Carol Vadnais: 1976-77 O-Pee-Chee 257

1976-77 O-Pee-Chee 257 Carol Vadnais Hockey Card (Front)

1976-77 O-Pee-Chee 257 Carol Vadnais Hockey Card (Back)

1976-77 O-Pee-Chee NHL Checklist

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Card Notes

Smooth-skating Carol is one of the few defensemen in NHL history to score 20 goals in a single season, a feat he accomplished on two different occasions. Carol was Rangers’ top-scoring defenseman last year.

En Français

Carol est l’un des rares défenseurs dans la LNH à marquer 20 buts en une saison, un exploit qu’il réussit à deux reprises. Meilleur compteur chez les défenseurs des Rangers en 1975-76.

Details

Carol Vadnais would finish his career with the two 20-goal seasons mentioned, his offensive numbers dropping off considerably from 1976-77 until his retirement. His first 20 goal season was in 1969-70, scoring 24 with the Oakland Seals. The second was in 1975-76 when he totaled 22, two with the Bruins and 20 with the Rangers.

Vadnais came to the Rangers in a November 7, 1975 trade with the Boston Bruins that also saw Phil Esposito go to New York, in exchange for Brad Park, Jean Ratelle and Joe Zanussi. On January 4, 1976, he had a pretty impressive four point game on a hat trick and assist, despite the Rangers losing 8-6 to the Toronto Maple Leafs (More on that game at Hockey History Hub).

Despite his drop in goal-scoring in 1976-77 (11), Vadnais still produced 48 points and was again New York’s leading defenseman with a single point edge over Ron Greschner. In the second game of the season, Vadnais had a 4-point game in a 5-3 road win over the Colorado Rockies on October 8, 1976.

In that match, he scored the opening goal on the power play, assisted by Rod Gilbert and Ken Hodge. He also assisted on two goals by Hodge and one by Don Murdoch. Carol had six of the 47 shots put toward Colorado goalie Doug Favell but it was Pat Hickey leading the way with nine, despite being left off the scoresheet.

Between 1966-67 and 1982-83, Carol Vadnais played 1,087 regular season and 106 playoff games in the National Hockey League with the Montreal Canadiens, Oakland Seals, Boston Bruins, New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils. He was a two-time Stanley Cup champion, once with the Habs (playing a single game in the post season) and once with the Bruins.

Carol Vadnais NHL Career Stats

Regular Season

Year	Team	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1966-67	Montreal Canadiens	11	0	3	3	35
1967-68	Montreal Canadiens	31	1	1	2	31
1968-69	Oakland Seals	76	15	27	42	151
1969-70	Oakland Seals	76	24	20	44	212
1970-71	California Golden Seals	42	10	16	26	91
1971-72	California Golden Seals	52	14	20	34	106
1971-72	Boston Bruins	16	4	6	10	37
1972-73	Boston Bruins	78	7	24	31	127
1973-74	Boston Bruins	78	16	43	59	123
1974-75	Boston Bruins	79	18	56	74	129
1975-76	Boston Bruins	12	2	5	7	17
1975-76	New York Rangers	64	20	30	50	104
1976-77	New York Rangers	74	11	37	48	131
1977-78	New York Rangers	80	6	40	46	115
1978-79	New York Rangers	77	8	37	45	86
1979-80	New York Rangers	66	3	20	23	118
1980-81	New York Rangers	74	3	20	23	91
1981-82	New York Rangers	50	5	6	11	45
1982-83	New Jersey Devils	51	2	7	9	64
	Totals	1087	169	418	587	1813

Playoffs

Year	Team	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1966-67	Montreal Canadiens	1	0	0	0	2
1967-68	Montreal Canadiens	1	0	0	0	2
1968-69	Oakland Seals	7	1	4	5	10
1969-70	Oakland Seals	4	2	1	3	15
1970-71	California Golden Seals	0	0	0	0	0
1971-72	California Golden Seals	0	0	0	0	0
1971-72	Boston Bruins	15	0	2	2	43
1972-73	Boston Bruins	5	0	0	0	8
1973-74	Boston Bruins	16	1	12	13	42
1974-75	Boston Bruins	3	1	5	6	0
1975-76	Boston Bruins	0	0	0	0	0
1975-76	New York Rangers	0	0	0	0	0
1976-77	New York Rangers	0	0	0	0	0
1977-78	New York Rangers	3	0	2	2	16
1978-79	New York Rangers	18	2	9	11	13
1979-80	New York Rangers	9	1	2	3	6
1980-81	New York Rangers	14	1	3	4	26
1981-82	New York Rangers	10	1	0	1	4
1982-83	New Jersey Devils	0	0	0	0	0
	Totals	106	10	40	50	187

NHL Hockey Card Greats: Carol Vadnais [Video]