1972-73 O-Pee-Chee 15 Jim Rutherford Hockey Card (Front)
1972-73 O-Pee-Chee 15 Jim Rutherford Hockey Card (Back)
1972-73 O-Pee-Chee NHL Checklist
Card Notes
One of the smallest goalies in the National Hockey League, Jim was a top-notch junior performer. He led the Montreal Junior Canadiens to the Memorial Cup championship before turning pro with Fort Worth in 1969. Pittsburgh drafted Jim from Detroit in 1971, and he won 17 games.
En Français
Jim, un des plus petits gardiens dans la LNH, brilla comme junior. Il aida les Canadiens Junior à décrocher la Coupe Mémoriale avant de devenir professionnel avec Fort Worth en 1969. Repêche de Détroit par Pittsburgh en 1971. Il accumula 17 victoires pour aider les Penguins à participer aux éliminatoires de la Coupe Stanley.
Details
It’s true, Jim Rutherford helped the Montreal Junior Canadiens to a Memorial Cup title in 1969. However, he spent the regular season with the Hamilton Red Wings. He played six games for the Junior Canadiens, all wins. The team won the championship, sweeping the Regina Pats in the final. The Juniors were laden with future NHLers like Rick Martin, Guy Charron, Rejean Houle, Jocelyn Guevremont, Gilbert Perreault and Marc Tardif.
Rutherford’s time in Pittsburgh would be over midway through the 1973-74 season and it was back to Motown for the goalie from Beeton, Ontario. Jim was traded back to Detroit with Jack Lynch, in exchange for Ron Stackhouse. He would spend the bulk of his NHL career with the Red Wings.
Between 1970-71 and 1982-83, Jim Rutherford appeared in 457 regular season games in the National Hockey League with the Red Wings, Penguins, Toronto Maple Leafs and Los Angeles Kings. In the post season, he was limited to just eight games over his career.