| 1958–59 NHL season | |
|---|---|
| League | National Hockey League |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Duration | October 8, 1958 – April 18, 1959 |
| Number of games | 70 |
| Number of teams | 6 |
| TV partner(s) | CBC, SRC (Canada) CBS (United States) |
| Regular season | |
| Season champion | Montreal Canadiens |
| Season MVP | Andy Bathgate (Rangers) |
| Top scorer | Dickie Moore (Canadiens) |
| Stanley Cup | |
| Champions | Montreal Canadiens |
| Runners-up | Toronto Maple Leafs |
The 1958–59 NHL season was the 42nd season of the National Hockey League. Six teams each played 70 games. The Montreal Canadiens were the Stanley Cup champions as they beat the Toronto Maple Leafs four games to one in the best-of-seven final series. This marked the fourth consecutive Stanley Cup win for the Canadiens as they became the first team to win four in a row.
League business
The NHL and the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA) negotiated a new professional-amateur agreement, since the previous deal had expired in 1955, and the groups had operated on a gentleman's agreement.[1] CAHA secretary George Dudley announced that NHL would pay C$40,000 towards developing amateur players, and the agreement set rules for negotiation lists and reserve lists and an earlier deadline to decide which players might be moved from a junior team to a professional team. The CAHA agreed that amateurs aged 17 and older would use same rules as the professionals except for overtime.[2]
Regular season
The Toronto Maple Leafs, last-place finishers the previous season, brought up Johnny Bower to share goaltending duties with Ed Chadwick and bolstered the defence by adding Carl Brewer and Allan Stanley to aid Tim Horton and Bobby Baun.
Ralph Backstrom and Jean Beliveau each had two goals apiece in a 9–1 Montreal win at the Montreal Forum on October 23. Rudy Pilous, coach of the Black Hawks, was displeased with his team's performance and fined his team $100 for the poor performance.
Beliveau had a hat trick November 29 as Montreal beat Detroit 6–2 at the Forum. Gordie Howe was injured in a collision with Doug Harvey near the end of the first period and was taken to hospital, returning for the third period. The next night, Montreal defeated the Red Wings 7–0 as Jacques Plante got his third shutout of the season.
On January 3, Harvey was back in the Canadiens' lineup and scored two goals in a 5–1 win over the New York Rangers at the Forum. In the last minute of play, Plante got two penalties, one of them a major that sparked the fight. Jimmy Bartlett had skated into Plante, and Plante retaliated by punching Bartlett, provoking a bench-clearing brawl. Referee Dalton McArthur gave Bartlett a double major, one for charging and one for fighting, and a misconduct penalty.
On February 1, the Rangers downed the Red Wings 5–4 at Madison Square Garden. Lou Fontinato became incensed when Gordie Howe struck Eddie Shack with his stick, and challenged the right wing. Howe broke Fontinato's nose in the fight. On February 5, the Rangers beat the Wings 5–0 on Worsley's shutout. Detroit coach Sid Abel, formerly Howe's centerman, fined 14 players $100 each for playing what he described as "the worst game of hockey he had seen in 20 years".
On February 15 at Madison Square Garden, Worsley had Montreal shut out with ten minutes remaining. Then the Canadiens scored 5 goals to win 5–1. Coach Phil Watson ordered every player except Worsley out on the ice for an after-game workout. Watson said Worsley hadn't played so badly. General manager Muzz Patrick said the workout was in lieu of fines.
With five games left in the season, the Rangers had a seven-point lead over Toronto. Then the Rangers went into a tailspin, and the Leafs got hot. The key game was played March 19 between Toronto and the Canadiens. Plante could not play due to a severe case of boils, and so the Canadiens used Claude Pronovost in goal. He let in five goals before coach Toe Blake replaced him in the third period with Claude Cyr; it was Cyr's first and last NHL game. Toronto won 6–3. The Canadiens brought up Charlie Hodge from the Montreal Royals and on March 22, he beat the Rangers 4–2. The Rangers still had a chance to make the playoffs if Detroit beat Toronto. The Leafs won 6–4 and ousted the Rangers from the playoffs.
The Montreal Canadiens again won the regular season standings; their players dominated the All-Star nominations (with six of a possible twelve, the same number as in 1956) and trophies as Jacques Plante won his fourth straight Vezina Trophy, Tom Johnson won the James Norris Memorial Trophy, ending teammate Doug Harvey's four-year monopoly, and Dickie Moore won the Art Ross Trophy, setting a new record for total points in a season: with a 41-goal, 55-assist campaign, Moore broke Howe's league record by a single point.
