Victor Edward Hadfield (born October 4, 1940) is a Canadian former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

player. He played sixteen years in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL), spending thirteen with the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...

and three with the

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference, and have playe ...

Early career

Hadfield played all of his minor hockey in Oakville before moving to the Dixie Bee Hives for one season. He was signed by the

Chicago Black Hawks (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

and assigned to their junior league affiliate, the St. Catharines Teepees of the

Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; french: Ligue de hockey de l'Ontario (LHO)) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The league is for players aged 16–19. There are exceptions for overa ...

. He established himself as a physical presence, tallying many more penalty minutes than points. With a strong squad in 1959–60 that included future notable NHL players

Chico Maki Ronald Patrick "Chico" Maki (August 17, 1939 – August 24, 2015) was a Canadian ice hockey forward. Maki played his entire National Hockey League (NHL) career with the Chicago Black Hawks, starting in the 1960–61 NHL season, and ultimately ret ...

Roger Crozier Roger Allan Crozier (March 16, 1942 – January 11, 1996) was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender who played fourteen seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Detroit Red Wings, Buffalo Sabres and Washington Capitals. During ...

and Pat Stapleton, he averaged a point a game in the regular season and playoffs, and racked up an average of five penalty minutes a game in the playoffs en route to the Teepees' second

Memorial Cup The Memorial Cup () is the national championship of the Canadian Hockey League, a consortium of three major junior ice hockey leagues operating in Canada and parts of the United States. It is a four-team round-robin tournament played between t ...

championship. He was assigned to Chicago's

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen ...

farm team in the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the le ...

the following season. He was left unprotected after the 1961–62 season and claimed by the Rangers in the intra-league draft.

NHL career

By the 1963–64 season, Hadfield had secured a place in the Rangers' lineup as an enforcer. Over time he concentrated more on scoring than on fighting, especially with feared enforcer Reggie Fleming on the team. He joined teammates

Jean Ratelle Joseph Gilbert Yvon Jean Ratelle (born October 3, 1940) is a Canadian former ice hockey player who played for the New York Rangers and Boston Bruins. In twenty-one seasons he averaged almost a point a game and won the Lady Byng Trophy twice in ...

and

Rod Gilbert Rodrigue Gabriel Gilbert (July 1, 1941 — August 19, 2021) was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward who played his entire career for the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Known as "Mr. Ranger", he played right wing o ...

to form the famous GAG line (which stood for "goal a game"). From the 1967–68 season on Hadfield always scored at least 20 goals in any full season. Hadfield's best season was 1971–72. Named the team's captain after the trade of longtime captain

Bob Nevin Robert Frank Nevin (March 18, 1938 – September 21, 2020) was a Canadian professional ice hockey right wing who played 18 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) between 1957–58 and 1975–76. Career Nevin scored 21 goals as a rookie w ...

, he became the first Ranger - and only the sixth NHL player - to score 50 goals in a season, nearly doubling his previous best marks; with his linemates Ratelle and Gilbert, the GAG Line totalled 139 goals and 325 points en route to the Stanley Cup Finals. The Rangers signed Hadfield to a controversial and lucrative contract the following summer to deter him from defecting to the newly created

World Hockey Association The World Hockey Association (french: Association mondiale de hockey) was a professional ice hockey major league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major league to compete with the National Hockey League (NHL) ...

. He scored fewer points thereafter and was traded after the 1973–74 season to the Pittsburgh Penguins for defenceman Nick Beverley. He scored thirty goals in each of his two full seasons for the Penguins although he was plagued by injuries and weight troubles. Near the end of the 1975–76 season he sustained a knee injury which forced his retirement.

Retirement

At the time of his retirement, Hadfield was fourth in Rangers' franchise history in goals, assists and points (behind his linemates Jean Ratelle and Rod Gilbert, and

Andy Bathgate Andrew James Bathgate (August 28, 1932 – February 26, 2016) was a Canadian professional ice hockey right wing who played 17 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the New York Rangers, Toronto Maple Leafs, Detroit Red Wings and Pittsbu ...

), second in penalty minutes (behind Harry Howell) and fourth in games played (behind Ratelle, Howell and Gilbert). He currently stands ninth in scoring and third in penalty minutes in the Rangers history. His younger brother, Carl, was drafted in

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarc ...

by the

. Hadfield now owns the Vic Hadfield Driving Range and instructional centre in Oakville, Ontario. In the 2009 book ''100 Ranger Greats'', the authors ranked Hadfield at No. 20 all-time of the 901 New York Rangers who had played during the team's first 82 seasons. The Rangers retired Hadfield's #11 jersey on December 2, 2018.

International play

After his stellar 1971–72 season, Hadfield was named to Team Canada for the 1972 Summit Series. After playing sparingly in just two games, he left the team after the Swedish exhibition games and returned home to Canada, drawing criticism for his move.

Personal life

Vic's grandson Victor Hadfield is an ice hockey defenseman with the

Jacksonville Icemen The Jacksonville Icemen are a minor league ice hockey team in the ECHL in Jacksonville, Florida, that began play in the 2017–18 season. The team is affiliated with the New York Rangers and plays their home games at VyStar Veterans Memorial Are ...

of the

ECHL The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams scattered across the United States and Canada. It is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The ...

. Victor previously played for the Barrie Colts of the OHL and the

Manitoba Moose The Manitoba Moose are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, and a member of the American Hockey League (AHL). The team plays its home games at Canada Life Centre, the home arena of its parent club, Winnipeg Jets ...

of the AHL.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and achievements

* OHA-Jr. first All-Star team (

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Jan ...

) *

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

Second All-Star team (

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using mean solar tim ...

) * Played in

NHL All-Star Game The National Hockey League All-Star Game (french: Match des Étoiles de la Ligue Nationale de Hockey, links=no) is an exhibition ice hockey game that is traditionally held during the regular season of the National Hockey League (NHL), with many o ...

( 1965,

)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hadfield, Vic 1940 births Living people Baltimore Clippers players Buffalo Bisons (AHL) players Canadian ice hockey left wingers Edmonton Oilers scouts Ice hockey people from Ontario Memorial Cup winners New York Rangers players Pittsburgh Penguins players Sportspeople from Oakville, Ontario St. Catharines Teepees players