Former Boston Bruins center Fred Stanfield dies at 77

Former Boston Bruins center Fred Stanfield, Bobby Orr’s docile teammate on high-scoring teams in the early 1970s, has died. He was 77 years old.

Stanfield died Monday and the Bruins announced his death Tuesday. The cause of death has not declared.
Toronto-born Stanfield played six seasons in Boston and helped the Bruins in 1970 and 1972 as the No. 2 center behind Phil Esposito to win the Stanley Cup. It acquired in 1967 by the Chicago Blackhawks as part of one of the most famous trades in NHL history. It traded with Esposito and Ken Hodge for Gilles Marotte, Pit Martin, and Jack Norris.

Stanfield finished his career with 211 goals and 405 assists for 616 points in 914 games for the Blackhawks, Bruins, Minnesota North Stars, and Buffalo Sabers from 1964 to 1978.

He added 21 goals and 35 assists in the playoffs. Stanfield centered the Boston second row between Johnny Bucyk and Johnny McKenzie and, along with Orr. He also occupied one of the points in the team’s skillful power play.

Stanfield scored 20 or more goals in his six seasons with the Bruins. His best performance was in 197172 when he scored 79 points (23 goals, 56 assists) in 78 games.

He added seven goals and nine assists in the playoffs to lead the Bruins to the Cup. In six seasons together, Stanfield, Hodge, and Esposito scored 650 goals and 925 assists for 1,575 points. Stanfield’s total was 135 goals and 274 assists for 409 points.

As a gentlemanly player, Stanfield never accumulated more than 22 penalty minutes in a season and only had 8 penalty minutes in 106 postseason games. He was traded to Minnesota for goalie Gilles Gilbert in May 1973.