1960–61 WHL season

The 1960–61 WHL season was the ninth season of the Western Hockey League. The Portland Buckaroos were the Lester Patrick Cup champions as they beat the Seattle Totems four games to two in the final series.^[1]

1960–61 WHL season
League	Western Hockey League
Sport	Ice hockey
Number of games	70
Number of teams	8
Regular season
Season champions	Calgary Stampeders
Season MVP	Lou Jankowski (Calgary)
Top scorer	Art Jones (Portland)
Lester Patrick Cup
Champions	Portland Buckaroos
Runners-up	Seattle Totems

Lester Patrick died on June 1, 1960, and in honour of him the WHL voted to rename the championship trophy from the President's Cup to the Lester Patrick Cup.^[2]

The Portland Buckaroos joined the league, and the eight teams played in one division.^[3]

Lou Jankowski of Calgary set a league record with 57 goals, and was named most valuable player. Art Jones of Portland won the scoring title with 100 points, one more than Jankowski.^[4]

Teams

1960–61 Western Hockey League
Team	City	Arena	Capacity
Calgary Stampeders	Calgary, Alberta	Stampede Corral	6,475
Edmonton Flyers	Edmonton, Alberta	Edmonton Stock Pavilion	6,000
Portland Buckaroos	Portland, Oregon	Memorial Coliseum	12,000
Seattle Totems	Seattle, Washington	Civic Ice Arena	5,000
Spokane Comets	Spokane, Washington	Spokane Coliseum	5,400
Vancouver Canucks	Vancouver, British Columbia	PNE Forum	5,050
Victoria Cougars	Victoria, British Columbia	Victoria Memorial Arena	5,000
Winnipeg Warriors	Winnipeg, Manitoba	Winnipeg Arena	9,500

Map of teams

Stampeders

Flyers

Buckaroos

Totems

Comets

Canucks

Cougars

Warriors

WHL Teams

Final standings

League Standings^[5]

R	Team	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
1	Calgary Stampeders	70	44	22	4	300	215	92
2	Portland Buckaroos	70	38	23	9	242	192	85
3	Vancouver Canucks	70	38	29	3	208	191	79
4	Seattle Totems	70	37	28	5	262	222	79
5	Spokane Comets	70	33	34	3	247	258	69
6	Victoria Cougars	70	27	41	2	220	267	56
7	Edmonton Flyers	70	27	43	0	229	295	54
8	Winnipeg Warriors	70	21	45	4	191	259	46

bold – qualified for playoffs

Playoffs

Playoff bracket

	Quarterfinals					Semifinals					Finals
						1	Calgary Stampeders	1
						4	Seattle Totems	4
											2	Portland Buckaroos	4
	2	Portland Buckaroos	3
											4	Seattle Totems	2
	5	Spokane Comets	1
						2	Portland Buckaroos	3
						3	Vancouver Canucks	1
	3	Vancouver Canucks	3
	6	Victoria Cougars	2

The final, between Portland and Seattle, was the first in league history to feature two American teams.^[6] The Portland Buckaroos defeated the Seattle Totems 4 games to 2 to win the Lester Patrick Cup.^[1]