1962–63 NHL season

The 1962–63 NHL season was the 46th season of the National Hockey League. Six teams each played 70 games. The Toronto Maple Leafs won their second Stanley Cup in a row as they defeated the Detroit Red Wings four games to one.
==Regular season==
Some diversionary news hit the sports pages the day of the All-Star Game when it was reported that Toronto had sold Frank Mahovlich to Chicago for $1 million and James D. Norris produced a cheque for the amount. On the advice of Conn Smythe, Leafs general manager and head coach Punch Imlach declined the deal, saying that a million dollars does not score goals, and Mahovlich would remain a Maple Leaf.
A serious incident took place on October 23 between the Montreal Canadiens and Chicago Black Hawks. A vicious stick-swinging duel took place between Gilles Tremblay and Reg Fleming that was said to be the worst since the Bernie Geoffrion-Ron Murphy fight in 1953. Both players received match penalties and $100 fines. Tremblay emerged with a bad cut on his head that required many stitches. Montreal coach Toe Blake had some caustic remarks for Fleming when he was leaving the ice, which almost resulted in another fight. The Canadiens and Black Hawks played to a 4–4 tie. President Clarence Campbell suspended both Tremblay and Fleming for three games.
Glenn Hall's consecutive game streak came to an end on November 8 when he suffered a pinched nerve in his back and he was relieved by Denis DeJordy in the first period of a game in which Hall's Black Hawks tied Boston 3–3. DeJordy played well in the next game as the Black Hawks beat the Canadiens 3–1.
Chicago was improving and moved into a first-place tie with Detroit when they blanked Boston 5–0 on November 29. Stan Mikita scored two goals and Bobby Hull had one. The same night, the Rangers shut out the Red Wings 5–0 as Gump Worsley played a fine game. Worsley was unlucky in his next game, however, as Chicago beat the Rangers 5–1. Worsley badly injured his shoulder and had to be replaced by Marcel Pelletier. Gump went to the hospital where he would have his shoulder in traction for ten days.
Andy Hebenton had the hat trick on December 16 as the Rangers beat Detroit 5–2 at Madison Square Garden. The game was spoiled by a brawl, the chief participants being Dave Balon, Bill Gadsby, Doug Barkley and Terry Sawchuk. All were fined.
Andy Bathgate got both goals when the Rangers tied Montreal 2–2 at the Montreal Forum on January 5. This was the tenth consecutive game in which he had scored. The streak was terminated when Jacques Plante blanked the Rangers 6–0 in New York.
Jean Beliveau scored his 300th NHL goal on January 26 when the Rangers beat the Canadiens 4–2 at the Forum. Goals had not come very fast this year, and he hinted that this might be his last season. The writers did not take him seriously, however. The next night, the Canadiens beat the Black Hawks 3–1 at Chicago Stadium and Beliveau scored a spectacular goal, giving a beautiful exhibition of stick-handling.
Bernie Geoffrion and Don Marshall were back on January 31, but the Canadiens lost 6–3 to Toronto at the Forum. Coach Toe Blake was not pleased with the officiating and was quoted in a French newspaper that referee Eddie Powers handled the game as if he had bet on the outcome. This attracted the attention of NHL president Clarence Campbell, who said the matter would be investigated. Later, Blake was fined $200 by Campbell. Powers considered the fine inadequate and submitted his resignation as a referee. He cited Red Storey when Campbell would not support decisions he made. Powers then sued Blake for libel.
Bobby Hull scored all three goals as Chicago beat Boston 3–1 on February 17. On the same night, Montreal beat Detroit 6–1 and Howie Young established a penalty record when he high-sticked a Canadiens player and then commenced a tantrum, which drew him a minor, a major, a misconduct and a game misconduct totalling 27 minutes. His season total was now 208 minutes in penalties. NHL president Campbell then tacked on a three-game suspension.
Detroit ousted the Rangers from the playoffs on March 3 with a 3–2 win.
Bernie Geoffrion was in trouble for an incident during a game on March 5 in which Montreal beat Detroit 4–3. Referee Vern Buffey had given Jacques Plante a penalty for slashing Howie Young and then a bench penalty when the Canadiens protested. Geoffrion threw his stick at Buffey and his gloves as well. Geoffrion was given a match penalty and President Campbell assessed Geoffrion a five-game suspension.
The career of the Canadiens' Lou Fontinato came to a tragic end on March 9 when he tried to check Vic Hadfield and instead was thrown headlong into the boards by the Ranger player. Fontinato lay motionless on the ice for some time before being carried off the ice on a stretcher and taken to Montreal General Hospital where the diagnosis was a fractured neck, a crushed cervical vertebra. He gradually recovered from his paralyzed condition, but would never play hockey again. Jacques Laperriere replaced Fontinato on the Canadiens defence.
It was quite a race for playoff positions, as five points separated fourth and first. Gordie Howe led the Red Wings and the NHL as he won his sixth and last Art Ross Trophy and Hart Trophy.