This season marked the final time until 1967 with an active player who had played for a team not in the Original Six. Former Brooklyn Americans player Ken Mosdell suited up for two postseason games for the Canadiens that year, and retired after Montreal won the Cup.
Final standings
| GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | DIFF | Pts | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Montreal Canadiens | 70 | 39 | 18 | 13 | 258 | 158 | +100 | 91 |
| 2 | Boston Bruins | 70 | 32 | 29 | 9 | 205 | 215 | −10 | 73 |
| 3 | Chicago Black Hawks | 70 | 28 | 29 | 13 | 197 | 208 | −11 | 69 |
| 4 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 70 | 27 | 32 | 11 | 189 | 201 | −12 | 65 |
| 5 | New York Rangers | 70 | 26 | 32 | 12 | 201 | 217 | −16 | 64 |
| 6 | Detroit Red Wings | 70 | 25 | 37 | 8 | 167 | 218 | −51 | 58 |
Record vs. opponents
| 1958–59 NHL Records [4] | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | BOS | CHI | DET | MTL | NYR | TOR | ||||||
| Boston | — | 6–7–1 | 8–5–1 | 6–6–2 | 6–5–3 | 6–6–2 | ||||||
| Chicago | 7–6–1 | — | 6–7–1 | 1–8–5 | 7–4–3 | 7–4–3 | ||||||
| Detroit | 5–8–1 | 7–6–1 | — | 1–9–4 | 6–7–1 | 6–7–1 | ||||||
| Montreal | 6–6–2 | 8–1–5 | 9–1–4 | — | 8–5–1 | 8–5–1 | ||||||
| New York | 5–6–3 | 4–7–3 | 7–6–1 | 5–8–1 | — | 5–5–4 | ||||||
| Toronto | 6–6–2 | 4–7–3 | 7–6–1 | 5–8–1 | 5–5–4 | — | ||||||
Playoffs
Playoff bracket
| Semifinals | Stanley Cup Finals | ||||||||
| 1 | Montreal | 4 | |||||||
| 3 | Chicago | 2 | |||||||
| 1 | Montreal | 4 | |||||||
| 4 | Toronto | 1 | |||||||
| 2 | Boston | 3 | |||||||
| 4 | Toronto | 4 | |||||||
Semifinals
(1) Montreal Canadiens vs. (3) Chicago Black Hawks
Following game six, Ottawa Journal sports editor Bill Westwick quoted league president Clarence Campbell as accusing the referee Red Storey of "freezing" in the final minutes of the near-riotous game.[5] Storey subsequently resigned as a referee. Campbell stated that Westwick took the words out of context, accused him of "breaking confidence" in the article.[5][6] Westwick's fellow newsmen defended his article and did not question its veracity.[7]
| March 24 | Chicago Black Hawks | 2–4 | Montreal Canadiens | Montreal Forum | Recap | |||
| Tod Sloan (1) – pp – 16:34 | First period | 10:46 – Claude Provost (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 04:05 – Henri Richard (1) 19:23 – pp – Marcel Bonin (1) | ||||||
| Tod Sloan (2) – 03:26 | Third period | 02:04 – Marcel Bonin (2) | ||||||
| Glenn Hall | Goalie stats | Jacques Plante | ||||||
| March 26 | Chicago Black Hawks | 1–5 | Montreal Canadiens | Montreal Forum | Recap | |||
| Eric Nesterenko (1) – sh – 14:35 | First period | 05:56 – Marcel Bonin (3) 12:01 – pp – Bernie Geoffrion (1) 12:48 – Dickie Moore (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 08:29 – pp – Jean Beliveau (1) 17:06 – pp – Marcel Bonin (4) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Glenn Hall | Goalie stats | Jacques Plante | ||||||
| March 28 | Montreal Canadiens | 2–4 | Chicago Black Hawks | Chicago Stadium | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 11:17 – Al Arbour (1) 13:15 – Lorne Ferguson (1) | ||||||
| Marcel Bonin (5) – 06:30 | Second period | 16:44 – Ed Litzenberger (1) | ||||||
| Henri Richard (2) – 08:48 | Third period | 19:54 – Glen Skov (1) | ||||||
| Jacques Plante | Goalie stats | Glenn Hall | ||||||
| March 31 | Montreal Canadiens | 1–3 | Chicago Black Hawks | Chicago Stadium | Recap | |||
| Marcel Bonin (6) – pp – 04:33 | First period | 18:08 – Bobby Hull (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 13:26 – Lorne Ferguson (2) 19:49 – Glen Skov (2) | ||||||
| Jacques Plante | Goalie stats | Glenn Hall | ||||||
| April 2 | Chicago Black Hawks | 2–4 | Montreal Canadiens | Montreal Forum | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 01:34 – Andre Pronovost (1) 10:48 – pp – Marcel Bonin (7) 14:35 – Claude Provost (2) 16:38 – pp – Bernie Geoffrion (2) | ||||||
