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The 1952–53 NHL season was the 36th season of the National Hockey League. The Montreal Canadiens were the Stanley Cup winners as they beat the Boston Bruins four games to one in the final series.
| 1952–53 NHL season | |
|---|---|
| League | National Hockey League |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Duration | October 9, 1952 – April 16, 1953 |
| Number of games | 70 |
| Number of teams | 6 |
| TV partner(s) | CBC, SRC (Canada) None (United States) |
| Regular season | |
| Season champion | Detroit Red Wings |
| Season MVP | Gordie Howe (Red Wings) |
| Top scorer | Gordie Howe (Red Wings) |
| Stanley Cup | |
| Champions | Montreal Canadiens |
| Runners-up | Boston Bruins |
The NHL almost had a seventh franchise, as the Cleveland Barons of the American Hockey League applied for a franchise. They were accepted with the proviso that they deposit $425,000 to show good faith, and prove they had sufficient working capital to consort with the other NHL teams. They could not come up with the working capital and transfer of applicants stock to Cleveland residents. As a result, the Barons were told to apply at a later date.
A big deal was made between Toronto and Chicago as the Maple Leafs shipped Al Rollins, Gus Mortson, and Cal Gardner for goaltender Harry Lumley.
Sid Abel was signed by Chicago to be player-coach.
What was rumoured became fact in September when Arthur M. Wirtz and James D. Norris became the new owners of the near bankrupt Chicago Black Hawks.
James E. Norris, owner of the Detroit Red Wings since 1932 and father of James D. Norris, Chicago owner, died of a heart attack on December 4, 1952, and his daughter Marguerite became the owner. She became the first female owner of an NHL franchise since Ida Querrie owned the Toronto St. Patricks in 1923 when her husband Charlie transferred his stock in the team to her to avoid paying Eddie Livingstone any money in Livingstone's lawsuit against him.
NHL on-ice officials changed to orange-coloured uniforms in March 1953. The officials had worn cream-coloured uniforms which were not distinguishable from some team's home-ice uniforms.
For the fifth straight season, the Detroit Red Wings lead the league in points. Gordie Howe won the Hart Trophy over Al Rollins, but on the strength of Rollins' goaltending, Chicago made the playoffs for the first time since 1946.
The first television broadcast in Canada of an NHL game occurred on October 11, 1952. It was a French language broadcast of a game between the Montreal Canadiens and Detroit Red Wings with the Canadiens winning 2–1.[1] The French language telecast was produced by 24-year-old Gerald Renaud. On November 1, the first English language broadcast aired, with Foster Hewitt calling the action, starting in the second period because Conn Smythe was concerned that it would cut into the crowds at the arena.[2]
Highlights
Gump Worsley made his NHL debut October 9, 1952, in goal for the New York Rangers at the Detroit Olympia and lost 5–3, as Ted Lindsay scored in a tip-in on the power play for Worsley's first goal against him. The Production line scored 3 goals that night as Alex Delvecchio and Gordie Howe also had goals. Marty Pavelich scored what proved to be the winning goal.
On November 8, 14,562 fans were in attendance at the Montreal Forum when the Canadiens beat Chicago 6–4. Elmer Lach scored his 200th career goal. Fifty seconds later, after Emile "Butch" Bouchard fed him the puck, Rocket Richard rifled a puck past Al Rollins for his 325th goal, breaking Nels Stewart's record for career goals.[2] It was ten years to the day since Richard had scored his first NHL goal.[2] "Old Poison" sent the following telegram: "Congratulations on breaking record. Hope you will hold it for many seasons. Best of luck to you and rest of team."
When Terry Sawchuk was injured in practice, the Red Wings brought up Glenn Hall and he made his NHL debut on December 27 and played well in a 2–2 tie with Montreal. Hall then picked up his first career shutout January 7, blanking Boston 4–0.
Red Wings General manager Jack Adams got into some trouble on January 18 when, after a 3–2 loss to Montreal, he entered the officials room and argued with referee Red Storey. Dick Irvin, coach of Montreal, was very upset over this and NHL president Clarence Campbell agreed, fining Adams $500.
Gump Worsley got his first career shutout January 11 when the New York Rangers defeated the Canadiens 7–0 in Montreal.
Butch Bouchard Night was held on February 28 and he was presented with a car and a TV set. Detroit spoiled the night with a 4–3 victory.[3]
Ted Lindsay scored 4 goals on March 2 as Detroit pummeled Boston by a score of 10–2.
