1931–32 NHL season

1931–32 NHL season
League	National Hockey League
Sport	Ice hockey
Duration	November 12, 1931 – April 9, 1932
Number of games	48
Number of teams	8
Regular season
Season champions	Toronto Maple Leafs
Season MVP	Howie Morenz (Montreal Canadiens)
Top scorer	Busher Jackson (Toronto Maple Leafs)
Canadian Division champions	Montreal Canadiens
American Division champions	New York Rangers
Stanley Cup
Finals champions	Toronto Maple Leafs
Runners-up	New York Rangers
NHL seasons
← 1930–31 1932–33 →

The 1931–32 NHL season was the 15th season of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Ottawa Senators and Philadelphia Quakers suspended operations, leaving eight teams to play 48 games each. In the Stanley Cup final, the Toronto Maple Leafs swept the New York Rangers in three games to win the franchise's third Stanley Cup championship.

League business

At the September 26, 1931, NHL meeting, the requests of the Philadelphia Quakers and the Ottawa Senators to suspend their franchises for the season were granted. The eight remaining teams divided up the Ottawa and Philadelphia players, whose contracts were leased from Ottawa and Philadelphia. (The Quakers would not return) The players went to other teams, but their contracts were intended to revert to the original clubs. Ottawa received an offer of $300,000 for the team, on the condition that it could move to Chicago and play in the new Chicago Stadium but the owners of the Chicago Blackhawks refused to allow the new team within their territory. The Detroit Falcons were bankrupt and went into receivership.

Meanwhile, the American Hockey Association, which had become the American Hockey League (AHL) in 1930–31 and declared itself a major league, was condemned as an outlaw league by NHL president Frank Calder. Among the reasons Calder cited for his actions was that the AHL had put a franchise in Chicago, which had an NHL franchise, and a franchise in Buffalo where the NHL had a minor league affiliate. The AHL proposed as Stanley Cup challenge, and the Stanley Cup trustees ordered the NHL to play off. However, the Buffalo team collapsed and Calder entered into negotiations to merge the Chicago Shamrocks, owned by James Norris, with the Detroit Falcons, now bankrupt. The AHL signed an agreement with the NHL to become its minor league affiliate.

Regular season

Howie Morenz was as effective as ever for the Montreal Canadiens and won the Hart Trophy again, as the Habs once again finished first. The Rangers finished first in the American Division. But it was to be the year of Toronto, with the NHL's leading scorer Harvey "Busher" Jackson leading the way. The Maple Leaf Gardens was built and opened in November 1931, a remarkable achievement. At one point, the whole project was near collapse, but when Conn Smythe and Frank Selke convinced the unions to accept stock in the Gardens as partial payment of wages, Maple Leaf Gardens was built. Chicago spoiled the home opener with a 2–1 win and it was the Black Hawks Mush March who scored the Gardens first goal.

The Montreal Maroons were very interested in obtaining Eddie Shore from Boston. James Strachan, president of the Maroons, said he was willing to pay up to $40,000 for his contract. However, there was no deal. As Boston had fallen to the bottom of the league, it was doubtful that the Bruins would part with their ace defenceman.

Final standings

Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, PIM = Penalties in minutes
Note: Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in green.

Canadian Division	GP	W	L	T	Pts	GF	GA	PIM
Montreal Canadiens	48	25	16	7	57	128	111	450
Toronto Maple Leafs	48	23	18	7	53	155	127	625
Montreal Maroons	48	19	22	7	45	142	139	593
New York Americans	48	16	24	8	40	95	142	596

American Division	GP	W	L	T	Pts	GF	GA	PIM
New York Rangers	48	23	17	8	54	134	112	511
Chicago Black Hawks	48	18	19	11	47	86	101	464
Detroit Falcons	48	18	20	10	46	95	108	415
Boston Bruins	48	15	21	12	42	122	117	373

Playoffs

The Montreal Canadiens were favored for a third straight Cup, but injuries to Pit Lepine and Aurel Joliat dashed that dream. With Joliat half throttle and Lepine out, the Canadiens were no match for the speedy Rangers. Toronto broke through Chuck Gardiner's goaltending to polish Chicago off, then they beat the Montreal Maroons.

First round

Montreal Canadiens vs. New York Rangers Date Away Team Home Team Notes March 24 NY Rangers 3 4 Mtl. Canadiens March 26 NY Rangers 4 3 Mtl. Canadiens 3OT March 27 Mtl. Canadiens 0 1 NY Rangers March 30 Mtl. Canadiens 2 5 NY Rangers NY Rangers won the series 3-1 and advanced to the final.

Chicago Blackhawks vs. Toronto Maple Leafs Date Away Team Home Team March 27 Toronto 0 1 Chicago March 29 Chicago 1 6 Toronto Toronto won the series 6-2 in total goals.

Detroit Red Wings vs. Montreal Maroons Date Away Team Home Team March 27 Mtl. Maroons 1 1 Detroit March 29 Detroit 0 2 Mtl. Maroons Mtl. Maroons won the series 3-1 in total goals.

Second round

Montreal Maroons vs. Toronto Maple Leafs Date Away Team Home Team Notes March 30 Toronto 1 1 Mtl. Maroons April 2 Mtl. Maroons 2 3 Toronto OT Toronto won the series 4-3 in total goals.

