The 1959–60 NHL season was the 43rd season of the National Hockey League (NHL) which lasted from October 7, 1959 to April 14, 1960.
The Montreal Canadiens were the Stanley Cup winners as they defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs four games to none for their fifth straight Stanley Cup.
Regular Season[]
Playoffs[]
The momentum did not stop for the Habs as they played the minimum number of games to win the Stanley Cup. Montreal (in the process) became the last Cup winners in NHL history to go undefeated in the playoffs to date.
After winning the Stanley Cup, Maurice Richard retired from the NHL as a champion.
Final[]
Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Montreal Canadiens
| Date | Away | Score | Home | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 7 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 2 | Montreal Canadiens | 4 | |
| April 9 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 1 | Montreal Canadiens | 2 | |
| April 12 | Montreal Canadiens | 5 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 2 | |
| April 14 | Montreal Canadiens | 4 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 0 |
Montreal wins best-of-seven series four games to none
Awards[]
Gordie Howe won the Hart Trophy to become the first five-time winner of the Hart. In voting, he received 118 votes of a possible 180, twice as many as runner-up Bobby Hull.
Howe was the last winner of the original Hart Trophy.
The trophy was retired to the Hockey Hall of Fame and the NHL began presenting a new trophy, which was dubbed the Hart Memorial Trophy in its place. Hull won the Art Ross Trophy for the scoring championship, his first.
Doug Harvey won the Norris Trophy for the fifth time and the fifth time in the seven times it had been awarded.
The Canadiens had the lowest goals against average, for the fifth consecutive time and Jacques Plante was awarded his fifth Vezina Trophy. The Black Hawks' Glenn Hall was named to the First All-Star team as goaltender.
| 1959–60 NHL awards | |
|---|---|
| Prince of Wales Trophy: (Regular season champion) |
Montreal Canadiens |
| Art Ross Trophy: (Top scorer) |
Bobby Hull, Chicago Black Hawks |
| Calder Memorial Trophy: (Best first-year player) |
Bill Hay, Chicago Black Hawks |
| Hart Trophy: (Most valuable player) |
Gordie Howe, Detroit Red Wings |
| James Norris Memorial Trophy: (Best defenceman) |
Doug Harvey, Montreal Canadiens |
| Lady Byng Memorial Trophy: (Excellence and sportsmanship) |
Don McKenney, Boston Bruins |
| Vezina Trophy: (Goaltender of team with the best goals-against average) |
Jacques Plante, Montreal Canadiens |
All-Star teams[]
| First team | Position | Second team |
|---|---|---|
| Glenn Hall, Chicago Black Hawks | G | Jacques Plante, Montreal Canadiens |
| Doug Harvey, Montreal Canadiens | D | Allan Stanley, Toronto Maple Leafs |
| Marcel Pronovost, Detroit Red Wings | D | Pierre Pilote, Chicago Black Hawks |
| Jean Beliveau, Montreal Canadiens | C | Bronco Horvath, Boston Bruins |
| Gordie Howe, Detroit Red Wings | RW | Bernie Geoffrion, Montreal Canadiens |
| Bobby Hull, Chicago Black Hawks | LW | Dean Prentice, New York Rangers |
Player Statistics[]
Scoring leaders[]
(Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points)
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bobby Hull | Chicago Black Hawks | 70 | 39 | 42 | 81 |
| Bronco Horvath | Boston Bruins | 68 | 39 | 41 | 80 |
| Jean Beliveau | Montreal Canadiens | 60 | 34 | 40 | 74 |
| Andy Bathgate | New York Rangers | 70 | 26 | 48 | 74 |
| Henri Richard | Montreal Canadiens | 70 | 30 | 43 | 73 |
| Gordie Howe | Detroit Red Wings | 70 | 28 | 45 | 73 |
| Bernie Geoffrion | Montreal Canadiens | 59 | 30 | 41 | 71 |
| Don McKenney | Boston Bruins | 70 | 20 | 49 | 69 |
| Vic Stasiuk | Boston Bruins | 69 | 29 | 39 | 68 |
| Dean Prentice | New York Rangers | 70 | 32 | 34 | 66 |
Leading goaltenders[]
(Note: GP = Games played; MIN = Minutes played; GA = Goals against; SO = Shut outs; AVG = Goals against average)
| Player | Team | GP | MINS | GA | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jacques Plante | Montreal Canadiens | 69 | 4140 | 175 | 3 | 2.54 |
| Glenn Hall | Chicago Black Hawks | 70 | 4200 | 179 | 6 | 2.56 |
| Terry Sawchuk | Detroit Red Wings | 58 | 3480 | 155 | 5 | 2.67 |
| Johnny Bower | Toronto Maple Leafs | 66 | 3960 | 177 | 5 | 2.68 |
| Don Simmons | Boston Bruins | 28 | 1680 | 91 | 2 | 3.25 |
| Harry Lumley | Boston Bruins | 42 | 2520 | 146 | 2 | 3.48 |
| Gump Worsley | New York Rangers | 39 | 2301 | 135 | 0 | 3.52 |
Debuts[]
The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1959–60:
- Dallas Smith, Boston Bruins
- Bill Hay, Chicago Black Hawks
- J.C. Tremblay, Montreal Canadiens
- Dave Balon, New York Rangers
- Ken Schinkel, New York Rangers
Last Games[]
The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1959–60 (listed with their last team):
- Fleming MacKell, Boston Bruins
- Maurice Richard, Montreal Canadiens
- Al Rollins, New York Rangers
- Harry Lumley, Boston Bruins
- Dave Creighton, Toronto Maple Leafs