In 2006, the Hockey Hall of Fame righted a wrong by finally inducted Dick Duff. It was a slow year at the Hall with just Duff and Patrick Roy entering. As with Roy, Duff was definitely deserving of the honour.
Dick played in the NHL from 1954-55 to 1971-72. His 1954-55 action consisted of just three games with the Toronto Maple Leafs while still playing junior in the OHA with the Toronto St. Michael’s Majors. Over his career, Duff played for the Toronto Maple Leafs, New York Rangers, Montreal Canadiens, Los Angeles Kings and Buffalo Sabres. He finished his career with 283 goals, 289 assists and 572 points over 1,030 regular season NHL games.
The Dick Duff rookie card appeared as number 18 in the 1955-56 Parkhurst set and is valued at $100. The pinnacle of the set is the Jacques Plante rookie card, valued at $800. The complete 1955-56 Parkhurst collection consists of 79 cards and is valued at $5000.
Dick Duff Collection:
The last card of Dick Duff appeared in the 1971-72 O-Pee-Chee set as card number 164. On the front, Duff is wearing the jersey of the Buffalo Sabres. He appeared in just eight games with Buffalo in 1971-72 before retiring from the game. The 1971-72 O-Pee-Chee hockey card is valued as a common.
Duff has his name engraved on the Stanley Cup six times, twice with Toronto and four times with the Canadiens. He was part of the 1961-62 and 1962-63 Stanley Cup champion teams in Toronto. The Maple Leafs won their third consecutive in 1963-64 but Dick was shipped off to the New York Rangers mid-season. He won the Cup with the Habs in 1964-65, 1965-66, 1967-68 and 1968-69. In that final Stanley Cup playoffs, Duff has 14 points in 14 games. Only Jean Beliveau had more on the team with 15 points.
Dick was also on the losing end of the Stanley Cup finals on three occasions. the Leafs fell to the mighty Montreal Canadiens in 1958-59 and 1959-60. Turning things around, as a member of the Canadiens in 1966-67, the Habs lost to the Maple Leafs in what would be the last time Toronto would capture the Cup.
Not a prolific scorer, Duff did finish among the top ten goal scorers in the National Hockey League on two occasions. In 1956-57, Dick’s 26 goals placed him ninth in the NHL. In 1958-59, he scored 29 goals to place eighth.
His final three years in the league were relegated to expansion clubs. Montreal shipped him off to Los Angeles during the 1969-70 season. Here, he was reunited with former Toronto teammate Eddie Shack. The two played together with the Maple Leafs from 1960-61 to 1963-64. The two were then packaged off to the Buffalo Sabres during the 1970-71 season.
Duff returned to Toronto for a very brief stint behind the bench in 1979-80. Dick acted as an interim head coach for just two games for the Maple Leafs. 1979-80 proved to be a circus act for the Leafs, with Harold Ballard causing the team to implode.
Dick Duff Stats
| Season | Team | Lge | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 1952-53 | Toronto St. Michael’s | OHA | 16 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 2 |
| 1953-54 | Toronto St. Michael’s | OHA | 59 | 35 | 40 | 75 | 120 |
| 1954-55 | Toronto St. Michael’s | OHA | 47 | 33 | 20 | 53 | 113 |
| 1954-55 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 1955-56 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 69 | 18 | 19 | 37 | 74 |
| 1956-57 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 70 | 26 | 14 | 40 | 50 |
| 1957-58 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 65 | 26 | 23 | 49 | 79 |
| 1958-59 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 69 | 29 | 24 | 53 | 73 |
| 1959-60 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 67 | 19 | 22 | 41 | 51 |
| 1960-61 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 67 | 16 | 17 | 33 | 54 |
| 1961-62 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 51 | 17 | 20 | 37 | 37 |
| 1962-63 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 69 | 16 | 19 | 35 | 56 |
| 1963-64 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 52 | 7 | 10 | 17 | 59 |
| 1963-64 | New York Rangers | NHL | 14 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 2 |
| 1964-65 | New York Rangers | NHL | 29 | 3 | 9 | 12 | 20 |
| 1964-65 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 40 | 9 | 7 | 16 | 16 |
| 1965-66 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 63 | 21 | 24 | 45 | 78 |
| 1966-67 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 51 | 12 | 11 | 23 | 23 |
| 1967-68 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 66 | 25 | 21 | 46 | 21 |
| 1968-69 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 68 | 19 | 21 | 40 | 24 |
| 1969-70 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 17 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| 1969-70 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 32 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 8 |
| 1970-71 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1970-71 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 53 | 7 | 13 | 20 | 12 |
| 1971-72 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| NHL Totals | 1030 | 283 | 289 | 572 | 743 |