1966–67 NHL season

League business

President David Molson of the Canadian Arena Company announced that the Montreal Forum would undergo major alterations in a $5 million work program commencing in April 1968.

The fourth NHL amateur draft was held on April 25, 1966, at the Mount Royal Hotel in Montreal, Quebec. Barry Gibbs was selected first overall by the Boston Bruins.

NHL president Clarence Campbell and Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA) president Fred Page announced a new five-year professional-agreement effective on July 1, 1967. The direct sponsorship of junior ice hockey teams by the NHL was to be phased out in the upcoming year, and no new sponsored players could be registered or be required to sign a contract restricting movement between teams. The agreement eliminated the A, B and C forms, which had angered the parents of amateur players and were the source of legal action threats when the professional team refused to release a player. Page succeeded in getting junior-aged players to be eligible for the NHL amateur draft once they graduate from junior hockey, or to be signed as a free agent in the year the player reaches his 20th birthday. The NHL agreed to pay development fees to the CAHA for the drafted players, and it allowed the CAHA to distribute the fees. The new agreement came at a time that also leveled the playing field for new NHL clubs in the 1967 NHL expansion.

Regular season

Bobby Orr made his NHL debut on October 19, with an assist in a 6–2 win over Detroit.

On November 9, Ed Giacomin was subjected to one of the cruelest displays of fan abuse when the Boston Bruins came back to tie the Rangers 3-3. The fans pelted him with garbage and booed him viciously. From there, however, the Rangers began to win and the fans began to cheer for him. At one point, the Rangers were in first place, but slumped later and finished fourth.

Terry Sawchuk got his 99th shutout when Toronto blanked Detroit 4–0 on February 25. He got his 100th career shutout on March 4, when Toronto defeated Chicago 4–0.

Bobby Hull scored his 50th goal of the season when Chicago lost to Toronto 9–5 on March 18 at Maple Leaf Gardens. Another superlative for the Black Hawks was Stan Mikita, who tied the league scoring record with 97 points in claiming the Art Ross Trophy for the third time. Mikita was also awarded the Hart Memorial Trophy as most valuable player.

The Chicago Black Hawks, who had won three Stanley Cups, finished first overall in the standings for the first time in their history, a full seventeen points ahead of the Montreal Canadiens and nineteen ahead of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The Boston Bruins missed the playoffs, their last time before their record 29-season playoff streak.

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

Semifinals

(1) Chicago Black Hawks vs. (3) Toronto Maple Leafs

Despite Chicago's impressive regular season marks, it was the third seed Toronto Maple Leafs who beat the Black Hawks in the first round of the playoffs.

|1-1-1 =Frank Mahovlich (1) – pp – 07:12 |1-1-2 =05:21 – pp – Kenny Wharram (1) 11:49 – Pierre Pilote (1) |1-2-1 =No scoring |1-2-2 =01:57 – pp – Bobby Hull (1) 13:44 – Stan Mikita (1) |1-3-1 =Jim Pappin (1) – pp – 19:52 |1-3-2 =09:41 – Lou Angotti (1) |goalie1-1 =Terry Sawchuck |goalie1-2 =Denis DeJordy

|2-1-1 =Pete Stemkowski (1) – 08:07 Dave Keon (1) – sh – 18:33 |2-1-2 =No scoring |2-2-1 =George Armstrong (1) – pp – 08:24 |2-2-2 =No scoring |2-3-1 =No scoring |2-3-2 =08:45 – Stan Mikita (2) |goalie2-1 =Terry Sawchuck |goalie2-2 =Denis DeJordy

|3-1-1 =11:10 – Ron Ellis (1) |3-1-2 =No scoring |3-2-1 =10:22 – pp – Frank Mahovlich (2) 19:15 – Jim Pappin (2) |3-2-2 =No scoring |3-3-1 =No scoring |3-3-2 =Bobby Hull (2) – pp – 16:30 |goalie3-1 =Terry Sawchuck |goalie3-2 =Glenn Hall

