Paul Henderson
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- This article is about the Canadian ice hockey player. For others with the same name, see Paul Henderson (disambiguation).
Paul Henderson (born January 28, 1943 in Lucknow, Ontario, Canada) is a retired Canadian hockey left winger who played 13 seasons in the National Hockey League for the Detroit Red Wings, Toronto Maple Leafs and Atlanta Flames. He is best known for scoring the winning goal against the USSR in game eight of the the 1972 Summit Series.
Paul Henderson presently works in various ministries affiliated with Campus Crusade for Christ.
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[edit] Playing career
Paul Henderson played left wing in various professional leagues in North America, as well as for Team Canada in international competitions. Henderson is best known for scoring hockey's most famous goal, helping Team Canada clinch the 1972 Summit Series against the Soviet Union in the dying seconds of the final game.
Henderson played his junior career with the Hamilton Red Wings of the OHA from 1960 to 1963. He would help lead Hamilton to the Memorial Cup title in 1962.
Henderson played 13 seasons in the NHL. He began his career in 1962 with the Detroit Red Wings, staying there until 1968 (with the exception of the 1963 season, when he played for the Pittsburgh Hornets of the AHL). He was traded by Detroit with Norm Ullman and Floyd Smith to the Toronto Maple Leafs for Frank Mahovlich, Garry Unger, Pete Stemkowski and the contract rights to Carl Brewer on March 3, 1968.
He was among the NHL players selected to compete against the USSR in the 1972 Summit Series. He became famous in Canada after scoring the winning goals in the final three games of the eight-game series, securing the Canadian victory. He also played for Canada in the 1974 Summit Series in which Canadian WHA players were pitted against the Soviet team.
In 1974, Henderson left the Maple Leafs and the NHL altogether, jumping to the rival WHA where he played for the Toronto Toros. He remained with the Toros franchise after its relocation to Birmingham, Alabama and re-named the Birmingham Bulls. He stayed with the team when it transferred to the Central Hockey League in 1979.
He returned to the NHL in 1980 for one final season, playing for the Atlanta Flames. The following season he returned to the Birmingham Bulls and retired in 1981.
[edit] HHOF Debate
Henderson has not been inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, and there is much debate over his omission. He scored one of the most famous goals in Hockey and Canadian sports history when he scored the winning goal in the deciding game eight of the 1972 Summit Series between Canada and the Soviet Union. If Henderson was inducted, it would be due almost entirely to the historical significance of that goal (plus his game-winners in games six and seven as well). Although his NHL numbers were respectable (236 goals and 477 points in 707 career NHL games), they are not close to the levels of those generally selected for induction. His candidacy has led to many debates among hockey fans, because although his performance in the Summit Series made him one of the most well known names in hockey, many fans feel that it is not right to honour a player's entire career because of one highlight.
Shortly before the 2002 Winter Olympics held in Salt Lake City, Henderson criticized former Summit Series teammate Bobby Clarke for his slash on Valery Kharlamov's ankle, saying that the act was unsportsmanlike. Clarke fired back, saying that Henderson had made his career entirely on the historical significance the series-winning goal, and that Henderson would have remained an unknown if he did not score these goals.
[edit] Awards
- Led the Ontario Hockey Association Junior "A" League in goals in 1963 (49)
- Played in the 1972 NHL All-Star Game
- Played in the 1973 NHL All-Star Game
- MasterWorks honouree (2004) by the Audio-Visual Preservation Trust of Canada (video clip).
[edit] Records
- Most game-winning goals in 1972 Summit Series (3; record was held by Vladimir Vikulov (2), prior to Game 8)
- Most consecutive game-winning goals in 1972 Summit Series (3; record was held by Vladimir Vikulov (2), prior to Game 8)
- Most goals in 1972 Summit Series (7, tied with Phil Esposito and Alexander Yakushev)
- One of two players (the other being Frank Mahovlich), to have played for Canada in the 1972 Summit Series and 1974 Summit Series
[edit] Career statistics
| Regular Season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1960-61 | Hamilton | OHA Jr. A | 30 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 9 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 1961-62 | Hamilton | OHA Jr. A | 50 | 24 | 19 | 43 | 68 | 10 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 13 | ||
| 1962-63 | Hamilton | OHA Jr. A | 48 | 49 | 27 | 76 | 53 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 1962-63 | Detroit | NHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1963-64 | Pittsburgh | AHL | 38 | 10 | 14 | 24 | 18 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1963-64 | Detroit | NHL | 32 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 14 | 14 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 6 | ||
| 1964-65 | Detroit | NHL | 70 | 8 | 13 | 21 | 30 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 1965-66 | Detroit | NHL | 69 | 22 | 24 | 46 | 34 | 12 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 10 | ||
| 1966-67 | Detroit | NHL | 46 | 21 | 19 | 40 | 10 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1967-68 | Detroit | NHL | 50 | 13 | 20 | 33 | 35 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1967-68 | Toronto | NHL | 13 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 8 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1968-69 | Toronto | NHL | 74 | 27 | 32 | 59 | 16 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 1969-70 | Toronto | NHL | 67 | 20 | 22 | 42 | 18 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1970-71 | Toronto | NHL | 72 | 30 | 30 | 60 | 34 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 4 | ||
| 1971-72 | Toronto | NHL | 73 | 38 | 19 | 57 | 32 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | ||
| 1972-73 | Toronto | NHL | 40 | 18 | 16 | 34 | 18 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1973-74 | Toronto | NHL | 69 | 24 | 31 | 55 | 40 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 1974-75 | Toronto | WHA | 58 | 30 | 33 | 63 | 18 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1975-76 | Toronto | WHA | 65 | 26 | 29 | 55 | 22 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1976-77 | Birmingham | WHA | 81 | 23 | 25 | 48 | 30 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1977-78 | Birmingham | WHA | 80 | 37 | 29 | 66 | 22 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 1978-79 | Birmingham | WHA | 76 | 24 | 27 | 51 | 20 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1979-80 | Birmingham | CHL | 47 | 17 | 18 | 35 | 10 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1979-80 | Atlanta | NHL | 30 | 7 | 6 | 13 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1980-81 | Birmingham | CHL | 35 | 6 | 11 | 17 | 38 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| NHL Totals | 707 | 236 | 241 | 477 | 304 | 56 | 11 | 14 | 25 | 28 | ||||
| WHA Totals | 360 | 140 | 143 | 283 | 112 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | ||||
[edit] International play
- Played for Team Canada in the 1972 Summit Series.
- Played for Team Canada in the 1974 Summit Series.
- One of three players to have played for Team Canada both Summit Series. The other two were Pat Stapleton and Frank Mahovlich.
International Statistics
| Year | Team | Event | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | Canada | Summit | 8 | 7 | 3 | 10 | 4 |
| 1974 | Canada | Summit | 7 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
[edit] References
- 1972 Summit Series.com. 1972 Summit Series.com. Retrieved on 2006-03-09.
- Paul Henderson. The Summit in 1974: Canada plays USSR. Retrieved on 2008-03-09.
Categories: Canadian ice hockey players | 1972 Team Canada players | Detroit Red Wings players | Toronto Maple Leafs players | Atlanta Flames players | Toronto Toros players | Birmingham Bulls players | Hamilton Red Wings alumni | Pittsburgh Hornets players | Canada's Sports Hall of Fame | Ontario sportspeople | People from Bruce County, Ontario | 1943 births | Living people | Clan Henderson
