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The 1966-67 NHL season was the 50th season of the National Hockey League. Six teams each played 70 games. Since the 1942-43 season, there had only been six teams in the NHL, but this was to be the last season of the Original Six as six more teams were added for the 1967-68 season. This season saw the addition of arguably the greatest defenceman in the game's history, Bobby Orr of the Boston Bruins.
Regular season
The Chicago Black Hawks, who had won three Stanley Cups, finished first overall in the standings for the first time in their history, a full seventeen points ahead of the Montreal Canadiens and nineteen ahead of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Eddie Giacomin went from a goaltender who was bombarded with garbage by his home Ranger fans in a game with Boston to one of the best goaltenders in the NHL. The Rangers were in first place at one point, but slumped and had to be satisfied with fourth place. Giacomin went from zero to hero as he posted a 2.66 goals against average and led the league with 9 shutouts.
Final standings
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes| National Hockey League | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago Black Hawks | 70 | 41 | 17 | 12 | 94 | 264 | 170 | 757 |
| Montreal Canadiens | 70 | 32 | 25 | 13 | 77 | 202 | 188 | 879 |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | 70 | 32 | 27 | 11 | 75 | 204 | 211 | 736 |
| New York Rangers | 70 | 30 | 28 | 12 | 72 | 188 | 189 | 664 |
| Detroit Red Wings | 70 | 27 | 39 | 4 | 58 | 212 | 241 | 719 |
| Boston Bruins | 70 | 17 | 43 | 10 | 44 | 182 | 253 | 764 |
Scoring leaders
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stan Mikita | Chicago Black Hawks | 70 | 35 | 62 | 97 | |
| Bobby Hull | Chicago Black Hawks | 66 | 52 | 28 | 80 | |
| Norm Ullman | Detroit Red Wings | 68 | 26 | 44 | 70 | |
| Ken Wharram | Chicago Black Hawks | 70 | 31 | 34 | 65 | |
| Gordie Howe | Detroit Red Wings | 69 | 25 | 40 | 65 | |
| Bobby Rousseau | Montreal Canadiens | 68 | 19 | 44 | 63 | |
| Phil Esposito | Chicago Black Hawks | 69 | 21 | 40 | 61 | |
| Phil Goyette | New York Rangers | 70 | 12 | 49 | 61 | |
| Doug Mohns | Chicago Black Hawks | 61 | 25 | 35 | 60 | |
| Henri Richard | Montreal Canadiens | 65 | 21 | 34 | 55 |
Leading goaltenders
Stanley Cup playoffs
Despite Chicago's impressive regular season marks, it was the third seed Toronto Maple Leafs who beat the Black Hawks in the first round of the playoffs. The Leafs went on to win the Stanley Cup over the Montreal Canadiens four games to two; it proved to be the most recent time Toronto has won the Cup. The Leafs' squad was renowned as the oldest ever to win a Cup final; the average age of the team was well over thirty, and four players were over forty.
Playoff bracket
NHL awards
See also
- 1967 NHL Expansion
- List of Stanley Cup champions
- 1966 NHL Amateur Draft
- 20th National Hockey League All-Star Game
- National Hockey League All-Star Game
- 1966 in sports
- 1967 in sports
References
"1966-67 NHL season"