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The 1947–48 NHL season was the 31st season of the National Hockey League. Six teams each played 60 games. The Toronto Maple Leafs were the Stanley Cup winners. They defeated the Detroit Red Wings four games to none. This season saw the introduction of a new trophy – Art Ross Trophy – that would be handed out to the player who scored the most points during the regular season.
| 1947–48 NHL season | |
|---|---|
| League | National Hockey League |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Duration | October 15, 1947 – April 14, 1948 |
| Number of games | 60 |
| Number of teams | 6 |
| Regular season | |
| Season champion | Toronto Maple Leafs |
| Season MVP | Bud O'Connor (Rangers) |
| Top scorer | Elmer Lach (Canadiens) |
| Stanley Cup | |
| Champions | Toronto Maple Leafs |
| Runners-up | Detroit Red Wings |
The season saw the return of the National Hockey League All-Star Game, an idea that, although proposed in the previous season, came into fruition this year. The all-star game, however, saw a bad ankle injury to Chicago Black Hawks forward Bill Mosienko that nearly ended his career. Other stars would retire, ending both the Montreal Canadiens' Punch line and the Boston Bruins' Kraut line. However, this season saw the creation of the Detroit Red Wings' Production Line. The policy of having players raise their hockey sticks to signify that a goal was scored was also initiated in this season, at the suggestion of Frank Patrick, with Habs forward Billy Reay being the first to do on November 13, 1947. The season also saw Boston's Don Gallinger suspended indefinitely pending an investigation of gambling activities and the New York Rangers' Billy "The Kid" Taylor being expelled for life for gambling.
Seven games into the season, the Toronto Maple Leafs and Chicago Black Hawks made, at that time, the biggest trade in NHL history. The Maple Leafs sent five players to the Black Hawks in trade for Max Bentley and rookie winger Cy Thomas. Thomas only played eight games that year but Bentley handed to the Leafs a much-needed offensive boost that helped propel the team to first overall and an eventual Stanley Cup.
The New York Rangers decided to make a trade to improve their fortunes and sent Hal Laycoe, Joe Bell, and George Robertson to Montreal in exchange for Buddy O'Connor and defenceman Frank Eddolls. Montreal missed O'Connor, as their goal-scoring plummeted. Ken Mosdell was out from the start of the season with a broken arm, Rocket Richard had trouble with a bad knee and Murph Chamberlain broke his leg. In an attempt to boost the goal-scoring, Montreal traded Jimmy Peters and Johnny Quilty to Boston in exchange for Joe Carveth, but the rot continued. However, the worst occurred on January 11, 1948, when the Canadiens played the Rangers at Madison Square Garden. The Habs lost more than a game when Bill Juzda checked captain Toe Blake into the boards, breaking Blake's ankle and ending his career. It was also the end of the famed "Punch Line". (Ironically, that same night, Johnny Quilty's career was ended with a compound fracture of the leg). The Canadiens missed the playoffs for the first time since 1940, and Bill Durnan, for the only time in his career, failed to win the Vezina Trophy. This season was also the last season in which a goaltender was allowed to be named captain of their team. Bill Durnan was the last goaltender in NHL history to be captain. Toronto's Turk Broda won the Vezina this season.
Final standings
| GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | DIFF | Pts | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 60 | 32 | 15 | 13 | 182 | 143 | +39 | 77 |
| 2 | Detroit Red Wings | 60 | 30 | 18 | 12 | 187 | 148 | +39 | 72 |
| 3 | Boston Bruins | 60 | 23 | 24 | 13 | 167 | 168 | −1 | 59 |
| 4 | New York Rangers | 60 | 21 | 26 | 13 | 176 | 201 | −25 | 55 |
| 5 | Montreal Canadiens | 60 | 20 | 29 | 11 | 147 | 169 | −22 | 51 |
| 6 | Chicago Black Hawks | 60 | 20 | 34 | 6 | 195 | 225 | −30 | 46 |
Playoff bracket
| Semifinals | Stanley Cup Finals | ||||||||
| 1 | Toronto | 4 | |||||||
| 3 | Boston | 1 | |||||||
| 1 | Toronto | 4 | |||||||
| 2 | Detroit | 0 | |||||||
| 2 | Detroit | 4 | |||||||
| 4 | New York | 2 | |||||||
Semifinals
(1) Toronto Maple Leafs vs. (3) Boston Bruins
Toronto defeated Boston four games to one, although Boston kept it closer than the series tally would indicate. Three of the five games were decided by a single goal.
