FHM 2: NHL History Revisited! (1962-Present Day)

NoSkillz · 10-02-2015, 11:17 PM

You’ve seen dynasties from me before, most notably my long-running (and not yet finished) FM story of taking little Dover Athletic FC from the depths of semi-professional football all the way to Champions League glory.

But hockey is and will always be my first love.

I’ve always been a huge supporter of Riz and EHM and was on the research team back in the freeware and early SI days but I currently own a Mac and with EHM Early Access only available on PC, I’m shut out for now.

So, needing a hockey fix, I just picked up the newly released second edition of Franchise Hockey Manager and while there are still some issues that need to be ironed out before I start a “current” dynasty, I think it would be a lot of fun to dig into the Historical mode that ships with the game. From all accounts, the stats engine seems pretty solid so perhaps this will be a fun diversion until I’m ready to move into managing my own team to glory.

The Historical game mode allows users to go back as far as 1931 but I’ve decided to start my league in September 1962. There is method to my madness here, as the first ever NHL Amateur Draft would be conducted in 1963 so this just seems like a pretty logical starting point.

As you can see, the game allows options for expansion drafts along with Amateur/Entry drafts with rookies as they entered the league in real life. This dynasty will run in line with real-life as far as league expansion goes BUT with expansion draft and Amateur/Entry draft boxes checked, it means that the game will be dynamic and players will likely get drafted by clubs different from real life.

I’ve also decided to utilize the FHM game engine for player development as opposed to the second option available (recalculate based on real-life stats) - I don’t want this to be a strict replay but instead, a dynamic league that hopefully veers into an exciting new direction from what happened in real life.

I won’t be controlling any teams in this dynasty - at this point, I don’t want to get too tied up in coaching/managing just in case there are some bugs that need to be squashed. So I’m just playing this particular game in Commissioner mode and overseeing history play itself out.

I’ll start with a post about the “State of the NHL” in September 1962 as the dynasty begins and then go into detail about each year from there on out. Of course, if you want updates on any players or teams as we go along, let me know and I’ll be happy to share.

Should be a lot of fun!

NoSkillz · 10-02-2015, 11:20 PM

September 1962 - STATE OF THE NHL

The NHL just celebrated its 45th season in style, as the Toronto Maple Leafs won their 10th Stanley Cup after defeating the Chicago Black Hawks four games to two.

The league seems to be in good hands, with young stars like Chicago’s Bobby Hull, Stan Mikita, Dave Keon and Frank Mahovlich joining established veterans like Gordie Howe, Terry Sawchuk and Jean Beliveau, who all continue to be prolific players into their 30s.

The 23 year old Hull tied the league record for goals last year, notching 50 in 70 games for the Hawks and is only the third to accomplish the feat, along with the recently retired Maurice “Rocket” Richard and Montreal’s Bernie Geoffrion.

Howe, now 34 years old and still with the Detroit Red Wings, is coming off another productive season (33 goals and 44 assists) and leads most of the career stat categories, including points (1126) and assists (624). With 502 goals, he is 42 behind the career mark set by The Rocket.

From a team perspective, the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs have dominated the league, winning 25 of the first 45 Stanley Cup championships, with the Habs winning 15 and the Leafs winning 10. Detroit is next with 7 Cups and the Bruins, Hawks and Rangers each have won 3 championships.

NoSkillz · 10-02-2015, 11:20 PM

Before each season, we’ll talk briefly about any changes to the league structure, whether it’s expansion, rule changes, changes to the draft, etc. There is nothing of note that changed in 1962 prior to the start of the season.

New players will be introduced to the gaming world during their age 17 season. In certain years, these players won’t be eligible for the NHL Draft until they reach age 20 so while I’ll address the names of the prospects deemed notable by the game upon entering the game universe, please understand that this does NOT necessarily mean that they will be playing in the NHL anytime soon.

NoSkillz · 10-02-2015, 11:24 PM

1962-63 NHL SEASON PREVIEW

The pundits expect Toronto to contend for a second consecutive championship behind stalwart defenceman Red Kelly and challenges are expected to come from Montreal and Bobby Hull’s Chicago Black Hawks. The NY Rangers are considered a darkhorse contender but will need a big season from Doug Harvey if they are to challenge the top dogs.

Top candidates in the scoring race will be the aforementioned Hull, Montreal’s Jean Beliveau and Detroit’s Gordie Howe.

The top defencemen in the league are considered to be Harvey, Kelly and Chicago’s Pierre Pilote while the top goaltenders include Montreal’s Jacques Plante, Detroit’s Terry Sawchuk and Chicago’s ironman Glenn Hall.

The notable 17 year olds entering this universe in 1962 include Wayne Cashman, Ron Ellis, Dennis Hull, Ted Irvine, Andre Lacroix, Jacques Lemaire, Wayne Maki, Gilles Marotte, Rosaire Paiement, Bernie Parent, Bobby Schmaultz, Rod Seiling, Rogie Vachon and Mike Walton.

NoSkillz · 10-02-2015, 11:31 PM

1962-63 NHL SEASON RECAP

The 1962-63 NHL season was defined by injuries to star players. Gordie Howe had two long-term injuries during the year and only suited up in 49 games as a result. Other stalwarts such as Norm Ullman, Bobby Hull and Johnny Bower missed significant time and young Rangers star Jean Ratelle ruptured his MCL in January and likely won’t return to action well into next year.

It was an incredibly tight race during the regular season and went right down to the final day, with Detroit topping the standings for the first time since 1956-57 by a single point over both Montreal and Toronto. Chicago surprisingly missed out on the post-season as they ended up one point behind fourth placed Boston while the Rangers struggled all year, finishing with only 22 wins and 55 points.

Montreal’s classy pivot Jean Beliveau led the league in point scoring with 78, Toronto’s Frank Mahovlich was the goal scoring leader with 39 while Chicago’s Stan Mikita led the league in assists with 48. Detroit goaltender Terry Sawchuk played all 70 games and won 34 of them to lead the league in that category while Montreal star Jacques Plante was the goals against average leader at 2.20.

While Detroit ended up on top in the regular season, pundits still felt the favourite in the Stanley Cup playoffs would be Toronto, the defending champs and also felt Montreal would be their biggest threat.

Unfortunately for Toronto, they had to face the Habs in the semi-finals and would lose four games to two. In the other semi-final, the Boston Bruins absolutely stunned the first place Red Wings, sweeping them in four games straight to move onto the finals.

It was a real stellar final as well, going to a dramatic seventh game. In that deciding match, the Bruins would jump out to a 2-0 first period lead but the Canadiens would fight back with six unanswered goals on their way to a 7-3 game seven win and their record 16th Stanley Cup championship!

1962-63 Stanley Cup Champions - MONTREAL CANADIENS

Johnny Bucyk was the main reason for Boston’s post-season success, as he led all players in playoff goals (10) and points (16). Montreal was led by goaltender Jacques Plante, who had a sparkling 1.89 goals against average during the playoffs and just like the regular season, the club was led up front by Jean Beliveau, who had an NHL best 9 post-season assists along with 15 points, one back of Bucyk.

Beliveau (70gp 32g 46a 78pts 74pim +7) would be the big winner when the 1962-63 NHL Awards were announced, as he was given the Hart Trophy for being the league’s most valuable player while also nabbing the Art Ross Trophy for scoring the most points during the regular season. The James Norris Trophy for best defenseman went to Chicago’s Pierre Pilote (70gp 14g 30a 44pts 119pim +15) and the Vezina Trophy for best goaltender deservedly went to Montreal’s Jacques Plante (63gp 33-21-7 2.20gaa .917%).

Finally, the Calder Memorial Trophy for rookie of the year was awarded to Boston’s 23 year old winger Tommy Williams (62gp 8g 24a 32pts 26pim +3).

The Hockey Hall of Fame added one new member in June, with goaltender Harry Lumley (803gp 330-329-142 2.76gaa) gaining induction after a 16 year career spent with New York, Detroit, Chicago, Toronto and Boston.

1962-63 Highest Salaried Player: Jean Beliveau (Montreal) - $37,500/year

1962-63 Hockey News Player Poll
Best Skater: Bobby Hull (Chicago)
Hardest Shot: Doug Harvey (New York Rangers)
Smartest Player: Andy Bathgate (New York Rangers)
Toughest Player: Bobby Baun (Toronto)
Fastest Player: Bobby Hull (Chicago)
Best Role Model: Dave Keon (Toronto)
Cleanest Player: Dave Keon (Toronto)
Toughest Goalie to Beat: Terry Sawchuk (Detroit)

Every year, a number of key players hang up their skates for good and this year, we celebrate the retirement of ”Terrible” Ted Lindsay (1033gp 370g 463a 833pts 1668pim -4), one of the great characters in the game.

**************************************************
WHAT REALLY HAPPENED IN 1962-63?

Regular Season Winners: Toronto Maple Leafs - 82 Points
Stanley Cup Champions: Toronto Maple Leafs (Defeat Detroit Red Wings 4 games to 1)
Most Goals: Gordie Howe (Detroit) - 38
Most Assists: Henri Richard (Montreal) - 50
Most Points: Gordie Howe (Detroit) - 86
Most Wins: Glenn Hall (Chicago) - 30
Goals Against Average: Don Simmons (Toronto) - 2.46

Art Ross Trophy (Most Points): Gordie Howe (Detroit)
Calder Memorial Trophy (Rookie of the Year): Kent Douglas (Toronto)
Hart Memorial Trophy (Most Valuable Player): Gordie Howe (Detroit)
James Norris Memorial Trophy (Best Defenseman): Pierre Pilote (Chicago)
Vezina Trophy (Best Goaltender): Glenn Hall (Chicago)
**************************************************

NoSkillz · 10-03-2015, 10:36 PM

1963-1964 SEASON

1963 NHL AMATEUR DRAFT

It was an exciting moment for the NHL, as the league conducted its first ever universal amateur draft on June 5, 1963 at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal.

The Amateur Draft was instituted by NHL President Clarence Campbell as a means of phasing out the sponsorship of amateur teams by the league's member clubs. The NHL wanted to create what Campbell called "a uniform opportunity for each team to acquire a star player." Prior to the creation of the draft, NHL teams would sponsor amateur teams and players, pre-empting other NHL clubs from acquiring new, young talent, and limiting amateur players' prospects in the NHL to the team which sponsored them.

A four-round, 24 player draft was conducted and the top choice was 19 year old Montreal native Bernie Parent, arguably the best goaltending prospect in the class. The New York Rangers were able to pick him based on their last place finish in the league in 1962-63.

Being the first ever NHL Draft, for posterity purposes, we’ll list the results of the entire draft:

FIRST ROUND -
1. New York Rangers - Bernie Parent, Goaltender, Canada
2. Chicago Black Hawks - Tony Esposito, Goaltender, Canada
3. Boston Bruins - Andre Lacroix, Centre, Canada
4. Toronto Maple Leafs - Dennis Hextall, Centre, Canada
5. Montreal Canadiens - Ted Irvine, Left Wing, Canada
6. Detroit Red Wings - Wayne Maki, Left Wing, Canada

SECOND ROUND -
7. New York Rangers - Bob Berry, Left Wing, Canada
8. Chicago Black Hawks - Bert Marshall, Defense, Canada
9. Boston Bruins - Bill Flett, Right Wing, Canada
10. Toronto Maple Leafs - Ken Block, Defense, Canada
11. Montreal Canadiens - Danny O’Shea, Centre, Canada
12. Detroit Red Wings - Bob Paradise, Defense, USA

THIRD ROUND -
13. New York Rangers - Lars-Erik Sjoberg, Defense, Sweden
14. Chicago Black Hawks - Andre Hinse, Left Wing, Canada
15. Boston Bruins - Stan Gilbertson, Left Wing, USA
16. Toronto Maple Leafs - Glen Sather, Left Wing, Canada
17. Montreal Canadiens - Doug Favell, Goaltender, Canada
18. Detroit Red Wings - Doug Roberts, Right Wing, USA

FOURTH ROUND -
19. New York Rangers - Ron Ward, Centre, Canada
20. Chicago Black Hawks - Vaclav Nedomansky, Right Wing, Czechoslovakia
21. Boston Bruins - Wayne Stephenson, Goaltender, Canada
22. Toronto Maple Leafs - Bryan Watson, Defense, Canada
23. Montreal Canadiens - Larry Johnston, Defense, Canada
24. Detroit Red Wings - Ron Huston, Centre, Canada

1963-64 NHL SEASON PREVIEW

There was only one notable change in the NHL as the 1963/64 season approached and of course that was the first ever NHL Amateur Draft, which I just covered.

There was also a pretty big trade announced during the offseason, as the Toronto Maple Leafs shipped out very promising 22 year old goaltending prospect Gerry Cheevers, along with another young keeper Ken Broderick while getting back 27 year old defenseman Al MacNeil and 22 year old winger Doug Robinson in return. Cheevers was behind veteran and Leafs fan favourite Johnny Bower and they also have 19 year old top prospect Gary Smith so they obviously valued the younger Smith more than Cheevers. Still, the return looks a bit suspect, as the big piece coming back, MacNeil, is just a #3 or #4 defenseman by my reckoning.

The Stanley Cup favourites continue to be the Toronto Maple Leafs, who continue to be led by defenseman Red Kelly and challenges are expected to come from Montreal and the Chicago Black Hawks, featuring centre Stan Mikita. The Boston Bruins are considered a darkhorse contender but will need a big season from Johnny Bucyk if they are to challenge the top dogs.

Top candidates in the scoring race will be the aforementioned Mikita, Montreal’s Jean Beliveau and Detroit’s Gordie Howe.

The top defencemen in the league are considered to be Doug Harvey, Red Kelly and Chicago’s Pierre Pilote while the top goaltenders include Montreal’s Jacques Plante, Detroit’s Terry Sawchuk and Chicago’s Glenn Hall.

The notable 17 year olds entering this universe in 1963 include Gary Croteau, Gary Doak, Danny Grant, Bill Heindl, Craig Patrick, Dick Proceviat, Derek Sanderson, Dick Sarrazin, Dennis Kearns, Serge Savard, Jacques Lemaire, Nick Libett, Rod Zaine, Jean Pronovost and Carol Vadnais.

NoSkillz · 10-03-2015, 11:39 PM

1963-64 NHL SEASON RECAP

Once again, injuries took a toll on many of the top stars in the league, with players like Frank Mahovlich (16 games missed), Bobby Hull (11 games missed) and Pierre Pilote (11 games missed) all missing significant time.

The Toronto Maple Leafs shook off a horrendous early season slump that saw them in the bottom two for most of October and November and went on a huge late season tear to end up with 84 points and top spot in the league. The Montreal Canadiens rode a tidy defence to 80 points and second place, The Black Hawks finished third with 74 points and the Red Wings finished comfortably in the fourth and final playoff position with 67 points. The Boston Bruins disappointed only one year after their shocking Stanley Cup finals appearance, ending up in fifth with 58 points, a single point ahead of last placed New York Rangers, who finished at the bottom for the second consecutive season.

Chicago’s top line dominated the NHL scoring race, as centre Stan Mikita led the league in points (77) and assists (53). His flashy winger Bobby Hull was the goal scoring leader with 40 despite missing 11 games. Toronto veteran goaltender Johnny Bower won 31 games to lead the NHL in that category and once again, it was Montreal star Jacques Plante winning the goals against average title at 2.38.

Early betting for the Stanley Cup playoffs was in favour of regular season champs Toronto, with captain Dave Keon leading the way but the Leafs got very bad news just prior to the start of the playoffs, as 34 year old defenceman Tim Horton suffered a strained triceps muscle just before the postseason began. The major threats to Toronto would likely come from Chicago and perhaps Montreal.

Indeed, the Leafs were in tough against the Detroit Red Wings and the series went a full seven games but Red Kelly and Bob Nevin both scored twice in a 5-3 series clinching win for Toronto to send them to the finals. In the other semi, the Chicago Black Hawks dismantled the vaunted Montreal Canadiens in four straight games, sending the defending Stanley Cup champions to the first tee a couple weeks earlier than expected.

And the Hawks would prove that series win was no fluke, as they ran right over the Maple Leafs as well in four straight games to win their 4th Stanley Cup Championship!!

1963-64 Stanley Cup Champions - CHICAGO BLACK HAWKS

Stan Mikita, the regular season point scoring champion, once again led the way in the playoffs with 6 goals, 10 assists and 16 points, with all of those totals leading the league.

At the 1963-64 NHL Awards ceremony, there was a slight upset when Rangers defenceman Doug Harvey was given the Hart Memorial Trophy for the league’s most valuable player. Harvey (70gp 9g 33a 42pts 144pim +2) certainly is the heart and soul for the Rangers but rarely do you see someone from the last placed team win the MVP award. As indicated earlier, Chicago’s Stan Mikita (63gp 24g 53a 77pts 46pim +29) won the Art Ross Trophy as the regular season points leader and the James Norris Trophy for best defenceman went to Toronto’s Red Kelly (70gp 9g 43a 52pts 24pim +15). Despite seeing his incredible ironman streak of consecutive games played end this year, Glenn Hall (64gp 27-21-14 2.44 .916%) was awarded with the Vezina Trophy for best goaltender. Hall had played in all 70 games for an incredible 8 years in a row prior to this season!

Finally, the Calder Memorial Trophy for rookie of the year was awarded to Chicago’s 24 year old defender Ed Van Impe (70gp 5g 13a 18pts 48pim +11).

There were no new additions to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1964.

1963-64 Highest Salaried Player: Jean Beliveau (Montreal) - $37,500/year
Last Year: Jean Beliveau (Montreal) - $37,500/year

1963-64 Hockey News Player Poll
Best Skater: Bobby Hull (Chicago)
Hardest Shot: Doug Harvey (New York Rangers)
Smartest Player: Andy Bathgate (New York Rangers)
Toughest Player: Bobby Baun (Toronto)
Fastest Player: Bobby Hull (Chicago)
Best Role Model: Dave Keon (Toronto)
Cleanest Player: Dave Keon (Toronto)
Toughest Goalie to Beat: Terry Sawchuk (Detroit)

A couple of notable Habs retired at the end of the year. Former star winger Bernie Geoffrion (740gp 338g 372a 710pts 606pim +4) is only four years removed from being the second player in NHL history to ever score 50 goals in a season but he only scored 11 goals combined in his last two years and retired at the age of 33. Teammate Dickie “Digger” Moore (627gp 237g 325a 562pts 526pim -1) also hangs up his skates for good.

**************************************************
WHAT REALLY HAPPENED IN 1963-64?

Top Three Draft Picks:
1st Overall: Garry Monahan, Centre, Montreal Canadiens
2nd Overall: Peter Mahovlich, Right Wing, Detroit Red Wings
3rd Overall: Orest Romashyna, Left Wing, Boston Bruins

Regular Season Winners: Montreal Canadiens - 85 Points
Stanley Cup Champions: Toronto Maple Leafs (Defeat Detroit Red Wings 4 games to 3)
Most Goals: Bobby Hull (Chicago) - 43
Most Assists: Andy Bathgate (NYR/TOR) - 58
Most Points: Stan Mikita (Chicago) - 89
Most Wins: Glenn Hall (Chicago) - 34
Goals Against Average: Johnny Bower (Toronto) - 2.11

Art Ross Trophy (Most Points): Stan Mikita (Chicago)
Calder Memorial Trophy (Rookie of the Year): Jacques Laperriere (Montreal)
Hart Memorial Trophy (Most Valuable Player): Jean Beliveau (Montreal)
James Norris Memorial Trophy (Best Defenseman): Pierre Pilote (Chicago)
Vezina Trophy (Best Goaltender): Charlie Hodge (Montreal)
**************************************************

NoSkillz · 10-04-2015, 09:52 PM

1964-1965 SEASON

1964 NHL AMATEUR DRAFT

Once again, a four-round, 24 player draft was conducted and the top choice once again was a Montreal boy, this time 19 year old defender Serge Savard, who was nabbed by the New York Rangers.

Here is how the first round went:

FIRST ROUND -
1. New York Rangers - Serge Savard, Defence, Canada
2. Boston Bruins - Carol Vadnais, Defence, Canada
3. Detroit Red Wings - Rogie Vachon, Goaltender, Canada
4. Chicago Black Hawks - Jacques Lemaire, Centre, Canada
5. Montreal Canadiens - Jean Pronovost, Right Wing, Canada
6. Toronto Maple Leafs - Derek Sanderson, Centre, Canada

Other top prospects selected included Rosaire Paiement (8th overall to Boston) and Craig Patrick (13th overall to New York).

1964-65 NHL SEASON PREVIEW

Rules changes for the 1964-65 season included no body contact on face-offs and in the playoffs, each team was to have its substitute goaltender dressed in his regular uniform except for leg pads and body protector. All previous rules governing standby goaltenders were terminated.

The league also added a new trophy for awards night, with the Conn Smythe Trophy being presented to the outstanding player in the Stanley Cup playoffs each year.

Like last year, this new season opened with a major trade, as long-time Red Wings star Alex Delvecchio was moved to the New York Rangers for 31 year old winger Dean Prentice, 25 year old defender Dave Amadio and 28 year old winger Pat Hannigan. Delvecchio had played 14 seasons for Detroit, accumulating 645 points during that time. However, he was coming off his worst professional season in a decade, with only 34 points in 70 games and obviously the Wings were looking to get a bit younger. Prentice is the main piece coming back and he is no slouch, having amassed 502 points during his 12 seasons in New York and he was coming off a solid 60 point season in 63/64. Seems like a pretty fair deal.

The Stanley Cup favourites are the defending champion Chicago Black Hawks behind their powerhouse top line. Toronto and Montreal are considered to be the main challengers. The main dark horse pick once again is the Boston Bruins.

Top candidates in the scoring race are Stan Mikita and Bobby Hull from Chicago along with Detroit’s Gordie Howe.

The top defencemen in the league are considered to be Rangers blue liner Doug Harvey, Red Kelly and Chicago’s Pierre Pilote while the top goaltenders include Montreal’s Jacques Plante, Detroit’s Terry Sawchuk and Chicago’s Glenn Hall.