|4-1-1 =03:42 – Dave Keon (2) 10:14 – pp – Tim Horton (1) |4-1-2 =Kenny Wharram (2) – 00:09 Pierre Pilote (2) – 08:32 |4-2-1 =No scoring |4-2-2 =No scoring |4-3-1 =02:31 – Eric Nesterenko (1) 08:42 – Bobby Hull (3) |4-3-2 =Mike Walton (1) – 17:37 |goalie4-1 =Terry Sawchuck |goalie4-2 =Glenn Hall Denis DeJordy

|5-1-1 =Mike Walton (2) – pp – 06:16 Frank Mahovlich (3) – pp – 14:14 |5-1-2 =09:31 – Lou Angotti (2) 11:01 – Bobby Hull (4) |5-2-1 =No scoring |5-2-2 =No scoring |5-3-1 =Pete Stemkowski (2) – 02:11 Jim Pappin (3) – 17:14 |5-3-2 =No scoring |goalie5-1 =Terry Sawchuck Johnny Bower |goalie5-2 =Denis DeJordy

|6-1-1 =05:06 – Brian Conacher (1) |6-1-2 =Pat Stapleton (1) – sh – 14:38 |6-2-1 =No scoring |6-2-2 =No scoring |6-3-1 =04:47 – Brian Conacher (2) 13:06 – Pete Stemkowski (3) |6-3-2 =No scoring |goalie6-1 =Terry Sawchuck |goalie6-2 =Glenn Hall

(2) Montreal Canadiens vs. (4) New York Rangers

Montreal swept the Rangers in four games.

|1-1-1 =No scoring |1-1-2 =No scoring |1-2-1 =Bernie Geoffrion (1) – pp – 03:46 Rod Gilbert (1) – pp – 16:06 |1-2-2 =09:34 – Ralph Backstrom (1) |1-3-1 =Rod Gilbert (2) – pp – 01:49 Vic Hadfield (1) – 05:18 |1-3-2 =09:12 – Claude Provost (1) 09:34 – J.C. Tremblay (1) 11:03 – John Ferguson (1) 14:55 – Ralph Backstrom (2) 18:07 – Jean Beliveau (1) |goalie1-1 =Ed Giacomin |goalie1-2 =Rogie Vachon

|2-1-1 =No scoring |2-1-2 =08:55 – pp – Dick Duff (1) |2-2-1 =Bernie Geoffrion (2) – pp – 12:03 |2-2-2 =No scoring |2-3-1 =No scoring |2-3-2 =07:46 – pp – John Ferguson (2) 13:25 – Ralph Backstrom (3) |goalie2-1 =Ed Giacomin |goalie2-2 =Rogie Vachon

|3-1-1 =15:51 – pp – Jim Neilson (1) |3-1-2 =Claude Larose (1) – 00:13 Jean Beliveau (2) – 03:09 |3-2-1 =04:34 – Earl Ingarfield (1) |3-2-2 =Bobby Rousseau (1) – pp – 02:05 |3-3-1 =No scoring |3-3-2 =No scoring |goalie3-1 =Ed Giacomin |goalie3-2 =Rogie Vachon

|4-1-1 =No scoring |4-1-2 =J.C. Tremblay (2) – 10:46 |4-2-1 =17:56 – pp – Phil Goyette (1) |4-2-2 =No scoring |4-3-1 =No scoring |4-3-2 =No scoring |4-4-1 =No scoring |4-4-2 =John Ferguson (3) – 06:28 |goalie4-1 =Ed Giacomin |goalie4-2 =Rogie Vachon