| March 24 | Boston Bruins | 4–5 | OT | Toronto Maple Leafs | Maple Leaf Gardens | Recap | ||
| Murray Henderson (1) – 01:18 | First period | 11:29 – Bill Ezinicki (1) | ||||||
| Ed Harrison (1) – 08:39 | Second period | 17:33 – Max Bentley (1) | ||||||
| Pat Egan (1) – 02:35 Ken Smith (1) – 08:38 |
Third period | 12:03 – Syl Apps (1) 15:34 – Jimmy Thomson (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | First overtime period | 17:03 – Nick Metz (1) | ||||||
| Frank Brimsek | Goalie stats | Turk Broda | ||||||
| March 27 | Boston Bruins | 3–5 | Toronto Maple Leafs | Maple Leaf Gardens | Recap | |||
| Johnny Peirson (1) – pp – 08:39 | First period | 05:41 – Ted Kennedy (1) 19:54 – pp – Ted Kennedy (2) | ||||||
| Pete Babando (1) – pp – 02:16 | Second period | 06:34 – Ted Kennedy (3) 12:24 – Ted Kennedy (4) | ||||||
| Milt Schmidt (1) – 10:43 | Third period | 07:37 – Max Bentley (2) | ||||||
| Frank Brimsek | Goalie stats | Turk Broda | ||||||
| March 30 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 5–1 | Boston Bruins | Boston Garden | Recap | |||
| Howie Meeker (1) – 03:40 Bill Barilko (1) – 12:28 |
First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Ted Kennedy (5) – 09:24 | Second period | 01:10 – Milt Schmidt (2) | ||||||
| Garth Boesch (1) – 07:00 Nick Metz (2) – 17:49 |
Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Turk Broda | Goalie stats | Frank Brimsek | ||||||
| April 1 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 2–3 | Boston Bruins | Boston Garden | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 02:47 – Ed Sandford (1) | ||||||
| Bill Ezinicki (2) – 01:36 | Second period | 07:31 – Johnny Peirson (2) | ||||||
| Syl Apps (2) – 15:08 | Third period | 13:24 – Johnny Peirson (3) | ||||||
| Turk Broda | Goalie stats | Frank Brimsek | ||||||
| April 3 | Boston Bruins | 2–3 | Toronto Maple Leafs | Maple Leaf Gardens | Recap | |||
| Jimmy Peters (1) – pp – 05:20 | First period | 08:41 – Vic Lynn (1) 16:13 – Les Costello (1) | ||||||
| Ken Smith (2) – 12:08 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 05:52 – Ted Kennedy (6) | ||||||
| Frank Brimsek | Goalie stats | Turk Broda | ||||||
| Toronto won series 4–1 | |
(2) Detroit Red Wings vs. (4) New York Rangers
It looked initially to be a close series as, after the Blueshirts lost the first two games, the Rangers won the next two to tie the series. Detroit then took the next two to win the series in six games to qualify for the Finals.
