Vic Hadfield
Encyclopedia
Victor Edward Hadfield is a retired professional
ice hockey
player. One of the most popular players in New York Rangers
history, Hadfield had a sixteen-year career in the NHL
, tallying 323 goals and 389 assists with 1154 penalty minutes in 1002 career games with the Rangers and the Pittsburgh Penguins
.
of the Ontario Hockey League
, Hadfield established himself as a physical presence, tallying many more penalty minutes than points. With a strong squad in 1960 that included future notable NHL players Chico Maki
, Roger Crozier
, Pat Stapleton , he averaged a point a game in the regular season and playoffs, but racked up an average of five penalty minutes a game in the playoffs en route to the Teepees' second Memorial Cup
championship.
Assigned to Chicago's Buffalo Bisons
farm team in the American Hockey League
the following season, he was left unprotected after the 1962 season and claimed by the Rangers in the intra-league draft.
and Rod Gilbert
, became known as the famous "GAG line
" (which stood for Goal A Game). From the 1968 expansion year on and with the resurgence of the long-time doormat Rangers as a strong team, Hadfield would never again score less than 20 goals in any full season.
Hadfield's best year was in 1972. Named the team's captain after the trade of longtime captain Bob Nevin
, he became the first Ranger - and only the sixth NHL player - to score 50 goals in a season, nearly doubling his previous best marks; with his linemates Ratelle and Gilbert, the GAG Line totalled 139 goals and 325 points en route to leading the team to the Stanley Cup
Finals.
Signed to a lucrative contract the following summer seen to deter Hadfield from defecting to the newly created World Hockey Association
, he could not maintain his 1972 level of scoring, and was traded after the 1974 season to the Pittsburgh Penguins for defenceman Nick Beverley
. He scored thirty goals in each of his two full seasons for the Penguins, although plagued by injuries and weight troubles, but sustained a knee injury towards the end of the 1976 season which forced his retirement.
), 2nd in penalty minutes (behind Harry Howell) and 4th in games played (behind Ratelle, Howell and Gilbert). He currently stands 9th in franchise history in scoring and 3rd in penalty minutes.
His younger brother, Carl, was a 1964
draft choice by the Chicago Black Hawks
.
Hadfield now owns the Vic Hadfield Driving Range and instructional centre in Oakville.
In 2009, Hadfield was ranked No. 20 on the all-time list of New York Rangers in the book 100 Ranger Greats (John Wiley & Sons
).
. Controversially, after playing sparingly in just two games, he left the team after the Swedish exhibition games and returned home to Canada, drawing criticism for his move.
Professional
A professional is a person who is paid to undertake a specialised set of tasks and to complete them for a fee. The traditional professions were doctors, lawyers, clergymen, and commissioned military officers. Today, the term is applied to estate agents, surveyors , environmental scientists,...
ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
player. One of the most popular players in New York Rangers
New York Rangers
The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the borough of Manhattan in New York, New York, USA. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . Playing their home games at Madison Square Garden, the Rangers are one of the...
history, Hadfield had a sixteen-year career in the NHL
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
, tallying 323 goals and 389 assists with 1154 penalty minutes in 1002 career games with the Rangers and the Pittsburgh Penguins
Pittsburgh Penguins
The Pittsburgh Penguins are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the first expansion teams during the league's original...
.
Early career
Originally signed by the Chicago Black Hawks and assigned to their junior league affiliate St. Catharines TeepeesSt. Catharines Teepees
The St. Catharines Teepees were a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey Association from 1947 to 1962. The team was based in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada.-History:...
of the Ontario Hockey League
Ontario Hockey League
The Ontario Hockey League is one of the three Major Junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The league is for players aged 15-20.The OHL also operates under the Ontario Hockey Federation of Hockey Canada....
