The
National Hockey Association (NHA) (officially the
National Hockey Association of Canada Limited) was a professional
ice hockeyIce Hockey is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use sticks to direct a puck into the opposing team's goal. It is a fast-paced and physical sport...
organization with teams in
OntarioOntario is a province located in east-central Canada, the largest by population and second largest, after Quebec, in total area. Ontario is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba to the west and Quebec to the east, and 5 U.S...
and
QuebecQuebec is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking identity and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
,
CanadaCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. It is the direct predecessor organization to today's
National Hockey LeagueThe National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league as a joint venture for its self perpetuating membership of 30 franchised member clubs located in the United States and Canada...
(NHL). Founded in 1909 by Ambrose O'Brien (from
Renfrew, OntarioRenfrew, Ontario, Canada is a town on the Bonnechere River in Renfrew County, located in Southern Ontario, and more specifically Eastern Ontario.-History:...
), the NHA was possibly the first major league of pro hockey, and introduced 'six-man hockey', removing the 'rover' position in 1911. During its lifetime, the league coped with competition for players with the rival
Pacific Coast Hockey AssociationThe 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...
(PCHA), the enlistment of players for World War I and disagreements between owners. The disagreements between owners came to a head in 1917, when the NHA suspended operations in order to get rid of an unwanted owner (Eddie Livingstone). The remaining NHA team owners started the NHL in parallel as a temporary measure, to continue play while negotiations went on with Livingstone and other lawsuits were pending. A year later, after no progress was reached with Livingstone, the other NHA owners decided to permanently suspend the NHA. The NHA's rules, constitution and trophies were continued in the NHL.
History
Founding
In November 1909, the Eastern Canada Hockey Association (ECHA), holder of the
Stanley CupThe Stanley Cup is an ice hockey club cup trophy, awarded annually to the National Hockey League playoffs champion. It has been referred to as The Cup, The Holy Grail, or facetiously as Lord Stanley's Mug...
and ostensibly the pre-eminent ice hockey league, was in the midst of a dispute. The
Montreal WanderersThe Montreal Wanderers were an Canadian amateur, and later becoming a professional men's ice hockey team. The team played in the Federal Amateur Hockey League , the Eastern Canada Amateur Hockey Association , the National Hockey Association and briefly the National Hockey League . The Wanderers...
team of the ECHA had been bought by P. J. Doran, owner of the Jubilee Rink in
MontrealMontreal is the second-largest city in Canada and the largest city in the province of Quebec. Originally called Ville-Marie , the city takes its present name from Mont-Royal, the triple-peaked hill located in the heart of the city, whose name was also initially given to the island on which the...
and he intended to move the team's games there. The Jubilee was smaller than the Wanderers' current rink, the
Montreal ArenaThe Montreal Arena, also known as Westmount Arena, was an indoor arena located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada on the corner of St. Catherine Street and Wood Avenue. It was likely one of the first arenas designed expressly for hockey, opening in 1898...
which meant that visiting teams would earn less on their trips to play the Wanderers. On November 25, 1909, the other teams in the league disbanded the ECHA and formed a new league called the Canadian Hockey Association (CHA), which excluded the Wanderers.
At the same time, prosperous silver mine owner Ambrose O'Brien of
Renfrew, OntarioRenfrew, Ontario, Canada is a town on the Bonnechere River in Renfrew County, located in Southern Ontario, and more specifically Eastern Ontario.-History:...
, president of the
Renfrew Creamery KingsThe Renfrew Hockey Club, also known as the Creamery Kings and the "Renfrew Millionaires" was a founding franchise in 1909 of the National Hockey Association, the precursor to the National Hockey League...
ice hockey team was seeking admission to the ECHA to be able to contest the Stanley Cup. The team had applied to the Stanley Cup trustees as champions of the Federal League, but had been rejected. At the November 25 CHA founding meeting, held at the Windsor Hotel in Montreal, O'Brien applied to join the CHA but the application was rejected. Sitting in the lobby of the hotel after the CHA meeting, O'Brien met Jimmy Gardner of the Wanderers, whose team had also been rejected by the CHA. Together, they decided to form their own league, the National Hockey Association (NHA). The NHA was founded on December 2, 1909, and adopted the constitution of the ECHA.
