Today in Hockey History: May 15 – Hockey Writers – Hockey History

Yesterday in Hockey History: May 14th

Tomorrow in Hockey History: May 16

May 15th goes down as one of the most impressive days in National Hockey League history. There was more than just fun times on the ice that made it a memorable day. The league announced some key expansion teams, one of the worst trades ever, and one team made a franchise-changing draft pick. THW’s time machine is warmed up and ready to take us back through the years to relive all the best moments.

The Heist of the Century

Depending on which team you root for, May 15, 1967, is either a good day or one you’d like to forget. This was the day the trade forever changed the Boston Bruins franchise. The Chicago Blackhawks traded a disgruntled Phil Esposito to the Bruins, along with Ken Hodge and Fred Stanfield, for Pit Martin, Jack Norris, and Gilles Marotte.

Esposito went from being a standout player in Chicago to a scoring legend in Boston. In fact, all three players ended up with the Bruins, making this one of the worst trades in NHL history.

The trio of Esposito, Hodge, and Stanfield combined for 873 goals and 2095 points and won two Stanley Cups with the Bruins. Meanwhile, Martin had a great run with the Blackhawks scoring 243 goals and 627 points. However, Norris and Marotte combined for just 13 goals and 79 points.

Bobby Clarke’s History Day

Bobby Clarke can look back on May 15 throughout his Hall of Fame career. In 1975, he and the Philadelphia Flyers hosted Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals against the Buffalo Sabres. He scored a goal and added two assists as the Flyers won 4-1. All four of their goals were scored in the third period.

On May 15, 1980, the Flyers reached the Stanley Cup Final with an 8-3 win over the New York Islanders in Game 2. Clarke had a goal and three assists in the victory, while Paul Holmgren became the first American-born player to score a hat trick in the final game.

After four years, Clarke retired as an NHL player and was named the new general manager of the Flyers. He held the job until 1990, and the Flyers reached two Stanley Cup finals. He returned for a second term, which lasted from 1994 to 2006. His place was taken by another teammate, Holmgren.

Good Opening Time

On May 15, 1993, rookie goaltender Felix Potvin recorded his first playoff shutout to lead the Toronto Maple Leafs to a 6-0 win over the St. Louis Cardinals. Louis Blues in Game 7 of the Norris Division Final. Doug Gilmour had a goal and two assists as the Maple Leafs advanced to a memorable Campbell Conference Final against the Los Angeles Kings.

After two years, Trevor Kidd recorded his first playoff shutout as the Calgary Flames won 5-0 over the visiting San Jose Sharks in Game 5 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals. The Flames tied the NHL playoff record with their fifth shorthanded goal in the series.

Patrick Roy extended his NHL record on May 15, 2002, when he picked up his 22nd.^n.d career playoff shutout. Peter Forsberg scored one goal of the night as the Colorado Avalanche won 1-0 against the Sharks in Game 7 of the Western Conference Semifinals.

The New Jersey Devils recorded their 100th all-time playoff victory on May 15, 2003, with a 1-0 win against the Senators in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals. Martin Brodeur recorded his 17th playoff shutout in the win.

Matt Murray was on the winning end of another 1-0 playoff game on May 15, 2017. Phil Kessel scored in the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 1-0 win against the Ottawa Senators in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

Odds & Ends

May 15, 1926, is a historic day for the NHL as they announced that New York would be getting a second team. The franchise was given to Madison Square Garden president Tex Rickard, and they eventually became the Rangers, joining the Americans, who made their debut in the 1925-26 season.

The league also announced that Chicago and Detroit would have teams for the 1926-27 season, pushing the league to 10. Finally, the Americans, the Montreal Maroons, the Ottawa Senators, and the Pittsburgh Pirates all folded to give us the “Original Six.” The Americans were the last group to finish it in 1942.

The Detroit Red Wings defeated the Montreal Canadiens 5-2, on May 15, 1938, at the end of their nine-game exhibition tour in Europe. The two teams played six games in England and three in France in a four-week series, which the Canadiens won 5-3-1.

