1918-19 NHL season
Encyclopedia
The 1918–19 NHL season was the second season of the National Hockey League
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...

 (NHL). While at first it was uncertain that the NHL would operate, and the possibility that National Hockey Association
National Hockey Association
The National Hockey Association was a professional ice hockey organization with teams in Ontario and Quebec, Canada. It is the direct predecessor organization to today's National Hockey League...

 (NHA) would be resumed, the unfinished business of Eddie Livingstone's Toronto and Ottawa's NHA franchise, led to the NHL owners suspending the NHA again. Livingstone would attempt to overthrow the NHA management, and failing that, attempt to operate a rival league. The pre-season was filled with legal actions, deceptions and public mud-slinging. Ultimately, the NHL operated with three teams, in Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto. However, the season ended early with Toronto suspending operations, leaving Montreal and Ottawa to play off for the championship. Montreal would win the playoff and travel to Seattle for the Stanley Cup
Stanley Cup
The Stanley Cup is an ice hockey club trophy, awarded annually to the National Hockey League playoffs champion after the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Finals. It has been referred to as The Cup, Lord Stanley's Cup, The Holy Grail, or facetiously as Lord Stanley's Mug...

 final. However, the Cup series would not be completed due to Spanish Influenza infecting the whole Montreal team and causing the eventual death of Montreal's Joe Hall
Joe Hall
Joseph Henry Hall , nicknamed Bad Joe Hall, was a professional ice hockey defenceman who played professionally from 1904 until 1919 when he died as a result of the influenza epidemic...

.

League business

The pre-season saw plenty of action off the ice. Toronto NHA owner Eddie Livingstone had found a partner in Percy Quinn, manager of the Toronto Arena Gardens, to take on the NHA/NHL owners. The two together tried to lease the ice time at the Toronto Arena Gardens, Ottawa Arena
The Arena, Ottawa
The Arena, also known as Dey's Arena was an arena for ice hockey located in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It was the home of the Ottawa Hockey Club from 1908 to 1923. It was the third in a series of ice hockey venues built by the Dey family of Ottawa...

 and Montreal Jubilee Rink from under the noses of the NHL owners, launched several lawsuits, attempted to launch a competing league and attempted to relaunch the NHA, but ultimately were unsuccessful. The NHA, while not operating, met three times.

Purchase of Quebec Bulldogs

The first action of Livingstone and Quinn was Quinn's attempt to purchase the Quebec Bulldogs
Quebec Bulldogs
The Quebec Bulldogs were a men's senior-level ice hockey team officially known as the Quebec Hockey Club, later as the Quebec Athletic Club. Their recorded play goes back as far as the Amateur Hockey Association of Canada in 1889, although the Quebec Hockey Club is known to have played since 1880...

, putting down a $600 down payment. At the time, Quinn's purchase was welcomed by the other NHA owners, thinking that they would gain an operating franchise. Quinn's action gave Quinn and Livingstone three votes at NHA meetings. Livingstone still had the voting shares of the Ontarios and Torontos NHA franchises.

Second suspension of NHA

On September 27, 1918 in Montreal, the NHA directors met again. Ottawa, Montreal Wanderers and Canadiens voted to again suspend operations of the league. This meant that the NHL would operate for a second season. Percy Quinn's purchase of the Quebec Bulldogs was approved but his franchise could not play. The action of the NHA directors led to Livingstone filing a lawsuit on October 1, 1918 charging that there was a conspiracy among the NHA owners, paid for by the Arena Company to suspend the NHA operations and asking the court to nullify the suspension.

On October 2, Quinn would meet with Ted Dey, owner of the Ottawa Arena and enter into an agreement to lease the Ottawa Arena. Dey accepted a check from Quinn, but did not cash it. He had plans of his own, involving the takeover of the Ottawa Senators, making it look to the Senators' management that they had no arena to play in. Rather than let the team fold, Martin Rosenthal entered into an agreement to sell the Senators to Dey.

Lawsuit against Arena Company

Since Toronto had won the Cup in 1917–18, a monkey wrench had been thrown into the other owners' scheme to get rid of Livingstone. His team was estimated now to be worth $20,000, and Livingstone demanded that. The Arena Company offered $7,000, but Livingstone instead sued the Arena and Charlie Querrie for $20,000. In the days following the filing of the lawsuit against Arena, Hubert Vearncombe, treasurer of the Toronto Arena Company, formed the separate Toronto Arena HC
Toronto Arenas
The Toronto Arenas, Toronto Blueshirts or Torontos was a professional men's ice hockey team that played in the first two seasons of the National Hockey League . It was operated by the owner of the Arena Gardens, the Toronto Arena Company...

