Vic Hadfield
Vic Hadfield is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey player. He played sixteen years in the National Hockey League (NHL), spending thirteen with the New York Rangers Hockey Team and three with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
By the 1963-64 season, Hadfield had secured a place in the Rangers' lineup as an enforcer. He joined teammates Jean Ratelle and Rod Gilbert 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, 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 totaled 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. 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.
By the 1963-64 season, Hadfield had secured a place in the Rangers' lineup as an enforcer. He joined teammates Jean Ratelle and Rod Gilbert 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, 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 totaled 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. 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.
