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1962–63 NHL season
League	National Hockey League
Sport	Ice hockey
Duration	October 10, 1962 – April 18, 1963
Number of games	70
Number of teams	6
TV partner(s)	CBC, SRC (Canada) None (United States)
Regular season
Season champion	Toronto Maple Leafs
Season MVP	Gordie Howe (Red Wings)
Top scorer	Gordie Howe (Red Wings)
Stanley Cup
Champions	Toronto Maple Leafs
Runners-up	Detroit Red Wings
NHL seasons
← 1961–62 1963–64 →

The 1962–63 NHL season was the 46th season of the National Hockey League. Six teams each played 70 games. The Toronto Maple Leafs won their second Stanley Cup in a row as they defeated the Detroit Red Wings four games to one.

Some diversionary news hit the sports pages the day of the All-Star Game when it was reported that Toronto had sold Frank Mahovlich to Chicago for $1 million and James D. Norris produced a cheque for the amount. On the advice of Conn Smythe, Leafs general manager and head coach Punch Imlach declined the deal, saying that a million dollars does not score goals, and Mahovlich would remain a Maple Leaf.

A serious incident took place on October 23 between the Montreal Canadiens and Chicago Black Hawks. A vicious stick-swinging duel took place between Gilles Tremblay and Reg Fleming that was said to be the worst since the Bernie Geoffrion–Ron Murphy fight in 1953. Both players received match penalties and $100 fines. Tremblay emerged with a bad cut on his head that required many stitches. Montreal coach Toe Blake had some caustic remarks for Fleming when he was leaving the ice, which almost resulted in another fight. The Canadiens and Black Hawks played to a 4–4 tie. President Clarence Campbell suspended both Tremblay and Fleming for three games.

Glenn Hall's consecutive game streak came to an end on November 8 when he suffered a pinched nerve in his back and he was relieved by Denis DeJordy in the first period of a game in which Hall's Black Hawks tied Boston 3–3. DeJordy played well in the next game as the Black Hawks beat the Canadiens 3–1.

Chicago was improving and moved into a first-place tie with Detroit when they blanked Boston 5–0 on November 29. Stan Mikita scored two goals and Bobby Hull had one. The same night, the Rangers shut out the Red Wings 5–0 as Gump Worsley played a fine game. Worsley was unlucky in his next game, however, as Chicago beat the Rangers 5–1. Worsley badly injured his shoulder and had to be replaced by Marcel Pelletier. Gump went to the hospital where he would have his shoulder in traction for ten days.

Andy Hebenton had the hat trick on December 16 as the Rangers beat Detroit 5–2 at Madison Square Garden. The game was spoiled by a brawl, the chief participants being Dave Balon, Bill Gadsby, Doug Barkley and Terry Sawchuk. All were fined.

Andy Bathgate got both goals when the Rangers tied Montreal 2–2 at the Montreal Forum on January 5. This was the tenth consecutive game in which he had scored. The streak was terminated when Jacques Plante blanked the Rangers 6–0 in New York.

Jean Beliveau scored his 300th NHL goal on January 26 when the Rangers beat the Canadiens 4–2 at the Forum. Goals had not come very fast this year, and he hinted that this might be his last season. The writers did not take him seriously, however. The next night, the Canadiens beat the Black Hawks 3–1 at Chicago Stadium and Beliveau scored a spectacular goal, giving a beautiful exhibition of stick-handling.

Bernie Geoffrion and Don Marshall were back on January 31, but the Canadiens lost 6–3 to Toronto at the Forum. Coach Toe Blake was not pleased with the officiating and was quoted in a French newspaper that referee Eddie Powers handled the game as if he had bet on the outcome. This attracted the attention of NHL president Clarence Campbell, who said the matter would be investigated. Later, Blake was fined $200 by Campbell. Powers considered the fine inadequate and submitted his resignation as a referee. He cited Red Storey when Campbell would not support decisions he made. Powers then sued Blake for libel.

Bobby Hull scored all three goals as Chicago beat Boston 3–1 on February 17. On the same night, Montreal beat Detroit 6–1 and Howie Young established a penalty record when he high-sticked a Canadiens player and then commenced a tantrum, which drew him a minor, a major, a misconduct and a game misconduct totalling 27 minutes. His season total was now 208 minutes in penalties. NHL president Campbell then tacked on a three-game suspension.

