1968–69 NHL season

The 1968–69 NHL season was the 52nd season of the National Hockey League. Twelve teams each played 76 games (two more than in 1967–68). For the second time in a row, the Montreal Canadiens faced the St. Louis Blues in the Stanley Cup finals. Montreal won for their second Stanley Cup in a row as they swept the Blues in four, which was exactly the same result of the previous season.

Regular season

Final standings

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes
Note: Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold

East Division GP W L T Pts GF GA PIM
Montreal Canadiens 76 46 19 11 103 271 202 780
Boston Bruins 76 42 18 16 100 303 221 1297
New York Rangers 76 41 26 9 91 231 196 806
Toronto Maple Leafs 76 35 26 15 85 234 217 961
Detroit Red Wings 76 33 31 12 78 239 221 885
Chicago Black Hawks 76 34 33 9 77 280 246 842
West Division GP W L T Pts GF GA PIM
St. Louis Blues 76 37 25 14 88 204 157 838
Oakland Seals 76 29 36 11 69 219 251 811
Philadelphia Flyers 76 20 35 21 61 174 225 964
Los Angeles Kings 76 24 42 10 58 185 260 698
Pittsburgh Penguins 76 20 45 11 51 189 252 677
Minnesota North Stars 76 18 43 15 51 189 270 862

Scoring leaders

Note: GP = Games played, G = Goals, A = Assists, PTS = Points, PIM = Penalties in minutes

Player Team GP G A PTS PIM
Phil Esposito Boston Bruins 74 49 77 126 79
Bobby Hull Chicago Black Hawks 74 58 49 107 48
Gordie Howe Detroit Red Wings 76 44 59 103 58
Stan Mikita Chicago Black Hawks 74 30 67 97 52
Ken Hodge Boston Bruins 75 45 45 90 75
Yvan Cournoyer Montreal Canadiens 76 43 44 87 31
Alex Delvecchio Detroit Red Wings 72 25 58 83 8
Red Berenson St. Louis Blues 76 35 47 82 43
Frank Mahovlich Detroit Red Wings 76 49 29 78 38
Jean Ratelle New York Rangers 76 32 46 78 26

Stanley Cup playoffs

Playoff bracket

  Quarterfinals Semifinals Stanley Cup Finals
                           
  1  Montreal 4  
3  New York 0  
  1  Montreal 4  
  2  Boston 2  
2  Boston 4
  4  Toronto 0  
    E1  Montreal 4
  W1  St. Louis 0
  1  St. Louis 4  
3  Philadelphia 0  
  1  St. Louis 4
  4  Los Angeles 0  
2  Oakland 3
  4  Los Angeles 4  

NHL awards

Prince of Wales Trophy: Montreal Canadiens
Clarence S. Campbell Bowl: St. Louis Blues
Art Ross Memorial Trophy: Phil Esposito, Boston Bruins
Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy: Ted Hampson, Oakland Seals
Calder Memorial Trophy: Danny Grant, Minnesota North Stars
Conn Smythe Trophy: Serge Savard, Montreal Canadiens
Hart Memorial Trophy: Phil Esposito, Boston Bruins
James Norris Memorial Trophy: Bobby Orr, Boston Bruins
Lady Byng Memorial Trophy: Alex Delvecchio, Detroit Red Wings
NHL Plus/Minus Award: Bobby Orr, Boston Bruins
Vezina Trophy: Glenn Hall & Jacques Plante, St. Louis Blues
Lester Patrick Trophy: Robert M. Hull

All-Star teams

First Team   Position   Second Team
Glenn Hall, St. Louis Blues G Ed Giacomin, New York Rangers
Bobby Orr, Boston Bruins D Ted Green, Boston Bruins
Tim Horton, Toronto Maple Leafs D Ted Harris, Montreal Canadiens
Phil Esposito, Boston Bruins C Jean Beliveau, Montreal Canadiens
Gordie Howe, Detroit Red Wings RW Yvan Cournoyer, Montreal Canadiens
Bobby Hull, Chicago Black Hawks LW Frank Mahovlich, Detroit Red Wings

References