1970–71 Detroit Red Wings season

The 1970–71 Detroit Red Wings season was Gordie Howe's final season with the Red Wings. Ned Harkness was hired as coach in 1970 and was promoted to general manager midway through the season. His background was a successful college hockey coach. He tried to force his two-way style of play on a veteran Red Wings team resistant to change. Harkness also demanded short hair, no smoking, and put other rules in place regarding drinking and phone calls.[1]

1970–71 Detroit Red Wings
Division7th East
1970–71 record22–45–11
Goals for209
Goals against308
Team information
General ManagerSid Abel (Oct–Jan)
Ned Harkness (Jan–Apr)
CoachNed Harkness
Doug Barkley
CaptainAlex Delvecchio
ArenaOlympia Stadium
Minor league affiliate(s)Fort Worth Wings (CHL)
Team leaders
GoalsTom Webster (30)
AssistsTom Webster (37)
PointsTom Webster (67)
Penalty minutesGary Bergman (149)
WinsRoy Edwards (11)
Goals against averageRoy Edwards (3.39)

Offseason

The Fort Worth Wings of the Central Hockey League, coached by former Red Wings' defenceman Doug Barkley, continued to be operated as Detroit's top farm team during the 1969–70 season.[2]

Regular season

Red Wings general manager Sid Abel wanted to get rid of coach Ned Harkness and was overruled by team owner Bruce Norris. Once Harkness took over as general manager, he got rid of players he deemed a threat to him. On January 10, 1971, Doug Barkley was promoted to become head coach of the Red wings,[3] and on January 13, 1971, Frank Mahovlich was traded to the Montreal Canadiens for Mickey Redmond, Guy Charron and Bill Collins. Mahovlich was reunited with his brother Pete, who had become a star player himself with the Canadiens. One of the few highlights of the season was the emergence of young rookie goaltender Jim Rutherford.

  • On October 29, Gordie Howe became the first player to record 1000 assists in a 5–3 win over Boston at the Detroit Olympia.
  • The Wings suffered their worst defeat in franchise history January 2, when Toronto beat them 13–0.

Season standings
East Division[4]
GP W L T GF GA DIFF Pts
1Boston Bruins7857147399207+192121
2New York Rangers78491811259177+82109
3Montreal Canadiens78422313291216+7597
4Toronto Maple Leafs7837338248211+3782
5Buffalo Sabres78243915217291−7463
6Vancouver Canucks7824468229296−6756
7Detroit Red Wings78224511209308−9955