The notable 17 year olds entering this universe in 1963 include Ray Adduono, Robin Burns, Chris Evans, Lucien Grenier, Serge Bernier, Cliff Koroll, J.P. LeBlanc, Pete Mahovlich, Don McLeod, Gerry Meehan, Garry Monahan, Bob Murdoch, Bob Sicinski, Grant Erickson, Bill Fairbairn, Rick Pagnutti, Keith Magnuson, Don Marcotte, Walt McKechnie and Larry Pleau.

NoSkillz · 10-04-2015, 10:37 PM

1964-65 NHL SEASON RECAP

Disaster struck Black Hawks great Pierre Pilote, who would suffer a broken kneecap and miss all but 26 games this season, including the entire playoffs. Other players missing significant time include Terry Sawchuk (15 games missed), Carl Brewer (24 games missed) and Doug Harvey (11 games missed). Speaking of which, a number of players missed action due to injuries “sustained in fights” according to the news sections and in every case, upon checking the box scores, the player in question never got into a fight. Bug alert!!

The Toronto Maple Leafs were the class of the NHL for a second consecutive season, compiling 94 points and a plus 65 goal differential to win the regular season race by 19 points over second placed Chicago. The Montreal Canadiens finished one point further back with 74 and the Boston Bruins grabbed the final playoff spot with 68 points. The Detroit Red Wings finished fifth with 56 points and the New York Rangers once again finished dead last with 53 points.

Chicago’s dynamic duo of Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita dominated scoresheets once again, with Hull leading the NHL points race with 85 while Mikita was the top assist man with 57 helpers on the season. Classy Montreal pivot Jean Beliveau was the goal scoring leader with 46. Toronto veteran goaltender Johnny Bower won 33 games to lead the NHL in that category for a second straight year and he also won the goals against average title with a 2.45 mark.

Despite winning the league by a substantial margin, the Maple Leafs were not the consensus choice to win the Cup, with bettors favouring the defending champion Black Hawks instead, despite the fact that star defender Pierre Pilote would miss the entire playoffs due to injury.

Once again, the betting public seemed to know what would transpire, as the Boston Bruins ousted the regular season champion Leafs in five games, the second shocking upset in three years from the upstart Bruins. In the other semi, it was Chicago getting past Montreal in six games.

The Stanley Cup final was another classic, as the pesky Bruins took the Hawks to a seventh and deciding game. The powerful Black Hawks stormed out to a 4-1 lead but two third period goals by Boston made the final few minutes tense. However, Chicago was able to hold them off to win 4-3 in both the game and the series to take their second consecutive Stanley Cup and 5th in franchise history!

1964-65 Stanley Cup Champions - CHICAGO BLACK HAWKS

The first ever Conn Smythe Trophy for outstanding player in the Stanley Cup playoffs was awarded to 23 year old star prospect Phil Esposito, who led all players in playoff goals (8) and points (17) while his 9 assists tied for top spot. Esposito had only played in 18 regular season games over his first two years in the league and after this playoff and a fine regular season (70gp 23g 24a 47pts 53pim -7), it was clear for all to see that he was a star in the making on a very prolific Black Hawks team.

At the 1964-65 NHL Awards ceremony, it was 25 year old centre Stan Mikita (70gp 25g 57a 82pts 72pim +18) winning the Hart Memorial Trophy for the league’s most valuable player. Linemate Bobby Hull (63gp 42g 43a 85pts 31pim +15) won the Art Ross Trophy as the regular season points leader and the James Norris Trophy for best defenceman went to Toronto tough guy Bob Baun (70gp 4g 31a 35pts 131pim +19). Montreal’s 36 year old keeper Jacques Plante (59gp 24-22-10 2.74 .901%) was awarded with the Vezina Trophy for best goaltender in an upset over Leafs goaltender Johnny Bower

Finally, the Calder Memorial Trophy for rookie of the year was awarded to Montreal’s 24 year old winger/defender Jimmy Roberts (56gp 5g 4a 9pts 37pim -5). Talk about a very weak choice for rookie of the year…I think the game code might need a bit of work here but with the game lacking the ability to filter stats by rookie status (a clear oversight in my opinion), I can’t see if there are any clear choices ahead of Roberts.

There were no new additions to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1965.

1964-65 Highest Salaried Player: Bobby Hull (Chicago) - $95,000/year
Last Year: Jean Beliveau (Montreal) - $37,500/year

1964-65 Hockey News Player Poll (third year in a row with no changes)
Best Skater: Bobby Hull (Chicago)
Hardest Shot: Doug Harvey (New York Rangers)
Smartest Player: Andy Bathgate (New York Rangers)
Toughest Player: Bobby Baun (Toronto)
Fastest Player: Bobby Hull (Chicago)
Best Role Model: Dave Keon (Toronto)
Cleanest Player: Dave Keon (Toronto)
Toughest Goalie to Beat: Terry Sawchuk (Detroit)

No one of note retired from the league after the 64-65 season.

**************************************************
WHAT REALLY HAPPENED IN 1964-65?

Top Three Draft Picks:
1st Overall: Claude Gauthier, Right Wing, Detroit Red Wings
2nd Overall: Alex Campbell, Right Wing, Boston Bruins
3rd Overall: Bob Graham, Defence, New York Rangers

Regular Season Winners: Detroit Red Wings - 87 Points
Stanley Cup Champions: Montreal Canadiens (Defeat Chicago Black Hawks 4 games to 3)

Most Goals: Norm Ullman (Detroit) - 42
Most Assists: Stan Mikita (Chicago) - 59
Most Points: Stan Mikita (Chicago) - 87
Most Wins: Roger Crozier (Detroit) - 40
Goals Against Average: Johnny Bower (Toronto) - 2.38

Art Ross Trophy (Most Points): Stan Mikita (Chicago)
Calder Memorial Trophy (Rookie of the Year): Roger Crozier (Detroit)
Hart Memorial Trophy (Most Valuable Player): Bobby Hull (Chicago)
James Norris Memorial Trophy (Best Defenseman): Pierre Pilote (Chicago)
Vezina Trophy (Best Goaltender): Johnny Bower and Terry Sawchuk (Toronto)
**************************************************

NoSkillz · 10-04-2015, 10:52 PM

Again, as we go along, if anyone wants to hear about certain players or teams, let me know and I'll let you know how they are doing.

I assume it will be a bit quiet until we hit the first league expansion, which is coming up in a couple years.

Wolfpack · 10-05-2015, 09:20 PM

How do you intend to handle the expansion? I'm assuming you'll keep the East/West split that came with it with the Original Six in one division and the expansion teams in the other, but will the expansion teams be created as they were in 1967 or will that have to be left to the hands of fate and expansion drafts and whatnot?

NoSkillz · 10-05-2015, 09:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wolfpack

How do you intend to handle the expansion? I'm assuming you'll keep the East/West split that came with it with the Original Six in one division and the expansion teams in the other, but will the expansion teams be created as they were in 1967 or will that have to be left to the hands of fate and expansion drafts and whatnot?

I'm going to just run with expansion as it actually happened so yes, the East/West split will be duplicated in-game.

But player movement will continue to be completely dynamic within the game with the expansion draft(s) and Amateur/Entry drafts likely working out much differently in-game versus real life.

Thanks for reading!

NoSkillz · 10-05-2015, 09:49 PM

1965-1966 SEASON

1965 NHL AMATEUR DRAFT

There was one change for the third-ever NHL Amateur Draft and that was to change the qualifying age for players to 18 from 17. Essentially, that meant a relatively weaker draft pool in 1965. However, there were still a couple of highly regarded prospects available, as the first round would attest…

This time, there were only two rounds and 12 total selections due to the smaller draft pool. The first choice was 18 year old Timmons, Ontario native Pete Mahovlich, who was selected by the last place New York Rangers.

Here is how the first round went:

FIRST ROUND -
1. New York Rangers - Pete Mahovlich, Centre, Canada
2. Detroit Red Wings - Don Marcotte, Left Wing, Canada
3. Boston Bruins - Bob Murdoch, Defense, Canada
4. Montreal Canadiens - Bill Fairbairn, Right Wing, Canada
5. Chicago Black Hawks - Cliff Koroll, Right Wing, Canada
6. Toronto Maple Leafs - Serge Bernier, Centre, Canada

Other top prospects selected included Gerry Meehan (8th overall to Detroit) and Brian Glennie (10th overall to Montreal).

1965-66 NHL SEASON PREVIEW

The big news coming out of the league offices in July of 1965 was that expansion was around the corner, with plans to have a second, six-team division begin play in 1967-68. There was no word at the time about which cities would be granted expansion franchises but speculation was rampant.

Rules changes for the 1965-66 season included a requirement for all teams to dress two goaltenders for each regular season game and the maximum stick length was increased to 55 inches.

The Stanley Cup favourites are the two-time defending champion Chicago Black Hawks behind their powerhouse top line, led by Stan Mikita. Toronto and Montreal are once again considered to be the main challengers. The main dark horse pick once again is the Boston Bruins.

Top candidates in the scoring race will Stan Mikita and Bobby Hull from Chicago along with Detroit’s Gordie Howe.

The top defencemen in the league are considered to be Rangers blue liner Doug Harvey, Chicago’s Pierre Pilote and a newcomer to the defense list, Rangers blue liner Harry Howell. The top goaltenders continue to be Montreal’s Jacques Plante, Detroit’s Terry Sawchuk and Chicago’s Glenn Hall.

The notable 17 year olds entering this universe in 1965 include Thommie Bergman, Christian Bordeleau, Curt Bennett, Pierre Bouchard, Ken Desjardine, Jim Dorey, Ken Dryden, Tim Ecclestone, Andre Gaudette, Kerry Ketter, Danny Lawson, Rene Leclerc, Mike Pelyk, Mickey Redmond, Seppo Repo, Walt Tkaczuk, Garry Unger, Bill Young, Hugh Harris, Gerry Hart, Ed Kea, Guy Lapointe, John Marks, Lyle Moffat, Rick Newell, Mike Robitaille, Brad Selwood, Rick Smith, Pat Westrum, Barry Wilcox and a young, highly touted defense prospect named Bobby Orr.

Business is about to pick up in the National Hockey League!

NoSkillz · 10-05-2015, 10:34 PM

1965-66 NHL SEASON RECAP

There was a refreshing “changing of the guard” during the 1965-66 campaign, with long-time NHL powerhouse Toronto running into major injury crisis throughout the season, most notably losing long-time winger George Armstrong for 10 months due to a torn elbow ligament. Many more of their stars got hurt for periods during the year and the Leafs, the NHL’s best regular season team for two years in a row, would fall all the way into the basement by the time the 1965-66 season ended.

That said, there were only 18 points that separated first place Chicago from last place Toronto, so things were very tight this year. The Hawks would finish with 79 points to win the division by eight points over Montreal. New blood arrived in the playoff race in the form of the rebuilding New York Rangers, who had a stranglehold on last place for a few years but picking first overall in the NHL draft for three years straight finally started to pay off for the team from Broadway. The race for the fourth and final playoff spot went right to the last day of the season, with the Boston Bruins edging Detroit by a single point.

Scoring was up during the year and many new records were set, none more impressive than Chicago’s dynamic winger Bobby Hull becoming the first player in NHL history to notch over 100 points in a single season! He was able to finally stay healthy all year and in his 70 games, he was able to notch an incredible 105 points. His 50 goals also led the league and tied his own NHL record he holds with Bernie Geoffrion and Maurice Richard. Linemate Stan Mikita also set a new NHL record for assists with 59 and plus/minus with +47. Chicago continued to dominate the stat sheet in net as well, as Glenn Hall had league bests in wins (32), goals against average (2.50), games played (67) and shutouts (8).

Regular season champs and two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago were expected to once again steamroll the competition in the 65/66 playoffs, with pundits feeling Montreal was the only team capable of stopping them.

Both Chicago and Montreal would lose key players to injury as the playoffs began, with Chicago’s young star Phil Esposito and Montreal’s veteran pivot Jean Beliveau both suffering season-ending ailments. Despite those losses, the Black Hawks were able to easily dispose of Boston in five games in the first semi-final while the Canadiens had to battle hard to eliminate the Cinderella story of 1965/66, the New York Rangers in a seven game classic.

In yet another wonderful Stanley Cup final, the Hawks and the Habs went right down to the wire and a deciding seventh game at old Chicago Stadium. The Hawks would score four unanswered goals in the first period on their way to a 4-3 series clinching victory to nab their third straight Stanley Cup title.

A dynasty is in the works in Chicago!!

1965-66 Stanley Cup Champions - CHICAGO BLACK HAWKS (THREE STRAIGHT CUPS)

The Conn Smythe Trophy for outstanding player in the Stanley Cup playoffs was awarded to Stan Mikita, who notched 22 points in his 12 playoff games, tying line mate Bobby Hull at the top of the stats list. Mikita’s 15 assists were also a league high while Hull’s 10 goals in 12 games paced all players in the playoffs.

At the 1965-66 NHL Awards ceremony, it was the Bobby Hull show, as the 27 year old superstar claimed the Hart Memorial Trophy for the league’s most valuable player and the Art Ross Trophy for most points in the regular season (70gp 50g 55a 105pts 37pim +46). The James Norris Trophy for best defenseman went to Chicago’s Pierre Pilote (70gp 11g 35a 46pts 52pim +19), who came back from only playing 26 games the previous year to win this coveted award at 34 years young. The awards continued to go Chicago’s way and deservedly so in this case, as 34 year old keeper Glenn Hall (67gp 32-21-11 2.50 .904%) was awarded with the Vezina Trophy for best goaltender after dominating all major stat categories this season.

Finally, the Calder Memorial Trophy for rookie of the year was awarded to Boston’s 25 year old centre Bob Leiter (68gp 15g 33a 48pts 67pim +5), a solid choice after a couple years of weak rookie winners. Rangers future star Pete Mahovlich stayed with the big club all season and the 1st overall pick in this year’s draft had 16 points in 48 games, giving a glimpse of what could come in future years.

There were no new additions to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1966.

1965-66 Highest Salaried Player: Bobby Hull (Chicago) - $95,000/year
Last Year: Bobby Hull (Chicago) - $95,000/year

1965-66 Hockey News Player Poll (** designates new choices over last year)
Best Skater: Bobby Hull (Chicago)
Hardest Shot: Pierre Pilote (Chicago) **
Smartest Player: Alex Delvecchio (New York Rangers) **
Toughest Player: Bobby Baun (Toronto)
Fastest Player: Bobby Hull (Chicago)
Best Role Model: Dave Keon (Toronto)
Cleanest Player: Dave Keon (Toronto)
Toughest Goalie to Beat: Jacques Plante (Detroit) **

No one of note retired from the league after the 65-66 season.

**************************************************
WHAT REALLY HAPPENED IN 1965-66?

Top Three Draft Picks:
1st Overall: Andre Veilleux, Right Wing, New York Rangers
2nd Overall: Andy Culligan, Forward, Chicago Black Hawks
3rd Overall: George Forgie, Defence, Detroit Red Wings

Regular Season Winners: Montreal Canadiens - 90 Points
Stanley Cup Champions: Montreal Canadiens (Defeat Detroit Red Wings 4 games to 2)

Most Goals: Bobby Hull (Chicago) - 54
Most Assists: Stan Mikita (Chicago), Bobby Rousseau (Montreal) & Jean Beliveau (Montreal) - 48
Most Points: Bobby Hull (Chicago) - 97
Most Wins: Glenn Hall (Chicago) - 34
Goals Against Average: Johnny Bower (Toronto) - 2.25

Art Ross Trophy (Most Points): Bobby Hull (Chicago)
Calder Memorial Trophy (Rookie of the Year): Brit Selby (Toronto)
Hart Memorial Trophy (Most Valuable Player): Bobby Hull (Chicago)
James Norris Memorial Trophy (Best Defenseman): Jacques Laperriere (Montreal)
Vezina Trophy (Best Goaltender): Charlie Hodge and Gump Worsley (Montreal)
**************************************************

NoSkillz · 10-05-2015, 11:43 PM

1966-1967 SEASON

1966 NHL AMATEUR DRAFT

The 1966 Amateur Draft shifted away from the Queen Elizabeth Hotel for the first time but stayed in Montreal, this time taking place at the Mount Royal Hotel.

There were no changes to the draft ages this year so that meant a pretty strong class, especially at the top. The consensus choice for #1 was a young star defenseman from Parry Sound, Ontario and the hometown Toronto Maple Leafs, so strong in recent years but coming off a shocking last place (*cough* TANK *cough*) finish, couldn’t get to the podium quick enough.

Indeed, the top selection in the 1966 draft would be Bobby Orr, as I throw up in my mouth seeing him end up on the Maple Leafs.

Here is how the first round went in a remarkably strong draft:

FIRST ROUND -
1. Toronto Maple Leafs - Bobby Orr, Defense, Canada
2. Detroit Red Wings - Ken Dryden, Goaltender, Canada
3. Boston Bruins - Mickey Redmond, Right Wing, Canada
4. New York Rangers - Guy Lapointe, Defense, Canada
5. Montreal Canadiens - Syl Apps, Centre, Canada
6. Chicago Black Hawks - Garry Unger, Centre, Canada

Other top prospects selected included Gerry Hart (7th overall to Toronto), Pierre Bouchard (9th overall to Boston) and Keith Magnuson (16th overall to New York).

1966-67 NHL SEASON PREVIEW

Expansion was only one year away and 14 applications for franchises were received by the NHL, including five from ownership groups in Los Angeles, two from Pittsburgh and one each from Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Philadelphia, San Francisco-Oakland, Baltimore, Buffalo and Vancouver.

Rules changes for the 1966-67 season included allowing substitutions on coincidental major penalties and between period intermissions were set at 15 minutes.

It’s been pretty customary to see a major deal or two prior to each season beginning and 1966 was no exception, as the three-time defending Cup champions Chicago traded young goaltending prospect Tony Esposito to Toronto in return for established players John Ferguson and long-time Leaf fan favourite George Armstong. Armstrong, at 35 years old, is still a capable player but was traded while still injured, a risky proposition for the Hawks in my opinion. He’d likely be out until early January while rehabbing his injured elbow.

The deal made clear the fact that Chicago intended to keep making deals for the present and that meant they’d once again be the consensus favourite to hoist Lord Stanley’s Cup for the fourth consecutive year. Toronto and Montreal are once again considered to be the main challengers. The main dark horse pick once again is the Boston Bruins.

Top candidates in the scoring race will Stan Mikita and Bobby Hull from Chicago along with Detroit’s Gordie Howe. No change here from the last number of years.

The top defencemen in the league are considered to be Hawks blue liner Pierre Pilote, Rangers defender Doug Harvey and Boston’s Doug Mohns. The top goaltenders continue to be Montreal’s Jacques Plante, Detroit’s Terry Sawchuk and Chicago’s Glenn Hall.

The notable 17 year olds entering this universe in 1966 include John Donnelly, Jude Drouin, Barry Gibbs, Jerry Korab, Rick Ley, Don Luce, Phil Myre, Brad Park, Gene Peacosh, Gerry Pinder, Rene Robert, Ron Snell, Dave Burrows, Terry Caffery, Guy Charron, Bob Girard, John Gould, Pierre Jarry, Keith Kokkola, Daryl Maggs, Randy Manery, John Migneault, Dennis O’Brien, Jean Potvin, Phil Roberto, Gregg Sheppard and Marc Tardif.

NoSkillz · 10-06-2015, 08:32 PM

1966-67 NHL SEASON RECAP

After seeing a bit of movement in the standings last year, things reverted a bit back to normal during the 1966-67 season, most notably with the dramatic falloff seen from the New York Rangers, who looked to have turned the corner last year only to fall back into the basement this year.

There were only 18 points that separated the first and last placed teams last year but this year? 53 points difference!!

Once again, it was Chicago dominating, becoming one of the few teams to reach the elusive 100 point barrier and on the way, they put up an incredible +90 goal differential. They were in a class by themselves, winning the league by 12 points over the Montreal Canadiens. The Leafs bounced back somewhat, finishing in third on the year after a frantic, late season charge, with rookie defenseman Bobby Orr leading the charge. More on him shortly. Detroit got back into the playoffs for the first time in a few years, edging the fifth place Bruins by two points.

Scoring continued to increase and once again, no one did it better than Chicago and their top two players. Bobby Hull, now 28 years old, set NHL records right across the board, scoring 52 goals, adding 64 assists and notching 116 total points, blowing past the former records in all three categories. It was a truly dominating season for the “Golden Jet”, as he also led the league in shots (380) and plus/minus (+46). Hull would be rewarded late in the regular season with a monster seven year contract extension valued at $875,000, the largest deal in NHL history to that point. Chicago goaltender Glenn Hall continued to dominate at age 35, putting up 36 wins and 7 shutouts, both league highs while Jacques Plante from Montreal had the league low in goals against average at a minuscule 2.04.

There is no guessing who the Stanley Cup favourite was as the playoffs approached, as three time defending champion Chicago showed no signs of slowing down whatsoever. Experts felt a rejuvenated Leafs team would offer them the most trouble.

Indeed, Toronto would face Montreal in one semi-final and take them to a deciding seventh game, which saw the Leafs prevail on the road. They would have to face the vaunted Hawks, who eased past Detroit in five games in the other semi.

There was some drama, however, as the league’s top player Bobby Hull sprained his thumb late in the Detroit series and would miss the entire final against Toronto.

The result was yet another seven game nail-biter and the Leafs would draw first blood on a Ron Ellis 2nd period goal but the Hawks were not amused, scoring three unanswered goals to take game seven 3-1 and win their FOURTH straight Stanley Cup championship.

1966-67 Stanley Cup Champions - CHICAGO BLACK HAWKS (FOUR STRAIGHT CUPS)

The Conn Smythe Trophy for outstanding player in the Stanley Cup playoffs was awarded to Stan Mikita for a second straight year. Mikita scored two goals and added 14 assists in his 12 games. Toronto’s Eddie Shack almost single-handedly brought the Leafs to the brink of a title, scoring a league-high 11 playoff goals.