Detroit ousted the Rangers from the playoffs on March 3 with a 3–2 win.

Bernie Geoffrion was in trouble for an incident during a game on March 5 in which Montreal beat Detroit 4–3. Referee Vern Buffey had given Jacques Plante a penalty for slashing Howie Young and then a bench penalty when the Canadiens protested. Geoffrion threw his stick at Buffey and his gloves as well. Geoffrion was given a match penalty and President Campbell assessed Geoffrion a five-game suspension.

The career of the Canadiens' Lou Fontinato came to a tragic end on March 9 when he tried to check Vic Hadfield and instead was thrown headlong into the boards by the Ranger player. Fontinato lay motionless on the ice for some time before being carried off the ice on a stretcher and taken to Montreal General Hospital where the diagnosis was a fractured neck, a crushed cervical vertebra. He gradually recovered from his paralyzed condition, but would never play hockey again. Jacques Laperriere replaced Fontinato on the Canadiens defence.

It was quite a race for playoff positions, as five points separated fourth and first. Gordie Howe led the Red Wings and the NHL as he won his sixth and last Art Ross Trophy and Hart Trophy.

National Hockey League^[1]

		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	DIFF	Pts
1	Toronto Maple Leafs	70	35	23	12	221	180	+41	82
2	Chicago Black Hawks	70	32	21	17	194	178	+16	81
3	Montreal Canadiens	70	28	19	23	225	183	+42	79
4	Detroit Red Wings	70	32	25	13	200	194	+6	77
5	New York Rangers	70	22	36	12	211	233	−22	56
6	Boston Bruins	70	14	39	17	198	281	−83	45

	Semifinals					Stanley Cup Finals
	1	Toronto	4
	3	Montreal	1
						1	Toronto	4
						4	Detroit	1
	2	Chicago	2
	4	Detroit	4

March 26	Montreal Canadiens		1–3		Toronto Maple Leafs	Maple Leaf Gardens	Recap
No scoring		First period			03:30 – Bob Pulford (1)
Jean Beliveau (1) – pp – 08:46		Second period			01:42 – Dick Duff (1) 05:35 – pp – George Armstrong (1)
No scoring		Third period			No scoring
Jacques Plante 31 saves / 34 shots		Goalie stats			Johnny Bower 19 saves / 20 shots

March 28	Montreal Canadiens		2–3		Toronto Maple Leafs	Maple Leaf Gardens	Recap
Jean Beliveau (2) – 06:07		First period			06:54 – George Armstrong (2)
Terry Harper (1) – 06:14		Second period			03:15 – Allan Stanley (1) 16:35 – Dave Keon (1)
No scoring		Third period			No scoring
Jacques Plante 24 saves / 27 shots		Goalie stats			Johnny Bower 29 saves / 31 shots

March 30	Toronto Maple Leafs		2–0		Montreal Canadiens	Forum de Montréal	Recap
No scoring		First period			No scoring
Eddie Shack (1) – 13:14		Second period			No scoring
Bob Pulford (2) – 14:16		Third period			No scoring
Johnny Bower 32 saves / 32 shots		Goalie stats			Jacques Plante 20 saves / 22 shots

April 2	Toronto Maple Leafs		1–3		Montreal Canadiens	Forum de Montréal	Recap
Ron Stewart (1) – 06:12		First period			No scoring
No scoring		Second period			00:26 – Henri Richard (1) 14:00 – pp – Gilles Tremblay (1)
No scoring		Third period			05:29 – pp – Gilles Tremblay (2)
Johnny Bower 37 saves / 40 shots		Goalie stats			Jacques Plante 23 saves / 24 shots

April 4	Montreal Canadiens		0–5		Toronto Maple Leafs	Maple Leaf Gardens	Recap
No scoring		First period			06:56 – pp – Dave Keon (2) 09:43 – Dick Duff (2) 10:11 – Ron Stewart (2)
No scoring		Second period			16:37 – Dave Keon (3)
No scoring		Third period			11:27 – Kent Douglas (1)
Jacques Plante 27 saves / 32 shots		Goalie stats			Johnny Bower 35 saves / 35 shots

