"Terrible Ted" Lindsay turned pro 80 years ago today with the Detroit Red Wings

Ted Lindsay, the namesake of the award that is presented annually to the most outstanding NHL player as decided by the players, signed his first professional hockey contract on this date in 1944.

The 19-year-old, who grew up in Kirkland Lake, Ont., was fresh off a Memorial Cup win with the Oshawa Generals when he signed with the Detroit Red Wings. He made an impact right away, scoring 17 goals as a rookie in 1944-45 and two more in the playoffs as Detroit advanced to the Stanley Cup final.

He was one of the first second-generation NHL players; his father, Bert Lindsay, was a goaltender who had finished his career with the Montreal Wanderers and the Toronto Arenas.

Lindsay came to fame as the left winger on Detroit’s famed Production Line, with Gordie Howe at right wing and Sid Abel – later Alex Delvecchio – at center. He was the league’s leading scorer in 1949-50, was named to the First All-Star Team eight times, and was a key member of four Stanley Cup-winning teams in the Motor City. He also captained the Wings from 1952 to 1956.

Known as "Terrible Ted" for his fierce style of play, he had played more games than anyone in NHL history when he retired for the first time in 1960. A comeback in 1964-65 pushed him over the 1,000-game plateau and paved the way for his election to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1966.

In 2010, the NHL Players’ Association announced that its trophy for most outstanding player, long known as the Lester B. Pearson Award, would be renamed for Lindsay in recognition of his efforts to establish the original Players’ Association in 1957.

Lindsay was 93 years old when he died in March 2019.

Also on this date: 

1928 – Perhaps uncertain about goaltender Lorne Chabot’s future after an eye injury forced him out of the most recent Stanley Cup final, the New York Rangers traded him to the Toronto Maple Leafs. In return, the Leafs sent their goalie, John Ross Roach, to New York. Chabot easily regained his form in Toronto, putting up 32 shutouts in five seasons and helping them to the 1932 Cup championship. Roach also played well with the Rangers, earning 30 shutouts in four seasons, but it's safe to say the Leafs won this trade with Chabot’s Cup win tipping the scale.

1967 – Andy Bathgate registered the first hat trick in Pittsburgh Penguins’ history, accounting for all his team’s offense in a 3-3 tie against the Minnesota North Stars. Bathgate, who had scored the first regular season goal in franchise history exactly one week earlier, book-ended the scoring in this game, with his third goal coming at 11:30 of the third period against Stars' goalie Cesare Maniago.

1972 – Maurice “Rocket” Richard’s coaching career ended after only two games. Richard was the first coach of the World Hockey Association's Quebec Nordiques and was behind the bench for a 2-0 loss to the Cleveland Crusaders on Oct. 11 and a 6-0 win over the Alberta Oilers on Oct. 13. But he was noticeably uncomfortable in his role and, three days after the victory over Alberta, he was given a one-week leave of absence to decide whether or not he would continue. Only two days passed before Richard's wife confirmed that he would not return to the Nords. He was replaced by the team’s director of scouting, Maurice Filion.

1977 – The Los Angeles Kings and the New York Islanders skated to a scoreless tie. Rogie Vachon was the busier of the two netminders, stopping 41 shots, while Glenn “Chico” Resch of the Islanders made 28 saves. It was the Vachon’s second shutout in three games to start the season, and the 43^rd of his 51 career shutouts. Resch got his first goose-egg of the year, and the 15^th of 26 that he would record in the NHL.

1990 – Chicago Blackhawks’ netminder Ed Belfour made 20 saves in a 3-0 victory over the Leafs, his first NHL shutout. On this date in 2003, now playing for the Leafs, he turned aside 15 shots to blank the Montreal Canadiens 1-0. That was his 66^th career shutout; he retired in 2007 with 76.

2000 – Two late goals by rookie Marian Gaborik lifted the Minnesota Wild to their first regular season win in franchise history, a 6-5 triumph over the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Wild, who had gone 0-4-1 in their first five contests, managed to win a respectable 25 games in their inaugural season.