Terry Harper

Last updated
Terry Harper
Chex Terry Harper.jpg
Born (1940-01-27) January 27, 1940 (age 84)
Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
Height 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight 197 lb (89 kg; 14 st 1 lb)
Position Defence
Shot Right
Played for Montreal Canadiens
Los Angeles Kings
Detroit Red Wings
St. Louis Blues
Colorado Rockies
Playing career 1962–1981

Terrance Victor Harper (born January 27, 1940) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. Harper played in the National Hockey League from 1962 to 1981. During this time, he played for the Montreal Canadiens, Los Angeles Kings, Detroit Red Wings, St. Louis Blues, and Colorado Rockies.

Contents

Early life

Harper grew up in Regina, Saskatchewan playing hockey. [1] When he was young, he suffered serious third-degree burns to his arms, chest, stomach, and legs in a fire. The damage required seven years of skin grafting. Doctors allowed him to play hockey as a way to rebuild his leg muscles. [2]

He played for Regina's local hockey team, which was sponsored by the Montreal Canadiens. [1] In the 1958 Memorial Cup finals, they lost to the Ottawa-Hull Junior Canadiens, who were led by manager Sam Pollock, coach Scotty Bowman and future stars J.C Tremblay, Gilles Tremblay, Ralph Backstrom, and Bobby Rousseau. [3]

Playing career

Harper played his first 10 seasons with the Montreal Canadiens. He joined the team in 1962. [1] However, he didn't debut for the team until 1963. [2] While with Montreal, Harper had his greatest success, winning five Stanley Cups between 1963 and 1972. [1]

On October 30, 1963, Harper got into an altercation with Bob Pulford of the Toronto Maple Leafs while sharing the penalty box. As a result, separate penalty boxes for teams were created 10 days later. [1]

Before the 1972–73 season, Harper was traded to the Los Angeles Kings, where he anchored a defence that became one of the league's stingiest. Harper was immediately named team captain, a position he held for 3 seasons until his trade to Detroit after the 1974–75 season. [1] In 1973, he was an All-Star. In that game, he made a game-tying goal for the West All-Stars. However, Bobby Schmautz then scored the game-winning goal for the East All-Stars. [4] The Kings made the playoffs twice in his tenure there, but each time got bounced in the first round. [5]

After the 1974–75 season, on June 23, 1975, Harper, along with Dan Maloney, was traded to the Detroit Red Wings as part of the blockbuster trade that sent Hall of Famer Marcel Dionne and Bart Crashley to Los Angeles. [6] Once again, he was named team captain for Detroit. [1] In the 1975–76 season, he erupted for a career-high eight goals with the Detroit Red Wings. After 4 solid seasons for a struggling Red Wings team, he played his final two seasons for the St. Louis Blues and Colorado Rockies, where he played into his 40s. [7] He retired in 1981, at the age of 41.

In 19 seasons in the league, Harper finished with only 254 points. [7] For his career, he finished with 35 goals, 221 assists, 1,362 penalty minutes, and a plus/minus total of +169 (this statistic did not become official until the 1967–68 season, Harper's 6th in the league).

Coaching career

Harper became the assistant coach of the Colorado Rockies in 1980–81.

Playing style

Harper was a classic stay-at-home defensive-oriented defenceman. He would often total over 90 penalty minutes per season due to his physical play, but his goaltenders were very appreciative of his ability to clear offensive players out of the area in front of the goal crease. Harper was frequently part of his team's top penalty-killing unit. He was a tough fighter and always got back up, but constantly got pounded by his opponents. [8]

Harper rarely scored, and the "Harper hat trick" was when he scored 3 goals in a season (vs. 3 in one game). He accomplished this 5 times in his 18-year career, erupting for a career-high 8 goals in the 1975–76 season with the Detroit Red Wings.

Personal life

Harper was married for 60 years before his wife passed away. He lives alone in Folsom, California with his kids and grandkids close by.His daughter also lives in Folsom, and his two sons live in West Sacramento and Stockton. Despite his old age, Harper plays hockey twice a week. [1]

Awards and achievements

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season TeamLeagueGP G A Pts PIM GPGAPtsPIM
1957–58 Regina Pats SJHL5161016741223512
1957–58 Regina Pats M-Cup —————163258
1958–59Regina PatsSJHL48119207991236
1959–60Regina PatsSJHL59172138561337106
1960–61 Montreal Royals EPHL 693141785—————
1961–62 Hull-Ottawa Canadiens EPHL65218201011201115
1962–63 Montreal Canadiens NHL 141121051018
1962–63 Hull-Ottawa CanadiensEPHL526313783—————
1962–63 Quebec Aces AHL 30000—————
1963–64 Montreal CanadiensNHL702151714970006
1964–65 Montreal CanadiensNHL62077931300019
1965–66 Montreal CanadiensNHL6911112911023518
1966–67 Montreal CanadiensNHL5601616991001115
1967–68 Montreal CanadiensNHL57381166130118
1968–69 Montreal CanadiensNHL2103337110008
1968–69 Cleveland Barons AHL2824621—————
1969–70 Montreal CanadiensNHL7541822109—————
1970–71 Montreal CanadiensNHL78121221162006628
1971–72 Montreal CanadiensNHL52212143551126
1972–73 Los Angeles Kings NHL7718974—————
1973–74 Los Angeles KingsNHL7701717119500016
1974–75 Los Angeles KingsNHL805212612030002
1975–76 Detroit Red Wings NHL698253359—————
1976–77 Detroit Red WingsNHL52481228—————
1977–78 Detroit Red WingsNHL80217198570114
1978–79 Detroit Red WingsNHL5106658—————
1978–79 Kansas City Red Wings CHL 220131336—————
1979–80 St. Louis Blues NHL11156630002
1980–81 Colorado Rockies NHL150228—————
NHL totals1,066352212561,36211241317140

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Long, Matt (June 8, 2023). "Hockey's been good to Harper". goldcountrymedia.com. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
  2. 1 2 "Inductees « Saskatchewan Hockey Hall of Fame". saskhockeyhalloffame.ca. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
  3. ↑ Denault, Todd (2007-08-29). "The Genius of Sam Pollock". HabsWorld.net. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
  4. ↑ "Q & A with hockey trivia expert Liam Maguire". Ottawa Sun. January 24, 2012. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
  5. ↑ Boucher, Mario (2014-11-18). "Captains of the Los Angeles Kings, Part 1: 1960's & 1970's". The Hockey Writers. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
  6. ↑ Ellis, Rob (2017-06-23). "June 23 NHL History | Hockey History". NHL Trade Rumors. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
  7. 1 2 "Every NHL player to play in his 40s". Yardbarker. 2024-02-13. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
  8. ↑ Weldon, Scott (December 8, 2011). "20 Toughest Fighters in Montreal Canadiens History". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
Preceded by Los Angeles Kings captain
1973–75 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Detroit Red Wings captain
1975–76 		Succeeded by
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