At the same time, to build a rivalry and capture francophone interest in Montreal, O'Brien and Gardner conceived of creating a team consisting of francophone players, to be managed by francophones. The 'Les Canadiens' team, the fore-runner of today's
Montreal CanadiensThe Montreal Canadiens are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The team is a member of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
was admitted on December 4, 1909 to be managed by
Jack LavioletteJean-Baptiste "Jack" Laviolette was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played nine seasons for the Montreal Canadiens hockey club....
, but owned by O'Brien, on the understanding that the ownership was to be transferred to francophone sportsmen as soon as practicable. In all, O'Brien and his father, Michael John O'Brien, were financing four teams in the league: the Renfrew Creamery Kings which became known as the Renfrew Millionaires, Cobalt, Haileybury and Les Canadiens. The Cobalt and Haileybury clubs were from the
Timiskaming Professional Hockey LeagueThe Timiskaming Professional Hockey League was a minor professional ice hockey league based in the area of Lake Timiskaming, Canada. Founded in 1906, the league is notable for providing teams and Ambrose O'Brien, the founder of the National Hockey Association, which became today's National Hockey...
(TPHL) and Renfrew from the
Federal Amateur Hockey LeagueThe Federal Amateur Hockey League was a Canadian men's senior-level ice hockey league that played six seasons from 1904 to 1909. The league was a professional league for its last two years and was known as the Federal Hockey League.-History:...
(FAHL). Along with the Wanderers the league had five teams.
The O'Briens were determined to win the Stanley Cup and a bidding war for players immediately started, and Frank Patrick and
Lester PatrickCurtis Lester "The Silver Fox" Patrick born in Drummondville, Quebec, Canada, was a professional ice hockey player and coach associated with the Victoria Aristocrats/Cougars of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association , and the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League .-Playing career:Lester...
were each signed by the Renfrew Millionaires for $3,000 apiece, the highest salaries recorded to that time. Renfrew also signed star player
Cyclone TaylorFrederick Wellington "Cyclone" Taylor, OBE, was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward who played for the Ottawa Senators, Renfrew Creamery Kings of the National Hockey Association and the Vancouver Millionaires of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association from 1910 to 1923...
of the champion
Ottawa SenatorsThe Ottawa Senators, officially the Ottawa Hockey Club , was an amateur, later becoming a professional, men's ice hockey team based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada from 1883 to 1954 and a member of the National Hockey League from 1917 to 1934...
team, reputedly at $5,000 per season.
Attendance at the CHA games was poor and a meeting of the NHA was held on January 15, 1910 to discuss a possible merger of the two leagues. Instead, the NHA admitted Ottawa and the
Montreal ShamrocksThe Montreal Shamrocks were an amateur, later professional, men's ice hockey club in existence from 1887 until 1910, merging with the Montreal Crystals club in 1896. They won the Stanley Cup ice hockey championship in 1899 and 1900.-Team History:...
to the NHA and the CHA folded. The owners of the Montreal Le National were offered the ownership of the Canadiens but turned it down. The
Quebec BulldogsThe 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 in...
and the other teams of the CHA were not even considered for membership. Games played prior to January 15 were thrown out, and the season began again, now with seven teams.
1910-1914: Consolidation
Despite the efforts of O'Brien, who added
Newsy LalondeEdouard "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...
from the Canadiens to Renfrew, the first championship went to the Wanderers, taking over the Stanley Cup and successfully defending it against Edmonton. It would be the Wanderers' only championship in the league. The off-season would lead to changes in membership in the league, as Cobalt, Haileybury and Shamrocks dropped out. Les Canadiens would be taken over by new management and Quebec would join the league for the 1910-11 season. Lalonde was returned to the Canadiens. The two dormant O'Brien franchises were to be held for two Toronto teams to join the league in the future, to play in the new Arena Gardens planned for Toronto.
