| 1959–60 NHL season | |
| League: | National Hockey League |
| Sport: | Ice hockey |
| Duration: | October 7, 1959 – April 14, 1960 |
| Season: | Regular season |
| No Of Games: | 70 |
| No Of Teams: | 6 |
| Tv: | CBC, SRC (Canada) CBS (United States) |
| Season Champ Name: | Season champion |
| Season Champs: | Montreal Canadiens |
| Mvp: | Gordie Howe (Red Wings) |
| Mvp Link: | Hart Memorial Trophy |
| Top Scorer: | Bobby Hull (Black Hawks) |
| Top Scorer Link: | Art Ross Trophy |
| Finals: | Stanley Cup |
| Finals Link: | 1960 Stanley Cup Finals |
| Finals Champ: | Montreal Canadiens |
| Finals Runner-Up: | Toronto Maple Leafs |
| Nextseason Link: | 1960–61 NHL season |
| Prevseason Link: | 1958–59 NHL season |
| Nextseason Year: | 1960–61 |
| Prevseason Year: | 1958–59 |
| Seasonslistnames: | NHL |
The 1959–60 NHL season was the 43rd season of the National Hockey League. 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.
This regular season, like the two preceding it and the two following it, belonged to the Montreal Canadiens, who were in the midst of five straight first overall finishes and at the tail end of five straight Stanley Cup victories. The Detroit Red Wings, who were dead last and missed the playoffs the previous season, squeaked into the playoffs by riding a Hart Memorial Trophy performance by their ageless star right-winger, Gordie Howe.
The season was marked by important changes in the NHL, as Canadiens goaltender Jacques Plante, like Clint Benedict before him, began to wear a mask in hockey games. Plante, who had asthma-related problems throughout his career, first began wearing a mask in practice shortly after a sinus operation in 1957. On November 1, 1959, Plante's nose was broken by a shot from New York Rangers right-winger Andy Bathgate. After being stitched up, Plante insisted on wearing a mask for the remainder of the game. Montreal coach Toe Blake was bitterly opposed to the idea, but did not have a backup goaltender and relented after Plante said he would not return to the ice without a mask. Although many in the NHL disapproved of Plante's decision due to NHL tradition at the time, many followed suit after Plante went undefeated in ten games with the mask on.
Phil Watson suffered an ulcer and was quietly dismissed as Ranger coach and replaced by Alf Pike. Gump Worsley was demoted to the Springfield Indians of the AHL and Worsley screamed he was finished with hockey, but reported to Springfield anyway. Indians owner Eddie Shore, known for his criticism of his players, gave Worsley a surprise vote of confidence. Gump played well for the Indians.
There was trouble brewing for Rangers right-winger Andy Bathgate, who had ripped open Plante's nose on the night of the goalie mask's official NHL debut. In a January 1960 True Magazine article ghosted by Dave Anderson, the defending league MVP listed the names of players whom he considered guilty of the dangerous act of spearing. This was brought to the attention of NHL President Clarence Campbell, who fined Bathgate $500 and Ranger general manager Muzz Patrick $100 on the grounds the article was prejudicial to and against the welfare of the league.
After being demoted to Springfield, Gump Worsley was brought back up as Marcel Paille was even worse in goal for New York. Gump and the Rangers beat the Canadiens 8–3 in his first game back on January 3, but on January 21, Montreal bombed Worsley 11-2. Later against the Chicago Black Hawks, Worsley suffered an injury that finished him for the season; Hawks' winger Bobby Hull skated over his catching glove and severed two tendons in his fingers. Al Rollins was called up to replace him. Later, Olympic hero Jack McCartan played a few games for the Rangers, acquitting himself very well.
The Boston Bruins narrowly missed the playoffs despite a flurry of offense, sparked by the "Uke Line" of Johnny Bucyk, Vic Stasiuk, and Bronco Horvath. Horvath finished a close second to Chicago's Bobby Hull in the scoring race and was named to the Second All-Star Team. Slick centre Don McKenney led the NHL in assists while winning the Lady Byng Trophy and versatile Doug Mohns also contributed. 1959–60 saw two veteran Bruins, centre Fleming MacKell and goaltender Harry Lumley, play their last campaigns before retirement.
This season marked the first season of the Original Six era during which every active player had played for Original Six teams only. Ken Mosdell, the last player to play for another team, retired the previous season.
Montreal played the minimum number of games, 8, to win the Stanley Cup and 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.
See main article: 1960 Stanley Cup Finals.
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.[1] 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
| Montreal Canadiens | |
| Art Ross Trophy
| Bobby Hull, Chicago Black Hawks | |
| Calder Memorial Trophy
| Bill Hay, Chicago Black Hawks | |
| Hart Trophy
| Gordie Howe, Detroit Red Wings | |
| James Norris Memorial Trophy
| Doug Harvey, Montreal Canadiens | |
| Lady Byng Memorial Trophy
| Don McKenney, Boston Bruins | |
| Vezina Trophy
| Jacques Plante, Montreal Canadiens | |
| First team | Position | Second team | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Glenn Hall, Chicago Black Hawks | align=center | G | Jacques Plante, Montreal Canadiens |
| Doug Harvey, Montreal Canadiens | align=center | D | Allan Stanley, Toronto Maple Leafs |
| Marcel Pronovost, Detroit Red Wings | align=center | D | Pierre Pilote, Chicago Black Hawks |
| Jean Beliveau, Montreal Canadiens | align=center | C | Bronco Horvath, Boston Bruins |
| Gordie Howe, Detroit Red Wings | align=center | RW | Bernie Geoffrion, Montreal Canadiens |
| Bobby Hull, Chicago Black Hawks | align=center | LW | Dean Prentice, New York Rangers |
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago Black Hawks | 70 | 39 | 42 | 81 | ||
| Boston Bruins | 68 | 39 | 41 | 80 | ||
| Montreal Canadiens | 60 | 34 | 40 | 74 | ||
| New York Rangers | 70 | 26 | 48 | 74 | ||
| Montreal Canadiens | 70 | 30 | 43 | 73 | ||
| Detroit Red Wings | 70 | 28 | 45 | 73 | ||
| Montreal Canadiens | 59 | 30 | 41 | 71 | ||
| Boston Bruins | 70 | 20 | 49 | 69 | ||
| Boston Bruins | 69 | 29 | 39 | 68 | ||
| New York Rangers | 70 | 32 | 34 | 66 |
Note: GP = Games played; MIN = Minutes played; GA = Goals against; SO = Shut outs; AVG = Goals against average
| Player | Team | GP | MINS | GA | SO | AVG | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montreal Canadiens | 69 | 4140 | 175 | 3 | 2.54 | ||
| Chicago Black Hawks | 70 | 4200 | 179 | 6 | 2.56 | ||
| Detroit Red Wings | 58 | 3480 | 155 | 5 | 2.67 | ||
| Toronto Maple Leafs | 66 | 3960 | 177 | 5 | 2.68 | ||
| Boston Bruins | 28 | 1680 | 91 | 2 | 3.25 | ||
| Boston Bruins | 42 | 2520 | 146 | 2 | 3.48 | ||
| New York Rangers | 39 | 2301 | 135 | 0 | 3.52 |
The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1959–60 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs):
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):
Hockey Night in Canada on CBC Television televised Saturday night regular season games and Stanley Cup playoff games. Games were not broadcast in their entirety until the 1968–69 season, and were typically joined in progress, while the radio version of HNIC aired games in their entirety.
In the U.S., this was final season of a four-year deal with CBS to televise Saturday afternoon regular season games. This season, CBS aired games from January to March. CBS decided not the renew its agreement, and the NHL would not be able to attract another American national network until the 1965–66 season.