1968–69 NHL season

The 1968–69 NHL season was the 52nd season of the National Hockey League. Twelve teams each played 76 games. For the second time in a row, the Montreal Canadiens faced the St. Louis Blues in the Stanley Cup Finals. Montreal won their second consecutive Stanley Cup as they swept the Blues in four, an identical result to the previous season.

Amateur draft

The 1968 NHL amateur draft was held on June 13 at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, Quebec. Michel Plasse was selected first overall by the Montreal Canadiens.

Regular season

Prior to this season no player in NHL history had ever achieved 100 points in a season, but 1968–69 saw three achieve the feat. The Boston Bruins' Phil Esposito led the way with 49 goals and 77 assists for a new record of 126 points, as well as setting a record with linemates Wayne Cashman and Ron Murphy for most points in a season by a forward line. Bobby Hull of Chicago set a new record for goals with 58 and came in second in overall scoring with 107. Gordie Howe of the Detroit Red Wings came in third with 103 points.
Red Berenson came up one goal short of tying an NHL record, scoring six goals for the St. Louis Blues in an 8–0 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on November 7. He became the first player to score a double hat trick in a road game.
Despite finishing last in the West Division, Minnesota was led by rookie left wing Danny Grant, who along with Oakland rookie Norm Ferguson tied Nels Stewart's forty-year-old record for most goals by a rookie with 34.
On December 21, with Montreal goalies Gump Worsley and Rogie Vachon both unavailable, rookie Tony Esposito and Boston's Gerry Cheevers both achieved shutouts in a rare scoreless tie. Esposito made 41 saves, and Cheevers made 34 saves.
Los Angeles introduced rookie goaltender Gerry Desjardins, who took over the starter's job from Wayne Rutledge, who was bothered by groin injuries most of the season. Desjardins recorded 4 shutouts during the season in helping the Kings make the playoffs and win their first round series over Oakland.
On March 2, Phil Esposito became the first NHL player to score 100 points in a season in a 4–0 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins.
In Boston-Chicago game on March 20, two milestones were accomplished. Bobby Hull broke his own record for goals with his 55th goal, and Bobby Orr broke Flash Hollett's record for goals by a defenceman with his 21st goal.
This would be the last time until the 1997–98 season that the Chicago Black Hawks missed the playoffs.
The league held a beauty pageant for the first time this season, with a contestant from every franchise. Miss Minnesota North Stars Lynn Marie Stewart was named Miss NHL 1968, and was named the NHL "ambassador" for the 1968–69 season, making various appearances and helping to present the Stanley Cup. The league held just two more pageants in 1970 and 1972 before abandoning the concept.

Playoffs

Playoff bracket

The top four teams in each division qualified for the playoffs. In the quarterfinals, the third seeded team in each division played against the division winner from their division. The other series matched the second and fourth place teams from the divisions. The two winning teams from each division's first round series then met in the Stanley Cup Semifinals. The two winners of the Semifinals then advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals.
In each round, teams competed in a best-of-seven series.

Quarterfinals

(E1) Montreal Canadiens vs. (E3) New York Rangers

The Montreal Canadiens finished as the best regular season team with 103 points. The New York Rangers earned 91 points to finish third in the East
Division. This was the ninth playoff series between these two teams, and they split their eight previous series. Their most recent series had come in the 1967 semifinals, which Montreal won in a four-game sweep. New York earned nine of sixteen points in this year's regular season series.
The Canadiens defeated the Rangers in a four-game sweep to advance to the semifinals.

(E2) Boston Bruins v. (E4) Toronto Maple Leafs

The Boston Bruins finished second in the East Division with 100 points. The Toronto Maple Leafs earned 85 points to finish fourth in the East Division. This was the eleventh playoff series between these two teams, with Toronto winning eight of their ten previous series. Their most recent series had come in the 1959 semifinals, where Toronto won in seven games. Boston earned ten of sixteen points in this year's regular season series.
Boston defeated Toronto in a four-game sweep to advance to the semifinals.

(W1) St. Louis Blues vs. (W3) Philadelphia Flyers

The St. Louis Blues finished as West Division champions with 88 points. The Philadelphia Flyers earned 61 points to finish third in the West Division. This was the second playoff series between these two teams, in the second year of existence for both franchises. In the previous year's Stanley Cup Quarterfinals, St. Louis defeated Philadelphia in seven games. St. Louis earned thirteen of sixteen points in this year's regular season series.
St. Louis defeated Philadelphia to advance to the semifinals with the franchise's first four-game sweep.

(W2) Oakland Seals vs. (W4) Los Angeles Kings

The Oakland Seals finished second in the West Division with 69 points to advance to the playoffs for the first time. The Los Angeles Kings earned 58 points to finish fourth in the West Division. This was the first playoff series of the Battle of California and the first playoff meeting between two California-based NHL teams. Los Angeles earned ten of sixteen points in this year's regular season series.
The Kings defeated the Seals in the only game seven of the year. Oakland never won another playoff game in franchise history.

Semifinals

(E1) Montreal Canadiens vs. (E2) Boston Bruins

This was the fourteenth playoff series between these two rivals, with Montreal winning eleven of their thirteen previous series. Their most recent series had come in the previous year's quarterfinals, where Montreal won in a four-game sweep. Boston earned ten of sixteen points in this year's regular season series.
The Canadiens defeated the Bruins in six games to advance to their fifth consecutive Stanley Cup Finals.

(W1) St. Louis Blues vs. (W4) Los Angeles Kings

This was the first playoff series between these two teams. St. Louis earned thirteen of sixteen points in this year's regular season series.
The Blues defeated the Kings in a four-game sweep to continue their undefeated streak in the playoffs, and their streak of never missing a Stanley Cup Finals.

