Vic Hadfield

Victor Edward Hadfield (born October 4, 1940) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey
player. He played sixteen years in the National Hockey League (NHL), spending thirteen with the
Vic Hadfield
New York Rangers and three with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Born October 4, 1940
Oakville, Ontario, Canada
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Early career Weight 174 lb (79 kg; 12 st 6 lb)
Position Left Wing
Hadfield played all of his minor hockey in Oakville before moving to the Dixie Bee Hives for
Shot Left
one season.[1] He was signed by the Chicago Black Hawks and assigned to their junior league
affiliate, the St. Catharines Teepees of the Ontario Hockey League. He established himself as a Played for New York Rangers
physical presence, tallying many more penalty minutes than points. With a strong squad in 1959– Pittsburgh Penguins
60 that included future notable NHL players Chico Maki, Roger Crozier and Pat Stapleton, he National team Canada
averaged a point a game in the regular season and playoffs and racked up an average of five Playing career 1959–1977
penalty minutes a game in the playoffs en route to the Teepees' second Memorial Cup
championship.

He was assigned to Chicago's Buffalo Bisons farm team in the American Hockey League the following season. He was left unprotected after the
1960–61 season and claimed by the Rangers in the intra-league draft.

NHL career
By the 1963–64 season, Hadfield had secured a place in the Rangers' lineup as an enforcer. Over time he concentrated more on scoring than on
fighting, especially with the feared enforcer Reggie Fleming on the team. He joined teammates Jean Ratelle and Rod Gilbert to form the famous
GAG line (which stood for "goal a game"). From the 1967–68 season on Hadfield always scored at least 20 goals in any full season.

Hadfield's best season was 1971–72. Named the team's captain after the trade of longtime captain Bob Nevin, he became the first Ranger - and only
the sixth NHL player - to score 50 goals in a season, nearly doubling his previous best marks; with his linemates Ratelle and Gilbert, the GAG Line
totalled 139 goals and 325 points en route to the Stanley Cup Finals.

The Rangers signed Hadfield to a controversial and lucrative contract the following summer to deter him from defecting to the newly created World
Hockey Association. He scored fewer points thereafter and was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins for Nick Beverley on May 28, 1974.[2] He scored
thirty goals in each of his two full seasons for the Penguins although he was plagued by injuries and weight troubles. Near the end of the 1975–76
season he sustained a knee injury which forced his retirement.

Retirement
At the time of his retirement, Hadfield was fourth in Rangers' franchise history in goals, assists, and points (behind his linemates Jean Ratelle and
Rod Gilbert, and Andy Bathgate), second in penalty minutes (behind Harry Howell) and fourth in games played (behind Ratelle, Howell and
Gilbert). He currently stands ninth in scoring and third in penalty minutes in the Rangers history.

His younger brother, Carl, was drafted in 1964 by the Chicago Black Hawks.

Hadfield now owns the Vic Hadfield Driving Range and instructional centre in Oakville, Ontario.

In the 2009 book 100 Ranger Greats, the authors ranked Hadfield at No. 20 all-time of the 901 New York Rangers who had played during the
team's first 82 seasons.[3]

The Rangers retired Hadfield's #11 jersey on December 2, 2018.[4]

International play
After his stellar 1971–72 season, Hadfield was named to Team Canada for the 1972 Summit Series. After playing sparingly in just two games, he
left the team after the Swedish exhibition games and returned home to Canada,[5] drawing criticism for his move.

Personal life
Vic's grandson Victor Hadfield is an ice hockey defenseman with the Indy Fuel of the ECHL. Victor previously played for the Barrie Colts of the
OHL and the Manitoba Moose of the AHL.[6]
Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1958–59 St. Catharines Teepees OHA-Jr. 51 6 14 20 72 7 1 2 3 12
1959–60 St. Catharines Teepees OHA-Jr. 48 19 34 53 130 17 11 13 24 84
1959–60 Buffalo Bisons AHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
1959–60 St. Catharines Teepees M-Cup — — — — — 14 6 8 14 60
1960–61 Buffalo Bisons AHL 62 5 16 21 111 3 0 0 0 11
1961–62 New York Rangers NHL 44 3 1 4 22 4 0 0 0 2
1962–63 New York Rangers NHL 36 5 6 11 32 — — — — —
1962–63 Baltimore Clippers AHL 29 10 9 19 84 — — — — —
1963–64 New York Rangers NHL 69 14 11 25 151 — — — — —
1964–65 New York Rangers NHL 70 18 20 38 102 — — — — —
1965–66 New York Rangers NHL 69 16 19 35 117 — — — — —
1966–67 New York Rangers NHL 69 13 20 33 80 4 1 0 1 17
1967–68 New York Rangers NHL 59 20 19 39 45 6 1 2 3 6
1968–69 New York Rangers NHL 73 26 40 66 108 4 2 1 3 2
1969–70 New York Rangers NHL 71 20 34 54 69 — — — — —
1970–71 New York Rangers NHL 63 22 22 44 38 13 8 5 13 46
1971–72 New York Rangers NHL 78 50 56 106 142 16 7 9 16 22
1972–73 New York Rangers NHL 63 28 34 62 60 9 2 2 4 11
1973–74 New York Rangers NHL 77 27 28 55 75 6 1 0 1 0
1974–75 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 78 31 42 73 72 9 4 2 6 0
1975–76 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 76 30 35 65 46 3 1 0 1 11
1976–77 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 9 0 2 2 0 — — — — —
NHL totals 1,004 323 389 712 1,159 74 27 21 48 117

International
Year Team Event GP G A Pts PIM
1972 Canada SS 2 0 0 0 0

Awards and achievements

OHA-Jr. first All-Star team (1960)
NHL Second All-Star team (1972)
Played in NHL All-Star Game (1965, 1972)

See also
List of NHL players with 1000 games played
List of NHL players with 100-point seasons

References
1. "Home" ([Link] [Link].
2. Eskenazi, Gerald. "Captain, 33, Dealt for Beverley, 27 a Defenseman," The New York Times, Wednesday, May 29, 1974. ([Link]
[Link]/1974/05/29/archives/[Link]) Retrieved May 15,
2023.
3. Cohen, Russ; Halligan, John; Raider, Adam (2009). 100 Ranger Greats: Superstars, Unsung Heroes and Colorful Characters (http
s://[Link]/book/show/6860998-100-ranger-greats#bookDetails). John Wiley & Sons. p. 172. ISBN 978-0470736197.
Retrieved February 3, 2020.
4. "Vic Hadfield's Number 11 to be Retired on December 2, 2018" ([Link]
retired-on-december-2-2018/c-299935702). [Link]. September 4, 2018. Retrieved September 19, 2018.
5. Dryden, Ken (2022). The Series. McClelland & Stewart. p. 106. ISBN 978-0-7710-0113-0.
6. "Victor Hadfield" ([Link] Elite Prospects. Retrieved 2022-10-06.

External links
Biographical information and career statistics from [Link] ([Link] or [Link] ([Link]
[Link]/[Link]?player=32098&lang=en), or [Link] ([Link]
 s/h/[Link]), or The Internet Hockey Database ([Link]

Retrieved from "[Link]