Ullman's 20 seasons in the NHL were defined by consistency and durability.
He played in 1,410 of a possible 1,458 regular-season games for the Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs from 1955-75 and is one of 20 players in League history to reach the 20-goal mark in at least 16 seasons, including 12 straight from 1957-69. Ullman finished his NHL career with 1,229 points (490 goals, 739 assists), including 59 game-winning goals and 288 power-play points (116 goals, 172 assists). He also scored 30 goals and finished with 83 points in 106 Stanley Cup Playoff games.
Ullman's 20 seasons in the NHL were defined by consistency and durability.
He played in 1,410 of a possible 1,458 regular-season games for the Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs from 1955-75 and is one of 20 players in League history to reach the 20-goal mark in at least 16 seasons, including 12 straight from 1957-69. Ullman finished his NHL career with 1,229 points (490 goals, 739 assists), including 59 game-winning goals and 288 power-play points (116 goals, 172 assists). He also scored 30 goals and finished with 83 points in 106 Stanley Cup Playoff games.
However, Ullman never won the Stanley Cup. He made the Red Wings in the fall of 1955, a few months season after Detroit won the Cup for the fourth time in six seasons, and was traded to Toronto on March 3, 1968, 10 months after the Maple Leafs won it on May 2, 1967. Ullman did reach the Cup Final with the Red Wings five times (1956, 1961, 1963, 1964, 1966), but went 0-for-5.
Ullman centered a line in Detroit early in his career featuring fellow future Hall of Famers Gordie Howe and Ted Lindsay. He also centered Howe and Alex Delvecchio during the 1960s.
One of Ullmanís most impressive accomplishments came when he scored two goals in a span of five seconds against Hall of Fame goalie Glenn Hall of the Chicago Blackhawks in Game 5 of the Semifinals on April 11, 1965. Itís still the modern-era record (since 1943-44) for the fastest two goals in Stanley Cup Playoff history, though Joe Malone of the Montreal Canadiens had done it in 1919.
Ullman led the NHL with 42 goals and was an NHL First-Team All-Star in 1964-65, when he finished with 83 points, four behind Chicago's Stan Mikita for the League scoring title.
The second phase of Ullmanís NHL career began when he was part of a blockbuster trade with Toronto. Detroit traded him along with forwards Paul Henderson and Floyd Smith for forwards Frank Mahovlich, Pete Stemkowski and Garry Unger, as well as defenseman Carl Brewer, who had left the Maple Leafs and regained his amateur eligibility but returned to the NHL with the Red Wings.
Ullman continued to produce with his new team. He finished with an NHL career-high 85 points (34 goals, 51 assists) in 1970-71 and represented the Maple Leafs at the All-Star Game in 1969 and 1974.
He left the Maple Leafs after 1974-75 and played two seasons for the Edmonton Oilers of the World Hockey Association, bringing him back to the city where he grew up. He finished with 130 points (47 goals, 83 assists) in 144 games.
Ullman was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1982.
NOTES & TRANSACTIONS
- NHL First All-Star Team (1965)
- NHL Second All-Star Team (1967)
- Played in NHL All-Star Game (1955, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1974)
- Traded to Toronto by Detroit with Floyd Smith, Paul Henderson and Doug Barrie for Frank Mahovlich, Pete Stemkowski, Garry Unger and the rights to Carl Brewer, March 3, 1968.
- Selected by Edmonton (WHA) in 1972 General Player Draft, February 12, 1972.