NHL Historical Replay

[George_Bell]

1945 Offseason News and Notes

Here are the top 10 scorers from this years playoffs. Woody Dumart had a great postseason.



Frank Brimsek wins his second Gardiner trophy, with a game rating of 62. Turk Broda, his undeserving backup, had a rating of 63 this year. Just saying….

Milt Schmidt wins his 5th Hart Trophy. That ties Hall of Famer Eddie Shore for the most ever. Really like Ted Lindsay winning the Calder Trophy. He didn’t make a huge impact in the playoffs for Montreal, but he is their future…





Earl Seibert has retired, and will have his number retired by the Blackhawks. I’m not so sure this is a deserved number retirement. Seibert was a good defenseman, who played his whole career with in Chicago…Oh, wait….I’m rereading the new article…



Ok, I guess his number is not going upto the ceiling. Nice addition to the game!

Former Maple Leafs goalie, Roy Worters, has been inducted into the Hall of Fame. He got his number retired a few years ago, and now gets the ultimate compliment!



Red Kelly is the top pick in the 1945 draft. The first round looks very talented, and some good players are taken in the 2nd round as well. Bill Barilko is a pretty famous name for us leaf fans.





The Leafs are the only team to change uniforms this year. They changed the maple leaf on their dark uniforms to include red writing. I have no clue as to why.

[George_Bell]

1945-46 NHL Season Preview





Top Player



Top Goalie

[George_Bell]

1945-46 NHL Regular Season

Maurice Richard equals his goal total from last year with his 21st. It came in his 14th game! The single season record, owned by Maurice, is 51! What a start from Richard! Can he break his own record?!

Talking about fast starts, I just noticed Richard’s teammate, Max Bentley. The 25 year old got injured on December 8th. He broke his collarbone. Before the injury, Bentley had 8 goals and 27 assists in just 14 games!! Bentley and Richard are without a doubt the best duo in hockey today. Bentley though will miss atleast 6 weeks before he can add to that total.

Richard and Bentley

Without Max Bentley by his side, Maurice Richard’s amazing goalscoring pace slowed down. After netting 21 in the first 14, Richard scored 10 in his next 20. All without Bentley. Max will return on Feb 1st though, and the Rangers are in first place. Expect a hot finish for the Rangers.

Toe Blake has become the first player to score 300 goals!! He’s passed Charlie Conacher and Howie Morenz, who both came close. Blake is now the all time leading goal scorer, obviously, He also just passed the 400 assist mark, and the 700 point mark (MATH!). He’s 33 years old, and has 31 points in 42 games so far this year. Here are the top 10 goal scorers.



Final Standings



The Red Wings have fallen on hard times. Lach and Apps cant do anything to stop a horrible year, just 2 seasons removed from winning the cup. They didn’t play Johnny Bower at all, and got terrible goaltending from Frank McCool. Detroit has way too much talent to be this bad, but now they will get the top pick in the draft.



Richard and Bentley didn’t quite match their early season pace after Max returned from his broken collarbone, but they still produced and won a lot of games. Richard hits 40 goals, and Bentley gets 35 assists in 23 games.

Milt Schmidt wins another scoring title! Nobody in the NHL plays a more complete game then Milt.

[George_Bell]

1946 Playoffs



Round 1

Maurice Richard assists on all four goals of the Rangers 4-3 opening game win over Toronto. He gets 2 goals and an assist in NY’s 5-0 shutout in game two. The Rocket scores the OT winner in game three, a 2-1 win and Sami LoPresti gets his 2nd shutout of the series, a 4-0 win to eliminate the Leafs in 4 straight. Dominant series by NY.



Boston begins their upset bid with a big 5-1 win on the road in Montreal. Doug Harvey is the star of game two, getting 3 points, leading the Bruins to a 5-2 win. Montreal responds in a must win game three, scoring 6 times. Woody Dumart dished out 3 assists in the 6-3 game cutting the series lead to 2-1.