Gordie Howe scored 49 goals to nearly tie Rocket Richard's record. Howe was held off the scoresheet in the final game of the season by Richard's Canadiens. Howe set a new points record for the season with 95 points and won the Art Ross and Hart trophies.[2]
Final standings
| GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | DIFF | Pts | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Detroit Red Wings | 70 | 36 | 16 | 18 | 222 | 133 | +89 | 90 |
| 2 | Montreal Canadiens | 70 | 28 | 23 | 19 | 155 | 148 | +7 | 75 |
| 3 | Boston Bruins | 70 | 28 | 29 | 13 | 152 | 172 | −20 | 69 |
| 4 | Chicago Black Hawks | 70 | 27 | 28 | 15 | 169 | 175 | −6 | 69 |
| 5 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 70 | 27 | 30 | 13 | 156 | 167 | −11 | 67 |
| 6 | New York Rangers | 70 | 17 | 37 | 16 | 152 | 211 | −59 | 50 |
In a major upset, first-place Detroit was defeated in the semifinal by the Boston Bruins in six games. In the other semifinal, the fourth-place Chicago Black Hawks, making their first playoff appearance in seven years, took a 3–2 series lead after losing the first two games to the second-place Montreal Canadiens, but could not finish the job, losing in seven games.
Playoff bracket
| Semifinals | Stanley Cup Finals | ||||||||
| 1 | Detroit | 2 | |||||||
| 3 | Boston | 4 | |||||||
| 3 | Boston | 1 | |||||||
| 2 | Montreal | 4 | |||||||
| 2 | Montreal | 4 | |||||||
| 4 | Chicago | 3 | |||||||
Semifinals
(1) Detroit Red Wings vs. (3) Boston Bruins
| March 24 | Boston Bruins | 0–7 | Detroit Red Wings | Olympia Stadium | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 02:39 – Marty Pavelich (1) 08:45 – Ted Lindsay (1) 09:16 – Marty Pavelich (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 08:52 – Alex Delvecchio (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 05:54 – Metro Prystai (1) 06:53 – Johnny Wilson (1) 16:04 – Ted Lindsay (2) | ||||||
| Jim Henry | Goalie stats | Terry Sawchuck | ||||||
| March 26 | Boston Bruins | 5–3 | Detroit Red Wings | Olympia Stadium | Recap | |||
| Fleming MacKell (1) – 07:56 Dave Creighton (1) – 14:09 |
First period | 08:54 – pp – Gordie Howe (1) | ||||||
| Joe Klukay (1) – 02:10 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Johnny Peirson (1) – 10:04 Dave Creighton (2) – 12:58 |
Third period | 17:38 – Metro Prystai (2) 18:08 – Metro Prystai (3) | ||||||
| Jim Henry | Goalie stats | Terry Sawchuck | ||||||
| March 29 | Detroit Red Wings | 1–2 | OT | Boston Bruins | Boston Garden | Recap | ||
| No scoring | First period | 11:27 – Ed Sandford (1) | ||||||
| Tony Leswick (1) – 10:54 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | First overtime period | 12:29 – Jack McIntyre (1) | ||||||
| Terry Sawchuck | Goalie stats | Jim Henry | ||||||
| March 31 | Detroit Red Wings | 2–6 | Boston Bruins | Boston Garden | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 02:45 – Ed Sandford (2) 13:12 – Jack McIntyre (2) | ||||||
| Metro Prystai (4) – 14:27 Alex Delvecchio (2) – 15:48 |
Second period | 06:05 – pp – Milt Schmidt (1) 10:37 – Jack McIntyre (3) 11:22 – Dave Creighton (3) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 12:55 – Ed Sandford (3) | ||||||
| Terry Sawchuck | Goalie stats | Jim Henry | ||||||
| April 2 | Boston Bruins | 4–6 | Detroit Red Wings | Olympia Stadium | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 00:23 – Ted Lindsay (3) 00:55 – Bob Goldham (1) 03:45 – Benny Woit (1) | ||||||
| Ed Sandford (4) – 09:02 | Second period | 08:42 – Gordie Howe (2) 11:32 – Johnny Wilson (2) | ||||||
| Ed Sandford (5) – 01:54 Milt Schmidt (2) – 11:57 Milt Schmidt (3) – pp – 16:46 |
Third period | 09:54 – Glen Skov (1) | ||||||
| Jim Henry | Goalie stats | Terry Sawchuck | ||||||
| April 5 | Detroit Red Wings | 2–4 | Boston Bruins | Boston Garden | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 03:41 – pp – Ed Sandford (6) | ||||||
| Reg Sinclair (1) – 18:05 | Second period | 11:36 – Johnny Peirson (2) | ||||||
| Ted Lindsay (4) – 13:27 | Third period | 11:19 – Fleming MacKell (2) 17:36 – Leo Labine (1) | ||||||
| Terry Sawchuck | Goalie stats | Jim Henry | ||||||
| Boston won series 4–2 | |
(2) Montreal Canadiens vs. (4) Chicago Black Hawks
