Fred Stanfield

Frederic William Stanfield (May 4, 1944 – September 13, 2021) was a Canadian professional ice hockey centre who played 14 seasons in the National Hockey League from 1964 until 1978. He won two Stanley Cups with the Boston Bruins, in 1970 and 1972. He was known as a clean player, as only once did he receive more than 14 penalty minutes in any season of his professional career.

Early life Stanfield was born in Toronto on May 4, 1944. As was the practice at the time, Stanfield was signed by the Chicago Black Hawks at age 16 (as were his brothers Jim and Jack), and assigned to the junior league St. Catharines Teepees (later St. Catharines Black Hawks), their Ontario Hockey Association affiliate.

Playing with many future NHL teammates and stars—the team's roster included Phil Esposito, Ken Hodge, Roger Crozier, Chico Maki, Dennis Hull and Poul Popiel —Stanfield played three seasons for St. Catharines. The final two seasons he led the team in scoring, and his final season, 1964, he was third in the league in scoring with 109 points, as well as being awarded the Max Kaminsky Trophy as the league's most sportsmanlike player.

Playing career Chicago Black Hawks Called up for the 1964–65 season to the big league squad, Stanfield played the full season with Chicago, and then the next two seasons split his time between the Black Hawks and Chicago's St. Louis minor league affiliate. as Boston immediately became a powerhouse, moving from a last place team to a perennial power. While Esposito became a preeminent star in Boston and Hodge became a league All-Star, Stanfield centered the team's second line, with wingers John Bucyk and Johnny McKenzie—which some considered the best second line in hockey He scored 20 or more goals in every one of the six years he played for Boston, with the Bruins leading the league in goals in each of those seasons. He became noted for a heavy slap shot, making his mark in the first game of the 1970 Stanley Cup Final against the St. Louis Blues when he fired a shot so hard it split Blues goaltender Jacques Plante's mask in half, giving Plante a concussion which sidelined him for the remainder of the playoffs.

Stanfield's best years were between the 1971 and 1973 seasons. In 1971, he scored 76 points to finish 9th in league scoring. He also received the team's 7th Player Award, voted by the fans for the player performing most beyond expectations.

In the 1972 season, he scored 23 goals and 56 assists for 79 points, finishing 4th in the league in assists and 12th in the league in points, and added 7 goals and 9 assists for 16 points in 15 playoff games to help the Bruins to the Stanley Cup championship. He was a leading candidate for the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy for the league's most sportsmanlike player, finishing behind eventual winner Jean Ratelle of the New York Rangers and teammate Johnny Bucyk.

Stanfield followed up in the next season, when he scored 20 goals and 58 assists for 78 points, and was named to play in the 1973 All-Star Game as an injury replacement. Stanfield finished the season 7th in the league in assists.

Minnesota North Stars Greatly depleted in goaltending by the losses of Gerry Cheevers to the World Hockey Association and Dan Bouchard to the Atlanta Flames in the 1972 NHL Expansion Draft, Boston's goaltending was down to 36-year-old career minor leaguer Ross Brooks and 44-year-old late season acquisition Jacques Plante. Determined to bolster that position, new Boston general manager Harry Sinden traded Stanfield to the Minnesota North Stars for goaltender Gilles Gilbert. Shifted to the right wing for the centre-rich North Stars, he played a season and a half for Minnesota, with much reduced production.

Stanfield maintained a residence in the Town of Mississauga as of 1969. Stanfield lived in the Buffalo area, and owned an office furniture store. He was an active member of the Buffalo Sabres Alumni Association and organized several alumni tournaments.

He died on September 13, 2021.

In 2023 he was named One of the Top 100 Best Bruins Players of all Time.

Career statistics Sources:

Regular season and playoffs Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1961–62 St. Catharines Teepees OHA 49 11 15 26 19 6 0 0 0 2 1962–63 St. Catharines Black Hawks OHA 48 28 39 67 25 — — — — — 1963–64 St. Catharines Black Hawks OHA 56 34 75 109 29 13 15 12 27 4 1964–65 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 57 7 10 17 14 14 2 1 3 2 1965–66 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 39 2 2 4 2 5 0 0 0 2 1965–66 St. Louis Braves CHL 24 7 11 18 2 — — — — — 1966–67 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 10 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1966–67 St. Louis Braves CHL 37 20 21 41 10 — — — — — 1967–68 Boston Bruins NHL 73 20 44 64 10 4 0 1 1 0 1968–69 Boston Bruins NHL 71 25 29 54 22 10 2 2 4 0 1969–70 Boston Bruins NHL 73 23 35 58 14 14 4 12 16 6 1970–71 Boston Bruins NHL 75 24 52 76 12 7 3 4 7 0 1971–72 Boston Bruins NHL 78 23 56 79 12 15 7 9 16 0 1972–73 Boston Bruins NHL 78 20 58 78 10 5 1 1 2 0 1973–74 Minnesota North Stars NHL 71 16 28 44 10 — — — — — 1974–75 Minnesota North Stars NHL 40 8 18 26 12 — — — — — 1974–75 Buffalo Sabres NHL 32 12 21 33 4 17 2 4 6 0 1975–76 Buffalo Sabres NHL 80 18 30 48 4 9 0 1 1 0 1976–77 Buffalo Sabres NHL 79 9 14 23 6 5 0 0 0 0 1977–78 Buffalo Sabres NHL 57 3 8 11 2 — — — — — 1978–79 Hershey Bears AHL 50 19 41 60 4 — — — — — NHL totals 914 211 405 616 134 106 21 35 56 10