1917-18 NHL season
The Television & Movie Wiki: for TV, celebrities, and movies.
Image:NationalHockeyLeague.png The 1917-18 NHL season was the first regular season of the National Hockey League (NHL). Each team played 22 games, except for the Montreal Wanderers whose season was cut short due to their arena burning down. They would play six games. The championship trophy, the O'Brien Trophy, of the newly defunct National Hockey Association became the championship trophy of the NHL. It was awarded to the winner of the NHL playoffs and that winner went on to play for the Stanley Cup against rival leagues.
Contents |
Regular Season
The National Hockey League, as it exists today, was formed on November 26, 1917 after a meeting between representatives of the National Hockey Association in Montreal's Windsor Hotel. The owners of the Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Wanderers, Ottawa Senators, Quebec Bulldogs, and Toronto Arenas decided to form a new league in order to exclude Edward J. Livingston, owner of the NHA Toronto Blueshirts franchise from being involved in their future hockey operations.
The decision to form the NHL nearly proved to be a disastrous one. The new league faced stiff competition from a number of other leagues including the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA), and the talent pool was decimated by World War I. Prior to the start of the 1917-1918 season, the Quebec Bulldogs suspended operations due to money problems, and early in the season, Montreal Wanderers were forced to disband due to their arena burning down. The Bulldogs, though, would return two seasons later for the 1919-20 season. The remaining three teams completed the inaugural season, with Toronto winning the league championship, then beating the Vancouver Millionaires of the PCHA in a best of five series to claim the Stanley Cup.
Final standings
Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF= Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points
| First Half | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Image:Montrealcanadienslogo1918.gif Montreal Canadiens | 14 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 20 | 81 | 47 |
| Image:Torontoarenaslogo.gifToronto Arenas | 14 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 16 | 71 | 75 |
| Image:Ottawasenatorsoldl.gif Ottawa Senators | 14 | 5 | 9 | 0 | 10 | 67 | 79 |
| Image:Montrealwandererslogo.gifMontreal Wanderers | 6 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 17 | 35 |
| Second Half | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Image:Torontoarenaslogo.gifToronto Arenas | 8 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 37 | 34 |
| Image:Ottawasenatorsoldl.gif Ottawa Senators | 8 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 35 | 35 |
| Image:Montrealcanadienslogo1918.gif Montreal Canadiens | 8 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 34 | 37 |
Scoring leaders
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joe Malone | Montreal Canadiens | 20 | 44 | 4 | 48 |
| Cy Denneny | Ottawa Senators | 20 | 36 | 10 | 46 |
| Reg Noble | Toronto Arenas | 20 | 30 | 10 | 40 |
| Newsy Lalonde | Montreal Canadiens | 14 | 23 | 7 | 30 |
| Corb Denneny | Toronto Arenas | 21 | 20 | 9 | 29 |
| Harry Cameron | Toronto Arenas | 21 | 17 | 10 | 27 |
| Didier Pitre | Montreal Canadiens | 20 | 17 | 6 | 23 |
| Eddie Gerard | Ottawa Senators | 20 | 13 | 7 | 20 |
| Jack Darragh | Ottawa Senators | 18 | 14 | 5 | 19 |
| Frank Nighbor | Ottawa Senators | 10 | 11 | 8 | 19 |
| Harry Meeking | Toronto Arenas | 21 | 10 | 9 | 19 |
Stanley Cup Playoffs
Image:Stanley cup.jpg All dates in 1918
O'Brien Trophy Finals
Toronto had won the first half of the NHL split season and Montreal had won the second half. The two teams then played off against each other in a total goals series to see who would go onto play for the Stanley Cup.
Toronto Arenas vs. Montreal Canadiens
| Date | Away | Score | Home | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 11 | Montreal Canadiens | 3 | Toronto Arenas | 7 | |
| March 13 | Toronto Arenas | 3 | Montreal Canadiens | 4 |
Toronto wins total goals series 10-7
Stanley Cup Finals
The Seattle Metropolitans had won the Pacific Coast Hockey League (PCHL) regular season, but the Vancouver Millionaires beat Seattle in that league's finals. Vancouver then headed east to play the Toronto Arenas. The entire series was played in Montreal, Quebec and the series alternated between NHL rules and PCHA rules. Two of the major differences between the two leagues were that the PCHA allowed forward passing and the PCHA played with seven players. The NHL didn't adopt forward passing until the next season, 1918-19. Toronto won all three games played under NHL rules and Vancouver won both games played under PCHA rules.
Vancouver Millionaires vs. Toronto Arenas
| Date | Away | Score | Home | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 20 | Vancouver Millionaires | 3 | Toronto Arenas | 5 | |
| March 23 | Toronto Arenas | 4 | Vancouver Millionaires | 6 | |
| March 26 | Vancouver Millionaires | 3 | Toronto Arenas | 6 | |
| March 28 | Toronto Arenas | 1 | Vancouver Millionaires | 8 | |
| March 30 | Vancouver Millionaires | 1 | Toronto Arenas | 2 |
Toronto wins best-of-five series 3 games to 2 for the Stanley Cup
NHL Playoff scoring leader
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alf Skinner | Toronto Arenas | 7 | 8 | 3 | 11 |
NHL awards
| O'Brien Trophy: | Toronto Arenas |
See also
- List of Stanley Cup champions
- Pacific Coast Hockey Association
- List of pre-NHL seasons
- 1917 in sports
- 1918 in sports
References
| Preceded by: {{{before}}}}|before=1916-17 NHA season}} | {{{title}}}}}}}| {{{years}}}|}}}}}}| with {{{regent1}}}|}} }}}}| ({{{years1}}})|}}}}}}| {{{regent2}}}|}} }}}}| ({{{years2}}})|}}}}}}| {{{regent3}}}|}} }}}}| ({{{years3}}})|}}}}}}| Served alongside: {{{alongside}}}|}}}|title=NHL seasons|years=}} | Succeeded by: {{{after}}} |
| National Hockey League 1917 to present |
| Current teams : Anaheim | Atlanta | Boston | Buffalo | Calgary | Carolina | Chicago | Colorado | Columbus | Dallas | Detroit | Edmonton | Florida | Los Angeles | Minnesota | Montreal | Nashville | New Jersey | NY Islanders | NY Rangers | Ottawa | Philadelphia | Phoenix | Pittsburgh | San Jose | St. Louis | Tampa Bay | Toronto | Vancouver | Washington |
| Trophies and awards: Stanley Cup | Prince of Wales | Clarence S. Campbell | Presidents' Trophy | Adams | Art Ross | Calder | Conn Smythe | Crozier | Hart | Jennings | King Clancy | Lady Byng | Masterton | Norris | Patrick | Pearson | Plus/Minus | Rocket Richard | Selke | Vezina |
| Related articles: AHL | ECHL | UHL | WHA | International Hockey |