. This separated the hockey club from the Livingstone lawsuits, though the franchise still used Livingstone's players without permission.

Attempt to launch CHA

A new threat to the NHL appeared. Livingstone, along with Quinn attempted to launch a competing Canadian Hockey Association (CHA). Quinn now planned to relocate the Quebec club to Toronto as the "Shamrocks". When news of the purchase reached Frank Calder
Frank Calder
-External links:*...

 president of both the NHA and NHL, he demanded that Quinn declare his intentions to be a member of the NHL or CHA. Calder publicly issued a November 11 deadline for Quinn to declare his intentions. Quinn did not meet it and Calder declared the Quebec franchise suspended for the season. On October 2, Quinn signed a lease agreement with Ted Dey of the Ottawa Arena to hold exclusive rights for pro hockey there. However, Dey double-crossed Quinn, not cashing his deposit cheque, and signing a five-year agreement with the NHL for the use of the facility. At the NHL meeting on November 9, 1918, the Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal teams signed an agreement to bind themselves to the NHL for a period of five years. This was at the instigation of the Ottawa club, which would not return to the NHL otherwise, and had the pending option with Percy Quinn to operate in the Canadian league.

The directors of the Arena Company of Montreal, owner of the Montreal and Toronto arenas, met and decided to shut out the CHA, against the wishes of Quinn, effectively ending the attempt to start up the CHA for the 1918–19 season. Despite the suspension, and the public threat, Quinn agreed to meet with Calder but reached no agreement. Calder publicly offered an olive branch to Quinn to join the NHL.

Dismissal of lawsuit against 228th

While this was going on, the NHA's suit to recover $3,500 from the Toronto 228th
Toronto 228th Battalion (NHA)
The Toronto 228th Battalion was an ice hockey team, composed entirely of troops in the 228th Battalion, CEF of the Canadian Army, in the National Hockey Association for the 1916–17 season....

 hockey team's insurer, the Ocean Accident and Guarantee Limited, was heard and dismissed. The NHA had sued the 228th for dropping out of the NHA in 1917. In his judgment, Judge Falconbridge noted that an insurance bond posted by the 228th could never have been enforceable, and that they had been ordered overseas under no fault of their own and that there was no clear legal status of the team, having played under the franchise of the non-operating Ontario Hockey Club.

Loss of lawsuit against Ottawa

A judgment went against Livingstone on November 20, 1918. Livingstone had claimed that Ottawa had interfered in the proper running of the NHA when the NHA had suspended the Toronto club in February 1917. The judge ruled that the NHA operated within its constitution, as no rules on how to operate less than six teams had been written.

Attempt to lease Montreal Jubilee Rink

In a related development, Livingstone entered into an agreement with the managers of the Jubilee Rink to lease it for pro hockey. The manager and lessee of the Jubilee Rink, Albert Allard signed the lease against the wishes of the owner of the Jubilee Rink, the Jubilee Rink Company. When the rink owners came to fire Allard and end his lease, the rink was closed by security, locking out the owners. Legal action came to a head on December 16 when Lucien Riopel won a court judgment expelling Allard.

Attempt to relaunch NHA

In December 1918, Livingstone and Quinn organized a league meeting of the old NHA
National Hockey Association
The National Hockey Association was a professional ice hockey organization with teams in Ontario and Quebec, Canada. It is the direct predecessor organization to today's National Hockey League...

, attempting to force the NHA to restart, based on Quinn and Livingstone's three votes and an attempt to disallow the vote of the Canadiens. Despite Calder labelling the meeting as "illegal", Ottawa, the Canadiens and Wanderers attended. However, the attempt proved futile as heated arguments broke out between Livingstone's side and the other owners. After the meeting, Livingstone and Quinn claimed that they now controlled the NHA. They claimed that the players were now the property of the NHA, stating that all players who had played in the previous season, "east of Port Arthur
Port Arthur, Ontario
Port Arthur was a city in Northern Ontario which amalgamated with Fort William and the townships of Neebing and McIntyre to form the city of Thunder Bay in January 1970. Port Arthur was the district seat of Thunder Bay District.- History :...

