Just when he thought his National Hockey League career would go on indefinitely, Len Lunde was shipped down to the minors by the Detroit Red Wings in 1961-62. His NHL career would come and go in fits and starts over the next decade but Lunde made the most of his time in the minors.
Junior and Minor Pro
Hockey Card Collection
NHL and WHA Career
Rookie Card
Career Stats
Len Lunde – Junior and Minor Pro
Lunde played three years in the WJHL from 1953-54 to 1955-56 with the Edmonton Oil Kings. He led the team in scoring in 1955-56 but the Oil Kings couldn’t get past the Regina Pats in the playoffs. Lunde joined up with the Pats over their Memorial Cup run. Regina fell to the Toronto Marlboros in the finals. Toronto was a powerhouse with the likes of Bob Baun, Carl Brewer, Charlie Burns, Bob Nevin and Bob Pulford on the roster.
Len Lunde Collection
Out of junior, Len remained in Edmonton, playing for the Edmonton Flyers of the WHL, an affiliate of the Detroit Red Wings. In just his second year with the Flyers, 1957-58, Lunde scored 39 and assisted on 43 for 82 points over 67 games. He tied for fourth in the league for goal scoring with Earl Ingarfield of the Winnipeg Warriors. His 43 assists tied for seventh and his 82 points tied for fourth. He was named a Second Team All-Star in the Prairie Division.
After nearly four years with the Detroit Red Wings, Lunde was returned to the Flyers 23 games into the 1961-62 season. Playing just 41 regular season games, Len scored 26 and assisted on 37 for 63 points. He was third in team scoring despite playing a little more than half the season. The Flyers won the WHL championship in seven games over the Spokane Chiefs. Edmonton was coached by Bud Poile. Poile would pave the way for Lunde’s brief return to the NHL in 1970-71.
With the Buffalo Bisons of the American Hockey League in 1963-64, Len finished tied for ninth with 73 points, equal with Bill Sweeney of the Springfield Indians. The Jack Evans coached Bisons finished last in the four team Western Division and second last overall, ahead of only the Springfield Indians.
1964-65 was a turnaround year for Buffalo and Lunde had a career season. The Bisons finished second in their division and third overall in the nine team AHL. In the playoffs, they lost in the semi-finals to the Hershey Bears.
Over 72 regular season games, Lunde scored 50 and assisted on 46 for 96 points over 72 games. He led the league in goal scoring but it would not be until 2003-04 before the league would introduce the Willie Marshall Award to honour the goal scoring leader. Len finished third for points behind teammate Art Stratton and Bronco Horvath of the Rochester Americans. Lunde was named a First Team All-Star.
In 1967-68, Lunde started the season in the NHL with the Minnesota North Stars but was sent back to the AHL after seven games. He finished out his season with the Rochester Americans, appearing in just 37 regular season games but scoring 19 goals and totalling 52 points, good for 3rd on the team in scoring. The Joe Crozier coached Amerks were crowned Calder Cup champs after beating the Quebec Aces in the finals.
In 1968-69 and 1969-70, played his final days in the minors, all with the Vancouver Canucks of the WHL. In both seasons, the Canucks were crowned WHL champs. In both seasons, they beat the Portland Buckaroos in the finals. It would be the end of the line for the WHL Canucks with Vancouver entering the NHL for 1970-71.
Joe Crozier made the move to Vancouver, along with Lunde. Other big names on the roster included Bob Barlow, Bryan Hextall, Andy Bathgate, Don Cherry and Charlie Hodge. In the first year, Len scored 26 and assisted on 27. The following year, he scored 29 and assisted on 34 while sitting just two minor penalties. In the playoffs, Lunde scored ten in just eleven games.
Len Lunde – NHL and WHA
Between 1958-59 and 1970-71, Len played 321 regular season games in the National Hockey League with the Detroit Red Wings, Chicago Blackhawks, Minnesota North Stars and Vancouver Canucks. Over that time, he scored 39 and assisted on 83 for 122 points. He added another five points over 20 Stanley Cup playoff games.
