For an upcoming article at Hockey History Hub, we’ve looking at the number of Calder Trophy winners that go on to have a Hockey Hall of Fame career. The number is quite high but there certainly are exceptions. One of those exceptions is Larry Regan.
Regan won rookie of the year honours in 1956-57 with the Boston Bruins. His National Hockey League career would last just 280 regular season games. Larry would become far more famous as the original general manager of the Los Angeles Kings than as one of the NHL’s former brightest up and comers.
Larry Regan – Junior and Minor Pro
Regan played two years of major hockey in the OHA with the Toronto Marlboros in 1948-49 and 1949-50. In his second season, he showed offensive promise with 38 goals and 36 assists for 74 points over 48 regular season games.
Larry Regan Collection
But, then Larry spent a long six years in the QHL with the Ottawa Senators, Shawinigan Falls Cataractes and Quebec Aces. According to his Topps hockey cards, he was about to call it a career when the Boston Bruins finally came calling after those six years of toil.
In 1952-53, Regan strayed from the QHL at the end of the regular season. He joined up with the Johnstown Jets of the EHL for their final regular season game. Then, he went on to lead the team with seven playoff goals as the Jets captured the championship with a win over the Springfield Indians. Johnstown had come off a mediocre season, finishing just below .500.
The following year, Larry had an excellent season in the QHL with the Quebec Aces. The team finished the regular season with just 68 points over 72 games and sat in fourth place in the seven team league.
However, when the Aces met the Ottawa Senators in the finals, they came out on top. The series was a best of nine and it went the full distance. The Sens outscored the Aces 23-20 on the series. Quebec then lost to the WHL’s Calgary Stampeders in the Edinburgh Cup finals. That series too went the full distance, seven games.
After his short NHL career, Larry returned to the minors for the 1961-62 season. After two and a half seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Regan became the player/head coach of their AHL affiliate, the Pittsburgh Hornets. Unfortunately, Regan was replaced after 49 games by Baz Bastien.
After spending time coaching in Austria, Larry returned for one more year of pro hockey in North America. He played 64 games for the Baltimore Clippers of the American Hockey League in 1965-66. His numbers were quite respectable after so much time off, scoring 15 and assisting on 34 for 50 points.
Larry Regan – NHL
Between 1956-57 and 1960-61, Regan played 280 regular season games in the NHL with the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs. Over that time, he scored 41 and assisted on 95 for 136 points. In the Stanley Cup playoffs, he played in 42 games and added 21 points. At 5’9″ and 140 lbs., even for that era, Larry might have been just too small for the league.
In 1956-57, playing for the Bruins, he led all rookies with 33 points on 14 goals and 19 assists over 69 games. Of course, he earned rookie of the year honours and the Calder Memorial Trophy.
Regan made the best of his short career. He played in the Stanley Cup finals in each of four seasons between 1956-57 and 1959-60. In all four years, Larry’s teams were defeated by the Montreal Canadiens. In the first two, it was the Bruins while in the final two it was the Maple Leafs.
Larry Regan – Staff
Regan is probably best known as the first ever general manager of the Los Angeles Kings. In fact, his job in 1966-67, before the Kings started in the NHL, was as head scout. He remained GM until the 1973-74 season.
In 1970-71 and for part of the 1971-72 season, Larry also took on the role of head coach. Midseason in 1971-72, he was replaced by Fred Glover.
His coaching days ended after the 1974-75 season. That year, after parting ways with Los Angeles, he took on the head coaching job of the Montreal Bleu Blanc Rouge in the QMJHL. The team reached the semi-finals before losing to Mike Bossy and the Laval National.
Larry Regan – Rookie Card
The Larry Regan rookie card appears as number six in the 1957-58 Topps set. He is shown as a member of the Boston Bruins. Regan also appeared in the 1958-59 Topps set with the Bruins. With the Maple Leafs, he appeared in the 1959-60 and 1960-61 Parkhurst sets.
Larry Regan Career Stats
| Season | Team | Lge | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 1946-47 | Ottawa Senators | QSHL | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1947-48 | Ottawa Senators | QSHL | 41 | 17 | 14 | 31 | 25 |
| 1948-49 | Toronto Marlboros | OHA | 40 | 19 | 15 | 34 | 25 |
| 1949-50 | Toronto Marlboros | OHA | 48 | 38 | 36 | 74 | 22 |
| 1950-51 | Ottawa Senators | QSHL | 52 | 14 | 31 | 45 | 28 |
| 1951-52 | Ottawa Senators | QSHL | 50 | 11 | 10 | 21 | 27 |
| 1952-53 | Shawinigan Falls Cataracts | QSHL | 52 | 15 | 27 | 42 | 21 |
| 1952-53 | Johnstown Jets | EHL | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1953-54 | Quebec Aces | QHL | 70 | 19 | 32 | 51 | 14 |
| 1954-55 | Quebec Aces | QHL | 51 | 11 | 30 | 41 | 39 |
| 1955-56 | Quebec Aces | QHL | 3 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 2 |
| 1956-57 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 69 | 14 | 19 | 33 | 29 |
| 1957-58 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 59 | 11 | 28 | 39 | 22 |
| 1958-59 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 36 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 10 |
| 1958-59 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 32 | 4 | 21 | 25 | 2 |
| 1959-60 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 47 | 4 | 16 | 20 | 6 |
| 1960-61 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 37 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 2 |
| 1961-62 | Pittsburgh Hornets | AHL | 49 | 10 | 19 | 29 | 12 |
| 1965-66 | Baltimore Clippers | AHL | 64 | 16 | 34 | 50 | 41 |
| NHL Totals | 280 | 41 | 95 | 136 | 71 |