Max Bentley
Two-time NHL scoring leader and Hart Trophy winner.
Max Bentley was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played for the Chicago Black Hawks, Toronto Maple Leafs, and New York Rangers in the National Hockey League (NHL) over a 20-year professional and senior career. He was the NHL's leading scorer twice in a row, won the Hart Trophy as the most valuable player in 1946, and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1966.
Quick Facts
- Halloffame
- 1966
- Birth Date
- 1920-03-01
- Birth Place
- Delisle, Saskatchewan, Canada
- Death Date
- 1984-01-18
- Death Place
- Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
- Height Ft
- 5
- Height In
- 9
- Weight Lb
- 158
- Position
- Centre
- Shoots
- Left
- Played For
- Chicago Black Hawks / Toronto Maple Leafs / New York Rangers
- Career Start
- 1940
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Bentley was one of six hockey-playing brothers; in 1942–43 he made NHL history by playing on the league's first all-brother line with Doug and Reg. He played five seasons in Chicago with Doug before a 1947 trade sent him to the Maple Leafs in one of the most significant transactions in NHL history to that point. After the war, he returned to the Black Hawks and formed the 'Pony Line' with brother Doug and Bill Mosienko, emerging as one of the top scoring lines in the league. He was the first Black Hawk to win the Hart Trophy.
Reader's Guide
Max Bentley's significance lies in his back-to-back scoring titles and his Hart Trophy win in 1946, making him the first Chicago Black Hawk to earn that honor. His trade from Chicago to Toronto in 1947 was considered one of the most significant transactions in NHL history to that point, involving five players sent to Chicago. With the Maple Leafs, he won three consecutive Stanley Cup championships (1948, 1949, and 1951). He was named one of the NHL's 100 greatest players of all-time in 2017. Bentley also tied an NHL record by scoring four goals in one period and seven points in a game in 1943, and won the Lady Byng Trophy that season as the league's most sportsmanlike player.
Did You Know?
- Bentley tied an NHL record by scoring four goals in one period of a 10–1 victory over the Rangers on January 28, 1943.
- He was the first Chicago Black Hawk to win the Hart Trophy.
- Bentley played on the NHL's first all-brother line with Doug and Reg in 1942–43.
- He was called for only one penalty during the 1942–43 season, winning the Lady Byng Trophy.
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