| March 24 | Chicago Black Hawks | 1–3 | Montreal Canadiens | Montreal Forum | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Gerry Couture (1) – 13:34 | Second period | 14:55 – Bernie Geoffrion (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 04:29 – Butch Bouchard (1) 17:54 – Paul Meger (1) | ||||||
| Al Rollins | Goalie stats | Gerry McNeil | ||||||
| March 26 | Chicago Black Hawks | 3–4 | Montreal Canadiens | Montreal Forum | Recap | |||
| Jim McFadden (1) – 02:35 George Gee (1) – 05:29 Jim McFadden (2) – 06:58 |
First period | 05:17 – Floyd Curry (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 12:32 – Dickie Moore (1) 18:08 – Bernie Geoffrion (2) 19:02 – Dick Gamble (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Al Rollins | Goalie stats | Gerry McNeil | ||||||
| March 29 | Montreal Canadiens | 1–2 | OT | Chicago Black Hawks | Chicago Stadium | Recap | ||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Bernie Geoffrion (3) – 14:53 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 18:03 – Bill Mosienko (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | First overtime period | 05:18 – Al Dewsbury (1) | ||||||
| Gerry McNeil | Goalie stats | Al Rollins | ||||||
| March 31 | Montreal Canadiens | 1–3 | Chicago Black Hawks | Chicago Stadium | Recap | |||
| Bert Olmstead (1) – pp – 11:12 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 02:57 – Bill Mosienko (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 12:28 – Vic Lynn (1) 19:56 – Jim McFadden (3) | ||||||
| Gerry McNeil | Goalie stats | Al Rollins | ||||||
| April 2 | Chicago Black Hawks | 4–2 | Montreal Canadiens | Montreal Forum | Recap | |||
| Fred Hucul (1) – pp – 04:00 Bill Mosienko (3) – 06:59 Gus Bodnar (1) – 11:26 |
First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Gus Mortson (1) – 18:48 | Second period | 04:53 – Maurice Richard (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 14:36 – Tom Johnson (1) | ||||||
| Al Rollins | Goalie stats | Gerry McNeil | ||||||
| April 4 | Montreal Canadiens | 3–0 | Chicago Black Hawks | Chicago Stadium | Recap | |||
| Bernie Geoffrion (4) – 05:59 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Maurice Richard (2) – 03:23 Ken Mosdell (1) – 16:20 |
Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Jacques Plante | Goalie stats | Al Rollins | ||||||
| April 7 | Chicago Black Hawks | 1–4 | Montreal Canadiens | Montreal Forum | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 01:38 – pp – Bernie Geoffrion (5) | ||||||
| Bill Mosienko (4) – 14:16 | Second period | 15:36 – Eddie Mazur (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 04:51 – pp – Maurice Richard (3) 13:55 – Eddie Mazur (2) | ||||||
| Al Rollins | Goalie stats | Jacques Plante | ||||||
| Montreal won series 4–3 | |
Stanley Cup Finals
In the finals, the Bruins could not continue their winning ways, and lost to Montreal in five games.
After the finals, the Cleveland Barons of the American Hockey League applied to play a Stanley Cup challenge. The NHL governors turned down the challenge, stating that the Cleveland club operated in a league of lower standing.[5][2]
| April 9 | Boston Bruins | 2–4 | Montreal Canadiens | Montreal Forum | Recap | |||
| Bob Armstrong (1) – pp – 02:08 | First period | 13:42 – Dickie Moore (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 02:37 – Ken Mosdell (2) 16:05 – Floyd Curry (2) | ||||||
| Johnny Peirson (3) – pp – 10:11 | Third period | 11:12 – Maurice Richard (4) | ||||||
| Jim Henry, Gord Henry | Goalie stats | Jacques Plante | ||||||
| April 11 | Boston Bruins | 4–1 | Montreal Canadiens | Montreal Forum | Recap | |||
| Leo Labine (2) – 03:53 Ed Sandford (7) – 18:13 |
First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Ed Sandford (8) – 07:26 | Second period | 01:36 – Bert Olmstead (2) | ||||||
| Milt Schmidt (4) – 15:43 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Gord Henry Jim Henry |
Goalie stats | Jacques Plante | ||||||
| April 12 | Montreal Canadiens | 3–0 | Boston Bruins | Boston Garden | Recap | |||
| Tom Johnson (2) – 11:53 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Paul Masnick (1) – 06:30 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Ken Mosdell (3) – pp – 11:27 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Gerry McNeil | Goalie stats | Gord Henry | ||||||
