1949–50 Boston Bruins season

The 1949–50 Boston Bruins season was the Bruins' 26th season in the NHL. The Bruins finished 5th in the league and did not qualify for the playoffs.
==Off-season==
Unhappy with the performance of the Bruins during the 1948 playoffs and growing increasingly uncomfortable coaching those he had played with for many years, Bruins coach Dit Clapper resigned from his position. Clapper's replacement was George Boucher, who had previously coached the Montreal Maroons, Ottawa Senators and St. Louis Eagles after a 457 game NHL career. Boucher was fresh off of assisting the RCAF Flyers win an Olympic gold medal. However, Boucher lasted only one season with the Bruins and never coached in the NHL again.
The Bruins acquired All-Star defenseman Bill Quackenbush and Pete Horeck from the Detroit Red Wings on August 16, 1949 for Pete Babando, Clare Martin and Jimmy Peters.
==Pre-season==
The 3rd National Hockey League All-Star Game was held at Toronto on October 10, 1949. Bruins Paul Ronty and Bill Quackenbush played for the All-Stars against the Toronto Maple Leafs. As in the 2nd game, the All-Stars won 3-1 with a Bruin scoring the winning goal, Ronty getting the marker. Quackenbush had an assist on the third goal.
==Regular Season==
With the success of the "Spoked B" jersey worn for their 25th anniversary in the NHL, the Bruins adopted the white jersey for the 1949-50 season, albeit with the "24" and "49" on the horizontal spokes removed. The jersey number was changed from gold outlined in black to black outlined in gold for greater visibility. The "Spoked B" became the Bruins logo and would be worn in one form or another every year afterwards. 
The results of the 1949-50 season for the Bruins could be aptly described as puzzling. Although significant turnover occurred during the off-season, the moves and trades were necessary. Despite all the right moves being made and relatively few injuries (Ed Sandford missed 51 games), the Bruins didn't make the playoffs.
All-Star goalie Frank Brimsek was sold to the Chicago Black Hawks and Jack Gelineau became the Bruins starting keeper. Gelineau performed well and captured the Calder Memorial Trophy as rookie of the year. Phil Maloney was called up from the Hershey Bears, where he'd led the team in scoring in 1948-49. Maloney had a great rookie season, scored 46 points and finished second in Calder voting.
Bruins strongman defender Pat Egan was traded and replaced with Bill Quackenbush, who'd lead the Bruins defense for the next seven years and twice be voted an All-Star. Paul Ronty and Johnny Peirson continued their scoring prowess with Ronty finishing 5th and Peirson 8th in league scoring. Veterans Milt Schmidt and Woody Dumart continued to provide depth scoring while mid-season acquisition Bud Poile had 30 points in 39 games for the Bruins. Captain Jack Crawford was in and out of the lineup and missed 24 games in the last of his dozen seasons with the Bruins.
Silvio Bettio played his only NHL season, often with team leading scorers Ronty and Peirson. Although he had 21 points in 44 games, he wouldn't keep his spot on the roster.
The Bruins played inconsistently, sometimes beating league powerhouses Detroit and Montreal and then losing to weaker teams such as Chicago. This could be attributed to parity in the league. The Bruins had a dismal February in which they won only once. Their play improved in March but was only slightly above .500. Desperately trying to catch the New York Rangers for the last playoff spot, the Bruins chances were given a boost as New York went on a seven game losing streak. But a 2-2-3 record in their last seven games resulted in them finishing out of the post season.
===Final Standings===
===Game Log===
Regular Season Results	Regular Season Results	Regular Season Results	Regular Season Results	Regular Season Results 	Regular Season Results
No. 	R 	Date 	Score 	Opponent 	Record
1 	L 	October 12, 1949 	1–2 	@ Detroit Red Wings (1949–50) 	0–1–0
2 	T 	October 16, 1949 	2–2 	New York Rangers (1949–50) 	0–1–1
3 	W 	October 19, 1949 	7–4 	Chicago Black Hawks (1949–50) 	1–1–1
4 	W 	October 22, 1949 	2–1 	@ Montreal Canadiens (1949–50) 	2–1–1
5 	T 	October 23, 1949 	0–0 	Montreal Canadiens (1949–50) 	2–1–2
6 	L 	October 26, 1949 	2–5 	@ New York Rangers (1949–50) 	2–2–2
7 	L 	October 29, 1949 	1–8 	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1949–50)	2–3–2
8 	L 	October 30, 1949 	4–10 	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1949–50)	2–4–2
9 	L 	November 2, 1949 	3–5 	@ Detroit Red Wings (1949–50) 	2–5–2
