1972-73 O-Pee-Chee 31 Vic Hadfield Hockey Card (Front)
1972-73 O-Pee-Chee 31 Vic Hadfield Hockey Card (Back)
1972-73 O-Pee-Chee NHL Checklist
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Card Notes
The popular captain of the Rangers hit the charmed 50-goal mark on the final day of last season, despite playing with two painful injuries. He once led the NHL in penalties, but has changed his style since.
En Français
Le populaire capitaine des Rangers compta son 50ème but le dernier jour de la saison passée.
Details
Vic Hadfield became the first player in New York Rangers history to hit the 50 goal plateau on April 2, 1972, the 78th and last game of the 1971-72 NHL season. In the game at Madison Square Garden against the Montreal Canadiens, Hadfield scored number 49 at 12:12 of the second period on Denis DeJordy, assisted by Rod Gilbert and Brad Park.
It was looking like Hadfield would remain at 49 goals on the season until late in the third period when he netted number 50 at 14:46, assisted by Rod Seiling and Jim Neilson. To date, he is one of just four players to reach the plateau for the Rangers, the others: Adam Graves, Jaromir Jagr and Chris Kreider.
The Rangers and Habs met again three nights later in the first game of their quarter-final playoff series. Vic again scored two, including the game winner in the 3-2 New York victory. He also assisted on the other Rangers goal, scored by Bill Fairbairn. Hadfield led the way with eight shots on Montreal goalie Ken Dryden.
It was an interesting comment by O-Pee-Chee about Vic changing his ways. His 142 penalty minutes in 1971-72 remained as the second most over his career. Still, he was one minute out of the NHL’s top 10. Hadfield led the league in 1963-64, his 151 PIM two more than runner-up Terry Harper of the Montreal Canadiens.
Between 1961-62 and 1976-77, Vic Hadfield played 1,002 regular season and 72 playoff games in the National Hockey League with the Rangers and Pittsburgh Penguins. Not a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, Vic’s number 11 was retired by the Rangers in 2018.
Vic Hadfield NHL Career Stats
Regular Season
| Season | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 1961-62 | New York Rangers | 44 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 22 |
| 1962-63 | New York Rangers | 36 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 32 |
| 1963-64 | New York Rangers | 69 | 14 | 11 | 25 | 151 |
| 1964-65 | New York Rangers | 70 | 18 | 20 | 38 | 102 |
| 1965-66 | New York Rangers | 67 | 16 | 19 | 35 | 112 |
| 1966-67 | New York Rangers | 69 | 13 | 20 | 33 | 80 |
| 1967-68 | New York Rangers | 59 | 20 | 19 | 39 | 45 |
| 1968-69 | New York Rangers | 73 | 26 | 40 | 66 | 108 |
| 1969-70 | New York Rangers | 71 | 20 | 34 | 54 | 69 |
| 1970-71 | New York Rangers | 63 | 22 | 22 | 44 | 38 |
| 1971-72 | New York Rangers | 78 | 50 | 56 | 106 | 142 |
| 1972-73 | New York Rangers | 63 | 28 | 34 | 62 | 60 |
| 1973-74 | New York Rangers | 77 | 27 | 28 | 55 | 75 |
| 1974-75 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 78 | 31 | 42 | 73 | 72 |
| 1975-76 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 76 | 30 | 35 | 65 | 46 |
| 1976-77 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 9 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Totals | 1002 | 323 | 389 | 712 | 1154 |
Playoffs
| Season | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 1961-62 | New York Rangers | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 1962-63 | New York Rangers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1963-64 | New York Rangers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1964-65 | New York Rangers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1965-66 | New York Rangers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1966-67 | New York Rangers | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 17 |
| 1967-68 | New York Rangers | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 |
| 1968-69 | New York Rangers | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 |
| 1969-70 | New York Rangers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1970-71 | New York Rangers | 13 | 8 | 5 | 13 | 46 |
| 1971-72 | New York Rangers | 16 | 7 | 9 | 16 | 22 |
| 1972-73 | New York Rangers | 9 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 11 |
| 1973-74 | New York Rangers | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1974-75 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 9 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 0 |
| 1975-76 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 11 |
| 1976-77 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 74 | 27 | 21 | 48 | 117 |