The 1954–55 NHL season was the 38th season of the National Hockey League. Six teams played 70 games each. The Detroit Red Wings were the Stanley Cup champions as they defeated the Montreal Canadiens four games to three in the best-of-seven final series. The Canadiens were without star forward Maurice 'Rocket' Richard who had been suspended for the playoffs, a suspension which led to the March 17, 1955 "Richard Riot" in Montreal.

League business Art Ross announced at the league governors meeting that his connection with Boston would terminate at the end of September. As this would be his last appearance at a league meeting, he took the opportunity to thank the governors and others associated with the league during the 30 years of his being officer of the Boston club for the kindness, courtesy and cooperation he had received, and extended his good wishes for the continued success of the league. Conn Smythe and Frank Selke voiced the good wishes of all present to Ross on his retirement.

Prior to the season, Red Wings head coach Tommy Ivan left Detroit to become general manager of the Chicago Black Hawks, and Jimmy Skinner replaced him behind the bench in the Motor City. One of the first things Ivan did at Chicago was to establish an extensive farm system, something the Black Hawks never had.

Regular season On December 18, 1954, Maurice Richard scored his 400th career goal against Chicago netminder Al Rollins in a 4–1 Canadiens victory over the Black Hawks. Montreal and Toronto played to a 1–1 tie on December 29, at Maple Leaf Gardens. Maurice Richard got a standing ovation when he scored his 401st goal late in the first period.

In a scoreless tie at the Montreal Forum on March 10, a new ice cleaner and resurfacer called a Zamboni was used for the first time. The fans were not appreciative of Toronto's defensive style in this game and threw garbage, including pig's feet, on the ice.

The Richard Riot took place on March 17, 1955. Maurice Richard had been suspended by league president Clarence Campbell after an incident in a game against Boston where Richard punched the referee. Richard was suspended for the rest of the season and the playoffs. Campbell's subsequent appearance at a Canadiens' game at the Montreal Forum incited a group of protesters and led to violence in the Forum and in downtown Montreal.

Final standings

Playoffs

Playoff bracket The top four teams in the league qualified for the playoffs. In the semifinals, the first-place team played the third-place team, while the second-place team faced the fourth-place team, with the winners advancing to the Stanley Cup Final. In both rounds, teams competed in a best-of-seven series (scores in the bracket indicate the number of games won in each best-of-seven series).

Semifinals

(1) Detroit Red Wings vs. (3) Toronto Maple Leafs

(2) Montreal Canadiens vs. (4) Boston Bruins

Stanley Cup Final

Awards + Award winnersPrince of Wales Trophy:(Regular season champion) Detroit Red WingsArt Ross Trophy:(Top scorer) Bernie Geoffrion, Montreal CanadiensCalder Memorial Trophy:(Best first-year player) Ed Litzenberger, Chicago Black HawksHart Trophy:(Most valuable player) Ted Kennedy, Toronto Maple LeafsJames Norris Memorial Trophy:(Best defenceman) Doug Harvey, Montreal CanadiensLady Byng Memorial Trophy:(Excellence and sportsmanship) Sid Smith, Toronto Maple LeafsVezina Trophy:(Goaltender of team with the best goals-against average) Terry Sawchuk, Detroit Red Wings

+ All-Star teams First team   Position   Second teamHarry Lumley, Toronto Maple Leafs GTerry Sawchuk, Detroit Red WingsDoug Harvey, Montreal Canadiens DBob Goldham, Detroit Red WingsRed Kelly, Detroit Red Wings DFern Flaman, Boston BruinsJean Beliveau, Montreal Canadiens CKen Mosdell, Montreal CanadiensMaurice Richard, Montreal Canadiens RWBernie Geoffrion, Montreal CanadiensSid Smith, Toronto Maple Leafs LWDanny Lewicki, New York Rangers

Player statistics

Scoring leaders Note: GP = Games played, G = Goals, A = Assists, PTS = Points, PIM = Penalties in minutes Player Team GP G A PTS PIM Bernie Geoffrion Montreal Canadiens 70 38 37 75 57 Maurice Richard Montreal Canadiens 67 38 36 74 125 Jean Beliveau Montreal Canadiens 70 37 36 73 58 Earl Reibel Detroit Red Wings 70 25 41 66 15 Gordie Howe Detroit Red Wings 64 29 33 62 68 Red Sullivan Chicago Black Hawks 69 19 42 61 51 Bert Olmstead Montreal Canadiens 70 10 48 58 103 Sid Smith Toronto Maple Leafs 70 33 21 54 14 Ken Mosdell Montreal Canadiens 70 22 32 54 82 Danny Lewicki New York Rangers 70 29 24 53 8 Source: NHL

Leading goaltenders

Note: GP = Games played; Min – Minutes played; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts Player Team GP MIN GA GAA W L T SOHarry Lumley Toronto Maple Leafs 69 4140 133 1.93 23 24 22 8Terry Sawchuk Detroit Red Wings 68 4080 132 1.94 40 17 11 12Jacques Plante Montreal Canadiens 52 3120 109 2.10 31 13 7 5Charlie Hodge Montreal Canadiens 14 820 31 2.27 7 3 4 1John Henderson Boston Bruins 45 2652 109 2.47 15 14 15 5Lorne Worsley New York Rangers 65 3900 195 3.00 15 33 17 4Jim Henry Boston Bruins 27 1548 79 3.06 8 12 6 1Hank Bassen Chicago Black Hawks 21 1260 63 3.00 4 9 8 0Al Rollins Chicago Black Hawks 44 2640 149 3.39 9 27 8 0

Coaches Boston Bruins: Milt Schmidt Chicago Black Hawks: Frank Eddolls Detroit Red Wings: Jimmy Skinner Montreal Canadiens: Dick Irvin New York Rangers: Muzz Patrick Toronto Maple Leafs: King Clancy

Debuts The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1954–55 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs): Don McKenney, Boston Bruins Don Cherry*, Boston Bruins (only NHL game of career) Charlie Hodge, Montreal Canadiens Jean-Guy Talbot, Montreal Canadiens Lou Fontinato, New York Rangers Dick Duff, Toronto Maple Leafs

Last games The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1954–55 (listed with their last team): Gus Bodnar, Boston Bruins Milt Schmidt, Boston Bruins Jim Henry, Boston Bruins Bill Mosienko, Chicago Black Hawks Paul Ronty, Montreal Canadiens Edgar Laprade, New York Rangers Bill Ezinicki, New York Rangers Don Cherry, Boston Bruins (Only NHL game of his career)

Broadcasting This was the third season of Hockey Night in Canada on CBC Television. Coverage included selected Stanley Cup playoff games. Both regular season and playoff games were not broadcast in their entirety until the 1968–69 season, and were typically joined in progress, while the radio version of HNIC aired games in their entirety.

See also 1954–55 NHL transactions 1954 NHL Intra-League Draft List of Stanley Cup champions 8th National Hockey League All-Star Game National Hockey League All-Star Game 1954 in sports 1955 in sports

References

Notes

External links Hockey Database NHL.com