1957–58 Chicago Black Hawks season



The 1957–58 Chicago Black Hawks season was the team's 32nd season in the NHL. The Hawks finished 5th in the league and did not qualify for the playoffs for the 11th time in the 12 previous seasons.

Off-season
During the off-season, the Black Hawks and Detroit Red Wings made a blockbuster trade, as Chicago traded Hank Bassen, Johnny Wilson, Bill Preston, and Forbes Kennedy to the Red Wings for Glenn Hall and Ted Lindsay. Hall had won the Calder Trophy in 1956, while Lindsay was a key member of the Red Wings Stanley Cup championships in 1950, 1952, 1954 and 1955. Chicago also signed 18 year old Bobby Hull, who had spent the past two seasons with the St. Catharines Teepees of the OHA.

Regular Season
Chicago got off to a good start, playing over .500 hockey thirteen games into the season, as they had a 6–5–3 record, however, the club fell into a slump, going 4–12–3 in their next 19 games, falling out of the playoff race. Tommy Ivan decided to step down from head coaching duties, as he hired former Teepees head coach Rudy Pilous to take over the team. The Hawks responded, playing .500 hockey in Pilous' first 18 games behind the bench to get back into the playoff race, however, a seven game losing streak soon followed, and the team fell out of playoff contention for good. The Hawks finished the year 24–39–7, earning 55 points, their highest total since 1952–53, and did not finish in last place for the first time since 1953, as they had two more points than the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Offensively, Chicago was led by Ed Litzenberger, who led the club in goals with 32, while adding 30 assists for 62 points. Rookie Bobby Hull scored 13 goals and 47 points, as he finished second to Frank Mahovlich of the Toronto Maple Leafs for the Calder Trophy. Ted Lindsay recorded 15 goals and 39 points in his first season with the team, which was a 46 point drop-off from the previous season. Lindsay also had a club high 110 penalty minutes. Pierre Pilote led the defense, scoring 6 goals and 30 points, while fellow blue-liner Moose Vasko scored 6 goals and 26 points.

In goal, Glenn Hall played every game, winning 24, while posting a 2.86 GAA and earning 7 shutouts.

Playoffs

 * The Black Hawks did not qualify for the post season.

Awards and Records

 * Calder Memorial Trophy: Bobby Hull, Runner-up
 * Glenn Hall, Goalie, NHL First Team All-Star