1960-61 was a very upsetting season in the six team National Hockey League. In the opening round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, third seed Chicago Black Hawks upset first place Montreal Canadiens while fourth place Detroit Red Wings took out second place Toronto Maple Leafs. The Red Wings then took six games to bounce the Black Hawks in the final to take the Championship.
Bernie ‘Boom Boom’ Geoffrion of the Montreal Canadiens was awarded the Art Ross Trophy, finishing with 95 points, five more than teammate Jean Beliveau. Geoffrion also led the league with 50 goals. At the time, each team played 70 games during the regular season. Boom Boom was also awarded the Hart Memorial Trophy as the NHL’s MVP.
What follows are the hockey cards of the points leaders of the six teams. The cards are from the 1961-62 Parkhurst and Topps sets. It’s the age old argument: should you show the 1960-61 card to honour a player’s performance in that year of the hockey card from the following year that celebrates the numbers from the year before? Have I lost you? Don’t put too much thought into it…
As mentioned, Bernie ‘Boom Boom’ Geoffrion led the whole NHL with 95 points and, therefore, was also the points leader for the Montreal Canadiens. It was a career high for Geoffrion who played in the league from 1950-51 to 1967-68.
Frank Mahovlich placed third in the league, behind Geoffrion and Beliveau, with 84 points while leading the Toronto Maple Leafs. Mahovlich wouldn’t have such a high point total until he had a career high of 96 with the Montreal Canadiens in 1971-72.
The New York Rangers finished in fifth place, 12 points out of a playoff spot. Andy Bathgate led the club with 77 points and placed fourth in the NHL. Bathgate played in the NHL from 1952-53 to 1970-71, finishing just short of 1,000 points over his career with 973.
Gordie Howe led the Detroit Red Wings with 72 points while finishing fifth in the race for the Art Ross Trophy. Howe won the trophy six times over his long NHL career.
Bill ‘Red’ Hay led the Chicago Black Hawks with 59 points and did not place in the NHL’s top ten. Hay was only in his second year in the NHL, after winning the Calder Trophy in 1959-60. Bill would only play eight seasons in the National Hockey League, retiring after the last ‘Original 6’ season.
The Boston Bruins had a terrible 1960-61 season, winning just 15 games and finishing dead last, eleven points behind the Rangers. Jerry Toppazzini led the club with just 50 points. It was a career high in points for Toppazzini, equaled the following season. Jerry played in the NHL from 1952-53 to 1963-64 with the Bruins, Chicago Black Hawks and Detroit Red Wings.