" had to report to the NHA. Calder now ordered all teams to pay the $200 legal fees owing. Separately, the Montreal and Ottawa NHA owners met and paid the fees owing to the league and Calder fined the Torontos, Ontarios and Quebec a further $200. Calder now publicly promised to file a court order to "wind up" the NHA organization. When the NHL decided to continue with play, Livingstone and Quinn threatened injunctions to stop the NHL from operating. However, the threats were not followed through on and the NHL season began on schedule.

Major rule changes

The penalty system was refined at the instigation of the Ottawa players:
  • For minor fouls (holding a stick or lying on the ice to block a shot), a player would sit off for three minutes, allowing a substitute.

  • For major fouls (including throwing a stick to prevent a score, tripping, holding, cross-checking, boarding) players would sit off for five minutes, with no substitute for three minutes. An automatic goal would be awarded in the event of the stick being thrown to prevent a score.

  • For match fouls (defined as deliberately injuring or disabling a player), no substitutes were allowed for a minimum of five minutes. The player could not return for at least ten minutes, depending on the referee's ruling. The player would receive a fine of not less than $15. A second match foul in a season would lead to an automatic suspension and discipline by the league president.


Technical changes were also made to the league rules.
  • Two lines were added to the ice, painted twenty feet from center, creating three playing zones. Forward passing and kicking the puck were permitted in the middle neutral zone.
  • The NHL adopted the "Art Ross" puck instead of the "Spalding" puck.

Spanish Flu pandemic

The first hockey death from the influenza pandemic was Ottawa's Hamby Shore
Hamby Shore
Samuel Hamilton Shore was a Canadian professional hockey player who played several seasons for the Ottawa Senators, notably during the "Silver Seven" era when the club was champion from 1903 until 1906...

 in October, 1918.

Regular season

It had been anticipated that the end of World War I would release many veterans to join their old clubs, but very few were demobilized in time to do so. The regular season proceeded with three teams and a twenty-game split-season schedule. However, the second half of the season was cut short to eight games when the Arenas, playing poorly and with issues about breaking training, announced after seven games of the second half, it could not continue. Calder persuaded Vearncombe to play the 18th game and then the NHL season ended at 18 games. The Arena HC withdrew from the league on February 20, 1919 following financial difficulties.

Left with only two teams, the league had its first ever best-of-seven series to determine who would meet the Pacific Coast Hockey Association
Pacific Coast Hockey Association
The Pacific Coast Hockey Association was a professional men's ice hockey league in western Canada and the western United States, which operated from 1911 to 1924 when it then merged with the Western Canada Hockey League...

 champions for the Stanley Cup.

Playoffs

All dates in 1919

With the NHL reduced to two teams eighteen games into its 20-game season, a decision was made to have the two remaining teams—coincidentally the two teams leading each half of the season—compete in a best-of-seven series to see which team would head west to battle against the Pacific Coast Hockey Association
Pacific Coast Hockey Association
The Pacific Coast Hockey Association was a professional men's ice hockey league in western Canada and the western United States, which operated from 1911 to 1924 when it then merged with the Western Canada Hockey League...

 champions. With Ottawa star Frank Nighbor
Frank Nighbor
Julius Francis "Pembroke Peach" Nighbor was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward who played for the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League and National Hockey Association and Toronto Maple Leafs of the NHL, Toronto Blueshirts of the NHA and Vancouver Millionaires of the Pacific...

 missing most of the series due to a family bereavement Montreal won the series four games to one and faced the Seattle Metropolitans
Seattle Metropolitans
The Seattle Metropolitans were a professional ice hockey team based in Seattle, Washington which played in the Pacific Coast Hockey Association from 1915 to 1924. They won the Stanley Cup in 1917, becoming the first American team to do so...

 for the Cup.

With the series tied after five games (with one tie), the sixth game was slated for April 1, 1919, when the Spanish Flu
Spanish flu
The 1918 flu pandemic was an influenza pandemic, and the first of the two pandemics involving H1N1 influenza virus . It was an unusually severe and deadly pandemic that spread across the world. Historical and epidemiological data are inadequate to identify the geographic origin...

 epidemic forced the cancellation of the series. Several players on both sides were sick because of it, and it would eventually claim the life of Canadiens' forward Joe Hall
Joe Hall
Joseph Henry Hall , nicknamed Bad Joe Hall, was a professional ice hockey defenceman who played professionally from 1904 until 1919 when he died as a result of the influenza epidemic...

 five days later. Canadiens manager George Kennedy
George Kennedy (sports promoter)
George Washington Kendall , known professionally as George Kennedy, was a Canadian sports promoter best known as the owner of the Montreal Canadiens ice hockey team from 1910 to 1921. Kennedy was a wrestler himself and after the end of his wrestling career turned to wrestling promotion...

 would not recover completely. This was the only time in history when the Stanley Cup was not awarded after the playoffs began.