At the 1966-67 NHL Awards ceremony, the Hart Memorial Trophy for the league’s most valuable player went to the “straw that stirs the drink” in Chicago, Stan Mikita (70gp 40g 61a 101pts 40pim +45), a bit of a surprise considering his linemate’s incredible accomplishments. Bobby Hull (70gp 52g 64a 116pts 24pim +46) would of course win the Art Ross Trophy for most points in the regular season. The James Norris Trophy for best defenseman went to Chicago’s Pierre Pilote (70gp 9g 50a 59pts 46pim +38), for a second year in a row and for the third time in four years. The awards continued to go Chicago’s way and 35 year old keeper Glenn Hall (52gp 36-9-6 2.21 .910%) was awarded with the Vezina Trophy for best goaltender for a second straight year.

Finally, the Calder Memorial Trophy for rookie of the year was awarded to Chicago’s 22 year old winger Ken Hodge (39gp 14g 23a 37pts 78pim +14), giving the Black Hawks a clean sweep on all of the NHL awards.

So, how did Bobby Orr fare, you ask?

Well, the Leafs stupidly had him on their reserve list to start the season and would finally call him up to the big team on January 3rd to make his official NHL debut. The Leafs were floundering in last place at the time and Orr almost singlehandedly carried them into the playoffs, scoring 3 goals and adding 23 assists in only 38 games.

He was in the NHL to stay and it will be fun following his career now that he’s solidified his spot on the roster.

There were no new additions to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1967.

1966-67 Highest Salaried Player: Bobby Hull (Chicago) - $95,000/year
Last Year: Bobby Hull (Chicago) - $95,000/year

1966-67 Hockey News Player Poll (** designates new choices over last year)
Best Skater: Bobby Hull (Chicago)
Hardest Shot: Jim McKenny (Chicago) **
Smartest Player: Alex Delvecchio (New York Rangers)
Toughest Player: Bobby Baun (Toronto)
Fastest Player: Bobby Hull (Chicago)
Best Role Model: Dave Keon (Toronto)
Cleanest Player: Dave Keon (Toronto)
Toughest Goalie to Beat: Jacques Plante (Detroit)

There were a couple of key retirements at the end of the 1966-67 season. Toronto legend Johnny Bower finally hung up the pads at 42 years old after a 12 year career in the NHL with New York and the Leafs. He finishes his career with 587 games played, a 284-203-96 record, 43 shutouts and a 2.61 goals against average.

The other major retirement saw a still productive Doug Harvey hang them up after a remarkable 20 year career, starting out as a 23 year old with Montreal before playing his twilight years with the Rangers. In all, Harvey played in 1289 games, scored 122 goals and added 547 assists (third on the all-time list) for 669 points, adding 1486 penalty minutes as well. Hall of fame, here we come!

**************************************************
WHAT REALLY HAPPENED IN 1966-67?

Top Three Draft Picks:
1st Overall: Barry Gibbs, Defense, Boston Bruins
2nd Overall: Brad Park, Defense, New York Rangers
3rd Overall: Terry Caffery, Centre, Chicago Black Hawks

Regular Season Winners: Chicago Black Hawks - 94 Points
Stanley Cup Champions: Toronto Maple Leafs (Defeat Montreal Canadiens 4 games to 2)

Most Goals: Bobby Hull (Chicago) - 52
Most Assists: Stan Mikita (Chicago) - 62
Most Points: Stan Mikita (Chicago) - 97
Most Wins: Ed Giacomin (New York) - 34
Goals Against Average: Glenn Hall (Chicago) - 2.38

Art Ross Trophy (Most Points): Stan Mikita (Chicago)
Calder Memorial Trophy (Rookie of the Year): Bobby Orr (Boston)
Hart Memorial Trophy (Most Valuable Player): Stan Mikita (Chicago)
James Norris Memorial Trophy (Best Defenseman): Harry Howell (New York)
Vezina Trophy (Best Goaltender): Denis DeJordy and Glenn Hall (Chicago)
**************************************************

NoSkillz · 10-07-2015, 08:52 PM

1967-1968 SEASON

1967 NHL EXPANSION DRAFT

The Chicago Black Hawks are four-time defending Stanley Cup champs but all of the off-season talk revolved around the impending expansion in the National Hockey League, as the Original Six era was about to end and in its place, a new two-division, 12 team league.

Gaining entry into the NHL for the 1967-68 season were the Oakland Seals, Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota North Stars, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins and the St. Louis Blues. These six teams would play in the newly formed West Division while the Original Six clubs would all play in the East.

In real life, there was a full 20 round expansion draft, with the first two rounds dedicated to goaltenders and the final 18 rounds used to fill out the rest of the squad. The Original Six clubs were only allowed to protect 1 goaltender and 11 other players, excluding junior players, giving the expansion clubs plenty of options to start building their team.

However, for some reason, this game only had a total of 52 players (!!!) available to the expansion teams instead of the bare minimum needed (6 teams X 20 rounds = 120 players), making for a pretty pathetic expansion draft. **BUG ALERT!**

Most of the players made available were throwaway depth players sitting on their club’s Reserve Lists but there were a few veteran stars. Here is how the first three rounds of the first ever expansion draft went:

FIRST ROUND -
1. Los Angeles - Terry Sawchuk, Goaltender (from Detroit)
2. Minnesota - Gerry Cheevers, Goaltender (from Chicago)
3. Oakland - Ed Giacomin, Goaltender (from New York)
4. Philadelphia - Cesar Maniago, Goaltender (from Boston)
5. Pittsburgh - Charlie Hodge, Goaltender (from Montreal)
6. St. Louis - Bruce Gamble, Goaltender (from Boston)

The Second Round should have seen six more goaltenders selected but again, for some reason, the game only had SIX TOTAL GOALTENDERS available. So the second round was completely skipped. Sheesh.

THIRD ROUND -
13. Los Angeles - Bill White, Defence (from Toronto)
14. Minnesota - Ted Harris, Defence (from Chicago)
15. Oakland - Ed Van Impe, Defence (from Chicago)
16. Philadelphia - Kent Douglas, Defence (from Toronto)
17. Pittsburgh - Dick Duff, Left Wing (from Toronto)
18. St. Louis - Eddie Shack, Left Wing (from Toronto)

FOURTH ROUND -
19. Los Angeles - John Ferguson, Left Wing (from Chicago)
20. Minnesota - Claude Provost, Left Wing (from Montreal)
21. Oakland - Al MacNeil, Defence (from Toronto)
22. Philadelphia - George Armstrong, Right Wing (from Chicago)
23. Pittsburgh - Bob Pulford, Left Wing (from Montreal)
24. St. Louis - Terry Harper, Defence (from Montreal)

As you can see, veteran laden playoff teams like Chicago, Montreal and Toronto were raided by the expansion teams but again, there were very few key players available and only a handful of guys in their twenties.

This expansion draft would only fill 8-9 players for each of the teams, meaning they’d have plenty of work to do in the trade market or the very meagre free agent market. What a disappointment.

NoSkillz · 10-07-2015, 09:18 PM

1967 NHL AMATEUR DRAFT

There were a few key changes prior to the 1967 Amateur Draft, none more important than the fact NHL sponsorship of junior teams would cease, making all players of qualifying age not already on NHL-sponsored lists eligible for the draft. This was offset by the fact that the minimum draft age was raised to 20, meaning an extremely weak draft class for the six new expansion clubs.

The Oakland Seals won the right to draft first overall and they chose 20 year old defender Chris Evans.

Here is how the first round went in a brutally weak draft:

FIRST ROUND -
1. Oakland Seals - Chris Evans, Defense, Canada
2. St. Louis Blues - Elgin McCann, Right Wing, Canada
3. Minnesota North Stars - Doug Barrie, Defence, Canada
4. Los Angeles Kings - Barry Wilkins, Defense, Canada
5. Philadelphia Flyers - Jim Lorentz, Centre, Canada
6. Pittsburgh Penguins - Nick Beverley, Defence, Canada
7. New York Rangers - Larry Pleau, Centre, USA
8. Boston Bruins - Ray Adduono, Centre, Canada
9. Detroit Red Wings - Wayne Carleton, Left Wing, Canada
10. Toronto Maple Leafs - Ross Lonsberry, Left Wing, Canada
11. Montreal Canadiens - Bob Smith, Centre, Canada
12. Chicago Black Hawks - Garry Monahan, Left Wing, Canada

There were only two rounds and 24 total players selected, with no one of note getting drafted in the second round.

1967-68 NHL SEASON PREVIEW

There was plenty of scrambling after the Amateur Draft, especially amongst the expansion clubs, as they battled hard to fill their rosters. Most of the early free agent signings were scooped up by the Original Six clubs, as the top players preferred going to established clubs.

Some of the expansion clubs, most notably the Pittsburgh Penguins, wouldn’t even have an 18 man roster before the regular season started, another shocking development and likely a bug (teams iced 18 man squads back in those days - 2 keepers and 16 skaters).

Rules changes for the 1967-68 season included a new 74 game regular season (up from 70 games) and a limit on the curvature of sticks set at 1.5 inches.

There were a number of deals made in the pre-season and St. Louis was the first expansion team to dip into that market, hoping they got their goaltender of the future in Roger Crozier, who was picked up in a deal with Chicago.

The Black Hawks were large favourites to repeat as champions for a fifth consecutive year, with their biggest challengers expected to be Toronto and Boston, with an aging Montreal team looked at as a dark horse candidate.

Top candidates in the scoring race will Stan Mikita and Bobby Hull from Chicago along with Detroit’s Gordie Howe. No change here from the last number of years.

The top defencemen in the league are considered to be Bruins blue liner Ted Green (a new choice), Hawks veteran Pierre Pilote and Boston’s Doug Mohns. The top goaltenders are thought to be Montreal’s Jacques Plante, Chicago’s Glenn Hall and New York’s Gump Worsley, another new choice.

The notable 17 year olds entering this universe in 1967 include Ivan Boldirev, Jiri Bubla, Mike Christie, Bobby Clarke, Andre Dupont, Butch Goring, Merv Haney, Bill Hogaboam, Rejean Houle, Dave Hudson, Larry McIntyre, Kevin Morrison, Dick Redmond, Larry Romanchych, Don Saleski, Ron Stackhouse, Bob Whitlock, Jiri Crha, Jim Hargreaves, Yvon Lambert, Mike Lampman, Reggie Leach, Chuck Lefley, Rick MacLeish, Al McDonough, Ulf Nilsson, Dennis Patterson and Errol Thompson.

NoSkillz · 10-07-2015, 10:44 PM

1967-68 NHL SEASON RECAP

The lead up to the regular season saw the expansion teams desperately try to fill their rosters with any talent available, with “talent” being a very subjective word in this case. Depth players or minor leaguers from past years became go-to players on these new teams, as the talent pool became heavily diluted.

Thankfully for the expansion teams, the schedules were predominately “division” based, meaning they would only play teams in the stronger East Division a few times this year. On paper, the Los Angeles Kings looked to be the best prepared team, with plenty of depth and a few capable players like Terry Sawchuk, defenceman Bill White and winger John Ferguson leading the way.

I was also a big fan of the way Philadelphia built their roster, going with youth in the expansion draft, getting 27 year old centre Bob Leiter, a recent Calder Trophy winner with Boston and 27 year old winger Vic Hadfield from the Rangers, while also drafting the promising Jim Lorentz in the amateur draft.

There is no question that Pittsburgh will be a tire fire, as they couldn’t even build a full roster prior to opening night, icing a team with only 17 skaters. They would eventually add a few more free agents during the year but they were a team with very few difference makers.

Chicago dominated the regular season once again, picking up 52 wins in their 74 games and notching an NHL record 113 points, 18 points better than second placed Toronto. The Bruins put together a fine year, with 91 points and Detroit was the final playoff team in the East with 87 points.

The aging Canadiens missed the playoffs for the first time in this dynasty, finishing with a paltry 74 points, four ahead of perennial cellar-dwellers New York.

As expected, the veteran laden Los Angeles Kings steamrolled over their weak opponents in the newly formed West Division, finishing with 89 points (fourth most in the NHL), a whopping 27 points more than the second placed Philadelphia Flyers!! Minnesota finished third with 55 points and the St. Louis Blues nabbed a playoff spot with only 54 points and a ridiculously brutal -72 goal differential, the worst in the entire NHL. Oakland was fifth with 51 points while Pittsburgh manned the basement with 47 points.

Chicago’s two superstars continued to dominate league scoring, with Bobby Hull setting a new goal record with 59 and Stan Mikita blowing away the assist record with 80 and the plus/minus record with +54. Hull had 123 points (another record) and a league leading 458 shots. Mikita was second in point scoring with 108 and just to give some perspective on their dominance, the third leading scorer was Rangers centre Jean Ratelle, who tallied 74 points. 20 year old Leafs defenceman Bobby Orr led blue liners with 21 goals and 65 points in only his second year in the league.

Chicago goaltender Glenn Hall continued to dominate at age 36, putting up a record 46 wins but young star in the making Tony Esposito, Toronto’s new starting keeper after the retirement of Johnny Bower, led the league with 9 shutouts and a superlative 2.10 goals against average.

Four time defending champion Chicago were once again favoured to go all the way and the experts felt that the Toronto Maple Leafs would be the only team to offer resistance.

The divisional semi finals saw Chicago sweep Detroit in four straight after Gordie Howe got injured in game one. The Leafs fought hard to get past Boston in seven games and the North Stars took care of the Flyers in only five. The big shock in the West was the St. Louis Blues knocking off the division leading Kings 4 games to 3.

The Blues were obviously drained from that series victory, as they would fall to the North Stars in seven games, with Minnesota advancing to their first ever Stanley Cup final.

The East final saw a heavyweight tilt between the Leafs and the four-time defending Cup champ Black Hawks. Toronto set the tone with a WILD 8-7 road win in game one and took off from there, SHOCKING the Black Hawks in a four game sweep, unceremoniously ending Chicago’s incredible playoff win streak.

The final was a mere formality, as Minnesota offered little resistance to the heavily favoured Leafs, with Toronto winning their 11th Stanley Cup championship in five games.

1967-68 Stanley Cup Champions - TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS

The Conn Smythe Trophy for outstanding player in the Stanley Cup playoffs was awarded to 38 year old defender Tim Horton, who put together an incredible 16 points in 16 playoff appearances, including 3 goals. Winger Ron Ellis led all players with 14 assists and 21 playoff points while Bobby Hull led the playoffs with 11 goals despite only playing 8 games. 31 year old journeyman Ted Hampson was Minnesota’s breakout player during their Stanley Cup run, leading the team with 18 points in their 17 playoff games.

At the 1967-68 NHL Awards ceremony, the Hart Memorial Trophy for the league’s most valuable player went to Stan Mikita (74gp 28g 80a 108pts 38pim +54) for the second year in a row and third time in four years. Bobby Hull (74gp 59g 64a 123pts 24pim +51) would win the Art Ross Trophy for most points in the regular season for the fourth consecutive year. The James Norris Trophy for best defenseman went to Toronto’s 20 year old star Bobby Orr (74gp 21g 44a 65pts 44pim +21), likely the first of many for the prodigy. 36 year old Chicago goalkeeper Glenn Hall (66gp 46-12-8 2.26 .896%) showed no signs of slowing down and was awarded with the Vezina Trophy for best goaltender for a third straight year.

There were more rookies across the league than ever before due to expansion and the Calder Memorial Trophy for rookie of the year was awarded to Philadelphia’s 21 year old winger Wayne Carleton (74gp 24g 37a 61pts 25pim -13). Interestingly enough, Carleton was drafted 9th overall by the Red Wings this year but they must have dropped him at some point (WHY?!?!), allowing the Flyers to sign him just before the pre-season and he ends up giving them a Calder Trophy performance, the first piece of silverware for an expansion franchise. Another likely bug in the game but with 50 man roster limits, I guess the Red Wings valued other players more than him.

There were no new additions to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1968.

1967-68 Highest Salaried Player: Bobby Hull (Chicago) - $125,000/year
Last Year: Bobby Hull (Chicago) - $95,000/year

1967-68 Hockey News Player Poll (** designates new choices over last year)
Best Skater: Bobby Hull (Chicago)
Hardest Shot: Bobby Orr (Toronto) **
Smartest Player: Alex Delvecchio (New York Rangers)
Toughest Player: Bobby Baun (Toronto)
Fastest Player: Bobby Hull (Chicago)
Best Role Model: Dave Keon (Toronto)
Cleanest Player: Dave Keon (Toronto)
Toughest Goalie to Beat: Jacques Plante (Detroit)

There were a couple of key retirements at the end of the 1967-68 season. Three time Norris Trophy winner Pierre Pilote rides off into the sunset after a stellar career with Chicago. The 36 year old finished his career with 458 points in 790 games and he was still very effective right until the end, with 39 points in his final season.

Long-time Toronto legend George Armstrong spent his last two seasons with Chicago and the expansion Flyers respectively but played 16 full seasons with Toronto and 18 seasons in all, scoring 272 goals, 358 assists and 630 points in 986 games.

Finally, Leafs defender Red Kelly goes out on top, retiring at 40 years old after winning the Stanley Cup. He played a remarkable 20 years in the NHL, playing in 1387 games (second behind Gordie Howe), scoring 284 goals and adding 591 assists for 875 points. Most certainly a hall of fame career!

**************************************************
WHAT REALLY HAPPENED IN 1967-68?

Top Six Expansion Draft Picks:
1st Overall: Terry Sawchuk, Goaltender, Los Angeles Kings
2nd Overall: Bernie Parent, Goaltender, Philadelphia Flyers
3rd Overall: Glenn Hall, Goaltender, St. Louis Blues
4th Overall: Cesare Maniago, Goaltender, Minnesota North Stars
5th Overall: Joe Daley, Goaltender, Pittsburgh Penguins
6th Overall: Charlie Hodge, Goaltender, California Seals

Top Six Expansion Draft Picks (Skaters):
13th Overall: Gord Labossiere, Centre, Los Angeles Kings
14th Overall: Dave Balon, Left Wing, Minnesota North Stars
15th Overall: Jim Roberts, Defence, St. Louis Blues
16th Overall: Ed Van Impe, Defence, Philadelphia Flyers
17th Overall: Earl Ingarfield, Centre, Pittsburgh Penguins
18th Overall: Bob Baun, Defence, California Seals

Top Three NHL Amateur Draft Picks:
1st Overall: Rick Pagnutti, Defense, Los Angeles Kings
2nd Overall: Steve Rexe, Goaltender, Pittsburgh Penguins
3rd Overall: Ken Hicks, Forward, California Seals

Regular Season Winners: Montreal Canadiens - 94 Points
Stanley Cup Champions: Montreal Candiens (Defeat St. Louis Blues 4 games to 0)

Most Goals: Bobby Hull (Chicago) - 44
Most Assists: Phil Esposito (Boston) - 49
Most Points: Stan Mikita (Chicago) - 87
Most Wins: Ed Giacomin (New York) - 36
Goals Against Average: Gump Worsley (Montreal) - 1.98

Art Ross Trophy (Most Points): Stan Mikita (Chicago)
Calder Memorial Trophy (Rookie of the Year): Derek Sanderson (Boston)
Hart Memorial Trophy (Most Valuable Player): Stan Mikita (Chicago)
James Norris Memorial Trophy (Best Defenseman): Bobby Orr (Boston)
Vezina Trophy (Best Goaltender): Gump Worsley and Rogie Vachon (Montreal)
**************************************************

NoSkillz · 10-18-2015, 09:42 AM

1968-1969 SEASON

1968 NHL AMATEUR DRAFT

On the strength of their brutal first season in the NHL, the Pittsburgh Penguins were given the honour of selecting first in a pretty solid 1968 Amateur Draft. With their pick, the Penguins selected promising 19 year old defender Brad Park.

Here is how the first round looked:

FIRST ROUND -
1. Pittsburgh Penguins - Brad Park, Defense, Canada
2. Oakland Seals - Don Luce, Centre, Canada
3. St. Louis Blues - Jerry Korab, Defense, Canada
4. Minnesota North Stars - Rene Robert, Right Wing, Canada
5. Philadelphia Flyers - Glenn “Chico” Resch, Goaltender, Canada
6. New York Rangers - Barry Gibbs, Defense, Canada
7. Montreal Canadiens - Rick Ley, Defense, Canada
8. Detroit Red WIngs - Rick Smith, Defense, Canada
9. Los Angeles Kings - Tom Webster, Right Wing, Canada
10. Boston Bruins - Jude Drouin, Centre, Canada
11. Toronto Maple Leafs - Gerry Pinder, Right Wing, Canada
12. Chicago Black Hawks - Tim Sheehy, Right Wing, USA

There were two rounds and 24 total selections in this year’s draft. The biggest names selected in the second round were defender Brad Selwood (Oakland) and goaltender Phil Myre (Minnesota).

1968-69 NHL SEASON PREVIEW

The only major rule change for the 1968-69 season was to add two games to each teams schedule, meaning 76 games would now be played by each club. Also, future Amateur Drafts would be expanded to cover any amateur player of qualifying age throughout the world.

There were a number of deals made in the pre-season, with some being extremely complicated three and four team deals. None were more complicated than the one that saw top goaltending prospect Bernie Parent traded twice in the same day, first going from the Rangers to the Black Hawks then later that day, he was moved to Montreal, his hometown.

The pre-season pundits felt Toronto stood the best chance of winning the Cup for a second consecutive year behind star defender Bobby Orr, with the Black Hawks and their dynamic duo of Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita looking to be the biggest challengers. The Rangers looked to be a dark horse candidate behind Jean Ratelle.

Top candidates in the scoring race are expected to be Stan Mikita and Bobby Hull from Chicago along with Detroit’s Gordie Howe. No change here from the last number of years.

The top defencemen in the league are considered to be last year’s Norris Trophy winner Bobby Orr (a new choice), Bruins veteran Ted Green and also Boston’s Pat Stapleton, a new name on this list. The top goaltenders are thought to be Montreal’s Jacques Plante, Chicago’s Glenn Hall and the expansion North Stars’ Gerry Cheevers, another new choice.

The notable 17 year olds entering this universe in 1968 include Kent-Erik Andersson, Dan Bouchard, Hardy Astrom, Henry Boucha, Bill Clement, Jerry Butler, Norm Gratton, Bob Kelly, Orest Kindrachuk, Ted McAneeley, Giles Meloche, Chris Oddleifson, Gerry O’Flaherty, Greg Polis, Darryl Sittler, Billy Smith, Bob Stewart, Dale Tallon, Murray Wing, Duane Wylie, John Garrett, Jocelyn Guevremont, Bobby Lalonde, Richard Lemieux, Willy Lindstrom, Hartland Monohan, Terry O’Reilly, Andre Peloffy, Pierre Plante, Craig Ramsay, Larry Robinson, Vic Venasky, Steve Vickers and Tom Williams.