Boston's Doug Harvey gets his first playoff success in game 1.

Hal Jackson scores the biggest goal of the season for the Habs in OT of game 4. That ties the series at 2 after Montreal fell behind with two home losses. Boston continues the road team trend taking game five, 4-3. Down 3-0 heading into the third, the Habs stage an amazing comeback facing elimination. Fern Gauthier scores twice and the Habs score 4 times to shock Boston. We head to game 7!

The road team has won every game heading into the final contest, but Montreal scores first. Howie Meeker lights the lamp late in the first. Early in the 2nd, Jim McFadden extends the lead to 2-0. Before the period ends, Woody Dumart makes it 3-0. Boston now finds themselves in the exact same position they had Montreal in just days ago. It doesn’t go that way though. Montreal keeps adding, and the Bruins go home feeling they blew it. Habs take game seven, 7-1.

[George_Bell]

It’s a rematch of last years championship won by the Habs. Last year, I though the Rangers had the inside track on the title, and was wrong, again. I still feel like that this year. The Habs barely got by Boston, who still aren’t ready yet, while the Rangers dominated a good Toronto team. Ted Lindsay though is much better this year, and could be the X factor. I'm still taking the Rangers.

[George_Bell]

Game one is an overtime affair, won by Montreal’s Ted Lindsay halfway through the extra frame. The Rangers respond with 5 first period goals in game two. Maurice Richard finishes with 3 goals and 2 assists in NY’s 8-5 win.


Lindsay nets first career overtime goal in game 1.

Back at home, Montreal brings an inspired defensive effort into game three, and starts Turk Broda. It works. They take it 3-1 and grab the series lead. The defense goes out the window in game four though. Ny jumps out quick again, leading 4-0 after one, and cruising to a 6-2 win. Richard gets 4 points.

Back at home, Montreal brings an inspired defensive effort into game three, and starts Turk Broda. It works. They take it 3-1 and grab the series lead. The defense goes out the window in game four though. Ny jumps out quick again, leading 4-0 after one, and cruising to a 6-2 win. Richard gets 4 points.

Back in MSG for game five, it’s all NY, from start to finish. Max Bentley is the first star, posting 5 points in a 7-0 thrashing of Montreal. Broda is in net for all 7 goals. With both goalies struggling, it’s probably not either goalies fault. The Habs team D needs to step up, but im not sure they can contain the high flying Rangers.

Bentley with 5 points in game 5.

Facing elimination in game 6, Montreal starts Turk Broda again. They outshoot NY 36-25, and get two goals from Carl Liscombe. Montreal forces a game 7 with the 3-2 win.

Game 7



Broda starts his fifth consecutive game of the finals in game 7. LoPresti is always the guy in net for the Rangers. Bentley and Richard team up to open the scoring 8 minutes in. Ted Kennedy makes it 2-0 minutes later. Before the first is over, Maurice Richard makes it 3-0. This is getting ugly quickly. Richard scores again with 20 seconds left in the period. The final first period tally, 4-0 Rangers, out shooting Montreal 22-4.

Frank Brimsek comes in to begin the 2nd. Murray Henderson makes it 5-0 just 58 seconds into the frame. It’s 6-0 after two. This one is over. The Rangers win the game 7-1, and take their first cup in 13 years!

[George_Bell]

[enf91]

Unsung hero: Joe Klukay. Backup left wing gets 6 points in 3 games? Someone get this guy more ice time!

[George_Bell]

Originally Posted by enf91

Unsung hero: Joe Klukay. Backup left wing gets 6 points in 3 games? Someone get this guy more ice time!

haha, great eye. I didn't even notice him! Klukay is a 23 year old forward right now. He spends more time in the minors where he makes 252 bucks a season. When he gets called up, his salary baloons to 1700! He's got some game though. In 116 AHL games, he's got 85 points. He's played 100 games for the Rangers over 5 years, and has 19 goals and 37 assists!!

