It took nearly forty years after he retired from the National Hockey League but Edgar Laprade found his way into the Hockey Hall of Fame. Laprade was part of a dismal New York Rangers team when he won the Calder Trophy in 1945-46. Four years later, he played an important role in the Rangers reaching the Stanley Cup finals.
Edgar Laprade – NHL Career
Laprade played several years of Senior ‘A’ hockey in Thunder Bay, Ontario. With the Thunder Bay Bearcats, Edgar went to the Allan Cup finals in 1938-39 and 1941-42. In the first year, the Bearcats were crowned Canadian champions by ousting the Royal Montreal Hockey Club. In 1941-42, Thunder Bay fell to the Ottawa RCAF Flyers.
After serving in the Canadian Armed Forces at the end of World War II, Laprade joined the Rangers for the 1945-46 National Hockey League season. He played 500 regular season NHL games between 1945-46 and 1954-55, all with New York. Over that time, Edgar scored 108 goals and assisted on 172 for 280 points. He appeared in just 18 playoff games, adding 13 points.
In his first year with the Rangers, Laprade scored 15 goals and assisted on 19 for 34 points while playing in 49 of the team’s 50 regular season games. The Frank Boucher coached Rangers placed last in the league with just 35 points. Edgar placed third on New York for goals and points and second for assists. He also stayed out of the penalty box for the entire season.
Laprade earned the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s rookie of the year. Edgar was the only player not from the Toronto Maple Leafs to win the award between 1942-43 and 1946-47. He and Camille Henry are the only two New York Rangers to win both the Calder Trophy and Lady Byng Trophy during their careers.
1947-48 was one of Edgar’s top offensive seasons. Laprade placed third in the NHL with 34 assists. He was just three assists behind league leader, Doug Bentley of the Chicago Blackhawks.
Edgar Laprade Collection
Over his 500 games, Edgar sat just 42 minutes in penalties. Yet, he was awarded the Lady Byng Trophy just once. In 1949-50, he was honoured for his gentlemanly play while incurring just one minor penalty over 60 games.
However, the 1949-50 season was much more than that. His 22 goals over 60 games served as a career high. The Rangers placed fourth in the six team league, 21 points behind the first place Detroit Red Wings.
In the Stanley Cup playoffs, Laprade contributed eight points over 12 games. New York upset the Montreal Canadiens in the opening round. In the finals, the Rangers came up against first place Detroit. After game five, New York had a three games to two edge. However, the Red Wings roared back with two wins to take the Stanley Cup. Three of the seven games were decided in overtime. It was as close as Laprade would get to a Stanley Cup championship.
In 1993, Edgar Laprade was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. He was one of four players honoured that year. At his side were Guy Lapointe, Steve Shutt and Billy Smith.
Edgar Laprade – Rookie Card
The Edgar Laprade rookie card appears as number 96 in the 1951-52 Parkhurst set and is valued at a little less than twice that of a common card. There are only two other mainstream hockey cards of Laprade: the 1952-53 Parkhurst number 100 and the 1954-55 Topps number 56. Both of those two cards are valued as common cards.
| Season | Team | Lge | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 1945-46 | New York Rangers | NHL | 49 | 15 | 19 | 34 | 0 |
| 1946-47 | New York Rangers | NHL | 58 | 15 | 25 | 40 | 9 |
| 1947-48 | New York Rangers | NHL | 59 | 13 | 34 | 47 | 7 |
| 1948-49 | New York Rangers | NHL | 56 | 18 | 12 | 30 | 12 |
| 1949-50 | New York Rangers | NHL | 60 | 22 | 22 | 44 | 2 |
| 1950-51 | New York Rangers | NHL | 42 | 10 | 13 | 23 | 0 |
| 1951-52 | New York Rangers | NHL | 70 | 9 | 29 | 38 | 8 |
| 1952-53 | New York Rangers | NHL | 11 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 |
| 1953-54 | New York Rangers | NHL | 35 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 2 |
| 1954-55 | New York Rangers | NHL | 60 | 3 | 11 | 14 | 0 |
| NHL Totals | 500 | 108 | 172 | 280 | 42 |