Yes, Tom Webster was the first overall pick by the Buffalo Sabres at the 1970 NHL Expansion Draft that stocked the rosters of the Sabres and Vancouver Canucks. No, Webster never played for Buffalo. That same day, he was traded to the Detroit Red Wings for goaltender Roger Crozier. Webster’s offensive abilities might have complimented a young Gilbert Perreault who was taken first overall by the Sabres in the 1970 NHL Amateur Draft. However, a veteran goalie like Crozier turned out to be more important to Buffalo.
Tom Webster – Junior and Minor Pro
Webster starred with the OHL’s Niagara Falls Flyers for three years from 1965-66 to 1967-68. In his final season, Tom led the league with 114 points over 54 games, earning the Eddie Powers Trophy. However, when it came to MVP honours, Webster was trumped by Walt Tkaczuk of the Kitchener Rangers.
Tom’s 50 goals that season placed him third, just three behind the league leader, Jack Egers of Kitchener. His 64 assists placed him second, six behind Don Luce, also of the Rangers.
Tom Webster Collection
Those Niagara Falls Flyers (now the Sudbury Wolves) won a championship, taking out Kitchener in the final series, nine points to seven. The Flyers then captured the George Richardson Trophy by ousting the Verdun Maple Leafs. At the Memorial Cup finals, Niagara Falls came out on top, taking out the Estevan Bruins. Over the league playoffs, Webster totalled 26 points in 19 games. He added 18 points over the ten game Mem Cup run.
Drafted by the Boston Bruins in the fourth round of the 1966 NHL Amateur Draft, 19th overall, Tom spent his first two years of pro hockey mostly in the Central Hockey League with Boston’s affiliate, the Oklahoma City Blazers.
The injury plagued Webster appeared in just 44 games with the Blazers in 1968-69. Yet, he scored 29 and assisted on 42 for 71 points. He tied for tenth in the CHL for goals, placed eighth for assists and tied for tenth in the overall scoring race. OKC was led offensively by Jim Lorentz and finished first overall. The Blazers reached the finals but lost to the Dallas Black Hawks. Over 12 playoff games, Webster added ten goals and eight assists.
In his second year with Oklahoma City, Tom managed to get into 49 games, scoring 29 goals and assisting on 35 for 64 points. He tied for ninth in the league for goals and was behind just Ivan Boldirev for the team scoring lead. The Blazers placed sixth in the seven team CHL and did not qualify for the post season.
After 1969-70, Webster’s minor league career was over. That is, with exception of 12 games he played in the American Hockey League with the Adirondack Red Wings in 1979-80 as a player/head coach. It was a bit of a comeback/emergency role with Tom having not played since the 1977-78 WHA season.
Tom Webster – Major League Hockey
Between 1968-69 and 1971-72, Webster played in 102 regular season National Hockey League games with the Boston Bruins, Detroit Red Wings and California Seals. He returned with Detroit for a single game in 1979-80. Despite his short stay in the NHL, Tom’s numbers were decent with 33 goals and 42 assists for 75 points. He also played in a single Stanley Cup playoff game.
Over his first two years of pro, Webster totalled just eleven games with the Bruins. His being picked first in the 1970 Expansion Draft by the Sabres and his subsequent trade to the Red Wings led to his only full season in the NHL.
1970-71 was a good year for Webster, if not for the Red Wings. He played the full 78 game schedule, scoring 30 goals and assisting on 37 for 67 points. Tom led the team in scoring, ahead of Hockey Hall of Fame greats Alex Delvecchio and Gordie Howe.
Unfortunately, at the start of the 1971-72 NHL season, Webster was dealt by Detroit to the California Seals for Ron Stackhouse. He only played a handful of games that year before making a highly successful jump to the World Hockey Association.
In the WHA, Webster played 352 regular season games between 1972-73 and 1977-78, all with the New England Whalers. Over that time, he put up 220 goals and 205 assists for 425 points. Tom also scored 28 and assisted on 26 over 43 WHA playoff games.
His first year in the WHA was arguably his best. Over 77 games, Webster netted 53 and assisted on 50 for 103 points. His goal total tied him for second in the league behind Danny Lawson of the Philadelphia Blazers. In the race for the Bill Hunter Trophy, Tom’s point total tied him for fourth with Bobby Hull and Norm Beaudin, both of the Winnipeg Jets. The Whalers were crowned Avco World Trophy champions with a win over the Jets in the finals.
The following year, Tom’s 43 goals placed him fourth in the WHA. In 1974, he was part of the WHA Team Canada that competed in the Summit74 Series.