Schedule and results
No. R Date Score Opponent Record
1WOctober 10, 19705–3California Golden Seals (1970–71)1–0–0
2LOctober 11, 19703–7@ Boston Bruins (1970–71)1–1–0
3LOctober 13, 19703–4@ Montreal Canadiens (1970–71)1–2–0
4LOctober 15, 19701–2Chicago Black Hawks (1970–71)1–3–0
5WOctober 17, 19703–2@ Minnesota North Stars (1970–71)2–3–0
6LOctober 18, 19701–2Minnesota North Stars (1970–71)2–4–0
7LOctober 23, 19703–4@ Buffalo Sabres (1970–71)2–5–0
8TOctober 25, 19703–3Montreal Canadiens (1970–71)2–5–1
9LOctober 28, 19701–4@ New York Rangers (1970–71)2–6–1
10WOctober 29, 19705–3Boston Bruins (1970–71)3–6–1
11LNovember 1, 19704–5Toronto Maple Leafs (1970–71)3–7–1
12LNovember 4, 19702–4@ Chicago Black Hawks (1970–71)3–8–1
13WNovember 5, 19703–1Philadelphia Flyers (1970–71)4–8–1
14TNovember 8, 19703–3Pittsburgh Penguins (1970–71)4–8–2
15LNovember 12, 19701–2@ St. Louis Blues (1970–71)4–9–2
16TNovember 15, 19704–4@ Los Angeles Kings (1970–71)4–9–3
17WNovember 17, 19705–2@ Vancouver Canucks (1970–71)5–9–3
18LNovember 21, 19701–6@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1970–71)5–10–3
19WNovember 22, 19704–2@ Philadelphia Flyers (1970–71)6–10–3
20WNovember 26, 19704–2Vancouver Canucks (1970–71)7–10–3
21LNovember 28, 19704–9@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1970–71)7–11–3
22WNovember 29, 19705–3Montreal Canadiens (1970–71)8–11–3
23TDecember 3, 19704–4Los Angeles Kings (1970–71)8–11–4
24LDecember 5, 19700–3@ St. Louis Blues (1970–71)8–12–4
25LDecember 6, 19702–4St. Louis Blues (1970–71)8–13–4
26WDecember 10, 19703–1Philadelphia Flyers (1970–71)9–13–4
27WDecember 12, 19705–3Buffalo Sabres (1970–71)10–13–4
28LDecember 13, 19702–6@ Boston Bruins (1970–71)10–14–4
29LDecember 16, 19702–4@ California Golden Seals (1970–71)10–15–4
30LDecember 19, 19701–9@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1970–71)10–16–4
31LDecember 20, 19703–7California Golden Seals (1970–71)10–17–4
32LDecember 23, 19701–2Boston Bruins (1970–71)10–18–4
33WDecember 26, 19707–4New York Rangers (1970–71)11–18–4
34LDecember 27, 19702–5@ Buffalo Sabres (1970–71)11–19–4
35LDecember 31, 19703–8Chicago Black Hawks (1970–71)11–20–4
36LJanuary 2, 19710–13@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1970–71)11–21–4
37WJanuary 3, 19713–2California Golden Seals (1970–71)12–21–4
38LJanuary 7, 19714–7@ Buffalo Sabres (1970–71)12–22–4
39WJanuary 9, 19713–2Buffalo Sabres (1970–71)13–22–4
40LJanuary 10, 19712–3Toronto Maple Leafs (1970–71)13–23–4
41TJanuary 14, 19712–2Pittsburgh Penguins (1970–71)13–23–5
42LJanuary 16, 19712–4Philadelphia Flyers (1970–71)13–24–5
43LJanuary 17, 19710–2Minnesota North Stars (1970–71)13–25–5
44LJanuary 21, 19710–2@ Chicago Black Hawks (1970–71)13–26–5
45LJanuary 23, 19712–6@ Montreal Canadiens (1970–71)13–27–5
46WJanuary 24, 19717–3Vancouver Canucks (1970–71)14–27–5
47TJanuary 28, 19711–1St. Louis Blues (1970–71)14–27–6
48TJanuary 30, 19713–3Los Angeles Kings (1970–71)14–27–7
49LJanuary 31, 19711–3@ Philadelphia Flyers (1970–71)14–28–7
50TFebruary 3, 19714–4@ Minnesota North Stars (1970–71)14–28–8
51LFebruary 4, 19710–1New York Rangers (1970–71)14–29–8
52WFebruary 7, 19715–2@ California Golden Seals (1970–71)15–29–8
53LFebruary 10, 19712–5@ Los Angeles Kings (1970–71)15–30–8
54LFebruary 12, 19713–5@ Vancouver Canucks (1970–71)15–31–8
55WFebruary 14, 19714–0Los Angeles Kings (1970–71)16–31–8
56WFebruary 18, 19715–3Minnesota North Stars (1970–71)17–31–8
57WFebruary 20, 19716–5Buffalo Sabres (1970–71)18–31–8
58LFebruary 21, 19711–4@ New York Rangers (1970–71)18–32–8
59LFebruary 25, 19711–3St. Louis Blues (1970–71)18–33–8
60LFebruary 27, 19712–4@ Minnesota North Stars (1970–71)18–34–8
61WFebruary 28, 19714–2Pittsburgh Penguins (1970–71)19–34–8
62TMarch 4, 19712–2@ Philadelphia Flyers (1970–71)19–34–9
63TMarch 6, 19712–2New York Rangers (1970–71)19–34–10
64LMarch 7, 19711–4Montreal Canadiens (1970–71)19–35–10
65LMarch 11, 19713–7@ Vancouver Canucks (1970–71)19–36–10
66LMarch 13, 19712–5@ Los Angeles Kings (1970–71)19–37–10
67WMarch 14, 19718–5@ California Golden Seals (1970–71)20–37–10
68LMarch 16, 19714–11Boston Bruins (1970–71)20–38–10
69LMarch 18, 19713–7@ Boston Bruins (1970–71)20–39–10
70LMarch 20, 19711–2@ St. Louis Blues (1970–71)20–40–10
71LMarch 21, 19710–2@ Chicago Black Hawks (1970–71)20–41–10
72LMarch 24, 19712–8@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1970–71)20–42–10
73WMarch 25, 19714–3Vancouver Canucks (1970–71)21–42–10
74LMarch 27, 19712–9@ Montreal Canadiens (1970–71)21–43–10
75WMarch 28, 19712–1Toronto Maple Leafs (1970–71)22–43–10
76TMarch 31, 19712–2@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1970–71)22–43–11
77LApril 3, 19711–4Chicago Black Hawks (1970–71)22–44–11
78LApril 4, 19710–6@ New York Rangers (1970–71)22–45–11