NoSkillz · 10-18-2015, 10:33 AM

1968-69 NHL SEASON RECAP

The lead up to the season saw many more deals, as teams continued to work toward building the perfect roster. A significant “passing of the torch” occurred in Montreal, as they dealt the aging but still very effective Jacques Plante to the New York Rangers for promising 22 year old winger Danny Grant. Plante won numerous goaltending awards and is second in all-time NHL wins with 461, just behind LA Kings keeper Terry Sawchuk. This move allowed Montreal to play their top prospect just acquired in a deal with Chicago, Bernie Parent. Meanwhile, Grant, the 7th overall selection in the 1964 draft, would be counted on for scoring.

Three teams were dominant during the regular season, none more so than the powerful Chicago Black Hawks, who would only lose 9 games while piling up an NHL record 125 points, winning the East Division by 11 points over defending Cup champs Toronto. Also putting up a great year were the Boston Bruins, who notched 45 wins and 104 points. Finishing fourth and in the last East Division playoff spot were Detroit with 86 points. The Rangers and the Canadiens finished 5th and 6th respectively.

In the expansion West Division, all teams struggled in their second seasons but it was the Minnesota North Stars prevailing with a 28-40-8 record, finishing with a division-high 64 points. Last year’s top expansion team, the Los Angeles Kings, lost 27 points from last year’s total of 89 but still finished second with 62 points. Grabbing the final two playoff spots in the West were last year’s two worst teams: Oakland and Pittsburgh. Oakland finished with 54 points while Pittsburgh notched 51. Philadelphia and St. Louis missed out on the playoffs, nabbing 47 and 43 points respectively.

Chicago’s two superstars continued to dominate league scoring, with Bobby Hull falling just short of matching his NHL record total of goals set the previous year, finishing two short with 57. Stan Mikita came close to matching his assist record as well, finishing with 77, only three off his record total from the previous year. Mikita DID set a new plus/minus record with +68, fourteen higher than last year’s record total! Mikita continued his statistical dominance, leading the league with 108 points. 21 year old Leafs defenceman Bobby Orr led blue liners with 27 goals and 86 points in only his third year in the league.

Chicago goaltender Glenn Hall continued to dominate at age 37, putting up a record 52 wins (six more than last year’s record total) but young star in the making Tony Esposito, Toronto’s starting keeper, led the league with 10 shutouts and a superlative 2.07 goals against average, the second consecutive year he led both categories.

Regular season champion Chicago seemed destined for the Cup for a fifth time in six years, with Toronto looked at as the biggest challenger.

The divisional semi finals saw things stay true to form, as Chicago got past Detroit in a six game series while Toronto ambushed Boston, sweeping them aside in four straight games. On the other side, it was the pesky Pittsburgh Penguins shocking West Division winning Minnesota in five games while the Oakland Seals continued the upsets in the West, knocking off Los Angeles, also in five games.

The East final was a battle of heavyweights and the firepower in Chicago proved too tough for Toronto to overcome, as the defending Cup champion Leafs fell in a six game series to the Hawks. Meanwhile, in the Western final, it was upstart Oakland sweeping the Penguins in four straight to advance to their first ever Stanley Cup final!

Oakland would shock Chicago in game one of the 1969 Stanley Cup final, with Gerry Ehman scoring in overtime to lead the Seals to a 3-2 win. However, the Hawks would recover, taking the next four games in succession to win their fifth Stanley Cup in six years and their 8th overall in team history.

1968-69 Stanley Cup Champions - CHICAGO BLACK HAWKS

The Conn Smythe Trophy for outstanding player in the Stanley Cup playoffs was awarded to 30 year old star winger Bobby Hull, who scored 9 goals and added 15 assists for 24 points in 17 postseason games, which led the league in all categories. Linemate Stan Mikita tied Hull for the league lead in assists. The Oakland Seals were led in the playoffs by 23 year old forward Morris Mott, who exploded for 6 goals and 10 assists in only 14 playoff games. Mott, a free agent signing by Oakland last year, wasn’t even drafted and was coming off a regular season that saw him finish with 35 points in 67 games.

At the 1968-69 NHL Awards ceremony, it was essentially a coronation for young superstar defender Bobby Orr (75gp, 27g 59a 86pts 69pim +48), who won the Hart Memorial Trophy for the league’s most valuable player AND the James Norris Memorial Trophy for best defender. Stan Mikita (73gp 31g 77a 108pts 38pim +68) won the Art Ross Trophy for most points in the regular season. Another passing of the torch saw 26 year old Toronto goaltender Tony Esposito (69gp 43-10-15 2.07 .901%) win his first ever Vezina Trophy.

Finally, the Calder Memorial Trophy for rookie of the year was awarded to Pittsburgh’s 20 year old defenseman Brad Park (76gp 16g 45a 61pts 43pim -21). Park was the first overall selection in this past year’s draft so he’s obviously living up to his potential very early in his career.

There were no new additions to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1969.

1968-69 Highest Salaried Player: Bobby Hull (Chicago) - $125,000/year
Last Year: Bobby Hull (Chicago) - $125,000/year

1968-69 Hockey News Player Poll (** designates new choices over last year)
Best Skater: Bobby Hull (Chicago)
Hardest Shot: Bobby Orr (Toronto)
Smartest Player: Tim Ecclestone (Montreal Canadiens) **
Toughest Player: Bobby Baun (Toronto)
Fastest Player: Bobby Hull (Chicago)
Best Role Model: Dave Keon (Toronto)
Cleanest Player: Dave Keon (Toronto)
Toughest Goalie to Beat: Jacques Plante (New York Rangers)

There were a couple of key retirements at the end of the 1968-69 season. “Le Gros Bill” Jean Believeau , a former Hart and Art Ross Trophy winner, retires after a phenomenal 18 year career spent solely with Montreal. Beliveau played 1038 games, scoring 504 goals, adding 626 assists for 1130 points. He was effective to the end, scoring 25 goals and 75 points in his final season with Montreal. An easy choice for the Hall of Fame!

Goaltender Gump Worsley hung up his goal pads for good after the season as well. Stuck with some bad Rangers teams during his 16 year career, Worsley compiled a record of 295-390-143 with a lifetime goals against average of 3.06, along with 37 shutouts.

**************************************************
WHAT REALLY HAPPENED IN 1968-69?

Top Three NHL Amateur Draft Picks:
1st Overall: Michel Plasse, Goaltender, Montreal Canadiens
2nd Overall: Roger Belisle, Centre, Montreal Canadiens
3rd Overall: Jim Pritchard, Defense, Montreal Canadiens

Regular Season Winners: Montreal Canadiens - 103 Points
Stanley Cup Champions: Montreal Candiens (Defeat St. Louis Blues 4 games to 0)

Most Goals: Bobby Hull (Chicago) - 58
Most Assists: Phil Esposito (Boston) - 77
Most Points: Phil Esposito (Boston) - 126
Most Wins: Ed Giacomin (New York) - 37
Goals Against Average: Jacques Plante (St. Louis) - 1.96

Art Ross Trophy (Most Points): Phil Esposito (Boston)
Calder Memorial Trophy (Rookie of the Year): Danny Grant (Minnesota)
Hart Memorial Trophy (Most Valuable Player): Phil Esposito (Boston)
James Norris Memorial Trophy (Best Defenseman): Bobby Orr (Boston)
Vezina Trophy (Best Goaltender): Glenn Hall and Jacques Plante (St. Louis)
**************************************************

NoSkillz · 10-18-2015, 05:29 PM

1969-1970 SEASON

1969 NHL AMATEUR DRAFT

The amateur draft would see it’s biggest evolution yet in 1969, as it would be the first year that the effects of NHL amateur sponsorship would not be seen, as every junior of qualifying age (20 years old at this point) was available for selection. This meant the largest draft in history to this point, with 83 players being selected in-game. The St. Louis Blues had the first selection and they chose promising centre prospect Bobby Clarke from Flin Flon, Manitoba.

Here is how the first round looked:

FIRST ROUND -
1. St. Louis Blues - Bobby Clarke, Centre, Canada
2. Philadelphia Flyers - Butch Goring, Centre, Canada
3. Pittsburgh Penguins - Jean Potvin, Defense, Canada
4. Oakland Seals - Marc Tardif, Left Wing, Canada
5. Los Angeles Kings - Ron Stackhouse, Defense, Canada
6. Minnesota North Stars - Dick Redmond, Defense, Canada
7. Andre Dupont - Montreal Canadiens, Defense, Canada
8. New York Rangers - Ivan Boldirev, Centre, Canada
9. Detroit Red Wings - Dave Burrows, Defense, Canada
10. Boston Bruins - Mike Christie, Defense, USA
11. Toronto Maple Leafs - Barry Long, Defense, Canada
12. Chicago Black Hawks - Guy Charron, Centre, Canada

There were seven rounds and 83 total selections in this year’s draft. The biggest names selected in other rounds were wingers Rejean Houle (Pittsburgh), Rick Dudley (Montreal) and Dave “The Hammer” Schultz (St. Louis).

1969-70 NHL SEASON PREVIEW

The only major rule change for the 1969-70 season was to limit the curvature of the stick blade at 1 inch.

The biggest pre-season trade saw Boston ship out promising winger Wayne Cashman to New York for wingers Jack Stanfield and Dave Balon. Balon was key to the deal for Boston, as the 30 year old was coming off a 25 goal, 63 point season with the Rangers. Meanwhile, Cashman had yet to make an impact with the Bruins.

The pre-season pundits felt Chicago stood the best chance of winning the Cup for a second consecutive year behind their dynamic duo of Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita while Toronto and Boston looked to be the biggest challengers. The Rangers looked to be a dark horse candidate behind Jean Ratelle.

Top candidates in the scoring race will Stan Mikita and Bobby Hull from Chicago along with Detroit’s Gordie Howe. No change here from the last number of years.

The top defencemen in the league are considered to be two-time defending Norris Trophy winner and defending Hart Trophy winner Bobby Orr along with Bruins blueliners Ted Green and Pat Stapleton. The top goaltenders are thought to be New York Rangers veteran Jacques Plante, Oakland Seals keeper Ed Giacomin and the expansion North Stars’ Gerry Cheevers.

The notable 17 year olds entering this universe in 1969 include Mike Antonovich, Helmut Balodis, Lascelles Bolonchuk, Pat Boutette, Mike Busniuk, Marcel Dionne, Larry Giroux, Bill Hajt, Rick Kehoe, Guy Lafleur, Rick Martin, Gerry Methe, Milan Novy, Jeanty Hamimi, Birston Hastie, Dave Huth, Al MacAldonich, Wearmouth Moore, Noel Mibury, Pery Mitchell, Jaroslav Povysil, Richter Quinlan, Colasse St. Sauveur and Stanclik Wetmore.

NoSkillz · 10-18-2015, 06:27 PM

1969-70 NHL SEASON RECAP

The same teams continue to dominate in the East Division, with Chicago and Toronto joined by Boston and Detroit as the overwhelming forces in the league. Chicago ended up on top once again with 116 points, 12 ahead of the Leafs and Bruins, who tied for second. The Red Wings had their best season in years, hitting the 100 point plateau to easily finish fourth while New York (84 points) and Montreal (82 points) finished well back of playoff contention.

In the expansion West Division, the new teams continued their immense struggle, with the Philadelphia Flyers ending up on top with 64 points, 7 ahead of second placed Oakland. The LA Kings and St. Louis Blues tied for third with 55 points, grabbing the final two playoff spots. Pittsburgh (47 points) and Minnesota (44 points) would miss the playoffs.

Another year passes but it’s the same two players at the top of the point list, with Chicago’s two superstars continuing their dominance. Bobby Hull set a new record for points with 127, scoring 54 goals and adding 73 assists to lead in all three major categories. Stan Mikita finished second in points (105) and third in goals (40) and assists (65). 22 year old Leafs defenceman Bobby Orr continues to impress, scoring career highs in goals (28), assists (67) and points (95) in only his fourth year in the league.

Chicago goaltender Glenn Hall continued to dominate at age 38, putting up 49 wins (three less than last year’s record total) while Boston’s Eddie Johnson came out of nowhere to lead the league with 12 shutouts (six higher than second placed Ken Dryden and a superlative 2.03 goals against average.

The experts felt regular season and defending Cup champion Chicago seemed destined for yet another win, with Toronto, led by Bobby Orr and Frank Mahovlich looked at as the biggest challenger.

Chicago walloped Detroit in four games straight while the other East Division semi saw a huge upset, as Boston upended Toronto in six games. On the other side, playoff upsets had been prevalent since the 1967 expansion and they continued, as both top seeds were eliminated, with St. Louis knocking off #1 seed Philadelphia in four straight while Los Angeles needed all seven games to get past Oakland.

The East final saw Boston offer little resistance to the Chicago freight train, with the Hawks winning in five games while out west, it was St. Louis advancing to their first Cup final with a gruelling seven game series win over Los Angeles.

In the finals, St. Louis put their best foot forward but to no avail, as Chicago would win in five games, their second consecutive Stanley Cup win and their sixth in seven years!

1969-70 Stanley Cup Champions - CHICAGO BLACK HAWKS

The Conn Smythe Trophy for outstanding player in the Stanley Cup playoffs was awarded to Chicago’s star centre Stan Mikita for the third time in his career, as he scored 7 goals and added 14 assists for 21 points in 14 postseason games, with the assist and point totals leading the league. Los Angeles Kings rookie Juha Widing surprisingly led the league in playoff goals with 10 in only 14 games after a fine regular season that saw him score 27 goals and compile 60 points in 76 games. Veteran Eddie Shack led the Blues in playoff scoring with 15 points in 16 games.

At the 1969-70 NHL Awards ceremony, it was once again Leafs defender Bobby Orr (76gp, 28g 67a 95pts 47pim ++47), dominating the proceedings, with second consecutive Hart and Norris Trophy wins for Most Valuable Player and best defender respectively. Bobby Hull (76gp 54g 73a 127pts 24pim +49) won the Art Ross Trophy for most points in the regular season for the fifth time in his career. Meanwhile, 34 year old Boston goaltender Eddie Johnston (68gp 40-11-16 2.03 .917%) won his first ever Vezina Trophy.

Finally, the Calder Memorial Trophy for rookie of the year was awarded to Detroit’s 22 year old left winger Ernie “Bubble” Hicke (76gp 31g 30a 61pts 38pim +27). Hicke was an undrafted free agent signing by Detroit and a good one at that!

There were no new additions to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1970.

1969-70 Highest Salaried Player: Bobby Hull (Chicago) - $125,000/year
Last Year: Bobby Hull (Chicago) - $125,000/year

1969-70 Hockey News Player Poll (** designates new choices over last year)
Best Skater: Bobby Orr (Toronto) **
Hardest Shot: Bobby Orr (Toronto)
Smartest Player: Tim Ecclestone (Montreal Canadiens)
Toughest Player: Dave Schulz (St. Louis) **
Fastest Player: Bobby Hull (Chicago)
Best Role Model: Dave Keon (Toronto)
Cleanest Player: Dave Keon (Toronto)
Toughest Goalie to Beat: Jacques Plante (New York Rangers)

There was one major retirement after the conclusion of the 1969-70 season, as goaltender Terry Sawchuk finally called it a career after 21 NHL seasons and a whopping 1198 games in goal. Sawchuk finishes with a record of 526-455-199, with 115 shutouts and a career goals against average of 2.60. Sawchuk leaves the game with the most wins and shutouts all-time.

**************************************************
WHAT REALLY HAPPENED IN 1969-70?

Top Three NHL Amateur Draft Picks:
1st Overall: Rejean Houle, Left Wing, Montreal Canadiens
2nd Overall: Marc Tardif, Left Wing, Montreal Canadiens
3rd Overall: Don Tannahill, Left Wing, Boston Bruins

Regular Season Winners: Chicago Black Hawks + Boston Bruins - 99 Points
Stanley Cup Champions: Boston Bruins (Defeat St. Louis Blues 4 games to 0)

Most Goals: Phil Esposito (Boston) - 43
Most Assists: Bobby Orr (Boston) - 87
Most Points: Bobby Orr (Boston) - 120
Most Wins: Tony Esposito (Chicago) - 38
Goals Against Average: Ernie Wakely (St. Louis) - 2.11

Art Ross Trophy (Most Points): Bobby Orr (Boston)
Calder Memorial Trophy (Rookie of the Year): Tony Esposito (Chicago)
Hart Memorial Trophy (Most Valuable Player): Bobby Orr (Boston)
James Norris Memorial Trophy (Best Defenseman): Bobby Orr (Boston)
Vezina Trophy (Best Goaltender): Tony Esposito (Chicago)
**************************************************

NoSkillz · 10-18-2015, 06:43 PM

Ugh - another big bug rears its ugly head as I move into 1970-71 (and the second league expansion), as the 17 year olds that move into the league all have scrambled names for some reason.

I tried saving under a different name and then trying again but the same thing results each time.

I'm going to try to figure out who they are based on birthplace but it may take awhile to figure out.

Damnit. Sorry to the game developers but this is a frustrating game at times.

NoSkillz · 10-18-2015, 07:47 PM

And....I'm done.

I got about 30 names figured out and then the game crashed hard. Upon reloading, I had a corrupted file and this dynasty is over.

All this work for nothing. My God.

dave1927p · 12-07-2015, 10:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NoSkillz

And....I'm done.

I got about 30 names figured out and then the game crashed hard. Upon reloading, I had a corrupted file and this dynasty is over.

All this work for nothing. My God.

maybe you can upload your file to their ftp site for them to have alook? Or give it a try with the latest patch. This has been a very great read so far.

10-02-2015, 11:20 PM	#2
NoSkillz College Benchwarmer Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: St. Catharines, Canada	September 1962 - STATE OF THE NHL The NHL just celebrated its 45th season in style, as the Toronto Maple Leafs won their 10th Stanley Cup after defeating the Chicago Black Hawks four games to two. The league seems to be in good hands, with young stars like Chicago’s Bobby Hull, Stan Mikita, Dave Keon and Frank Mahovlich joining established veterans like Gordie Howe, Terry Sawchuk and Jean Beliveau, who all continue to be prolific players into their 30s. The 23 year old Hull tied the league record for goals last year, notching 50 in 70 games for the Hawks and is only the third to accomplish the feat, along with the recently retired Maurice “Rocket” Richard and Montreal’s Bernie Geoffrion. Howe, now 34 years old and still with the Detroit Red Wings, is coming off another productive season (33 goals and 44 assists) and leads most of the career stat categories, including points (1126) and assists (624). With 502 goals, he is 42 behind the career mark set by The Rocket. From a team perspective, the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs have dominated the league, winning 25 of the first 45 Stanley Cup championships, with the Habs winning 15 and the Leafs winning 10. Detroit is next with 7 Cups and the Bruins, Hawks and Rangers each have won 3 championships. __________________ MY CURRENT FM19 DYNASTY - FM19: "Ludere causa Ludendi - To Play for the Sake of Playing" - Queen's Park FC (Scottish League Two) MY OLD FM11 DYNASTY - FM11: From Semi-Pro Minnows to the EPL - Dover Athletic FC My Personal Blog - Now on the Tee - Golf, Sports, Poker, Life 2006 GOLDEN SCRIBE AWARD WINNER FOR BEST 'OTHER SPORT' DYNASTY - EHM2005: Sharpening Swords in Buffalo

10-02-2015, 11:31 PM	#5
NoSkillz College Benchwarmer Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: St. Catharines, Canada	1962-63 NHL SEASON RECAP The 1962-63 NHL season was defined by injuries to star players. Gordie Howe had two long-term injuries during the year and only suited up in 49 games as a result. Other stalwarts such as Norm Ullman, Bobby Hull and Johnny Bower missed significant time and young Rangers star Jean Ratelle ruptured his MCL in January and likely won’t return to action well into next year. It was an incredibly tight race during the regular season and went right down to the final day, with Detroit topping the standings for the first time since 1956-57 by a single point over both Montreal and Toronto. Chicago surprisingly missed out on the post-season as they ended up one point behind fourth placed Boston while the Rangers struggled all year, finishing with only 22 wins and 55 points. Montreal’s classy pivot Jean Beliveau led the league in point scoring with 78, Toronto’s Frank Mahovlich was the goal scoring leader with 39 while Chicago’s Stan Mikita led the league in assists with 48. Detroit goaltender Terry Sawchuk played all 70 games and won 34 of them to lead the league in that category while Montreal star Jacques Plante was the goals against average leader at 2.20. While Detroit ended up on top in the regular season, pundits still felt the favourite in the Stanley Cup playoffs would be Toronto, the defending champs and also felt Montreal would be their biggest threat. Unfortunately for Toronto, they had to face the Habs in the semi-finals and would lose four games to two. In the other semi-final, the Boston Bruins absolutely stunned the first place Red Wings, sweeping them in four games straight to move onto the finals. It was a real stellar final as well, going to a dramatic seventh game. In that deciding match, the Bruins would jump out to a 2-0 first period lead but the Canadiens would fight back with six unanswered goals on their way to a 7-3 game seven win and their record 16th Stanley Cup championship! 1962-63 Stanley Cup Champions - MONTREAL CANADIENS Johnny Bucyk was the main reason for Boston’s post-season success, as he led all players in playoff goals (10) and points (16). Montreal was led by goaltender Jacques Plante, who had a sparkling 1.89 goals against average during the playoffs and just like the regular season, the club was led up front by Jean Beliveau, who had an NHL best 9 post-season assists along with 15 points, one back of Bucyk. Beliveau (70gp 32g 46a 78pts 74pim +7) would be the big winner when the 1962-63 NHL Awards were announced, as he was given the Hart Trophy for being the league’s most valuable player while also nabbing the Art Ross Trophy for scoring the most points during the regular season. The James Norris Trophy for best defenseman went to Chicago’s Pierre Pilote (70gp 14g 30a 44pts 119pim +15) and the Vezina Trophy for best goaltender deservedly went to Montreal’s Jacques Plante (63gp 33-21-7 2.20gaa .917%). Finally, the Calder Memorial Trophy for rookie of the year was awarded to Boston’s 23 year old winger Tommy Williams (62gp 8g 24a 32pts 26pim +3). The Hockey Hall of Fame added one new member in June, with goaltender Harry Lumley (803gp 330-329-142 2.76gaa) gaining induction after a 16 year career spent with New York, Detroit, Chicago, Toronto and Boston. 1962-63 Highest Salaried Player: Jean Beliveau (Montreal) - $37,500/year 1962-63 Hockey News Player Poll Best Skater: Bobby Hull (Chicago) Hardest Shot: Doug Harvey (New York Rangers) Smartest Player: Andy Bathgate (New York Rangers) Toughest Player: Bobby Baun (Toronto) Fastest Player: Bobby Hull (Chicago) Best Role Model: Dave Keon (Toronto) Cleanest Player: Dave Keon (Toronto) Toughest Goalie to Beat: Terry Sawchuk (Detroit) Every year, a number of key players hang up their skates for good and this year, we celebrate the retirement of ”Terrible” Ted Lindsay (1033gp 370g 463a 833pts 1668pim -4), one of the great characters in the game. ************************************************ WHAT REALLY HAPPENED IN 1962-63? Regular Season Winners: Toronto Maple Leafs - 82 Points Stanley Cup Champions: Toronto Maple Leafs (Defeat Detroit Red Wings 4 games to 1) Most Goals: Gordie Howe (Detroit) - 38 Most Assists: Henri Richard (Montreal) - 50 Most Points: Gordie Howe (Detroit) - 86 Most Wins: Glenn Hall (Chicago) - 30 Goals Against Average: Don Simmons (Toronto) - 2.46 Art Ross Trophy (Most Points): Gordie Howe (Detroit) Calder Memorial Trophy (Rookie of the Year): Kent Douglas (Toronto) Hart Memorial Trophy (Most Valuable Player): Gordie Howe (Detroit) James Norris Memorial Trophy (Best Defenseman): Pierre Pilote (Chicago) Vezina Trophy (Best Goaltender): Glenn Hall (Chicago) ********************************************** __________________ MY CURRENT FM19 DYNASTY - FM19: "Ludere causa Ludendi - To Play for the Sake of Playing" - Queen's Park FC (Scottish League Two) MY OLD FM11 DYNASTY - FM11: From Semi-Pro Minnows to the EPL - Dover Athletic FC My Personal Blog - Now on the Tee - Golf, Sports, Poker, Life 2006 GOLDEN SCRIBE AWARD WINNER FOR BEST 'OTHER SPORT' DYNASTY -** EHM2005: Sharpening Swords in Buffalo Last edited by NoSkillz : 10-02-2015 at 11:58 PM.

