1919–20 NHL season
The 1919–20 NHL season was the third season of the National Hockey League (NHL). A Quebec team was activated by the NHL, increasing the number of teams to four. The four teams played 24 games in a split-schedule format. The Ottawa Senators won the league championship by winning both halves of the split-season. The Senators went on to win the Stanley Cup by defeating the PCHA's Seattle Metropolitans three games to two in a best-of-five series.
| 1919–20 NHL season | |
|---|---|
| League | National Hockey League |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Duration | December 23, 1919 – March 13, 1920 |
| Number of games | 24 |
| Number of teams | 4 |
| Regular season | |
| Top scorer | Joe Malone (Athletics) |
| League | |
| Champions | Ottawa Senators |
| Runners-up | Montreal Canadiens, Toronto St. Patricks |
League business
The NHL approved the name change of Toronto's franchise to Tecumsehs on December 6, 1919, a previous name of a Toronto franchise in the NHA.[1] Several days later the franchise was transferred from the Arena to private investors, which named the club the Toronto St. Patricks.[2] The group paid $5,000 to the NHL for the franchise.
Since the NHL had cancelled the previous Quebec franchise after Percy Quinn tried to use the franchise to resurrect the NHA, Quebec was without a franchise. By agreement with the NHL franchise's previous owners, a new Quebec franchise was approved on December 16, 1919.[3] Quebec, which did not ice teams in the first two seasons of the NHL, finally iced a team, although they were not successful.
Regular season
Highlights
The Montreal Canadiens had their home opener January 10 in brand new Mount Royal Arena and Newsy Lalonde used the occasion to celebrate with six goals in a 14–7 drubbing of the Toronto St. Patricks. The combined total of 21 goals by both teams set the NHL record.[4]
Jack Darragh of Ottawa had a chance to play in goal when Toronto defeated Ottawa 5–3 on January 24. He took over when Clint Benedict was penalized. He did not surrender any goals during the two minutes.
Despite a dismal record of 2–10 in both halves of the season, the Quebec Athletics' Joe Malone scored seven goals in one game on January 31, 1920.[5] As of 2016, it is still the NHL record for most goals in one game. An eighth goal was disallowed on an off-side call. Malone was later quoted "the thing I recall most vividly is that it was bitterly cold."[4] He nearly equalled the record on March 10 when he scored six goals in a 10–4 win over the Ottawa Senators. Malone led the league in goals with 39. But by surrendering 7.18 goals against per game, a record that stands today, Quebec finished dead last.
With the war now over, players came home and fans were now coming in larger numbers to see games. On February 21, 1920, a record crowd of 8,500 fans came to see Ottawa play Toronto at the Arena Gardens.[5]
Final standings
| GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ottawa Senators | 12 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 18 | 59 | 23 |
| Montreal Canadiens | 12 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 16 | 62 | 51 |
| Toronto St. Patricks | 12 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 10 | 52 | 62 |
| Quebec Athletics | 12 | 2 | 10 | 0 | 4 | 44 | 81 |
| GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ottawa Senators | 12 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 20 | 62 | 41 |
| Toronto St. Patricks | 12 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 14 | 67 | 44 |
| Montreal Canadiens | 12 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 10 | 67 | 62 |
| Quebec Athletics | 12 | 2 | 10 | 0 | 4 | 47 | 96 |
[6]
Note: GP = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against
Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.
Playoffs
Because the Ottawa Senators won both halves of the split regular season, there was no need for an NHL playoff. The Senators were named NHL champions and given a spot in the Stanley Cup championship series. Representing the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA) was the Seattle Metropolitans, which battled in a tight PCHA, in which two wins separated its three teams. A problem arose as Seattle's green, red, and white uniforms looked similar to Ottawa's black, red, and white uniforms. The Senators agreed to play in white sweaters. The five-game series was scheduled to be played in Ottawa, but unseasonably warm weather forced the final two games to Toronto's Arena Gardens.
