Legendary hockey reporter Stan Fischler writes a weekly scrapbook for NHL.com. Fischler, known as “The Hockey Maven,” shares his humor and insight with readers every Wednesday.
This week Fischler presents a hat trick of unusual NHL trades, each celebrating a meaningful anniversary in 2022, including one this week.
1. 75TH ANNIVERSARY: THE TRADE THAT BOOSTED THE RANGERS, SUNK THE CANADIENS (August 19, 1947)
Heading into the 1947-48 season, the New York Rangers had missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs for five straight seasons. New York’s manager Frank Boucher realized that he had to do something to shake things up on their roster.
“I knew that one of Montreal’s young defensemen, Frankie Eddolls, was in the minors but should have been in the NHL,” Boucher wrote in his autobiography. “I was also surprised that a little center, Buddy O’Connor, wasn’t getting the ice time he deserved.”
The Canadiens were willing to talk about a deal. Boucher’s counterpart Frank Selke wanted young Rangers defenseman Hal Laycoe, forward Joe Bell and minor league forward George Robertson.
The trade was consummated after which Boucher told New York World-Telegram hockey writer Jim Burchard that it would help get the Rangers back into the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
“Burchard wrote that I had outfoxed Selke,” Boucher recalled. “At any rate I picked the following order of finish. 1. Toronto; 2. Detroit; 3. Boston; 4. Rangers; 5. Montreal; 6. Chicago.”
Bullseye for Boucher.
A future Hockey Hall of Famer, O’Connor had NHL career highs with 24 goals and 60 points in 1947-48 and became the first NHL player to win both the Hart and Lady Byng trophies in the same season. He missed winning the scoring championship by a single point.
Eddolls emerged as the Rangers best defenseman.
The Canadiens got nothing much out of Bell nor Robertson while Laycoe was average at best.
“O’Connor and Eddolls were a major reason for our rise,” Boucher said. “We made the playoffs and missed Montreal.”
2. 70TH ANNIVERSARY: THE DEAL THAT SAVED THE BLACK HAWKS (September 11, 1952)
After the Chicago Black Hawks missed the playoffs six straight seasons in the late 1940’s and early 1950’s, general manager Bill Tobin searched for help. Fortunately for Chicago, Toronto Maple Leafs hockey boss Conn Smythe was in the mood to shake up his squad ahead of the 1952-53 season.
“Our fellows have been whipped for a long time,” Smythe said. “Someone will be getting some good hockey players.”
As luck would have it, that “someone” was Tobin. The Black Hawks wound up acquiring Vezina Trophy-winner Al Rollins, four-time Stanley Cup-winning defenseman Gus Mortson, center Cal Gardner, who’d won the Cup twice, and forward Ray Hannigan.
In return, the Maple Leafs acquired goalie Harry Lumley. And that’s all.
Rollins, who would win the Hart Trophy a season later, Mortson and Gardner helped the Black Hawks reach the playoffs in 1952-53. The Maple Leafs — even with Lumley’s 10 shutouts — missed the postseason for the first time in seven seasons.
3. 80TH ANNIVERSARY: SELLING A LEADING SCORER (October 4, 1942)
Maple Leafs right wing Gordie Drillon led the NHL with 52 points (26 goals, 26 assists) in 1937-38, was a two-time First Team All-Star (1938, 1939) and was their leading goal-scorer (23) in 1941-42. And yet, incredibly, before the 1942-43 season began, the Maple Leafs sold the 29-year-old to Montreal for $30,000.
The dumping of Drillon was based on his poor play in the first three games of the 1942 Stanley Cup Final when the Maple Leafs lost each game to the Detroit Red Wings.
“Gordie was too slow,” coach Hap Day said. “I had to bench him.”
Drillon was replaced by minor league forward Don Metz, who helped launch what remains the only Stanley Cup Final comeback of its kind. Toronto won four straight games and the Cup — all without Drillon in the lineup.
“I had been dreaming about that Stanley Cup since I was a kid,” Drillon lamented. “But when this season was finished, I wasn’t even on the bench. I won’t be back with the Leafs next winter.”
Five months later the Canadiens purchased Drillon, who scored an NHL-career-high 28 goals and added four more in the 1943 playoffs. His career total of 26 playoff goals was a record that stood four years before being broken by Canadiens forward Maurice “The Rocket” Richard.
By that time Drillon had joined the Royal Canadian Air Force and never played in the NHL again. But in 1975 he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.
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