1957–58 NHL season

League business

It was announced in September that Senator Hartland Molson had purchased 60% stock from the Canadian Arena Company and the Montreal Canadiens from Senator Donat Raymond.

Organization of Players' Association

Doug Harvey and Ted Lindsay led the drive to form (on February 11, 1957) the National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA), a workers' labour association, and sued the NHL over the issue of player pensions, salaries during training camp, meal allowances, remuneration for exhibition games and a no-trade clause after six years service. Lindsay lost his captaincy of the Detroit Red Wings and was traded to Chicago, on July 23, 1957, in an effort to intimidate the players.

After the NHL declined to negotiate with the players over benefits and would not open the books on the pension plan, the player's association filed an antitrust lawsuit on October 10, 1957. The lawsuit alleged the monopolization of the professional hockey industry since 1926, in violation of the Sherman and Clayton Antitrust Acts. Furthermore, On November 6, 1957, the Toronto Maple Leafs players voted unanimously to certify the union.

The NHL started to fight back. First, they traded Lindsay to Chicago to separate him from the Red Wings, the American team the NHLPA had targeted for a certification vote. Next, Jack Adams spread false stories in the press alleging various slanders had been made by Lindsay against the Red Wings players, and produced a fake contract to the press showing an over-inflated salary for Lindsay, greater than Hart Trophy MVP, teammate and friend Gordie Howe. The ruse worked and the Red Wings players decided to dis-associate themselves from the NHLPA on November 13, 1957.

Part of the problem of organizing the players was confusion about the type of association they were forming. The NHLPA had applied, in Canada, to the Ontario Labour Relations Board for certification, but the ORLB had no experience with workers like hockey players. NHLPA members negotiated individual contracts and wanted to continue to bargain this way. The matter of the NHLPA being an actual union, where the members were bound together and fought for collective agreements, was unclear. The NHLPA legal counsel, Milton Mound, addressed this, saying that the players would negotiate on matters common to all players (pensions, allowances) but retained the right to individual contracts. The League, and especially Conn Smythe, argued that players were forming a "trade union" and were no better than "commies" and would lose things like individual bonuses. He believed that hockey players were in the business of being "independent contractors" and had no right or reason for a collective organization.

The confusion worried both employer and employee. The situation was exacerbated by the certification process. The OLRB was taking time, and no one knew how this transnational association would work, or how it would be recognized by the US National Labor Relations Board. In fact, the NLRB asked the NHLPA to withdraw its unfair labor practices charge on November 20, 1957, arguing it did not have jurisdiction. This was followed by the Montreal Canadiens players rejection of the association in early January 1958.

The OLRB resumed meeting on January 7, but both the League and the players were concerned. The NHL was convinced that the ORLB was not going to dismiss the application, regardless of how they ruled on the union versus association issue, and the players were worried (given the setbacks in Detroit and Montreal) that they didn't have grounds to actually form an association (especially since they didn't want to be a traditional "union.")

The players and owners both felt pressure to conclude something, so they gathered, without lawyers, for a 13-hour meeting in the boardroom of the Biltmore Hotel in Palm Beach, just after the regular NHL winter meetings. In an out-of-court settlement on February 5, 1958, the NHL promised:

• a $7,000 minimum wage (which was, in actuality, the unofficial League norm,)
• an increase in pension benefits,
• increased hospitalization benefits,
• a limit on the number of exhibition games,
• the player shall be the sole judge of his physical fitness to play after injury.

Ross concludes:

Regular season

This season saw the Montreal Canadiens regain first place overall, while the previous season's leader, the Detroit Red Wings, slipped to third. Montreal's Maurice "Rocket" Richard became the first NHL player to score 500 career goals, Jacques Plante won his third straight Vezina Trophy, and Doug Harvey his fourth straight Norris Trophy.

Glenn Hall, after two playoff years in which the Wings were eliminated, was traded, along with Ted Lindsay to the Chicago Black Hawks and Terry Sawchuk was brought back to Detroit in a deal that saw Larry Hillman and Johnny Bucyk go to Boston. Chicago almost made the playoffs, and Hall's goaltending, including seven shutouts, one of which was in his debut with the Hawks, made him a contender for the Hart Trophy.

