This date in hockey history saw big moments in the NHL and on the international stage. September 9 was full of Hall of Fame players with induction, trade, and retirement ceremonies. So, let’s start our daily journey back in time to remember all the best moments that this date has to offer.
Super Mario Enters the Hall of Fame
September 9 was an active date in the history of the Hockey Hall of Fame. In 1960, they announced their new induction class of six members. Georges Boucher, Sylvio Mantha, and Jack Walker were voted as players. Charles Adams, John Kilpatrick, and Frank Selke were added as builders.
Boucher and Mantha, both defensemen, won a combined six Stanley Cups during their careers. Walker played 84 NHL games, but also won three Stanley Cups in the pre-NHL days. His career spanned from 1907 to 1932, and he played in every major hockey league of his era.
Adams was the original owner of the Boston Bruins and was responsible for bringing the NHL to the United States. Kilpatrick ran Madison Square Garden and oversaw the operations of the New York Rangers between 1935 and 1960. Selke was a longtime NHL official and won nine Stanley Cups with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens.
Fast forward 37 years, and the Hall of Fame inducted one of its all-time greats on September 9, 1997. Like Gordie Howe and Bobby Orr, the mandatory three-year waiting period is waived to induct Pittsburgh Penguins star Mario Lemieux.
When he retired at the end of the 1996-97 season, Lemieux had accumulated 613 goals and 1,494 points in 745 games. He won the Calder Trophy (rookie of the year), three Hart Trophies (league MVP), and six Art Ross Trophies (leading scorer). He also won the Conn Smythe Trophy for being the postseason most valuable player in both of the Penguins’ Stanley Cup championships in 1991 and 1992. In 2000, Lemieux returned to the game, joining Howe and Guy Lafleur as the only Hall of Famers to play in it. NHL after its introduction.
Six-time Stanley Cup winner Bryan Trottier was part of the launch event. He won four straight championships with the New York Islanders between 1980 and 1983 before joining Lemieux for back-to-back titles in Pittsburgh. Longtime Edmonton Oilers and Rangers coach and executive Glen Sather round out the Stanley Cup-laden induction class.
The Great Belt Movement
Just 10 days after becoming general manager of the Washington Capitals, David Poile pulled off a major trade on September 9, 1982. He sent forward Ryan Walter and defenseman Rick Green to the Canadiens for defensemen Rod Langway and Brian Engblom, along with forwards. Doug Jarvis and Craig Laughlin.
Langway was the cornerstone of the deal, winning the Stanley Cup in 1979. In Montreal, he was overshadowed, playing on the blue line behind Guy Lapointe, Larry Robinson, and Serge Savard. He became a standout player in Washington and won the Norris Trophy as the league’s best defenseman in his first two seasons with the Capitals.
Entering the 1982-83 season, the Capitals had never made the Stanley Cup playoffs. Langway helped Washington to a 94-point season and its first postseason berth. This started a streak of 14 straight Stanley Cup appearances for the Capitals.
On this day, head coach Bryan Murray hired his younger brother Terry to be one of his assistants. This marked the first time in NHL history that two brothers were in the same coaching position.
A pair of Captains on Long Island
The Islanders added a “C” to the jerseys of two players on this day, 16 years apart. On September 9, 1997, defenseman Bryan McCabe was named the sixth captain in franchise history. McCabe captained only 56 games of the 1997-98 season, as he was traded to the Vancouver Canucks, along with Todd Bertuzzi, for Trevor Linden, who took over the captaincy.
On September 9, 2013, John Tavares was named the 14thth captain in Islanders history.
He remained the captain in the 2017-18 season when he left New York to sign with the Maple Leafs. His five seasons as captain tied him with Brent Sutter and Ed Westfall for second in team history. Denis Potvin was the team’s longest-serving captain, wearing the “C” for eight consecutive seasons.
Odds & Ends
On September 9, 1976, St. Louis Blues signed free agent defenseman Rod Seiling, who had spent the previous two seasons in Toronto. As compensation, the Maple Leafs received cash and the Blues’ second-round pick in the 1978 NHL Amateur Draft. They used that pick to select defenseman and Hall of Fame head coach Joel Quenneville.