Stanley Cup Finals

Main article: 1967 Stanley Cup Finals

|1-1-1 =Larry Hillman (1) – 06:40 |1-1-2 =06:25 – pp – Yvan Cournoyer (1) 11:19 – Henri Richard (1) |1-2-1 =Jim Pappin (4) – pp – 12:59 |1-2-2 =05:03 – pp – Yvan Cournoyer (2) 06:36 – Jean Beliveau (3) |1-3-1 =No scoring |1-3-2 =04:53 – Henri Richard (2) 08:21 – Henri Richard (3) |goalie1-1 =Terry Sawchuck Johnny Bower |goalie1-2 =Rogie Vachon

|2-1-1 =Pete Stemkowski (4) – pp – 12:14 |2-1-2 =No scoring |2-2-1 =Mike Walton (3) – pp – 09:12 Tim Horton (2) – 16:57 |2-2-2 =No scoring |2-3-1 =No scoring |2-3-2 =No scoring |goalie2-1 =Johnny Bower |goalie2-2 =Rogie Vachon

|3-1-1 =08:39 – pp – Pete Stemkowski (5) |3-1-2 =Jean Beliveau (4) – pp – 02:27 |3-2-1 =10:34 – Jim Pappin (5) |3-2-2 =John Ferguson (4) – 19:10 |3-3-1 =No scoring |3-3-2 =No scoring |3-4-1 =08:26 – Bob Pulford (1) |3-4-2 =No scoring |goalie3-1 =Johnny Bower |goalie3-2 =Rogie Vachon

|4-1-1 =No scoring |4-1-2 =Ralph Backstrom (4) – 12:25 Jean Beliveau (5) – pp – 13:08 |4-2-1 =02:09 – pp – Mike Walton (4) 12:16 – Tim Horton (3) |4-2-2 =Henri Richard (4) – 02:26 Jean Beliveau (6) – 13:41 Ralph Backstrom (5) – 15:58 |4-3-1 =No scoring |4-3-2 =Jimmy Roberts (1) – 15:17 |goalie4-1 =Terry Sawchuk |goalie4-2 =Rogie Vachon

|5-1-1 =Jim Pappin (6) – pp – 15:06 |5-1-2 =06:03 – Leon Rochefort (1) |5-2-1 =Brian Conacher (3) – 03:07 Marcel Pronovost (1) – sh – 12:02 Dave Keon (3) – 19:27 |5-2-2 =No scoring |5-3-1 =No scoring |5-3-2 =No scoring |goalie5-1 =Terry Sawchuk |goalie5-2 =Rogie Vachon Gump Worsley

|6-1-1 =No scoring |6-1-2 =No scoring |6-2-1 =06:25 – Ron Ellis (2) 19:24 – Jim Pappin (7) |6-2-2 =No scoring |6-3-1 =19:13 – George Armstrong (2) |6-3-2 =Dick Duff (2) – 05:28 |goalie6-1 =Johnny Bower |goalie6-2 =Gump Worsley

Awards

All-Star teams

Player statistics

Scoring leaders

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points

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

Coaches

• Boston Bruins: Harry Sinden
• Chicago Black Hawks: Billy Reay
• Detroit Red Wings: Sid Abel
• Montreal Canadiens: Toe Blake
• New York Rangers: Emile Francis
• Toronto Maple Leafs: Punch Imlach

Debuts

The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1966–67 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs):

• Bobby Orr, Boston Bruins
• Glen Sather, Boston Bruins
• Ed Van Impe, Chicago Black Hawks
• Carol Vadnais, Montreal Canadiens
• Serge Savard, Montreal Canadiens
• Rogie Vachon, Montreal Canadiens

Last games

The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1966–67 (listed with their last team):

• Bill Hay, Chicago Black Hawks
• Red Kelly, Toronto Maple Leafs

Broadcasting

Hockey Night in Canada on CBC Television televised Saturday night regular season games and Stanley Cup playoff games. HNIC also produced Wednesday night regular season game telecasts for CTV. Games were typically not broadcast in their entirety until the 1968–69 season, and were typically joined in progress.

This was the first season under a new U.S. rights agreement with CBS. Due to prior programming commitments for this season only, CBS sub-licensed its Sunday afternoon regular season games to RKO General. CBS still aired selected playoff games.

References

• {{cite book |last1=Fischler |first1=Stan |last2=Fischler |first2=Shirley

;Notes

References

1. (August 19, 1966). "Sweeping Changes In Pro-Am Hockey Pact". Winnipeg Free Press.
2. Gross, George. (August 30, 1966). "CAHA Becomes Bonus Baby Sitter". Brandon Sun.