Two new teams, the Buffalo Sabres and Vancouver Canucks made their debuts and were both put into the East Division.
The Montreal Canadiens won the Stanley Cup by beating the Black Hawks in seven games in the finals.
Defenceman Bobby Orr won his second consecutive Hart Memorial Trophy and set a new record for assists with 102.
Furthermore, the Bruins set marks for the highest scoring single season marks at every position: center (Esposito), left wing (Johnny Bucyk with 116), right wing (Ken Hodge with 105) and defence (Orr), as well as for a forward line (Esposito centering Wayne Cashman and Hodge).
Chicago broke St. Louis' stranglehold over the division, winning handily over the Blues and advancing to the Stanley Cup Finals.
Players did not like Claude Ruel's dictatorial rule as coach, and Ralph Backstrom and John Ferguson retired.
On October 29, Gordie Howe became the first player to record 1,000 assists in a 5–3 win over Boston at the Detroit Olympia.
Detroit introduced a fine rookie goaltender, Jim Rutherford, who had bright moments despite the Red Wings last place finish.
Sid Abel, the team's general manager, asked owner Bruce Norris if he could dismiss coach Ned Harkness.
On March 12, Boston's Phil Esposito broke Bobby Hull's record for goals by a player in a season at 7:03 of the first period on Denis DeJordy of Los Angeles at the Forum in Inglewood, California.
On March 18, he broke Nels Stewart's (and Danny Grant's, and Norm Ferguson's) rookie record with his 35th goal in a 5–3 win over St. Louis.
Billy Taylor and Don Gallinger, now middle-aged, were finally forgiven for their gambling in 1948 and were reinstated to the NHL.
[2] Combined with the transfer of the Chicago Black Hawks into the West Division (which previously consisted only of expansion teams), the Stanley Cup Finals series was expected to be more competitive.
With the Bruins leading 5–2 heading into the third period, the Canadiens, who had trailed 5–1, scored 5 goals in the final session to win 7–5.
The prominent Canadian sports journalist Red Fisher lists the Canadiens' comeback has the 8th most memorable moment in his over 49 years of covering hockey.
Chicago won this year's six game regular season series earning nine of twelve points.
Minnesota won this year's six game regular season series earning eight of twelve points.
The Canadiens' 6–3 loss in Montreal on April 22 to Minnesota, led by the goaltending of Cesare Maniago was the first playoff defeat for an Original Six team at the hands of a 1967 Expansion franchise.
Jacques Lemaire took a shot from centre ice that miraculously escaped goaltender Tony Esposito cutting the Black Hawks' lead to 2–1.
Montreal goalie Ken Dryden kept Chicago off the board for the rest of the game, and the Habs won their third Stanley Cup in four years.
CBS also televised Game 7 of the 1972 Stanley Cup Finals on a Thursday night, marking the first time an American network televised an NHL prime time game, but the telecast was blacked out in the Chicago Black Hawks' broadcast territory.