This day in National Hockey League history has seen many memorable moments throughout the decades. The greatest coach in the history of the game left in style, the youngest was elected, and the Hockey Hall of Fame was welcomed with a host of new names. Let's start our daily journey back to remember all the best moments that June 13th gave us.
Scotty Bowman Takes One Last Chance
June 13 is a big day for Scotty Bowman and the Detroit Red Wings. On June 13, 1998, the Red Wings defeated the Washington Capitals 2-1 in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals. Tomas Holmstrom scored in the first half before Sergey Fedorov broke a 1-1 tie with less than five minutes to play. Steve Yzerman took his 24th point in the playoffs with an assist on Holmstrom's goal, which tied the franchise record. The victory was the Red Wings' seventh straight in the finals and brought them within one win of their second straight championship.
Four years later, on June 13, 2002, the Red Wings beat the Carolina Hurricanes 3-1 in Game 5 of the Finals to win their third Stanley Cup in six seasons, all under Bowman. Holmstrom led the Red Wings to match Brendan Shanahan's two goals. The Red Wings held the Hurricanes to just five shots on goal in the third period.
Hall of Fame defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy for being the most valuable player in the playoffs. He scored five goals and 11 points while averaging over 31 minutes of ice time, per game, in the postseason.
During the postgame celebration, Bowman put on skates to carry the Stanley Cup around the ice at Joe Louis Arena. This was his ninth and final championship as a head coach in the NHL. Having recently put down the Cup, he announced that he is retiring from coaching.
It's Worth the Wait in Hollywood
The Los Angeles Kings played the longest game in their franchise history on June 13, 2014, and it ended with the greatest possible result. The Kings beat the New York Rangers 3-2 in double overtime in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final to win their second championship in three seasons.
Although it wasn't Game 7, Justin Williams opened the scoring with six minutes left in the game. The Rangers took a 2-1 lead into the third period after Chris Kreider and Brian Boyle scored in the middle of the frame. 14-year-old Marian Gaborikth playoff goal that tied the game eight minutes into the third period.
Late in the second overtime period, Alec Martinez again fired a shot past Tyler Toffoli and into Henrik Lundqvist to start the celebration. It was Martinez's second consecutive overtime shutout after he scored the game-winning goal in Game 7 of the Western Conference Final in overtime.
Williams, who celebrated the third Stanley Cup victory of his career, won the Conn Smythe. He scored nine goals and 25 points in 26 playoff games.
A Busy Day in the Hall
The Hockey Hall of Fame has announced four different classes that will be inducted on this day over the years. On June 13, 1961, Syl Apps, Charlie Conacher, Hap Day, George Hainsworth, Joe Hall, Percy LeSueur, Maurice Richard, Milt Schmidt, and Oliver Seibert all received their hall calls.
Five years later, on June 13, 1966, Ted Lindsay, Max Bentley, Frank Brimsek, Ted Kennedy, Toe Blake, Elmer Lach, Ken Reardon, Butch Bouchard, Babe Pratt, and NHL President Clarence Campbell were announced as the new Hall of Fame. class.
On June 13, 1974, they announced that Tommy Ivan, Dickie Moore, Art Coulter, Billy Burch, Thomas Dunderdale, Charles Hay, and former NHL head referee Carl Voss would all join the Hall of Fame.
Finally, on June 13, 1988, the impressive team of Brad Park, Tony Esposito, Guy Lafleur, and Buddy O'Connor were elected to the Hall of Fame along with architect Ed Snider and executive George Hayes.
Odds & Ends
In addition to the Hall of Fame class announced on June 13, 1961, two other notable moves were made. First, the Montreal Canadiens traded Doug Harvey to the Rangers for Lou Fontinato. Although some felt the 14-year veteran was in the prime of his career, Harvey won the Norris Trophy, for the NHL's top defenseman, in his first season with the Rangers. It was the 37-year-old's third consecutive Norris Trophy win and the seventh of his career. Fontinato, also a defenseman, played two seasons with the Canadiens before retiring.