The 1910–1911 season saw the start of labour unrest in the league, as the league imposed a salary cap. The season almost foundered because of widespread dissatisfaction amongst the players at the salaries on offer, and players' unions were rumored to be on the verge of creation at several points. The players at first intended to form their own league, but the arenas were under the NHA control and surrendered for that season. Ottawa won the championship and held the Stanley Cup against Galt and Port Arthur.
In the off-season, O'Brien exited the hockey business and Renfrew exited the league. This season, the league dropped the 'rover' position, changing the game to six-man hockey, although other leagues would hold on to seven-man play into the 1920s. Attempts would be made to reintroduce seven-man hockey in subsequent years but were unsuccessful. While the league delayed its schedule to try to accommodate the Toronto teams, who were waiting for the Arena Gardens' completion, in the end the league played with only four teams. In that same off-season, the Patrick brothers built two arenas in
VancouverVancouver is a coastal city and major seaport located in the Lower Mainland of southwestern British Columbia, Canada. The city is bounded by English Bay, Burrard Inlet, the Fraser River, the city of Burnaby, and the University Endowment Lands. Vancouver is named after Captain George Vancouver, a...
and
VictoriaVictoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada. Located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island, Victoria is a major tourism destination seeing more than 3.65 million visitors a year who inject more than one billion dollars into the local economy. Victoria is a cruise ship port where...
and formed the
Pacific Coast Hockey AssociationThe 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...
(PCHA). The PCHA exploited the low pay of the NHA teams to raid the teams for players. Quebec would win the league championship, winning its first Stanley Cup, defending it successfully against Moncton. Despite the raids by the PCHA, the NHA allowed a player-organized team of all-stars to play an exhibition series out west against the PCHA after the season. Some of the NHA players, notably
Cyclone TaylorFrederick Wellington "Cyclone" Taylor, OBE, was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward who played for the Ottawa Senators, Renfrew Creamery Kings of the National Hockey Association and the Vancouver Millionaires of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association from 1910 to 1923...
would be enticed to join the PCHA in the following season.
In 1912–13, the two new Toronto teams joined the league, the
TorontosThe Toronto Hockey Club, known as the Torontos and the Toronto Blueshirts were a professional National Hockey Association team that played in Toronto, Ontario, Canada...
, later dubbed the 'Blueshirts' and the
TecumsehsThe Tecumseh Hockey Club, also known as the Toronto Tecumsehs and nicknamed the Indians, were a team in the National Hockey Association in 1912-13. They then became the Toronto Ontarios....
and the league expanded to six teams. Although the PCHA had raided Quebec for three players of its championship squad, they were replaced by top players from the Ontario and Maritime leagues, and Quebec repeated as champions. This year, the Quebec team traveled out west to play the PCHA champion Victoria Aristocrats, in the first series between the two leagues' champion teams.
In 1913-14, the last before World War I, saw a tie between the Torontos and the Canadiens for first place, and the league's first play-off was held. Toronto won the two-game series to win the championship and the first Stanley Cup win by any Toronto team. After the play-off, PCHA champion Victoria came east to play Toronto in a best-of-five series. The series was 'unofficial' as it was not approved by the Stanley Cup trustees, but any controversy was moot as Toronto won the series in three-straight games.
