Edouard "Newsy" Lalonde (October 31, 1887,
Cornwall, OntarioCornwall is a city in Eastern Ontario, Canada and the seat of the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry, Ontario. Cornwall is Ontario's easternmost city, located on the St...
– November 21, 1970) was a
CanadianCanada 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...
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...
forward in 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...
(NHL) and a professional
lacrosseLacrosse is a team sport of Native American origin that is played using a small solid rubber ball and a long-handled racquet called a crosse or lacrosse stick. The head of the lacrosse stick is strung with loose netting that is designed to hold the lacrosse ball...
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. He played for the
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...
-- considered to be the original "Flying Frenchman" -- in the
National Hockey AssociationThe 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...
and the
NHLThe 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...
. He also played for the
WCHLThe Western Canada Hockey League , founded in 1921, was a major professional ice hockey league originally based in the prairies of Canada. It was renamed the Western Hockey League in 1925 and disbanded in 1926.-History:...
's
Saskatoon SheiksThe Saskatoon Sheiks were a professional ice hockey team in the Western Canada Hockey League and Prairie Hockey League from 1922 to 1928. The team was based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, except for the end of the 1922 season, when they played in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan.The Sheiks entered the WCHL in...
. Before playing professional ice hockey, he worked in a newspaper plant, where he acquired the "Newsy"
monikerA moniker is another term for a nickname, pseudonym, or cognomen. Typically, the title is used as a personal or professional name, instead of the person's given name, for works of art, music, books, or performances. Monikers are commonly used in small subcultures such as in railroad tramping ...
. The image on the right is of Lalonde, in the 1910–11 season and the second version of the Montreal uniform; the "CH" sweater was still almost a decade away.
Early hockey career
In the 1904, Lalonde started his career with the Cornwall Victorias of 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). In 1905, he played for the Woodstock club of the
Ontario Hockey AssociationThe Ontario Hockey Association is the governing body for the majority of Junior and Senior level ice hockey teams in the Province of Ontario. The OHA is sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Federation along with the Northern Ontario Hockey Association. Other Ontario sanctioning bodies along with the...
Senior A League. Lalonde made the trek to
Sault Ste. Marie, OntarioSault Ste. Marie is a city on the St. Marys River in Ontario, Canada. It is the third largest city in Northern Ontario, after Sudbury and Thunder Bay, with a population of 74,948. Residents of the city are called Saultites...
in 1906 to play in the
International Professional Hockey LeagueThe International Professional Hockey League was the first fully professional ice hockey league, operating from 1904 to 1907. It was formed by Jack 'Doc' Gibson, a dentist who played hockey throughout Ontario before settling in Houghton, Michigan. The IPHL was a five team circuit which included...
, hockey's first known professional league. In his one season in the Sault, he was named to the IHL Second All-Star Team. In 1907, Lalonde signed with the Toronto Professionals of the Ontario Professional Hockey League, and with linemates
Bruce RidpathDavid Bruce Ridpath was a Canadian professional ice hockey player and general manager. He was a member of the 1911 Stanley Cup champion Ottawa Senators before an automobile accident ended his playing career....
and Wally Mercer led the "Torontos" to the league championship, losing the Cup in a tight match with 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...
in which Lalonde scored twice.
1910 saw the foundation of the
National Hockey AssociationThe 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), precursor to the NHL, and Lalonde joined the
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...
for their first season and indeed Lalonde scored the first-ever goal for the Montreal Canadiens.
http://bibnum2.bnquebec.ca/bna/patrie/src/1910/01/07/82779_068_0952.pdf Halfway through the season, the Habs traded him to 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...
, with whom Newsy led the league in scoring. He rejoined the Canadiens for the 1911 season -- professional hockey was only then developing any sense of teams retaining the rights to their players -- during which he had several stick battles and provoked the ire of opposing fans.
With the formation of 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) in 1912, Lalonde jumped to the
Vancouver MillionairesThe 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...
, and promptly led the league in scoring its inaugural year. Vancouver traded him back to Montreal the following season for
Didier PitreJoseph 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 the team the nickname the Flying Frenchman, brought upon by his...
. In 1915, Lalonde held out in contract negotiations, only playing six games, but aside from that, he remained with the Canadiens for the next ten years, winning the NHL scoring title again in 1916 and captaining the Canadiens to his only
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...
victory.
NHL/WCHL career
Newsy Lalonde played (and scored) in the first-ever NHL game on December 19th, 1917, when the Montreal Canadiens defeated 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...
, 7–4. He would score in each of the first six NHL games, earning a share of an NHL record with
Cy DennenyCyril Joseph "Cy" 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.Cy Denneny's professional playing career began prior to the formation of the NHL...
and
Joe MaloneMaurice Joseph "Phantom Joe" Malone was a professional ice hockey centre who played in the National Hockey Association and National Hockey League. He was notable for his scoring feats and his clean play...
to establish an NHL record that would go unmatched for nearly 90 years. (The record was tied by
Evgeni MalkinEvgeni Malkin is a Russian professional ice hockey player...
of the
Pittsburgh PenguinsThe Pittsburgh Penguins are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League and are the defending Stanley Cup champions. The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the first...
on November 1, 2006.)
