Vic Stasiuk played for three different teams during the Original 6 era of the National Hockey League. He was part of two Stanley Cup championships with the Detroit Red Wings early in his career. With the Boston Bruins, he played in two finals in the 1950’s before rejoining the Red Wings to play in two more finals in the 1960’s. A WHL champion as a player with the Edmonton Flyers, Vic coached finalists in the EHL and AHL but could never grab another title.
- 2 Stanley Cup championships with Detroit
- Top 10 in NHL goals and points in 1959-60
- Bobby Clarke’s 1st NHL head coach
- Coached Canucks to their 2nd lowest winning pct. in team history
Vic Stasiuk – Minor Pro
Out of junior, Stasiuk played two years with Kansas City in the USHL, 1948-49 and 1949-50, before getting his start in the NHL with the Chicago Blackhawks. It was an up and down struggle early on. After being traded to the Red Wings, Vic found himself often in the WHL with Detroit’s affiliate, the Edmonton Flyers.
In 1952-53, Stasiuk was outstanding with the Flyers. He played just 48 of 70 regular season games before being called back up to the NHL. Over that time, he scored 37 and assisted on 43 for 80 points, while leading the team in goal scoring. Vic finished second in the WHL, two goals behind Doug Adam of the Tacoma Rockets. He was third in points, ten behind leader and teammate Earl Reibel. With Glenn Hall in the nets, the Flyers won the championship with a win over the Saskatoon Quakers in the finals. However, Stasiuk did not participate in the post season.
The following year, 1953-54, Stasiuk started the season in the NHL with the Red Wings but ended up in Edmonton for the final 21 games of the regular season. He played in 13 playoff games with the Flyers reaching the semi-finals before falling to the Calgary Stampeders in seven games. If he’d stuck with Detroit, he would have won his second Stanley Cup.
Vic returned to the minors for the final three years of his pro hockey career. He acted as player / head coach with the Pittsburgh Hornets of the American Hockey League for two years and held the same dual role with the Memphis Wings of the CPHL for the third, 1965-66.
Vic Stasiuk – NHL
Between 1949-50 and 1962-63, Stasiuk played 745 regular season games in the NHL, scoring 183 and assisting on 254 for 437 points. He appeared with the Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings and Boston Bruins. Over 69 Stanley Cup playoff games, Vic added another 34 points.
Vic Stasiuk Collection
In 1951-52, Vic quickly found success with the Red Wings. He appeared in 58 regular season games for the powerful club. Stasiuk then played in seven of Detroit’s eight playoff games as the swept both the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens to capture the Stanley Cup championship.
1954-55 was similar with Stasiuk playing 59 regular season games for Detroit and eleven more in the playoffs as the Red Wings and Montreal Canadiens went the limit in the finals with Detroit coming out on top in seven games. It was Vic’s second Stanley Cup championship and it would prove to be his last.
In the summer of 1955, Vic was traded to the Bruins, along with Marcel Bonin, Terry Sawchuk and Lorne Davis for Real Chevrefils, Warren Godfrey, Ed Sandford, Gilles Boisvert and Norm Corcoran. With Boston, Stasiuk was teamed with Johnny Bucyk and he took on more of an offensive role with his new club.
In both 1956-57 and 1957-58, the Bruins reached the Stanley Cup finals but were no match for Rocket Richard and the mighty Canadiens dynasty. The following two years were not as successful teamwise but for Stasiuk, they proved to bring his greatest individual success.
In 1958-59, Stasiuk scored 27 goals and tied for ninth in the National Hockey League with Tod Sloan of the Chicago Blackhawks. In 1959-60, Vic scored 29 and assisted on 39 for 68 points over 69 games. He placed seventh in the league for goals, tenth for assists and ninth in the race for the Art Ross Trophy. Out of character, his 121 penalty minutes put him in third position for the entire NHL.
Despite the numbers, Boston let him go and Vic was back in Detroit 46 games into the 1960-61 season. The Red Wings placed fourth in the six team league with just 66 points over 70 games. Yet, Detroit reached the Stanley Cup finals before losing to the third seed Chicago Blackhawks.
1962-63 was the last year Stasiuk played in the NHL. He appeared in just 36 regular season games with the Red Wings, along with a 22 game stint in the AHL with the Pittsburgh Hornets. Detroit once again placed fourth and once again found a way to the Stanley Cup finals. This time, the found defeat at the hands of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Vic Stasiuk – Coach
As mentioned, Vic was the player / head coach of the Pittsburgh Hornets in the AHL for the 1963-64 and 1964-65 seasons. The following year, he held the same responsibilites but with the Memphis Wings of the CPHL.