Starting in the
1914–1915The 1914–15 NHA season was the 6th season of the National Hockey Association and played from December 26, 1914 until March 3, 1915. Each team played 20 games....
season, the Stanley Cup was awarded exclusively to the winner of a playoff between the NHA and the
PCHAThe 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...
regular season winners. The league championship was decided by a two-game total goal playoff between the Wanderers and the Senators. Ottawa won the championship, and the right to defend the Cup against
VancouverThe Vancouver Millionaires were a professional ice hockey team that competed in the Pacific Coast Hockey Association and the Western Canada Hockey League between 1911 and 1926...
in a three game series in which Vancouver won in dominating fashion. The notion of a league champion being awarded the Cup to defend ceased with that season, as the
Portland RosebudsThe Portland Rosebuds name was used by two professional men's ice hockey teams based in Portland, Oregon. Both played their home games at the Portland Ice Arena.The first team played in the Pacific Coast Hockey Association from 1914 to 1918...
were the PCHA champions in 1915–1916 but were not automatically accorded the Cup. Instead, they played the Montreal Canadiens for the trophy (and became the first American team to do so), which the Canadiens won in a five game series. However both Ottawa in 1915 and Portland in 1916 engraved their names on the Stanley Cup as well as the eventual champions.
1915-17: World War I and the end of the NHA
The start of World War I meant that players started enlisting for the military to fight overseas. By 1915, World War I and PCHA raiding left the NHA without enough quality players. At first, the NHA and PCHA would make peace with an agreement limiting PCHA signings of NHA players to those on teams designated by a 'draft'. However the peace would not last and disputes within the NHA and with the PCHA would lead to the end of the NHA. Two factions would develop, Toronto and Quebec City, and the Montreal teams and Ottawa.
Prior to the 1915–16 season, Toronto Shamrocks team owner Eddie Livingstone made two moves that infuriated the NHA and the PCHA. At that time Quebec was to be one of the designated NHA teams which the PCHA would draft players from. Livingstone arranged a trade with Quebec to hide some players from the draft, infuriating the PCHA. He bought the Toronto Blueshirts without league permission for its players, and ended up with no players for the Shamrocks team as the PCHA in retaliation raided the Blueshirts for players. The league ordered Livingstone to sell his Shamrocks franchise, but he was unable to do so as he had only enough players for one team. The 1915–16 season was played with only five teams, a situation whereby one team each week would not play, a situation limiting team owner revenues and infuriating the other owners. Instead of two games in Toronto to cover travel expenses from the other cities, there was only one per trip.
In 1916, the league stripped Livingstone of the Shamrocks franchise and fielded a second team in Toronto for the 1916–17 season. The team was composed of hockey players who had enlisted for wartime duty. The team, known as the
228th BattalionThe Toronto 228th Battalion was an ice hockey team, comprised entirely of troops in the 228th Battalion, CEF of the Canadian Army, in the National Hockey Association for the 1916–17 season....
or Northern Fusiliers, played wearing khaki military uniforms and was the league's most popular and highest scoring club until the regiment was ordered overseas in February 1917 and the team was forced to withdraw. A scandal ensued when several stars were subsequently discharged and alleged they had been promised commissions solely to play hockey for the military team. The Battalion dropping out left the league at five teams again. Instead of continuing with five teams, the league suspended the Blueshirts also and dispersed its players to the other clubs and continued with four teams. Livingstone threatened to sue the league over the suspension, infuriating the other owners. The league next made a demand that Livingstone sell the Toronto franchise between April and June 1917. Instead of selling, Livingstone followed through with his threat to sue the NHA.
The season would prove to be the NHA's last. The Montreal-Ottawa faction of owners met in November 1917 to suspend the NHA's operations and then formed the
National Hockey LeagueThe National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league as a joint venture for its self perpetuating membership of 30 franchised member clubs located in the United States and Canada...
so that they could continue the business of pro hockey without Livingstone. Every owner except Livingstone was granted a franchise in the NHL and the NHA contracts transferred. The Toronto players were assigned by the NHL to the new Toronto NHL franchise. The Montreal Wanderers' owner was quoted as saying, "We didn't throw Livingstone out; he's still got his franchise in the old National Hockey Association. He has his team, and we wish him well. The only problem is he's playing in a one-team league." The NHA's organization did not dissolve immediately. The owners had launched a lawsuit against the Battalion to attempt to make the Canadian Army pay $3000 for leaving the league and this had yet to be heard in court. The NHL could operate in the meantime, without Livingstone. The NHL would operate without Quebec City as well.
