1954–55 NHL season

The 1954–55 NHL season was the 38th season of the National Hockey League. Six teams played 70 games each. The Detroit Red Wings were the Stanley Cup champions as they defeated the Montreal Canadiens four games to three in the best-of-seven final series. The Canadiens were without star forward Maurice 'Rocket' Richard who had been suspended for the playoffs, a suspension which led to the March 17, 1955 "Richard Riot" in Montreal.

League business

Art Ross announced at the league governors meeting that his connection with Boston would terminate at the end of September. As this would be his last appearance at a league meeting, he took the opportunity to thank the governors and others associated with the league during the 30 years of his being officer of the Boston club for the kindness, courtesy and cooperation he had received, and extended his good wishes for the continued success of the league. Conn Smythe and Frank Selke voiced the good wishes of all present to Ross on his retirement.
Prior to the season, Red Wings head coach Tommy Ivan left Detroit to become general manager of the Chicago Black Hawks, and Jimmy Skinner replaced him behind the bench in the Motor City. One of the first things Ivan did at Chicago was to establish an extensive farm system, something the Black Hawks never had.

Regular season

On December 18, 1954, Maurice Richard scored his 400th career goal against Chicago netminder Al Rollins in a 4–1 Canadiens victory over the Black Hawks. Montreal and Toronto played to a 1–1 tie on December 29, at Maple Leaf Gardens. Maurice Richard got a standing ovation when he scored his 401st goal late in the first period.
In a scoreless tie at the Montreal Forum on March 10, a new ice cleaner and resurfacer called a Zamboni was used for the first time. The fans were not appreciative of Toronto's defensive style in this game and threw garbage, including pig's feet, on the ice.
The Richard Riot took place on March 17, 1955. Maurice Richard had been suspended by league president Clarence Campbell after an incident in a game against Boston where Richard punched the referee. Richard was suspended for the rest of the season and the playoffs. Campbell's subsequent appearance at a Canadiens' game at the Montreal Forum incited a group of protesters and led to violence in the Forum and in downtown Montreal.

Playoffs

Playoff bracket

The top four teams in the league qualified for the playoffs. In the semifinals, the first-place team played the third-place team, while the second-place team faced the fourth-place team, with the winners advancing to the Stanley Cup Finals. In both rounds, teams competed in a best-of-seven series.

Awards

First team	Position	Second team
Harry Lumley, Toronto Maple Leafs	G	Terry Sawchuk, Detroit Red Wings
Doug Harvey, Montreal Canadiens	D	Bob Goldham, Detroit Red Wings
Red Kelly, Detroit Red Wings	D	Fern Flaman, Boston Bruins
Jean Beliveau, Montreal Canadiens	C	Ken Mosdell, Montreal Canadiens
Maurice Richard, Montreal Canadiens	RW	Bernie Geoffrion, Montreal Canadiens
Sid Smith, Toronto Maple Leafs	LW	Danny Lewicki, New York Rangers

Player statistics

Scoring leaders

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

Player	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	PIM
Bernie Geoffrion	Montreal Canadiens	70	38	37	75	57
Maurice Richard	Montreal Canadiens	67	38	36	74	125
Jean Beliveau	Montreal Canadiens	70	37	36	73	58
Earl Reibel	Detroit Red Wings	70	25	41	66	15
Gordie Howe	Detroit Red Wings	64	29	33	62	68
Red Sullivan	Chicago Black Hawks	69	19	42	61	51
Bert Olmstead	Montreal Canadiens	70	10	48	58	103
Sid Smith	Toronto Maple Leafs	70	33	21	54	14
Ken Mosdell	Montreal Canadiens	70	22	32	54	82
Danny Lewicki	New York Rangers	70	29	24	53	8

Source: NHL

Leading goaltenders

Note: GP = Games played; Min – Minutes played; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts

Player	Team	GP	MIN	GA	GAA	W	L	T	SO
Harry Lumley	Toronto Maple Leafs	69	4140	133	1.93	23	24	22	8
Terry Sawchuk	Detroit Red Wings	68	4080	132	1.94	40	17	11	12
Jacques Plante	Montreal Canadiens	52	3120	109	2.10	31	13	7	5
Charlie Hodge	Montreal Canadiens	14	820	31	2.27	7	3	4	1
John Henderson	Boston Bruins	45	2652	109	2.47	15	14	15	5
Lorne Worsley	New York Rangers	65	3900	195	3.00	15	33	17	4
Jim Henry	Boston Bruins	27	1548	79	3.06	8	12	6	1
Hank Bassen	Chicago Black Hawks	21	1260	63	3.00	4	9	8	0
Al Rollins	Chicago Black Hawks	44	2640	149	3.39	9	27	8	0

Coaches

Boston Bruins: Milt Schmidt
Chicago Black Hawks: Frank Eddolls
Detroit Red Wings: Jimmy Skinner
Montreal Canadiens: Dick Irvin
New York Rangers: Muzz Patrick
Toronto Maple Leafs: King Clancy

Debuts

The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1954–55 :

Don McKenney, Boston Bruins
Don Cherry*, Boston Bruins
Charlie Hodge, Montreal Canadiens
Jean-Guy Talbot, Montreal Canadiens
Lou Fontinato, New York Rangers
Dick Duff, Toronto Maple Leafs

Last games

The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1954–55 :

Gus Bodnar, Boston Bruins
Milt Schmidt, Boston Bruins
Jim Henry, Boston Bruins
Bill Mosienko, Chicago Black Hawks
Paul Ronty, Montreal Canadiens
Edgar Laprade, New York Rangers
Bill Ezinicki, New York Rangers
Don Cherry, Boston Bruins

Broadcasting

This was the third season of Hockey Night in Canada on CBC Television. Coverage included selected Stanley Cup playoff games. Both regular season and playoff games were not broadcast in their entirety until the 1968–69 season, and were typically joined in progress, while the radio version of HNIC aired games in their entirety.