Dick Duff

Terrance Richard Duff (born February 18, 1936) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward who played 18 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1955 to 1971. He played for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, Buffalo Sabres, Los Angeles Kings, and New York Rangers. Duff also briefly served as head coach for the Leafs during the 1979–80 season. Standing 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighing 163 pounds, he was renowned as one of the top small players of his era.

Early life Duff was born to John and Ethel Duff at the house of Ethel's sister in 1936 in Kirkland Lake, Ontario, a small mining town. Ted Lindsay, who Duff described as his idol, grew up in the town (coincidentally, four Kirkland Lake residents all played each other in the 1967 Stanley Cup Final with Duff, Ralph Backstrom, Mike Walton and Larry Hillman). Duff was the sixth of 13 siblings born to John and Ethel Duff, a mining family (with his father having worked with Lake Shore Mines) and related his upbringing in a 2026 interview:

“My mother (Ethel) was a dedicated person, a strong Catholic. People were coming and going from our place all the time. Three of my sisters went to nursing school and on to St. Joseph’s Hospital in Toronto.

He began playing hockey at a young age with his brothers, doing so on outdoor rinks even at night. In 1953, at the age of 16, he moved to Toronto to attend St. Michael's College School and play for the school's team, the Toronto St. Michael's Majors while having a spot with the Junior B Buzzers of the Toronto Maple Leafs. His father gave him $2 in his pocket for expenses and sent him on his way. He recorded over a game in each of his last two seasons that attracted the attention of the Maple Leafs, who signed him before his final school year was over to help fill in for an injured Eric Nesterenko.

Playing career

Duff played his first game in the NHL on March 10, 1955 in a scoreless game between the Montreal Canadiens and the Toronto Maple Leafs. He played in two further games to close out the season, taking two penalty minutes for his first statistic in the season finale; he was paid $100 for each game played that year. He signed his first pro contract for $7,000. While the Maple Leafs did not reach the playoffs in the next two seasons, Duff continued to hone in his skills for goals, which saw him score 26 goals in both of the and seasons and earn a selection to the NHL All-Star Game. In his fourth full season of play in the season, the Maple Leafs reached the Stanley Cup Final and Duff had 29 goals with 24 assists for 53 total points that was his first and only 50-point season. In the semifinals against Boston, he had two goals and two assists, which included the go-ahead goal in Game 4 and an assist in Game 7. In the Stanley Cup Final against Montreal, he had a goal in Game 1 and the game-winner in overtime of Game 3 to go with one assist as Toronto lost in five games in the first of consecutive Final losses.

The season saw him miss a quarter of the season with a broken ankle. In the 1962 Stanley Cup playoffs, he was ready to play in all twelve postseason games and recorded three goals with ten assists, with his final goal being the go-ahead winner in Game 6 of the Final against Chicago (on an assist by Tim Horton) as the Maple Leafs won their first championship in ten years. The 1963 Final saw him score two goals in a span of eleven seconds to start off Game 1; he had four goals and an assist in the playoffs as the Maple Leafs won their second straight Cup.

By the season, Duff had disagreements with head coach Punch Imlach, describing him as "such a demanding coach". On February 22, 1964, he was traded to the New York Rangers in a major seven-player trade, which saw Andy Bathgate and Don McKenney go to Toronto while Duff, Bob Nevin and three younger players went to New York as the Rangers looked for checking forwards such as Duff.

On December 22, 1964, the Rangers traded Duff to Montreal for Ernie Hicke. Duff would play for the Canadiens until 1970, serving a part of four championship teams. Duff's 1966–67 card was featured in the 1999 film Winter Stories. Early in the season, Duff indicated he wanted to retire, citing personal problems but was talked out of it. He played 17 games for the team that season for Montreal. In January 1970, he was traded to the Los Angeles Kings (which he later expressed regret, stating he should've retired with Montreal) and later traded to the Buffalo Sabres in December 1970. After finishing the season, he returned for a final 11 games the following year before retiring. Duff recorded fourteen seasons of at least ten goals, which ranked him as one of 24 players with at least fourteen 10-goal seasons in NHL history at the time he retired. Duff won the Stanley Cup six times—twice with Toronto and four times with Montreal; only nine other players have won more Cups as a player. Described as a "money" player who saved his best for the playoffs, Duff was tied for 15th in Stanley Cup playoff goals with 30 and also 15th in total points with 79 when he retired. Imlach once described Duff as "probably the best playoff player I ever coached."

Post-playing career After retirement, Duff was became general manager and head coach of the Windsor Spitfires doing so for the 1974-75 season. He became an assistant coach for the Toronto Maple Leafs for three seasons from 1979 until 1981; Duff served as an interim head coach for two games in the season. He subsequently served as a scout until the mid-1990s. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame on November 13, 2006, and into the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame in 2014.

Personal life As late as 2024, Duff resided in Port Credit in Mississauga, Ontario. As of 2026, Duff resides in a seniors’ residence in Scarborough.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1952–53 Toronto St. Michael's Majors OHA 16 3 2 5 2 16 6 9 15 15 1953–54 Toronto St. Michael's Majors OHA 59 35 40 75 120 8 2 3 5 23 1954–55 Toronto St. Michael's Majors OHA 47 33 20 53 113 5 5 2 7 22 1954–55 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 3 0 0 0 2 — — — — — 1955–56 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 69 18 19 37 74 5 1 4 5 2 1956–57 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 70 26 14 40 50 — — — — — 1957–58 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 65 26 23 49 79 — — — — — 1958–59 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 69 29 24 53 73 12 4 3 7 8 1959–60 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 67 19 22 41 51 10 2 4 6 6 1960–61 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 67 16 17 33 54 5 0 1 1 2 1961–62 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 51 17 20 37 37 12 3 10 13 20 1962–63 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 69 16 19 35 56 10 4 1 5 2 1963–64 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 52 7 10 17 59 — — — — — 1963–64 New York Rangers NHL 14 4 4 8 2 — — — — — 1964–65 New York Rangers NHL 29 3 9 12 20 — — — — — 1964–65 Montreal Canadiens NHL 40 9 7 16 16 13 3 6 9 17 1965–66 Montreal Canadiens NHL 63 21 24 45 78 10 2 5 7 2 1966–67 Montreal Canadiens NHL 51 12 11 23 23 10 2 3 5 4 1967–68 Montreal Canadiens NHL 66 25 21 46 21 13 3 4 7 4 1968–69 Montreal Canadiens NHL 68 19 21 40 24 14 6 8 14 11 1969–70 Montreal Canadiens NHL 17 1 1 2 4 — — — — — 1969–70 Los Angeles Kings NHL 32 5 8 13 8 — — — — — 1970–71 Los Angeles Kings NHL 7 1 0 1 0 — — — — — 1970–71 Buffalo Sabres NHL 53 7 13 20 12 — — — — — 1971–72 Buffalo Sabres NHL 8 2 2 4 0 — — — — — NHL totals 1,030 283 289 572 743 114 30 49 79 78

Coaching record Team Year Regular season G W L T Pts Finish Result Toronto Maple Leafs 1979–80 2 0 2 0 0 4th in Adams Interim coach

Achievements Award Year(s)NHL All-Star Game 1956, 1957, 1958, 1962 1963, 1965, 1967 Stanley Cup champion 1962, 1963, 1965, 1966, 1968, 1969