1961–62 Chicago Black Hawks season
| 1961–62 Chicago Black Hawks | |
|---|---|
| Division | 3rd NHL |
| 1961–62 record | 31–26–13 |
| Home record | 20–10–5 |
| Road record | 11–16–8 |
| Goals for | 217 |
| Goals against | 186 |
| Team information | |
| General Manager | Tommy Ivan |
| Coach | Rudy Pilous |
| Captain | Pierre Pilote |
| Arena | Chicago Stadium |
| Team leaders | |
| Goals | Bobby Hull (50) |
| Assists | Stan Mikita and Bill Hay (52) |
| Points | Bobby Hull (84) |
| Penalties in minutes | Eric Nesterenko, Pierre Pilote and Stan Mikita (97) |
| Wins | Glenn Hall (31) |
| Goals against average | Glenn Hall (2.63) |
The 1961–62 Chicago Black Hawks season was the Hawks' 36th season in the NHL, and the club was coming off of a third-place finish in 1960–61, as they finished with a 29–24–17 record, earning 75 points, which was a franchise record, and the first time since 1946 that the Hawks had an over .500 record. Chicago upset the heavily favored Montreal Canadiens in the NHL semi-finals, then defeated the Detroit Red Wings in the 1961 Stanley Cup Finals to win their third Stanley Cup in team history, and the first one since 1938.
During the off-season, the Black Hawks traded away team captain Ed Litzenberger to the Detroit Red Wings in exchange for Gerry Melnyk and Brian Smith. Chicago also had some problems signing some of their players, as Stan Mikita, Reg Fleming, and Dollard St. Laurent all refused to sign their contracts, however, they all eventually came to terms. With Litzenberger traded away, the team named defenseman Pierre Pilote as the new captain.
The defending champions started off the season slow, earning only one win in their first eleven games, as they had a record of 1–5–5, however, the team rebounded, and put together a 16–12–8 record in the next 36 games to get to the .500 level. The Black Hawks then got hot, as they then won six games in a row, followed shortly by a four-game winning streak, as the team managed to finish the season with a 31–26–13 record, tying a club record with 75 points, and setting a team record for wins in a season at 31, which was two more than the previous high of 29 set the previous season.
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