| March 24 | New York Rangers | 1–2 | Detroit Red Wings | Olympia Stadium | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 15:04 – Ted Lindsay (1) 19:06 – pp – Jim Conacher (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Tony Leswick (1) – 03:35 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Chuck Rayner | Goalie stats | Harry Lumley | ||||||
| March 26 | New York Rangers | 2–5 | Detroit Red Wings | Olympia Stadium | Recap | |||
| Edgar Laprade (1) – 14:53 | First period | 04:00 – Jim McFadden (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 04:57 – Jim McFadden (2) 08:18 – pp – Marty Pavelich (1) | ||||||
| Neil Colville (1) – 10:51 | Third period | 10:04 – Leo Reise (1) 14:49 – Marty Pavelich (2) | ||||||
| Chuck Rayner | Goalie stats | Harry Lumley | ||||||
| March 28 | Detroit Red Wings | 2–3 | New York Rangers | Madison Square Garden III | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 03:32 – Phil Watson (1) 10:35 – Phil Watson (2) | ||||||
| Ted Lindsay (2) – 19:40 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Jack Stewart (1) – 16:03 | Third period | 09:02 – Tony Leswick (2) | ||||||
| Harry Lumley | Goalie stats | Chuck Rayner | ||||||
| March 30 | Detroit Red Wings | 1–3 | New York Rangers | Madison Square Garden III | Recap | |||
| Jim McFadden (3) – 03:41 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 10:08 – pp – Bryan Hextall (1) 10:41 – Eddie Kullman (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 13:32 – Tony Leswick (3) | ||||||
| Harry Lumley | Goalie stats | Chuck Rayner | ||||||
| April 1 | New York Rangers | 1–3 | Detroit Red Wings | Olympia Stadium | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 04:02 – pp – Red Kelly (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 14:13 – pp – Pete Horeck (1) | ||||||
| Buddy O'Connor (1) – 12:49 | Third period | 13:55 – Red Kelly (2) | ||||||
| Chuck Rayner | Goalie stats | Harry Lumley | ||||||
| April 4 | Detroit Red Wings | 4–2 | New York Rangers | Madison Square Garden III | Recap | |||
| Red Kelly (3) – pp – 13:46 Gordie Howe (1) – pp – 14:30 Pat Lundy (1) – 17:51 |
First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Jim McFadden (4) – 10:49 | Third period | 12:49 – Don Raleigh (1) 19:08 – Don Raleigh (2) | ||||||
| Harry Lumley | Goalie stats | Chuck Rayner | ||||||
| Detroit won series 4–2 | |
Stanley Cup Finals
| April 7 | Detroit Red Wings | 3–5 | Toronto Maple Leafs | Maple Leaf Gardens | Recap | |||
| Jim McFadden (5) – 07:20 | First period | 08:21 – Harry Watson (1) 09:04 – Joe Klukay (1) 18:24 – Syl Apps (3) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 14:31 – Gus Mortson (1) 19:21 – Howie Meeker (2) | ||||||
| Jim Conacher (2) – 04:28 Ted Lindsay (3) – 05:25 |
Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Harry Lumley | Goalie stats | Turk Broda | ||||||
| April 10 | Detroit Red Wings | 2–4 | Toronto Maple Leafs | Maple Leaf Gardens | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 13:31 – Max Bentley (3) | ||||||
| Pete Horeck (2) – 18:18 | Second period | 03:38 – pp – Bill Ezinicki (3) 17:16 – pp – Max Bentley (4) 18:50 – Harry Watson (2) | ||||||
| Fern Gauthier (1) – pp – 17:18 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Harry Lumley | Goalie stats | Turk Broda | ||||||
| April 11 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 2–0 | Detroit Red Wings | Olympia Stadium | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Harry Watson (3) – 19:42 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Vic Lynn (2) – 15:16 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Turk Broda | Goalie stats | Harry Lumley | ||||||
