Sid Abel is one of the earliest greats of a National Hockey League team that has an outstanding history of great players. Abel most of his NHL career with the Detroit Red Wings before finishing up with the Chicago Blackhawks. It is easy to see Sid as an earlier version of Steve Yzerman. Both are among the seven players that have their numbers hanging from the rafters at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan.
Sid Abel – Playing Career
Abel played in the NHL from 1938-39 to 1953-54 with a break for two years, 1943-44 and 1944-45, to serve in the Royal Canadian Air Force during World War II. He appeared in 612 regular season games, scoring 189 goals and assisting on 283 for 472 points. His time in Chicago was limited to 42 games over the 1952-53 and 1953-54 seasons, when he also acted as the team’s head coach. He also played 97 games in the playoffs, adding 58 points.
Pre-war, Sid had an outstanding pair of seasons in 1941-42 and 1942-43. In 41-42, Abel scored 18 and assisted on 31 for 49 points over 48 games. He placed third in the league for assists behind Phil Watson and Bryan Hextall, both of the New York Rangers. Sid placed fifth in the NHL for points.
The following year, Sid wore the ‘C’ for the first time as Detroit’s team captain. He would remain captain until the end of the 1951-52 season. He also got his name on the Stanley Cup for the first time. The Red Wings played the Boston Bruins in the finals and came away with a championship in the minimum four games.
Post-war, Abel, Gordie Howe, Ted Lindsay and the rest of the Red Wings dominated the National Hockey League for a four year span from 1948-49 to 1951-52. In 48-49, Sid scored 28 goals and assisted on 26 for 54 points. He led the NHL in goals, tied for fifth for assists and tied for third with Ted Lindsay for points. Abel was honoured with the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s MVP. The Red Wings finished first overall but were swept in the finals by fourth place Toronto, scoring just five goals in four games.
The following year, the schedule increased from 60 to 70 games. Sid played 69, scoring 34 and assisting on 35 for 69 points. He finished third for goals in the NHL behind Maurice ‘Rocket’ Richard of the Montreal Canadiens and Gordie Howe. He also placed third for assists behind Ted Lindsay and Paul Ronty of the Bruins. Ted Lindsay finished nine points ahead for the overall scoring lead and Gordie Howe was third, just one point behind Abel.
1949-50 brought Sid his second Stanley Cup ring. Detroit met the New York Rangers in the finals. Once again, it was a battle between the first and fourth seeds. The Rangers took the Red Wings to the seven game limit with games four, five and seven decided in overtime.
The numbers started to drop for Sid in 1950-51 and the Red Wings were a huge playoff disappointment after dominating the NHL during the regular season. Abel scored 23 and assisted on 38 for 61 points over 69 games. He tied Cal Gardner of the Maple Leafs for seventh in goal scoring. Sid placed fifth for assists and tied Ted Kennedy of Toronto and Milt Schmidt of the Bruins for fourth in the overall scoring race.
Sid Abel Collection
Detroit finished first overall in 1950-51 with 101 points. However, in the opening round they were knocked out in six games by the Montreal Canadiens. The Habs placed third during the regular season with 65 points, 36 less than Detroit. It was a low-scoring affair with Montreal outscoring Detroit 13-12 on the series.
1951-52 was Sid’s final year with the Red Wings. He scored 17 goals and assisted on 36 for 53 points over 62 games. He finished fifth for assists and tied Bill Mosienko of the Chicago Blackhawks for seventh in the race for the Art Ross Trophy. Detroit finished first overall with 100 points, 22 better than second place Montreal. The Red Wings swept their way to a Stanley Cup championship, outscoring the Maple Leafs 13-3 in the first round and outscoring Montreal 11-2 in the finals. Perhaps, this was the best NHL hockey team in the history of the league.
Sid Abel entered the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1969, along with Bryan Hextall, Red Kelly and Roy Worters. His number 12 was retired by the Red Wings in 1995, one of seven numbers out of circulation by the club.
Sid Abel – Coaching Career
After his stint as player / head coach of the Chicago Blackhawks in 1952-53 and 1953-54, Abel returned to Detroit in 1957-58. He took over as head coach from Jim Skinner and remained behind the bench until 1967-68. Sid was general manager of the Red Wings until 1970-71.
As a head coach of the Red Wings, Sid came close but never won a fourth Stanley Cup. The Wings lost in the finals four times under Abel. In 1960-61, it was at the hands of Bobby Hull, Stan Mikita and the Chicago Blackhawks. In both 1962-63 and 1963-64, the Wings fell to the Toronto Maple Leafs. In 1965-66, Detroit was ousted by Montreal.
In 1971-72, Sid stood behind the bench for eleven games with the St. Louis Blues before being replaced by Bill McCreary. Abel was the first and only general manager of the Kansas City Scouts, taking the job from 1974-75 to 1976-77 with the third year in Denver when the team became the Colorado Rockies. In 1975-76, Abel returned behind the bench for three games with the Scouts.
Sid Abel – Rookie Card
The Sid Abel rookie card appears as number 64 in the 1951-52 Parkhurst set. The card is valued at just less than twice that of a common card and is the only hockey card featuring Sid Abel as a player. However, as a coach, he appeared in the 1960-61 and 1962-63 Parkhurst sets, along with the 1964-65, 1965-66 and 1966-67 Topps sets.
Sid Abel Career Stats
| Season | Team | Lge | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 1938-39 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 15 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 1938-39 | Pittsburgh Hornets | IAHL | 41 | 21 | 24 | 45 | 27 |
| 1939-40 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 24 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 4 |
| 1939-40 | Indianapolis Capitals | IAHL | 21 | 7 | 11 | 18 | 10 |
| 1940-41 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 47 | 11 | 22 | 33 | 29 |
| 1941-42 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 48 | 18 | 31 | 49 | 45 |
| 1942-43 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 49 | 18 | 24 | 42 | 33 |
| 1944-45 | Lachine Rapides | QPHL | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 |
| 1945-46 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 1946-47 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 60 | 19 | 29 | 48 | 29 |
| 1947-48 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 60 | 14 | 30 | 44 | 69 |
| 1948-49 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 60 | 28 | 26 | 54 | 49 |
| 1949-50 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 69 | 34 | 35 | 69 | 46 |
| 1950-51 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 69 | 23 | 38 | 61 | 30 |
| 1951-52 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 62 | 17 | 36 | 53 | 32 |
| 1952-53 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 39 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 6 |
| 1953-54 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| NHL Totals | 612 | 189 | 283 | 472 | 376 |