The 1966âÂÂ67 NHL season was the 50th season of the National Hockey League. This was the last season of only six teams played 70 games each, as six more teams were added for the 1967âÂÂ68 season. This season saw the debut of one of the greatest players in hockey history, defenceman Bobby Orr of the Boston Bruins. The Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Montreal Canadiens four games to two in the Stanley Cup Finals to win the Stanley Cup for the thirteenth time in franchise history; to date this is the Leafs' last Stanley Cup victory.
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.
Bobby Orr made his NHL debut on October 19, with an assist in a 6âÂÂ2 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 4âÂÂ0 on February 25. He got his 100th career shutout on March 4, when Toronto defeated Chicago 4âÂÂ0.
Bobby Hull scored his 50th goal of the season when Chicago lost to Toronto 9âÂÂ5 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.
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).
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.
Montreal swept the Rangers in four games.
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points
Source: NHL.
Note: GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts
The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1966âÂÂ67 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs):
The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1966âÂÂ67 (listed with their last team):
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 1968âÂÂ69 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.