Toronto won series 4–1

March 26	Detroit Red Wings		4–5		Chicago Black Hawks	Chicago Stadium	Recap
Marcel Pronovost (1) – 13:37		First period			09:08 – Bobby Hull (1) 15:02 – pp – Bobby Hull (2)
Vic Stasiuk (1) – 09:50		Second period			08:19 – pp – Ab McDonald (1) 12:50 – Eric Nesterenko (1) 16:46 – Bill Hay (1)
Alex Delvecchio (1) – 01:18 Gordie Howe (1) – 03:05		Third period			No scoring
Terry Sawchuck 31 saves / 36 shots		Goalie stats			Glenn Hall 29 saves / 33 shots

March 28	Detroit Red Wings		2–5		Chicago Black Hawks	Chicago Stadium	Recap
Vic Stasiuk (2) – 10:54		First period			12:58 – pp – Bobby Hull
No scoring		Second period			06:24 – Bill Hay (2) 16:45 – pp – Bill Hay (3)
Gordie Howe (2) – 10:51		Third period			01:56 – pp – Stan Mikita (1) 07:43 – pp – Ab McDonald (2)
Terry Sawchuck 35 saves / 40 shots		Goalie stats			Glenn Hall 27 saves / 29 shots

March 31	Chicago Black Hawks		2–4		Detroit Red Wings	Olympia Stadium	Recap
Stan Mikita (2) – pp – 04:31		First period			No scoring
Stan Mikita (3) – 17:33		Second period			10:36 – Gordie Howe (3) 19:40 – pp – Parker MacDonald (1)
No scoring		Third period			06:02 – Alex Faulkner (1) 06:43 – Bruce MacGregor (1)
Glenn Hall 44 saves / 48 shots		Goalie stats			Terry Sawchuck 19 saves / 21 shots

April 2	Chicago Black Hawks		1–4		Detroit Red Wings	Olympia Stadium	Recap
No scoring		First period			12:34 – pp – Alex Faulkner (2)
Bobby Hull (4) – pp – 08:37		Second period			01:11 – pp – Gordie Howe (4) 18:20 – Andre Pronovost (1)
No scoring		Third period			00:18 – Floyd Smith (1)
Glenn Hall 35 saves / 39 shots		Goalie stats			Terry Sawchuck 17 saves / 18 shots

April 4	Detroit Red Wings		4–2		Chicago Black Hawks	Chicago Stadium	Recap
Floyd Smith (2) – 15:51		First period			No scoring
Norm Ullman (1) – 04:53 Parker MacDonald (2) – pp – 19:05		Second period			08:32 – Kenny Wharram (1) 15:17 – Bobby Hull (5)
Norm Ullman (2) – pp – 17:25		Third period			No scoring
Terry Sawchuck 30 saves / 32 shots		Goalie stats			Glenn Hall 43 saves / 47 shots

April 7	Chicago Black Hawks		4–7		Detroit Red Wings	Olympia Stadium	Recap
Bobby Hull (6) – 07:35		First period			05:43 – Parker MacDonald (3) 16:49 – pp – Norm Ullman (3)
Bobby Hull (7) – 03:53 Bobby Hull (8) – 14:34 Eric Nesterenko (2) – 17:43		Second period			04:12 – Larry Jeffrey (1) 05:01 – Alex Delvecchio (2)
No scoring		Third period			07:09 – Alex Faulkner (3) 10:46 – pp – Norm Ullman (4) 16:29 – Bill Gadsby (1)
Glenn Hall 38 saves / 45 shots		Goalie stats			Terry Sawchuck 20 saves / 24 shots

Detroit won series 4–2

April 9	Detroit Red Wings		2–4		Toronto Maple Leafs	Maple Leaf Gardens	Recap
No scoring		First period			00:49 – Dick Duff (3) 01:08 – Dick Duff (4) 14:42 – sh – Bob Nevin (1)
Larry Jeffrey (2) – 05:36 Larry Jeffrey (3) – pp – 08:05		Second period			No scoring
No scoring		Third period			05:08 – Bob Nevin (2)
Terry Sawchuck 23 saves / 27 shots		Goalie stats			Johnny Bower 30 saves / 32 shots

