The Bentley Brothers: The NHL’s 1st All-Brother Line

The Bentley brothers, Max, Doug and Reg, made National Hockey League history during the 1942-43 season when they formed the first ever all-brother line. Reg played just eleven games that season, his only ever NHL action. Max and Doug went on to both be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Max Bentley

Doug  Bentley

Reg Bentley

Max Bentley

The youngest of the three brothers, born in 1920 in Delisle, Saskatchewan. Max Bentley played in the NHL from 1940-41 to 1953-54 with the Chicago Black Hawks, Toronto Maple Leafs and New York Rangers. He was teammates with Doug until a trade sent him to the Maple Leafs during the 1947-48 season. The two would re-unite for a swan song season with the Rangers in 1953-54.

Over his career, Bentley played 645 regular season games, scoring 245 goals and assisting on 299 for 544 points. In 1942-43, he finished with 70 points, three points behind brother Doug for the league lead.

In both 1945-46 and 1946-47 he led the NHL in points as a member of the Black Hawks. However, the Art Ross Trophy did not come along until 1947-48. Not only did he lead the NHL in points in 1945-46, he was also the recipient of the Hart Trophy as the league’s MVP.  He finished that year with 61 points in 47 games. The following year, his 72 points were just one better than Maurice ‘Rocket’ Richard of the Montreal Canadiens.

1950-51 was Max’s last standout offensive season. He finished with 62 points, leading the Maple Leafs and finishing third in the race for the Art Ross Trophy behind Gordie Howe and Rocket Richard.

Max was a member of three Stanley Cup winning teams in Toronto: 1947-48, 1948-49 and 1950-51. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1966.

The Max Bentley rookie card appears in the 1951-52 Parkhurst set as hockey card number 81. The card is valued at just $100.

Max Bentley NHL Stats

Season	Team	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1940-41	Chicago Blackhawks	36	7	10	17	6
1941-42	Chicago Blackhawks	38	13	17	30	2
1942-43	Chicago Blackhawks	47	26	44	70	2
1945-46	Chicago Blackhawks	47	31	30	61	6
1946-47	Chicago Blackhawks	60	29	43	72	12
1947-48	Chicago Blackhawks	6	3	3	6	0
1947-48	Toronto Maple Leafs	53	23	25	48	14
1948-49	Toronto Maple Leafs	60	19	22	41	18
1949-50	Toronto Maple Leafs	69	23	18	41	14
1950-51	Toronto Maple Leafs	67	21	41	62	34
1951-52	Toronto Maple Leafs	69	24	17	41	40
1952-53	Toronto Maple Leafs	36	12	11	23	16
1953-54	New York Rangers	57	14	18	32	15
		645	245	299	544	179

Doug Bentley

Four years older than Max, Doug’s NHL career started just one year before his younger brother’s. Doug Bentley played in the National Hockey League from 1939-40 to 1953-54 with the Black Hawks and Rangers. His only year with the Rangers was his last. Over his career, he played 565 regular season games, scoring 219 goals and assisting on 324 for 543 points.

In 1942-43, Bentley led the NHL with 33 goals and 73 points. The following year, 1943-44, he led the league in goals again with 38 and finished second in points with 77. In 1948-49, he finished second in the race for the Art Ross Trophy to Chicago teammate Roy Conacher. Conacher had 68 points while Bentley had 66.

Bentley was head coach of the Knoxville Knights in the Eastern Hockey League for two years, 1965-66 and 1966-67. The Knights competed in a highly talented EHL that included great teams like the Clinton Comets, Johnstown Jets, Long Island Ducks and Nashville Dixie Flyers. The EHL at the time was the next best thing to the NHL and basically threatened the NHL into expansion.

Doug entered the Hockey Hall of Fame two years before Max, in 1964. The Doug Bentley rookie card also appears in the 1951-52 Parkhurst set as number 48. Doug’s hockey card is slightly more valuable than Max’s at $125.

Doug Bentley NHL Stats

Season	Team	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1939-40	Chicago Blackhawks	39	12	7	19	12
1940-41	Chicago Blackhawks	46	8	20	28	12
1941-42	Chicago Blackhawks	38	12	14	26	11
1942-43	Chicago Blackhawks	50	33	40	73	18
1943-44	Chicago Blackhawks	50	38	39	77	22
1945-46	Chicago Blackhawks	36	19	21	40	16
1946-47	Chicago Blackhawks	52	21	34	55	18
1947-48	Chicago Blackhawks	60	20	37	57	16
1948-49	Chicago Blackhawks	58	23	43	66	38
1949-50	Chicago Blackhawks	64	20	33	53	28
1950-51	Chicago Blackhawks	44	9	23	32	20
1951-52	Chicago Blackhawks	8	2	3	5	4
1953-54	New York Rangers	20	2	10	12	2
		565	219	324	543	217

Reg Bentley

The oldest of the three Bentley brothers, Reg Bentley was born in 1914. There are no hockey cards that captured his eleven game NHL career with Chicago.

Reg Bentley NHL Stats

Season	Team	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1942-43	Chicago Blackhawks	11	1	2	3	2