Dennis Hextall: Hard Knuckles (Soft Hands)

Most put him in a group with Bugsy Watson, The Hammer Schultz and Tiger Williams. Maybe, Dennis Hextall should more often be included with names like Jean Ratelle, Stan Mikita and Bobby Clarke. Hextall could go toe-to-toe with the best of them. But, he could also set up goals like the best of them.

One in a large family of pro hockey players, Dennis starred as a junior with the Brandon Wheat Kings, in the NCAA with the University of North Dakota and did his best in the NHL with the Minnesota North Stars. He was preceded by his Hockey Hall of Fame father Bryan Hextall Sr. with his nephew Ron continuing the Hextall legacy after him.

Junior Career

University Career

Hockey Card Collection

Minor Pro

NHL Career

Rookie Card

Career Stats

Dennis Hextall – Junior Hockey

Dennis Hextall played junior hockey with the Brandon Wheat Kings of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League in 1961-62 and 1962-63. In his first season, the Wheat Kings finished first in the five team MJHL during the regular season. The team had a ten point lead over the second place Winnipeg Monarchs over the 40 game schedule.

That year, Brandon won the Turnbull Cup as MJHL champions, beating the Monarchs in the finals. They then lost to the Edmonton Oil Kings in the Abbott Cup final series in seven games. A win would have sent them to the Memorial Cup finals.

In 1962-63, Dennis put up 21 goals and 67 points in 39 regular season games for the Wheat Kings. It should be noted that he sat just 17 minutes in penalties. In fact, it was a different Dennis Hextall that played junior and university hockey, not spending much time at all in the sin bin. His first year of pro hockey would change all that.

In that 1962-63 season, Brandon once again finished first overall in the MJHL, a lofty 22 points ahead of the second place St. Boniface Canadiens over just a 39 game schedule. They met St. Boniface in the Turnbull Cup finals, coming out victorious in five games. Once again, the Wheat Kings fell to the Edmonton Oil Kings in the Abbott Cup final, this time in five games.

Dennis Hextall – University

For three years from 1963-64 to 1965-66, Dennis Hextall was on the roster of the University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux. Although, he would play in just his final two seasons.

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Dennis Hextall Collection

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In 1964-65, Hextall put up 17 goals and 36 assists for 53 points in 33 games for the Fighting Sioux while sitting 33 minutes in the box. He was named a WCHA Second Team All-Star and the team finished first overall in the seven team league. In the WCHA final, North Dakota fell to Michigan Tech. At the Frozen 4, the team fell in the semi-final to Boston College.

In his final season with the University of North Dakota, Dennis scored 19 and assisted on 29 for 48 points in 30 games. His PIM total was again fairly low at 30. He wore the ‘A’ for the Fight Sioux and the team finished second in the WCHA during the regular season. He was named a WCHA First Team All-Star.

Dennis Hextall – Minor Pro

After his university days were up, Dennis Hextall moved on the EHL for 1966-67, playing in 61 games for the Knoxville Knights. He excelled in his first pro hockey season with 20 goals and 56 assists for 76 points. However, his game also changed with 202 minutes spent in the penalty box.

Playing for the Doug Bentley coached Knights, Hextall finished seventh in the EHL for assists in 1966-67 and also finished fifth in PIM, right behind Rick Foley. It was also the only time he would play with brother Rick Hextall. The team finished eighth in the ten team EHL and lost in the opening round of the playoffs.

In 1968-69, Dennis found himself in the American Hockey League with the Fred Shero coached Buffalo Bisons, an affiliate of the New York Rangers. Over his 60 regular season games, Hextall scored 21 and assisted on 44 for 65 points while sitting 179 minutes in penalties.

The Bisons, led by Gilles Villemure between the pipes, finished first overall in the eight team AHL but were bounced in the first round of the Calder Cup playoffs. That year, Dennis also played in 13 NHL games with the Rangers.

1969-70 would mostly mark the end of Hextall’s time in the minors. He was a member of the Los Angeles Kings organization but would play sparsely with the club. He spent much of his season in the AHL, split between the Springfield Kings and Montreal Voyageurs. He moved to the Voyageurs in January, 1970 after a trade between the Los Angeles and Montreal that saw Dick Duff go to the Kings. Interestingly, the Kings also sent a draft pick to the Habs that turned out to be Larry Robinson.

Dennis Hextall – NHL

Between 1967-68 and 1979-80, Dennis Hextall played 681 regular season games in the National Hockey League with the New York Rangers, Los Angeles Kings, California Golden Seals, Minnesota North Stars, Detroit Red Wings an Washington Capitals. Over that time, he scored 153 goals and assisted on 350 for 503 points. He also sat 1,398 minutes in penalties.

His time in the Stanley Cup playoffs was limited to just 22 games. Playing for a mix of recent expansion teams and the hapless ‘Dead Wings’ of the 1970’s definitely put him at a post season disadvantage.

