I was taught early on that you can’t score from the penalty box.
Edgar Laprade1
Edgar Laprade was a hard man to convince to join the NHL. The pro hockey landscape was clearly quite different in the late 1930s and early 1940s; Laprade was more than content to spend many of his prime years as the star of his hometown Port Arthur (Ontario) Bearcats in Canada’s senior circuit. Frank Boucher recalled it as “an era when the (national senior championship) played a major role in Canadian hockey life.”2 The Rangers started pursuing Laprade in 1938, but could not get him to New York until 1945 when coach Boucher convinced GM Lester Patrick to make an offer that an “astonished”3 Laprade could not refuse. He was a 26 year-old rookie when he finally came to Broadway.
Again from Boucher: “Laprade proved every bit as good as Lester and I had for so long believed he would be. He won the Calder Trophy…and played nine more rewarding seasons for the Rangers. I’ve always felt that he missed the general acclaim he deserved because it was his misfortune never to be cast with a winner.”4 The Rangers were mired in the long tailspin of trying to recover from the disastrous effects WWII had on the team throughout Laprade’s entire decade with the team. He never got to enjoy a season with a winning record, and squeaked into the playoffs just twice. Laprade provided some bright spots through that bleak stretch, and likely could have put up more impressive numbers with a little more talent around him. Stan Fischler remembers Laprade fondly: “One of the great pleasures when watching the Rangers during the Post-World War II years was the sight of Edgar Laprade stickhandling through and around enemy defenses before skimming an accurate pass to one of his linemates…A smooth skater and an expert stickhandler, Laprade possessed only one shortcoming: a terribly weak shot.”5
Laprade established himself in the league with three good seasons, and tied for the team lead in points in their brief 1948 postseason appearance. During training camp ahead of the 1948-49 season, Laprade and teammates Buddy O’Connor, Frank Eddolls, Tony Leswick, and Bill Moe were in a terrible car wreck. Leswick escaped harm, but the collision left the four others unconscious and battered. The doctor that treated them said Laprade had a “terribly painful”6 nose injury. Amazingly, they all made it back on the ice for most of the 1948-49 season. The season ended with a last-place finish though, and Boucher said the team “never recovered from the letdown created by the automobile accident.”7
Laprade stood 5′ 8″ and was listed at 160 pounds during his NHL days. His most frequent wingers were no bigger: Tony Leswick, Eddie Kullman, Dunc Fisher, and Grant Warwick are all listed between 5′ 5″–5′ 8″ and 155-170 pounds. No matter though; Laprade was only interested in a skillful, clean—though still aggressive—style of play. Laprade ever being sent off for a penalty was an occasion to remember—his first infraction came in his 52nd NHL game, and three times he played full seasons penalty-free. Despite losing his head and taking a single minor in 1949-50, he was awarded the Lady Byng. Don’t confuse the discipline with a lack of effort: Laprade was heralded as a dogged and elite defender, poke-checker, and penalty killer.
1949-50 was another mostly good year for “Eager Edgar,” who paced the offense for the team that managed a 28-31-11 record, good enough for a fourth-place finish and a playoff berth. However, Laprade tore a knee ligament during the season that threatened his chances of playing in the playoffs. But Laprade was not going to miss this rare chance, and played every game in the playoffs, wearing a bulky knee brace.
New York stunned everyone by taking the opening round against Montreal in five games. (It was the only playoff series the team won between 1941—70.) Next up: the Stanley Cup finals versus the Red Wings of Detroit. Even with Gordie Howe sidelined for the entire series with injury, the Wings were heavy favorites, and sailed to a game one victory in Detroit. Thanks to the years-long, ridiculous problem of the circus taking over Madison Square Garden soon after the conclusion of the NHL regular season, the Rangers played exactly zero home games in the series. They were designated as the “home” team for games two and three, but those games took place in Maple Leaf Gardens. Laprade struck twice in the third period of game two to help even up the series. (One of those goals was a beauty captured for posterity and is viewable below.) Harry Lumley blanked the Blueshirts in game three, and the series shifted back to Detroit for the duration. In game four, a Laprade goal was part of a third period comeback rally that ended with an overtime win and the series deadlocked at two games apiece. Don “Bones” Raleigh got that OT winner, and then also collected an OT winner in the next game! New York was up 3-2 in the series, and in game six, they could practically taste the champagne early in the third period after Laprade and Dunc Fisher set up Tony Leswick for the go-ahead goal…but Detroit roared back with two goals to force game seven. In that deciding game, Laprade was actually assessed a roughing minor before setting up another Leswick goal in the first period that gave the Blueshirts a 2-0 lead. But the score was deadlocked at 3-3 when regulation ran out…and when the first overtime period expired…and eight minutes into the second overtime…when Detroit put in the series winner.
A broken leg led to a shortened 1950-51 campaign. Laprade had one last hurrah as an everyday and productive player in 1951-52.
As difficult as it had been to convince Laprade to join the Blueshirts, he had a hard time leaving the club. He retired ahead of the 1952-53 season, but when injuries depleted the Rangers depth at center, Boucher convinced him to rejoin the team. He did so for a month and his final game of the season on December 17 was billed as his farewell game.8 (He picked up a goal in the contest.) Then Laprade retired again. Except…when injuries struck the Rangers squad again a year later, Laprade was brought back to the fold in December of 1953. This time he stuck around, in a much reduced role, until the conclusion of the 1954-55 season before truly concluding his time in the NHL, all of which was spent in a Rangers sweater.
He didn’t put up many points in those last three interrupted years, but returning did allow him to be a part of a magical night in Rangers history. Boucher had convinced the great forward Max Bentley to come out of retirement and play for New York in 1953-54, and partway into the season, convinced Max’s brother Doug to do the same. The former Black Hawks teammates ended up reuniting in Rangers blue for just 20 games, but their first game back together on January 20, 1954 was a night to remember. Laprade shifted to right wing to complete the Bentley line. The Bentleys stole the show with four points each, but Laprade joined in with some nifty passing of his own to set up a goal by Max. Laprade also briefly got to serve as centerman for a young Andy Bathgate in those latter years.
After his playing days, Laprade was active for many years in the Port Arthur/Thunder Bay, Ontario area, running a sporting goods shop, operating an arena, and serving in local politics. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1993 and passed away in 2014.
Jump to the 4:15 mark in this video to watch Laprade show off his hands and score “one of hockey’s memorable goals” in the 1950 Cup finals:
click here for the list of the Rangers Top 60 Producers of Offense
and an explanation of my adjusted stats and ranking method
- The New York Times. April 28, 2014. ↩︎
- Boucher, F. & Frayne, T. When the Rangers Were Young. Dodd, Mead, & Co. 1973. ↩︎
- Boucher, F. & Frayne, T. When the Rangers Were Young. Dodd, Mead, & Co. 1973. ↩︎
- Boucher, F. & Frayne, T. When the Rangers Were Young. Dodd, Mead, & Co. 1973. ↩︎
- Fischler, S. New York Rangers Greatest Moments and Players. Sports Publishing. 2007, 2015. ↩︎
- The New York Times. October 9, 1948. ↩︎
- Boucher, F. & Frayne, T. When the Rangers Were Young. Dodd, Mead, & Co. 1973. ↩︎
- The New York Times. December 17, 1952 ↩︎
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