Larry Hillman
Lawrence Morley Hillman (born February 5, 1937) is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey defenceman and coach. He is one of the most travelled players in hockey history, having played for 15 different teams in his 22 professional seasons. He played in the National Hockey League between 1955 and 1973, and then in the World Hockey Association from 1973 to 1976. After retiring he spent parts of three seasons as a coach in the WHA. Hillman had his name engraved of the Stanley Cup six times during his playing career.
| Larry Hillman | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Born |
February 5, 1937 Kirkland Lake, Ontario, Canada | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) | ||
| Weight | 180 lb (82 kg; 12 st 12 lb) | ||
| Position | Defence | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for |
Detroit Red Wings Boston Bruins Toronto Maple Leafs Minnesota North Stars Montreal Canadiens Philadelphia Flyers Los Angeles Kings Buffalo Sabres Cleveland Crusaders Winnipeg Jets | ||
| Playing career | 1955–1976 | ||
Playing career
Hillman started his career by playing one season for the Windsor Spitfires of the OHL in 1953. He split the next season between the Buffalo Bisons of the AHL and the Detroit Red Wings of the NHL. He won his first Stanley Cup Championship with Detroit in 1955. He became the youngest player to be engraved on the Stanley Cup. 18 years, 2 months, 9 days. (This is a record that cannot be broken under the current rules, as a player must be eighteen years old by September 15 to be eligible to play in the NHL that season.) Hillman left the Red Wings after 1957 and went to the Boston Bruins. His firs goal with Boston occurred on December 19, 1957 at Boston Garden in the Bruins' 3-3 tie with New York. He played two full seasons in Boston before being sent to their minor league team, the Providence Reds, for most of the 1960 season.
In 1961, Hillman went to the Toronto Maple Leafs where he continued to bounce from the minor leagues to the NHL and back. He played on four Stanley Cup winning teams in Toronto in 1962, 1963, 1964 and 1967. In between those cup wins he played parts of six season with the Rochester Americans and the Springfield Indians.
After the 1968 season, he signed with the expansion Minnesota North Stars who later traded Hillman to the Montreal Canadiens where he won his sixth and final Stanley Cup Championship. He is one of only 11 players in Stanley Cup history to win the Cup with three or more different teams.[1]
After Montreal, he played for the Philadelphia Flyers, Los Angeles Kings and Buffalo Sabres. Following the 1973 season, Hillman left the NHL for the WHA. He played two seasons for the Cleveland Crusaders. His final season was in 1976, playing for the Winnipeg Jets. Hillman took over as coach of the Jets in 1977, winning the Avco Cup in his rookie season. However, he was fired 61 games into the 1978–79 campaign.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1952–53 | Windsor Spitfires | OHA | 56 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 39 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1953–54 | Hamilton Tiger Cubs | OHA | 58 | 6 | 14 | 20 | 99 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 10 | ||
| 1954–55 | Hamilton Tiger Cubs | OHA | 49 | 5 | 20 | 25 | 106 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 9 | ||
| 1954–55 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 9 | ||
| 1955–56 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 47 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 53 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 1955–56 | Buffalo Bisons | AHL | 15 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 21 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1956–57 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 16 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1956–57 | Edmonton Flyers | WHL | 46 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 87 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 2 | ||
| 1957–58 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 70 | 3 | 19 | 22 | 60 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 1958–59 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 55 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 19 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 1959–60 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1959–60 | Providence Reds | AHL | 70 | 12 | 31 | 43 | 159 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 1960–61 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 62 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 59 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1961–62 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1961–62 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 26 | 1 | 14 | 15 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1962–63 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1962–63 | Springfield Indians | AHL | 65 | 5 | 23 | 28 | 56 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1963–64 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 33 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 31 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 1963–64 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 32 | 1 | 18 | 19 | 48 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1964–65 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1964–65 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 71 | 9 | 43 | 52 | 98 | 10 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 31 | ||
| 1965–66 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 48 | 3 | 25 | 28 | 34 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 1965–66 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 22 | 2 | 20 | 22 | 34 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1966–67 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 55 | 4 | 19 | 23 | 40 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | ||
| 1966–67 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 12 | 1 | 12 | 13 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1967–68 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 55 | 3 | 17 | 20 | 13 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1967–68 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1968–69 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 12 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1968–69 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 25 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1969–70 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 76 | 5 | 26 | 31 | 73 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1970–71 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 73 | 3 | 13 | 16 | 39 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 1971–72 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 22 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 11 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1971–72 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 43 | 1 | 11 | 12 | 58 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1972–73 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 78 | 5 | 24 | 29 | 56 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | ||
| 1973–74 | Cleveland Crusaders | WHA | 44 | 5 | 21 | 26 | 37 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1974–75 | Cleveland Crusaders | WHA | 77 | 0 | 16 | 16 | 83 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 8 | ||
| 1975–76 | Winnipeg Jets | WHA | 71 | 1 | 12 | 13 | 62 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 32 | ||
| WHA totals | 192 | 6 | 49 | 55 | 182 | 17 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 40 | ||||
| NHL totals | 790 | 36 | 196 | 232 | 579 | 74 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 36 | ||||
Coaching record
| Team | Year | Regular season | Post season | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | L | T | Pts | Finish | Result | ||
| Winnipeg Jets | 1977–78 | 80 | 50 | 28 | 2 | 102 | 1st in WHA | Won Avco Cup |
| Winnipeg Jets | 1978–79 | 61 | 28 | 27 | 6 | 62 | 3rd in WHA | Fired |
| Total | 141 | 78 | 55 | 8 | ||||
Achievements
- 1955 Stanley Cup champion (Detroit Red Wings)
- 1964 Stanley Cup champion (Toronto Maple Leafs)
- 1964 Stanley Cup champion (Toronto Maple Leafs)
- 1964 Stanley Cup champion (Toronto Maple Leafs)
- 1965 Calder Cup Champion (Rochester Americans)
- 1967 Stanley Cup champion (Toronto Maple Leafs)
- 1969 Stanley Cup champion (Montreal Canadiens)
- 1976 Avco Cup champion (Winnipeg Jets)
- 1978 Avco Cup champion (Winnipeg Jets) (Head Coach)
Personal
- He is the older brother of former NHL and WHA defenceman Wayne Hillman and Floyd Hillman. He is also the uncle of former NHL forward Brian Savage.
References
- "Players on Stanley-Cup Winning Teams". Retrieved 2010-04-13.
External links
- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database
- Larry Hillman's Day With the Stanley Cup