10-03-2015, 10:36 PM	#6
NoSkillz College Benchwarmer Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: St. Catharines, Canada	1963-1964 SEASON 1963 NHL AMATEUR DRAFT It was an exciting moment for the NHL, as the league conducted its first ever universal amateur draft on June 5, 1963 at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal. The Amateur Draft was instituted by NHL President Clarence Campbell as a means of phasing out the sponsorship of amateur teams by the league's member clubs. The NHL wanted to create what Campbell called "a uniform opportunity for each team to acquire a star player." Prior to the creation of the draft, NHL teams would sponsor amateur teams and players, pre-empting other NHL clubs from acquiring new, young talent, and limiting amateur players' prospects in the NHL to the team which sponsored them. A four-round, 24 player draft was conducted and the top choice was 19 year old Montreal native Bernie Parent, arguably the best goaltending prospect in the class. The New York Rangers were able to pick him based on their last place finish in the league in 1962-63. Being the first ever NHL Draft, for posterity purposes, we’ll list the results of the entire draft: FIRST ROUND - 1. New York Rangers - Bernie Parent, Goaltender, Canada 2. Chicago Black Hawks - Tony Esposito, Goaltender, Canada 3. Boston Bruins - Andre Lacroix, Centre, Canada 4. Toronto Maple Leafs - Dennis Hextall, Centre, Canada 5. Montreal Canadiens - Ted Irvine, Left Wing, Canada 6. Detroit Red Wings - Wayne Maki, Left Wing, Canada SECOND ROUND - 7. New York Rangers - Bob Berry, Left Wing, Canada 8. Chicago Black Hawks - Bert Marshall, Defense, Canada 9. Boston Bruins - Bill Flett, Right Wing, Canada 10. Toronto Maple Leafs - Ken Block, Defense, Canada 11. Montreal Canadiens - Danny O’Shea, Centre, Canada 12. Detroit Red Wings - Bob Paradise, Defense, USA THIRD ROUND - 13. New York Rangers - Lars-Erik Sjoberg, Defense, Sweden 14. Chicago Black Hawks - Andre Hinse, Left Wing, Canada 15. Boston Bruins - Stan Gilbertson, Left Wing, USA 16. Toronto Maple Leafs - Glen Sather, Left Wing, Canada 17. Montreal Canadiens - Doug Favell, Goaltender, Canada 18. Detroit Red Wings - Doug Roberts, Right Wing, USA FOURTH ROUND - 19. New York Rangers - Ron Ward, Centre, Canada 20. Chicago Black Hawks - Vaclav Nedomansky, Right Wing, Czechoslovakia 21. Boston Bruins - Wayne Stephenson, Goaltender, Canada 22. Toronto Maple Leafs - Bryan Watson, Defense, Canada 23. Montreal Canadiens - Larry Johnston, Defense, Canada 24. Detroit Red Wings - Ron Huston, Centre, Canada 1963-64 NHL SEASON PREVIEW There was only one notable change in the NHL as the 1963/64 season approached and of course that was the first ever NHL Amateur Draft, which I just covered. There was also a pretty big trade announced during the offseason, as the Toronto Maple Leafs shipped out very promising 22 year old goaltending prospect Gerry Cheevers, along with another young keeper Ken Broderick while getting back 27 year old defenseman Al MacNeil and 22 year old winger Doug Robinson in return. Cheevers was behind veteran and Leafs fan favourite Johnny Bower and they also have 19 year old top prospect Gary Smith so they obviously valued the younger Smith more than Cheevers. Still, the return looks a bit suspect, as the big piece coming back, MacNeil, is just a #3 or #4 defenseman by my reckoning. The Stanley Cup favourites continue to be the Toronto Maple Leafs, who continue to be led by defenseman Red Kelly and challenges are expected to come from Montreal and the Chicago Black Hawks, featuring centre Stan Mikita. The Boston Bruins are considered a darkhorse contender but will need a big season from Johnny Bucyk if they are to challenge the top dogs. Top candidates in the scoring race will be the aforementioned Mikita, Montreal’s Jean Beliveau and Detroit’s Gordie Howe. The top defencemen in the league are considered to be Doug Harvey, Red Kelly and Chicago’s Pierre Pilote while the top goaltenders include Montreal’s Jacques Plante, Detroit’s Terry Sawchuk and Chicago’s Glenn Hall. The notable 17 year olds entering this universe in 1963 include Gary Croteau, Gary Doak, Danny Grant, Bill Heindl, Craig Patrick, Dick Proceviat, Derek Sanderson, Dick Sarrazin, Dennis Kearns, Serge Savard, Jacques Lemaire, Nick Libett, Rod Zaine, Jean Pronovost and Carol Vadnais. __________________ MY CURRENT FM19 DYNASTY - FM19: "Ludere causa Ludendi - To Play for the Sake of Playing" - Queen's Park FC (Scottish League Two) MY OLD FM11 DYNASTY - FM11: From Semi-Pro Minnows to the EPL - Dover Athletic FC My Personal Blog - Now on the Tee - Golf, Sports, Poker, Life 2006 GOLDEN SCRIBE AWARD WINNER FOR BEST 'OTHER SPORT' DYNASTY - EHM2005: Sharpening Swords in Buffalo Last edited by NoSkillz : 10-03-2015 at 11:30 PM.

10-03-2015, 11:39 PM	#7
NoSkillz College Benchwarmer Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: St. Catharines, Canada	1963-64 NHL SEASON RECAP Once again, injuries took a toll on many of the top stars in the league, with players like Frank Mahovlich (16 games missed), Bobby Hull (11 games missed) and Pierre Pilote (11 games missed) all missing significant time. The Toronto Maple Leafs shook off a horrendous early season slump that saw them in the bottom two for most of October and November and went on a huge late season tear to end up with 84 points and top spot in the league. The Montreal Canadiens rode a tidy defence to 80 points and second place, The Black Hawks finished third with 74 points and the Red Wings finished comfortably in the fourth and final playoff position with 67 points. The Boston Bruins disappointed only one year after their shocking Stanley Cup finals appearance, ending up in fifth with 58 points, a single point ahead of last placed New York Rangers, who finished at the bottom for the second consecutive season. Chicago’s top line dominated the NHL scoring race, as centre Stan Mikita led the league in points (77) and assists (53). His flashy winger Bobby Hull was the goal scoring leader with 40 despite missing 11 games. Toronto veteran goaltender Johnny Bower won 31 games to lead the NHL in that category and once again, it was Montreal star Jacques Plante winning the goals against average title at 2.38. Early betting for the Stanley Cup playoffs was in favour of regular season champs Toronto, with captain Dave Keon leading the way but the Leafs got very bad news just prior to the start of the playoffs, as 34 year old defenceman Tim Horton suffered a strained triceps muscle just before the postseason began. The major threats to Toronto would likely come from Chicago and perhaps Montreal. Indeed, the Leafs were in tough against the Detroit Red Wings and the series went a full seven games but Red Kelly and Bob Nevin both scored twice in a 5-3 series clinching win for Toronto to send them to the finals. In the other semi, the Chicago Black Hawks dismantled the vaunted Montreal Canadiens in four straight games, sending the defending Stanley Cup champions to the first tee a couple weeks earlier than expected. And the Hawks would prove that series win was no fluke, as they ran right over the Maple Leafs as well in four straight games to win their 4th Stanley Cup Championship!! 1963-64 Stanley Cup Champions - CHICAGO BLACK HAWKS Stan Mikita, the regular season point scoring champion, once again led the way in the playoffs with 6 goals, 10 assists and 16 points, with all of those totals leading the league. At the 1963-64 NHL Awards ceremony, there was a slight upset when Rangers defenceman Doug Harvey was given the Hart Memorial Trophy for the league’s most valuable player. Harvey (70gp 9g 33a 42pts 144pim +2) certainly is the heart and soul for the Rangers but rarely do you see someone from the last placed team win the MVP award. As indicated earlier, Chicago’s Stan Mikita (63gp 24g 53a 77pts 46pim +29) won the Art Ross Trophy as the regular season points leader and the James Norris Trophy for best defenceman went to Toronto’s Red Kelly (70gp 9g 43a 52pts 24pim +15). Despite seeing his incredible ironman streak of consecutive games played end this year, Glenn Hall (64gp 27-21-14 2.44 .916%) was awarded with the Vezina Trophy for best goaltender. Hall had played in all 70 games for an incredible 8 years in a row prior to this season! Finally, the Calder Memorial Trophy for rookie of the year was awarded to Chicago’s 24 year old defender Ed Van Impe (70gp 5g 13a 18pts 48pim +11). There were no new additions to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1964. 1963-64 Highest Salaried Player: Jean Beliveau (Montreal) - $37,500/year Last Year: Jean Beliveau* (Montreal) - $37,500/year* 1963-64 Hockey News Player Poll Best Skater: Bobby Hull (Chicago) Hardest Shot: Doug Harvey (New York Rangers) Smartest Player: Andy Bathgate (New York Rangers) Toughest Player: Bobby Baun (Toronto) Fastest Player: Bobby Hull (Chicago) Best Role Model: Dave Keon (Toronto) Cleanest Player: Dave Keon (Toronto) Toughest Goalie to Beat: Terry Sawchuk (Detroit) A couple of notable Habs retired at the end of the year. Former star winger Bernie Geoffrion (740gp 338g 372a 710pts 606pim +4) is only four years removed from being the second player in NHL history to ever score 50 goals in a season but he only scored 11 goals combined in his last two years and retired at the age of 33. Teammate Dickie “Digger” Moore (627gp 237g 325a 562pts 526pim -1) also hangs up his skates for good. ************************************************ WHAT REALLY HAPPENED IN 1963-64? Top Three Draft Picks: 1st Overall: Garry Monahan, Centre, Montreal Canadiens 2nd Overall: Peter Mahovlich, Right Wing, Detroit Red Wings 3rd Overall: Orest Romashyna, Left Wing, Boston Bruins Regular Season Winners: Montreal Canadiens - 85 Points Stanley Cup Champions: Toronto Maple Leafs (Defeat Detroit Red Wings 4 games to 3) Most Goals: Bobby Hull (Chicago) - 43 Most Assists: Andy Bathgate (NYR/TOR) - 58 Most Points: Stan Mikita (Chicago) - 89 Most Wins: Glenn Hall (Chicago) - 34 Goals Against Average: Johnny Bower (Toronto) - 2.11 Art Ross Trophy (Most Points): Stan Mikita (Chicago) Calder Memorial Trophy (Rookie of the Year): Jacques Laperriere (Montreal) Hart Memorial Trophy (Most Valuable Player): Jean Beliveau (Montreal) James Norris Memorial Trophy (Best Defenseman): Pierre Pilote (Chicago) Vezina Trophy (Best Goaltender): Charlie Hodge (Montreal) ********************************************** __________________ MY CURRENT FM19 DYNASTY - FM19: "Ludere causa Ludendi - To Play for the Sake of Playing" - Queen's Park FC (Scottish League Two) MY OLD FM11 DYNASTY - FM11: From Semi-Pro Minnows to the EPL - Dover Athletic FC My Personal Blog - Now on the Tee - Golf, Sports, Poker, Life 2006 GOLDEN SCRIBE AWARD WINNER FOR BEST 'OTHER SPORT' DYNASTY -** EHM2005: Sharpening Swords in Buffalo

10-04-2015, 09:52 PM	#8
NoSkillz College Benchwarmer Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: St. Catharines, Canada	1964-1965 SEASON 1964 NHL AMATEUR DRAFT Once again, a four-round, 24 player draft was conducted and the top choice once again was a Montreal boy, this time 19 year old defender Serge Savard, who was nabbed by the New York Rangers. Here is how the first round went: FIRST ROUND - 1. New York Rangers - Serge Savard, Defence, Canada 2. Boston Bruins - Carol Vadnais, Defence, Canada 3. Detroit Red Wings - Rogie Vachon, Goaltender, Canada 4. Chicago Black Hawks - Jacques Lemaire, Centre, Canada 5. Montreal Canadiens - Jean Pronovost, Right Wing, Canada 6. Toronto Maple Leafs - Derek Sanderson, Centre, Canada Other top prospects selected included Rosaire Paiement (8th overall to Boston) and Craig Patrick (13th overall to New York). 1964-65 NHL SEASON PREVIEW Rules changes for the 1964-65 season included no body contact on face-offs and in the playoffs, each team was to have its substitute goaltender dressed in his regular uniform except for leg pads and body protector. All previous rules governing standby goaltenders were terminated. The league also added a new trophy for awards night, with the Conn Smythe Trophy being presented to the outstanding player in the Stanley Cup playoffs each year. Like last year, this new season opened with a major trade, as long-time Red Wings star Alex Delvecchio was moved to the New York Rangers for 31 year old winger Dean Prentice, 25 year old defender Dave Amadio and 28 year old winger Pat Hannigan. Delvecchio had played 14 seasons for Detroit, accumulating 645 points during that time. However, he was coming off his worst professional season in a decade, with only 34 points in 70 games and obviously the Wings were looking to get a bit younger. Prentice is the main piece coming back and he is no slouch, having amassed 502 points during his 12 seasons in New York and he was coming off a solid 60 point season in 63/64. Seems like a pretty fair deal. The Stanley Cup favourites are the defending champion Chicago Black Hawks behind their powerhouse top line. Toronto and Montreal are considered to be the main challengers. The main dark horse pick once again is the Boston Bruins. Top candidates in the scoring race are Stan Mikita and Bobby Hull from Chicago along with Detroit’s Gordie Howe. The top defencemen in the league are considered to be Rangers blue liner Doug Harvey, Red Kelly and Chicago’s Pierre Pilote while the top goaltenders include Montreal’s Jacques Plante, Detroit’s Terry Sawchuk and Chicago’s Glenn Hall. The notable 17 year olds entering this universe in 1963 include Ray Adduono, Robin Burns, Chris Evans, Lucien Grenier, Serge Bernier, Cliff Koroll, J.P. LeBlanc, Pete Mahovlich, Don McLeod, Gerry Meehan, Garry Monahan, Bob Murdoch, Bob Sicinski, Grant Erickson, Bill Fairbairn, Rick Pagnutti, Keith Magnuson, Don Marcotte, Walt McKechnie and Larry Pleau. __________________ MY CURRENT FM19 DYNASTY - FM19: "Ludere causa Ludendi - To Play for the Sake of Playing" - Queen's Park FC (Scottish League Two) MY OLD FM11 DYNASTY - FM11: From Semi-Pro Minnows to the EPL - Dover Athletic FC My Personal Blog - Now on the Tee - Golf, Sports, Poker, Life 2006 GOLDEN SCRIBE AWARD WINNER FOR BEST 'OTHER SPORT' DYNASTY - EHM2005: Sharpening Swords in Buffalo Last edited by NoSkillz : 10-04-2015 at 10:48 PM.

10-02-2015, 11:24 PM	#4
NoSkillz College Benchwarmer Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: St. Catharines, Canada	1962-63 NHL SEASON PREVIEW The pundits expect Toronto to contend for a second consecutive championship behind stalwart defenceman Red Kelly and challenges are expected to come from Montreal and Bobby Hull’s Chicago Black Hawks. The NY Rangers are considered a darkhorse contender but will need a big season from Doug Harvey if they are to challenge the top dogs. Top candidates in the scoring race will be the aforementioned Hull, Montreal’s Jean Beliveau and Detroit’s Gordie Howe. The top defencemen in the league are considered to be Harvey, Kelly and Chicago’s Pierre Pilote while the top goaltenders include Montreal’s Jacques Plante, Detroit’s Terry Sawchuk and Chicago’s ironman Glenn Hall. The notable 17 year olds entering this universe in 1962 include Wayne Cashman, Ron Ellis, Dennis Hull, Ted Irvine, Andre Lacroix, Jacques Lemaire, Wayne Maki, Gilles Marotte, Rosaire Paiement, Bernie Parent, Bobby Schmaultz, Rod Seiling, Rogie Vachon and Mike Walton. __________________ MY CURRENT FM19 DYNASTY - FM19: "Ludere causa Ludendi - To Play for the Sake of Playing" - Queen's Park FC (Scottish League Two) MY OLD FM11 DYNASTY - FM11: From Semi-Pro Minnows to the EPL - Dover Athletic FC My Personal Blog - Now on the Tee - Golf, Sports, Poker, Life 2006 GOLDEN SCRIBE AWARD WINNER FOR BEST 'OTHER SPORT' DYNASTY - EHM2005: Sharpening Swords in Buffalo Last edited by NoSkillz : 10-02-2015 at 11:24 PM.

