1950–51 NHL season

The 1950–51 NHL season was the 34th season of the National Hockey League. The Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Montreal Canadiens four games to one for the Stanley Cup to win their fifth Cup in seven years.
==League business==
The league implemented a rule requiring all teams to provide an emergency goaltender for every game, for use by either team in case of illness or injury.
==Regular season==
The biggest trade in NHL history at the time took place in July of 1950 with Sugar Jim Henry, Gaye Stewart, Bob Goldham, and Metro Prystai of Chicago going to Detroit for Harry Lumley, Black Jack Stewart, Al Dewsbury, Don Morrison, and Pete Babando, an exchange of nine players altogether.
Joe Primeau was named coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs with Hap Day kicked upstairs to assistant general manager. Toronto came flying out of the gate, undefeated in 11 games. Al Rollins had a great year, finishing with a 1.75 goals against average in 40 games. The Leafs had hoped to have Rollins share the Vezina Trophy with Turk Broda, but the league decided Rollins alone would be the recipient. The Leafs' .679 win percentage remains their all time best for a season, despite the fact that they were second in the league standings behind Detroit.
With the New York Rangers slumping this season, they hired a hypnotist, Dr. David Tracy, to help relax the team. The treatment remained in doubt and the Rangers lost to Boston November 12th. Asked why the treatment didn't work, Dr. Tracy said that he should have worked with the goaltender (Chuck Rayner) as he wasn't relaxed enough.
Montreal fans were excited when it was reported that two junior stars, Jean Beliveau and Bernie Geoffrion, would be given a trial in a December 16th game with the Rangers. The Canadiens played a 1-1 tie before 14,158 fans. Geoffrion scored the Canadiens goal in his debut.
Chicago was in third place at mid-season when bad luck struck. Their captain, Black Jack Stewart, ruptured a disc in his back and had to undergo surgery. He was finished for the season and his career was in jeopardy. Aggravating things were injuries to Gus Bodnar and Bill Gadsby. The Black Hawks won only two games in the second half and finished last.
In March, Rocket Richard ran into trouble in a game with Detroit. Richard was tripped and rose with a cut between the eyes. No penalty was called and Richard commenced an argument with referee Hugh McLean. He continued his argument too long and was given a misconduct penalty. Richard then skated to the penalty box and found Leo Reise of Detroit there to welcome him with derisive remarks which infuriated Richard, who then punched Reise, and when linesman Jim Primeau rushed to intervene, Richard took a poke at him and Richard was given a game misconduct. The Canadiens took a train to New York for a game against the Rangers, and the next morning, Richard encountered referee McLean and linesman Primeau in the lobby of the Picadilly Hotel. No punches were thrown, but Richard grabbed McLean by the tie and then Primeau intervened. Considerable profanity filled the air, but cooler heads separated the trio before fists could fly. NHL President Clarence Campbell took a dim view of the matter and fined the Rocket $500 for conduct prejudicial to the welfare of hockey.
The Detroit Red Wings got hot in the second half, overtaking Toronto and finished in first place again, becoming the first team with more than 100 points. Gordie Howe led the NHL in goals, assists, and points while goaltender Terry Sawchuk won the Calder Trophy as the league's best rookie. Sawchuk set a record for most wins by a goalie, as he was in net for all of Detroit's 44 victories. 
===Final standings===
National Hockey League	GP	W 	L 	T 	Pts	GF 	GA 	PIM
Detroit Red Wings 	70	44	13	13	101	236	139	566
Toronto Maple Leafs 	70	41	16	13	95 	212	138	823
Montreal Canadiens 	70	25	30	15	65 	173	184	835
Boston Bruins 	70	22	30	18	62 	178	197	656
New York Rangers 	70	20	29	21	61 	169	201	774
Chicago Black Hawks 	70	13	47	10	36 	171	280	615
==Playoffs==
The second seed Toronto Maple Leafs eliminated the fourth seed Boston Bruins in five games, and the third seed Montreal Canadiens upset first overall Detroit Red Wings in six, setting up a Leafs – Canadiens Stanley Cup final series, won by the Leafs 4–1.