During the 1919
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...
playoffs, Lalonde scored a spectacular seventeen goals in ten games. However, the series was cancelled after five games, due to the Stanley Cup flu epidemic. The final game was never played, because
Joe HallJoseph Henry "Joe" 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...
, Manager Kennedy,
Billy CoutuWilfrid "Billy" Arthur Coutu was a professional Canadian ice hockey defenceman who played 10 seasons in the National Hockey League for the Montreal Canadiens, the Hamilton Tigers, and the Boston Bruins...
, Jack McDonald, Louis Berlinguette and Lalonde were hospitalized with influenza, leading the Cup trustees to call off the series. Joe Hall did not survive.
There after Lalonde had two fine years, but after the sale of the Canadiens to
Leo DandurandJoseph Viatuer "Léo" Dandurand , was a sportsman and businessman. He was the owner and coach of the Montreal Canadiens ice hockey team in the National Hockey League...
, his clashes with the new ownership affected his play to the point where he left the team for four games, and he was relegated to reserve duty amidst the boos of the fans. Accordingly, Dandurand sold Lalonde to Saskatoon the following year in violation of the waiver regulations then in force. The deal was disputed, and eventually -- and grudgingly -- the Canadiens accepted the amateur
Aurel JoliatAurèle Émile "Mighty Atom, Little Giant" Joliat was a Canadian professional ice hockey left winger who played 16 seasons in the National Hockey League for the Montreal Canadiens.-Playing career:...
in compensation. ( When Lalonde and Joliat met later that season, Lalonde,unhappy that Joliat was fast becoming a fan favorite in Montreal, got his "revenge" by serving Joliat with a vicious crosscheck to the face. )
On a line with future Hall of Famer
Bill CookWilliam Osser Xavier Cook was a Canadian professional ice hockey right winger who played for the New York Rangers in the National Hockey League and Saskatoon Crescents in the Pacific Coast Hockey Association.Bill was part of the Bread Line with his brother Bun Cook and Frank Boucher...
, Lalonde achieved his final scoring title as playing coach of the Sheiks, although the team had a poor overall record. The next two seasons the team was much improved, but Lalonde himself was finally feeling his age and was no longer an impact player. He scored the final goal of his career on March 2, 1925, against Vancouver. The following season he played three regular season games and two playoff games, the last for the Saskatoon franchise before the
Western Hockey LeagueThe Western Hockey League is a Major Junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Pacific Northwest of the United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitute the Canadian Hockey League as the highest level of junior hockey in Canada...
folded.
The following season, 1927, Lalonde was named the head coach of the
New York AmericansThe New York Americans were a professional ice hockey team based in New York, New York, the third expansion team in the history of the National Hockey League and the second to play in the United States. The team never won the Stanley Cup championship...
. He played as a substitute for one final game in November 1926 before hanging up his skates for good. After his retirement, he also served as the head coach of 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...
between 1929 and 1931, and of the Canadiens between 1932 and 1935.
Lacrosse career
Although Lalonde is best-remembered today as a hockey player, he was just as prominent in lacrosse, which in the early years of the 20th century was one of the most popular professional sports in Canada. Lalonde earned more in lacrosse than he did in hockey. He started play in 1905 as a goaltender, but moved to the attack position in 1910, becoming the sport's greatest star. He would break the scoring record for his Montreal team in 1910 with 31 goals. In 1912, he was signed to be player-manager of the Toronto Lacrosse Club, but almost immediately changed his mind and joined the exodus of players heading west for big contracts. He was signed by Con Jones to play for
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...
for $5,500 for one season. In comparison, as a hockey player, his salary in 1910–11 for the Montreal Canadiens was $1,300, which was considered high for the time. As late as 1920 he couldn't get more than $2,000 a year playing hockey. Lalonde scored an incredible 66 goals for the Montreal Nationals in 1914. His final full season was in 1917, but played a handful of games the following year to end his lacrosse career.
Assessment
A leading scorer for the Canadiens in six years, he served as captain from 1915 to 1921. He was a member of the first Montreal Canadiens team to win the Stanley Cup in 1916. He was scoring champion seven times in the
National Hockey AssociationThe 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...
,
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...
,
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...
and
Western Hockey LeagueThe Western Hockey League is a Major Junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Pacific Northwest of the United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitute the Canadian Hockey League as the highest level of junior hockey in Canada...
, an unprecedented feat in the major professional ranks and unsurpassed until
Wayne GretzkyWayne Douglas Gretzky, CC is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey player. He is currently a part-owner of the Phoenix Coyotes of the National Hockey League...
's tenth scoring title in 1994. From 1910 to 1954, he held the record for the most goals scored by a major league hockey player, including his pre-NHL totals -- 455 goals, a record later broken by Maurice Richard. On a more personal level, he was said to have been one of the meanest players of his time; hated by opposition players and even by some of his teammates. As a coach, he once punched one of his players who tried to stand up to him, as a warning to the team, that he wouldn't take any talk-back.