On October 19, 1957, Rocket Richard, in a 3–1 win over Chicago, scored his 500th career goal, against Glenn Hall. He immediately dedicated it to his old coach Dick Irvin, who had died on May 15, 1957, after a long bout with bone cancer.

When Marcel Paille was brought up to the Rangers from Providence of the AHL for the ailing Gump Worsley, he sparkled, and Worsley was sent down to Providence, though he was eventually recalled. Worsley had his finest campaign up to this point, with a 2.32 goals-against average and four shutouts, and the Rangers finished second – their highest finish since 1941–42.

Two contenders for the Calder Memorial Trophy, Chicago's Bobby Hull and the Toronto Maple Leafs' Frank Mahovlich, battled all season for rookie honours. Mahovlich prevailed, although the Maple Leafs finished last in the NHL.

This season also saw the first player of African descent play in the league. Willie O'Ree suited up with the Boston Bruins on January 18, 1958, in a game against the Canadiens in Montreal.

Final standings

Playoffs

Playoff bracket

The top four teams in the league qualified for the playoffs. In the semifinals, the first-place team played the third-place team, while the second-place team faced the fourth-place team, with the winners advancing to the Stanley Cup Finals. In both rounds, teams competed in a best-of-seven series (scores in the bracket indicate the number of games won in each best-of-seven series).

| RD1-seed1=1 | RD1-team1=Montreal | RD1-score1=4 | RD1-seed2=3 | RD1-team2=Detroit | RD1-score2=0 | RD1-seed3=2 | RD1-team3=New York | RD1-score3=2 | RD1-seed4=4 | RD1-team4=Boston | RD1-score4=4 | RD2-seed1=1 | RD2-team1=Montreal | RD2-score1=4 | RD2-seed2=4 | RD2-team2=Boston | RD2-score2=2

Semifinals

(1) Montreal Canadiens vs. (3) Detroit Red Wings

|1-1-1 =No scoring |1-1-2 =02:22 – Maurice Richard (1) 04:07 – pp – Maurice Richard (2) 06:20 – Jean Beliveau (1) 08:55 – pp – Bernie Geoffrion (1) 14:23 – Phil Goyette (1) |1-2-1 =Johnny Wilson (1) – pp – 12:19 |1-2-2 =03:59 – Phil Goyette (2) |1-3-1 =No scoring |1-3-2 =12:17 – pp – Dickie Moore (1) 17:56 – Phil Goyette (3) |goalie1-1 =Terry Sawchuck 27 saves / 35 shots |goalie1-2 =Jacques Plante 39 saves / 40 shots

|2-1-1 =No scoring |2-1-2 =18:04 – Phil Goyette (4) |2-2-1 =Johnny Wilson (2) – 13:39 |2-2-2 =17:13 – Jean Beliveau (2) |2-3-1 =No scoring |2-3-2 =05:05 – pp – Maurice Richard (3) 05:18 – Andre Pronovost (1) 12:23 – Maurice Richard (4) |goalie2-1 =Terry Sawchuck 35 saves / 40 shots |goalie2-2 =Jacques Plante 25 saves / 26 shots

|3-1-1 =No scoring |3-1-2 =No scoring |3-2-1 =14:07 – Forbes Kennedy (1) |3-2-2 =Dickie Moore (2) – pp – 16:00 |3-3-1 =No scoring |3-3-2 =No scoring |3-4-1 =No scoring |3-4-2 =Andre Pronovost (2) – 11:52 |goalie3-1 =Terry Sawchuck 24 saves / 26 shots |goalie3-2 =Jacques Plante 29 saves / 30 shots

|4-1-1 =No scoring |4-1-2 =No scoring |4-2-1 =05:49 – Jack McIntyre (1) 10:27 – Gordie Howe (1) 11:13 – Billy McNeill (1) |4-2-2 =Maurice Richard (5) – 08:45 |4-3-1 =No scoring |4-3-2 =Maurice Richard (6) – pp – 04:00 Dickie Moore (3) – pp – 09:07 Maurice Richard (7) – 09:56 |goalie4-1 =Terry Sawchuck 26 saves / 30 shots |goalie4-2 =Jacques Plante 31 saves / 34 shots