, Hadfield established himself as a physical presence, tallying many more penalty minutes than points. With a strong squad in 1960 that included future notable NHL players Chico Maki
Chico Maki
Ronald "Chico" Maki is a retired Canadian ice hockey forward.Maki started his National Hockey League career with the Chicago Black Hawks in 1961. He would play his entire career with the Black Hawks and would retire after the 1976 season. He would win one Stanley Cup with Chicago in...
, Roger Crozier
Roger Crozier
Roger Allan Crozier was a Canadian professional hockey goaltender who played fourteen seasons in the National Hockey League for the Detroit Red Wings, Buffalo Sabres and Washington Capitals....
, Pat Stapleton , he averaged a point a game in the regular season and playoffs, but racked up an average of five penalty minutes a game in the playoffs en route to the Teepees' second Memorial Cup
Memorial Cup
The Memorial Cup is a junior ice hockey club championship trophy awarded annually to the Canadian Hockey League champion. It is awarded following a four-team, round robin tournament between a host team and the champions of the CHL's three member leagues: the Ontario Hockey League , Quebec Major...
championship.
Assigned to Chicago's Buffalo Bisons
Buffalo Bisons
The Buffalo Bisons are a minor league baseball team based in Buffalo, New York. They currently play in the International League and are the Triple-A affiliate of the New York Mets...
farm team in the American Hockey League
American Hockey League
The American Hockey League is a 30-team professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental circuit for the National Hockey League...
the following season, he was left unprotected after the 1962 season and claimed by the Rangers in the intra-league draft.
NHL career
By 1964, Hadfield had cemented a place in the Rangers' lineup as an enforcer. Gradually, he focused more on scoring than on fighting - especially with feared enforcer Reggie Fleming on the squad - and paired with teammates Jean RatelleJean Ratelle
Joseph Gilbert Yvon "Jean" Ratelle is a former Canadian ice hockey player and a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame. It has often been said of Jean Ratelle that he was so consistently effective at a high level of play day in and day out that he has been overlooked by some as one of the greatest to...
and Rod Gilbert
Rod Gilbert
Rodrigue Gabriel Gilbert is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey forward who played for the New York Rangers in the National Hockey League. He played right wing on the GAG line that also featured Vic Hadfield and Jean Ratelle...
, became known as the famous "GAG line
GAG line
The GAG line, which as an acronym for Goal-A-Game, was a famous ice hockey line for the New York Rangers in the late 1960s and early 1970s, as these linemates averaged over 1 goal a game while playing together...
" (which stood for Goal A Game). From the 1968 expansion year on and with the resurgence of the long-time doormat Rangers as a strong team, Hadfield would never again score less than 20 goals in any full season.
Hadfield's best year was in 1972. Named the team's captain after the trade of longtime captain Bob Nevin
Bob Nevin
Robert Frank Nevin is a former professional ice hockey right wing who played 18 seasons in the National Hockey League between 1957–58 and 1975–76.-Career:...
, he became the first Ranger - and only the sixth NHL player - to score 50 goals in a season, nearly doubling his previous best marks; with his linemates Ratelle and Gilbert, the GAG Line totalled 139 goals and 325 points en route to leading the team to the Stanley Cup
Stanley Cup
The Stanley Cup is an ice hockey club trophy, awarded annually to the National Hockey League playoffs champion after the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Finals. It has been referred to as The Cup, Lord Stanley's Cup, The Holy Grail, or facetiously as Lord Stanley's Mug...
Finals.
Signed to a lucrative contract the following summer seen to deter Hadfield from defecting to the newly created World Hockey Association
World Hockey Association
The World Hockey Association was a professional ice hockey league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major competition for the National Hockey League since the collapse of the Western Hockey League in 1926...
, he could not maintain his 1972 level of scoring, and was traded after the 1974 season to the Pittsburgh Penguins for defenceman Nick Beverley
Nick Beverley
Nicholas Gerald Beverley is a former hockey player in the NHL and former head coach in the NHL and AHL.He played for the Boston Bruins, Pittsburgh Penguins, New York Rangers, Minnesota North Stars, and Colorado Rockies. His NHL career totals are 18 goals, 94 assists for 112 total points in 501...