The closest he came to a Stanley Cup championship came in 1960-61 with the Red Wings. Detroit finished fourth, four points below .500. Yet, it was the third place Blackhawks that took out the Red Wings in the Stanley Cup finals.
Once picked up by the Chicago Blackhawks, he played most of the 1962-63 season but then didn’t return to the NHL until 1965-66. Even then, he was used sparsely.
The Minnesota North Stars selected him in the tenth round of the 1967 NHL Expansion Draft, 56th overall. He played just seven games with the North Stars in 1967-68 before being let go.
Bud Poile, now General Manager of the expansion Vancouver Canucks, brought Lunde back to the NHL for the team’s inaugural 1970-71 season. However, he lasted just 20 games with the Canucks and would never play in the NHL again.
Along with stints overseas in Finland and Sweden, Lunde played the 1973-74 season in the World Hockey Association with the Edmonton Oilers. His numbers were respectable with 26 goals and 48 points over 72 games. He would return to the Oilers as their European Scout when the team joined the NHL for the 1979-80 season.
Len Lunde – Hockey Cards
The Len Lunde rookie card appears as number 15 in the 1958-59 Topps set. The card is valued as a common card and he is shown with the Detroit Red Wings. Lunde appeared on cards over the next four years, all with the Red Wings.
He played the entire 1962-63 season with the Chicago Blackhawks but does not have a card with that team. Parkhurst shows him that year still with the Red Wings despite not playing with the club since mid 1961-62. Topps covered the Blackhawks but didn’t include Len.
Nearly a decade later, his next and final card appeared in the 1970-71 O-Pee-Chee set as a member of the Vancouver Canucks. Despite playing the full season with the Edmonton Oilers in 1973-74, he was not included in the O-Pee-Chee WHA set.
Len Lunde Career Stats
| Season | Team | Lge | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 1953-54 | Edmonton Oil Kings | WCJHL | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1954-55 | Edmonton Oil Kings | WCJHL | 35 | 28 | 18 | 46 | 37 |
| 1955-56 | Edmonton Oil Kings | WCJHL | 35 | 37 | 31 | 68 | 27 |
| 1955-56 | Edmonton Flyers | WHL | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| 1956-57 | Edmonton Flyers | WHL | 70 | 20 | 41 | 61 | 22 |
| 1957-58 | Edmonton Flyers | WHL | 67 | 39 | 43 | 82 | 17 |
| 1958-59 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 68 | 14 | 12 | 26 | 15 |
| 1959-60 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 66 | 6 | 17 | 23 | 10 |
| 1960-61 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 53 | 6 | 12 | 18 | 10 |
| 1961-62 | Edmonton Flyers | WHL | 41 | 26 | 37 | 63 | 21 |
| 1961-62 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 23 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 4 |
| 1962-63 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 60 | 6 | 22 | 28 | 30 |
| 1963-64 | Buffalo Bisons | AHL | 72 | 30 | 43 | 73 | 38 |
| 1964-65 | Buffalo Bisons | AHL | 72 | 50 | 46 | 96 | 40 |
| 1965-66 | St. Louis Braves | CPHL | 11 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 6 |
| 1965-66 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 24 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 4 |
| 1966-67 | Portland Buckaroos | WHL | 72 | 26 | 33 | 59 | 16 |
| 1967-68 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 37 | 19 | 33 | 52 | 13 |
| 1967-68 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 1968-69 | Vancouver Canucks | WHL | 65 | 26 | 27 | 53 | 0 |
| 1969-70 | Vancouver Canucks | WHL | 68 | 29 | 34 | 63 | 4 |
| 1970-71 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 20 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 |
| 1971-72 | Ilves Tampere | SM-sarja | 31 | 28 | 21 | 49 | 40 |
| 1973-74 | Edmonton Oilers | WHA | 72 | 26 | 22 | 48 | 8 |
| NHL Totals | 321 | 39 | 83 | 122 | 75 | ||
| WHA Totals | 72 | 26 | 22 | 48 | 8 |