April 11	Detroit Red Wings		2–4		Toronto Maple Leafs	Maple Leaf Gardens	Recap
No scoring		First period			05:31 – Ed Litzenberger (1) 18:42 – Ron Stewart (3)
Gordie Howe (5) – 01:32		Second period			00:49 – Bob Nevin (3) 08:55 – pp – Ron Stewart (4)
Gordie Howe (6) – 02:03		Third period			No scoring
Terry Sawchuck 33 saves / 37 shots		Goalie stats			Johnny Bower 25 saves / 27 shots

April 14	Toronto Maple Leafs		2–3		Detroit Red Wings	Olympia Stadium	Recap
Dave Keon (4) – 14:56		First period			00:33 – Vic Stasiuk (3)
Tim Horton (1) – 13:06		Second period			08:13 – Alex Faulkner (4) 13:39 – Alex Faulkner (5)
No scoring		Third period			No scoring
Johnny Bower 28 saves / 31 shots		Goalie stats			Terry Sawchuck 30 saves / 32 shots

April 16	Toronto Maple Leafs		4–2		Detroit Red Wings	Olympia Stadium	Recap
No scoring		First period			02:54 – Gordie Howe (7)
George Armstrong (3) – 01:17 Red Kelly (1) – 17:41		Second period			02:38 – pp – Eddie Joyal (1)
Dave Keon (5) – 09:42 Red Kelly (2) – pp – 17:45		Third period			No scoring
Johnny Bower 38 saves / 40 shots		Goalie stats			Terry Sawchuck 29 saves / 33 shots

April 18	Detroit Red Wings		1–3		Toronto Maple Leafs	Maple Leaf Gardens	Recap
No scoring		First period			17:44 – sh – Dave Keon (6)
Alex Delvecchio (3) – 00:49		Second period			No scoring
No scoring		Third period			13:28 – Eddie Shack (2) 19:55 – sh – en – Dave Keon (7)
Terry Sawchuck 25 saves / 27 shots		Goalie stats			Johnny Bower 26 saves / 27 shots

Toronto won series 4–1

1962–63 NHL awards
Prince of Wales Trophy: (Regular season champion)	Toronto Maple Leafs
Art Ross Trophy: (Top scorer)	Gordie Howe, Detroit Red Wings
Calder Memorial Trophy: (Best first-year player)	Kent Douglas, Toronto Maple Leafs
Hart Memorial Trophy: (Most valuable player)	Gordie Howe, Detroit Red Wings
James Norris Memorial Trophy: (Best defenceman)	Pierre Pilote, Chicago Black Hawks
Lady Byng Memorial Trophy: (Excellence and sportsmanship)	Dave Keon, Toronto Maple Leafs
Vezina Trophy: (Goaltender of team with the best goals-against average)	Glenn Hall, Chicago Black Hawks

First team	Position	Second team
Glenn Hall, Chicago Black Hawks	G	Terry Sawchuk, Detroit Red Wings
Pierre Pilote, Chicago Black Hawks	D	Tim Horton, Toronto Maple Leafs
Carl Brewer, Toronto Maple Leafs	D	Moose Vasko, Chicago Black Hawks
Stan Mikita, Chicago Black Hawks	C	Henri Richard, Montreal Canadiens
Gordie Howe, Detroit Red Wings	RW	Andy Bathgate, New York Rangers
Frank Mahovlich, Toronto Maple Leafs	LW	Bobby Hull, Chicago Black Hawks

Note: GP = Games played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points, PIM = Penalties in minutes

Player	Team	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Gordie Howe	Detroit Red Wings	70	38	48	86	100
Andy Bathgate	New York Rangers	70	35	46	81	54
Stan Mikita	Chicago Black Hawks	65	31	45	76	69
Frank Mahovlich	Toronto Maple Leafs	67	36	37	73	56
Henri Richard	Montreal Canadiens	67	23	50	73	57
Jean Beliveau	Montreal Canadiens	69	18	49	67	68
John Bucyk	Boston Bruins	69	27	39	66	36
Alex Delvecchio	Detroit Red Wings	70	20	44	64	8
Bobby Hull	Chicago Black Hawks	65	31	31	62	27
Murray Oliver	Boston Bruins	65	22	40	62	38

