal and one assist in the six-game series, Toronto was able to secure their 13^th title four games to two. As Keon captured his fourth Stanley Cup ring, a new era in NHL history was on the horizon with the league doubling its number of teams, but surely this wasn’t anything the Maple Leafs couldn’t handle. Anyway, Toronto unexpectedly missed the playoffs in 1967-68 with Keon having an off year by his standards, but bounced back in 1968-69 with 27 goals and 34 assists. He was officially named team captain in 1969-70 and rewarded the team by crossing the 30-goal mark for the first time in his career with 32.

In 1970-71, Keon went even further as he scored an even 38 goals and 38 assists for a career-high 76 points, finishing fourth in the race for the Hart Trophy. After an underwhelming 1971-72 campaign, Keon returned to form with 37 goals and 36 assists in 1972-73, though the Maple Leafs seemed to be on the decline with a string of first round playoff exits. In fact, Toronto was unable to get out of the first round for the remainder of Keon’s career with the team, despite their captain posting solid numbers in both 1973-74 and 1974-75.

After the latter season, Keon left to join the lucrative yet unstable World Hockey Association, eventually settling with the New England Whalers. He would play in the WHA until the league’s demise in 1979, at which point the Whalers were integrated into the NHL for the 1979-80 season. Due to protests from the Bruins organization, Keon’s team was renamed the Hartford Whalers (eventually becoming the Carolina Hurricanes) in time for its NHL foray. Nearing his age-40 season and playing in the league for the first time in four years, Keon proved that he had more than enough left in the tank, breaking the 50-assist mark for the only time in his career with 52 helpers. He spent the next two years in Hartford before retiring after the 1981-82 season, playing in 1,296 total games with 396 goals and 590 assists, narrowly missing out on a 1,000-point career at 986. However, these totals along with his four Stanley Cups with the Maple Leafs enabled him to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame on the first ballot in 1986. In addition, his #14 jersey was officially retired by the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2016.

1. Bobby Orr (1966-67)

Orr hit the ground running to start his legendary NHL career, not only winning the Calder for the Bruins in 1966-67 but also placing third in Norris Trophy voting on the strength of 13 goals, 28 assists and a plus/minus of +1 in 61 games. Despite being injured for a significant chunk of 1967-68, Orr still had an impressive +28 plus/minus in his 46 games played with 11 goals and 20 assists. This effort allowed him to claim his first of many Norris trophies, along with his first first-team All-Star nomination and a fourth-place spot in Hart voting. Orr was able to play through most of the 1968-69 campaign, improving even more on his strong resume with 21 goals, 43 assists and a league-leading +55 p/m in 67 games. He moved up to third in the race for the Hart, while getting his second Norris and another first-team All-Star nod.

The 1969-70 season was unmistakably the peak of Orr’s dominance, as he was finally able to play an entire season without missing any games. The rest of the league could only watch as Orr put up a league-leading 87 assists and a +54 plus/minus, in addition to netting 33 goals. Obviously, Orr won his third Norris Trophy and first-team All-Star honors, but was also able to break through to win his first Hart Trophy. Thanks to his 120 points on the season, he was also awarded the Art Ross Trophy, becoming the only defenseman to this day to lead the NHL in points. Even with all of the individual accolades, one trophy that still eluded him was waiting at the end of the 1970 playoffs. In said playoffs, Orr remained as unstoppable as ever, including a semifinal sweep of the Black Hawks which saw him earn a goal and four assists. In the Stanley Cup Finals, the Bruins faced the Blues, who were coming off of losing the Cup in back-to-back seasons. However, with Boston seeking their first title since 1941, they would not leave any room for a feel-good story, taking home the championship in another sweep. Orr matched his one goal, four assist statline from the previous round, giving him both his first Stanley Cup and the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP for good measure.

Although 1969-70 was Orr’s greatest overall season, the 1970-71 campaign certainly made a strong case of its own. In 78 games, he not only amassed an eye-popping 102 assists, but also contributed a plus/minus rating of +124, which is still the NHL record for the highest plus/minus in a single season. Scoring 37 goals on the year, Orr finished with a career-high 139 points, only being kept from another Art Ross Trophy by teammate Phil Esposito. With his fourth Norris, second Hart Trophy and yet another first-team All-Star, Orr was ready for a run at back-to-back titles, but this goal was cut short by the Canadiens in the first round. Instead, the Bruins were forced to refocus their efforts for 1971-72, with Orr doing his part by pacing the NHL in assists (80) and plus/minus (+83), as his 37 goals made for a third 100-point season. Taking his fifth straight Norris Trophy and first-team All-Star combo, along with a third consecutive Hart, Orr led the Bruins on another Stanley Cup run. They swept the Blues again, this time in the semifinal round, as Orr posted a total of seven assists in just four games. This paved the way for a Finals contest against the Rangers, which the Bruins took in six games. Orr grabbed his second Stanley Cup title, with the Conn Smythe coming his way as well due to a +20 p/m and 19 total assists.

In 1972-73, Orr had another 100-point campaign with 29 goals and 72 assists, capturing a +55 p/m in 63 games to earn both the Norris and first-team All-Star for a sixth time. He followed that exceptional season up with a league-leading 90 assists in 1973-74, with his +84 p/m also being the best in the NHL. Being credited with 32 goals, Orr claimed his fifth consecutive 100-point season, while finishing third in the Hart voting for the second year in a row. Of course, it nearly goes without saying at this point that he took home another Norris title with first-team All-Star honors, doing so for the seventh straight year. In the playoffs, the Bruins made their way to another Stanley Cup Final, with Orr leading the postseason field in assists, but were eliminated in six games by the Philadelphia Flyers.

The 1974-75 season saw Orr get a career-high goal total of 46, with his league-topping 89 assists granting him a second Art Ross at 135 points. His +80 plus/minus after playing in 80 games would be his sixth occasion leading the NHL in p/m, enabling him to win his eighth straight Norris Trophy with a first-team All-Star designation to boot. Unfortunately, while Orr was only 27 years old and had just recently passed 600 games played, injuries began to catch up quickly for him in the second half of the 1970’s. He would only play in 36 more games after 1974-75, prompting his retirement in 1979. In just 657 games played, mostly with the Bruins, Orr nabbed 270 goals and 645 assists for 915 points. He also never finishing any season (full or otherwise) with a negative plus/minus rating as he accumulated a +582 p/m. The usual three-year waiting period for Hockey Hall of Fame eligibility was waived in Orr’s case, allowing him to join the HoF in 1979, with the Boston Bruins officially retiring his #4 jersey earlier in the year.