1967 Stanley Cup Finals

The 1967 Stanley Cup Final was a best-of-seven series played between the Montreal Canadiens and the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Maple Leafs would win the series four games to two to win their thirteenth Stanley Cup. As of 2011^[update], this is Toronto's most recent Stanley Cup championship, most recent appearance in the championship final, and with the Chicago Blackhawks ending a 49-year Cup drought with their victory in the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals, is the longest-active championship drought in the NHL. The 1967 Stanley Cup Final was also the last Stanley Cup Final in the Original Six Era.

Paths to the Final

This was the last Stanley Cup before the 1967 expansion which meant only three series in total were played in the playoffs. Montreal defeated New York to advance to the finals and Toronto defeated Chicago.

The series

The average age of the Leafs' players was 31, the oldest lineup to win the Cup.^[1] Johnny Bower was 42 and Allan Stanley was 41. Dave Keon won the Conn Smythe Trophy.

Montreal won the opener 6–2, soundly trouncing Toronto. For the second game, Terry Sawchuk was replaced with Bower and provided the Leafs with a shutout win 3–0. Bower was in net for game three won 3–2 on Bob Pulford's overtime goal. This game has been described as "one of the most exciting games ever played".^[2]

Bower was injured before game four and Sawchuk had to take over. Al Smith was called up from the minors to served as back-up for the fourth and fifth games. The Canadiens defeated the Leafs 6–2 again, this time in Toronto to even the series. Sawchuk would play very well in the next two games, backstopping the Leafs to the Cup. In the sixth game Bower returned to the line-up as back up. Jim Pappin scored his seventh goal of the playoffs and Sawchuk stopped 41 shots helping Toronto win the cup. Pappin had four goals and four assists in the Final series.

Toronto Maple Leafs 1967 Stanley Cup champions

Roster

Stanley Cup engraving

• The "K" in Peter Stemkowski name was engraved backwards.
• Stafford Smythe name was misspelled C. ST FFORD SMYTHE PRESIDENT missing an "A". Both mistakes were corrected on the Replica Cup created in 1992–93.
• Leonard "Red" Kelly won 8 Stanley Cups. He was engraved as Leonard Kelly in 1954, 1955, 1962, 1963, 1964. Kelly was engraved as Red Kelly in 1950, 1952, 1967.
• Johnny Bower was 42 years old when he won his fourth and final Stanley Cup.

Won all 4 Stanley Cups in 6 Years with Toronto 1962, 1963, 1964, 1967

George Armstrong, Bob Baun, Johnny Bower, Larry Hillman, Tim Horton, Red Kelly, Dave Keon, Frank Mahovlich, Bob Pulford, Eddie Shack, Allan Stanley (11 players), Stafford Smythe, Harold Ballard, John Bassette, Punch Imlach, King Clancy, Bob Haggart, Tom Nayler (7 non-players)

See also

• List of Stanley Cup champions
• 1966–67 NHL season

Notes

References

• Diamond, Dan, ed (2000). Total Stanley Cup. NHL. 
• McFarlane, Brian (1973). The History of the National Hockey League. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. ISBN 684-13424-1. 
• Podnieks, Andrew; Hockey Hall of Fame (2004). Lord Stanley's Cup. Triumph Books. ISBN 1-55168-261.