10-04-2015, 10:37 PM	#9
NoSkillz College Benchwarmer Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: St. Catharines, Canada	1964-65 NHL SEASON RECAP Disaster struck Black Hawks great Pierre Pilote, who would suffer a broken kneecap and miss all but 26 games this season, including the entire playoffs. Other players missing significant time include Terry Sawchuk (15 games missed), Carl Brewer (24 games missed) and Doug Harvey (11 games missed). Speaking of which, a number of players missed action due to injuries “sustained in fights” according to the news sections and in every case, upon checking the box scores, the player in question never got into a fight. Bug alert!! The Toronto Maple Leafs were the class of the NHL for a second consecutive season, compiling 94 points and a plus 65 goal differential to win the regular season race by 19 points over second placed Chicago. The Montreal Canadiens finished one point further back with 74 and the Boston Bruins grabbed the final playoff spot with 68 points. The Detroit Red Wings finished fifth with 56 points and the New York Rangers once again finished dead last with 53 points. Chicago’s dynamic duo of Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita dominated scoresheets once again, with Hull leading the NHL points race with 85 while Mikita was the top assist man with 57 helpers on the season. Classy Montreal pivot Jean Beliveau was the goal scoring leader with 46. Toronto veteran goaltender Johnny Bower won 33 games to lead the NHL in that category for a second straight year and he also won the goals against average title with a 2.45 mark. Despite winning the league by a substantial margin, the Maple Leafs were not the consensus choice to win the Cup, with bettors favouring the defending champion Black Hawks instead, despite the fact that star defender Pierre Pilote would miss the entire playoffs due to injury. Once again, the betting public seemed to know what would transpire, as the Boston Bruins ousted the regular season champion Leafs in five games, the second shocking upset in three years from the upstart Bruins. In the other semi, it was Chicago getting past Montreal in six games. The Stanley Cup final was another classic, as the pesky Bruins took the Hawks to a seventh and deciding game. The powerful Black Hawks stormed out to a 4-1 lead but two third period goals by Boston made the final few minutes tense. However, Chicago was able to hold them off to win 4-3 in both the game and the series to take their second consecutive Stanley Cup and 5th in franchise history! 1964-65 Stanley Cup Champions - CHICAGO BLACK HAWKS The first ever Conn Smythe Trophy for outstanding player in the Stanley Cup playoffs was awarded to 23 year old star prospect Phil Esposito, who led all players in playoff goals (8) and points (17) while his 9 assists tied for top spot. Esposito had only played in 18 regular season games over his first two years in the league and after this playoff and a fine regular season (70gp 23g 24a 47pts 53pim -7), it was clear for all to see that he was a star in the making on a very prolific Black Hawks team. At the 1964-65 NHL Awards ceremony, it was 25 year old centre Stan Mikita (70gp 25g 57a 82pts 72pim +18) winning the Hart Memorial Trophy for the league’s most valuable player. Linemate Bobby Hull (63gp 42g 43a 85pts 31pim +15) won the Art Ross Trophy as the regular season points leader and the James Norris Trophy for best defenceman went to Toronto tough guy Bob Baun (70gp 4g 31a 35pts 131pim +19). Montreal’s 36 year old keeper Jacques Plante (59gp 24-22-10 2.74 .901%) was awarded with the Vezina Trophy for best goaltender in an upset over Leafs goaltender Johnny Bower Finally, the Calder Memorial Trophy for rookie of the year was awarded to Montreal’s 24 year old winger/defender Jimmy Roberts (56gp 5g 4a 9pts 37pim -5). Talk about a very weak choice for rookie of the year…I think the game code might need a bit of work here but with the game lacking the ability to filter stats by rookie status (a clear oversight in my opinion), I can’t see if there are any clear choices ahead of Roberts. There were no new additions to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1965. 1964-65 Highest Salaried Player: Bobby Hull (Chicago) - $95,000/year Last Year: Jean Beliveau* (Montreal) - $37,500/year* 1964-65 Hockey News Player Poll (third year in a row with no changes) Best Skater: Bobby Hull (Chicago) Hardest Shot: Doug Harvey (New York Rangers) Smartest Player: Andy Bathgate (New York Rangers) Toughest Player: Bobby Baun (Toronto) Fastest Player: Bobby Hull (Chicago) Best Role Model: Dave Keon (Toronto) Cleanest Player: Dave Keon (Toronto) Toughest Goalie to Beat: Terry Sawchuk (Detroit) No one of note retired from the league after the 64-65 season. ************************************************ WHAT REALLY HAPPENED IN 1964-65? Top Three Draft Picks: 1st Overall: Claude Gauthier, Right Wing, Detroit Red Wings 2nd Overall: Alex Campbell, Right Wing, Boston Bruins 3rd Overall: Bob Graham, Defence, New York Rangers Regular Season Winners: Detroit Red Wings - 87 Points Stanley Cup Champions: Montreal Canadiens (Defeat Chicago Black Hawks 4 games to 3) Most Goals: Norm Ullman (Detroit) - 42 Most Assists: Stan Mikita (Chicago) - 59 Most Points: Stan Mikita (Chicago) - 87 Most Wins: Roger Crozier (Detroit) - 40 Goals Against Average: Johnny Bower (Toronto) - 2.38 Art Ross Trophy (Most Points): Stan Mikita (Chicago) Calder Memorial Trophy (Rookie of the Year): Roger Crozier (Detroit) Hart Memorial Trophy (Most Valuable Player): Bobby Hull (Chicago) James Norris Memorial Trophy (Best Defenseman): Pierre Pilote (Chicago) Vezina Trophy (Best Goaltender): Johnny Bower and Terry Sawchuk (Toronto) ********************************************** __________________ MY CURRENT FM19 DYNASTY - FM19: "Ludere causa Ludendi - To Play for the Sake of Playing" - Queen's Park FC (Scottish League Two) MY OLD FM11 DYNASTY - FM11: From Semi-Pro Minnows to the EPL - Dover Athletic FC My Personal Blog - Now on the Tee - Golf, Sports, Poker, Life 2006 GOLDEN SCRIBE AWARD WINNER FOR BEST 'OTHER SPORT' DYNASTY -** EHM2005: Sharpening Swords in Buffalo Last edited by NoSkillz : 10-04-2015 at 10:38 PM.

10-04-2015, 10:52 PM	#10
NoSkillz College Benchwarmer Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: St. Catharines, Canada	Again, as we go along, if anyone wants to hear about certain players or teams, let me know and I'll let you know how they are doing. I assume it will be a bit quiet until we hit the first league expansion, which is coming up in a couple years. __________________ MY CURRENT FM19 DYNASTY - FM19: "Ludere causa Ludendi - To Play for the Sake of Playing" - Queen's Park FC (Scottish League Two) MY OLD FM11 DYNASTY - FM11: From Semi-Pro Minnows to the EPL - Dover Athletic FC My Personal Blog - Now on the Tee - Golf, Sports, Poker, Life 2006 GOLDEN SCRIBE AWARD WINNER FOR BEST 'OTHER SPORT' DYNASTY - EHM2005: Sharpening Swords in Buffalo

10-05-2015, 09:20 PM	#11
Wolfpack Pro Rookie Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Raleigh, NC	How do you intend to handle the expansion? I'm assuming you'll keep the East/West split that came with it with the Original Six in one division and the expansion teams in the other, but will the expansion teams be created as they were in 1967 or will that have to be left to the hands of fate and expansion drafts and whatnot?

10-05-2015, 09:49 PM	#13
NoSkillz College Benchwarmer Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: St. Catharines, Canada	1965-1966 SEASON 1965 NHL AMATEUR DRAFT There was one change for the third-ever NHL Amateur Draft and that was to change the qualifying age for players to 18 from 17. Essentially, that meant a relatively weaker draft pool in 1965. However, there were still a couple of highly regarded prospects available, as the first round would attest… This time, there were only two rounds and 12 total selections due to the smaller draft pool. The first choice was 18 year old Timmons, Ontario native Pete Mahovlich, who was selected by the last place New York Rangers. Here is how the first round went: FIRST ROUND - 1. New York Rangers - Pete Mahovlich, Centre, Canada 2. Detroit Red Wings - Don Marcotte, Left Wing, Canada 3. Boston Bruins - Bob Murdoch, Defense, Canada 4. Montreal Canadiens - Bill Fairbairn, Right Wing, Canada 5. Chicago Black Hawks - Cliff Koroll, Right Wing, Canada 6. Toronto Maple Leafs - Serge Bernier, Centre, Canada Other top prospects selected included Gerry Meehan (8th overall to Detroit) and Brian Glennie (10th overall to Montreal). 1965-66 NHL SEASON PREVIEW The big news coming out of the league offices in July of 1965 was that expansion was around the corner, with plans to have a second, six-team division begin play in 1967-68. There was no word at the time about which cities would be granted expansion franchises but speculation was rampant. Rules changes for the 1965-66 season included a requirement for all teams to dress two goaltenders for each regular season game and the maximum stick length was increased to 55 inches. The Stanley Cup favourites are the two-time defending champion Chicago Black Hawks behind their powerhouse top line, led by Stan Mikita. Toronto and Montreal are once again considered to be the main challengers. The main dark horse pick once again is the Boston Bruins. Top candidates in the scoring race will Stan Mikita and Bobby Hull from Chicago along with Detroit’s Gordie Howe. The top defencemen in the league are considered to be Rangers blue liner Doug Harvey, Chicago’s Pierre Pilote and a newcomer to the defense list, Rangers blue liner Harry Howell. The top goaltenders continue to be Montreal’s Jacques Plante, Detroit’s Terry Sawchuk and Chicago’s Glenn Hall. The notable 17 year olds entering this universe in 1965 include Thommie Bergman, Christian Bordeleau, Curt Bennett, Pierre Bouchard, Ken Desjardine, Jim Dorey, Ken Dryden, Tim Ecclestone, Andre Gaudette, Kerry Ketter, Danny Lawson, Rene Leclerc, Mike Pelyk, Mickey Redmond, Seppo Repo, Walt Tkaczuk, Garry Unger, Bill Young, Hugh Harris, Gerry Hart, Ed Kea, Guy Lapointe, John Marks, Lyle Moffat, Rick Newell, Mike Robitaille, Brad Selwood, Rick Smith, Pat Westrum, Barry Wilcox and a young, highly touted defense prospect named Bobby Orr. Business is about to pick up in the National Hockey League! __________________ MY CURRENT FM19 DYNASTY - FM19: "Ludere causa Ludendi - To Play for the Sake of Playing" - Queen's Park FC (Scottish League Two) MY OLD FM11 DYNASTY - FM11: From Semi-Pro Minnows to the EPL - Dover Athletic FC My Personal Blog - Now on the Tee - Golf, Sports, Poker, Life 2006 GOLDEN SCRIBE AWARD WINNER FOR BEST 'OTHER SPORT' DYNASTY - EHM2005: Sharpening Swords in Buffalo Last edited by NoSkillz : 10-05-2015 at 09:50 PM.

10-05-2015, 10:34 PM	#14
NoSkillz College Benchwarmer Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: St. Catharines, Canada	1965-66 NHL SEASON RECAP There was a refreshing “changing of the guard” during the 1965-66 campaign, with long-time NHL powerhouse Toronto running into major injury crisis throughout the season, most notably losing long-time winger George Armstrong for 10 months due to a torn elbow ligament. Many more of their stars got hurt for periods during the year and the Leafs, the NHL’s best regular season team for two years in a row, would fall all the way into the basement by the time the 1965-66 season ended. That said, there were only 18 points that separated first place Chicago from last place Toronto, so things were very tight this year. The Hawks would finish with 79 points to win the division by eight points over Montreal. New blood arrived in the playoff race in the form of the rebuilding New York Rangers, who had a stranglehold on last place for a few years but picking first overall in the NHL draft for three years straight finally started to pay off for the team from Broadway. The race for the fourth and final playoff spot went right to the last day of the season, with the Boston Bruins edging Detroit by a single point. Scoring was up during the year and many new records were set, none more impressive than Chicago’s dynamic winger Bobby Hull becoming the first player in NHL history to notch over 100 points in a single season! He was able to finally stay healthy all year and in his 70 games, he was able to notch an incredible 105 points. His 50 goals also led the league and tied his own NHL record he holds with Bernie Geoffrion and Maurice Richard. Linemate Stan Mikita also set a new NHL record for assists with 59 and plus/minus with +47. Chicago continued to dominate the stat sheet in net as well, as Glenn Hall had league bests in wins (32), goals against average (2.50), games played (67) and shutouts (8). Regular season champs and two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago were expected to once again steamroll the competition in the 65/66 playoffs, with pundits feeling Montreal was the only team capable of stopping them. Both Chicago and Montreal would lose key players to injury as the playoffs began, with Chicago’s young star Phil Esposito and Montreal’s veteran pivot Jean Beliveau both suffering season-ending ailments. Despite those losses, the Black Hawks were able to easily dispose of Boston in five games in the first semi-final while the Canadiens had to battle hard to eliminate the Cinderella story of 1965/66, the New York Rangers in a seven game classic. In yet another wonderful Stanley Cup final, the Hawks and the Habs went right down to the wire and a deciding seventh game at old Chicago Stadium. The Hawks would score four unanswered goals in the first period on their way to a 4-3 series clinching victory to nab their third straight Stanley Cup title. A dynasty is in the works in Chicago!! 1965-66 Stanley Cup Champions - CHICAGO BLACK HAWKS (THREE STRAIGHT CUPS) The Conn Smythe Trophy for outstanding player in the Stanley Cup playoffs was awarded to Stan Mikita, who notched 22 points in his 12 playoff games, tying line mate Bobby Hull at the top of the stats list. Mikita’s 15 assists were also a league high while Hull’s 10 goals in 12 games paced all players in the playoffs. At the 1965-66 NHL Awards ceremony, it was the Bobby Hull show, as the 27 year old superstar claimed the Hart Memorial Trophy for the league’s most valuable player and the Art Ross Trophy for most points in the regular season (70gp 50g 55a 105pts 37pim +46). The James Norris Trophy for best defenseman went to Chicago’s Pierre Pilote (70gp 11g 35a 46pts 52pim +19), who came back from only playing 26 games the previous year to win this coveted award at 34 years young. The awards continued to go Chicago’s way and deservedly so in this case, as 34 year old keeper Glenn Hall (67gp 32-21-11 2.50 .904%) was awarded with the Vezina Trophy for best goaltender after dominating all major stat categories this season. Finally, the Calder Memorial Trophy for rookie of the year was awarded to Boston’s 25 year old centre Bob Leiter (68gp 15g 33a 48pts 67pim +5), a solid choice after a couple years of weak rookie winners. Rangers future star Pete Mahovlich stayed with the big club all season and the 1st overall pick in this year’s draft had 16 points in 48 games, giving a glimpse of what could come in future years. There were no new additions to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1966. 1965-66 Highest Salaried Player: Bobby Hull (Chicago) - $95,000/year Last Year: Bobby Hull* (Chicago) - $95,000/year* 1965-66 Hockey News Player Poll ( designates new choices over last year) Best Skater: Bobby Hull (Chicago) Hardest Shot: Pierre Pilote (Chicago) Smartest Player: Alex Delvecchio (New York Rangers) Toughest Player: Bobby Baun (Toronto) Fastest Player: Bobby Hull (Chicago) Best Role Model: Dave Keon (Toronto) Cleanest Player: Dave Keon (Toronto) Toughest Goalie to Beat: Jacques Plante (Detroit) No one of note retired from the league after the 65-66 season. ************************************************ WHAT REALLY HAPPENED IN 1965-66? Top Three Draft Picks: 1st Overall: Andre Veilleux, Right Wing, New York Rangers 2nd Overall: Andy Culligan, Forward, Chicago Black Hawks 3rd Overall: George Forgie, Defence, Detroit Red Wings Regular Season Winners: Montreal Canadiens - 90 Points Stanley Cup Champions: Montreal Canadiens (Defeat Detroit Red Wings 4 games to 2) Most Goals: Bobby Hull (Chicago) - 54 Most Assists: Stan Mikita (Chicago), Bobby Rousseau (Montreal) & Jean Beliveau (Montreal) - 48 Most Points: Bobby Hull (Chicago) - 97 Most Wins: Glenn Hall (Chicago) - 34 Goals Against Average: Johnny Bower (Toronto) - 2.25 Art Ross Trophy (Most Points): Bobby Hull (Chicago) Calder Memorial Trophy (Rookie of the Year): Brit Selby (Toronto) Hart Memorial Trophy (Most Valuable Player): Bobby Hull (Chicago) James Norris Memorial Trophy (Best Defenseman): Jacques Laperriere (Montreal) Vezina Trophy (Best Goaltender): Charlie Hodge and Gump Worsley (Montreal) ********************************************** __________________ MY CURRENT FM19 DYNASTY - FM19: "Ludere causa Ludendi - To Play for the Sake of Playing" - Queen's Park FC (Scottish League Two) MY OLD FM11 DYNASTY - FM11: From Semi-Pro Minnows to the EPL - Dover Athletic FC My Personal Blog - Now on the Tee - Golf, Sports, Poker, Life 2006 GOLDEN SCRIBE AWARD WINNER FOR BEST 'OTHER SPORT' DYNASTY -** EHM2005: Sharpening Swords in Buffalo Last edited by NoSkillz : 10-05-2015 at 10:36 PM.

10-05-2015, 11:43 PM	#15
NoSkillz College Benchwarmer Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: St. Catharines, Canada	1966-1967 SEASON 1966 NHL AMATEUR DRAFT The 1966 Amateur Draft shifted away from the Queen Elizabeth Hotel for the first time but stayed in Montreal, this time taking place at the Mount Royal Hotel. There were no changes to the draft ages this year so that meant a pretty strong class, especially at the top. The consensus choice for #1 was a young star defenseman from Parry Sound, Ontario and the hometown Toronto Maple Leafs, so strong in recent years but coming off a shocking last place (cough TANK cough) finish, couldn’t get to the podium quick enough. Indeed, the top selection in the 1966 draft would be Bobby Orr, as I throw up in my mouth seeing him end up on the Maple Leafs. Here is how the first round went in a remarkably strong draft: FIRST ROUND - 1. Toronto Maple Leafs - Bobby Orr, Defense, Canada 2. Detroit Red Wings - Ken Dryden, Goaltender, Canada 3. Boston Bruins - Mickey Redmond, Right Wing, Canada 4. New York Rangers - Guy Lapointe, Defense, Canada 5. Montreal Canadiens - Syl Apps, Centre, Canada 6. Chicago Black Hawks - Garry Unger, Centre, Canada Other top prospects selected included Gerry Hart (7th overall to Toronto), Pierre Bouchard (9th overall to Boston) and Keith Magnuson (16th overall to New York). 1966-67 NHL SEASON PREVIEW Expansion was only one year away and 14 applications for franchises were received by the NHL, including five from ownership groups in Los Angeles, two from Pittsburgh and one each from Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Philadelphia, San Francisco-Oakland, Baltimore, Buffalo and Vancouver. Rules changes for the 1966-67 season included allowing substitutions on coincidental major penalties and between period intermissions were set at 15 minutes. It’s been pretty customary to see a major deal or two prior to each season beginning and 1966 was no exception, as the three-time defending Cup champions Chicago traded young goaltending prospect Tony Esposito to Toronto in return for established players John Ferguson and long-time Leaf fan favourite George Armstong. Armstrong, at 35 years old, is still a capable player but was traded while still injured, a risky proposition for the Hawks in my opinion. He’d likely be out until early January while rehabbing his injured elbow. The deal made clear the fact that Chicago intended to keep making deals for the present and that meant they’d once again be the consensus favourite to hoist Lord Stanley’s Cup for the fourth consecutive year. Toronto and Montreal are once again considered to be the main challengers. The main dark horse pick once again is the Boston Bruins. Top candidates in the scoring race will Stan Mikita and Bobby Hull from Chicago along with Detroit’s Gordie Howe. No change here from the last number of years. The top defencemen in the league are considered to be Hawks blue liner Pierre Pilote, Rangers defender Doug Harvey and Boston’s Doug Mohns. The top goaltenders continue to be Montreal’s Jacques Plante, Detroit’s Terry Sawchuk and Chicago’s Glenn Hall. The notable 17 year olds entering this universe in 1966 include John Donnelly, Jude Drouin, Barry Gibbs, Jerry Korab, Rick Ley, Don Luce, Phil Myre, Brad Park, Gene Peacosh, Gerry Pinder, Rene Robert, Ron Snell, Dave Burrows, Terry Caffery, Guy Charron, Bob Girard, John Gould, Pierre Jarry, Keith Kokkola, Daryl Maggs, Randy Manery, John Migneault, Dennis O’Brien, Jean Potvin, Phil Roberto, Gregg Sheppard and Marc Tardif. __________________ MY CURRENT FM19 DYNASTY - FM19: "Ludere causa Ludendi - To Play for the Sake of Playing" - Queen's Park FC (Scottish League Two) MY OLD FM11 DYNASTY - FM11: From Semi-Pro Minnows to the EPL - Dover Athletic FC My Personal Blog - Now on the Tee - Golf, Sports, Poker, Life 2006 GOLDEN SCRIBE AWARD WINNER FOR BEST 'OTHER SPORT' DYNASTY - EHM2005: Sharpening Swords in Buffalo Last edited by NoSkillz : 10-05-2015 at 11:44 PM.

10-06-2015, 08:32 PM	#16
NoSkillz College Benchwarmer Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: St. Catharines, Canada	1966-67 NHL SEASON RECAP After seeing a bit of movement in the standings last year, things reverted a bit back to normal during the 1966-67 season, most notably with the dramatic falloff seen from the New York Rangers, who looked to have turned the corner last year only to fall back into the basement this year. There were only 18 points that separated the first and last placed teams last year but this year? 53 points difference!! Once again, it was Chicago dominating, becoming one of the few teams to reach the elusive 100 point barrier and on the way, they put up an incredible +90 goal differential. They were in a class by themselves, winning the league by 12 points over the Montreal Canadiens. The Leafs bounced back somewhat, finishing in third on the year after a frantic, late season charge, with rookie defenseman Bobby Orr leading the charge. More on him shortly. Detroit got back into the playoffs for the first time in a few years, edging the fifth place Bruins by two points. Scoring continued to increase and once again, no one did it better than Chicago and their top two players. Bobby Hull, now 28 years old, set NHL records right across the board, scoring 52 goals, adding 64 assists and notching 116 total points, blowing past the former records in all three categories. It was a truly dominating season for the “Golden Jet”, as he also led the league in shots (380) and plus/minus (+46). Hull would be rewarded late in the regular season with a monster seven year contract extension valued at $875,000, the largest deal in NHL history to that point. Chicago goaltender Glenn Hall continued to dominate at age 35, putting up 36 wins and 7 shutouts, both league highs while Jacques Plante from Montreal had the league low in goals against average at a minuscule 2.04. There is no guessing who the Stanley Cup favourite was as the playoffs approached, as three time defending champion Chicago showed no signs of slowing down whatsoever. Experts felt a rejuvenated Leafs team would offer them the most trouble. Indeed, Toronto would face Montreal in one semi-final and take them to a deciding seventh game, which saw the Leafs prevail on the road. They would have to face the vaunted Hawks, who eased past Detroit in five games in the other semi. There was some drama, however, as the league’s top player Bobby Hull sprained his thumb late in the Detroit series and would miss the entire final against Toronto. The result was yet another seven game nail-biter and the Leafs would draw first blood on a Ron Ellis 2nd period goal but the Hawks were not amused, scoring three unanswered goals to take game seven 3-1 and win their FOURTH straight Stanley Cup championship. 1966-67 Stanley Cup Champions - CHICAGO BLACK HAWKS (FOUR STRAIGHT CUPS) The Conn Smythe Trophy for outstanding player in the Stanley Cup playoffs was awarded to Stan Mikita for a second straight year. Mikita scored two goals and added 14 assists in his 12 games. Toronto’s Eddie Shack almost single-handedly brought the Leafs to the brink of a title, scoring a league-high 11 playoff goals. At the 1966-67 NHL Awards ceremony, the Hart Memorial Trophy for the league’s most valuable player went to the “straw that stirs the drink” in Chicago, Stan Mikita (70gp 40g 61a 101pts 40pim +45), a bit of a surprise considering his linemate’s incredible accomplishments. Bobby Hull (70gp 52g 64a 116pts 24pim +46) would of course win the Art Ross Trophy for most points in the regular season. The James Norris Trophy for best defenseman went to Chicago’s Pierre Pilote (70gp 9g 50a 59pts 46pim +38), for a second year in a row and for the third time in four years. The awards continued to go Chicago’s way and 35 year old keeper Glenn Hall (52gp 36-9-6 2.21 .910%) was awarded with the Vezina Trophy for best goaltender for a second straight year. Finally, the Calder Memorial Trophy for rookie of the year was awarded to Chicago’s 22 year old winger Ken Hodge (39gp 14g 23a 37pts 78pim +14), giving the Black Hawks a clean sweep on all of the NHL awards. So, how did Bobby Orr fare, you ask? Well, the Leafs stupidly had him on their reserve list to start the season and would finally call him up to the big team on January 3rd to make his official NHL debut. The Leafs were floundering in last place at the time and Orr almost singlehandedly carried them into the playoffs, scoring 3 goals and adding 23 assists in only 38 games. He was in the NHL to stay and it will be fun following his career now that he’s solidified his spot on the roster. There were no new additions to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1967. 1966-67 Highest Salaried Player: Bobby Hull (Chicago) - $95,000/year Last Year: Bobby Hull* (Chicago) - $95,000/year* 1966-67 Hockey News Player Poll ( designates new choices over last year) Best Skater: Bobby Hull (Chicago) Hardest Shot: Jim McKenny (Chicago) Smartest Player: Alex Delvecchio (New York Rangers) Toughest Player: Bobby Baun (Toronto) Fastest Player: Bobby Hull (Chicago) Best Role Model: Dave Keon (Toronto) Cleanest Player: Dave Keon (Toronto) Toughest Goalie to Beat: Jacques Plante (Detroit) There were a couple of key retirements at the end of the 1966-67 season. Toronto legend Johnny Bower finally hung up the pads at 42 years old after a 12 year career in the NHL with New York and the Leafs. He finishes his career with 587 games played, a 284-203-96 record, 43 shutouts and a 2.61 goals against average. The other major retirement saw a still productive Doug Harvey hang them up after a remarkable 20 year career, starting out as a 23 year old with Montreal before playing his twilight years with the Rangers. In all, Harvey played in 1289 games, scored 122 goals and added 547 assists (third on the all-time list) for 669 points, adding 1486 penalty minutes as well. Hall of fame, here we come! ************************************************ WHAT REALLY HAPPENED IN 1966-67? Top Three Draft Picks: 1st Overall: Barry Gibbs, Defense, Boston Bruins 2nd Overall: Brad Park, Defense, New York Rangers 3rd Overall: Terry Caffery, Centre, Chicago Black Hawks Regular Season Winners: Chicago Black Hawks - 94 Points Stanley Cup Champions: Toronto Maple Leafs (Defeat Montreal Canadiens 4 games to 2) Most Goals: Bobby Hull (Chicago) - 52 Most Assists: Stan Mikita (Chicago) - 62 Most Points: Stan Mikita (Chicago) - 97 Most Wins: Ed Giacomin (New York) - 34 Goals Against Average: Glenn Hall (Chicago) - 2.38 Art Ross Trophy (Most Points): Stan Mikita (Chicago) Calder Memorial Trophy (Rookie of the Year): Bobby Orr (Boston) Hart Memorial Trophy (Most Valuable Player): Stan Mikita (Chicago) James Norris Memorial Trophy (Best Defenseman): Harry Howell (New York) Vezina Trophy (Best Goaltender): Denis DeJordy and Glenn Hall (Chicago) ********************************************** __________________ MY CURRENT FM19 DYNASTY - FM19: "Ludere causa Ludendi - To Play for the Sake of Playing" - Queen's Park FC (Scottish League Two) MY OLD FM11 DYNASTY - FM11: From Semi-Pro Minnows to the EPL - Dover Athletic FC My Personal Blog - Now on the Tee - Golf, Sports, Poker, Life 2006 GOLDEN SCRIBE AWARD WINNER FOR BEST 'OTHER SPORT' DYNASTY -** EHM2005: Sharpening Swords in Buffalo Last edited by NoSkillz : 10-06-2015 at 08:32 PM.