Also, on this day, the Toronto Maple Leafs acquired defenseman Al Arbor from the Chicago Blackhawks during the NHL's annual Intra-League draft. While Arbor is best remembered for being one of the greatest coaches in league history, he had a much longer career as a player. He played 626 games, in 14 seasons, with the Red Wings, Blackhawks, Maple Leafs, and St. Louis Blues.
On June 13, 1974, Don Cherry was named the new head coach of the Boston Bruins, replacing Bep Guidolin. He went 231-105-64 in his five seasons with the Bruins, taking them to back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals in 1977 and 1978. He also won the Jack Adams Award, following the 1975-76 season, by being voted the best player. the best coach in the league.
In more coaching history, the Pittsburgh Penguins hired Johnny Wilson on June 13, 1977, to be their new coach. He became the first person to be the head coach of four different NHL teams after joining the Kings, Red Wings, and Colorado Rockies. He spent three seasons behind the bench in Pittsburgh.
A year later, the NHL Board of Governors unanimously approved the merger of the Cleveland Barons and the Minnesota North Stars. The team kept the name, colors, and history of the North Stars, and the Gund family, the owners of the Barons, became the main owners of the team. The draft disbandment took place two days later.
Heading into the NHL-World Hockey Association merger of 1979, NHL teams were allowed to bring back WHA players who still had rights to them. To help the four WHA teams coming into the league from losing all their best players, they were allowed to protect two goals and two skaters to not be claimed. Most notable of these “key picks” was Wayne Gretzky of the Edmonton Oilers.
On June 13, 1986, the Red Wings named Jacques Demers as their new head coach, replacing Park, who had been fired 10 days earlier. Demers spent four seasons in Detroit and won back-to-back Jack Adams Awards in 1987 and 1988. He remains the only coach to have won the award in consecutive seasons.
The Buffalo Sabers used the first pick of the NHL Entry Draft on June 13, 1987, to select Pierre Turgeon. At 17 years and 269 days, he became the youngest player ever to be drafted. An impressive draft class included Shanahan (2n.dNew Jersey Devils), Glen Wesley (3rdBruins), Joe Sakic (15thQuebec Nordiques), John LeClair (33rdCanadiens), Eric Desjardins (38thCanadiens), Mathieu Schneider (44thCanadiens) and the steal of the frame, Theoren Fleury (166thCalgary Flames).
The Devils advanced to their first Stanley Cup Final on June 13, 1995, defeating the Philadelphia Flyers 4-2 in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Final. After the Flyers opened the scoring early in the first half, the Devils scored four straight goals, including Randy McKay's game-winner in the second half. Stephane Richer scored a goal and added an assist, while Scott Niedermayer had two goals.
The Bruins avoided elimination on June 13, 2011, by beating the Vancouver Canucks 5-2 in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final. They jumped out to a 4-0 lead with goals from Brad Marchand, Milan Lucic, Andrew Ference, and Michael Ryder in the 4:14 span of the first half. 43-year-old forward Mark Recchi had three assists to become the oldest player to have a three-point night in the Finals.
The Blackhawks beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1 on June 13, 2015, in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final. Antoine Vermette scored the game-winning double early in the third period to give Chicago a 3-2 lead. It was his fourth goal of the playoffs and third game-winner.
Semyon Varlamov and Ilya Sorokin joined Eddie Johnston and Gerry Cheevers as goaltenders who have won four straight games in the playoffs when Varlamov made 30 saves in the Islanders' 2-1 win over the Lightning in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final in June. 13, 2021.
The Vegas Golden Knights won their first Stanley Cup in franchise history on this day in 2023. Captain Mark Stone had a hat trick as his team blew out the Panthers 9-3 in Game 5 to win the championship. Jonathan Marchessault took home the Conn Smythe Trophy after scoring 13 goals and 25 points in the playoffs.
happy Birthday to you
A total of 22 players who made it to the ice of the NHL were born on this day. Among the June 13 birthdays are Doug Crossman (64), Valeri Bure (50), Matt Bradley (48), Radim Vrbata (43), Jason Spezza (41), Ryan McDonagh (35), Andreas Martinsen (34), Oliver Wahlstrom (24), and Bowen Byram (23).
*Originally created by Greg Boysen
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