The NHA's officials met nearly a year later, on September 20, 1918, when a vote was taken to permanently suspend operations over Livingstone's objections. That fall, Livingstone, along with Percy Quinn would attempt to launch a rival "Canadian Hockey Association" (CHA) unsuccessfully. Blocked, Livingstone and Quinn would call a final meeting of the NHA owners on December 11, 1918. The NHL owners, against the wishes of Frank Calder, attended the meeting. Calder considered that an NHA meeting could not proceed with shareholders not having paid legal fees owed the league books held in court for lawsuits. Livingstone's plan was to use the fact that the Canadiens had a minority shareholder, contrary to NHA voting rules, to disallow the Canadiens vote and cause the vote to swing their way and lead to the resumption of the NHA. At first, Lichtenhein refused to recognize Quinn's purchase of the Quebec NHL franchise, but agreed to if Quinn would pay the costs of the meeting itself, which he refused. The meeting ended when the NHL owners offered to pay legal fees owed to the NHA so as to proceed, according to Calder's terms, but Livingstone and Quinn refused. The NHL owners then left the meeting. 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. The NHA organization itself was not formally dissolved for several years afterwards and
Frank CalderFrank Calder was an ice hockey executive, a journalist and athlete. He is most notable for serving as the last president of the National Hockey Association professional league and the first president of its successor, the National Hockey League from 1917 until 1943...
held the presidency in both organizations.
Legacy
The NHA was innovative for its time. The league put forth several innovations, among them the abolition of the rover position in 1912, (a labour-saving measure), the inclusion of numbers on jerseys, the institution of match penalties and allowing line changes on the fly.
The championship trophy of the NHA was the
O'Brien CupThe O'Brien Trophy, or O'Brien Cup, as labelled on the trophy itself, is a retired trophy that was awarded in the the National Hockey Association and the National Hockey League ice hockey leagues of North America from 1910 to 1950. It was originally donated to the NHA by Canadian Senator M.J...
, made of solid silver, donated by the O'Brien family and which survived to become the championship trophy of the NHL. The
Ottawa SenatorsThe Ottawa Senators, officially the Ottawa Hockey Club , was an amateur, later becoming a professional, men's ice hockey team based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada from 1883 to 1954 and a member of the National Hockey League from 1917 to 1934...
joined the league as the reigning
Stanley CupThe Stanley Cup is an ice hockey club cup trophy, awarded annually to the National Hockey League playoffs champion. It has been referred to as The Cup, The Holy Grail, or facetiously as Lord Stanley's Mug...
champions and for the first five seasons of the league the league champions held both the O'Brien and Stanley Cups. The Stanley Cup was then defended against challengers designated by the Stanley Cup trustees.
Season by season record
| Season |
Teams |
Champion |
| 1910 The 1910 NHA season was the first season of the National Hockey Association men's ice hockey league. The season started on January 5, but was suspended immediately and the league then absorbed the Ottawa and Shamrocks teams of the Canadian Hockey Association and the season continued from January 15...
|
Cobalt Silver Kings The Cobalt Silver Kings are a defunct ice hockey club which played in Cobalt, Ontario, Canada from 1906 to 1911, notably during the 1910 NHA season, founding season of the National Hockey Association forerunner of today's National Hockey League...
, Haileybury Comets, Montreal CanadiensThe Montreal Canadiens are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The team is a member of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
, Montreal ShamrocksThe Montreal Shamrocks were an amateur, later professional, men's ice hockey club in existence from 1887 until 1910, merging with the Montreal Crystals club in 1896. They won the Stanley Cup ice hockey championship in 1899 and 1900.-Team History:...
, Montreal WanderersThe Montreal Wanderers were an Canadian amateur, and later becoming a professional men's ice hockey team. The team played in the Federal Amateur Hockey League , the Eastern Canada Amateur Hockey Association , the National Hockey Association and briefly the National Hockey League . The Wanderers...