[George_Bell]

1946 NHL Offseason News and Notes

Here are the top 10 scorers from the playoffs. Maurice Richard dominated winning his first Stanley Cup



Milt Schmidt wins the Hart Trophy for a record 6th time!! This was his 10th season in the league. I guess hitting .600 isn’t too bad! Here are the rest of the awards and all stars…



Oops, forgot to screenshot the all-star teams. Oh well, next year.

The Bruins have retired the #1 jersey of Mike Karakas. He is easily the best goalie in team history, the thing is they don’t have the best history. He’s 141-155-38 in his career, but did post a save percentage of .912. I don’t really agree with this honour. It isn’t my decision though, and the team wants to remember his legacy, so here is Mike Karakas’ banner.



Finally. The Habs have finally traded Turk Broda.



Broda joins the Blackhawks, who with a good goalie, can be a playoff contender. They haven’t had a strong goalie in years. Broda should be able to make a difference and have a really good 2nd half of his career there. He will play and play a lot. Chicago gives up the #2 pick in the draft. Hefty price, and a good by by Montreal getting value.

Alec Connell has been inducted into the NHL Hall of Fame. Connell had an amazingly successful career, winning the most games ever. He had great runs with both Ottawa, and Detroit. Interestingly, he played just 3 games, in two different stints with the Canadiens. Connell is a very worthy addition to the Hall of Fame.



The Detroit Red Wings have drafted Gordie Howe first overall. Some things are meant to be I guess.



Gordie is the best forward prospect to enter the league since Maurice Richard. The Wings have a lot of talent, they just used it really poorly last year. Play Johnny Bower, get Howe on your 2nd line with Apps and Nick Metz, and you got the making of a scary team.



Chicago's pick was used by the Habs to draft Tom Johnson. He's a very talented defensman, who should be a top pairing guy for years to come.

The New York Rangers are the only team to change their uniforms this year. They add the players number to the front of their jerseys instead of a logo.

[George_Bell]

1946-47 NHL Season Preview





Top Player



Top Goalie

[George_Bell]

1946-47 NHL Regular Season

Toronto and Boston strike a deal after difficult starts.



Buddy O’Connor has been a pretty solid scorer in Toronto for more then a decade. At 30, he’s gonna be slowing down soon, but he’s still got game. He’s got 11 points in 16 games, and is coming off a season where he scored 24 goals and finished with 48 points. O’Connor will fit into the Bruins 2nd line as they try to break through and win their first cup. The Leafs get Bob Goldham, a 24 year old defenseman with 145 games under his belt. Goldham looks like a middle pairing guy, who will play 10 years without worrying about him. Steady guy.


O'Connor joins the Bruins.

The Habs win their first 11 games of the season, before losing to the 2 win Detroit Red Wings. Quite the start for Montreal, who aren’t the most talented group. They are clicking though. Detroit on the other hand, have started Johnny Bower and Gordie Howe in the AHL. I disagree with both of those moves. I’m right!!!

Ted Kennedy has officially developed into a 5 star player. He is one of three 5 star players in the league. Milt Schmidt and his teammate Maurice Richard as the others. The Rangers are gonna be favourites for a while with two 5 star guys!


Kennedy has grown into one of the leagues best.

At 34, conventional wisdom suggested Toe Blake was slowing down. He just set a few career records, but was coming off his worst season. 34 points in 50 games with a -38. Well, he’s back, and he’s laughing at the doubters. At the halfway mark of the season, he’s leading the NHL in goals with 19, and points with 41!! What a response from Blake!


NHL career leader in goals, assists, and points is still going strong!

The Toronto Maple Leafs have fallen. They have fallen to the worst record in hockey. With just 9 wins in the first 41 games, Toronto is probably the biggest surprise of the season. They aren’t that far removed from back to back titles, and have been pretty good for a while. Milt Schmidt, obviously, is a huge star. He dislocated his shoulder before the new year and has been held to 28 games. The Leafs have one win in those 13 games he missed!