Canada defeated the Soviet Union, 7-3, on September 9, 1981, in the final game of the Canada Cup tournament. 16,000 fans packed the Montreal Forum to see Canada get goals from Wayne Gretzky, Lafleur, Rick Middleton, Marcel Dionne, Potvin, Mike Bossy, and Butch Goring. Don Edwards made 20 saves in goal for Team Canada.
The Penguins traded forward Anders Hakansson to the Los Angeles Kings on September 9, 1983, for the rights to Kevin Stevens, who they drafted in the sixth round (108).th overall) in the 1983 NHL Entry Draft.
Stevens made his NHL debut in the 1987-88 season and spent eight seasons in Pittsburgh. He scored 54 and 55 goals in 1991-92 and 1992-93, respectively. He ended up playing 89 games for the Kings between 1996 and 1997. Hakansson scored 31 goals and 61 points in three seasons with the Kings.
Joe Nieuwendyk signed with the Maple Leafs on September 9, 2003, after spending the previous season with the New Jersey Devils. The three-time Stanley Cup winner spent one season in Toronto, scoring 22 goals and 50 points.
Veteran defensive end Lyle Odelein signed with the Florida Panthers on the same day. The 35-year-old blueliner played in all 82 games of the 2003-04 season for the Panthers and scored four goals and 16 points.
Goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff announced his retirement on September 9, 2013. He was originally drafted by the San Jose Sharks in the fifth round (116).th overall) in the 1995 NHL entry draft. After 47 games over three seasons, the Sharks traded him to the Calgary Flames, in 2003, for second-round pick turned defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic.
Kiprusoff played 576 games for the Flames over nine seasons. He went 305-192-67 with a .913 save percentage (SV%), 2.46 goals against average (GAA), and 41 shutouts. He helped the Flames reach the Stanley Cup Finals in 2004, where they lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning in seven games. He won the Vezina Trophy for being the best goalkeeper in the 2005-06 season. He posted 42 wins with a .923 SV%, 2.07 GAA, and 10 shutouts during that terrific season. He is the franchise leader in games played (by a goaltender), wins, and shutouts.
Hall of Fame defenseman Pilote died at the age of 85 on September 9, 2017. Pilote was a mainstay of the Chicago Blackhawks defense for 13 seasons. He was a member of the 1961 Stanley Cup Championship team. He was a three-time Norris Trophy winner and served as team captain for seven seasons. Pilote is one of only seven players to have his number retired by the Blackhawks.
On September 9, 2018, the Canadiens traded captain Max Pacioretty to the Vegas Golden Knights for forward Tomas Tatar and Nick Suzuki and a second-round draft pick.
Pacioretty signed a four-year contract extension with the Golden Knights and had 97 goals and 194 points in his four seasons with the team before being traded to the Carolina Hurricanes in 2022.
On this day in 2021, Stan Fischler, Paul Holmgren and Peter McNab were elected to the US Hockey Hall of Fame. Paul Holmgren played 10 seasons in the NHL where he accumulated 323 points in 527 regular season games and 51 points in 82 playoff games. He is also the only person in the history of the Philadelphia Flyers to be a player, assistant coach, coach, general manager and president. McNab is also a former player in the NHL, playing 14 seasons with the Sabres, Bruins, Canucks and Devils. He scored 813 points in 955 regular season games and 82 points in 107 playoff games. Finally, Fischler is an award-winning journalist, historian, author and broadcaster with a career spanning eight decades.
happy Birthday to you
A total of 16 current and former NHL players were present on the day. The first player to do so was Hickey Nicholson, born September 9, 1911, who played two games for the Blackhawks in 1938. The most recent is New Jersey Devils defenseman Luke Hughes, born September 9, 2003, who is still turning. 21 today.
Born September 9, 1966, Kevin Hatcher played in 1,157 games, the team’s most, in 17 seasons. His 227 goals and 667 points are the most of anyone born on this day. Keith Yandle, 38 years old today, has the most assists with 516.
Other famous players born on this day are Nelson Pyatt (71), Mattias Ohund (48), and the late Bob Baun.
*Originally created by Greg Boysen
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