, Ottawa SenatorsThe Ottawa Senators, officially the Ottawa Hockey Club , was an amateur, later becoming a professional, men's ice hockey team based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada from 1883 to 1954 and a member of the National Hockey League from 1917 to 1934...
†, Renfrew Creamery KingsThe Renfrew Hockey Club, also known as the Creamery Kings and the "Renfrew Millionaires" was a founding franchise in 1909 of the National Hockey Association, the precursor to the National Hockey League...
|
Montreal Wanderers† |
| 1910–11 |
Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Wanderers, Ottawa Senators, Quebec BulldogsThe 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 in...
, Renfrew Creamery Kings |
Ottawa Senators† |
| 1911–12 |
Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Wanderers, Ottawa Senators, Quebec Bulldogs |
Quebec Bulldogs† |
| 1912–13 |
Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Wanderers, Ottawa Senators, Quebec Bulldogs, TorontoThe Toronto Hockey Club, known as the Torontos and the Toronto Blueshirts were a professional National Hockey Association team that played in Toronto, Ontario, Canada...
, Toronto TecumsehsThe Tecumseh Hockey Club, also known as the Toronto Tecumsehs and nicknamed the Indians, were a team in the National Hockey Association in 1912-13. They then became the Toronto Ontarios....
|
Quebec Bulldogs† |
| 1913–14 The 1913–14 NHA season was the sixth season of the National Hockey Association . At the end of the regular season, a tie for first place necessitated a playoff to determine the championship and the Stanley Cup. The Toronto Blueshirts defeated the Montreal Canadiens 6–2 in a two-game, total-goals...
|
Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Wanderers, Ottawa Senators, Quebec Bulldogs, Toronto, Toronto Ontarios The Toronto Ontarios was a professional men's ice hockey team in the National Hockey Association from 1912 to 1915 based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada...
|
Toronto† (won playoff over Canadiens) |
| 1914–15 The 1914–15 NHA season was the 6th season of the National Hockey Association and played from December 26, 1914 until March 3, 1915. Each team played 20 games....
|
Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Wanderers, Ottawa Senators, Quebec Bulldogs, Toronto, Toronto Shamrocks |
Ottawa Senators (won playoff over Wanderers) |
| 1915–16 |
Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Wanderers, Ottawa Senators, Quebec Bulldogs, Toronto |
Montreal Canadiens† |
| 1916–17 |
Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Wanderers, Ottawa Senators, Quebec Bulldogs, Toronto*, Toronto 228th Battalion The Toronto 228th Battalion was an ice hockey team, comprised entirely of troops in the 228th Battalion, CEF of the Canadian Army, in the National Hockey Association for the 1916–17 season....
* |
Montreal Canadiens (won playoff over Ottawa) |
† Stanley Cup Champions. In 1910, both the Wanderers and Senators are considered champions.
*228th Battalion dropped out after first half of season. Toronto was suspended by league after first half.
Team history
| Team |
Years |
Origin |
| Cobalt Silver Kings The Cobalt Silver Kings are a defunct ice hockey club which played in Cobalt, Ontario, Canada from 1906 to 1911, notably during the 1910 NHA season, founding season of the National Hockey Association forerunner of today's National Hockey League...
|
1909–10 |
from TPHL The Timiskaming Professional Hockey League was a minor professional ice hockey league based in the area of Lake Timiskaming, Canada. Founded in 1906, the league is notable for providing teams and Ambrose O'Brien, the founder of the National Hockey Association, which became today's National Hockey...
, returned to TPHL in 1911, NHA franchise bought by Quebec BulldogsThe 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 in...
in 1911 |
| Haileybury Comets |
1909–10 |
from TPHL The Timiskaming Professional Hockey League was a minor professional ice hockey league based in the area of Lake Timiskaming, Canada. Founded in 1906, the league is notable for providing teams and Ambrose O'Brien, the founder of the National Hockey Association, which became today's National Hockey...