Final Standings



We play a 60 game season now! Milt Schmidt comes back and helps the Leafs win a few extra games, taking them above the Bruins, but still not enough to make the playoffs. The Rangers continue to be the class of the league.



Maurice Richard broke his single season point record, He beat the mark by a single point, but did play a longer season.

The Rangers Sam LoPresti led the league in wins, but was sent down to the minors, and remains there. NY picked up goalie Les Colvin on waivers from Detroit, and he proceeded to start 14 games down the stretch. They also called up goalie Jack Gelineau, so the best goalie in franchise history, is now in the minors!! LoPresti finishes the season 28-5-1, with a 2.18 GAA and a .903 SP.


LoPresti being treated badly in New York.

Toe Blake suffered a concussion, that limited him to 40 games, but still put up 53 points. Hopefully he can come back healthy next season, cuz he’s been ruled out for the playoffs.

Gordie Howe gets called up and plays 8 games in the NHL. He scores 3 goals and adds 2 assists. Johnny Bower played just 13 AHL, posting a .913 save percentage. Dumb.

[George_Bell]

1947 NHL Playoffs



First Round

Despite falling down 2-0 after one, despite not having Toe Blake in the lineup, and despite being on the road against the NHL’s best team, Chicago wins game on over the Rangers 4-3! Bill Quackenbush led NY to a 4-2 win in the 2nd game with three assists to even the series.

In Chicago, Ted Kennedy had a goal and an assist in a 5-3 Rangers win. They appear to have righted the ship after that sloppy start.

Maurice Richard gets his first of the postseason as part of a 3 goal opening period for NY. That outburst was enough for a 3-1 win, putting the Hawks on the brink. Chicago stays alive behind 3 assists from Bill Fillion in game five, but NY’s Edgar Laprade ends the series in overtime of game 6! NY wins the series and head back to the Stanley Cup!




Laprade wins the series in overtime!

Montreal's Don Gallinger opens up the playoffs with a hat trick helping the Habs get off to a good start. 6-2. Gallinger gets three more points leading Montreal to a 6-1 win in game two. Detroit looks like they are already out of it.


Gallinger emerging for Montreal as a playoff star!

Detroit continues to struggle with scoring in the series, and manage just one at home for game three. That goal isn’t enough, has the Habs win it 3-1. Detroit manages to stay alive with a 3-2 win in game four, but they can’t do much else. Montreal wins game five, 4-1, and take the series rather easily in 5 games.

[George_Bell]

This is the third straight season Montreal will play New York in the Stanley Cup. The previous two matchups were split, so lets call this the rubber match.

The Rangers are stacked. Max Bentley centers their 2nd line, and had 72 points. Bill Quackenbush might have set a defense record for points in a season with 52. I say might of because im not that sure of if that’s tracked and I haven’t checked to thoroughly yet.

Montreal has a dynamic scoring line of Woody Dumart, Howie Meeker and Ted Lindsay, but as talented as that group is, they aren’t that close to what the Rangers can do. I’m wondering what NY will do for goaltending if rookie Jack Gelineau, falters…..

[George_Bell]

Frank Brimsek’s availability for the series is up in the air. He suffered some knee soarness at the end of the semi finals, and is day to day. Baz Bastien, who won 14 games this season, will play if Brimsek can’t go.


Brimsek and LoPresti might end up watching their teams in the finals.

Brimsek is out for Game one, but it didn’t matter. Howie Meeker scores twice, Ted Lindsay records 4 points, and the Habs walloped New York by a score of 8-1!

Game two is crazier then that score. Montreal jumps out to a 3-0 lead. It’s actually 4-0 before Maurice Richard gets the Rangers on the board. Still, Montreal leads 6-2 after two. The Rangers cut the lead to 2 with a couple of early period goals, then, with just 70 seconds remaining, Richard and Harry Watson score 13 seconds apart to tie it. What a comeback from the Rangers. A minute into overtime, Ted Lindsay makes it all for naught, winning it, 7-6 for Montreal.


