Milt Schmidt

Milton Conrad Schmidt was a Canadian professional ice hockey centre, coach, and executive who spent most of his career with the Boston Bruins. Born on March 5, 1918, in Kitchener, Ontario, he grew up playing alongside childhood friends Bobby Bauer and Woody Dumart. The three formed the famous “Kraut Line,” leading the Bruins to two Stanley Cup championships. In the 1939–40 season, they became the first line in NHL history to finish first, second, and third in league scoring. Schmidt was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1961 and was named one of the NHL’s 100 Greatest Players in 2017.

Schmidt left school at age 14 to support his family after his father fell ill, working at a shoe factory for 18 cents an hour. He continued playing junior hockey with the Kitchener Empires and Greenshirts. At 20, while with the Bruins’ AHL affiliate, the Providence Reds, he tried out for the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team but recognized that his strikeout rate outweighed his home run power.

After the Bruins acquired his rights in 1935, Schmidt played one more year of junior hockey and half a season with Providence before joining Boston in 1937. He quickly proved a hard-nosed centre with slick stickhandling and playmaking. The Kraut Line became a dependable force, helping the Bruins win four straight regular-season titles and the 1939 Stanley Cup. The next season, Schmidt led the league in scoring with 52 points, while Dumart and Bauer tied for second with 43 each—the only time three linemates have occupied the top three scoring spots.

In 1941, Schmidt led the Bruins to another Cup, tallying 38 points in the regular season and 11 in 11 playoff games. World War II interrupted his career: Schmidt, Bauer, and Dumart were among the first NHL players to enlist in the Canadian military. In their final game before deployment, the line recorded eight points in a win over Montreal, after which players from both teams carried them off the ice. While training in Ottawa, they played for the Ottawa RCAF Flyers, winning the Allan Cup. Schmidt and Dumart served in a bomber squadron; Bauer worked as a radio technician. They missed three NHL seasons.

Schmidt returned in 1946, reuniting the Kraut Line. He finished fourth in league scoring in 1947 with a career-high 62 points. Named Bruins captain in 1951, he won the Hart Trophy as MVP that year with 61 points. He posted 50 points the following season and remained productive until retiring as a player partway through the 1954–55 season to become head coach, replacing Lynn Patrick.

As coach, Schmidt led the Bruins to the Stanley Cup Final in 1957 and 1958, staying behind the bench until 1966 (with a brief hiatus). He also served as assistant general manager. In 1967, he was promoted to general manager just as the NHL expanded from six to twelve teams. He proved a shrewd builder, acquiring Phil Esposito, Ken Hodge, and Fred Stanfield from Chicago in a blockbuster trade for Pit Martin, Gilles Marotte, and Jack Norris. Under his management, the Bruins won Stanley Cups in 1970 and 1972.

After decades with Boston, Schmidt left to become the first general manager of the expansion Washington Capitals on April 20, 1975. He died on January 4, 2017, at age 98.