Jean Beliveau was the winner of the newly introduced Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player during the playoffs.
The Montreal Canadiens won their first Stanley Cup since 1960 as they were victorious over the Chicago Black Hawks in a seven-game final series.
The CAHA felt that the sponsorship system concentrated talent on a small number of teams and sought for the NHL to spread out that money it invested equally among the junior leagues and branches in Canada.
[1] CAHA president Lionel Fleury wanted a junior-aged player to complete an education, rather than be encouraged to quit schooling to focus on playing hockey.
Pollock had been doing an outstanding job as director of the Canadiens farm system the past few seasons and the Habs were deep in talent.
This was the first season the Conn Smythe Trophy was awarded for the most valuable player in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
On January 27, 1965, Ulf Sterner, the first European trained player, made his debut in the National Hockey League for the New York Rangers in a game versus the Boston Bruins.
Frank Mahovlich entered a hospital for psychiatric treatment under great stress from fans and his manager Punch Imlach who expected more of him than he was delivering.
On December 22, Montreal traded Bill Hicke and Jean-Guy Morissette to New York in exchange for Dick Duff and Dave McComb.
On December 26, Bill Thoms, who played 12 years with Toronto and Chicago, died of a heart attack, aged 54.
Roger Crozier was struck in the eye by Jim Pappin's stick late in the game and was replaced by Carl Wetzel in goal.
Lindsay stated to the press after the game that his advice to coach Sid Abel was not to pay the fines and that he would not sit still for NHL president Clarence Campbell's kangaroo court.
Referee-in-chief Carl Voss announced his intention to resign at the end of the season, and Hayes and ex-referee Eddie Powers greeted this with approval.
Chicago moved into first place with a 4–1 win on February 3 over the New York Rangers right at Madison Square Garden.
Terry Harper, Ted Harris, Pete Stemkowski and Kent Douglas moved in and then the benches emptied.
Note: GP = Games played, G = Goals, A = Assists, PTS = Points, PIM = Penalties in minutes Source: NHL.