Richard spearheads a amazing Ranger comeback that ends up falling short.

Rangers new starting goalie, Jack Gelineau has now given up 14 goals in 5 and a half periods in the finals. Sam LoPresti, where are you!? Game three starts with the Rangers on fire. Maurice Richard dishes out 3 first period assists, and the Rangers lead 4-1 after a period. They manage to hold that lead the whole way through, winning the game 4-2.

With Brimsek still out, coming off a loss, Montreal decides to start third string goalie Al Rollins. It’s a bad idea. Alex Kaleta gets a hattrick and the Rangers tie the series with a 6-3 win. Neither team seems to have any idea what to do with their goaltending!

Montreal ends up using both of their goalies not named Brimsek in game 5, but it didn’t matter to Maurice Richard who was in net. He gets 2 goals and 4 assists in a 8-3 route of the Habs. All that scoring went out the window in a close checking game 6. After exchanging first period goals, the goaltenders finally showed some ability to win a game for their squads. Both teams are held off the scoreboard in the 2nd and the third. Halfway through OT, Fern Gauthier scored for Montreal forcing a 7th game.


Gauthier forces a game 7!

Game 7



Frank Brimsek is back and starting game 7 for Montreal!! That’s huge news heading into the game.

Brimsek is rusty, as he allows Bill Ezinicki to beat him 2 mins in. 1-0 Rangers early. NY peppers with 16 shots in the opening frame, and Brimsek would not allow another one past him. Now the Habs need some offense.

Max Bentley deflects a point shot in to make it 2-0 Rangers halfway through the 2nd. Through two, the Ranges hold the shot advantage 26-8. Brimsek wont matter if the Habs play like that infront of him.

More of the same in the third. Maurice Richard scores on NY’s 39th shot of the game. 3-0. Montreal finally breaks the shutout, but it’s too little, too late. Ny wins it 5-1 to win their 2nd straight Stanley Cup!

[George_Bell]

[George_Bell]

1947 NHL Offseason News and Notes

Here are the top 10 playoff scorers



Sam LoPresti, sent to the minors in February, wins the Gardiner award for best goalie. He’s also named to the first all-star team….ok, sure….





The NHL will be adding a new award next season. The Art Ross Trophy will be handed out to the top scoring player on a yearly basis. It is named after former player and GM Art Ross, whose in the real life Hall of Fame.

Elite goalies highlight the draft this year. Jacque Plante and Terry Sawchuk are the top two picks, and Gump Worsley is a hell of a prospect as well.



Detroit would be well served to deal Johnny Bower or Gump Worsley. They don’t need them both. Hell, trade them both if they are gonna continue to play Frank McCool. Here is a look at first overall pick Plante.



It’s a quiet offseason, so now is a good chance to investigate the top single season scoring defenseman like I mentioned earlier. As far as I can tell, there is no easy way to see this. It looks like I have to view the list of top scoring season, and use my eyes to pick out defenseman on the list…..

1. Babe Pratt 58 pts 1942/43
2. Bill Quackenbush 52 pts 1946/47

That’s it. That’s the list of defenseman who appear on the top 100 scoring seasons list. Pain in the ass to search the list without any identifiers on it, that is something that can easily be added.


Babe Pratt holds the single season points by a defenseman mark.

Boston and Montreal make a deal right before training camp.



The Canadiens somehow convince Boston to move Red Kelly. Kelly is a 20 year old, capable of playing D and C. Very versatile depending on a teams depth. He would make a great partner for Doug Harvey, but the Bruins let him go. He’s gonna be a big part of Montreal going forward.

The Bruins get Pete Babando. He’s a nice player, coming off a 16 goal, 41 point season. Boston is very familiar with him, as he was a Bruin, traded to Montreal in January. I have to say advantage Montreal in this deal.

