1967–68 Chicago Black Hawks season



The 1967–68 Chicago Black Hawks season was the Hawks' 42nd season in the NHL. The Hawks finished 4th in the East Division and lost in the Division Finals to the Montreal Canadiens 4 games to 1.

Off-season
There were many changes in the NHL during the off-season, most notably the league doubled in size, as six expansion teams began play in the 1967-68 season. The new teams added to the league were the California Seals (renamed to Oakland Seals in November), Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota North Stars, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, and St. Louis Blues. All the new expansion teams were placed in the West Division, while the Original Six teams were placed in the newly created East Division. The NHL schedule also increased, as the league went from 70 games to 74.

The Black Hawks would see some changes to their roster, as they lost a number of players in the 1967 NHL Expansion Draft, including goaltender Glenn Hall, who was left unprotected by the Hawks, and saw him be drafted by the St. Louis Blues. Chicago also was involved in a blockbuster trade, as the Hawks sent Phil Esposito, Ken Hodge, and Fred Stanfield to the Boston Bruins for Pit Martin, Gilles Marotte and Jack Norris.

Pre-season
The Black Hawks held their training camp in Chicago.

Regular Season
The Black Hawks would begin the season horribly, as they lost their first six games to quickly fall into last place in the East Division. Chicago would rebound from their poor start, and get very hot, as they went 20-4-12 in their next 36 games. The Black Hawks would cool off, and finish the season with a 32-26-16 record, earning 80 points, and the fourth and final playoff berth in the East Division to qualify for post-season play for the ninth consecutive season.

Having signed a contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Garry Unger was given a regular shift with Pete Stemkowski and Jim Pappin for the November 18, 1967 game versus the Black Hawks. Trailing 1-0 early in the second period, Stemkowski dug the puck out of the corner and his centering pass caromed to Unger who whacked in his first NHL goal past Denis DeJordy.

December 27, 1967 saw Chicago visit Boston for a signature match between the league's top two teams. After the Black Hawks Doug Mohns scored early on the power play, the Bruins first line took over. Phil Esposito scored his 13th of the season before Ed Westfall put the Bruins ahead 2-1. Tom Williams and Esposito then scored less than 20 seconds apart and Boston carried a 4-1 lead into the second period. Eddie Shack scored a pair causing Denis DeJordy to be pulled from the Black Hawks net in favour of Dave Dryden. Although Dryden fared better, Esposito completed his hat trick on a goal assisted by Bobby Orr. Chicago added one in the third period but Andre Gill held the fort as the Bruins won 7-2.

During the January 21, 1968 Bruins-Black Hawks game, ex-Bruin Doug Mohns initiated a stick swinging incident with Ted Green. Stan Mikita, Kenny Wharram and Mohns had all begun wearing helmets in the wake of the death of Bill Masterton and played on the same line. Mohns' helmet saved him from serious injury as Green's stick made contact with his head. Both were given game misconducts but no suspensions.

Offensively, the Hawks were led by Stan Mikita, who led the NHL in scoring for the second straight season, as he scored 40 goals and added 47 assists for a league best 87 points, winning the Art Ross Trophy and Hart Memorial Trophy. Bobby Hull would lead the league in goals for the sixth time in his career, as he scored 44 times, and earned 75 points. Kenny Wharram had another very solid season, earning 69 points, while Doug Mohns earned 53 points. Pat Stapleton led the defense in scoring with 38 points, while Pierre Pilote finished just behind him with 37. Newly acquired Gilles Marotte led the team in penalty minutes with 122.

In goal, Denis DeJordy saw most of the action, playing in 50 games, while recording a career high 23 wins, along with a team best 2.71 GAA, and four shutouts.

Chicago Black Hawks 4, New York Rangers 2
The Hawks would open the playoffs against the New York Rangers in the East Division Semi-finals. The Rangers finished the season with 90 points, which was 10 more than Chicago. The series opened up with two games at Madison Square Garden in New York, and the Rangers took control of the series, winning both games for a 2-0 series lead. The series moved to Chicago Stadium for the next two games, and the Hawks responded on their home ice, winning both games to even the series up. The fifth game was played in New York, however, the Black Hawks held off the Rangers, winning the game 2-1, and took a 3-2 series lead. Chicago would wrap up the series in the sixth game at home, easily defeating the Rangers 4-1, and advance to the East Division finals.

Montreal Canadiens 4, Chicago Black Hawks 1
Chicago would face the Montreal Canadiens, with the winner advancing to the 1968 Stanley Cup Finals. The Canadiens had the best record in the NHL, as they earned 94 points. Montreal swept the Boston Bruins in their first playoff round. The series began at the Montreal Forum, and the Canadiens quickly took a 2-0 series lead, as they dominated the Hawks in both games, winning 9-2 and 4-1. The series moved to Chicago for the next two games, however, in the third game of the series, Montreal took a 3-0 series lead, doubling the Hawks 4-2 to put Chicago on the brink of elimination. The Black Hawks staved off elimination in the fourth game, narrowly defeating Montreal 2-1, however, in the fifth game, played in Montreal, the Canadiens ended the series with an overtime winning goal, and advance to the Stanley Cup final.

Awards and Records

 * Hart Memorial Trophy: Stan Mikita
 * Art Ross Trophy: Stan Mikita
 * Lady Byng Memorial Trophy: Stan Mikita
 * Stan Mikita, Center, NHL First Team All-Star
 * Bobby Hull, Left Wing, NHL First Team All-Star

Draft Picks
Chicago's draft picks at the 1967 NHL Amateur Draft held at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, Quebec.

Trivia

 * Black Hawks who recorded a Hat trick this season include:
 * Bobby Hull during the 7-1 win over the New York Rangers on November 22, 1967.
 * Stan Mikita during the 4-1 win over the Minnesota North Stars on November 25, 1967.
 * Stan Mikita had a 4 goal game during the 7-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on December 12, 1967.
 * Chico Maki during the 7-4 win over the Detroit Red Wings on February 17, 1968.
 * Stan Mikita during the 7-1 win over Detroit on February 18, 1968.
 * Ken Wharram during the 7-1 win over Detroit on February 18, 1968.

Video
Nearly three hours of video from the Bruins-Maple Leafs game on January 6, 1968. All goals are shown including one by Bobby Orr which tied the game 3-3. An interview with Derek Sanderson is shown in the first intermission. During the second intermission, highlights from the December 27, 1967 Bruins-Black Hawks game are shown including a Hat trick by Phil Esposito. Milt Schmidt is then interviewed.