1965–66 NHL season 1965–66 NHL season The 1965–66 NHL season was the 49th season of the National Hockey League. Six teams each played 70 games. The Montreal Canadiens won their second consecutive Stanley Cup as they defeated the Detroit Red Wings four games to two in the final series. A new trophy was introduced for this season. Jack Adams won the first Lester Patrick Trophy for his contribution to hockey in the United States. February saw the momentous announcement that six conditional franchises had been awarded to Los Angeles, San Francisco, St. Louis, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, all to begin play in
Vezina Trophy GAA not to be a member of the team that allowed the fewest goals. The Vezina continued to be awarded to the goaltender who started the most games for the team that allowed the fewest goals, but the Vezina winners of , , and did not have the lowest GAAs. The National Hockey League began allowing teammates to split the Vezina Trophy following the 1964–65 NHL season. The Toronto Maple Leafs allowed 173 goals against, barely beating out Montreal's 175 goals against and Chicago's 176 goals against. Terry Sawchuk played 36 games for the Leafs with a GAA of 2.56,