The1962–63 NHL season was the46thseason of theNational Hockey League. Six teams played 70 games each. TheToronto Maple Leafs won their secondStanley Cup in a row as they defeated the Detroit Red Wings four games to one. As of 2025, this is the latest season the Leafs had most points in the regular season.

Some diversionary news hit the sports pages the day of theAll-Star Game when it was reported that Toronto had soldFrank Mahovlich to Chicago for $1 million andJames D. Norris produced a cheque for the amount. On the advice ofConn Smythe, Leafs general manager and head coachPunch Imlach declined the deal, saying that a million dollars does not score goals, and Mahovlich would remain a Maple Leaf.

A serious incident took place on October 23 between theMontreal Canadiens andChicago Black Hawks. A vicious stick-swinging duel took place betweenGilles Tremblay andReg Fleming that was said to be the worst since theBernie Geoffrion–Ron Murphy fight in1953. Both players received match penalties and $100 fines. Tremblay emerged with a bad cut on his head that required many stitches. Montreal coachToe Blake had some caustic remarks for Fleming when he was leaving the ice, which almost resulted in another fight. The Canadiens and Black Hawks played to a 4–4 tie. PresidentClarence Campbell suspended both Tremblay and Fleming for three games.

Glenn Hall's consecutive game streak came to an end on November 8 when he suffered a pinched nerve in his back and he was relieved byDenis DeJordy in the first period of a game in which Hall's Black Hawks tied Boston 3–3. DeJordy played well in the next game as the Black Hawks beat the Canadiens 3–1.

Chicago was improving and moved into a first-place tie with Detroit when they blanked Boston 5–0 on November 29.Stan Mikita scored two goals andBobby Hull had one. The same night, the Rangers shut out the Red Wings 5–0 asGump Worsley played a fine game. Worsley was unlucky in his next game, however, as Chicago beat the Rangers 5–1. Worsley badly injured his shoulder and had to be replaced byMarcel Pelletier. Gump went to the hospital where he would have his shoulder in traction for ten days.

Andy Hebenton had the hat trick on December 16 as the Rangers beat Detroit 5–2 atMadison Square Garden. The game was spoiled by a brawl, the chief participants beingDave Balon,Bill Gadsby,Doug Barkley andTerry Sawchuk. All were fined.

Andy Bathgate got both goals when the Rangers tied Montreal 2–2 at theMontreal Forum on January 5. This was the tenth consecutive game in which he had scored. The streak was terminated whenJacques Plante blanked the Rangers 6–0 in New York.

Jean Beliveau scored his 300th NHL goal on January 26 when the Rangers beat the Canadiens 4–2 at the Forum. Goals had not come very fast this year, and he hinted that this might be his last season. The writers did not take him seriously, however. The next night, the Canadiens beat the Black Hawks 3–1 at Chicago Stadium and Beliveau scored a spectacular goal, giving a beautiful exhibition of stick-handling.

Bernie Geoffrion andDon Marshall were back on January 31, but the Canadiens lost 6–3 to Toronto at the Forum. Coach Toe Blake was not pleased with the officiating and was quoted in a French newspaper that referee Eddie Powers handled the game as if he had bet on the outcome. This attracted the attention of NHL president Clarence Campbell, who said the matter would be investigated. Later, Blake was fined $200 by Campbell. Powers considered the fine inadequate and submitted his resignation as a referee. He citedRed Storey when Campbell would not support decisions he made. Powers then sued Blake for libel.

Bobby Hull scored all three goals as Chicago beat Boston 3–1 on February 17. On the same night, Montreal beat Detroit 6–1 andHowie Young established a penalty record when he high-sticked a Canadiens player and then commenced a tantrum, which drew him a minor, a major, a misconduct and a game misconduct totalling 27 minutes. His season total was now 208 minutes in penalties. NHL president Campbell then tacked on a three-game suspension.

Detroit ousted the Rangers from the playoffs on March 3 with a 3–2 win.

Bernie Geoffrion was in trouble for an incident during a game on March 5 in which Montreal beat Detroit 4–3. Referee Vern Buffey had given Jacques Plante a penalty for slashingHowie Young and then a bench penalty when the Canadiens protested. Geoffrion threw his stick at Buffey and his gloves as well. Geoffrion was given a match penalty and President Campbell assessed Geoffrion a five-game suspension.