10 	T 	November 5, 1949 	3–3 	@ Montreal Canadiens (1949–50) 	2–5–3
11 	L 	November 9, 1949 	1–3 	Chicago Black Hawks (1949–50) 	2–6–3
12 	L 	November 12, 1949 	5–7 	Detroit Red Wings (1949–50) 	2–7–3
13 	W 	November 13, 1949 	4–2 	Toronto Maple Leafs (1949–50) 	3–7–3
14 	L 	November 16, 1949 	1–2 	@ New York Rangers (1949–50) 	3–8–3
15 	L 	November 17, 1949 	3–8 	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1949–50)	3–9–3
16 	W 	November 20, 1949 	2–1 	Montreal Canadiens (1949–50) 	4–9–3
17 	W 	November 23, 1949 	3–1 	Toronto Maple Leafs (1949–50) 	5–9–3
18 	T 	November 26, 1949 	3–3 	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1949–50)	5–9–4
19 	T 	November 27, 1949 	1–1 	New York Rangers (1949–50) 	5–9–5
20 	L 	November 30, 1949 	0–3 	@ Detroit Red Wings (1949–50) 	5–10–5
21 	L 	December 1, 1949 	4–5 	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1949–50)	5–11–5
22 	W 	December 3, 1949 	5–3 	Chicago Black Hawks (1949–50) 	6–11–5
23 	W 	December 4, 1949 	4–2 	Montreal Canadiens (1949–50) 	7–11–5
24 	L 	December 7, 1949 	1–2 	Detroit Red Wings (1949–50) 	7–12–5
25 	T 	December 8, 1949 	2–2 	@ Montreal Canadiens (1949–50) 	7–12–6
26 	L 	December 10, 1949 	1–2 	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1949–50)	7–13–6
27 	W 	December 11, 1949 	2–0 	Toronto Maple Leafs (1949–50) 	8–13–6
28 	L 	December 14, 1949 	2–5 	Detroit Red Wings (1949–50) 	8–14–6
29 	L 	December 17, 1949 	1–3 	New York Rangers (1949–50) 	8–15–6
30 	W 	December 18, 1949 	3–1 	Montreal Canadiens (1949–50) 	9–15–6
31 	W 	December 21, 1949 	4–1 	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1949–50)	10–15–6
32 	W 	December 24, 1949 	8–4 	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1949–50)	11–15–6
33 	T 	December 25, 1949 	4–4 	Chicago Black Hawks (1949–50) 	11–15–7
34 	T 	December 28, 1949 	2–2 	@ Detroit Red Wings (1949–50) 	11–15–8
35 	L 	December 31, 1949 	1–4 	@ New York Rangers (1949–50) 	11–16–8
36 	W 	January 1, 1950 	6–0 	New York Rangers (1949–50) 	12–16–8
37 	L 	January 5, 1950 	3–5 	@ Montreal Canadiens (1949–50) 	12–17–8
38 	W 	January 8, 1950 	4–3 	@ Detroit Red Wings (1949–50) 	13–17–8
39 	W 	January 11, 1950 	2–1 	Detroit Red Wings (1949–50) 	14–17–8
40 	L 	January 14, 1950 	3–4 	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1949–50)	14–18–8
41 	L 	January 15, 1950 	1–5 	Chicago Black Hawks (1949–50) 	14–19–8
42 	W 	January 18, 1950 	4–2 	@ New York Rangers (1949–50) 	15–19–8
43 	L 	January 21, 1950 	1–3 	@ Montreal Canadiens (1949–50) 	15–20–8
44 	L 	January 22, 1950 	4–5 	Montreal Canadiens (1949–50) 	15–21–8
45 	T 	January 25, 1950 	4–4 	@ Detroit Red Wings (1949–50) 	15–21–9
46 	L 	January 26, 1950 	1–5 	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1949–50)	15–22–9
47 	T 	January 28, 1950 	2–2 	New York Rangers (1949–50) 	15–22–10
48 	W 	January 29, 1950 	4–1 	Detroit Red Wings (1949–50) 	16–22–10
49 	W 	February 1, 1950 	3–2 	New York Rangers (1949–50) 	17–22–10
50 	L 	February 5, 1950 	1–2 	Toronto Maple Leafs (1949–50) 	17–23–10
51 	L 	February 8, 1950 	1–3 	Toronto Maple Leafs (1949–50) 	17–24–10
52 	L 	February 11, 1950 	4–9 	Detroit Red Wings (1949–50) 	17–25–10
53 	T 	February 12, 1950 	3–3 	Montreal Canadiens (1949–50) 	17–25–11
54 	T 	February 15, 1950 	2–2 	@ New York Rangers (1949–50) 	17–25–12
55 	T 	February 19, 1950 	4–4 	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1949–50)	17–25–13
56 	L 	February 22, 1950 	1–3 	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1949–50)	17–26–13
57 	L 	February 25, 1950 	2–3 	@ Montreal Canadiens (1949–50) 	17–27–13
58 	L 	February 26, 1950 	3–4 	@ New York Rangers (1949–50) 	17–28–13
59 	W 	March 1, 1950 	5–2 	Toronto Maple Leafs (1949–50) 	18–28–13
60 	W 	March 4, 1950 	5–1 	New York Rangers (1949–50) 	19–28–13
61 	W 	March 5, 1950 	11–4 	Chicago Black Hawks (1949–50) 	20–28–13
62 	L 	March 8, 1950 	3–5 	Detroit Red Wings (1949–50) 	20–29–13
63 	L 	March 11, 1950 	0–5 	@ Montreal Canadiens (1949–50) 	20–30–13
64 	T 	March 12, 1950 	2–2 	Toronto Maple Leafs (1949–50) 	20–30–14
65 	W 	March 15, 1950 	4–1 	@ New York Rangers (1949–50) 	21–30–14
66 	T 	March 18, 1950 	1–1 	@ Detroit Red Wings (1949–50) 	21–30–15
67 	W 	March 19, 1950 	4–3 	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1949–50)	22–30–15
68 	L 	March 22, 1950 	5–7 	Chicago Black Hawks (1949–50) 	22–31–15
69 	L 	March 25, 1950 	0–8 	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1949–50)	22–32–15
70 	T 	March 26, 1950 	3–3 	Montreal Canadiens (1949–50) 	22–32–16
==Playoffs==
*The Bruins did not qualify for the post season.