| April 14 | Montreal Canadiens | 7–3 | Boston Bruins | Boston Garden | Recap | |||
| Lorne Davis (1) – 03:23 Maurice Richard (5) – 10:58 Dickie Moore (3) – 16:40 |
First period | 18:22 – Dave Creighton (4) | ||||||
| Bernie Geoffrion (6) – pp – 18:56 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Maurice Richard (6) – 05:33 Calum MacKay (1) – 17:59 Maurice Richard (7) – 18:27 |
Third period | 07:23 – Milt Schmidt (5) 16:25 – Jack McIntyre (4) | ||||||
| Gerry McNeil | Goalie stats | Gord Henry | ||||||
| April 16 | Boston Bruins | 0–1 | OT | Montreal Canadiens | Montreal Forum | Recap | ||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | First overtime period | 01:22 – Elmer Lach (1) | ||||||
| Jim Henry | Goalie stats | Gerry McNeil | ||||||
| Montreal won series 4–1 | |
| Prince of Wales Trophy: (Best regular-season record) | Detroit Red Wings |
| Art Ross Trophy: (Top scorer) | Gordie Howe, Detroit Red Wings |
| Calder Memorial Trophy: (Top first-year player) | Lorne "Gump" Worsley, New York Rangers |
| Hart Trophy: (Most valuable player) | Gordie Howe, Detroit Red Wings |
| Lady Byng Memorial Trophy: (Excellence and sportsmanship) | Red Kelly, Detroit Red Wings |
| Vezina Trophy: (Goaltender of team with best goals-against record) | Terry Sawchuk, Detroit Red Wings |
All-Star teams
Scoring leaders
Note: GP = Games played, G = Goals, A = Assists, PTS = Points, PIM = Penalties in minutes
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | PTS | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gordie Howe | Detroit Red Wings | 70 | 49 | 46 | 95 | 57 |
| Ted Lindsay | Detroit Red Wings | 70 | 32 | 39 | 71 | 111 |
| Maurice Richard | Montreal Canadiens | 70 | 28 | 33 | 61 | 112 |
| Wally Hergesheimer | New York Rangers | 70 | 30 | 29 | 59 | 10 |
| Alex Delvecchio | Detroit Red Wings | 70 | 16 | 43 | 59 | 28 |
| Paul Ronty | New York Rangers | 70 | 16 | 38 | 54 | 20 |
| Metro Prystai | Detroit Red Wings | 70 | 16 | 34 | 50 | 12 |
| Red Kelly | Detroit Red Wings | 70 | 19 | 27 | 46 | 8 |
| Bert Olmstead | Montreal Canadiens | 69 | 17 | 28 | 45 | 83 |
| Fleming Mackell | Boston Bruins | 65 | 27 | 17 | 44 | 63 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Terry Sawchuk | Detroit Red Wings | 63 | 3780 | 120 | 1.90 | 32 | 15 | 16 | 9 |
| Gerry McNeil | Montreal Canadiens | 66 | 3960 | 140 | 2.12 | 25 | 23 | 18 | 10 |
| Harry Lumley | Toronto Maple Leafs | 70 | 4200 | 167 | 2.39 | 27 | 30 | 13 | 10 |
| Jim Henry | Boston Bruins | 70 | 4200 | 142 | 2.46 | 28 | 29 | 13 | 7 |
| Al Rollins | Chicago Black Hawks | 70 | 4200 | 175 | 2.50 | 27 | 28 | 15 | 6 |
| Chuck Rayner | New York Rangers | 20 | 1200 | 58 | 2.90 | 4 | 8 | 8 | 1 |
| Lorne Worsley | New York Rangers | 50 | 3000 | 153 | 3.06 | 13 | 29 | 8 | 2 |
- Boston Bruins: Lynn Patrick
- Chicago Black Hawks: Sid Abel
- Detroit Red Wings: Tommy Ivan
- Montreal Canadiens: Dick Irvin
- New York Rangers: Bill Cook
- Toronto Maple Leafs: Joe Primeau
The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1952–53 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs):
- Jerry Toppazzini, Boston Bruins
- Glenn Hall, Detroit Red Wings
- Marcel Bonin, Detroit Red Wings
- Ed Litzenberger, Montreal Canadiens
- Jacques Plante, Montreal Canadiens
- Harry Howell, New York Rangers
- Dean Prentice, New York Rangers
- Gump Worsley, New York Rangers
- Andy Bathgate, New York Rangers
- Ron Murphy, New York Rangers
- Ron Stewart, Toronto Maple Leafs
The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1952–53 (listed with their last team):
- Pentti Lund, Boston Bruins
- Chuck Rayner, New York Rangers
- Pete Babando, New York Rangers
The television version of Hockey Night in Canada made its debut on CBC Television. Regular season games were not broadcast in their entirety until the 1968–69 season, and were typically joined in progress at 9 p.m. Eastern Time, while the radio version of HNIC aired games in their entirety. Television coverage this season did not extend to the Stanley Cup playoffs.
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