(2) New York Rangers vs. (4) Boston Bruins

|1-1-1 =Fleming MacKell (1) – 00:58 Jerry Toppazzini (1) – 07:21 |1-1-2 =04:40 – Larry Popein (1) 10:45 – sh – Andy Hebenton (1) 18:38 – pp – Camille Henry (1) |1-2-1 =Bronco Horvath (1) – 17:45 |1-2-2 =10:29 – pp – Dave Creighton (1) |1-3-1 =No scoring |1-3-2 =17:01 – Dave Creighton (2) |goalie1-1 =Harry Lumley 25 saves / 30 shots |goalie1-2 =Gump Worsley 26 saves / 29 shots

|2-1-1 =Doug Mohns (1) – pp – 05:05 Don McKenney (1) – 19:38 |2-1-2 =05:28 – Andy Bathgate (1) 08:58 – pp – Andy Bathgate (2) |2-2-1 =No scoring |2-2-2 =07:24 – Jean-Guy Gendron (1) |2-3-1 =Don McKenney (2) – 11:13 |2-3-2 =No scoring |2-4-1 =Jerry Toppazzini (2) – 04:46 |2-4-2 =No scoring |goalie2-1 =Don Simmons 27 saves / 30 shots |goalie2-2 =Gump Worsley 21 saves / 25 shots

|3-1-1 =09:24 – pp – Doug Mohns (2) 13:18 – pp – Don McKenney (3) 17:40 – pp – Don McKenney (4) |3-1-2 =No scoring |3-2-1 =04:01 – Buddy Boone (1) |3-2-2 =No scoring |3-3-1 =07:36 – sh – Norm Johnson (1) |3-3-2 =No scoring |goalie3-1 =Don Simmons 28 saves / 28 shots |goalie3-2 =Gump Worsley 31 saves / 36 shots

|4-1-1 =No scoring |4-1-2 =Dean Prentice (1) – sh – 05:19 Dave Creighton (3) – pp – 09:47 |4-2-1 =02:04 – pp – Jerry Toppazzini (3) |4-2-2 =Andy Hebenton (2) – 10:17 Andy Bathgate (3) – sh – 15:12 |4-3-1 =11:32 – sh – Jerry Toppazzini (4) |4-3-2 =Andy Bathgate (4) – en – 19:41 |goalie4-1 =Don Simmons 30 saves / 34 shots |goalie4-2 =Gump Worsley 39 saves / 41 shots

|5-1-1 =06:43 – Fleming MacKell (2) 09:11 – pp – Bronco Horvath (2) 11:24 – Don McKenney (5) |5-1-2 =No scoring |5-2-1 =05:10 – sh – Fern Flaman (1) 10:20 – Fern Flaman (2) |5-2-2 =Parker MacDonald (1) – 12:44 |5-3-1 =16:32 – pp – Jerry Toppazzini (5) |5-3-2 =No scoring |goalie5-1 =Don Simmons 26 saves / 27 shots |goalie5-2 =Gump Worsley 36 saves / 42 shots

|6-1-1 =00:58 – pp – Larry Regan (1) 07:27 – sh – Jerry Toppazzini (6) 11:04 – pp – Norm Johnson (2) 17:20 – Fleming MacKell (3) |6-1-2 =Harry Howell (1) – 14:33 |6-2-1 =13:29 – Doug Mohns (3) |6-2-2 =Andy Bathgate (5) – pp – 04:55 |6-3-1 =08:29 – Fleming MacKell (4) 08:58 – Jerry Toppazzini (7) 17:49 – Jerry Toppazzini (8) |6-3-2 =No scoring |goalie6-1 =Don Simmons 36 saves / 44 shots |goalie6-2 =Gump Worsley 26 saves / 28 shots

Stanley Cup Finals

Main article: 1958 Stanley Cup Finals

The Canadiens made their eighth consecutive appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals and defeated the Bruins in six games. It was the Canadiens' third consecutive Stanley Cup triumph.