==Player Stats==
===Regular Season===
;Scoring
# 	Player	Pos 	GP	G 	A 	Pts	PIM
20 	 	C 	70	23	36	59 	8
23 	 	RW 	57	27	25	52 	49
21 	 	C 	70	15	31	46 	6
15 	 	C/D 	68	19	22	41 	41
18 	 	LW 	66	10	31	41 	12
14 	 	LW 	69	14	25	39 	14
17 	 	C 	64	18	13	31 	13
4 	 	RW 	39	16	14	30 	6
16 	 	C/LW	70	14	12	26 	23
11 	 	D 	70	8 	17	25 	4
9 	 	LW 	44	9 	12	21 	32
22 	 	D 	57	6 	10	16 	12
8 	 	D 	64	3 	8 	11 	42
24, 25	 	LW 	34	5 	5 	10 	22
19 	 	RW 	36	5 	5 	10 	18
6 	 	D 	46	2 	8 	10 	8
10 	 	D 	69	2 	5 	7 	122
7 	 	LW 	19	1 	4 	5 	6
26 	 	LW 	3 	1 	1 	2 	0
8 	 	D 	1 	0 	1 	1 	0
7 	 	D 	1 	0 	1 	1 	0
12 	 	C 	3 	0 	1 	1 	0
24 	 	C 	12	0 	1 	1 	11
25 	 	C 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0
24 	 	C/RW	1 	0 	0 	0 	0
6 	 	D/LW	3 	0 	0 	0 	0
1 	 	G 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0
1 	 	G 	2 	0 	0 	0 	0
1 	 	G 	67	0 	0 	0 	0
;Goaltending
Player	MIN 	GP	W 	L 	T 	GA 	GAA 	SO
 	4020	67	22	30	15	220	3.28	3
 	60 	1 	0 	0 	1 	3 	3.00	0
 	120 	2 	0 	2 	0 	5 	2.50	0
Team: 	4200	70	22	32	16	228	3.26	3
Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals 
MIN = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts 
==Awards and Records==
*Calder Memorial Trophy: Jack Gelineau (Bruins Phil Maloney finished second in voting)
==Transactions==
*Trade Pete Babando, Clare Martin and Jimmy Peters to the Detroit Red Wings for Pete Horeck and Bill Quackenbush on August 16, 1949.
*Sell Frank Brimsek to the Chicago Black Hawks on September 8, 1949.
*Trade Pat Egan to the New York Rangers for Bill Moe and the rights to Lorne Ferguson on October 7, 1949.
*Purchase Bud Poile from the Rangers on December 22, 1949.
==Trivia==
*Pete Horeck wore jersey #25. This was the first time a Bruin wore #25 and was the highest number, up to that time, that a Bruin had ever worn.
*Later in the season, Lorne Ferguson wore jersey #26. This was the first time a Bruin wore #26 and was the highest number, up to that time, that a Bruin had ever worn.
*The Bruins loaded the line-up with call-ups from the minors for the third last game against the Chicago Black Hawks on March 22, 1950. John McIntyre, Gord Byers, Ross Lowe, Norm Corcoran, Barton Bradley and Lorne Ferguson all played their first NHL games. For Bradley, it would be his only game. Ferguson would score a goal and an assist and go on to have a 400+ game NHL career as would McIntyre.
*The Bruins were the first team to put a European trained player on their reserve list when they added Jaroslav Drobný in 1949.The Official NHL 75th Anniversary Commemorative Book, p.96.
*No Bruins recorded a Hat trick this season.
==Gallery==
27Oct1949-Ed_Slowinski_scores_Gelineau.jpg|Rangers Ed Slowinski scores on Jack Gelineau, October 26, 1949.
1949-50-Ronty-Klukay-Broda-Horeck.jpg|Paul Ronty, Joe Klukay, Turk Broda, Pete Horeck in 1949-50 season action.
==See Also==
*1949–50 NHL season
==References==
* 
Boston Bruins season, 1949–50
Boston Bruins season, 1949–50
Category:Boston Bruins seasons