Montreal Canadiens forward Bernie 'Boom Boom' Geoffrion of the Montreal Canadiens kissed the puck that marked his 50th goal.
Sometimes the image says it all. On this cover of The Hockey News, we see Montreal Canadiens legend Bernie ‘Boom Boom’ Geoffrion savoring the moment post-game after scoring his 50th goal of the season. Geoffrion was just the second NHLer to accomplish the feat, with fellow Hab Maurice Richard being the first in 1945.
It was Geoffrion’s only 50-goal season, but he had quite the campaign that year, amassing 95 points. As teased on the cover, THN’s reader all-stars were also announced in this issue, and Geoffrion naturally earned his slot. He was joined by Toronto’s Johnny Bower and Frank Mahovlich, Detroit defenseman Marcel Pronovost and fellow Canadiens Doug Harvey and Jean Beliveau. More than 25,000 readers submitted ballots. And keep in mind: these were actual, physical ballots. The mail was so heavy, extra help had to be brought in by the staff in order to count it all.
The cover story was a playoff preview, with THN presciently predicting that Montreal could have trouble with Chicago in the first round. Sure enough, the Black Hawks upset the defending champs and went on to win the Stanley Cup.
The Hockey News, Vol. 14, Issue 6
— Adam Proteau, The Hockey News
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