1957–58 NHL season
| 1957–58 NHL season | |
|---|---|
| League | National Hockey League |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Duration | October 8, 1957 – April 20, 1958 |
| Number of games | 70 |
| Number of teams | 6 |
| Regular season | |
| Season champion | Montreal Canadiens |
| Season MVP | Gordie Howe (Detroit Red Wings) |
| Top scorer | Dickie Moore (Montreal Canadiens) |
| Stanley Cup | |
| Champions | Montreal Canadiens |
| Runners-up | Boston Bruins |
The 1957–58 NHL season was the 41st season of the National Hockey League. The Montreal Canadiens won the Stanley Cup for the third consecutive season, defeating the Boston Bruins four games to two in the best-of-seven final series.
It was announced in September that Senator Hartland Molson had purchased 60% stock from the Canadian Arena Company and the Montreal Canadiens from Senator Donat Raymond.
Doug Harvey and Ted Lindsay led the drive to form (on February 11, 1957) the National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA), a workers' labour association, and sued the NHL over the issue of player pensions, salaries during training camp, meal allowances, remuneration for exhibition games and a no trade clause after six years service. Lindsay lost his captaincy of the Detroit Red Wings and was traded to Chicago, on July 23, 1957, in an effort to intimidate the players.
After the NHL declined to negotiate with the players over benefits and would not open the books on the pension plan, the player's association filed an anti-trust lawsuit on October 10, 1957. The lawsuit alleged the monopolization of the professional hockey industry since 1926, in violation of the Sherman and Clayton Anti-Trust Acts. Furthermore, On November 6, 1957 the Toronto Maple Leafs players voted unanimously to certify the union.
The NHL started to fight back. First, they traded Lindsay to Chicago to separate him from the Red Wings, the American team the NHLPA had targeted for a certification vote. Next, Jack Adams spread false stories in the press alleging various slanders had been made by Lindsay against the Red Wings players, and produced a fake contract to the press showing an over-inflated salary for Lindsay, greater than Hart Trophy MVP, teammate and friend Gordie Howe. The ruse worked and the Red Wings players decided to dis-associate themselves from the NHLPA on November 13, 1957.
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