1972 – 73 Chicago Black Hawks season The 1972 – 73 Chicago Black Hawks season was the Hawks ' forty - seventh season in the NHL , and the club was coming off their third consecutive first place finish in 1971 - 72 , as they finished on top of the West Division with a 46 - 17 - 15 record , tying a club record with 107 points . The Hawks swept the Pittsburgh Penguins in the NHL quarter - finals before they were swept by the New York Rangers in the semi - finals . During the off - season , the Black Hawks lost Bobby Hull to the Winnipeg Jets in the newly created World Hockey Association , who signed him to the first $ 1 million contract in hockey history . The NHL also expanded once again , as the New York Islanders would join the East Division , while the Atlanta Flames would be placed in the West . Chicago , dealing with the lost of Hull , got off to a quick start of the season , winning their first four games , before sliding into a slump that saw their record fall to 7 - 7 - 2 . The club would break out of their slump , and win 14 of their next 18 games , and take hold of the top spot in the West Division . The Hawks then cruised to their fourth straight first place finish , as they had a record of 42 - 27 - 9 , earning 93 points , which was their lowest point total since missing the playoffs in the 1968 - 69 season . Offensively , the Black Hawks were led by Jim Pappin , who had a career season , scoring 41 goals and 92 points . Pit Martin also stepped up , earning 61 assists and 90 points , while Dennis Hull scored 39 goals and 90 points . Stan Mikita had a very solid year , earning 83 points despite missing 21 games due to injuries . Bill White lead the defense , registering 47 points , while Pat Stapleton scored 10 goals and 31 points . Rookie Phil Russell had a team high 156 penalty minutes , and had a + 31 rating , which tied him with Mikita for the team lead . In goal , Tony Esposito led the club with 32 victories and a 2 . 51 GAA , along with four shutouts while appearing in 56 games . Backup goaltender Gary Smith won 10 games while having a 3 . 54 GAA . The Hawks opened the playoffs against the St . Louis Blues , who had a record of 32 - 34 - 12 , earning 76 points , while placing fourth in the West Division . The series opened with two games at Chicago Stadium , and the Black Hawks easily defeated the Blues in the series opener , winning 7 - 1 , before shutting out St . Louis 1 - 0 in the second game to take an early series lead . The series shifted to the St . Louis Arena for the next two games , however , Chicago took a 3 - 0 series lead , winning 5 - 2 in the third game , but the Blues avoided the sweep , winning 5 - 3 in the fourth game . Chicago returned home for the fifth game , and easily took care of St . Louis , thumping the Blues 6 - 1 to win the series . Chicago ' s next opponent was the New York Rangers , who had finished the season with a 47 - 23 - 8 record , earning 102 points , and a third place finish in the East Division . The Rangers defeated the defending Stanley Cup champions , the Boston Bruins in their first playoff series . Since the Black Hawks won their division , they were given home ice advantage in the series . The series opened up with two games at Chicago Stadium , but it was the Rangers who struck first , winning the series opener by a 4 - 1 score . The Black Hawks rebounded in the second game , holding off New York for a 5 - 4 victory to even the series . The series moved to Madison Square Garden for the next two games , and it would be the Hawks who took control of the series , defeating the Rangers 2 - 1 and 3 - 1 to take a 3 - 1 series lead back to Chicago for the fifth game . The Black Hawks stayed hot , and easily beat the Rangers 4 - 1 to win the series and advance to the Stanley Cup finals for the second time in three years . The Hawks opponent in the 1973 Stanley Cup finals was the Montreal Canadiens , who were the best team in the league during the regular season , as they had a 52 - 10 - 16 record , earning 120 points . The Canadiens had defeated the Buffalo Sabres and Philadelphia Flyers to earn a spot in the finals . The series opened at the Montreal Forum , and the powerful Canadiens easily won the first game by an 8 - 3 score , followed by a 4 - 1 win in the second game to take a 2 - 0 series lead . The finals shifted to Chicago Stadium for the next two games , and the Hawks cut into the Canadiens series lead with a 7 - 4 victory in the third game . Montreal rebounded in the fourth game though , shutting out Chicago 4 - 0 to take a 3 - 1 series lead . The fifth game returned to Montreal , however , the Black Hawks stayed alive with a wild 8 - 7 victory , cutting the Canadiens lead to 3 - 2 in the series . In the sixth game back in Chicago , Montreal would rebound , defeating the Hawks 6 - 4 to win the Stanley Cup . Draft picks . Chicago ' s draft picks at the 1972 NHL Amateur Draft held at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal , Quebec .