|1-1-1 =No scoring |1-1-2 =12:24 – pp – Bernie Geoffrion (2) |1-2-1 =Allan Stanley (1) – pp – 05:54 |1-2-2 =13:52 – pp – Dickie Moore (4) |1-3-1 =No scoring |1-3-2 =No scoring |goalie1-1 =Don Simmons 42 saves / 44 shots |goalie1-2 =Jacques Plante 28 saves / 29 shots

|2-1-1 =Norm Johnson (3) – 00:20 Don McKenney (6) – pp – 06:58 Bronco Horvath (3) – pp – 17:23 |2-1-2 =03:12 – pp – Bernie Geoffrion (3) |2-2-1 =Larry Regan (2) – 05:00 |2-2-2 =07:00 – Doug Harvey (1) |2-3-1 =Bronco Horvath (4) – 16:52 |2-3-2 =No scoring |goalie2-1 =Don Simmons 31 saves / 33 shots |goalie2-2 =Jacques Plante 27 saves / 32 shots

|3-1-1 =No scoring |3-1-2 =Maurice Richard (8) – 18:20 |3-2-1 =No scoring |3-2-2 =No scoring |3-3-1 =No scoring |3-3-2 =Henri Richard (1) – 03:00 Maurice Richard (9) – 15:06 |goalie3-1 =Don Simmons 27 saves / 30 shots |goalie3-2 =Jacques Plante 18 saves / 18 shots

|4-1-1 =05:35 – pp – Don McKenney (7) |4-1-2 =No scoring |4-2-1 =03:30 – Don McKenney (8) |4-2-2 =No scoring |4-3-1 =02:30 – Jerry Toppazzini (9) |4-3-2 =Claude Provost (1) |goalie4-1 =Don Simmons 23 saves / 24 shots |goalie4-2 =Jacques Plante 27 saves / 30 shots

|5-1-1 =Fleming MacKell (5) – pp – 18:43 |5-1-2 =No scoring |5-2-1 =No scoring |5-2-2 =02:20 – Bernie Geoffrion (4) 03:02 – Jean Beliveau (3) |5-3-1 =Bronco Horvath (5) – 10:35 |5-3-2 =No scoring |5-4-1 =No scoring |5-4-2 =05:45 – Maurice Richard (10) |goalie5-1 =Don Simmons 44 saves / 47 shots |goalie5-2 =Jacques Plante 38 saves / 40 shots

|6-1-1 =18:35 – Don McKenney (9) |6-1-2 =Bernie Geoffrion (5) – 00:46 Maurice Richard (11) – 01:54 |6-2-1 =No scoring |6-2-2 =Jean Beliveau (4) – 06:42 Bernie Geoffrion (6) – 19:26 |6-3-1 =05:20 – Norm Johnson 13:41 – Larry Regan (3) |6-3-2 =Doug Harvey (2) – en – 19:00 |goalie6-1 =Don Simmons 41 saves / 45 shots |goalie6-2 =Jacques Plante 31 saves / 34 shots

Awards

All-Star teams

Player statistics

Scoring leaders

Note: GP = Games played, G = Goals, A = Assists, PTS = Points, PIM = Penalties in minutes

Leading goaltenders

Note: GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts

Coaches

• Boston Bruins: Milt Schmidt
• Chicago Black Hawks: Rudy Pilous
• Detroit Red Wings: Jimmy Skinner
• Montreal Canadiens: Toe Blake
• New York Rangers: Phil Watson
• Toronto Maple Leafs: Billy Reay

Debuts

The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1957–58 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs):

• Willie O'Ree, Boston Bruins (first-ever black player to play in the NHL)
• Bobby Hull, Chicago Black Hawks
• Murray Oliver, Detroit Red Wings
• Ab McDonald*, Montreal Canadiens
• Carl Brewer, Toronto Maple Leafs
• Bob Nevin, Toronto Maple Leafs

Last games

The following is a list of players of note who played their last game in the NHL in 1957–58 (listed with their last team):

• Johnny Peirson, Boston Bruins
• Jimmy Thomson, Chicago Black Hawks
• Tony Leswick, Detroit Red Wings
• Metro Prystai, Detroit Red Wings
• Floyd Curry, Montreal Canadiens
• Sid Smith, Toronto Maple Leafs

Broadcasting

Hockey Night in Canada on CBC Television televised Saturday night regular season games and selected Stanley Cup playoff games. Games were not broadcast in their entirety until the 1968–69 season, and were typically joined in progress, while the radio version of HNIC aired games in their entirety.

