Rocket Richard was gone, retired after the previous season. The Montreal Canadiens dynasty looked like it might be able to go another season but there were certainly chinks in the armor. Indeed, in a 1960-61 NHL regular season dominated by the Habs and Toronto Maple Leafs, it really looked to be the status quo for the league.
But, in Chicago a recipe for success seemed to be coming to maturity. Their young stars, Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita, were coming into their own. They had diggers like Ken Wharram and Eric Nesterenko. On the tougher side were Pierre Pilote and a rookie named Reg Fleming. Most importantly, in goal stood the legendary Glenn Hall.
If you look at the numbers, though, this team looked more like a predecessor to the 1973-74 Broad Street Bullies than like the Toews and Kane led Blackhawks that have won three Stanley Cups over the past decade. Chicago placed five players among the top ten for penalty minutes, including Pilote, the league leader.
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1960-61 NHL PIM Leaders From The Blackhawks
Over the 70 game regular season schedule, five players from Chicago accumulated at least 100 penalty minutes. Leading the way was Pierre Pilote, followed by Reg Fleming in second, Eric Nesterenko in fifth, Murray Balfour in sixth and Stan Mikita tying Lou Fontinato of the New York Rangers for the ninth spot.
Pierre Pilote
Pierre Pilote was in his sixth season with the Blackhawks in 1960-61. The defenseman showed why he would go on to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1975. Playing the full 70 game schedule, Pierre scored six and assisted on 29 for 35 points from the blue line. In pre-Bobby Orr days, these were outstanding offensive numbers.
On the darker side, Pierre’s 165 penalty minutes would lead the league with a 20 PIM edge over second place. This would stand as Pilote’s career high, although he came close again in 1964-65 with 162.
Things would be drastically different come playoff time. Over the 12 games it took Chicago to win the championship, Pilote was assessed just four minor penalties. His offensive contributions were immense with three goals and 12 assists for 15 points.
Reg Fleming
Technically a rookie, Reg Fleming had played three games in the previous season with the Montreal Canadiens. In his first full season in the National Hockey League, Fleming produced just eight points on four goals and four assists. However, his 145 PIM put him in second, behind his teammate.
Fleming’s career high would come in 1965-66. That year was split between the Boston Bruins and New York Rangers. In total, he sat 166 PIM for the campaign.
Like Pilote, Reggie’s temper seemed to cool a bit in the post season. In 12 games, he sat 12 minutes while even scoring a goal.
Eric Nesterenko
An established player in the league by the time the 1960-61 season rolled around, Eric Nesterenko played his first NHL game back in 1951-52 with the Maple Leafs. In 1960-61, his 125 penalty minutes placed him fifth in the league and it would turn out to be a career high.
Nesterenko was also a major contributor offensively for the Blackhawks. Over 68 games, Eric scored 19 and assisted on 19 for 38 points. It turns out, Nesterenko’s post season was quite tame, as well. In eleven games, he sat out just three minor penalties while also scoring a pair of goals and assisting on three.
Murray Balfour
The tragic tale of Murray Balfour was still far in the future in 1960-61. Unfortunately, his career and life would be cut short in 1965 due to a lung tumor.
In 1960-61, Balfour finished sixth in the NHL with 123 PIM, just a minor penalty behind his teammate. It was Murray’s second full season in the NHL with his first game played in 1956-57 with the Montreal Canadiens. His penalty minute total would endure as a career high.
Balfour wasn’t just muscle, he also scored 21 goals and assisted on 27 for 48 points in 70 games. In the playoffs, he sat 14 minutes in eleven games while producing ten points on five goals and five assists.
Stan Mikita
Everyone knows of the tale of how this bad boy turned things around and became a two time Lady Byng Trophy winner. 1960-61 was Stan Mikita’s second full season in the NHL and he was still suffering from a discipline problem that would plague the early part of his legendary career.
Mikita tied with Lou Fontinato of the New York Rangers for the ninth position. Both players accumulated exactly 100 PIM over the season. Of course, Stan was one of the leaders offensively, as well. Over 66 games, he scored 19 and assisted on 34 for 53 points.
In the playoffs, Mikita continued his devious ways with 21 PIM in 12 games. He also scored six and assisted on five for eleven points.
In Contrast
Just as there were guys like Terry Crisp and Rick MacLeish on the 1973-74 Philadelphia Flyers that spent relatively rare amounts of time in the sin bin, the 1960-61 Chicago Blackhawks had their share of Lady Byng candidates.
Earl Balfour appeared in 68 of the team’s 70 games and was called for just two minor penalties. Kenny Wharram sat just 12 PIM in 64 games. Team captain Ed Litzenberger was just one up on Wharram with 14 PIM in 62 games. Goaltender Glenn Hall was not called for a single penalty while playing all 70 regular season and all 12 playoff games.
Playoff Leaders
In the playoffs, roles seemed to change. Elmer Vasko took over as the team’s leader in time served. The Moose had 23 PIM in 12 games. This was after sitting just 40 in 63 regular season games.
Stan Mikita was still in the mix, second on the team with 21 in 12. Coming in third was Bill Hay with 20 PIM in 12 games. Hay sat just 45 over 69 regular season games.
1960-61 Chicago Blackhawks
In the end, all that matters is the 1960-61 Chicago Blackhawks were crowned Stanley Cup champions. It was the team’s first Cup win since 1937-38 and their last until 2009-10.
But, it certainly was an improbably victory. Chicago finished third in the six team league with 75 points over 70 games. This put them 17 points behind the first place Habs and 15 behind the second place Toronto Maple Leafs.
However, the Blackhawks upset the Canadiens in the opening round, winning in six games. The final two games were 3-0 shutout victories. The Detroit Red Wings were doing some upsetting of their own, taking out the second place Maple Leafs. Chicago then defeated Detroit in six to win the Championship.
Under head coach Rudy Pilous, the Blackhawks led the league with 1,072 penalty minutes. Accumulating more than 1,000 PIM in a season had only been done a handful of times before. The sat 228 more minutes than second place Toronto and a lofty 481 more than the Rangers, the least penalized.
The NHL wasn’t kind to the Blackhawks. No individual awards went their way and no Chicago player was selected a First Team All-Star. Just Hall and Pilote found their way onto the Second Team.
There were also no Chicago players among the top ten in the race for the Art Ross Trophy. Bobby Hull finished fifth with 31 goals, 19 behind leader Bernie Geoffrion from Montreal. Bill Hay tied for fourth with 48 assists, equaling Andy Bathgate from the Rangers.
Chico Maki began his NHL career in 1960-61, appearing in a single playoff game for Chicago. On the other end of things, Tod Sloan saw his final NHL action. Sloan played 67 regular season games for the Hawks and appeared in all 12 playoff games. For Tod, it was his third championship, also winning two with Toronto.