, returned to TPHL in 1911. Franchise taken over by Montreal CanadiensThe Montreal Canadiens are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The team is a member of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
. |
| Les Canadiens Les Canadiens was the original name of the Montreal Canadiens Canadian ice hockey team in the National Hockey Association, as used in the 1910 season...
/Montreal CanadiensThe Montreal Canadiens are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The team is a member of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
|
1909–1917 |
new, originally held by O'Brien; taken over by Kennedy after 1910 season, using Haileybury NHA franchise from O'Brien, Les Canadiens franchise suspended and sold in 1912 to Toronto. |
Montreal ShamrocksThe Montreal Shamrocks were an amateur, later professional, men's ice hockey club in existence from 1887 until 1910, merging with the Montreal Crystals club in 1896. They won the Stanley Cup ice hockey championship in 1899 and 1900.-Team History:...
|
1910 |
from ECHA, joined January 1910 |
Montreal WanderersThe Montreal Wanderers were an Canadian amateur, and later becoming a professional men's ice hockey team. The team played in the Federal Amateur Hockey League , the Eastern Canada Amateur Hockey Association , the National Hockey Association and briefly the National Hockey League . The Wanderers...
|
1909–17 |
from ECHA, joined December 1909 |
Ottawa SenatorsThe Ottawa Senators, officially the Ottawa Hockey Club , was an amateur, later becoming a professional, men's ice hockey team based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada from 1883 to 1954 and a member of the National Hockey League from 1917 to 1934...
|
1910–17 |
from ECHA, joined January 1910 |
Quebec BulldogsThe 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 in...
|
1910–17 |
from ECHA, joined December 1910 |
| Renfrew Creamery Kings The Renfrew Hockey Club, also known as the Creamery Kings and the "Renfrew Millionaires" was a founding franchise in 1909 of the National Hockey Association, the precursor to the National Hockey League...
|
1909–11 |
from Federal League, joined December 1909, folded in 1911. Franchise sold to Tecumsehs. |
Toronto, aka Toronto BlueshirtsThe Toronto Hockey Club, known as the Torontos and the Toronto Blueshirts were a professional National Hockey Association team that played in Toronto, Ontario, Canada...
|
1912–17 |
new, franchise bought from O'Brien. |
| Toronto Tecumsehs The Tecumseh Hockey Club, also known as the Toronto Tecumsehs and nicknamed the Indians, were a team in the National Hockey Association in 1912-13. They then became the Toronto Ontarios....
renamed Toronto OntariosThe Toronto Ontarios was a professional men's ice hockey team in the National Hockey Association from 1912 to 1915 based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada...
, 1913–1914
renamed Toronto Shamrocks, 1915 |
1912–16 |
new, franchise bought from O'Brien. |
| Toronto 228th Battalion The Toronto 228th Battalion was an ice hockey team, comprised entirely of troops in the 228th Battalion, CEF of the Canadian Army, in the National Hockey Association for the 1916–17 season....
|
1916–17 |
new, took place of Tecumsehs/Ontarios/Shamrocks for 1916–17 season, composed of professional hockey players in military |
See also
- 1918–19 NHL season
- Stanley Cup
The Stanley Cup is an ice hockey club cup trophy, awarded annually to the National Hockey League playoffs champion. It has been referred to as The Cup, The Holy Grail, or facetiously as Lord Stanley's Mug...
- List of Stanley Cup champions
- O'Brien Cup
The O'Brien Trophy, or O'Brien Cup, as labelled on the trophy itself, is a retired trophy that was awarded in the the National Hockey Association and the National Hockey League ice hockey leagues of North America from 1910 to 1950. It was originally donated to the NHA by Canadian Senator M.J...
- List of pre-NHL seasons
- List of ice hockey leagues
- National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league as a joint venture for its self perpetuating membership of 30 franchised member clubs located in the United States and Canada...