The 1973 NHL Amateur Draft was held on May 15, 1973, in Montreal. The Islanders used the first pick to select future Hall of Fame defenseman Denis Potvin.

During that same draft, the Flyers traded a first-round draft pick and future considerations to the Maple Leafs for the rights to goaltender Bernie Parent and a second-round draft pick. Toronto used the pick on the Flyers to select Bob Neely, and they later acquired Doug Favell to complete the trade.

On May 15, 1979, the Canadiens and Rangers met in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final. Head coach Scotty Bowman pulled goaltender Ken Dryden during a 4-1 loss in Game 1 and had planned to bench him for Game 2. However, that changed when Michel Larocque was injured during pregame warmups. Dryden gave up the first two goals but settled down as the Canadiens rolled to a 6-2 victory to even the series.

The Rangers and Devils started their last Eastern Conference Finals game on May 15, 1994. Stephane Richer was the hero for the Devils by tying the game with 43 seconds left in the third period before winning it with his fourth play-off overtime goal. It was the first time the Devils beat the Rangers in 1993-94 after New York swept a six-game regular season series.

One year later, the Vancouver Canucks scored two shorthanded goals in just 17 seconds, setting a new Stanley Cup playoff record. Goals from Christian Ruutu and Geoff Courtnall came in the Canucks’ 6-5 overtime victory over the St. Louis Blues in Game 5 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals.

On May 15, 1997, Joe Sakic scored a goal and added an assist in the third period to give the Avalanche a 2-1 win over the visiting Red Wings in Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals. It was Colorado’s 11th consecutive home win.

Erik Karlsson scored the overtime winner on May 15, 2019, to give the Sharks a 5-4 victory over the Blues in Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals. Karlsson scored twice, as did Joe Thornton.

This was Thornton’s first multi-goal game in 176 career games. He became the oldest player in NHL history to take his first playoff game by at least two goals.

Speaking of veterans hitting postseason milestones, on this day in 2021, Craig Anderson became the 15th oldest goaltender to play in an NHL playoff game when he helped the Capitals’ 3-2 overtime victory in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference First Round. He also became the oldest goaltender to win a playoff game in franchise history, surpassing Mike Liut (34 years, 110 days).

In that playoff game, Zdeno Chara became the seventh player in NHL history to play in a postseason game at age 44 or older, and the first forward since Jaromir Jagr and the Florida Panthers in the 2016 Eastern Conference First Round.

Finally, Patrice Bergeron played his 150th playoff game for the Bruins, tying Chara for second in franchise history. Ray Bourque is first with a 180.

On May 15, 2022, Artemi Panarin hit the overtime winner in Game 7 to eliminate the Penguins and advance to the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals.

That same night, in another Game 7, Johnny Gaudreau scored a goal in overtime to eliminate the Stars and give head coach Darryl Sutter his eighth Game 7 win, the longest streak between head coaches and tied for most in NHL history (including head coaches, scorers, and goaltenders).

A year later, the Stars beat the Seattle Kraken 2-1 in Game 7 to advance to the Western Conference Finals. Wyatt Johnston (20 years, one day) scored the series winner, becoming the youngest player in NHL history to do so, passing Jaromir Jagr (20 years, 76 days for the Penguins in the 1992 Patrick Division Semifinals).

On May 15, 2024, Mikko Rantanen recorded his 100th playoff appearance and became just the third Finnish-born player in NHL history to do so, joining Jari Kurri and Esa Tikkanen.

happy Birthday to you

There are 31 current and former NHL players born on May 15. The most prominent of this group are Pat Hickey (73), Dave Langevin (72), Dave Reid (62), Paul Ysebaert (60), Wes Walz (56), Nick Holden (39), Mark Fayne (39), Jordan Eberle (36), Joshua Dakotay (30) and the late Valentin Z31), the legendary goalie Turk. Broda.

*Originally created by Greg Boysen