===Final standings===
GP = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, PIM = Penalties In Minutes
Teams that qualified for playoffs are highlighted in bold
National Hockey League	GP	W 	L 	T 	Pts	GF 	GA 	PIM
Toronto Maple Leafs 	70	35	23	12	82 	221	180	816
Chicago Black Hawks 	70	32	21	17	81 	194	178	906
Montreal Canadiens 	70	28	19	23	79 	225	183	751
Detroit Red Wings 	70	32	25	13	77 	200	194	964
New York Rangers 	70	22	36	12	56 	211	233	657
Boston Bruins 	70	14	39	17	45 	198	281	636
==Playoffs==
===Playoff bracket===
===Semifinals===
====(1) Toronto Maple Leafs vs. (3) Montreal Canadiens====
====(2) Chicago Black Hawks vs. (4) Detroit Red Wings====
===Stanley Cup Final===
==Awards==
===Mid-season===
*Art Ross Memorial Trophy: 	Andy Bathgate, New York Rangers
*Calder Memorial Trophy: 	Kent Douglas, Toronto Maple Leafs
*Hart Memorial Trophy: 	Terry Sawchuk, Detroit Red Wings
*James Norris Memorial Trophy: 	Pierre Pilote, Chicago Black Hawks
*Lady Byng Memorial Trophy: 	Dave Keon, Toronto Maple Leafs
*Vezina Trophy: 	Jacques Plante, Montreal Canadiens
====All-star teams====
First Team 	  Position  	Second Team
Glenn Hall, Chicago Blackhawks 	G 	Terry Sawchuk, Detroit Red Wings
Pierre Pilote, Chicago Blackhawks 	D 	Moose Vasko, Chicago Blackhawks
Carl Brewer, Toronto Maple Leafs 	D 	Jean Guy Talbot, Montreal Canadiens
Stan Mikita, Chicago Blackhawks 	C 	Henri Richard, Montreal Canadiens
Gordie Howe, Detroit Red Wings 	RW 	Andy Bathgate, New York Rangers
Frank Mahovlich, Toronto Maple Leafs	LW 	Gilles Tremblay, Montreal Canadiens
===End of season===
*Prince of Wales Trophy: 	Toronto Maple Leafs
*Art Ross Memorial Trophy: 	Gordie Howe, Detroit Red Wings
*Calder Memorial Trophy: 	Kent Douglas, Toronto Maple Leafs
*Hart Memorial Trophy: 	Gordie Howe, Detroit Red Wings
*James Norris Memorial Trophy: 	Pierre Pilote, Chicago Black Hawks
*Lady Byng Memorial Trophy: 	Dave Keon, Toronto Maple Leafs
*Vezina Trophy: 	Glenn Hall, Chicago Black Hawks
====All-Star teams====
First team 	  Position  	Second team
Glenn Hall, Chicago Black Hawks 	G 	Terry Sawchuk, Detroit Red Wings
Pierre Pilote, Chicago Black Hawks 	D 	Tim Horton, Toronto Maple Leafs
Carl Brewer, Toronto Maple Leafs 	D 	Moose Vasko, Chicago Black Hawks
Stan Mikita, Chicago Black Hawks 	C 	Henri Richard, Montreal Canadiens
Gordie Howe, Detroit Red Wings 	RW 	Andy Bathgate, New York Rangers
Frank Mahovlich, Toronto Maple Leafs	LW 	Bobby Hull, Chicago Black Hawks
==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
Gordie Howe 	Detroit Red Wings 	70	38	48	86 	100
Andy Bathgate 	New York Rangers 	70	35	46	81 	54
Stan Mikita 	Chicago Black Hawks	65	31	45	76 	69
Frank Mahovlich	Toronto Maple Leafs	67	36	37	73 	56
Henri Richard 	Montreal Canadiens 	67	23	50	73 	57
Jean Béliveau 	Montreal Canadiens 	69	18	49	67 	68
John Bucyk 	Boston Bruins 	69	27	39	66 	36
Alex Delvecchio	Detroit Red Wings 	69	20	44	64 	8
Bobby Hull 	Chicago Black Hawks	65	31	31	62 	27
Murray Oliver 	Boston Bruins 	65	22	40	62 	38
===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 	56	3320	138	2.49	22	14	19	5
Don Simmons 	Toronto Maple Leafs	28	1680	70 	2.50	15	8 	5 	1
Glenn Hall 	Chicago Black Hawks	66	3910	166	2.52	30	20	15	5
Terry Sawchuk 	Detroit Red Wings 	48	2781	117	2.52	21	17	7 	3
Johnny Bower 	Toronto Maple Leafs	42	2520	109	2.60	20	15	7 	1
Hank Bassen 	Detroit Red Wings 	16	960 	52 	3.25	6 	5 	5 	0
Gump Worsley 	New York Rangers 	67	3980	217	3.27	22	34	10	2
Bob Perreault 	Boston Bruins 	22	1320	82 	3.73	3 	12	7 	1
Eddie Johnston	Boston Bruins 	50	2880	193	4.02	11	27	10	1
==Team Photos==
62-63BosBru.jpg|Boston Bruins
62-63ChiBH.jpg|Chicago Black Hawks
62-63DetRW.jpg|Detroit Red Wings
62-63MtlCdn.jpg|Montreal Canadiens
62-63NYR.jpg|New York Rangers
62-63TorML.jpg|Toronto Maple Leafs
==References==
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;Notes
==External links==
*Hockey Database
*NHL.com
 
Category:1962 in ice hockey
Category:1963 in ice hockey