| April 14 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 7–2 | Detroit Red Wings | Olympia Stadium | Recap | |||
| Ted Kennedy (7) – pp – 02:51 Garth Boesch (2) – sh – 05:03 Harry Watson (4) – 11:13 |
First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Syl Apps (4) – 04:26 Ted Kennedy (8) – 09:42 Harry Watson (5) – sh – 11:38 |
Second period | 02:41 – Leo Reise (2) | ||||||
| Les Costello (2) – pp – 14:37 | Third period | 18:48 – Pete Horeck (3) | ||||||
| Turk Broda | Goalie stats | Harry Lumley | ||||||
| Toronto won series 4–0 | |
| O'Brien Cup: (Stanley Cup runner-up) | Detroit Red Wings |
| Prince of Wales Trophy: (Top regular season record) | Toronto Maple Leafs |
| Art Ross Trophy: (Top scorer) | Elmer Lach, Montreal Canadiens |
| Calder Memorial Trophy: (Top first-year player) | Jim McFadden, Detroit Red Wings |
| Hart Trophy: (Most valuable player) | Bud O'Connor, New York Rangers |
| Lady Byng Trophy: (Excellence and sportsmanship) | Bud O'Connor, New York Rangers |
| Vezina Trophy: (Goaltender of team with lowest GAA) | Turk Broda, Toronto Maple Leafs |
All-Star teams
Scoring leaders
GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elmer Lach | Montreal Canadiens | 60 | 30 | 31 | 61 |
| Buddy O'Connor | New York Rangers | 60 | 24 | 36 | 60 |
| Doug Bentley | Chicago Black Hawks | 60 | 20 | 37 | 57 |
| Gaye Stewart | Toronto Maple Leafs / Chicago Black Hawks | 61 | 27 | 29 | 56 |
| Max Bentley | Black Hawks / Toronto Maple Leafs | 59 | 26 | 28 | 54 |
| Bud Poile | Toronto Maple Leafs / Chicago Black Hawks | 58 | 25 | 29 | 54 |
| Maurice Richard | Montreal Canadiens | 53 | 28 | 25 | 53 |
| Syl Apps | Toronto Maple Leafs | 55 | 26 | 27 | 53 |
| Ted Lindsay | Detroit Red Wings | 60 | 33 | 19 | 52 |
| Roy Conacher | Chicago Black Hawks | 52 | 22 | 27 | 49 |
Source: NHL[2]
Leading goaltenders
GP = Games Played, TOI = Time on ice (minutes), GA = Goals Against, SO = Shutouts, GAA = Goals against average
| Player | Team | GP | TOI | GA | SO | GAA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turk Broda | Toronto Maple Leafs | 60 | 3600 | 143 | 5 | 2.38 |
| Harry Lumley | Detroit Red Wings | 60 | 3592 | 147 | 7 | 2.46 |
| Bill Durnan | Montreal Canadiens | 59 | 3505 | 162 | 5 | 2.77 |
| Frank Brimsek | Boston Bruins | 60 | 3600 | 168 | 3 | 2.80 |
| Jim Henry | New York Rangers | 48 | 2800 | 153 | 2 | 3.19 |
| Emile Francis | Chicago Black Hawks | 54 | 3240 | 183 | 1 | 3.39 |
- Boston Bruins: Dit Clapper
- Chicago Black Hawks: Johnny Gottselig
- Detroit Red Wings: Tommy Ivan
- Montreal Canadiens: Dick Irvin
- New York Rangers: Frank Boucher
- Toronto Maple Leafs: Hap Day
The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1947–48 (listed with their first team):
- Ed Sandford, Boston Bruins
- Paul Ronty, Boston Bruins
- Metro Prystai, Chicago Black Hawks
- Marty Pavelich, Detroit Red Wings
- Red Kelly, Detroit Red Wings
- Floyd Curry, Montreal Canadiens
- Tom Johnson, Montreal Canadiens
- Gerry McNeil, Montreal Canadiens
- Doug Harvey, Montreal Canadiens
- Ed Kullman, New York Rangers
- Fleming MacKell, Toronto Maple Leafs
- Tod Sloan, Toronto Maple Leafs
The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1947–48 (listed with their last team):
- John Quilty, Boston Bruins
- John Mariucci, Chicago Black Hawks
- Toe Blake, Montreal Canadiens
- Bryan Hextall, New York Rangers
- Phil Watson, New York Rangers
- Billy Taylor, New York Rangers
- Syl Apps, Toronto Maple Leafs
- Nick Metz, Toronto Maple Leafs
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