1970-71 жылғы NHL маусымы және құрамалардың жаңа құрамы

National Hockey League season

The 1970–71 NHL season was the 54th season of the National Hockey League. Two new teams, the Buffalo Sabres and Vancouver Canucks made their debuts and were both put into the East Division. The Chicago Black Hawks were moved to the West Division. The Montreal Canadiens won the Stanley Cup by beating the Black Hawks in seven games in the finals.

The NHL added two expansion teams in Buffalo and Vancouver. At the beginning of the season, the Oakland Seals were renamed California Golden Seals. From this season through the 2002–03 season, teams wore their white (or yellow) jerseys at home and their colored jerseys on the road.

1970 71 National Hockey League Division Team City Arena Capacity East Boston Bruins Boston, Massachusetts Boston Garden 14,994 Buffalo Sabres Buffalo, New York Buffalo Memorial Auditorium 10,449 Detroit Red Wings Detroit, Michigan Detroit Olympia 15,000 Montreal Canadiens Montreal, Quebec Montreal Forum 19,000 New York Rangers New York, New York Madison Square Garden 17,250 Toronto Maple Leafs Toronto, Ontario Maple Leaf Gardens 16,316 Vancouver Canucks Vancouver, British Columbia Pacific Coliseum 15,570 West California Golden Seals Oakland, California Oakland Alameda County Coliseum Arena 15,000 Chicago Black Hawks Chicago, Illinois Chicago Stadium 16,666 Los Angeles Kings Inglewood, California The Forum 16,005 Minnesota North Stars Bloomington, Minnesota Metropolitan Sports Center 15,000 Philadelphia Flyers Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Spectrum 14,620 Pittsburgh Penguins Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Civic Arena 12,580 St. Louis Blues St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis Arena 17,776

Due to three straight years of non competitive finals (where the West Division winning St. Louis Blues were swept all 3 years by an established East Division club); the NHL changed the match ups for the semifinals by having the winner of the series of the 1st vs. 3rd East Division teams play the winner of the 2nd vs. 4th West Division teams. Similarly, the other semifinal series pitted the winner of the 1st vs. 3rd West Division teams against the winner of the 2nd vs. 4th East Division teams. Combined with the transfer of the Chicago Black Hawks into the West Division (which previously consisted only of expansion teams), the Stanley Cup Finals series was expected to be more competitive. The realignment and change in playoff format brought the desired results in that each Stanley Cup Finals for the next three years was either between two East Division teams or Montreal vs. Chicago, where no Finals were sweeps. Until realignment in 1974–75 when the original six and expansion teams were more thoroughly mixed, the Philadelphia Flyers were the only West Division/1967 expansion team to reach a Cup final (they won). A significant controversy arose before the playoffs. With 4 games to play, the Minnesota North Stars were in 3rd place with a record of 28–30–16 for 72 points while the Philadelphia Flyers were in 4th at 26–33–15 for 67 points. Minnesota then lost their final four games while the Flyers went 2–0–2 to jump ahead of Minnesota in the final standings by 1 point. It was widely rumored that Minnesota did so to avoid playing the far superior Chicago Black Hawks, since at this time in the playoffs the first place team played the third place team and the second played the fourth. Nothing was proven against the North Stars (who defeated their first round opponents, St. Louis, four games to two, while the Flyers were swept by the powerful Black Hawks), but the format was changed the next year to the 1 vs. 4/2 vs. 3 format that prevailed thereafter.

The Boston Bruins finished first in the league with 121 points. The Montreal Canadiens finished third in the East Division with 97 points. This was the fifteenth playoff series between these two teams with Montreal winning twelve of the fourteen previous series. They last met in the 1969 Stanley Cup Semifinals which Montreal won in six games. Boston won five of the six games in this year's regular season series. The Montreal Canadiens were matched against the Boston Bruins, and in one of the most extraordinary upsets in hockey history, Ken Dryden was hot in goal for the Canadiens as they ousted the Bruins in seven games. Game 2 featured what many perceive as one of the greatest comebacks in NHL history. With the Bruins leading 5–2 heading into the third period, the Canadiens, who had trailed 5–1, scored 5 goals in the final session to win 7–5. The prominent Canadian sports journalist Red Fisher lists the Canadiens' comeback has the 8th most memorable moment in his over 49 years of covering hockey. In game 4, Bobby Orr became the first defenceman to get a hat trick in a playoff game when Boston won 5–2.

The New York Rangers finished second in the East Division with 109 points. The Toronto Maple Leafs finished fourth with 82 points. This was the eighth playoff meeting between these two teams with New York winning four of the seven previous series. They last met in the 1962 Stanley Cup Semifinals which Toronto won in six games. New York won five of the six games in this year's regular season series.