| Tod Sloan (3) – pp – 03:00 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Eric Nesterenko (2) – 05:11 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Glenn Hall | Goalie stats | Jacques Plante | ||||||
| April 4 | Montreal Canadiens | 5–4 | Chicago Black Hawks | Chicago Stadium | Recap | |||
| Doug Harvey (1) – 02:20 | First period | 13:05 – pp – Ted Lindsay (2) | ||||||
| Dickie Moore (2) – pp – 09:09 Claude Provost (3) – sh – 10:22 |
Second period | 05:52 – Ed Litzenberger (2) | ||||||
| Dickie Moore (3) – 13:18 Claude Provost (4) – 18:32 |
Third period | 03:24 – pp – Ed Litzenberger (3) 14:32 – Ted Lindsay (2) | ||||||
| Jacques Plante | Goalie stats | Glenn Hall | ||||||
| Montreal won series 4–2 | |
(2) Boston Bruins vs. (4) Toronto Maple Leafs
| March 24 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 1–5 | Boston Bruins | Boston Garden | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 07:50 – Jerry Toppazzini (1) | ||||||
| Gerry Ehman (1) – 06:07 | Second period | 10:53 – Leo Labine (1) 11:53 – Vic Stasiuk (1) 18:45 – sh – Larry Leach (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 06:18 – Don McKenney (1) | ||||||
| Johnny Bower | Goalie stats | Harry Lumley | ||||||
| March 26 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 2–4 | Boston Bruins | Boston Garden | Recap | |||
| Dick Duff (1) – 15:45 | First period | 10:00 – Fleming MacKell (1) 12:14 – pp – Fleming MacKell (2) | ||||||
| Ron Stewart (1) – 08:09 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 15:59 – Jean-Guy Gendron (1) 19:15 – Leo Labine (2) | ||||||
| Johnny Bower | Goalie stats | Harry Lumley | ||||||
| March 28 | Boston Bruins | 2–3 | OT | Toronto Maple Leafs | Maple Leaf Gardens | Recap | ||
| Vic Stasiuk (2) – pp – 02:43 | First period | 16:21 – Bob Pulford (1) | ||||||
| Vic Stasiuk (3) – 17:34 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 17:08 – Gerry Ehman (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | First overtime period | 05:02 – Gerry Ehman (3) | ||||||
| Harry Lumley | Goalie stats | Johnny Bower | ||||||
| March 31 | Boston Bruins | 2–3 | OT | Toronto Maple Leafs | Maple Leaf Gardens | Recap | ||
| No scoring | First period | 06:58 – pp – Gerry Ehman (4) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Jerry Toppazzini (2) – 02:02 Bronco Horvath (1) – 07:20 |
Third period | 02:46 – Brian Cullen (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | First overtime period | 11:21 – pp – Frank Mahovlich (1) | ||||||
| Harry Lumley | Goalie stats | Johnny Bower | ||||||
| April 2 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 4–1 | Boston Bruins | Boston Garden | Recap | |||
| Bert Olmstead (1) – pp – 09:26 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Dick Duff (2) – 06:37 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Frank Mahovlich (2) – 00:19 Bob Pulford (2) – sh – 09:02 |
Third period | 11:25 – Jerry Toppazzini (3) | ||||||
| Johnny Bower | Goalie stats | Harry Lumley | ||||||
| April 4 | Boston Bruins | 5–4 | Toronto Maple Leafs | Maple Leaf Gardens | Recap | |||
| Jerry Toppazzini (4) – pp – 07:28 Don McKenney (2) – 09:34 |
First period | 15:13 – pp – Bert Olmstead (2) | ||||||
| Johnny Bucyk (1) – 09:57 Johnny Bucyk (2) – 17:19 |
Second period | 03:50 – Frank Mahovlich (3) | ||||||
| Bronco Horvath (2) – 12:56 | Third period | 02:55 – Gerry Ehman (5) 07:37 – sh – Frank Mahovlich (4) | ||||||
| Harry Lumley | Goalie stats | Johnny Bower | ||||||
| April 7 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 3–2 | Boston Bruins | Boston Garden | Recap | |||
| Larry Regan (1) – pp – 05:33 | First period | 01:11 – pp – Vic Stasiuk (4) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 14:33 – Leo Boivin (1) | ||||||
| Bob Pulford (3) – 08:36 Gerry Ehman (6) – 17:27 |
Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Johnny Bower | Goalie stats | Harry Lumley | ||||||
| Toronto won series 4–3 | |
Stanley Cup Finals
| April 9 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 3–5 | Montreal Canadiens | Montreal Forum | Recap | |||
| Dick Duff (3) – sh – 04:53 Billy Harris (1) – 06:24 |
First period | 00:36 – Henri Richard (3) 15:41 – Ralph Backstrom (1) | ||||||
| Ron Stewart (2) – 18:26 | Second period | 16:28 – Andre Pronovost (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 11:59 – Marcel Bonin (8) 15:02 – pp – Dickie Moore (4) | ||||||
| Johnny Bower | Goalie stats | Jacques Plante | ||||||
| April 11 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 1–3 | Montreal Canadiens | Montreal Forum | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 05:12 – pp – Tom Johnson (1) | ||||||
| Ron Stewart (3) – 11:41 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 05:02 – Claude Provost (5) 18:33 – Claude Provost (6) | ||||||
| Johnny Bower | Goalie stats | Jacques Plante | ||||||
| April 14 | Montreal Canadiens | 2–3 | OT | Toronto Maple Leafs | Maple Leaf Gardens | Recap | ||
| Marcel Bonin (9) – pp – 17:31 | First period | 16:29 – Billy Harris (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 17:11 – Bert Olmstead (3) | ||||||
| Dickie Moore (5) – 01:30 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | First overtime period | 10:06 – Dick Duff (4) | ||||||
| Jacques Plante | Goalie stats | Johnny Bower | ||||||
| April 16 | Montreal Canadiens | 3–2 | Toronto Maple Leafs | Maple Leaf Gardens | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Ab McDonald (1) – 09:54 Ralph Backstrom (2) – 13:01 Bernie Geoffrion (3) – 15:56 |
Third period | 03:45 – Billy Harris (3) 18:36 – Frank Mahovlich (5) | ||||||
| Jacques Plante | Goalie stats | Johnny Bower | ||||||
| April 18 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 3–5 | Montreal Canadiens | Montreal Forum | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 04:13 – pp – Ralph Backstrom (3) 13:42 – Bernie Geoffrion (4) 16:26 – Tom Johnson (2) | ||||||
| Bob Pulford (4) – pp – 04:27 | Second period | 09:55 – Marcel Bonin (10) 19:25 – pp – Bernie Geoffrion (5) | ||||||
| Frank Mahovlich (6) – 12:07 Bert Olmstead (4) – 16:19 |
Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Johnny Bower | Goalie stats | Jacques Plante | ||||||
| Montreal won series 4–1 | |
Awards
| 1958–59 NHL awards | |
|---|---|
| Prince of Wales Trophy: (Regular season champion) | Montreal Canadiens |
| Art Ross Trophy: (Top scorer) | Dickie Moore, Montreal Canadiens |
| Calder Memorial Trophy: (Best first-year player) | Ralph Backstrom, Montreal Canadiens |
| Hart Trophy: (Most valuable player) | Andy Bathgate, New York Rangers |
| James Norris Memorial Trophy: (Best defenceman) | Tom Johnson, Montreal Canadiens |
| Lady Byng Memorial Trophy: (Excellence and sportsmanship) | Alex Delvecchio, Detroit Red Wings |
| Vezina Trophy: (Goaltender of team with the best goals-against average) | Jacques Plante, Montreal Canadiens |
All-Star teams
Player statistics
Scoring leaders
Note: GP = Games played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points, PIM = Penalties in minutes
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dickie Moore | Montreal Canadiens | 70 | 41 | 55 | 96 | 61 |
| Jean Beliveau | Montreal Canadiens | 64 | 45 | 46 | 91 | 67 |
| Andy Bathgate | New York Rangers | 70 | 40 | 48 | 88 | 48 |
| Gordie Howe | Detroit Red Wings | 70 | 32 | 46 | 78 | 57 |
| Ed Litzenberger | Chicago Black Hawks | 70 | 33 | 44 | 77 | 37 |
| Bernie Geoffrion | Montreal Canadiens | 59 | 22 | 44 | 66 | 30 |
| George "Red" Sullivan | New York Rangers | 70 | 21 | 42 | 63 | 56 |
| Andy Hebenton | New York Rangers | 70 | 33 | 29 | 62 | 8 |
| Don McKenney | Boston Bruins | 70 | 32 | 30 | 62 | 20 |