NHL Championship

Montreal Canadiens vs. Ottawa Senators
Date Away Score Home Score Notes
February 22 Ottawa Senators 4 Montreal Canadiens 8
February 27 Ottawa Senators 3 Montreal Canadiens 5
March 1 Montreal Canadiens 6 Ottawa Senators 3
March 3 Montreal Canadiens 3 Ottawa Senators 6
March 6 Ottawa Senators 2 Montreal Canadiens 4

Montreal wins best-of-seven series 4 games to 1.

Stanley Cup Final

Montreal Canadiens vs. Seattle Metropolitans
Date Away Score Home Score Notes
March 19 Montreal Canadiens 0 Seattle Metropolitans 7
March 22 Seattle Metropolitans 2 Montreal Canadiens 4
March 24 Montreal Canadiens 2 Seattle Metropolitans 7
March 26 Seattle Metropolitans 0 Montreal Canadiens 0 20:00 OT
March 30 Montreal Canadiens 4 Seattle Metropolitans 3 15:57 OT

Series ended 2–2–1 and no winner awarded – playoffs were curtailed due to the influenza
Influenza
Influenza, commonly referred to as the flu, is an infectious disease caused by RNA viruses of the family Orthomyxoviridae , that affects birds and mammals...

 epidemic

Awards

  • NHL champion - Montreal Canadiens
    Montreal Canadiens
    The Montreal Canadiens are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The club is officially known as ...



Note:

The O'Brien Cup, still considered the championship of the NHA was not actually awarded in 1919. 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. The Hockey Hall of Fame lists Montreal as the winner for 1918–19.

Scoring leaders

GP = Games Played, G = Goals
Goal (ice hockey)
In ice hockey, a goal is scored when the puck completely crosses the goal line between the two goal posts and below the goal crossbar. A goal awards one point to the team attacking the goal scored upon, regardless of which team the player who actually deflected the puck into the goal belongs to...

, A = Assists
Assist (ice hockey)
In ice hockey, an assist is attributed to up to two players of the scoring team who shot, passed or deflected the puck towards the scoring teammate, or touched it in any other way which enabled the goal, meaning that they were "assisting" in the goal. There can be a maximum of two assists per goal...

, Pts = Points
Point (ice hockey)
Point in ice hockey has three official meanings:* A point is awarded to a player for each goal scored or assist earned. The total number of goals plus assists equals total points. In some European leagues, a goal counts as two points, and an assist counts as one...

, PIM = Penalties In Minutes
Penalty (ice hockey)
A penalty in ice hockey is a punishment for inappropriate behavior. Most penalties are enforced by detaining the offending player within a penalty box for a set number of minutes, during which, the player can not participate in play. The offending team usually may not replace the player on the ice,...

Player Team GP G A Pts PIM
Newsy Lalonde
Newsy Lalonde
Édouard Cyrille "Newsy" Lalonde was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward in the National Hockey League and a professional lacrosse player, regarded as one of hockey's and lacrosse's greatest players of the first half of the 20th century and one of sport's most colourful characters...

Montreal Canadiens 17 22 10 32 40
Odie Cleghorn
Odie Cleghorn
James Ogilvie "Odie" Cleghorn was a Canadian professional ice hockey right winger, linesman and referee...

Montreal Canadiens 17 22 6 28 22
Frank Nighbor
Frank Nighbor
Julius Francis "Pembroke Peach" Nighbor was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward who played for the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League and National Hockey Association and Toronto Maple Leafs of the NHL, Toronto Blueshirts of the NHA and Vancouver Millionaires of the Pacific...

Ottawa Senators 18 19 9 28 27
Cy Denneny
Cy Denneny
Cyril Joseph Denneny was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward who played for the Ottawa Senators and Boston Bruins in the National Hockey League and the Toronto Blueshirts of the National Hockey Association. His brother Corbett Denneny also played in the NHL.-Early life:Cy Denneny was born...

Ottawa Senators 18 18 4 22 58
Didier Pitre
Didier Pitre
Joseph George Didier "Cannonball" Pitre was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward. He was nicked named "Cannonball". One of the first players to join the Montreal Canadiens, Pitre's French-Canadian heritage helped give his line-mates the nickname the Flying Frenchmen, brought upon by his...