Stanley Cup Finals
Games one, three and five were played under NHL rules (without a rover), while games two and four were played under PCHA rules (with a rover).
| March 22 | Seattle Metropolitans | 2–3 | Ottawa Senators | Arena Gardens | Recap | |||
| Frank Foyston (1) – 10:25 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Frank Foyston (2) – 06:45 | Second period | 14:15 – Frank Nighbor (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 10:00 – Frank Nighbor (2) 16:00 – Jack Darragh (1) | ||||||
| Hap Holmes | Goalie stats | Clint Benedict | ||||||
| March 24 | Seattle Metropolitans | 0–3 | Ottawa Senators | Arena Gardens | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 14:00 – Jack Darragh (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 06:00 – Eddie Gerard (1) 19:00 – Frank Nighbor (3) | ||||||
| Hap Holmes | Goalie stats | Clint Benedict | ||||||
| March 27 | Seattle Metropolitans | 3–1 | Ottawa Senators | Arena Gardens | Recap | |||
| Frank Foyston (3) – 09:00 | First period | 06:00 – Buck Boucher (1) | ||||||
| Frank Foyston (4) – 12:00 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Roy Rickey (1) – 09:30 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Hap Holmes | Goalie stats | Clint Benedict | ||||||
| March 30 | Ottawa Senators | 2–5 | Seattle Metropolitans | The Arena | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 03:00 – Frank Foyston (5) 08:00 – Bobby Rowe (1) | ||||||
| Frank Nighbor (4) – 02:00 Frank Nighbor (5) – 11:00 |
Second period | 08:00 – Jack Walker (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 02:00 – Roy Rickey (2) 05:00 – Frank Foyston (6) | ||||||
| Clint Benedict | Goalie stats | Hap Holmes | ||||||
| April 1 | Ottawa Senators | 6–1 | Seattle Metropolitans | The Arena | Recap | |||
| Buck Boucher (2) – 14:00 | First period | 10:00 – Bobby Rowe (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Jack Darragh (3) – 05:00 Eddie Gerard (2) – 10:00 Jack Darragh (3) – 13:00 Jack Darragh (4) – 14:00 Frank Nighbor (6) – 14:30 |
Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Clint Benedict | Goalie stats | Hap Holmes | ||||||
| Ottawa won series 3–2 | |
Awards
- NHL champion – Ottawa Senators
Note: The O'Brien Cup, still considered the championship of the NHA, was not actually awarded in 1920. It remained under the care of the Canadiens who had won it in 1917, until the death of their owner, George Kennedy in 1921, when the NHL made arrangements to re-use the trophy.[7] The Hockey Hall of Fame lists Ottawa as the winner for 1919–20.
Player statistics
Scoring leaders
GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points, PIM = Penalties In Minutes
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joe Malone | Quebec Athletics | 24 | 39 | 10 | 49 | 12 |
| Newsy Lalonde | Montreal Canadiens | 23 | 37 | 9 | 46 | 34 |
| Frank Nighbor | Ottawa Senators | 23 | 26 | 15 | 41 | 18 |
| Corbett Denneny | Toronto St. Patricks | 24 | 24 | 12 | 36 | 20 |
| Jack Darragh | Ottawa Senators | 23 | 22 | 14 | 36 | 22 |
| Reg Noble | Toronto St. Patricks | 24 | 24 | 9 | 33 | 52 |
| Amos Arbour | Montreal Canadiens | 22 | 21 | 5 | 26 | 13 |
| Cully Wilson | Toronto St. Patricks | 23 | 20 | 6 | 26 | 86 |
| Didier Pitre | Montreal Canadiens | 22 | 14 | 12 | 26 | 6 |
| Punch Broadbent | Ottawa Senators | 21 | 19 | 6 | 25 | 40 |
Source: NHL.[8]
Leading goaltenders
GP = Games Played, Mins = Minutes played, GA = Goals Against, SO = Shutouts, GAA = Goals Against Average