| Tod Sloan | Chicago Black Hawks | 59 | 27 | 35 | 62 | 79 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jacques Plante | Montreal Canadiens | 67 | 4000 | 144 | 2.15 | 38 | 16 | 13 | 9 |
| Johnny Bower | Toronto Maple Leafs | 39 | 2340 | 107 | 2.74 | 15 | 17 | 7 | 3 |
| Glenn Hall | Chicago Black Hawks | 70 | 4200 | 208 | 2.97 | 28 | 29 | 13 | 1 |
| Lorne Worsley | New York Rangers | 67 | 4001 | 199 | 2.97 | 26 | 30 | 11 | 2 |
| Ed Chadwick | Toronto Maple Leafs | 31 | 1860 | 92 | 2.97 | 12 | 15 | 4 | 3 |
| Terry Sawchuk | Detroit Red Wings | 67 | 4020 | 202 | 3.01 | 23 | 36 | 8 | 5 |
| Don Simmons | Boston Bruins | 58 | 3480 | 183 | 3.16 | 24 | 26 | 8 | 3 |
Coaches
- Boston Bruins: Milt Schmidt
- Chicago Black Hawks: Rudy Pilous
- Detroit Red Wings: Sid Abel
- Montreal Canadiens: Toe Blake
- New York Rangers: Phil Watson
- Toronto Maple Leafs: Punch Imlach
Debuts
The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1958–59 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs):
- Stan Mikita, Chicago Black Hawks
- John McKenzie, Chicago Black Hawks
- Bill Hicke*, Montreal Canadiens
- Eddie Shack, New York Rangers
Last games
The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1958–59 (listed with their last team):
- Earl Reibel, Boston Bruins
- Real Chevrefils, Boston Bruins
- Danny Lewicki, Chicago Black Hawks
- Gus Mortson, Detroit Red Wings
- Kenny Mosdell, Montreal Canadiens (Last active from the New York Americans/ Brooklyn Americans and last player from the pre-Original Six era.)
- Wally Hergesheimer, New York Rangers
Broadcasting
Hockey Night in Canada on CBC Television televised Saturday night regular season games and selected Stanley Cup playoff games. Games were not broadcast in their entirety until the 1968–69 season, and were typically joined in progress, while the radio version of HNIC aired games in their entirety.
In the U.S., this was the third season of a four-year deal with CBS to televise Saturday afternoon regular season games. This season, CBS aired games from October to March.
See also
References
- Coleman, Charles L. (1976), Trail of the Stanley Cup, Vol III, Sherbrooke, Quebec: Progressive Publications
- Diamond, Dan, ed. (1994). 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.
- Diamond, Dan, ed. (2000). Total Hockey. Kingston, New York: Total Sports. ISBN 1-892129-85-X.
- Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Toronto, ON: Dan Diamond & Associates. ISBN 978-1-894801-22-5.
- Dryden, Steve, ed. (2000). Century of hockey. Toronto, ON: McClelland & Stewart Ltd. ISBN 0-7710-4179-9.
- Duplacey, James (2008), Hockey's Book of Firsts, North Dighton, Massachusetts: JG Press, ISBN 978-1-57215-037-9
- Fischler, Stan; Fischler, Shirley; Hughes, Morgan; Romain, Joseph; Duplacey, James (2003). The Hockey Chronicle: Year-by-Year History of the National Hockey League. Lincolnwood, Illinois: Publications International Inc. ISBN 0-7853-9624-1.
- McFarlane, Brian (1969), 50 Years Of Hockey, Winnipeg, MAN: Greywood Publishing, ASIN B000GW45S0
- McFarlane, Brian (1973). The Story of the National Hockey League. New York: Pagurian Press. ISBN 0-684-13424-1.
- Notes
- ↑ Sullivan, Jack (May 21, 1958). "Allan Cup Champions To Defend World Ice Crown". Brandon Daily Sun. Brandon, Manitoba. p. 11.
- ↑ "Pro-Amateur Agreement Reached". Winnipeg Free Press. Winnipeg, Manitoba. January 3, 1959. p. 38.
- ↑ "1958–1959 Division Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". National Hockey League.
- ↑ "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
- 1 2 "Campbell Says". Ottawa Journal. Ottawa, Ontario. United Press International. April 7, 1959. p. 5.
- ↑ Lake, Stuart (August 30, 1973). "After 47 years, Bill Westwick writes his final 30". Ottawa Citizen. Ottawa, Ontario. p. 27.
- ↑ MacCabe, Eddie (June 21, 1990). "Bill Westwick: Good reporter, good man, good friend". Ottawa Citizen. Ottawa, Ontario. p. 31.
- ↑ Dinger 2011, p. 149.