1970-71 O-Pee-Chee NHL Hockey Cards

The 1970-71 O-Pee-Chee NHL set consists of 264 hockey cards. The nearly identically designed Topps set consists of half that at 132 cards and is missing the historically important rookie cards of Bobby Clarke (Flyers), Gilbert Perreault (Sabres) and Darryl Sittler (Maple Leafs).

The trio of Clarke, Perreault and Sittler are certainly very valuable but the highlight of the 1970-71 set is the number 3 card of Bobby Orr. The only other cards as valuable are the checklists.

Another major addition to the O-Pee-Chee collection, that is not found in the Topps set, are the several trophy cards featuring Bobby Orr of the Boston Bruins including the Hart Trophy, Art Ross Trophy, Conn Smythe Trophy and Norris Trophy. Also not included in the Topps set is Orr’s First Team All-Star card.

Terry Sawchuk is memorialized on hockey card number 231 after passing away in the summer of 1970. The legendary goalie had his three year waiting period waived and was posthumously inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1971.

1970-71 O-Pee-Chee NHL Checklist

Back To O-Pee-Chee NHL Index Page

1970-71 NHL Standings

1970-71 NHL Scoring Leaders

1970-71 NHL Season

1970-71 was the first year of existence for two expansion franchises, the Buffalo Sabres and Vancouver Canucks. Surprisingly, the new teams did fairly well and certainly didn’t finish in last. Buffalo finished fifth in the seven team East Division with 63 points. Five teams, including the Canucks, finished below the Sabres in the standings. The California Golden Seals owned the basement with just 45 points.

With the two new clubs, the NHL grew to 14 teams. The Boston Bruins dominated the regular season with 57 wins over the 78 game schedule and a total of 121 points. Their closest competition was the New York Rangers, a team that finished in second place overall with 109 points. The Chicago Blackhawks were the only other team to cross the 100 point threshold with 107.

This was a magical season with Phil Esposito charting off into unknown offensive territory. Espo finished the season with 76 goals and 76 assists for 152 points. The goals and points totals would remain NHL records until the arrival of Wayne Gretzky.

Along with the regular season standings, players from the Boston Bruins dominated the race for the Art Ross Trophy. The top four scoring leaders in the league came from Boston: Esposito, Bobby Orr, John Bucyk and Ken Hodge. Wayne Cashman, John McKenzie and Fred Stanfield were also in the top 10.

In the post season, Boston received a shock in the opening round with a loss to the Montreal Canadiens with the series going the full seven games. The Habs would march onward to a Stanley Cup championship but it wasn’t entirely easy. Montreal’s record in the playoffs was just 12-8 with both the first and final series going the distance. The semi-final was a victory over the Minnesota North Stars in six games.

Bobby Orr won the Hart Trophy as MVP during the regular season but it was a young Ken Dryden who took playoff honours, winning the Conn Smythe Trophy. Dryden appeared in just six games during the regular season with Rogatien Vachon and Phil Myre taking the bulk of the action. However, Ken played in all 20 playoff games for Montreal. That paved the way for his Hockey Hall of Fame career and paved the way out of town for Vachon and Myre.

It was an important year for debuts in the National Hockey League. Dryden, Darryl Sittler, Gilbert Perreault, Reg Leach and Rick MacLeish all played their first NHL games in 1970-71. Appearing in their final games in the league were Jean Beliveau, Andy Bathgate, Glenn Hall and George Armstrong.