10-07-2015, 08:52 PM	#17
NoSkillz College Benchwarmer Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: St. Catharines, Canada	1967-1968 SEASON 1967 NHL EXPANSION DRAFT The Chicago Black Hawks are four-time defending Stanley Cup champs but all of the off-season talk revolved around the impending expansion in the National Hockey League, as the Original Six era was about to end and in its place, a new two-division, 12 team league. Gaining entry into the NHL for the 1967-68 season were the Oakland Seals, Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota North Stars, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins and the St. Louis Blues. These six teams would play in the newly formed West Division while the Original Six clubs would all play in the East. In real life, there was a full 20 round expansion draft, with the first two rounds dedicated to goaltenders and the final 18 rounds used to fill out the rest of the squad. The Original Six clubs were only allowed to protect 1 goaltender and 11 other players, excluding junior players, giving the expansion clubs plenty of options to start building their team. However, for some reason, this game only had a total of 52 players (!!!) available to the expansion teams instead of the bare minimum needed (6 teams X 20 rounds = 120 players), making for a pretty pathetic expansion draft. BUG ALERT! Most of the players made available were throwaway depth players sitting on their club’s Reserve Lists but there were a few veteran stars. Here is how the first three rounds of the first ever expansion draft went: FIRST ROUND - 1. Los Angeles - Terry Sawchuk, Goaltender (from Detroit) 2. Minnesota - Gerry Cheevers, Goaltender (from Chicago) 3. Oakland - Ed Giacomin, Goaltender (from New York) 4. Philadelphia - Cesar Maniago, Goaltender (from Boston) 5. Pittsburgh - Charlie Hodge, Goaltender (from Montreal) 6. St. Louis - Bruce Gamble, Goaltender (from Boston) The Second Round should have seen six more goaltenders selected but again, for some reason, the game only had SIX TOTAL GOALTENDERS available. So the second round was completely skipped. Sheesh. THIRD ROUND - 13. Los Angeles - Bill White, Defence (from Toronto) 14. Minnesota - Ted Harris, Defence (from Chicago) 15. Oakland - Ed Van Impe, Defence (from Chicago) 16. Philadelphia - Kent Douglas, Defence (from Toronto) 17. Pittsburgh - Dick Duff, Left Wing (from Toronto) 18. St. Louis - Eddie Shack, Left Wing (from Toronto) FOURTH ROUND - 19. Los Angeles - John Ferguson, Left Wing (from Chicago) 20. Minnesota - Claude Provost, Left Wing (from Montreal) 21. Oakland - Al MacNeil, Defence (from Toronto) 22. Philadelphia - George Armstrong, Right Wing (from Chicago) 23. Pittsburgh - Bob Pulford, Left Wing (from Montreal) 24. St. Louis - Terry Harper, Defence (from Montreal) As you can see, veteran laden playoff teams like Chicago, Montreal and Toronto were raided by the expansion teams but again, there were very few key players available and only a handful of guys in their twenties. This expansion draft would only fill 8-9 players for each of the teams, meaning they’d have plenty of work to do in the trade market or the very meagre free agent market. What a disappointment. __________________ MY CURRENT FM19 DYNASTY - FM19: "Ludere causa Ludendi - To Play for the Sake of Playing" - Queen's Park FC (Scottish League Two) MY OLD FM11 DYNASTY - FM11: From Semi-Pro Minnows to the EPL - Dover Athletic FC My Personal Blog - Now on the Tee - Golf, Sports, Poker, Life 2006 GOLDEN SCRIBE AWARD WINNER FOR BEST 'OTHER SPORT' DYNASTY - EHM2005: Sharpening Swords in Buffalo

10-07-2015, 09:18 PM	#18
NoSkillz College Benchwarmer Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: St. Catharines, Canada	1967 NHL AMATEUR DRAFT There were a few key changes prior to the 1967 Amateur Draft, none more important than the fact NHL sponsorship of junior teams would cease, making all players of qualifying age not already on NHL-sponsored lists eligible for the draft. This was offset by the fact that the minimum draft age was raised to 20, meaning an extremely weak draft class for the six new expansion clubs. The Oakland Seals won the right to draft first overall and they chose 20 year old defender Chris Evans. Here is how the first round went in a brutally weak draft: FIRST ROUND - 1. Oakland Seals - Chris Evans, Defense, Canada 2. St. Louis Blues - Elgin McCann, Right Wing, Canada 3. Minnesota North Stars - Doug Barrie, Defence, Canada 4. Los Angeles Kings - Barry Wilkins, Defense, Canada 5. Philadelphia Flyers - Jim Lorentz, Centre, Canada 6. Pittsburgh Penguins - Nick Beverley, Defence, Canada 7. New York Rangers - Larry Pleau, Centre, USA 8. Boston Bruins - Ray Adduono, Centre, Canada 9. Detroit Red Wings - Wayne Carleton, Left Wing, Canada 10. Toronto Maple Leafs - Ross Lonsberry, Left Wing, Canada 11. Montreal Canadiens - Bob Smith, Centre, Canada 12. Chicago Black Hawks - Garry Monahan, Left Wing, Canada There were only two rounds and 24 total players selected, with no one of note getting drafted in the second round. 1967-68 NHL SEASON PREVIEW There was plenty of scrambling after the Amateur Draft, especially amongst the expansion clubs, as they battled hard to fill their rosters. Most of the early free agent signings were scooped up by the Original Six clubs, as the top players preferred going to established clubs. Some of the expansion clubs, most notably the Pittsburgh Penguins, wouldn’t even have an 18 man roster before the regular season started, another shocking development and likely a bug (teams iced 18 man squads back in those days - 2 keepers and 16 skaters). Rules changes for the 1967-68 season included a new 74 game regular season (up from 70 games) and a limit on the curvature of sticks set at 1.5 inches. There were a number of deals made in the pre-season and St. Louis was the first expansion team to dip into that market, hoping they got their goaltender of the future in Roger Crozier, who was picked up in a deal with Chicago. The Black Hawks were large favourites to repeat as champions for a fifth consecutive year, with their biggest challengers expected to be Toronto and Boston, with an aging Montreal team looked at as a dark horse candidate. Top candidates in the scoring race will Stan Mikita and Bobby Hull from Chicago along with Detroit’s Gordie Howe. No change here from the last number of years. The top defencemen in the league are considered to be Bruins blue liner Ted Green (a new choice), Hawks veteran Pierre Pilote and Boston’s Doug Mohns. The top goaltenders are thought to be Montreal’s Jacques Plante, Chicago’s Glenn Hall and New York’s Gump Worsley, another new choice. The notable 17 year olds entering this universe in 1967 include Ivan Boldirev, Jiri Bubla, Mike Christie, Bobby Clarke, Andre Dupont, Butch Goring, Merv Haney, Bill Hogaboam, Rejean Houle, Dave Hudson, Larry McIntyre, Kevin Morrison, Dick Redmond, Larry Romanchych, Don Saleski, Ron Stackhouse, Bob Whitlock, Jiri Crha, Jim Hargreaves, Yvon Lambert, Mike Lampman, Reggie Leach, Chuck Lefley, Rick MacLeish, Al McDonough, Ulf Nilsson, Dennis Patterson and Errol Thompson. __________________ MY CURRENT FM19 DYNASTY - FM19: "Ludere causa Ludendi - To Play for the Sake of Playing" - Queen's Park FC (Scottish League Two) MY OLD FM11 DYNASTY - FM11: From Semi-Pro Minnows to the EPL - Dover Athletic FC My Personal Blog - Now on the Tee - Golf, Sports, Poker, Life 2006 GOLDEN SCRIBE AWARD WINNER FOR BEST 'OTHER SPORT' DYNASTY - EHM2005: Sharpening Swords in Buffalo

10-07-2015, 10:44 PM	#19
NoSkillz College Benchwarmer Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: St. Catharines, Canada	1967-68 NHL SEASON RECAP The lead up to the regular season saw the expansion teams desperately try to fill their rosters with any talent available, with “talent” being a very subjective word in this case. Depth players or minor leaguers from past years became go-to players on these new teams, as the talent pool became heavily diluted. Thankfully for the expansion teams, the schedules were predominately “division” based, meaning they would only play teams in the stronger East Division a few times this year. On paper, the Los Angeles Kings looked to be the best prepared team, with plenty of depth and a few capable players like Terry Sawchuk, defenceman Bill White and winger John Ferguson leading the way. I was also a big fan of the way Philadelphia built their roster, going with youth in the expansion draft, getting 27 year old centre Bob Leiter, a recent Calder Trophy winner with Boston and 27 year old winger Vic Hadfield from the Rangers, while also drafting the promising Jim Lorentz in the amateur draft. There is no question that Pittsburgh will be a tire fire, as they couldn’t even build a full roster prior to opening night, icing a team with only 17 skaters. They would eventually add a few more free agents during the year but they were a team with very few difference makers. Chicago dominated the regular season once again, picking up 52 wins in their 74 games and notching an NHL record 113 points, 18 points better than second placed Toronto. The Bruins put together a fine year, with 91 points and Detroit was the final playoff team in the East with 87 points. The aging Canadiens missed the playoffs for the first time in this dynasty, finishing with a paltry 74 points, four ahead of perennial cellar-dwellers New York. As expected, the veteran laden Los Angeles Kings steamrolled over their weak opponents in the newly formed West Division, finishing with 89 points (fourth most in the NHL), a whopping 27 points more than the second placed Philadelphia Flyers!! Minnesota finished third with 55 points and the St. Louis Blues nabbed a playoff spot with only 54 points and a ridiculously brutal -72 goal differential, the worst in the entire NHL. Oakland was fifth with 51 points while Pittsburgh manned the basement with 47 points. Chicago’s two superstars continued to dominate league scoring, with Bobby Hull setting a new goal record with 59 and Stan Mikita blowing away the assist record with 80 and the plus/minus record with +54. Hull had 123 points (another record) and a league leading 458 shots. Mikita was second in point scoring with 108 and just to give some perspective on their dominance, the third leading scorer was Rangers centre Jean Ratelle, who tallied 74 points. 20 year old Leafs defenceman Bobby Orr led blue liners with 21 goals and 65 points in only his second year in the league. Chicago goaltender Glenn Hall continued to dominate at age 36, putting up a record 46 wins but young star in the making Tony Esposito, Toronto’s new starting keeper after the retirement of Johnny Bower, led the league with 9 shutouts and a superlative 2.10 goals against average. Four time defending champion Chicago were once again favoured to go all the way and the experts felt that the Toronto Maple Leafs would be the only team to offer resistance. The divisional semi finals saw Chicago sweep Detroit in four straight after Gordie Howe got injured in game one. The Leafs fought hard to get past Boston in seven games and the North Stars took care of the Flyers in only five. The big shock in the West was the St. Louis Blues knocking off the division leading Kings 4 games to 3. The Blues were obviously drained from that series victory, as they would fall to the North Stars in seven games, with Minnesota advancing to their first ever Stanley Cup final. The East final saw a heavyweight tilt between the Leafs and the four-time defending Cup champ Black Hawks. Toronto set the tone with a WILD 8-7 road win in game one and took off from there, SHOCKING the Black Hawks in a four game sweep, unceremoniously ending Chicago’s incredible playoff win streak. The final was a mere formality, as Minnesota offered little resistance to the heavily favoured Leafs, with Toronto winning their 11th Stanley Cup championship in five games. 1967-68 Stanley Cup Champions - TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS The Conn Smythe Trophy for outstanding player in the Stanley Cup playoffs was awarded to 38 year old defender Tim Horton, who put together an incredible 16 points in 16 playoff appearances, including 3 goals. Winger Ron Ellis led all players with 14 assists and 21 playoff points while Bobby Hull led the playoffs with 11 goals despite only playing 8 games. 31 year old journeyman Ted Hampson was Minnesota’s breakout player during their Stanley Cup run, leading the team with 18 points in their 17 playoff games. At the 1967-68 NHL Awards ceremony, the Hart Memorial Trophy for the league’s most valuable player went to Stan Mikita (74gp 28g 80a 108pts 38pim +54) for the second year in a row and third time in four years. Bobby Hull (74gp 59g 64a 123pts 24pim +51) would win the Art Ross Trophy for most points in the regular season for the fourth consecutive year. The James Norris Trophy for best defenseman went to Toronto’s 20 year old star Bobby Orr (74gp 21g 44a 65pts 44pim +21), likely the first of many for the prodigy. 36 year old Chicago goalkeeper Glenn Hall (66gp 46-12-8 2.26 .896%) showed no signs of slowing down and was awarded with the Vezina Trophy for best goaltender for a third straight year. There were more rookies across the league than ever before due to expansion and the Calder Memorial Trophy for rookie of the year was awarded to Philadelphia’s 21 year old winger Wayne Carleton (74gp 24g 37a 61pts 25pim -13). Interestingly enough, Carleton was drafted 9th overall by the Red Wings this year but they must have dropped him at some point (WHY?!?!), allowing the Flyers to sign him just before the pre-season and he ends up giving them a Calder Trophy performance, the first piece of silverware for an expansion franchise. Another likely bug in the game but with 50 man roster limits, I guess the Red Wings valued other players more than him. There were no new additions to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1968. 1967-68 Highest Salaried Player: Bobby Hull (Chicago) - $125,000/year Last Year: Bobby Hull* (Chicago) - $95,000/year* 1967-68 Hockey News Player Poll ( designates new choices over last year) Best Skater: Bobby Hull (Chicago) Hardest Shot: Bobby Orr (Toronto) Smartest Player: Alex Delvecchio (New York Rangers) Toughest Player: Bobby Baun (Toronto) Fastest Player: Bobby Hull (Chicago) Best Role Model: Dave Keon (Toronto) Cleanest Player: Dave Keon (Toronto) Toughest Goalie to Beat: Jacques Plante (Detroit) There were a couple of key retirements at the end of the 1967-68 season. Three time Norris Trophy winner Pierre Pilote rides off into the sunset after a stellar career with Chicago. The 36 year old finished his career with 458 points in 790 games and he was still very effective right until the end, with 39 points in his final season. Long-time Toronto legend George Armstrong spent his last two seasons with Chicago and the expansion Flyers respectively but played 16 full seasons with Toronto and 18 seasons in all, scoring 272 goals, 358 assists and 630 points in 986 games. Finally, Leafs defender Red Kelly goes out on top, retiring at 40 years old after winning the Stanley Cup. He played a remarkable 20 years in the NHL, playing in 1387 games (second behind Gordie Howe), scoring 284 goals and adding 591 assists for 875 points. Most certainly a hall of fame career! ************************************************ WHAT REALLY HAPPENED IN 1967-68? Top Six Expansion Draft Picks: 1st Overall: Terry Sawchuk, Goaltender, Los Angeles Kings 2nd Overall: Bernie Parent, Goaltender, Philadelphia Flyers 3rd Overall: Glenn Hall, Goaltender, St. Louis Blues 4th Overall: Cesare Maniago, Goaltender, Minnesota North Stars 5th Overall: Joe Daley, Goaltender, Pittsburgh Penguins 6th Overall: Charlie Hodge, Goaltender, California Seals Top Six Expansion Draft Picks (Skaters): 13th Overall: Gord Labossiere, Centre, Los Angeles Kings 14th Overall: Dave Balon, Left Wing, Minnesota North Stars 15th Overall: Jim Roberts, Defence, St. Louis Blues 16th Overall: Ed Van Impe, Defence, Philadelphia Flyers 17th Overall: Earl Ingarfield, Centre, Pittsburgh Penguins 18th Overall: Bob Baun, Defence, California Seals Top Three NHL Amateur Draft Picks: 1st Overall: Rick Pagnutti, Defense, Los Angeles Kings 2nd Overall: Steve Rexe, Goaltender, Pittsburgh Penguins 3rd Overall: Ken Hicks, Forward, California Seals Regular Season Winners: Montreal Canadiens - 94 Points Stanley Cup Champions: Montreal Candiens (Defeat St. Louis Blues 4 games to 0) Most Goals: Bobby Hull (Chicago) - 44 Most Assists: Phil Esposito (Boston) - 49 Most Points: Stan Mikita (Chicago) - 87 Most Wins: Ed Giacomin (New York) - 36 Goals Against Average: Gump Worsley (Montreal) - 1.98 Art Ross Trophy (Most Points): Stan Mikita (Chicago) Calder Memorial Trophy (Rookie of the Year): Derek Sanderson (Boston) Hart Memorial Trophy (Most Valuable Player): Stan Mikita (Chicago) James Norris Memorial Trophy (Best Defenseman): Bobby Orr (Boston) Vezina Trophy (Best Goaltender): Gump Worsley and Rogie Vachon (Montreal) ********************************************** __________________ MY CURRENT FM19 DYNASTY - FM19: "Ludere causa Ludendi - To Play for the Sake of Playing" - Queen's Park FC (Scottish League Two) MY OLD FM11 DYNASTY - FM11: From Semi-Pro Minnows to the EPL - Dover Athletic FC My Personal Blog - Now on the Tee - Golf, Sports, Poker, Life 2006 GOLDEN SCRIBE AWARD WINNER FOR BEST 'OTHER SPORT' DYNASTY -** EHM2005: Sharpening Swords in Buffalo

10-18-2015, 09:42 AM	#20
NoSkillz College Benchwarmer Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: St. Catharines, Canada	1968-1969 SEASON 1968 NHL AMATEUR DRAFT On the strength of their brutal first season in the NHL, the Pittsburgh Penguins were given the honour of selecting first in a pretty solid 1968 Amateur Draft. With their pick, the Penguins selected promising 19 year old defender Brad Park. Here is how the first round looked: FIRST ROUND - 1. Pittsburgh Penguins - Brad Park, Defense, Canada 2. Oakland Seals - Don Luce, Centre, Canada 3. St. Louis Blues - Jerry Korab, Defense, Canada 4. Minnesota North Stars - Rene Robert, Right Wing, Canada 5. Philadelphia Flyers - Glenn “Chico” Resch, Goaltender, Canada 6. New York Rangers - Barry Gibbs, Defense, Canada 7. Montreal Canadiens - Rick Ley, Defense, Canada 8. Detroit Red WIngs - Rick Smith, Defense, Canada 9. Los Angeles Kings - Tom Webster, Right Wing, Canada 10. Boston Bruins - Jude Drouin, Centre, Canada 11. Toronto Maple Leafs - Gerry Pinder, Right Wing, Canada 12. Chicago Black Hawks - Tim Sheehy, Right Wing, USA There were two rounds and 24 total selections in this year’s draft. The biggest names selected in the second round were defender Brad Selwood (Oakland) and goaltender Phil Myre (Minnesota). 1968-69 NHL SEASON PREVIEW The only major rule change for the 1968-69 season was to add two games to each teams schedule, meaning 76 games would now be played by each club. Also, future Amateur Drafts would be expanded to cover any amateur player of qualifying age throughout the world. There were a number of deals made in the pre-season, with some being extremely complicated three and four team deals. None were more complicated than the one that saw top goaltending prospect Bernie Parent traded twice in the same day, first going from the Rangers to the Black Hawks then later that day, he was moved to Montreal, his hometown. The pre-season pundits felt Toronto stood the best chance of winning the Cup for a second consecutive year behind star defender Bobby Orr, with the Black Hawks and their dynamic duo of Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita looking to be the biggest challengers. The Rangers looked to be a dark horse candidate behind Jean Ratelle. Top candidates in the scoring race are expected to be Stan Mikita and Bobby Hull from Chicago along with Detroit’s Gordie Howe. No change here from the last number of years. The top defencemen in the league are considered to be last year’s Norris Trophy winner Bobby Orr (a new choice), Bruins veteran Ted Green and also Boston’s Pat Stapleton, a new name on this list. The top goaltenders are thought to be Montreal’s Jacques Plante, Chicago’s Glenn Hall and the expansion North Stars’ Gerry Cheevers, another new choice. The notable 17 year olds entering this universe in 1968 include Kent-Erik Andersson, Dan Bouchard, Hardy Astrom, Henry Boucha, Bill Clement, Jerry Butler, Norm Gratton, Bob Kelly, Orest Kindrachuk, Ted McAneeley, Giles Meloche, Chris Oddleifson, Gerry O’Flaherty, Greg Polis, Darryl Sittler, Billy Smith, Bob Stewart, Dale Tallon, Murray Wing, Duane Wylie, John Garrett, Jocelyn Guevremont, Bobby Lalonde, Richard Lemieux, Willy Lindstrom, Hartland Monohan, Terry O’Reilly, Andre Peloffy, Pierre Plante, Craig Ramsay, Larry Robinson, Vic Venasky, Steve Vickers and Tom Williams. __________________ MY CURRENT FM19 DYNASTY - FM19: "Ludere causa Ludendi - To Play for the Sake of Playing" - Queen's Park FC (Scottish League Two) MY OLD FM11 DYNASTY - FM11: From Semi-Pro Minnows to the EPL - Dover Athletic FC My Personal Blog - Now on the Tee - Golf, Sports, Poker, Life 2006 GOLDEN SCRIBE AWARD WINNER FOR BEST 'OTHER SPORT' DYNASTY - EHM2005: Sharpening Swords in Buffalo Last edited by NoSkillz : 10-18-2015 at 09:44 AM.

