Larry Hillman


Lawrence Morley Hillman is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey defenceman and coach. He is one of the most traveled players in hockey history, having played for 15 different teams in his 22 professional seasons.

Playing career

Hillman started his career by playing one season for the Windsor Spitfires of the OHL in 1953. He split the next season between the Buffalo Bisons of the AHL and the Detroit Red Wings of the NHL. He won his first Stanley Cup Championship with Detroit in 1955. He became the youngest player to be engraved on the Stanley Cup. 18 years, 2 months, 9 days. Hillman left the Red Wings after 1957 and went to the Boston Bruins. He played two full seasons in Boston before being sent to their minor league team, the Providence Reds, for most of the 1960 season.
In 1961, Hillman went to the Toronto Maple Leafs where he continued to bounce from the minor leagues to the NHL and back. He played on four Stanley Cup winning teams in Toronto in 1962, 1963, 1964 and 1967. In between those cup wins he played parts of six season with the Rochester Americans and the Springfield Indians.
After the 1968 season, he signed with the expansion Minnesota North Stars who later traded Hillman to the Montreal Canadiens where he won his sixth and final Stanley Cup Championship. He is one of only 11 players in Stanley Cup history to win the Cup with three or more different teams.
After Montreal, he played for the Philadelphia Flyers, Los Angeles Kings and Buffalo Sabres. Following the 1973 season, Hillman left the NHL for the WHA. He played two seasons for the Cleveland Crusaders. His final season was in 1976, playing for the Winnipeg Jets. Hillman took over as coach of the Jets in 1977, winning the Avco Cup in his rookie season. However, he was fired 61 games into the 1978-79 campaign.

Achievements