A trade completed between the Bruins and Wings changes everything

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Joshua Deeds
July 11, 2024 (10:12)

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On this day July 10th, 1957 the Boston Bruins and Detroit Red Wings made a massive 1-for-1 deal.

The deal would send goalie Terry Sawchuk to Detroit, where in return the Bruins would receive Johnny Buyck.

Buyck recently came off a 21-point (10 G, 11 A) season and in 1957 the Bruins would flip Terry Sawchuk.

Ironically, this deal would be the second time, wherein 1955 the Red Wings would trade the goalie after winning his third Stanley Cup.

Whereas, Bucyk would one day become the Captain of the Bruins and hold the all-time leading scorer title.

Buyck would become part of a special line called the "Uke" line with Vic Stasiuk and Bronco Horvath.

The team would reach the Stanley Cup finals, the season after the trade and face the Montreal Canadiens, and would lose in 6 games.

"I was only in Detroit for two years. I didn't get much ice time," Bucyk said. "I was a little worried when I first came to Boston, but I was coming to Boston and I was going to play with Vic and Bronco Horvath, who I had played with back in Edmonton in the minors. That made it really easy and comfortable. I had players that I had played with before. I just fit right in. I got in and they put us together. (General manager) Lynn Patrick and (coach) Milt Schmidt just put the three of us back together, and we played well as a youth line."

Buyck and the Bruins would miss the playoffs from 1960-1967, and wouldn't reach the Finals again until 1970, where with Bobby Orr, Buyck would raise the cup.

"Skating with the Cup was a thrill," Bucyk said. "I was honored and very happy to be able to do that. The Cup weighs 35 pounds, but at that moment it probably weighs five pounds. It was a great, great thrill and I was honored to be able to do it.

"...It was really great, because we had eight years where we never even made the playoffs. To come back and see the team changing, you could see the wheel turning with Bobby coming of course, and the big trade with Espositio, Hodge and Stanfield. You just felt the team's going to improve, you're going to win the Cup, and we did. We won it two years. We should've won it in 1971, too. I thought we had a better team in '71. But we did win it in '70 and that was probably one of the highlights of my career because it was the first time that we won it, and we won it in Boston for our fans, who had waited a long time."

Source: Audacy
John Bucyk reflects on being traded for Hall of Fame goalie Terry Sawchuk, ending Bruins' Stanley Cup drought