They wanted him so bad, the Detroit Red Wings sponsored the whole Stratford, Ontario minor hockey program in 1960 just to retain his rights. At the time, Nick Libett was just 15 years old. He wouldn’t play a game with the Red Wings until 1967-68, the better part of a decade later.
Unfortunately for Libett, by the time he did get his break with the National Hockey League team, they were already transforming into the ‘Dead Things’. Despite playing 18 regular season games shy of 1,000 in the NHL, he played in just four playoff series’. The only series when he was on the winning side came in 1977-78 with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Nick Libett – Junior and Minor Pro
Libett indeed was retained by the Detroit Red Wings right from the start. He played four years in the OHL (OHA at the time) from 1962-63 to 1965-66 with the Detroit sponsored Hamilton Red Wings.
Nick Libett Collection
Nick’s first taste of pro hockey came in 1963-64, during just his second year with Hamilton. He appeared in three CPHL games with the Cincinnati Wings. His first full pro hockey season came in 1966-67 when he exclusively played with the Memphis Wings of the CPHL.
His final year of minor pro hockey came in 1967-68. Libett split the season three ways between the Fort Worth Wings of the CPHL, San Diego Gulls of the WHL and the Detroit Red Wings. The following year, he would be full-time with Detroit and would never return to the minors again.
Nick Libett – NHL
Libett played 982 regular season games in the NHL between 1967-68 and 1980-81 with the Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins. Most of his career was with Detroit with exception of his final two years. He was traded straight up for Pete Mahovlich on August 3, 1979. Mahovlich and Libett had played together with the Red Wings organization in junior, CPHL and the NHL.
Over his career, Nick scored 237 goals and assisted on 268 for 505 points. In just 16 playoff games, he added eight points. His top season offensively came in 1971-72 when he scored 31 and totaled 53 points. He was a 20+ goal scorer in six seasons.
The Stanley Cup and Libett would not get even remotely acquainted. In 1969-70, the Red Wings were swept by the Chicago Blackhawks in the opening round of the playoffs. Nick would not play in the post season again until 1977-78. That year, the Red Wings swept the Altanta Flames in two games in the preliminary round before losing in five to the Montreal Canadiens in the quarter-finals. With the Penguins in 1979-80, Pittsburgh lost in the first round to Boston.
However, Nick would have some marginal success at the 1979 IIHF World Championships, playing for Canada. Like 2016, the worlds were held in Moscow, Russia. Canada easily moved to the playoff round with the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia and Sweden.
Each team played all the others twice in a round robin to determine the medalists. There was no playdown format at the time. Canada won just one of their six games to finish fourth in the tournament. Nick scored a single goal over eight games. The Soviets took gold, with Czechoslovakia finishing second and the Swede’s taking the bronze.
Nick Libett – Rookie Card
The Nick Libett rookie card appears as number 162 in the 1969-70 O-Pee-Chee set. His first Topps card didn’t come along until 1972-73, after several years as a regular in the National Hockey League.
His last cards appeared as number 198 in both the 1979-80 O-Pee-Chee and 1979-80 Topps sets. Both share the same picture of Libett in a Red Wings jersey. The O-Pee-Chee card does show him as a member of the Penguins with a ‘now with Penguins’ note on the front of the card. The Topps card simply shows him as a member of the Red Wings.
Many of Nick’s cards refer to his not missing many games. Indeed, between 1969-70 and 1977-78, he played the full schedule in seven of the nine seasons. Also, many cards refer back to the Red Wings sponsoring the Stratford Minor Hockey Association in order to retain his pro rights.
Nick Libett Career Stats
| Season | Team | Lge | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 1962-63 | Hamilton Red Wings | OHA | 32 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 21 |
| 1963-64 | Hamilton Red Wings | OHA | 49 | 23 | 19 | 42 | 58 |
| 1963-64 | Cincinnati Wings | CPHL | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 1964-65 | Hamilton Red Wings | OHA | 51 | 24 | 37 | 61 | 60 |
| 1965-66 | Hamilton Red Wings | OHA | 42 | 22 | 22 | 44 | 39 |
| 1965-66 | Memphis Wings | CPHL | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 1966-67 | Memphis Wings | CPHL | 62 | 12 | 18 | 30 | 30 |
| 1967-68 | Fort Worth Wings | CPHL | 40 | 11 | 28 | 39 | 22 |
| 1967-68 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 22 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 12 |
| 1967-68 | San Diego Gulls | WHL | 10 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 0 |
| 1968-69 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 75 | 10 | 14 | 24 | 34 |
| 1969-70 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 76 | 20 | 20 | 40 | 39 |
| 1970-71 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 78 | 16 | 13 | 29 | 25 |
| 1971-72 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 77 | 31 | 22 | 53 | 50 |
| 1972-73 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 78 | 19 | 34 | 53 | 56 |
| 1973-74 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 67 | 24 | 24 | 48 | 37 |
| 1974-75 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 80 | 23 | 28 | 51 | 39 |
| 1975-76 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 80 | 20 | 26 | 46 | 71 |
| 1976-77 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 80 | 14 | 27 | 41 | 25 |
| 1977-78 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 80 | 23 | 22 | 45 | 46 |
| 1978-79 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 68 | 15 | 19 | 34 | 20 |
| 1979-80 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 78 | 14 | 12 | 26 | 14 |
| 1980-81 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 43 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 4 |
| NHL Totals | 982 | 237 | 268 | 505 | 472 |