Finals

The Toronto Maple Leafs swept the best-of-five series against the New York Rangers three games to none. The first two games were to be played in New York City but because the circus was in town, the second game was played in Boston. The third and final game was played in Toronto. It was called the "Tennis Series", because the Leafs scored 6 goals in each game. The Rangers scored 4 times in their own building, twice at Boston Garden, and four more in Toronto.

Toronto Maple Leafs vs. New York Rangers

Date	Away	Score	Home	Score	Notes
April 5	Toronto Maple Leafs	6	New York Rangers	4
April 7	Toronto Maple Leafs	6	New York Rangers	2	(played in Boston)
April 9	New York Rangers	4	Toronto Maple Leafs	6

Toronto wins best-of-five series 3–0.

Awards

1931–32 NHL awards
O'Brien Cup: (Canadian Division champion)	Montreal Canadiens
Prince of Wales Trophy: (American Division champion)	New York Rangers
Hart Trophy: (Most valuable player)	Howie Morenz, Montreal Canadiens
Lady Byng Trophy: (Excellence and sportsmanship)	Joe Primeau, Toronto Maple Leafs
Vezina Trophy: (Fewest goals allowed)	Chuck Gardiner, Chicago Black Hawks

Player statistics

Leading scorers

Note: GP = Games played, G = Goals, A = Assists, PTS = Points, PIM = Penalties in minutes

Player	Team	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Busher Jackson	Toronto Maple Leafs	48	28	25	53	63
Joe Primeau	Toronto Maple Leafs	46	13	37	50	25
Howie Morenz	Montreal Canadiens	48	24	25	49	46
Charlie Conacher	Toronto Maple Leafs	44	34	14	48	66
Bill Cook	New York Rangers	48	34	14	48	33
Dave Trottier	Montreal Maroons	48	26	18	44	94
Hooley Smith	Montreal Maroons	43	11	33	44	49
Babe Siebert	Montreal Maroons	48	21	18	39	64
Dit Clapper	Boston Bruins	48	17	22	39	21
Aurel Joliat	Montreal Canadiens	48	15	24	39	46

Source: NHL.

Leading goaltenders

Note: GP = Games played; Mins = Minutes played; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average

Player	Team	GP	W	L	T	Mins	GA	SO	GAA
Charlie Gardiner	Chicago Black Hawks	48	18	19	11	2989	92	4	1.85
Alec Connell	Detroit Falcons	48	18	20	10	3050	108	6	2.12
George Hainsworth	Montreal Canadiens	48	25	16	7	2998	110	6	2.20
John Ross Roach	New York Rangers	48	23	17	8	3020	112	9	2.23
Tiny Thompson	Boston Bruins	43	13	19	11	2698	103	9	2.29
Lorne Chabot	Toronto Maple Leafs	44	22	16	6	2698	106	4	2.36

Source: NHL.

Team Photos

• 

  Boston Bruins

• 

  Chicago Black Hawks

• 

  Detroit Falcons

• 

  Montreal Canadiens

• 

  Montreal Maroons

• 

  New York Rangers

• 

  Toronto Maple Leafs

References

• (2000) in Diamond, Dan: Total Hockey. Total Sports. ISBN 1-892129-85-X. 
• (2011) The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. ISBN 978-1-894801-22-5. 
• (2000) Century of hockey. Toronto, ON: McClelland & Stewart Ltd.. ISBN 0-7710-4179-9. 
• (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. 

Notes

External links

• Hockey Database
• NHL.com

National Hockey League seasons

1917–18 - 1918–19 - 1919–20 - 1920–21 - 1921–22 - 1922–23 - 1923–24 - 1924–25 - 1925–26 - 1926–27 - 1927–28 - 1928–29 - 1929–30 - 1930–31 - 1931–32 - 1932–33 - 1933–34 - 1934–35 - 1935–36 - 1936–37 - 1937–38 - 1938–39 - 1939–40 - 1940–41 - 1941–42 - 1942–43 - 1943–44 - 1944–45 - 1945–46 - 1946–47 - 1947–48 - 1948–49 - 1949–50 - 1950–51 - 1951–52 - 1952–53 - 1953–54 - 1954–55 - 1955–56 - 1956–57 - 1957–58 - 1958–59 - 1959–60 - 1960–61 - 1961–62 - 1962–63 - 1963–64 - 1964–65 - 1965–66 - 1966–67 - 1967–68 - 1968–69 - 1969–70 - 1970–71 - 1971–72 - 1972–73 - 1973–74 - 1974–75 - 1975–76 - 1976–77 - 1977–78 - 1978–79 - 1979–80 - 1980–81 - 1981–82 - 1982–83 - 1983–84 - 1984–85 - 1985–86 - 1986–87 - 1987–88 - 1988–89 - 1989–90 - 1990–91 - 1991–92 - 1992–93 - 1993–94 - 1994–95 - 1995–96 - 1996–97 - 1997–98 - 1998–99 - 1999–00 - 2000–01 - 2001–02 - 2002–03 - 2003–04 - 2004–05 - 2005–06 - 2006–07 - 2007–08 - 2008–09 - 2009–10 - 2010–11 - 2011–12 - 2012–13 - 2013–14 - 2014–15 - 2015–16 - 2016–17 - 2017–18 - 2018–19 - 2019–20 - 2020–21 - 2021–22 - 2022–23 - 2023–24

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