This Day in Hockey History – August 22, 1972 – Strike the Harper and Join the Chorus

Aug 22, 2019

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Does anyone ever get tired of winning the Stanley Cup? During his ten seasons with the Montreal Canadiens, defenseman Terry Harper won five championships. He then basically turned down another five when he chose to be traded to the Los Angeles Kings on August 22, 1972.

Harper, who always earned many more penalty minutes than points, began his NHL career with the Canadiens in 1962. In his first full season there, he came in third for the Calder Trophy, the closest he ever came to winning a player award. Despite often scoring a mere three goals per season, the “Harper hat trick,” he was the “guts of the Canadiens’ defence for a decade.” Harper reflected, “I played with and for the greatest men in hockey during my career here. When I first came up it was the best organization in the game.”

However, Harper’s happiness in Montreal was diminished when coach Scotty Bowman came on board in 1971. Even with their conflicts, when it came time to negotiate a contract, Harper admitted, “The Canadiens offered me a pretty good contract, by their standards.” It just failed to meet Harper’s standards. He wanted a three-year contract, which GM Sam Pollock vetoed. As Pollock saw things, “We had to take into consideration that next year (when Kansas City and Washington come into the league), we’ll only be able to protect 15 players . . . We also have a lot of promising young defencemen coming up.” Still, he complemented, “Terry had tremendous desire. He never backed down from anybody. The tighter the spot he was in, the better he was.”

Unsatisfied with the Canadiens’ offer, Harper did most of his own negotiating – with options to set up a trade to the Kings or to sign with the WHA’s Quebec Nordiques. He chose the trade that came with a three-year contract worth three times as much as the Canadiens’ price.

According to Harper, “It’s not only the money, there are many intangible benefits. I think I’m going to a first-rate organization. I’m convinced that Mr. Cooke, Larry Regan and Bob Pulford are people as good as their word . . . I know coach Bob Pulford and he’s an intelligent man.”

Of course he knew Pulford, with whom his fisticuffs in the penalty box led to the divided box used ever since. Pulford said simply, “He’ll strengthen our defense.” As for GM Larry Regan, he called Harper “one of the last hard-nosed players. When he puts somebody into the boards, it’s with the idea they won’t want that to happen to them again.”

Another reason Harper looked forward to joining the Kings was that he had some ideas about training and practice that they promised to adopt. “A lot more of the training should be done off with ice. I have a special conditioning program. There should also be assistant coaches and more study of films . . . I tried to get these ideas across to the Canadiens but they wouldn’t listen. They wanted to do it the old way. Scrimmages and three-on-ones.” According to Pollock, Harper actually was leaving a legacy back in Montreal. “Scotty has sent out a conditioning program to the players, and it’s based on Harper’s and Bob Williams’ (club trainer) theories.”

The reason Harper was so keen on the idea of a three-year contract was because at 32, he thought he had another five good playing years. “And if they keep expanding, I’m good for another 10.” He played for another nine seasons after leaving Montreal. In Los Angeles, he quickly became team captain and led the Kings to their best season yet (with 105 points) in 1974-75.

After three years in sunny California, Harper perhaps did the Kings the biggest favor yet. On June 23, 1975, they sent him to the Detroit Red Wings as part of the package in return for Marcel Dionne. In Detroit, Harper served as captain during the 1975-76 season and then stayed for another three years. He rounded out his career by signing with the St. Louis Blues in 1980 and the Colorado Rockies in 1981. In 19 years, he only managed 35 goals but a hefty 1,362 penalty minutes.

Meanwhile in Montreal, the Canadiens received four draft picks in return for Harper. In 1974, they chose Gary MacGregor in the second round. The following year, they picked Pierre Mondou in the first round and Paul Woods in the third round. Finally, in 1976, the Canadiens finished with Rod Schutt as the first-round pick. Of the four, only center Mondou helped the Canadiens. During his eight seasons with them, he scored 456 points in 548 games. Regardless of the success of the trade, the Canadiens won another five Stanley Cup championships before Harper’s career ended.