Joe Primeau was the centreman on the Kid Line, a high-scoring trio that played for the Toronto Maple Leafs during the 1930’s. Along with linemates Busher Jackson, who we featured the other day, and Charlie Conacher, the Kid Line terrorized opposing National Hockey League goaltenders for several years.
Primeau’s NHL playing career lasted from 1927-28 to 1935-36 with the Toronto Maple Leafs, although he played just seven games over his first two seasons. Joe led the league in assists on three occasions: 1930-31 (32), 1931-32 (37) and 1933-34 (32). Twice, he finished second in total points: 1931-32 (50) and 1933-34 (46). In 1930-31, Primeau was sixth in points race.
With the Maple Leafs, Primeau was a Stanley Cup champion in 1931-32. He scored no goals in seven playoff games but assisted on six. Toronto finished the regular season second place in the Canadian Division, behind the Montreal Canadiens. The Maple Leafs beat the Chicago Black Hawks in the first round and the Montreal Maroons in the Semi-Finals. Toronto met the New York Rangers in the Stanley Cup finals and swept the American Division regular season champions in three games. Because the circus took over Madison Square Garden, the first two games of the series were played at the Boston Garden and the final game was at the newly built Maple Leaf Gardens.
Primeau, also known as ‘Gentleman Joe’, was the recipient of the Lady Byng Trophy in 1931-32. Interestingly, the 25 PIM that Joe accumulated that year in 46 games was the highest single season total of his NHL career. Primeau was the first ever Byng winner from the Maple Leafs. The Lady Byng was first introduced for the 1924-25 season.
Joe finished his playing career with 243 points in 309 regular season games. He moved into coaching and is the only person to coach a Memorial Cup champion (Toronto St. Michael’s Majors), Allen Cup winner (Toronto Marlboros) and Stanley Cup champ (Toronto Maple Leafs). Primeau coached the Maple Leafs for three years, 1950-51 to 1952-53. He coached the team to Stanley Cup victory in 1950-51 when Bill Barilko scored his famous overtime goal on Gerry McNeil of the Montreal Canadiens.
Along with Ebbie Goodfellow and Earl Seibert, Primeau entered the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1963.
As a player, Primeau only appeared on hockey cards during the 1933-34 season. To the collector’s delight, Joe has three hockey cards from that year that are considered rookie cards:
1933-34 V129 #7 – valued at $500
1933-34 Ice Kings V357 #40 – valued at $500
1933-34 O-Pee-Chee V304A #12 – valued at $600