There is no doubt that the city of Montreal is experiencing some of the greatest moments and greatest players in the history of the National Hockey League. They had three of their most legends make their NHL debuts on this day, two of them in the same tournament. This was also a very memorable day in Chicago and the capital of both NHL countries. Let's begin our daily journey through time and look back at the most important moments from Dec. 16.
Three Montreal Legends Debut
Although he began playing professional hockey in 1916, Aurele Joliat did not play his first NHL game until Dec. 16, 1922. On this night, he was the only bright spot for the Montreal Canadiens as he scored their only two goals in a 7-2 loss at Toronto St. Pats.
Joliat came to Montreal as compensation from the Saskatoon Sheiks of the old Western Canada Hockey League after signing Canadiens star Newsy Lalonde. The move worked well as Lalonde was at the end of his career, and Joliat went on to play 16 seasons for the Canadiens, scoring 269 goals and 463 points. He was a member of three Stanley Cup championship teams and won the Hart Trophy for being voted the league's most valuable player in the 1933-34 season.
The two future legends played in their first NHL games on Dec. 16, 1950, as the Canadiens and New York Rangers tied 1-1. Bernie Geoffrion scored his first goal in his league debut. He spent the next 14 seasons with the Canadiens, scoring 371 goals and 759 points. He won the Calder Trophy in 1952 for being the NHL's top rookie. He was the Hart Trophy winner in 1961, won two scoring titles, and was named to the Stanley Cup six times.
Donning a Habs jersey for the first time tonight was Jean Beliveau, perhaps the greatest of all Montreal legends. He only played five games over the next three seasons because he wasn't very interested in turning pro. He didn't become a full-time Canadien until 1953 when general manager Frank Selke bought the entire Quebec Senior Hockey League and turned it into a professional league, thus forcing Beliveau to sign with his team.
The rest, as they say, is history. When Beliveau retired in 1971, he had scored 507 goals and 1,219 points in 1,125 games for the Canadiens. He was a two-time Hart Trophy winner and a 10-time Stanley Cup champion. He was the most beloved player in Montreal history, not only for his remarkable playing career but also for the impact he made on the community.
Many Early Memories
The offside rule was introduced on Dec. 16, 1929, at a meeting of the NHL's Board of Governors held in Chicago. The proposed new rule was: “No attacking player shall be allowed to pre-empt the play when entering the opposing team's defensive zone.” The law went into effect five days later.
Brothers Lester and Frank Patrick were behind the counter on Dec. 16, 1934, marking the first time in NHL history that brothers faced each other as coaches. My older brother, Lester's Rangers, beat Frank's Boston Bruins 2-1.
Charlie Conacher scored two goals on December 16, 1937, as the Toronto Maple Leafs lost 4-2 in Montreal. This made the future Hockey Hall of Famer the first player in franchise history to score 200 goals for the Maple Leafs. As of this date, 12 other players have scored 200 goals in Toronto.
Blackhawks Greats Date
Bobby Hull scored two goals on December 16, 1964, to become the second player in Chicago Blackhawks history to score 250 goals. He also added three assists to cap a five-point night in a 7-5 victory over the visiting Bruins. He scored 604 goals with the Blackhawks, still the most in team history.
Stan Mikita and Cliff Koroll had their way with St. Louis Blues on Dec. 16, 1970, in a dominant 8-3 win. Mikita scored four goals and assisted on one, while Koroll recorded a record four assists in the second half. The win extended their unbeaten streak at Chicago Stadium to 17 games (15-0-2).
On December 16, 1973, Tony Esposito became the second goalie to win 150 games for the Blackhawks with a 6-1 road victory over the Rangers. He won 418 games in Chicago before retiring, more than any other netminder ever played for the team.
Rookie Darryl Sutter scored the first goal of his NHL career on December 16, 1979, in a 7-3 victory over the visiting Detroit Red Wings. He spent his entire playing career with the Blackhawks, scoring 161 goals and 279 points for 406 points. He then went on to a successful coaching career that saw him win 634 games in 17 seasons with the Blackhawks, San Jose Sharks, Calgary Flames, and Los Angeles Kings. He led the Kings to two Stanley Cups in 2012 and 2014. He is currently in his second season with the Flames and has put them near the top.
Jeremy Roenick scored his third career hat trick on December 16, 1990, in the Blackhawks' 5-2 win over the Minnesota North Stars. This extended Chicago's home unbeaten streak against the North Stars to 10 consecutive games (8-0-2).
Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane scored the same goal for the 298th time in the NHL on Dec. 16, 2022 in a 4-1 loss to the Minnesota Wild. Only Steve Larmer and Denis Savard (396), and Mikita and Kenny Wharram (339) have done it more times.