After his year in Memphis, Stasiuk retired from playing to focus entirely on coaching. In 1966-67 with the Jersey Devils in the EHL, Vic found quick success. The Devils placed second in the five team Northern Division and third overall in the ten team league. Jersey reached the finals before falling to the Nashville Dixie Flyers in five games. The Devils were led offensively by Rosaire Paiement.
The following year, 1967-68, Stasiuk had the pleasure of coaching one of the most offensively gifted AHL teams of all-time. The 1967-68 Quebec Aces were led by a trio made up of Simon Nolet, Andre Lacroix and Jean-Guy Gendron with all three finishing among the top four scorers in the league.
Quebec finished second in the four team West Division and second overall in the eight team AHL. Once again, a Vic Stasiuk coached team reached the finals. Once again, that team came up short. Quebec lost the Calder Cup final series in six games to the Rochester Americans. Stasiuk was awarded with the Louis A.R. Pieri Memorial Award as the AHL’s coach of the year.
1968-69 made it three years in a row that Stasiuk coached a team to an unsuccessful berth in the finals. The Aces were much less powerful than the year before and finished the season with just 66 points over 74 games. Quebec placed third in the four team Western Division and sixth overall in the eight team AHL. Yet, they found a way to the finals before falling in five games to the Hershey Bears.
It was sufficient for Stasiuk to earn a shot at a head coaching job in the National Hockey League. For the 1969-70 and 1970-71 seasons, he was head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers, coaching Bobby Clarke through his first two seasons in the NHL. After leaving Philly, he replaced Fred Glover midseason as head coach of the California Golden Seals in 1971-72. 1972-73 was his last year as a head coach in the NHL, lasting out a dismal 22 win season with Vancouver Canucks.
Vic carried on for a few more years with coaching roles in WHL (pro league), Alberta Junior Hockey League and the WHL (junior league).
Vic Stasiuk – Rookie Card
The Vic Stasiuk rookie card appears as number 62 in the 1951-52 Parkhurst set. He is shown as a member of the Detroit Red Wings, having arrived from the Blackhawks midway through the 1950-51 season. The card is valued as a semi-star, about 33% than the value of a common card from that set.
| Season | Team | Lge | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 1948-49 | Kansas City Pla-Mors | USHL | 66 | 7 | 13 | 20 | 56 |
| 1949-50 | Kansas City Mohawks | USHL | 39 | 10 | 13 | 23 | 27 |
| 1949-50 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 17 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| 1950-51 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 20 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 6 |
| 1950-51 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 50 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 12 |
| 1951-52 | Indianapolis Capitals | AHL | 8 | 7 | 1 | 8 | 6 |
| 1951-52 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 58 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 19 |
| 1952-53 | Edmonton Flyers | WHL | 48 | 37 | 43 | 80 | 71 |
| 1952-53 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1953-54 | Edmonton Flyers | WHL | 21 | 6 | 12 | 18 | 37 |
| 1953-54 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 42 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 4 |
| 1954-55 | Edmonton Flyers | WHL | 11 | 7 | 6 | 13 | 32 |
| 1954-55 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 59 | 8 | 11 | 19 | 67 |
| 1955-56 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 59 | 19 | 18 | 37 | 118 |
| 1956-57 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 64 | 24 | 16 | 40 | 69 |
| 1957-58 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 70 | 21 | 35 | 56 | 55 |
| 1958-59 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 70 | 27 | 33 | 60 | 63 |
| 1959-60 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 69 | 29 | 39 | 68 | 121 |
| 1960-61 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 46 | 5 | 25 | 30 | 35 |
| 1960-61 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 23 | 10 | 13 | 23 | 16 |
| 1961-62 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 59 | 15 | 28 | 43 | 45 |
| 1962-63 | Pittsburgh Hornets | AHL | 22 | 9 | 20 | 29 | 24 |
| 1962-63 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 36 | 6 | 11 | 17 | 37 |
| 1963-64 | Pittsburgh Hornets | AHL | 42 | 10 | 10 | 20 | 32 |
| 1964-65 | Pittsburgh Hornets | AHL | 63 | 14 | 21 | 35 | 58 |
| 1965-66 | Memphis Wings | CPHL | 25 | 9 | 3 | 12 | 14 |
| NHL Totals | 745 | 183 | 254 | 437 | 669 |