The career of the Canadiens'Lou Fontinato came to a tragic end on March 9 when he tried to checkVic Hadfield and instead was thrown headlong into the boards by the Ranger player. Fontinato lay motionless on the ice for some time before being carried off the ice on a stretcher and taken to Montreal General Hospital where the diagnosis was a fractured neck, a crushed cervical vertebra. He gradually recovered from his paralyzed condition, but would never play hockey again.Jacques Laperriere replaced Fontinato on the Canadiens defence.

It was quite a race for playoff positions, as five points separated fourth and first.Gordie Howe led the Red Wings and the NHL as he won his sixth and lastArt Ross Trophy andHart Trophy.

The top four teams in the league qualified for the playoffs. In the semifinals, the first-place team played the third-place team, while the second-place team faced the fourth-place team, with the winners advancing to the Stanley Cup Finals. In both rounds, teams competed in abest-of-seven series (scores in the bracket indicate the number of games won in each best-of-seven series).

Note: GP = Games played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points, PIM = Penalties in minutes

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Note: GP = Games played; Min – Minutes played; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts

• Boston Bruins:Milt Schmidt
• Chicago Black Hawks:Rudy Pilous
• Detroit Red Wings:Sid Abel
• Montreal Canadiens:Toe Blake
• New York Rangers:Muzz Patrick andRed Sullivan
• Toronto Maple Leafs:Punch Imlach

The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1962–63 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs):

• Eddie Johnston, Boston Bruins
• Paul Henderson, Detroit Red Wings
• Claude Larose, Montreal Canadiens
• Jacques Laperriere, Montreal Canadiens
• Terry Harper, Montreal Canadiens
• Jim Neilson, New York Rangers
• Kent Douglas, Toronto Maple Leafs

The following is a list of players of note who played their last game in the NHL in 1962–63 (listed with their last team):

• Bob Turner, Chicago Black Hawks
• Jack Evans, Chicago Black Hawks
• Vic Stasiuk, Detroit Red Wings
• Lou Fontinato, Montreal Canadiens

Hockey Night in Canada onCBC Television televised Saturday night regular season games and Stanley Cup playoff games. Games were not broadcast in their entirety until the1968–69 season, and were typically joined in progress, while the radio version ofHNIC aired games in their entirety.

This was the third consecutive season that the NHL did not have an American national broadcaster until the1965–66 season.

• 1962–63 NHL transactions
• List of Stanley Cup champions
• National Hockey League All-Star Game
• 1962 in sports
• 1963 in sports

• Coleman, Charles L. (1976),Trail of the Stanley Cup, Vol III, Sherbrooke, Quebec: Progressive Publications
• Diamond, Dan, ed. (1994).Years of glory, 1942–1967: the National Hockey League's official book of the six-team era. Toronto, ON: McClelland and Stewart.ISBN 0-7710-2817-2.
• Diamond, Dan, ed. (2000).Total Hockey. Kingston, New York: Total Sports.ISBN 1-892129-85-X.
• Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011).The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Toronto, ON: Dan Diamond & Associates.ISBN 978-1-894801-22-5.
• Dowbiggin, Bruce (2008),The Meaning Of Puck: How Hockey Explains Modern Canada, Toronto: Key Porter Books,ISBN 978-1-55470-041-7
• Dryden, Steve, ed. (2000).Century of hockey. Toronto, ON: McClelland & Stewart Ltd.ISBN 0-7710-4179-9.
• Duplacey, James (2008),Hockey's Book of Firsts, North Dighton, Massachusetts: JG Press,ISBN 978-1-57215-037-9
• Fischler, Stan; Fischler, Shirley; Hughes, Morgan; Romain, Joseph; Duplacey, James (2003).The Hockey Chronicle: Year-by-Year History of the National Hockey League. Lincolnwood, Illinois: Publications International Inc.ISBN 0-7853-9624-1.
• McFarlane, Brian (1969),50 Years Of Hockey, Winnipeg, MAN: Greywood Publishing,ASIN B000GW45S0
• McFarlane, Brian (1973).The Story of the National Hockey League. New York: Pagurian Press.ISBN 0-684-13424-1.

Notes

• Hockey Database
• NHL.com

• 1962–63 NHL season
• 1962–63 in American ice hockey by league
• 1962–63 in Canadian ice hockey by league

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Use mdy dates from August 2023
• Short description is different from Wikidata