1975-76 was what should have been a career year. The big problem was that injuries reduced Webster’s regular season to just 55 games. Even so, he scored 33 and assisted on 50 for 83 points. If projected over a full schedule, those numbers equated to 48 goals and 121 points.
Webster was all-in for the 1975-76 playoffs. New England struggled during the regular season with just 73 points over 80 games. Yet, the Whalers reached the semi-finals before falling in seven games to the Houston Aeros. New England outscored their opponents on the series, 21-19. Tom contributed ten goals and 19 points over 17 games.
His final year, 1977-78, is another ‘could have been’ season for Webster. Playing just 20 games, he netted 15 goals. That number on pace for a 60 goal season.
Tom Webster – Coaching
Webster was in the hockey coaching trade from 1979-80 to 2002-03 in the AHL, CHL, IHL, OHL and NHL. He would continue on as a scout in the NHL. His first major coaching success came in 1983-84 with the Tulsa Oilers of the Central Hockey League.
The Oilers finished second in the five team league behind the goaltending of a young John Vanbiesbrouck. In the finals, Tulsa swept the Indianapolis Checkers for the title.
His first shot at a head coaching job in the National Hockey League came in 1986-87 when he took over the reigns of the New York Rangers midseason. His time with the Rangers was short, coaching the team for 15 games before being replaced by Phil Esposito.
Getting ditched by the Rangers allowed Webster to return to the OHL and the Windsor Spitfires. On the ice in front of Tom were future NHL coaches Peter Deboer and Paul Maurice. Despite playing just 37 regular season games, Adam Graves was a major asset for Webster and the Spits. In 12 playoff games, Graves totalled 32 points.
Windsor finished first overall in the 15 team Ontario Hockey League. In the playoffs, the Spitfires swept all three opponents they faced for the championship. At the Memorial Cup tournament, the only time Windsor was in the loss column was in the final game when they fell 7-6 to the Trevor Linden led and Barry Melrose coached Medicine Hat Tigers.
Webster got another chance at the NHL with the Los Angeles Kings from 1989-90 to 1991-92. In 1990-91, despite the Gretzky factor, the Kings fell to the Oilers in the second round after finishing first in the Smythe Division and third overall in the NHL.
Tom has served as assistant coach in the NHL with the Philadelphia Flyers, Hartford Whalers and Carolina Hurricanes. He made another stop in Windsor to coach the Spitfires from 1999-00 to 2002-03 before taking on the scouting role.
Tom Webster – Rookie Card
The Tom Webster rookie card appears as number 155 in the 1970-71 O-Pee-Chee set. He is shown as a member of the Detroit Red Wings and the card is valued as a common card. Webster was also included in the 1970-71 Dad’s Cookies set. His only other NHL card came in the 1971-72 O-Pee-Chee set, once again with the Red Wings. In the WHA, he appeared in four of the O-Pee-Chee sets.
| Season | Team | Lge | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 1965-66 | Niagara Falls Flyers | OHA | 43 | 16 | 17 | 33 | 16 |
| 1966-67 | Niagara Falls Flyers | OHA | 47 | 19 | 26 | 45 | 26 |
| 1967-68 | Niagara Falls Flyers | OHA | 54 | 50 | 64 | 114 | 55 |
| 1968-69 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 9 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 9 |
| 1968-69 | Oklahoma City Blazers | CHL | 44 | 29 | 42 | 71 | 31 |
| 1969-70 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 1969-70 | Oklahoma City Blazers | CHL | 49 | 29 | 35 | 64 | 49 |
| 1970-71 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 78 | 30 | 37 | 67 | 40 |
| 1971-72 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| 1971-72 | California Golden Seals | NHL | 7 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 |
| 1972-73 | New England Whalers | WHA | 77 | 53 | 50 | 103 | 89 |
| 1973-74 | New England Whalers | WHA | 64 | 43 | 27 | 70 | 28 |
| 1974-75 | New England Whalers | WHA | 66 | 40 | 24 | 64 | 52 |
| 1975-76 | New England Whalers | WHA | 55 | 33 | 50 | 83 | 24 |
| 1976-77 | New England Whalers | WHA | 70 | 36 | 49 | 85 | 43 |
| 1977-78 | New England Whalers | WHA | 20 | 15 | 5 | 20 | 5 |
| 1979-80 | Adirondack Red Wings | AHL | 12 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 2 |
| 1979-80 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| NHL Totals | 102 | 33 | 42 | 75 | 61 | ||
| WHA Totals | 352 | 220 | 205 | 425 | 241 |