Montreal Canadiens 17 14 5 19 12
Alf Skinner Toronto Arenas 17 12 4 16 26
Harry Cameron
Harry Cameron
Harold Hugh "Cammie" Cameron was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who played professionally for the Toronto Blueshirts, Toronto Arenas, Ottawa Senators, Toronto St. Pats and Montreal Canadiens. Cameron won three Stanley Cups in his career...

Toronto Arenas / Ottawa Senators 14 11 3 14 35
Jack Darragh
Jack Darragh
John Proctor "Jack" Darragh was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward who played for the Ottawa Senators in the National Hockey League and its predecessor the National Hockey Association.-Playing career:Darragh played his entire professional career with the Ottawa Senators...

Ottawa Senators 14 11 3 14 33
Ken Randall
Ken Randall
Kenneth Fenwick Randall was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played for 20 seasons, including ten seasons in the National Hockey League from 1917 to 1927 for the Toronto Arenas, Toronto St. Pats, Hamilton Tigers and New York Americans...

Toronto Arenas 15 8 6 14 27
Sprague Cleghorn
Sprague Cleghorn
Henry William Sprague "Peg" Cleghorn, , was a Canadian professional hockey player from Westmount who played for the Boston Bruins, Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Wanderers, Ottawa Senators, Renfrew Creamery Kings and Toronto St. Patricks in the National Hockey Association and National Hockey League...

Ottawa Senators 18 7 6 13 27

Leading goaltenders

GP = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, TOI = Time On Ice (minutes), GA = Goals Against, SO = Shutout
Shutout
In team sports, a shutout refers to a game in which one team prevents the opposing team from scoring. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball....

s, GAA = Goals Against Average
Goals against average
Goals Against Average is a statistic used in ice hockey, water polo, lacrosse, and soccer that is the mean of goals allowed per game by a goaltender....

Player Team GP W L T TOI GA SO GAA
Clint Benedict
Clint Benedict
Clinton Stevenson "Praying Bennie" Benedict was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender who played for the Ottawa Senators and the Montreal Maroons. He played on four Stanley Cup-winning squads. He was the first goaltender in the National Hockey League to wear a face mask...

Ottawa Senators 18 12 6 0 1152 53 2 2.76
Georges Vezina
Georges Vézina
Joseph-Georges-Gonzague Vézina was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender who played seven seasons in the National Hockey Association and nine in the National Hockey League , all with the Montreal Canadiens...

Montreal Canadiens 18 10 8 0 1117 78 1 4.19
Bert Lindsay
Bert Lindsay
Leslie Bertrand Lindsay was a professional ice hockey goaltender in the National Hockey Association , Pacific Coast Hockey Association and National Hockey League...

Toronto Arenas 16 5 11 0 998 83 0 4.99

NHL playoff scoring leader

GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points
Player Team GP G A Pts
Newsy Lalonde
Newsy Lalonde
Édouard Cyrille "Newsy" Lalonde was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward in the National Hockey League and a professional lacrosse player, regarded as one of hockey's and lacrosse's greatest players of the first half of the 20th century and one of sport's most colourful characters...

Montreal Canadiens
Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal Canadiens are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The club is officially known as ...

 
10 17 1 18

Debuts

The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1918–19 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs):
  • Amos Arbour
    Amos Arbour
    Joseph Hermas "Amos, Butch" Arbour was a Canadian professional ice hockey left winger who played seven seasons in the National Hockey Association and six seasons in the National Hockey League for Montreal Canadiens, Hamilton Tigers and Toronto St. Patricks.-Career statistics:-External links:...

    , Montreal Canadiens

Last games

The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1918–19 (listed with their last team):
  • Joe Hall
    Joe Hall
    Joseph Henry Hall , nicknamed Bad Joe Hall, was a professional ice hockey defenceman who played professionally from 1904 until 1919 when he died as a result of the influenza epidemic...

    , Montreal Canadiens

See also

  • List of Stanley Cup champions
  • List of pre-NHL seasons
  • 1918 in sports
    1918 in sports
    1918 in sports describes the year's events in world sport. Most sport was curtailed due to a combination of World War I and the 1918 flu pandemic.-American football:College championship...

  • 1919 in sports
    1919 in sports
    -American football:College championship* College football national championship – Centre Praying Colonels, Harvard Crimson, Illinois Fighting Illini, Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Texas A&M Aggies...


External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK