Detroit Red Wings (NHL, 1965-66)

 

1965-66 Regular Season
Red Wings vs. New York Rangers

The 1960s had been a decent decade for the Red Wings, heading into the 1965-66 season. While not the powerhouse the team was back in the early-mid 1950s (they typically finished fourth), the Wings had qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs five of the last six seasons, reaching the Finals three times. Detroit had rode the hot goaltending of rookie Roger Crozier to a first place finish in 1964-65, their first time finishing first since 1956-57. Sid Abel returned as Head Coach/General Manager, the second season he had both titles. Home games were played at the 13,375-seat Olympia Stadium.

     The Red Wings finished comfortably in fourth place in 1965-66, with a 31-27-12 record. Their 74 points put them 26 points ahead of fifth place Boston and just five back of third place Toronto. Since this is the Original Six era, the Wings easily qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the fourth straight season. The team averaged 12,271 per game at Olympia Stadium.

     Detroit had the third-best offense in the 6-team NHL, scoring 221 goals. Gordie Howe, in his nineteenth season with the Red Wings, led the team with 29 goals and 75 points in 70 games. The always-dependable Norm Ullman and team captain Alex Delvecchio each led the team in goals with 31. Ullman had 72 points in all 70 games while Delvecchio chipped in 69 points in 70 games. Floyd Smith (21), Bruce McGregor (20) and Parker MacDonald (22) were the other Red Wings with at least 20 goals on the year. The leading scorer on defense was Doug Barkley, with 5 goals and 20 points in 43 games.

     The Wings were about the same on defense, finishing fourth in the league by allowing 194 goals. The team used three goaltenders, but 23-year old Roger Crozier was clearly the starter. "Roger the Dodger" turned in a solid sophomore season, with a 27-24-12 record, a 2.78 GAA and 7 shutouts in 64 games. Veteran Hank Bassen was his main backup, appearing in 11 games with a 3-3-0 record and 2.51 GAA. 22-year old George Gardiner, acquired during the 1964 intraleague draft, was 1-0-0 with a 1.00 GAA in his lone appearance. Crozier and Bassen were in net for the playoffs.

     The team had the second-fewest penalty minutes in the NHL, with just 804. 22-year old super-pest Bryan "Bugsy" Watson led the team with 133 PIM in 70 games. Gary Bergman was next with 96 PIM in 61 games, while Gordie Howe had 83 PIM in 70 games. 

     Being the fourth seed in the playoffs, the Wings drew a familiar foe: the Chicago Black Hawks. This would be the fifth time these two rivals faced each other in the playoffs, and it was tied 2-2. Chicago finished second with a 37-25-8 record, and featured a loaded offense, with sharpshooters like Bobby Hull, Stan Mikita, Ken Wharram and Phil Esposito in their roster, as well as workhorse goaltender (and former Red Wing) Glenn Hall. The series went six games, and the Wings upset the Black Hawks, shutting down Chicago's vaunted offense, outscoring the Hawks 22-10. Watson shadowed Bobby Hull effectively, limiting "The Golden Jet" to just 2 goals and 4 points in 6 games.

     Detroit faced the defending champion Montreal Canadiens in the 1966 Stanley Cup Finals. Montreal finished first overall with a 41-21-8 record. The Habs were rested after blowing away the Toronto Maple Leafs in four straight, outscoring the Leafs 15-6 in the process. Detroit and Montreal were fierce rivals in the 1950s, having met in the playoffs six times in the previous decade. However, this was the only time they met up in the postseason in the 1960s. 

     Many favored Montreal to win, but the Wings stunned the Canadiens, riding the hot goaltending of Crozier to a 2-0 lead in the series, winning both games in Montreal (3-2 and 5-2). Red Wings fans were dreaming of their first Stanley Cup since 1955. Unfortunately, fate intervened as Crozier suffered a leg injury in Game 4. Montreal raced back to win the series in six games, as Henri Richard scored a controversial overtime goal on Olympia ice. Despite the loss, Crozier became the first goaltender and first player on a losing team to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoffs MVP.

     I got this program in a three-pack in Caro on Facebook Marketplace today. This program is from the February 10, 1966 contest between the Red Wings and New York Rangers. Detroit won, 6-2, in front of 13,016 to improve to 25-15-8 on the year. 

     Here is the roster for the Wings at that time. There are six Hall of Famers on the Red Wings roster. Gordie Howe would end up playing through the 1979-80 season and still holds the team record for goals and points. Alex Delvecchio served as captain for 12 years, and played a team-record 24 years with the Wings. Norm Ullman was a dependable 20-30 goal scorer for almost all of his career, and just missed the scoring title in 1964-65. Bill Gadsby was a rugged defenseman who played 19 seasons in the NHL, including the last five with Detroit, where he made his home the rest of his life. Andy Bathgate was a former Rangers superstar in the late 1950s and 1960s, often one of the few highlights on some awful Rangers squads.  Coach/GM Sid Abel was the former center on the Production Line with Howe and Ted Lindsay, leading the Wings to three Cups in his career (1943, 1950, 1952). 

     Other notable Red Wings include Paul Henderson, who would later score one of the most legendary goals in Canadian hockey history, when he scored the winner in Game 8 of the 1972 Summit Series against the USSR. Bruce MacGregor would later play a key role in the Rangers rise to Stanley Cup contenders, helping New York reach the 1972 Finals. Bert Marshall would play 14 years in the NHL with Detroit, Oakland and the New York Islanders, and would become head coach of the 1981-82 Colorado Rockies. Hank Bassen was the main backup for the Wings throughout the late 1950s and 1960s, and his son Bob would follow his father into the NHL, playing 765 games. Floyd Smith would later coach in the NHL with the Buffalo Sabres for three seasons.

     The Red Wings were a veteran team in "win-now" mode. Their opponents that night, the Rangers, were a team rebuilding with youth. One of the most popular Rangers in team history was goaltender Ed Giacomin, though Eddie heard a lot more boos in 1966 than cheers. Giacomin won only 8 games on a struggling Rangers squad in 1966. He would go on to win 290 games in his 12-year career, spent with New York and Detroit. Jean Ratelle was one of the classiest players in the NHL during his 20-year career, accumulating only 276 PIM while scoring 491 goals and 1,267 points between New York and Boston. Vic Hadfield played 12 of his 15-year NHL career with the Rangers and became a 50-goal scorer as part of the famous GAG (Goal A Game) Line with Ratelle and Rod Gilbert. Bob Nevin, part of the Andy Bathgate trade with Toronto in 1964, led the team in scoring in 1966, scoring 29 goals and 62 points. Don Marshall won five straight Stanley Cups with the Canadiens in the 1950s and played a valuable role in the Rangers renaissance in the late 1960s. Harry Howell was a steady defenseman for the Rangers for 16 seasons, winning the 1967 Norris Trophy. Reg Fleming was part of the 1961 Stanley Cup Champion Black Hawks and would be one of the first players to jump to the upstart World Hockey Association in 1972. Near the end of his career, he would lead the IHL's Saginaw Gears to the Turner Cup Finals. Defenseman Jim Nielsen played 16 seasons in the NHL, mostly with the Rangers. Head Coach/GM Emile Francis was a former goaltender with the Rangers and Black Hawks, then spent 10 years as Coach/GM of the Rangers, leading the youth movement that revived the sad-sack Rangers and also growing hockey in the New York area. Hall of Famers on the Rangers include Giacomin, Howell, Ratelle, Rod Gilbert (not listed in this program) and Francis.

     For a program that's nearly 60 years old, it's in very good shape. It's 32 pages long with most of the ads and pictures in black and white. Alex Delvecchio is profiled on pages 7 and 14, while Rangers forward Arnie Brown is featured on pages 9-10. Emile Francis, who autographed the cover (according to the person who sold this to me), is featured on pages 24 and 28, updating fans on his rebuilding of the Rangers farm system. Scrapbook pictures include Gary Bergman and Rangers defenseman Harry Howell. Local advertisements include Koepplinger's, Harding Tire Company, Carl's Chop House, Wilson's Dairy Foods and Vernor's (on sale at Olympia).

     The auto industry was still flying high in Detroit back then, so there are numerous car and car-related ads. Car advertisements include the 1966 widetrack Pontiac, the 1966 Corvair Monza convertible, the 1966 Buick Skylark Gran Sport, the 1966 Oldsmobile Toronado, the 1966 Dodge Charger and the 1966 AMC Ambassador DPL. AC Spark Plugs has a full-page ad on page 2. Auto dealers include Drysdale Buick, BJ Ratigan of Livonia, Shalla Chevrolet, and Stu Evans Lincoln Mercury (Evans was a former Red Wing, from 1930-34). 

Aftermath: The Red Wings, a perennial contender since the 1940s, would slump to fifth place in 1966-67. The team would go through the "Dead Wings" era for the next 17 seasons, missing the playoffs 15 times in that stretch, wasting the final five seasons Gordie Howe played in Detroit. The Wings would not make the Finals again until 1995 and not win the Cup until 1997.

Bonus: Here is the film from the 1966 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Bill Hewitt and Danny Gallivan of CBC's Hockey Night in Canada are on play-by-play.  

   

References:

National Hockey League Regular Statistics: 1965-66, from hockeydb.com