The 1951–52 Chicago Black Hawks season was the team's 26th season in the NHL, and they were coming off of a horrible season in 1950–51, when they finished with an NHL worst record of 13–47–10, earning 36 points, as Chicago missed the playoffs for the fifth straight season. The Black Hawks ended the 1950–51 season winning only two of their last 43 games. In 1951–52, Chicago finished marginally better, but did not qualify for the playoffs.

Off-season

In the off-season, the Black Hawks were involved in the largest cash deal at the time, as they gave the

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

$75,000 in exchange for

Jim McFadden James Alexander McFadden (April 15, 1920 – August 22, 2002) was a professional ice hockey forward. He was born in Belfast, United Kingdom and raised in Miami, Manitoba, in the Opawaka district. One of six players born in Ireland to play in ...

, George Gee, Jimmy Peters, Clare Martin,

Clare Raglan Clarence Eldon "Rags" Raglan (September 4, 1927 – April 15, 2002) was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who played 100 games in the National Hockey League with the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Black Hawks between 1950 and 1953. The ...

and Max McNab.

Regular season

The Black Hawks started the season off playing .500 hockey through their opening eight games, as they sat with a 3–3–2 record, however, the team fell into a five-game losing streak, and quickly fell out of playoff contention. Chicago would slump all season long, ending up in last place in the league for the second consecutive season with a 17–44–9 record, earning 43 points, which was a seven-point improvement on the previous season. In an early season matchup (November 24) against the

at the

Detroit Olympia Detroit Olympia, also known as Olympia Stadium, was a multi-purpose arena in Detroit. Nicknamed "The Old Red Barn", it was best known as the home of the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League (NHL) from its opening in 1927 to 1979. Histo ...

, Black Hawks captain Jack Stewart made his return to the team after missing nearly a year of action due to a back injury. The Black Hawks defeated the powerful Red Wings 6–2 in his return. The following night in Chicago, Chicago goaltender Harry Lumley suffered a minor knee injury. Team trainer

Moe Roberts Morris "Maurice, Moe" Roberts (December 13, 1905 – February 7, 1975) was an American ice hockey goaltender with the Boston Bruins, New York Americans, and Chicago Black Hawks for periods between 1925 and 1951, spending the rest of his career in ...

, who had first played in the NHL in 1925–26 with the Boston Bruins, and had not played in the league since 1933–34 with the New York Americans, was an emergency third period replacement in goal for Chicago. Roberts stopped every shot he faced to help the Hawks win the game.Goaltending Legends: Maurice "Moe" Roberts
/ref> With the team having some attendance problems, the Black Hawks decided to experiment with afternoon games, and it worked, as on January 20, 1952, the Hawks had a season high crowd of 13,600 in a game against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Black Hawks forward

Bill Mosienko William Mosienko (November 2, 1921 – July 9, 1994) was a Canadian professional ice hockey right winger who played 14 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Chicago Black Hawks. He is best noted for recording the fastest hat trick in ...

set an NHL record during Chicago's final game of the season at

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...

in New York, as he scored 3 goals on New York Rangers goaltender Lorne Anderson in 21 seconds as Chicago defeated New York 7–6. Offensively,

led the team with 31 goals and 53 points, while newly acquired George Gee had a club high 31 assists, and finished second in team scoring with 49 points. Al Dewsbury led the Black Hawks blueline, scoring 7 goals and earning 24 points, while posting a team high 99 penalty minutes, while fellow defenceman Bill Gadsby also had a solid season, scoring 7 goals, registering 22 points and accumulated 87 penalty minutes. In goal, Harry Lumley played in all 70 games, winning 17 of them, while posting a GAA of 3.46, and earning 2 shutouts.

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Schedule and results

Regular season

Player statistics

Scoring leaders

Goaltending

References

Hockey-Reference
* National Hockey League Guide & Record Book 2007 {{DEFAULTSORT:1951-52 Chicago Black Hawks Season Chicago Blackhawks seasons Chicago Black Hawks season, 1951-52 Chicago