^[2]

Note: GP = Games played; Min – Minutes played; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts

Player	Team	GP	MIN	GA	GAA	W	L	T	SO
Jacques Plante	Montreal Canadiens	56	3320	138	2.49	22	14	19	5
Don Simmons	Toronto Maple Leafs	28	1680	70	2.50	15	8	5	1
Glenn Hall	Chicago Black Hawks	66	3910	166	2.52	30	20	15	5
Terry Sawchuk	Detroit Red Wings	48	2781	117	2.52	21	17	7	3
Johnny Bower	Toronto Maple Leafs	42	2520	109	2.60	20	15	7	1
Hank Bassen	Detroit Red Wings	16	960	52	3.25	6	5	5	0
Gump Worsley	New York Rangers	67	3980	217	3.27	22	34	10	2
Bob Perreault	Boston Bruins	22	1320	82	3.73	3	12	7	1
Eddie Johnston	Boston Bruins	50	2880	193	4.02	11	27	10	1

• Boston Bruins: Milt Schmidt
• Chicago Black Hawks: Rudy Pilous
• Detroit Red Wings: Sid Abel
• Montreal Canadiens: Toe Blake
• New York Rangers: Muzz Patrick and Red Sullivan
• Toronto Maple Leafs: Punch Imlach

The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1962–63 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs):

• Eddie Johnston, Boston Bruins
• Paul Henderson, Detroit Red Wings
• Claude Larose, Montreal Canadiens
• Jacques Laperriere, Montreal Canadiens
• Terry Harper, Montreal Canadiens
• Jim Neilson, New York Rangers
• Kent Douglas, Toronto Maple Leafs

The following is a list of players of note who played their last game in the NHL in 1962–63 (listed with their last team):

• Bob Turner, Chicago Black Hawks
• Jack Evans, Chicago Black Hawks
• Vic Stasiuk, Detroit Red Wings
• Lou Fontinato, Montreal Canadiens

Hockey Night in Canada on CBC Television televised Saturday night regular season games and Stanley Cup playoff games. Games were not broadcast in their entirety until the 1968–69 season, and were typically joined in progress, while the radio version of HNIC aired games in their entirety.

This was the third consecutive season that the NHL did not have an American national broadcaster until the 1965–66 season.

• 1962–63 NHL transactions
• List of Stanley Cup champions
• National Hockey League All-Star Game
• 1962 in sports
• 1963 in sports

• Coleman, Charles L. (1976), Trail of the Stanley Cup, Vol III, Sherbrooke, Quebec: Progressive Publications
• Diamond, Dan, ed. (1994). Years of glory, 1942–1967: the National Hockey League's official book of the six-team era. Toronto, ON: McClelland and Stewart. ISBN 0-7710-2817-2.
• Diamond, Dan, ed. (2000). Total Hockey. Kingston, New York: Total Sports. ISBN 1-892129-85-X.
• Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Toronto, ON: Dan Diamond & Associates. ISBN 978-1-894801-22-5.
• Dowbiggin, Bruce (2008), The Meaning Of Puck: How Hockey Explains Modern Canada, Toronto: Key Porter Books, ISBN 978-1-55470-041-7
• Dryden, Steve, ed. (2000). Century of hockey. Toronto, ON: McClelland & Stewart Ltd. ISBN 0-7710-4179-9.
• Duplacey, James (2008), Hockey's Book of Firsts, North Dighton, Massachusetts: JG Press, ISBN 978-1-57215-037-9
• Fischler, Stan; Fischler, Shirley; Hughes, Morgan; Romain, Joseph; Duplacey, James (2003). The Hockey Chronicle: Year-by-Year History of the National Hockey League. Lincolnwood, Illinois: Publications International Inc. ISBN 0-7853-9624-1.
• McFarlane, Brian (1969), 50 Years Of Hockey, Winnipeg, MAN: Greywood Publishing, ASIN B000GW45S0
• McFarlane, Brian (1973). The Story of the National Hockey League. New York: Pagurian Press. ISBN 0-684-13424-1.

Notes

• Hockey Database
• NHL.com