Hextall’s first NHL experience came in the 1967-68 playoffs when he appeared in two games for the Rangers. The following year, he would appear in 13 regular season games with New York but that would be the end of his time in the Big Apple. The Rangers traded Dennis to the Los Angeles Kings on June 9, 1969 with Leon Rochefort for Real Lemieux.

1970-71 was a springboard to his NHL career. After the Canadiens acquired him from the Kings during the 1969-70 season, they then sold him to California on May 22, 1970. Playing for the California Golden Seals in 1970-71, Dennis led the team with 31 assists, 52 points and 217 PIM. The team finished last overall in the NHL ten points behind Detroit. Hextall finished second for penalty minutes, a distant 74 PIM behind Keith Magnuson of the Blackhawks.

The numbers weren’t enough to keep him Oakland. On May 20, 1971, Dennis was traded from the Golden Seals to the North Stars for Joey Johnston and Walt McKechnie. With Minnesota, Hextall had the greatest success of his career.

In 1972-73, Dennis scored 30 goals for the North Stars, a career high. He also assisted on 52 for 82 points. He led the team in assists and points while also leading with 140 PIM. The team reached the playoffs but fell in the first round to the Philadelphia Flyers in six games.

The following year, he equaled his career high in points with 82 on 20 goals and 62 assists. He again led the team in assists and points but also made his mark league-wide. His assist total was good for third in the NHL, behind just Bobby Orr and Phil Esposito. He tied for ninth in the race for the Art Ross Trophy, equaling Lowell MacDonald of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Brad Park of the Rangers.

On February 27, 1976, the North Stars sent him to Detroit, in exchange for Bill Hogaboam. That year, his brother Bryan Hextall was shipped to Minnesota from Detroit in a separate deal. Dennis finished tied for eighth in 1977-78 with 195 PIM. He was team captain for the Red Wings during the 1978-79 season, until a trade sent him to the Washington Capitals 20 games into the campaign.

Dennis Hextall – Rookie Card

The Dennis Hextall rookie card appears as number 107 in the 1969-70 O-Pee-Chee NHL hockey card set. He is shown as a member of the Los Angeles Kings. Dennis would play just 28 games with the Kings that year before moving to the California Golden Seals, by way of the Montreal Canadiens.

That rookie card, of course, mentions that his father, Bryan Hextall Sr., was a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame. Pretty much every other card during his career would mention this fact. Bryan senior played 449 regular season and 37 playoff games in the NHL, all with the Rangers. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1969.

That 1969-70 OPC rookie card also mentions that Dennis is one of three hockey playing brothers. The best known is Bryan Hextall Jr. Bryan played 549 regular season and 18 playoff games in the NHL with the Rangers, Penguins, Atlanta Flames, Red Wings and North Stars. The other brother, Rick Hextall, played junior hockey with the Brandon Wheat Kings and minor pro in the EHL, IHL and WHL.

Hextall’s final card is included in the 1979-80 O-Pee-Chee NHL set as number 392. He is shown with the Washington Capitals, a team he played 15 games for in 1979-80 before calling it a career.

Dennis Hextall Career Stats

Season	Team	Lge	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1961-62	Brandon Wheat Kings	MJHL	39	11	18	29	0
1962-63	Brandon Wheat Kings	MJHL	39	21	46	67	17
1964-65	U. of North Dakota	WCHA	33	17	36	53	33
1965-66	U. of North Dakota	WCHA	30	14	20	34	30
1966-67	Knoxville Knights	EHL	61	20	56	76	202
1967-68	Omaha Knights	CPHL	10	0	2	2	9
1967-68	Buffalo Bisons	AHL	51	15	33	48	114
1967-68	New York Rangers	NHL	Playoffs Only
1968-69	New York Rangers	NHL	13	1	4	5	25
1968-69	Buffalo Bisons	AHL	60	21	44	65	179
1969-70	Springfield Kings	AHL	10	5	8	13	52
1969-70	Montreal Voyageurs	AHL	29	10	19	29	126
1969-70	Los Angeles Kings	NHL	28	5	7	12	40
1970-71	California Golden Seals	NHL	78	21	31	52	217
1971-72	Cleveland Barons	AHL	5	1	1	2	18
1971-72	Minnesota North Stars	NHL	33	6	10	16	49
1972-73	Minnesota North Stars	NHL	78	30	52	82	140
1973-74	Minnesota North Stars	NHL	78	20	62	82	138
1974-75	Minnesota North Stars	NHL	80	17	57	74	147
1975-76	Minnesota North Stars	NHL	59	11	35	46	93
1975-76	Detroit Red Wings	NHL	17	5	9	14	71
1976-77	Detroit Red Wings	NHL	78	14	32	46	158
1977-78	Detroit Red Wings	NHL	78	16	33	49	195
1978-79	Detroit Red Wings	NHL	20	4	8	12	33
1978-79	Washington Capitals	NHL	26	2	9	11	43
1979-80	Washington Capitals	NHL	15	1	1	2	49
	NHL Totals		681	153	350	503	1398