[Dion]

BOSTON - Milt Schmidt, the hockey hall of famer who led Boston to two Stanley Cup championships as the centre of the “Kraut Line,” served Canada in World War II and returned to the NHL to win its MVP award and two more titles as the Bruins general manager, has died, Bruins spokesman Matt Chmura said Wednesday.

He was 98 and he had been the oldest living NHL player.

A native of Kitchener, Ontario, who was born on March 5, 1918, Milton Conrad Schmidt played with Bauer and Dumart in the junior leagues before they were reunited as the “Kraut Line” in the NHL for the 1936-37 season.

With the three players of German heritage, the Bruins won NHL championships in 1939 and again in ’41, when Schmidt led playoff run with 5 goals and 6 assists in 11 playoff games.

During the war against Germany, Schmidt considered changing his name — to Smith — but decided against it. (The Bruins held a contest that came up with the suggested “Buddy Line,” but it didn’t stick.)

Schmidt missed three full seasons during the war, but returned to score career highs of 27 goals and 62 points in the 1946-47 season. He won the 1951 Hart Memorial Trophy as the league’s most valuable player after totalling 61 points in 62 games.

Schmidt played four more seasons before retiring at the age of 36 with 229 goals, 346 assists and 466 penalty minutes to his credit. He also scored 25 goals and assisted 48 more in 86 playoff games.

Taking over as coach in 1955, Schmidt’s teams reached the Stanley Cup finals in 1957 and ’58. But he had left the bench and taken over as general manager when the young phenom Bobby Orr made his debut in 1966.

At the trade deadline that season, Schmidt orchestrated the trade that brought Phil Esposito, Ken Hodge and Fred Stanfield to Boston from the Chicago Blackhawks. With the future hall of famers Orr and Esposito, the Bruins went on to win the Stanley Cup in 1970 and again two years later.

http://www.calgarysun.com/2017/01/04...mvp-dies-at-98