===Semi-finals===
Boston Bruins vs. Toronto Maple Leafs
Date 	Away 	Score	Home 	Score	Notes
March 28	Boston Bruins 	2 	Toronto Maple Leafs	0 	
March 31	Boston Bruins 	1 	Toronto Maple Leafs	1 	OT1
April 1 	Toronto Maple Leafs	3 	Boston Bruins 	0 	
April 3 	Toronto Maple Leafs	3 	Boston Bruins 	1 	
April 7 	Boston Bruins 	1 	Toronto Maple Leafs	4 	
April 8 	Toronto Maple Leafs	6 	Boston Bruins 	0 	
:1 Note: March 31st game called after one overtime due to curfew
Toronto wins best-of-seven series 4 games to 1
Montreal Canadiens vs. Detroit Red Wings
Date 	Away 	Score	Home 	Score	Notes
March 27	Montreal Canadiens	3 	Detroit Red Wings 	2 	4 OT
March 29	Montreal Canadiens	1 	Detroit Red Wings 	0 	3 OT
March 31	Detroit Red Wings 	2 	Montreal Canadiens	0 	
April 3 	Detroit Red Wings 	4 	Montreal Canadiens	1 	
April 5 	Montreal Canadiens	5 	Detroit Red Wings 	2 	
April 7 	Detroit Red Wings 	2 	Montreal Canadiens	3 	
Montreal wins best-of-seven series 4 games to 2
===Final===
Montreal Canadiens vs. Toronto Maple Leafs
Date 	Away 	Score	Home 	Score	Notes
April 11	Montreal	2 	Toronto 	3 	OT
April 14	Montreal	3 	Toronto 	2 	OT
April 17	Toronto 	2 	Montreal	1 	OT
April 19	Toronto 	3 	Montreal	2 	OT
April 21	Montreal	2 	Toronto 	3 	OT
Toronto wins best-of-seven series 4 games to 1
===Playoff bracket===
==Awards==
*Prince of Wales Trophy: 	Detroit Red Wings
*Art Ross Memorial Trophy: 	Gordie Howe, Detroit Red Wings
*Calder Memorial Trophy: 	Terry Sawchuk, Detroit Red Wings
*Hart Memorial Trophy: 	Milt Schmidt, Boston Bruins
*Lady Byng Memorial Trophy: 	Red Kelly, Detroit Red Wings
*Vezina Trophy: 	Al Rollins, Toronto Maple Leafs
 All-Star teams
First team 	  Position  	Second team
Terry Sawchuk, Detroit Red Wings	G 	Chuck Rayner, New York Rangers
Red Kelly, Detroit Red Wings 	D 	Jimmy Thomson, Toronto Maple Leafs
Bill Quackenbush, Boston Bruins 	D 	Leo Reise, Detroit Red Wings
Milt Schmidt, Boston Bruins 	C 	Ted Kennedy, Toronto Maple Leafs
 Sid Abel, Detroit Red Wings (tied)
Gordie Howe, Detroit Red Wings 	RW 	Maurice Richard, Montreal Canadiens
Ted Lindsay, Detroit Red Wings 	LW 	Sid Smith, Toronto Maple Leafs
==Player statistics==
===Scoring leaders===
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points
Player 	Team 	GP	G 	A 	Pts
Gordie Howe 	Detroit Red Wings 	70	43	43	86
Maurice Richard	Montreal Canadiens 	65	42	24	66
Max Bentley 	Toronto Maple Leafs	67	21	41	62
Sid Abel 	Detroit Red Wings 	69	23	38	61
Milt Schmidt 	Boston Bruins 	62	22	39	61
Ted Kennedy 	Toronto Maple Leafs	63	18	43	61
Ted Lindsay 	Detroit Red Wings 	67	24	35	59
Tod Sloan 	Toronto Maple Leafs	70	31	25	56
Red Kelly 	Detroit Red Wings 	70	17	37	54
Sid Smith 	Toronto Maple Leafs	70	30	21	51
Source: NHL
===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
Al Rollins 	Toronto Maple Leafs	40	2373	70 	1.77	27	5 	8 	5
Terry Sawchuk 	Detroit Red Wings 	70	4200	139	1.99	44	13	13	11
Turk Broda 	Toronto Maple Leafs	31	1827	68 	2.23	14	11	5 	6
Gerry McNeil 	Montreal Canadiens 	70	4200	184	2.63	25	30	15	6
Jack Gelineau 	Boston Bruins 	70	4200	197	2.81	22	30	18	4
Chuck Rayner 	New York Rangers 	66	3940	87 	2.85	19	28	19	2
Emile Francis 	New York Rangers 	5 	260 	14 	3.23	1 	1 	2 	0
Harry Lumley 	Chicago Black Hawks	64	3785	246	3.90	12	41	10	3
Marcel Pelletier	Chicago Black Hawks	6 	355 	29 	4.90	1 	5 	0 	0
==Team Photos==
50-51BosBru.jpg|Boston Bruins
50-51ChiBH.jpg|Chicago Black Hawks
50-51DetRW.jpg|Detroit Red Wings
50-51MtlCdn.jpg|Montreal Canadiens
50-51NYR.jpg|New York Rangers
50-51TorML.jpg|Toronto Maple Leafs
== References ==
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==External links==
* Hockey Database
* NHL.com
Category:1950 in ice hockey
Category:1951 in ice hockey