10-18-2015, 10:33 AM	#21
NoSkillz College Benchwarmer Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: St. Catharines, Canada	1968-69 NHL SEASON RECAP The lead up to the season saw many more deals, as teams continued to work toward building the perfect roster. A significant “passing of the torch” occurred in Montreal, as they dealt the aging but still very effective Jacques Plante to the New York Rangers for promising 22 year old winger Danny Grant. Plante won numerous goaltending awards and is second in all-time NHL wins with 461, just behind LA Kings keeper Terry Sawchuk. This move allowed Montreal to play their top prospect just acquired in a deal with Chicago, Bernie Parent. Meanwhile, Grant, the 7th overall selection in the 1964 draft, would be counted on for scoring. Three teams were dominant during the regular season, none more so than the powerful Chicago Black Hawks, who would only lose 9 games while piling up an NHL record 125 points, winning the East Division by 11 points over defending Cup champs Toronto. Also putting up a great year were the Boston Bruins, who notched 45 wins and 104 points. Finishing fourth and in the last East Division playoff spot were Detroit with 86 points. The Rangers and the Canadiens finished 5th and 6th respectively. In the expansion West Division, all teams struggled in their second seasons but it was the Minnesota North Stars prevailing with a 28-40-8 record, finishing with a division-high 64 points. Last year’s top expansion team, the Los Angeles Kings, lost 27 points from last year’s total of 89 but still finished second with 62 points. Grabbing the final two playoff spots in the West were last year’s two worst teams: Oakland and Pittsburgh. Oakland finished with 54 points while Pittsburgh notched 51. Philadelphia and St. Louis missed out on the playoffs, nabbing 47 and 43 points respectively. Chicago’s two superstars continued to dominate league scoring, with Bobby Hull falling just short of matching his NHL record total of goals set the previous year, finishing two short with 57. Stan Mikita came close to matching his assist record as well, finishing with 77, only three off his record total from the previous year. Mikita DID set a new plus/minus record with +68, fourteen higher than last year’s record total! Mikita continued his statistical dominance, leading the league with 108 points. 21 year old Leafs defenceman Bobby Orr led blue liners with 27 goals and 86 points in only his third year in the league. Chicago goaltender Glenn Hall continued to dominate at age 37, putting up a record 52 wins (six more than last year’s record total) but young star in the making Tony Esposito, Toronto’s starting keeper, led the league with 10 shutouts and a superlative 2.07 goals against average, the second consecutive year he led both categories. Regular season champion Chicago seemed destined for the Cup for a fifth time in six years, with Toronto looked at as the biggest challenger. The divisional semi finals saw things stay true to form, as Chicago got past Detroit in a six game series while Toronto ambushed Boston, sweeping them aside in four straight games. On the other side, it was the pesky Pittsburgh Penguins shocking West Division winning Minnesota in five games while the Oakland Seals continued the upsets in the West, knocking off Los Angeles, also in five games. The East final was a battle of heavyweights and the firepower in Chicago proved too tough for Toronto to overcome, as the defending Cup champion Leafs fell in a six game series to the Hawks. Meanwhile, in the Western final, it was upstart Oakland sweeping the Penguins in four straight to advance to their first ever Stanley Cup final! Oakland would shock Chicago in game one of the 1969 Stanley Cup final, with Gerry Ehman scoring in overtime to lead the Seals to a 3-2 win. However, the Hawks would recover, taking the next four games in succession to win their fifth Stanley Cup in six years and their 8th overall in team history. 1968-69 Stanley Cup Champions - CHICAGO BLACK HAWKS The Conn Smythe Trophy for outstanding player in the Stanley Cup playoffs was awarded to 30 year old star winger Bobby Hull, who scored 9 goals and added 15 assists for 24 points in 17 postseason games, which led the league in all categories. Linemate Stan Mikita tied Hull for the league lead in assists. The Oakland Seals were led in the playoffs by 23 year old forward Morris Mott, who exploded for 6 goals and 10 assists in only 14 playoff games. Mott, a free agent signing by Oakland last year, wasn’t even drafted and was coming off a regular season that saw him finish with 35 points in 67 games. At the 1968-69 NHL Awards ceremony, it was essentially a coronation for young superstar defender Bobby Orr (75gp, 27g 59a 86pts 69pim +48), who won the Hart Memorial Trophy for the league’s most valuable player AND the James Norris Memorial Trophy for best defender. Stan Mikita (73gp 31g 77a 108pts 38pim +68) won the Art Ross Trophy for most points in the regular season. Another passing of the torch saw 26 year old Toronto goaltender Tony Esposito (69gp 43-10-15 2.07 .901%) win his first ever Vezina Trophy. Finally, the Calder Memorial Trophy for rookie of the year was awarded to Pittsburgh’s 20 year old defenseman Brad Park (76gp 16g 45a 61pts 43pim -21). Park was the first overall selection in this past year’s draft so he’s obviously living up to his potential very early in his career. There were no new additions to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1969. 1968-69 Highest Salaried Player: Bobby Hull (Chicago) - $125,000/year Last Year: Bobby Hull* (Chicago) - $125,000/year* 1968-69 Hockey News Player Poll ( designates new choices over last year) Best Skater: Bobby Hull (Chicago) Hardest Shot: Bobby Orr (Toronto) Smartest Player: Tim Ecclestone (Montreal Canadiens) Toughest Player: Bobby Baun (Toronto) Fastest Player: Bobby Hull (Chicago) Best Role Model: Dave Keon (Toronto) Cleanest Player: Dave Keon (Toronto) Toughest Goalie to Beat: Jacques Plante (New York Rangers) There were a couple of key retirements at the end of the 1968-69 season. “Le Gros Bill” Jean Believeau , a former Hart and Art Ross Trophy winner, retires after a phenomenal 18 year career spent solely with Montreal. Beliveau played 1038 games, scoring 504 goals, adding 626 assists for 1130 points. He was effective to the end, scoring 25 goals and 75 points in his final season with Montreal. An easy choice for the Hall of Fame! Goaltender Gump Worsley hung up his goal pads for good after the season as well. Stuck with some bad Rangers teams during his 16 year career, Worsley compiled a record of 295-390-143 with a lifetime goals against average of 3.06, along with 37 shutouts. ************************************************ WHAT REALLY HAPPENED IN 1968-69? Top Three NHL Amateur Draft Picks: 1st Overall: Michel Plasse, Goaltender, Montreal Canadiens 2nd Overall: Roger Belisle, Centre, Montreal Canadiens 3rd Overall: Jim Pritchard, Defense, Montreal Canadiens Regular Season Winners: Montreal Canadiens - 103 Points Stanley Cup Champions: Montreal Candiens (Defeat St. Louis Blues 4 games to 0) Most Goals: Bobby Hull (Chicago) - 58 Most Assists: Phil Esposito (Boston) - 77 Most Points: Phil Esposito (Boston) - 126 Most Wins: Ed Giacomin (New York) - 37 Goals Against Average: Jacques Plante (St. Louis) - 1.96 Art Ross Trophy (Most Points): Phil Esposito (Boston) Calder Memorial Trophy (Rookie of the Year): Danny Grant (Minnesota) Hart Memorial Trophy (Most Valuable Player): Phil Esposito (Boston) James Norris Memorial Trophy (Best Defenseman): Bobby Orr (Boston) Vezina Trophy (Best Goaltender): Glenn Hall and Jacques Plante (St. Louis) ********************************************** __________________ MY CURRENT FM19 DYNASTY - FM19: "Ludere causa Ludendi - To Play for the Sake of Playing" - Queen's Park FC (Scottish League Two) MY OLD FM11 DYNASTY - FM11: From Semi-Pro Minnows to the EPL - Dover Athletic FC My Personal Blog - Now on the Tee - Golf, Sports, Poker, Life 2006 GOLDEN SCRIBE AWARD WINNER FOR BEST 'OTHER SPORT' DYNASTY -** EHM2005: Sharpening Swords in Buffalo Last edited by NoSkillz : 10-18-2015 at 10:36 AM.

10-18-2015, 05:29 PM	#22
NoSkillz College Benchwarmer Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: St. Catharines, Canada	1969-1970 SEASON 1969 NHL AMATEUR DRAFT The amateur draft would see it’s biggest evolution yet in 1969, as it would be the first year that the effects of NHL amateur sponsorship would not be seen, as every junior of qualifying age (20 years old at this point) was available for selection. This meant the largest draft in history to this point, with 83 players being selected in-game. The St. Louis Blues had the first selection and they chose promising centre prospect Bobby Clarke from Flin Flon, Manitoba. Here is how the first round looked: FIRST ROUND - 1. St. Louis Blues - Bobby Clarke, Centre, Canada 2. Philadelphia Flyers - Butch Goring, Centre, Canada 3. Pittsburgh Penguins - Jean Potvin, Defense, Canada 4. Oakland Seals - Marc Tardif, Left Wing, Canada 5. Los Angeles Kings - Ron Stackhouse, Defense, Canada 6. Minnesota North Stars - Dick Redmond, Defense, Canada 7. Andre Dupont - Montreal Canadiens, Defense, Canada 8. New York Rangers - Ivan Boldirev, Centre, Canada 9. Detroit Red Wings - Dave Burrows, Defense, Canada 10. Boston Bruins - Mike Christie, Defense, USA 11. Toronto Maple Leafs - Barry Long, Defense, Canada 12. Chicago Black Hawks - Guy Charron, Centre, Canada There were seven rounds and 83 total selections in this year’s draft. The biggest names selected in other rounds were wingers Rejean Houle (Pittsburgh), Rick Dudley (Montreal) and Dave “The Hammer” Schultz (St. Louis). 1969-70 NHL SEASON PREVIEW The only major rule change for the 1969-70 season was to limit the curvature of the stick blade at 1 inch. The biggest pre-season trade saw Boston ship out promising winger Wayne Cashman to New York for wingers Jack Stanfield and Dave Balon. Balon was key to the deal for Boston, as the 30 year old was coming off a 25 goal, 63 point season with the Rangers. Meanwhile, Cashman had yet to make an impact with the Bruins. The pre-season pundits felt Chicago stood the best chance of winning the Cup for a second consecutive year behind their dynamic duo of Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita while Toronto and Boston looked to be the biggest challengers. The Rangers looked to be a dark horse candidate behind Jean Ratelle. Top candidates in the scoring race will Stan Mikita and Bobby Hull from Chicago along with Detroit’s Gordie Howe. No change here from the last number of years. The top defencemen in the league are considered to be two-time defending Norris Trophy winner and defending Hart Trophy winner Bobby Orr along with Bruins blueliners Ted Green and Pat Stapleton. The top goaltenders are thought to be New York Rangers veteran Jacques Plante, Oakland Seals keeper Ed Giacomin and the expansion North Stars’ Gerry Cheevers. The notable 17 year olds entering this universe in 1969 include Mike Antonovich, Helmut Balodis, Lascelles Bolonchuk, Pat Boutette, Mike Busniuk, Marcel Dionne, Larry Giroux, Bill Hajt, Rick Kehoe, Guy Lafleur, Rick Martin, Gerry Methe, Milan Novy, Jeanty Hamimi, Birston Hastie, Dave Huth, Al MacAldonich, Wearmouth Moore, Noel Mibury, Pery Mitchell, Jaroslav Povysil, Richter Quinlan, Colasse St. Sauveur and Stanclik Wetmore. __________________ MY CURRENT FM19 DYNASTY - FM19: "Ludere causa Ludendi - To Play for the Sake of Playing" - Queen's Park FC (Scottish League Two) MY OLD FM11 DYNASTY - FM11: From Semi-Pro Minnows to the EPL - Dover Athletic FC My Personal Blog - Now on the Tee - Golf, Sports, Poker, Life 2006 GOLDEN SCRIBE AWARD WINNER FOR BEST 'OTHER SPORT' DYNASTY - EHM2005: Sharpening Swords in Buffalo Last edited by NoSkillz : 10-18-2015 at 05:31 PM.

10-18-2015, 06:27 PM	#23
NoSkillz College Benchwarmer Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: St. Catharines, Canada	1969-70 NHL SEASON RECAP The same teams continue to dominate in the East Division, with Chicago and Toronto joined by Boston and Detroit as the overwhelming forces in the league. Chicago ended up on top once again with 116 points, 12 ahead of the Leafs and Bruins, who tied for second. The Red Wings had their best season in years, hitting the 100 point plateau to easily finish fourth while New York (84 points) and Montreal (82 points) finished well back of playoff contention. In the expansion West Division, the new teams continued their immense struggle, with the Philadelphia Flyers ending up on top with 64 points, 7 ahead of second placed Oakland. The LA Kings and St. Louis Blues tied for third with 55 points, grabbing the final two playoff spots. Pittsburgh (47 points) and Minnesota (44 points) would miss the playoffs. Another year passes but it’s the same two players at the top of the point list, with Chicago’s two superstars continuing their dominance. Bobby Hull set a new record for points with 127, scoring 54 goals and adding 73 assists to lead in all three major categories. Stan Mikita finished second in points (105) and third in goals (40) and assists (65). 22 year old Leafs defenceman Bobby Orr continues to impress, scoring career highs in goals (28), assists (67) and points (95) in only his fourth year in the league. Chicago goaltender Glenn Hall continued to dominate at age 38, putting up 49 wins (three less than last year’s record total) while Boston’s Eddie Johnson came out of nowhere to lead the league with 12 shutouts (six higher than second placed Ken Dryden and a superlative 2.03 goals against average. The experts felt regular season and defending Cup champion Chicago seemed destined for yet another win, with Toronto, led by Bobby Orr and Frank Mahovlich looked at as the biggest challenger. Chicago walloped Detroit in four games straight while the other East Division semi saw a huge upset, as Boston upended Toronto in six games. On the other side, playoff upsets had been prevalent since the 1967 expansion and they continued, as both top seeds were eliminated, with St. Louis knocking off #1 seed Philadelphia in four straight while Los Angeles needed all seven games to get past Oakland. The East final saw Boston offer little resistance to the Chicago freight train, with the Hawks winning in five games while out west, it was St. Louis advancing to their first Cup final with a gruelling seven game series win over Los Angeles. In the finals, St. Louis put their best foot forward but to no avail, as Chicago would win in five games, their second consecutive Stanley Cup win and their sixth in seven years! 1969-70 Stanley Cup Champions - CHICAGO BLACK HAWKS The Conn Smythe Trophy for outstanding player in the Stanley Cup playoffs was awarded to Chicago’s star centre Stan Mikita for the third time in his career, as he scored 7 goals and added 14 assists for 21 points in 14 postseason games, with the assist and point totals leading the league. Los Angeles Kings rookie Juha Widing surprisingly led the league in playoff goals with 10 in only 14 games after a fine regular season that saw him score 27 goals and compile 60 points in 76 games. Veteran Eddie Shack led the Blues in playoff scoring with 15 points in 16 games. At the 1969-70 NHL Awards ceremony, it was once again Leafs defender Bobby Orr (76gp, 28g 67a 95pts 47pim ++47), dominating the proceedings, with second consecutive Hart and Norris Trophy wins for Most Valuable Player and best defender respectively. Bobby Hull (76gp 54g 73a 127pts 24pim +49) won the Art Ross Trophy for most points in the regular season for the fifth time in his career. Meanwhile, 34 year old Boston goaltender Eddie Johnston (68gp 40-11-16 2.03 .917%) won his first ever Vezina Trophy. Finally, the Calder Memorial Trophy for rookie of the year was awarded to Detroit’s 22 year old left winger Ernie “Bubble” Hicke (76gp 31g 30a 61pts 38pim +27). Hicke was an undrafted free agent signing by Detroit and a good one at that! There were no new additions to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1970. 1969-70 Highest Salaried Player: Bobby Hull (Chicago) - $125,000/year Last Year: Bobby Hull* (Chicago) - $125,000/year* 1969-70 Hockey News Player Poll ( designates new choices over last year) Best Skater: Bobby Orr (Toronto) Hardest Shot: Bobby Orr (Toronto) Smartest Player: Tim Ecclestone (Montreal Canadiens) Toughest Player: Dave Schulz (St. Louis) Fastest Player: Bobby Hull (Chicago) Best Role Model: Dave Keon (Toronto) Cleanest Player: Dave Keon (Toronto) Toughest Goalie to Beat: Jacques Plante (New York Rangers) There was one major retirement after the conclusion of the 1969-70 season, as goaltender Terry Sawchuk finally called it a career after 21 NHL seasons and a whopping 1198 games in goal. Sawchuk finishes with a record of 526-455-199, with 115 shutouts and a career goals against average of 2.60. Sawchuk leaves the game with the most wins and shutouts all-time. ********************************************** WHAT REALLY HAPPENED IN 1969-70? Top Three NHL Amateur Draft Picks: 1st Overall: Rejean Houle, Left Wing, Montreal Canadiens 2nd Overall: Marc Tardif, Left Wing, Montreal Canadiens 3rd Overall: Don Tannahill, Left Wing, Boston Bruins Regular Season Winners: Chicago Black Hawks + Boston Bruins - 99 Points Stanley Cup Champions: Boston Bruins (Defeat St. Louis Blues 4 games to 0) Most Goals: Phil Esposito (Boston) - 43 Most Assists: Bobby Orr (Boston) - 87 Most Points: Bobby Orr (Boston) - 120 Most Wins: Tony Esposito (Chicago) - 38 Goals Against Average: Ernie Wakely (St. Louis) - 2.11 Art Ross Trophy (Most Points): Bobby Orr (Boston) Calder Memorial Trophy (Rookie of the Year): Tony Esposito (Chicago) Hart Memorial Trophy (Most Valuable Player): Bobby Orr (Boston) James Norris Memorial Trophy (Best Defenseman): Bobby Orr (Boston) Vezina Trophy (Best Goaltender): Tony Esposito (Chicago) ********************************************** __________________ MY CURRENT FM19 DYNASTY - FM19: "Ludere causa Ludendi - To Play for the Sake of Playing" - Queen's Park FC (Scottish League Two) MY OLD FM11 DYNASTY - FM11: From Semi-Pro Minnows to the EPL - Dover Athletic FC My Personal Blog - Now on the Tee - Golf, Sports, Poker, Life 2006 GOLDEN SCRIBE AWARD WINNER FOR BEST 'OTHER SPORT' DYNASTY -** EHM2005: Sharpening Swords in Buffalo

10-18-2015, 06:43 PM	#24
NoSkillz College Benchwarmer Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: St. Catharines, Canada	Ugh - another big bug rears its ugly head as I move into 1970-71 (and the second league expansion), as the 17 year olds that move into the league all have scrambled names for some reason. I tried saving under a different name and then trying again but the same thing results each time. I'm going to try to figure out who they are based on birthplace but it may take awhile to figure out. Damnit. Sorry to the game developers but this is a frustrating game at times. __________________ MY CURRENT FM19 DYNASTY - FM19: "Ludere causa Ludendi - To Play for the Sake of Playing" - Queen's Park FC (Scottish League Two) MY OLD FM11 DYNASTY - FM11: From Semi-Pro Minnows to the EPL - Dover Athletic FC My Personal Blog - Now on the Tee - Golf, Sports, Poker, Life 2006 GOLDEN SCRIBE AWARD WINNER FOR BEST 'OTHER SPORT' DYNASTY - EHM2005: Sharpening Swords in Buffalo

10-18-2015, 07:47 PM	#25
NoSkillz College Benchwarmer Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: St. Catharines, Canada	And....I'm done. I got about 30 names figured out and then the game crashed hard. Upon reloading, I had a corrupted file and this dynasty is over. All this work for nothing. My God. __________________ MY CURRENT FM19 DYNASTY - FM19: "Ludere causa Ludendi - To Play for the Sake of Playing" - Queen's Park FC (Scottish League Two) MY OLD FM11 DYNASTY - FM11: From Semi-Pro Minnows to the EPL - Dover Athletic FC My Personal Blog - Now on the Tee - Golf, Sports, Poker, Life 2006 GOLDEN SCRIBE AWARD WINNER FOR BEST 'OTHER SPORT' DYNASTY - EHM2005: Sharpening Swords in Buffalo

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