Capital Gains (and Losses)
This has been the most productive day in major cities in both the United States and Canada, since Dec. 16, 1991, when the NHL officially added the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Ottawa Senators. When they began play at the start of the 1992-93 season, the league expanded to 24 teams.
On December 16, 2002, Daniel Alfredsson played his 500th game with the Senators and scored a goal in a 3-2 loss against the visiting Canadiens. Hall of Famer Doug Gilmour's game-winning goal made him the 14th player to score 1,400 points.
Related – Ottawa Senators' All-Time Team
Goaltender Olaf Kolzig recorded his 19th shutout on Dec. 16, 2000, in the Washington Capitals' 4-0 win against the visiting Edmonton Oilers. In the same game, Peter Bondra became the seventh player in team history to play in 700 games. He is still fourth in games played with 961.
The Capitals lost to the Florida Panthers on Dec. 16, 2014, for the longest hitting streak in league history. Nick Bjugstad ended the night by scoring on the second try of round 20. It was Bjugstad's second shot at the shootouts after both teams had used all 18 skaters. The Capitals took the lead five separate times but were answered after each goal. The combined 11 shooting goals set another NHL record.
The Senators host the Canadiens on Dec. 16, 2017, in the NHL 100 Classic. Around 34,000 fans packed Lansdowne Park to commemorate the 100th commemorating the first NHL game. Craig Anderson made 38 saves in the Senators' 3-0 victory, and Ottawa native Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored the game-winning goal.
No firing was required on Dec. 16, 2018, as Alex Ovechkin scored in overtime to defeat the Anaheim Ducks 3-2. This was his 21stSt regular season overtime goal. Since then he has added four, and his 25 are the most in league history, six more than Sidney Crosby and Jaromir Jagr.
Odds & Ends
Gordie Howe scored two goals and set up two more on December 16, 1964, to become the first player to score 1,300 career points. His game-high four points in the Detroit Red Wings' 7-3 win over the Rangers, 1,000.th in franchise history.
Bruce Boudreau scored the only hat trick of his NHL career on Dec. 16, 1977, in the Maple Leafs' 8-5 victory over the North Stars. Hall of Fame defenseman Borje Salming had five assists on the night.
Bobby Clarke scored two goals and added two assists on December 16, 1982, to give him 1,100 career points. His most historic night came in the Philadelphia Flyers' 7-2 win over the Red Wings.
On December 16, 1993, Joe Sakic scored his 200th NHL goal in the Quebec Nordiques' 3-2 loss to the Flyers. He is still the franchise's all-time leader with 625 goals.
Luc Robitaille scored a goal on December 16, 2000, when the Kings lost 4-3 to the Lightning. His tally made him the second player in team history, behind Marcel Dionne, to score 500 goals with the Kings. He was 16 againth player in league history to score 500 goals with one team.
Noah Clarke made his NHL debut on December 16, 2003, becoming the first California-born player to play for the Kings. He had an assist to help Los Angeles to a 4-2 win over the Oilers. This was the end of Clarke's career. He had three goals and four points in 21 NHL games, including one with the New Jersey Devils.
Several milestones were struck on Dec. 16, 2021, against the Vancouver Canucks when Timo Meier scored his 100th goal in 342 games and his 29th point of the season. Only five Sharks players have reached 100 in multiple games: Jeff Friesen (321), Joe Thornton (320), Owen Nolan (304), Logan Couture (271), and Jonathan Cheechoo (246). Also, only two players scored more than 29 points in their first 25 games with the Sharks: Thornton (35 in 2005-06, 32 in 2009-10, 31 in 2007-08, and 30 in 2008 -09) and Nolan (31 in 1999-00).
Bruce Boudreau also joined the team with his sixth win since being hired as the Canucks' new coach in Dec. 6, 2021. He became the sixth NHL coach to win his first six games with a team, joining Geoff Ward, Jacques. Lemaire, Patrick Roy, Bryan Murray, and Mario Tremblay in feat.
Finally in Nashville, Filip Forsberg registered the 24th three-point game of his career in a 5-2 win over the Avalanche on Dec. 16, 2021, passing Martin Erat for most in Predators history.
On Dec. 16, 2023, Nathan MacKinnon became the fourth player in Avalanche/Nordiques history with at least 10 seasons and 30-plus assists. He joined Joe Sakic (18x), Michel Goulet (10x) and Peter Stastny (10x).
That same night, Johnny Gaudreau became the second fastest player born in the US to reach 700 points, after Patrick Kane (696 GP). Overall, Gaudreau is one of eight US-born players to reach the milestone in fewer than 720 games.
happy Birthday to you
The group of 11 NHL players born on this day is headlined by Wayne Connelly (85), Eric Belanger (47), Mike Weber (37), and Mikkel Boedker (35).
*Originally created by Greg Boysen
Sign up for our NHL Substack newsletter
Source link