The Chicago Black Hawks finished first in the West Division with 107 points. The Philadelphia Flyers finished third in the West Division with 73 points. This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams. Chicago won this year's six game regular season series earning nine of twelve points.

The St. Louis Blues finished second in the West Division with 87 points. The Minnesota North Stars finished fourth in the West Division with 72 points. This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams with St. Louis winning both of the previous series. They met in the previous year's Stanley Cup Quarterfinals which the Blues won in six games. Minnesota won this year's six game regular season series earning eight of twelve points.

This was the first playoff series between these two teams. Montreal won this year's six game regular season series earning eight of twelve points. The Canadiens' upset of Boston was so sensational that the Canadiens nearly suffered a fatal letdown against the Minnesota North Stars. The Canadiens' 6–3 loss in Montreal on April 22 to Minnesota, led by the goaltending of Cesare Maniago was the first playoff defeat for an Original Six team at the hands of a 1967 Expansion franchise.

This was the third playoff series between these two teams with Chicago winning both previous series. They last met in the 1968 Stanley Cup Quarterfinals which the Black Hawks won in six games. The teams split this year's six game regular season series. Bobby Hull and the Chicago Black Hawks were just too much for the Rangers and the Black Hawks advanced to the finals in seven games. Hull won two games with goals on face offs, despite Glen Sather's coverage to check him.

This was the fifteenth series between these two teams with the Montreal Canadiens winning nine of the fourteen previous series. They last met in the 1968 Stanley Cup Semifinals which Montreal won in five games. The teams split this year's six game regular season series. The series went the full seven games, with the Canadiens winning in Chicago despite trailing 2–0 halfway into the second period of game seven. Jacques Lemaire took a shot from centre ice that miraculously escaped goaltender Tony Esposito cutting the Black Hawks' lead to 2–1. Henri Richard tied the game just before the end of the second period, and scored again 02:34 into the third, giving the Habs the lead. Montreal goalie Ken Dryden kept Chicago off the board for the rest of the game, and the Habs won their third Stanley Cup in four years. It was the final game for Canadiens superstar and captain Jean Beliveau who retired after the season. The Canadiens were the last road team to win a Game 7 of a Stanley Cup Finals until the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2009. It was Al MacNeil's final game as Montreal coach — after he had benched Richard for Game 5, The Pocket Rocket declared "[MacNeil] is the worst coach I ever played for!" Although Richard retracted his "angry comment", as he called it, MacNeil still resigned.

A new award for the most outstanding player as voted by the members of the NHL Players Association, the Lester B. Pearson Award, was introduced this season and the first winner was Phil Esposito. 1971 NHL awardsPrince of Wales Trophy:(East Division champion, regular season) Boston BruinsClarence S. Campbell Bowl:(West Division champion, regular season) Chicago Black HawksArt Ross Trophy:(Top scorer, regular season) Phil Esposito, Boston BruinsBill Masterton Memorial Trophy:(Perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication) Jean Ratelle, New York RangersCalder Memorial Trophy:(Top first year player) Gilbert Perreault, Buffalo SabresConn Smythe Trophy:(Most valuable player, playoffs) Ken Dryden, Montreal CanadiensHart Memorial Trophy:(Most valuable player, regular season) Bobby Orr, Boston BruinsJames Norris Memorial Trophy:(Best defenceman) Bobby Orr, Boston BruinsLady Byng Memorial Trophy:(Excellence and sportsmanship) Johnny Bucyk, Boston BruinsLester B. Pearson Award:(Outstanding player, regular season) Phil Esposito, Boston BruinsVezina Trophy:(Goaltender(s) of team with best goaltending record) Eddie Giacomin & Gilles Villemure, New York RangersLester Patrick Trophy:(Service to hockey in the U. S.) William M. Jennings, John B. Sollenberger, Terrance G. Sawchuk

First Team   Position   Second TeamEd Giacomin, New York Rangers GJacques Plante, Toronto Maple LeafsBobby Orr, Boston Bruins DBrad Park, New York RangersJ. C. Tremblay, Montreal Canadiens DPat Stapleton, Chicago Black HawksPhil Esposito, Boston Bruins CDave Keon, Toronto Maple LeafsKen Hodge, Boston Bruins RWYvan Cournoyer, Montreal CanadiensJohnny Bucyk, Boston Bruins LWBobby Hull, Chicago Black Hawks

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 fifth season under the U. S. rights agreement with CBS, airing Sunday afternoon regular season and playoff games. CBS also televised Game 7 of the 1972 Stanley Cup Finals on a Thursday night, marking the first time an American network televised an NHL prime time game, but the telecast was blacked out in the Chicago Black Hawks' broadcast territory.