In the U.S., this was the second season of a four-year deal with CBS to televise Saturday afternoon regular season games. This season, CBS aired games from November to March.

References

• {{Citation|last=Coleman|first=Charles L.|year=1976
• {{cite book |title=Net Worth: Exploding the Myths of Pro Hockey |url=https://archive.org/details/networthexplodin0000crui |url-access=registration |last=Cruise |first=David
• {{cite book |title=Years of glory, 1942–1967: the National Hockey League's official book of the six-team era
• {{cite book|title=Total Hockey |editor=Diamond, Dan |publisher=Total Sports |year=2000 |isbn=1-892129-85-X
• {{cite book |editor-last=Dryden |editor-first=Steve |title=Century of hockey |publisher=McClelland & Stewart Ltd.
• {{Citation|last1=Duplacey |first1=James|year=2008
• {{cite book |last1=Fischler |first1=Stan |last2=Fischler |first2=Shirley
• {{Citation|last=McFarlane|first=Brian|year=1969|title=50 Years Of Hockey

;Notes

References

1. Ross, J. Andrew, '''Trust and Antitrust: The Failure of the First National Hockey League Players’ Association, 1957–1958''' (The Journal of) Business and Economic History On-line, Vol.8, 2010, pp.4-5
2. Ross, J. Andrew, '''Trust and Antitrust: The Failure of the First National Hockey League Players’ Association, 1957–1958''' (The Journal of) Business and Economic History On-line, Vol.8, 2010, p.7
3. Cruise, pp. 78–112.
4. Ross, J. Andrew, '''Trust and Antitrust: The Failure of the First National Hockey League Players’ Association, 1957–1958''' (The Journal of) Business and Economic History On-line, Vol.8, 2010, p.8
5. Ross, J. Andrew, '''Trust and Antitrust: The Failure of the First National Hockey League Players’ Association, 1957–1958''' (The Journal of) Business and Economic History On-line, Vol.8, 2010, p.9
6. Ross, J. Andrew, '''Trust and Antitrust: The Failure of the First National Hockey League Players’ Association, 1957–1958''' (The Journal of) Business and Economic History On-line, Vol.8, 2010, p.5 & 8
7. Ross, J. Andrew, '''Trust and Antitrust: The Failure of the First National Hockey League Players’ Association, 1957–1958''' (The Journal of) Business and Economic History On-line, Vol.8, 2010, p.10
8. Ross, J. Andrew, '''Trust and Antitrust: The Failure of the First National Hockey League Players’ Association, 1957–1958''' (The Journal of) Business and Economic History On-line, Vol.8, 2010, p.6
9. Ross, J. Andrew, '''Trust and Antitrust: The Failure of the First National Hockey League Players’ Association, 1957–1958''' (The Journal of) Business and Economic History On-line, Vol.8, 2010, pp,10-11
10. Ross, J. Andrew, '''Trust and Antitrust: The Failure of the First National Hockey League Players’ Association, 1957–1958''' (The Journal of) Business and Economic History On-line, Vol.8, 2010, p.11
11. Ross, J. Andrew, '''Trust and Antitrust: The Failure of the First National Hockey League Players’ Association, 1957–1958''' (The Journal of) Business and Economic History On-line, Vol.8, 2010, p.12
12. Coleman, pp. 334–335.
13. Ross, J. Andrew, '''Trust and Antitrust: The Failure of the First National Hockey League Players’ Association, 1957–1958''' (The Journal of) Business and Economic History On-line, Vol.8, 2010, pp,13-14