Player statistics

Forwards

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes

Player GP G A Pts PIM
Tom Webster7830376740
Alex Delvecchio772134556
Gordie Howe6323295238
Frank Mahovlich3514183230
Nick Libett7816132925
Garry Unger5113142763
Bruce MacGregor476162218
Wayne Connelly518132112
Bill Collins365162112
Red Berenson24512174
Rene LeClerc44881643
Mickey Redmond2168147
Tim Ecclestone274101413
Don Luce583111418
Guy Charron2484124

[5]

Defencemen

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes

Player GP G A Pts PIM
Gary Bergman6882533149
Mike Robitaille23481222
Dale Rolfe44391248
Ron Harris42281065
Gerry Hart64279148
Arnie Brown

[5]

Goaltending

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

Player GP MIN W L T SO GA GAA
Roy Edwards3721041119701193.39
Gerry Gray73801410304.74
Don McLeod146983700605.16
Jim Rutherford29194871531943.77

[5]

Roster
1970–1971 Detroit Red Wings Roster
Goaltenders

Defensemen

Wingers

Centers

Awards and records

Draft picks

Detroit's draft picks at the 1970 NHL Amateur Draft held at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, Quebec.

Round # Player Nationality College/Junior/Club Team (League)
112Serge Lajeunesse CanadaMontreal Junior Canadiens (OHA)
226Robert Guindon CanadaMontreal Junior Canadiens (OHA)
340Yvon Lambert CanadaDrummondville Rangers (QMJHL)
454Tom Johnston CanadaToronto Marlboros (OHA)
568Tom Mellor United StatesBoston College (ECAC)
682Bernie MacNeil CanadaEspanola Eagles (NOJHL)
795Ed Hays CanadaUniversity of Denver (WCHA)

References
  1. Mulvoy, Mark (1971-01-18). "Poor Broken Wings". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on 2013-01-02. Retrieved 2008-06-29.
  2. Fischler, Stan; Fischler, Shirley (1971). Up From the Minor Leagues of Hockey. Chicago, Illinois: Cowles Book Company, Inc. p. 127.
  3. Fischler, Stan; Fischler, Shirley (1971). Up From the Minor Leagues of Hockey. Chicago, Illinois: Cowles Book Company, Inc. p. 128.
  4. "1970–1971 Division Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". National Hockey League.
  5. http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/leagues/seasons/teams/0000341971.html
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