Fred Stanfield

Lore & Background

Stanfield was born in Toronto on May 4, 1944. He had six brothers, most of whom would eventually become professional hockey players. As was the practice at the time, Stanfield was signed by the Chicago Black Hawks at age 16 (as were his brothers Jim and Jack), and assigned to the junior league St. Catharines Teepees (later St. Catharines Black Hawks), their Ontario Hockey Association affiliate. Playing with many future NHL teammates and stars—the team's roster included Phil Esposito, Ken Hodge, Roger Crozier, Chico Maki, Dennis Hull and Poul Popiel—Stanfield played three seasons for St. Catharines. The final two seasons he led the team in scoring, and his final season, 1964, he was third in the league in scoring with 109 points, as well as being awarded the Max Kaminsky Trophy as the league's most sportsmanlike player.

In Their Own Story

It was late in the third period, the score tied, and Fred Stanfield stood at center ice, scanning the ice with eyes that missed nothing. He didn't need to sprint; he knew exactly where his linemates would be before they moved. As the puck came down from a faceoff, Stanfield controlled it effortlessly, shielding it from a charging defender with a subtle body check. With a flick of his wrist, he sent a no-look pass across the ice that found Johnny Bucyk in the slot. The crowd erupted as the goal was scored, but Stanfield simply nodded, skating back to the bench with the quiet confidence of a man who had seen it all before.

Reader's Guide

Called up for the 1964–65 season to the big league squad, Stanfield played the full season with Chicago, and then the next two seasons split his time between the Black Hawks and Chicago's St. Louis minor league affiliate. In May 1967, Stanfield was traded, along with Phil Esposito and Ken Hodge, to the Boston Bruins, for defenceman Gilles Marotte, centre Pit Martin, and minor league goaltender Jack Norris. The trade came to be widely regarded as one of the most one-sided deals in hockey history, as Boston immediately became a powerhouse, moving from a last place team to a perennial power. While Esposito became a preeminent star in Boston and Hodge became a league All-Star, Stanfield centered the team's second line, with wingers John Bucyk and Johnny McKenzie—which some considered the best second line in hockey—as well as playing the left point on the Bruins' feared top power play unit, helping the team to lead the league in power play goals every year between 1969 and 1972. He scored 20 or more goals in every one of the six years he played for Boston, with the Bruins leading the league in goals in each of those seasons. He became noted for a heavy slap shot, making his mark in the first game of the 1970 Stanley Cup Final against the St. Louis Blues when he fired a shot so hard it split Blues goaltender Jacques Plante's mask in half, giving Plante a concussion which sidelined him for the remainder of the playoffs. Stanfield's best years were between the 1971 and 1973 seasons. In 1971, he scored 76 points to finish 9th in league scoring. He also received the team's 7th Player Award, voted by the fans for the player performing most beyond expectations. In the 1972 season, he scored 23 goals and 56 assists for 79 points, finishing 4th in the league in assists and 12th in the league in points, and added 7 goals and 9 assists for 16 points in 15 playoff games to help the Bruins to the Stanley Cup championship. He was a leading candidate for the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy for the league's most sportsmanlike player, finishing behind eventual winner Jean Ratelle of the New York Rangers and teammate Johnny Bucyk. Stanfield followed up in the next season, when he scored 20 goals and 58 assists for 78 points, and was named to play in the 1973 All-Star Game as an injury replacement. Stanfield finished the season 7th in the league in assists. Greatly depleted in goaltendin

Did You Know?

• Stanfield won two Stanley Cups with the Boston Bruins, in 1970 and 1972.
• He was known as a clean player, receiving more than 14 penalty minutes in only one season of his NHL career.
• Stanfield centered the Bruins' second line with John Bucyk and Johnny McKenzie, considered by some the best second line in hockey.
• In the 1970 Stanley Cup Final, his slap shot split Blues goaltender Jacques Plante's mask, causing a concussion.
• He was a leading candidate for the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy in 1972, finishing third in voting.