1964-65 NHL season

The 1964-65 NHL season was the 48th season of the National Hockey League. Six teams each played 70 games. Jean Beliveau was the winner of the newly introduced Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player during the playoffs. The Montreal Canadiens won their first Stanley Cup since 1960 as they were victorious over the Chicago Black Hawks in a seven game final series.

Combined Predictions
On the basis of 6 points for a 1st place, 5 for a second, etc.


 * 1. Chicago Black Hawks (32 points)
 * 2. Toronto Maple Leafs (30 points)
 * 3. Montreal Canadiens (27 points)
 * 4. Boston Bruins (16 points)
 * 4. Detroit Red Wings (14 points)
 * 6. New York Rangers ( 7 points)

Regular Season
Important new additions by Chicago were Bobby Hull's brother Dennis Hull and defenceman Doug Jarrett, and they traded Reg Fleming, Ab McDonald, and Murray Balfour to Boston in exchange for Doug Mohns.

Frank Selke had retired as general manager of the Montreal Canadiens and a man who was showing all the signs of being more capable than Selke, Sam Pollock, took over as general manager. Pollock had been doing an outstanding job as director of the Canadiens farm system the past few seasons and the Habs were deep in talent.

Ted Lindsay decided to make a comeback with Detroit and though Toronto beat Detroit in the opener 5-3, the Olympia fans gave him an ovation.

Muzz Patrick resigned as general manager of the New York Rangers and Emile Francis, assistant general manager, took his place.

Ron Ellis was proving to be a find and he scored two goals when the Leafs downed Chicago 5-1 October 31st.

Frank Mahovlich entered a hospital for psychiatric treatment under great stress from fans and his manager Punch Imlach who expected more of him than he was delivering. He could not stand the pressure of playing.

After stopping a shot with his foot, Marcel Pronovost missed a few games and Detroit sorely missed him, as on December 5th, Toronto clobbered the Red Wings 10-2. Bob Pulford was clipped by Gordie Howe's when it was knocked upward and it hit Pulford in the eye.

Frank Mahovlich was back December 9th when Montreal downed Toronto 3-2 Three nights later, he had two goals and two assists when Toronto beat Boston 6-3.

Chicago defeated Boston 7-5 December 16th and Bobby Hull got two goals. He now had 25 goals in 26 games. The Black Hawks were now alternating Glenn Hall and Denis Dejordy in goal.

A trade took place between Montreal and the New York Rangers as the Canadiens sent Bill Hicke and Jean-Guy Morissette to the Rangers for Dick Duff and Dave McComb.

Bill Thoms, who played 12 years with Toronto and Chicago, died of a heart attack December 26th at the age of 54.

Toronto's Punch Imlach ruled with an iron hand and was really upset with the Leafs play. Wholesale demotions were threatened if the team's play didn't improve. Toronto snapped out of its decline when they beat Detroit 3-1 January 2nd. Tim Horton scored two goals playing as a forward instead of his usual defence position. Roger Crozier was struck in the eye by Jim Pappin's stick late in the game and was replaced by Carl Wetzel in goal. Ted Lindsay got into a heated argument with referee Vern Buffey over whether a penalty should be called against Pappin and received a ten minute misconduct penalty and a game misconduct. Lindsay stated to the press after the game that his advice to coach Sid Abel was not to pay the fines and that he would not sit still for NHL president Clarence Campbell's kangaroo court. All this was reported to Campbell who said Lindsay would pay the fines or not play. In due course, an appropriate signed apology and a cheque in the amount of the fines were handed over by Lindsay and he was reinstated January 6th.

Bill Hicke, who had been traded to the Rangers by the Canadiens, turned on his ex-teammates with a hat trick at the Forum on January 9th as the Rangers won 6-5. However, the Rangers lost defenceman Jim Neilson with a shoulder separation. The Rangers got walloped by the Leafs 6-0 the next night as Tim Horton had two goals. Despite the win, the fans were still chanting "We want Shack!" (meaning Eddie Shack).

George Hayes, who had been an official in the NHL for 19 years, was suspended for refusing to take an eye test. Later, he had his contract terminated when he still refused. Referee-in-chief Carl Voss announced his intention to resign at the end of the season, and Hayes and ex-referee Eddie Powers greeted this with approval.

Chicago moved into first place with a 4-1 win February 3rd over the New York Rangers right at Madison Square Garden. Bobby Hull didn't scored, but the highlight of the game was his fight with Bob Plager.

Chicago beat Toronto 6-3 February 6th and Bobby Hull's chances of reaching 50 goals was in trouble when he was checked heavily by Bobby Baun, and he limped from the ice with strained knee ligaments. On the same weekend, Detroit moved into first place, beating Montreal twice.

The Leafs pulled into a tie with Montreal for second place when they pasted Montreal 6-2 in Toronto February 10th. This was the fifth straight loss for the Habs. Referee Bill Friday had a busy time with a bench-clearing brawl that delayed the game for 20 minutes. The trouble began when John Ferguson hooked Frank Mahovlich. Terry Harper, Ted Harris, Pete Stemkowski, and Kent Douglas moved in and then the benches emptied. Referee Friday assessed 66 minutes in penalties, including ten minute misconducts to Mahovlich and Ted Harris. President Campbell later assessed $925 in fines. Ten Leafs were fined $50 each and six Canadiens players were fined $50.

Red Kelly had the hat trick March 21st when Toronto pummeled the Rangers 10-1.

The Rangers beat the Black Hawks March 23rd 3-2. A great many fans were upset at plans for a closed circuit telecast of Chicago games and during the game there were shouts of "Norris is a fink!" (referring to James D. Norris, part owner of the Black Hawks.).

Ulf Sterner of Sweden became the first European trained player to suit up for an NHL team when he played for the New York Rangers for 4 games.

Detroit finished first for the first time since 1956-57 when they beat the Rangers 7-4 on March 25th. Alex Delvecchio had a hat trick and Norm Ullman scored two goals.

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

Stanley Cup Playoffs
For the third straight playoffs, it was Montreal vs. Toronto and Detroit vs. Chicago in the first round. The Canadiens came out on top over the Leafs in six games, while the Hawks beat the Wings in seven.

Debuts
The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1964-65 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs):
 * Joe Watson, Boston Bruins
 * Bill Goldsworthy, Boston Bruins
 * Wayne Cashman, Boston Bruins
 * Dennis Hull, Chicago Black Hawks
 * Ken Hodge, Chicago Black Hawks
 * Brit Selby, Toronto Maple Leafs

Last Games
The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1964-65 (listed with their last team):
 * Tom Johnson, Boston Bruins
 * Ted Lindsay, Detroit Red Wings

Video
Over an hour of video from the 1964 All-Star game featuring all five goals.