[George_Bell]

1947-48 NHL Season Preview





Top Player



Top Goalie

[George_Bell]

1947-48 NHL Regular Season

On October 7th, a week before opening night, Maurice Richard suffered a torn tricep. That injury will sideline the 26 year old superstar for a significant amount of time. 2-3 months is the estimate from team doctors. The Rangers are deep, but can they survive without their best player?



Well the Rangers have clearly suffered from not having the Rocket around. Halfway through the season, and the Rangers are out of the playoffs. They sit in 5th place, but the whole league is really close. First place Boston leads 5th place New York by just 4 points. Richard’s imminent return could be a difference maker.

Without Richard, the Rangers have gotten a bit of a breakout season from 22 year old Ted Kennedy. Yes, Kennedy had 59 points a year ago, and is already one of hockey’s best players, but he’s one goal behind his career high of 17 at new years, and leads the league in scoring!!


Kennedy leading the Rangers

Johnny Bower has gotten in 3 games this year!! Yes, in real life Johnny didn’t become a regular and a star until his 30’s, but he’s got the potential in game and should be starting at this point. In his 3 NHL games this year, he’s 2-0 with a 0.97 GAA and a .958 Save percentage. Gordie Howe has made the Red Wings and is playing on their first line. He’s got 13 points in 28 games to begin his career.


Bower patiently awaiting his time.

Maurice Richard returned to action in Mid January. He gets 6 goals and 4 assists in his first seven games. The Rangers lose just one of them and move into a playoff spot.

Final Standings



Richards return to the lineup sparked the Rangers into a 2nd place finish. In the Rocket’s 28 games, the Rangers lost just 4 times.

The Leafs finish dead last. If they need a rebuild, and it’s looking like they do, trading Milt Schmidt soon could get them something very good. This is two straight really bad years.. #tradeschmidt



Ted Kennedy wins the scoring title, taking advantage of Maurice Richards absence. Richard ended up with 22 goals and 19 assists.

Gordie Howe finished his rookie year with 16 goals and 34 points. Solid season for any 19 year old.

Scoring was way down this year. Teams combined to score a half goal less per game in 1947/48, which is the lowest total in a decade.

[George_Bell]

1948 NHL Playoffs



First Round

Montreal takes the opener over Boston, 2-1 in overtime. Cal Gardner potted the winner. Gardner scores early in the first period of game two, a goal that ended up being his 2nd straight winning goal. Brimsek records the shutout in Montreal 2-0 game two win.


Cal Gardner with two GWG's!

After scoring just one goal in Montreal, the Bruins erupt with 4 in the opening period back at home. The Bruins blow out Montreal 6-0 in game three behind Sid Abel and Gus Morton’s 3 assists each. J.P. Lamirande is the game four hero, scoring 6 minutes into the extra frame, giving Boston the 5-4 win and tying the series at 2!

Back in Montreal, the home team domination continued. Tony Leswick scores twice, including a short handed marker, giving the Habs a 3-1 win and a 3-2 lead in the series. Back in Boston for game 6, Montreal ended the home team pattern going ahead 3-1 after a period, and taking the game 6-3. Cal Gardner scored twice. Montreal goes to the Cup final for the 7th time in 8 years!



The hottest team in the league, the Rangers, lose the playoff opener behind 2 points from Syl Apps. 4-3 Detroit. Trailing 3-2 late in the third, New York's Harry Watson tied the game with a short handed goal. That goal may have changed the series momentum, as Bill Quackenbush won it in overtime. The Rangers almost trailed 2-0 heading to Detroit, but the salvaged game two.


Harry Watson

Maurice Richard scores twice in the first period and game three is over very quickly. It is 4-0 eight minutes in. The Rangers run away with the 7-1 win. Another quick start for NY in game four. It’s 3-0 after one, with Maurice Richard in on every goal. Richard finishes with 4 points in a rather easy 6-3 NY win.

Game five is closer, but the same result. Bill Quackenbush’s 3rd of the playoffs is the eventual winning goal, eliminating the Red Wings. The Rangers head back to the Stanley Cup.