| Name | Team | GP | Mins | W | L | T | GA | SO | GAA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clint Benedict | Ottawa Senators | 24 | 1443 | 19 | 5 | 0 | 64 | 5 | 2.66 |
| Jake Forbes | Toronto St. Patricks | 5 | 300 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 21 | 0 | 4.20 |
| Ivan Mitchell | Toronto St. Patricks | 16 | 830 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 60 | 0 | 4.34 |
| Georges Vezina | Montreal Canadiens | 24 | 1456 | 13 | 11 | 0 | 113 | 0 | 4.66 |
| Howard Lockhart | Toronto,Quebec | 8 | 370 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 36 | 0 | 5.84 |
| Frank Brophy | Quebec Athletics | 21 | 1249 | 3 | 18 | 0 | 148 | 0 | 7.11 |
Source: NHL[9]
Coaches
- Montreal Canadiens: Newsy Lalonde
- Ottawa Senators: Pete Green
- Quebec Athletics: Mike Quinn
- Toronto St. Patricks: Frank Carroll
Milestones and records
- January 31 – Quebec Athletics' Joe Malone scores seven goals in one game (record for most goals in one game by a player)[5]
- March 3 – Montreal Canadiens defeat Quebec Athletics 16–3 (record for most goals by one team)[4]
Debuts
The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1919–20 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs):
| Player | Team | Notability |
|---|---|---|
| Babe Dye | Toronto St. Patricks | Hockey Hall of Fame (1970) |
Last games
The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1919–20 (listed with their last team):
Free agency
| Date | Players | Team |
|---|---|---|
| November 27, 1919 | Cully Wilson | Toronto St. Patricks |
| December 15, 1919 | Babe Dye | Toronto St. Patricks |
| December 16, 1919 | Mickey Roach | Toronto St. Patricks |
Transactions
| December 21, 1919 | To Quebec Bulldogs Ed Carpenter |
To Montreal Canadiens Goldie Prodgers |
| January 14, 1920 | To Toronto Arenas Goldie Prodgers |
To Montreal Canadiens Harry Cameron |
References
- Coleman, Charles (1966). The Trail of the Stanley Cup, vol. 1, 1893–1926 inc.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- Diamond, Dan, ed. (2000). Total Hockey. Total Sports. ISBN 1-892129-85-X.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. ISBN 978-1-894801-22-5.
- Dryden, Steve, ed. (2000). Century of hockey. Toronto, ON: McClelland & Stewart Ltd. ISBN 0-7710-4179-9.
- Fischler, Stan; Fischler, Shirley; Hughes, Morgan; Romain, Joseph; Duplacey, James (2003). The Hockey Chronicle: Year-by-Year History of the National Hockey League. Publications International Inc. ISBN 0-7853-9624-1.
- McFarlane, Brian (1973). The Story of the National Hockey League. New York, NY: Pagurian Press. ISBN 0-684-13424-1.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- Wong, John Chi-Kit (2005). Lords of the Rinks. University of Toronto Press. ISBN 0-8020-8520-2.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- Notes
- "NHL Drafts Its Schedule". The Globe. December 8, 1919. p. 14.
- "Tecumseh Club Disposes of Franchise Secured From Arenas". The Globe. p. 12.
- Wong 2005, p. 78.
- Dryden 2000, p. 22.
- McFarlane 1973, p. 29.
- Standings: NHL Public Relations Department (2008). Dave McCarthy; et al. (eds.). THE NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE Official Guide & Record Book/2009. National Hockey League. p. 145. ISBN 978-1-894801-14-0.
- "O'Brien Trophy To Be Given To Ottawa". The Morning Leader. Regina, Saskatchewan. November 17, 1921. p. 14. Retrieved July 27, 2011.
- "1919–1920 – Regular Season – Skater – Skater Season Stats Leaders – Points". nhl.com. Retrieved June 26, 2012.
- "1919–20 Regular Season – Goalie Season Stats Leaders". NHL. Retrieved December 1, 2011.