In 1950, he was named athlete of the half century in lacrosse. He was also elected to the
Hockey Hall of FameThe Hockey Hall of Fame is located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dedicated to the history of ice hockey, it is both a museum and a hall of fame. It holds exhibits about players, teams, National Hockey League records, memorabilia and NHL trophies, including the Stanley Cup...
in 1950, the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 1965, and the Sports Hall of Fame of Canada. He had lit the torch when the Sports Hall of Fame opened in Toronto in August, 1955.
In 1998 he was ranked number 32 on
The Hockey NewsThe Hockey News, commonly abbrieviated to THN, is a North American ice hockey magazine published by Transcontinental. The Hockey News was founded in 1947 by Ken McKenzie and Bill Côté, and has since been perhaps the most recognized hockey publication in North America...
list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players, making him the highest-ranking player on the list who had played in a professional league before the founding of the NHL.
Career statistics
| |
|
Regular season |
|
Playoffs |
| Season In an organized sports league, a season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session. For example, in Major League Baseball, one season lasts approximately from April 1st through October 1st; in European football , it is generally from August until May In an...
|
Team |
League |
GP |
G A goal in ice hockey provides a team with one point. Unlike in American football, where a touchdown is scored if any part of the football crosses any part of the goal line, in ice hockey the entire puck must completely cross the goal line for a goal to be awarded.-Method of scoring:The object of...
|
A 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 Point in ice hockey has three official meanings:* A point is awarded to a player who either scores a goal or earns an assist during a game. 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...
|
PIMA 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...
|
GP |
G |
A |
Pts |
PIM |
| 1909–10 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...
|
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...
|
NHAThe 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...
|
6 |
16 |
0 |
16 |
40 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
| 1909–10 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...
|
Renfrew Millionaires |
NHA |
5 |
22 |
0 |
22 |
16 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
| 1910–11 |
Montreal Canadiens |
NHA |
16 |
19 |
0 |
19 |
63 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
| 1911–12 The 1912 PCHA season was the first season of the now defunct men's professional ice hockey Pacific Coast Hockey Association league, which was founded on December 7, 1911. Season play ran from January 2, 1912 until March 19. Teams were to play a 16 game schedule, but one game was cancelled. The New...
|
Vancouver MillionairesThe 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...
|
PCHA 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...
|
15 |
27 |
0 |
27 |
51 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
| 1912–13 |
Montreal Canadiens |
NHA |
18 |
28 |
7 |
35 |
61 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
| 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 |
NHA |
18 |
25 |
0 |
25 |
61 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
| 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 |
NHA |
7 |
4 |
3 |
7 |
17 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
| 1915–16 |
Montreal Canadiens |
NHA |
24 |
28 |
6 |
34 |
78 |
4 |
3 |
0 |
3 |
41 |
| 1916–17 |
Montreal Canadiens |
NHA |
18 |
28 |
7 |
35 |
61 |
5 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
47 |
| 1917–18 |
Montreal Canadiens |
NHLThe 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...
|
14 |
23 |
0 |
23 |
16 |
2 |
4 |
2 |
6 |
17 |
| 1918–19 |
Montreal Canadiens |
NHL |
17 |
22 |
10 |
32 |
40 |
5 |
11 |
2 |
13 |
15 |
| 1919–20 |
Montreal Canadiens |
NHL |
23 |
37 |
9 |
46 |
34 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
| 1920–21 |
Montreal Canadiens |
NHL |
24 |
33 |
10 |
43 |
36 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
| 1921–22 |
Montreal Canadiens |
NHL |
20 |
9 |
5 |
14 |
20 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
| 1922–23 |
Saskatoon Crescents |
WCHL The Western Canada Hockey League , founded in 1921, was a major professional ice hockey league originally based in the prairies of Canada. It was renamed the Western Hockey League in 1925 and disbanded in 1926.-History:...
|
29 |
30 |
4 |
34 |
44 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
| 1923–24 |
Saskatoon Crescents |
WCHL |
21 |
10 |
10 |
20 |
24 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
| 1924–25 |
Saskatoon Sheiks The Saskatoon Sheiks were a professional ice hockey team in the Western Canada Hockey League and Prairie Hockey League from 1922 to 1928. The team was based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, except for the end of the 1922 season, when they played in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan.The Sheiks entered the WCHL in...
|
WCHL |
22 |
8 |
6 |
14 |
42 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
| 1925–26 |
Saskatoon Sheiks |
WCHL |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
| 1926–27 |
New York AmericansThe New York Americans were a professional ice hockey team based in New York, New York, the third expansion team in the history of the National Hockey League and the second to play in the United States. The team never won the Stanley Cup championship...
|
NHL |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
| 1927–28 |
Quebec Beavers |
CAHL The Canadian-American Hockey League existed from 1926 until the 1936. Following the 1935-36 season the CAHL merged with the original International Hockey League to form the International-American Hockey League for the 1936 season...
|
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
| NHL totals |
98 |
124 |
34 |
158 |
138 |
7 |
15 |
4 |
19 |
32 |
External links