1969–70 NHL season
| 1969–70 NHL season | |
|---|---|
| League | National Hockey League |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Duration | October 11, 1969 – May 10, 1970 |
| Number of games | 76 |
| Number of teams | 12 |
| Regular season | |
| Season champions | Chicago Black Hawks |
| Season MVP | Bobby Orr (Bruins) |
| Top scorer | Bobby Orr (Bruins) |
| Playoffs | |
| Playoffs Playoffs MVP | Bobby Orr (Bruins) |
| Stanley Cup | |
| Champions | Boston Bruins |
| Runners-up | St. Louis Blues |
The 1969–70 NHL season was the 53rd season of the National Hockey League. For the third straight season, the St. Louis Blues reached the Stanley Cup finals, and for the third straight year, the winners of the expansion Western Division were swept four games to none. This time, however, it was at the hands of the Boston Bruins, as the defending champions Montreal Canadiens narrowly missed the playoffs, something that would not happen again for the next quarter century. With both the Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs missing the 1970 Stanley Cup playoffs, it was the first time in league history that none of the NHL's Canadian teams qualified for the playoffs (something that would only happen again in 2016, when the league had seven Canadian teams). It was also the final season that teams wore their colored jerseys at home until the 2003–04 season.
Bobby Orr of the Boston Bruins became the first (and as of 2016, the only) defenseman in NHL history to win the league scoring championship. He did it by setting a new record for assists with 87 and totalling 120 points, only six shy of the point record set the previous season by teammate Phil Esposito. Along the way, he also won the Norris Trophy for the third straight year as the top defenseman, the Hart Trophy for league MVP, and the Conn Smythe Trophy for the playoff MVP, being the only player in the NHL to win four individual awards.
Gordie Howe finished the season within the ten leading NHL point scorers for an all-time record of 21 consecutive seasons; it was the final season he would do so.
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