Stanley Cup Finals

The Montreal Canadiens advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals for the fifth consecutive season, having won three Stanley Cups in the previous four seasons. Overall, it was their twenty-fifth Stanley Cup Finals, having won fifteen championships. This was the St. Louis Blues' second appearance in the Final in their second season. The Canadiens had never lost to the Blues going into this series; they went 3-0-1 against St. Louis in the 1967–68 NHL season, 4–0 in the previous year's Stanley Cup Finals, and 5-0-1 in this year's regular season series.
The Montreal Canadiens swept the St. Louis Blues, an outcome identical to the 1968 final.

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
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
Jean Beliveau	Montreal Canadiens	69	33	49	82	55
Frank Mahovlich	Detroit Red Wings	76	49	29	78	38
Jean Ratelle	New York Rangers	75	32	46	78	26

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
Jacques Plante	St. Louis Blues	37	2139	70	1.96	18	12	6	5
Glenn Hall	St. Louis Blues	41	2354	85	2.17	19	12	8	8
Gump Worsley	Montreal Canadiens	30	1703	64	2.26	19	5	4	5
Roy Edwards	Detroit Red Wings	40	2099	89	2.54	18	11	6	4
Eddie Giacomin	New York Rangers	70	4114	175	2.55	37	23	7	7
Bernie Parent	Philadelphia Flyers	58	3365	151	2.69	17	23	16	1
Bruce Gamble	Toronto Maple Leafs	61	3446	161	2.80	28	20	11	3
Gerry Cheevers	Boston Bruins	52	3112	145	2.80	28	12	12	3
Johnny Bower	Toronto Maple Leafs	20	779	37	2.85	5	4	3	2
Rogie Vachon	Montreal Canadiens	36	2051	98	2.87	22	9	3	2

Other statistics

Plus-Minus leader: Bobby Orr, Boston Bruins

1968 Miss NHL Pageant

The 1968 Miss NHL Pageant was the first of three in NHL history and was held in Toronto on June 27, 1968. There were twelve contestants in the pageant, one from each of the twelve NHL teams. The winner would be named Miss NHL 1968 and would be the NHL ambassador for the 1968–69 season.

Miss Boston Bruins	Valerie Miller
Miss Chicago Black Hawks	Patricia Anne Cooper
Miss Detroit Red Wings	Barbara Thomas
Miss Los Angeles Kings	Julia Martin
Miss Minnesota North Stars	Lynn Marie Stewart
Miss Montreal Canadiens	Mary Ann Lambert
Miss New York Rangers	Donna Hardy
Miss Oakland Seals	Debra Lynne Smith
Miss Philadelphia Flyers	Rhonda Moore
Miss Pittsburgh Penguins	Karen Antkiewicz
Miss St. Louis Blues	Terri Sherwood
Miss Toronto Maple Leafs	Angela Miller

Miss Minnesota North Stars Lynn Marie Stewart was named Miss NHL 1968, with Miss New York Rangers Donna Hardy the first runner-up, and Miss Los Angeles Kings Julia Martin the second runner-up. A second-year education student at the University of Minnesota, she received a new 1969 convertible, a trip for two to Mexico, a mink stole, a movie camera and a diamond watch set. Also, she would be the NHL ambassador for the 1968–69 season, making appearances at the NHL All-Star Game, the NHL awards, and the Stanley Cup Finals where she helped NHL President Clarence Campbell present the Stanley Cup. Each contestant received $1,500 in prizes including season tickets to the team that they represented in the pageant. Stewart's prizes were worth $15,000, with those for the first-runner up worth $2,700 and the second runner-up worth $2,200.
Miss Pittsburgh Penguins Karen Antkiewicz was chosen Miss Personality Plus by the other contestants.
Selection of Miss NHL was done on the basis of personality and poise, carriage and figure, make-up and grooming, speech and projection, talent and overall impression.

Coaches

East

Boston Bruins: Harry Sinden
Chicago Black Hawks: Billy Reay
Detroit Red Wings: Bill Gadsby
Montreal Canadiens: Claude Ruel
New York Rangers: Bernie Geoffrion and Emile Francis
Toronto Maple Leafs: Punch Imlach

West

Los Angeles Kings: Red Kelly
Minnesota North Stars: John Muckler and Wren Blair
Oakland Seals: Fred Glover
Philadelphia Flyers: Keith Allen
Pittsburgh Penguins: George "Red" Sullivan
St. Louis Blues: Scotty Bowman

Debuts

The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1968–69 :

Bob Berry, Montreal Canadiens
Guy Lapointe, Montreal Canadiens
Jude Drouin, Montreal Canadiens
Tony Esposito, Montreal Canadiens
Brad Park, New York Rangers
Pat Quinn, Toronto Maple Leafs
Jean Pronovost, Pittsburgh Penguins

Last games

The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1968–69 :

Kenny Wharram, Chicago Black Hawks
Kent Douglas, Detroit Red Wings
Gilles Tremblay, Montreal Canadiens
Allan Stanley, Philadelphia Flyers
Billy Harris, Pittsburgh Penguins
Doug Harvey, St. Louis Blues
Pierre Pilote, Toronto Maple Leafs

Broadcasting

Hockey Night in Canada on CBC Television televised Saturday night regular season games and Stanley Cup playoff games. HNIC also produced Wednesday night regular season game telecasts for CTV. This was the first season that games were shown in their entirety instead of typically being joined in progress.
This was the third season under the U.S. rights agreement with CBS, airing weekend afternoon regular season games and Sunday afternoon playoff games.