. He scored thirty goals in each of his two full seasons for the Penguins, although plagued by injuries and weight troubles, but sustained a knee injury towards the end of the 1976 season which forced his retirement.
Retirement and facts
At the time of his retirement, Hadfield was 4th in Rangers' franchise history in goals, assists and points (behind his linemates Jean Ratelle and Rod Gilbert, and Andy BathgateAndy Bathgate
Andrew James Bathgate is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey centre who played 17 seasons in the National Hockey League for the New York Rangers, Toronto Maple Leafs, Detroit Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins.-Playing career:...
), 2nd in penalty minutes (behind Harry Howell) and 4th in games played (behind Ratelle, Howell and Gilbert). He currently stands 9th in franchise history in scoring and 3rd in penalty minutes.
His younger brother, Carl, was a 1964
1964 NHL Amateur Draft
The 1964 NHL Amateur Draft was held at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.As was the case in the 1963 Draft, amateur players turning 17 years of age between August 1, 1964, and July 31, 1965, were eligible, if they were not already sponsored by an NHL club.The order of the draft...
draft choice by the Chicago Black Hawks
Chicago Blackhawks
The Chicago Blackhawks are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . They have won four Stanley Cup championships since their founding in 1926, most recently coming in 2009-10...
.
Hadfield now owns the Vic Hadfield Driving Range and instructional centre in Oakville.
In 2009, Hadfield was ranked No. 20 on the all-time list of New York Rangers in the book 100 Ranger Greats (John Wiley & Sons
John Wiley & Sons
John Wiley & Sons, Inc., also referred to as Wiley, is a global publishing company that specializes in academic publishing and markets its products to professionals and consumers, students and instructors in higher education, and researchers and practitioners in scientific, technical, medical, and...
).
International play
After his stellar 1972 season, Hadfield was named to Team Canada for the 1972 Summit SeriesSummit Series
The Summit Series was the first competition between the Soviet and an NHL-inclusive Canadian national ice hockey teams, an eight-game series held in September 1972...
. Controversially, after playing sparingly in just two games, he left the team after the Swedish exhibition games and returned home to Canada, drawing criticism for his move.
Career statistics
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season Season (sports) In an organized sports league, a season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session. For example, in Major League Baseball, one season lasts approximately from April 1 through October 1; in Association football, it is generally from August until May In an... | Team | League | GP | G Goal (ice hockey) In ice hockey, a goal is scored when the puck completely crosses the goal line between the two goal posts and below the goal crossbar. A goal awards one point to the team attacking the goal scored upon, regardless of which team the player who actually deflected the puck into the goal belongs to... | A Assist (ice hockey) In ice hockey, an assist is attributed to up to two players of the scoring team who shot, passed or deflected the puck towards the scoring teammate, or touched it in any other way which enabled the goal, meaning that they were "assisting" in the goal. There can be a maximum of two assists per goal... | Pts Point (ice hockey) Point in ice hockey has three official meanings:* A point is awarded to a player for each goal scored or assist earned. The total number of goals plus assists equals total points. In some European leagues, a goal counts as two points, and an assist counts as one... | PIM Penalty (ice hockey) A penalty in ice hockey is a punishment for inappropriate behavior. Most penalties are enforced by detaining the offending player within a penalty box for a set number of minutes, during which, the player can not participate in play. The offending team usually may not replace the player on the ice,... | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1958–59 | St. Catharines Teepees St. Catharines Teepees The St. Catharines Teepees were a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey Association from 1947 to 1962. The team was based in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada.-History:... | OHA Ontario Hockey Association The Ontario Hockey Association is the governing body for the majority of Junior and Senior level ice hockey teams in the Province of Ontario. The OHA is sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Federation along with the Northern Ontario Hockey Association. Other Ontario sanctioning bodies along with the... | 51 | 6 | 14 | 20 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1959–60 1959–60 AHL season The 1959–60 AHL season was the 24th season of the American Hockey League. Seven teams played 72 games each in the schedule. The Quebec Aces become the first Canadian-based team in the league... | Buffalo Bisons Buffalo Bisons (AHL) The Buffalo Bisons were an American Hockey League ice hockey franchise that played from 1940 to 1970 in Buffalo, New York. They replaced the original Buffalo Bisons hockey team, which left the area in 1936 after its arena collapsed... | AHL American Hockey League The American Hockey League is a 30-team professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental circuit for the National Hockey League... | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1959–60 | St. Catharines Teepees | OHA | 48 | 19 | 34 | 53 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1960–61 1960–61 AHL season The 1960–61 AHL season was the 25th season of the American Hockey League. Seven teams played 72 games each in the schedule. The All-Star Game was not played, and put on hold until resurrected in the 1994–95 AHL season... | Buffalo Bisons | AHL | 62 | 5 | 16 | 21 | 111 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | ||
| 1961–62 | New York Rangers New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the borough of Manhattan in New York, New York, USA. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . Playing their home games at Madison Square Garden, the Rangers are one of the... | NHL | 44 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 22 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 1962–63 | New York Rangers | NHL | 36 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 32 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1962–63 1962–63 AHL season The 1962–63 AHL season was the 27th season of the American Hockey League. Nine teams played 72 games each in the schedule. The Buffalo Bisons finished first overall in the regular season, and won their fourth Calder Cup championship.-Team changes:... | Baltimore Clippers Baltimore Clippers The Baltimore Clippers were an American ice hockey team. They were the first of three Baltimore entries into the American Hockey League, who played from 1962–76... | AHL | 29 | 10 | 9 | 19 | 84 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1963–64 | New York Rangers | NHL | 69 | 14 | 11 | 25 | 151 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1964–65 | New York Rangers | NHL | 70 | 18 | 20 | 38 | 102 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1965–66 | New York Rangers | NHL | 67 | 16 | 19 | 35 | 112 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1966–67 | New York Rangers | NHL | 69 | 13 | 20 | 33 | 80 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 17 | ||
| 1967–68 | New York Rangers | NHL | 59 | 20 | 19 | 39 | 45 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | ||
| 1968–69 | New York Rangers | NHL | 73 | 26 | 40 | 66 | 108 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | ||
| 1969–70 | New York Rangers | NHL | 71 | 20 | 34 | 54 | 69 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1970–71 | New York Rangers | NHL | 63 | 22 | 22 | 44 | 38 | 13 | 8 | 5 | 13 | 46 | ||
| 1971–72 | New York Rangers | NHL | 78 | 50 | 56 | 106 | 142 | 16 | 7 | 9 | 16 | 22 | ||
| 1972–73 | New York Rangers | NHL | 63 | 28 | 34 | 62 | 60 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 11 | ||
| 1973–74 | New York Rangers | NHL | 77 | 27 | 28 | 55 | 75 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 1974–75 | Pittsburgh Penguins Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the first expansion teams during the league's original... | NHL | 78 | 31 | 42 | 73 | 72 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 0 | ||
| 1975–76 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 76 | 30 | 35 | 65 | 46 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 11 | ||
| 1976–77 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 9 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 1002 | 323 | 389 | 712 | 1154 | 74 | 27 | 21 | 48 | 117 | ||||
Awards and achievements
- OHAOntario Hockey AssociationThe Ontario Hockey Association is the governing body for the majority of Junior and Senior level ice hockey teams in the Province of Ontario. The OHA is sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Federation along with the Northern Ontario Hockey Association. Other Ontario sanctioning bodies along with the...
-Jr. First All-Star Team (1960) - NHL Second All-Star TeamNHL All-Star TeamThe NHL All-Star Teams were first named at the end of the 1930–31 NHL season, to honor the best performers over the season at each position.Representatives of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association vote for the All-Star Team at the end of the regular season.The career leaders in citations are...
(1972) - Played in NHL All-Star Game (1965, 1972)