1919–20 NHL season

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1919–20 NHL season
League National Hockey League
Sport Ice hockey
Duration December 23, 1919 – March 13, 1920
Number of games 24
Number of teams 4
Regular season
Top scorer Joe Malone (Quebec)
League
League champions Ottawa Senators
  Runners-up Montreal Canadiens, Toronto St. Patricks
NHL seasons

The 1919–20 NHL season was the third season of the National Hockey League (NHL). A Quebec team was activated by the NHL, increasing the number of teams to four. The four teams played 24 games in a split-schedule format. The Ottawa Senators won the league championship by winning both halves of the split-season. The Senators went on to win the Stanley Cup by defeating the PCHA's Seattle Metropolitans three games to two in a best-of-five series.

League business

The NHL approved the name change of Toronto's franchise to Tecumsehs on December 6, 1919, a previous name of a Toronto franchise in the NHA.[1] Several days later the franchise was transferred from the Arena to private investors, which named the club the Toronto St. Patricks.[2] The group paid $5,000 to the NHL for the franchise.

Since the NHL had cancelled the previous Quebec franchise after Percy Quinn tried to use the franchise to resurrect the NHA, Quebec was without a franchise. By agreement with the NHL franchise's previous owners, a new Quebec franchise was approved on December 16, 1919.[3] Quebec, which did not ice teams in the first two seasons of the NHL, finally iced a team, although they were not successful.

Regular season

Highlights

The Montreal Canadiens had their home opener January 10 in brand new Mount Royal Arena and Newsy Lalonde used the occasion to celebrate with six goals in a 14–7 drubbing of the Toronto St. Patricks. The combined total of 21 goals by both teams set the NHL record.[4]

Jack Darragh of Ottawa had a chance to play in goal when Toronto defeated Ottawa 5–3 on January 24. He took over when Clint Benedict was penalized. He did not surrender any goals during the two minutes.

Despite a dismal record of 2–10 in both halves of the season, the Quebec Athletics' Joe Malone scored seven goals in one game on January 31, 1920.[5] As of, it is still the NHL record for most goals in one game. An eighth goal was disallowed on an off-side call. Malone was later quoted "the thing I recall most vividly is that it was bitterly cold."[4] He nearly equalled the record on March 10 when he scored six goals in a 10–4 win over the Ottawa Senators. Malone led the league in goals with 39. But by surrendering 7.18 goals against per game, a record that stands today, Quebec finished dead last.

With the war now over, players came home and fans were now coming in larger numbers to see games. On February 21, 1920, a record crowd of 8,500 fans came to see Ottawa play Toronto at the Arena Gardens.[5]

Final standings

GP = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against
Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold

First Half GP W L T Pts GF GA
Ottawa Senators 12 9 3 0 18 59 23
Montreal Canadiens 12 8 4 0 16 62 51
Toronto St. Patricks 12 5 7 0 10 52 62
Quebec Bulldogs 12 2 10 0 4 44 81
Second half GP W L T Pts GF GA
Ottawa Senators 12 10 2 0 20 62 41
Toronto St. Patricks 12 7 5 0 14 67 44
Montreal Canadiens 12 5 7 0 10 67 62
Quebec Bulldogs 12 2 10 0 4 47 96

Playoffs

All dates in 1920

Since the Ottawa Senators won both halves of the split regular season, there was no need for an NHL playoff. The Senators were named NHL champions and given a spot in the Stanley Cup championship series. Representing the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA) this year was the Seattle Metropolitans, who battled in a very tight PCHA, where two wins separated its three teams. A problem arose as Seattle's green, red, and white uniforms looked almost alike to Ottawa's black, red, and white uniforms. The Senators agreed to play in white sweaters. The previous year saw the championship played out west. This year, it was played in Ottawa, but with unseasonably warm weather, the final two games were played in Toronto's Arena Gardens.

Stanley Cup Final

Main article: 1920 Stanley Cup Finals

Seattle Metropolitans vs. Ottawa Senators

Date Away Score Home Score Notes
March 22 Seattle Metropolitans 2 Ottawa Senators 3
March 24 Seattle Metropolitans 0 Ottawa Senators 3
March 27 Ottawa Senators 1 Seattle Metropolitans 3
March 30 Ottawa Senators 2 Seattle Metropolitans 5 Played in Toronto
April 1 Seattle Metropolitans 1 Ottawa Senators 6 Played in Toronto

Ottawa wins best-of-five series three games to two to win the Stanley Cup

Awards

Note:

The O'Brien Cup, still considered the championship of the NHA, was not actually awarded in 1920. 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.[6] The Hockey Hall of Fame lists Ottawa as the winner for 1919–20.

Player statistics

Scoring leaders

Player Team GP G A Pts PIM
Joe Malone Quebec Athletics 24 39 10 49 12
Newsy Lalonde Montreal Canadiens 23 37 9 46 34
Frank Nighbor Ottawa Senators 23 26 15 41 18
Corbett Denneny Toronto St. Patricks 24 24 12 36 20
Jack Darragh Ottawa Senators 23 22 14 36 22
Reg Noble Toronto St. Patricks 24 24 9 33 52
Amos Arbour Montreal Canadiens 22 21 5 26 13
Cully Wilson Toronto St. Patricks 23 20 6 26 86
Didier Pitre Montreal Canadiens 22 14 12 26 6
Punch Broadbent Ottawa Senators 21 19 6 25 40

Source: NHL.[7]

Leading goaltenders

Name Team GP Mins W L T GA SO GAA
Clint Benedict Ottawa Senators 24 1443 19 5 0 64 5 2.66
Jake Forbes Toronto St. Patricks 5 300 2 3 0 21 0 4.2
Ivan Mitchell Toronto St. Patricks 16 830 6 7 0 60 0 4.34
Georges Vezina Montreal Canadiens 24 1456 13 11 0 113 0 4.66
Howard Lockhart Toronto,Quebec 8 370 4 3 0 36 0 5.84
Frank Brophy Quebec Athletics 21 1249 3 18 0 148 0 7.11

Source: NHL[8]

Milestones and records

  • January 31 – Quebec Athletics' Joe Malone scores seven goals in one game (record for most goals in one game by a player)[5]
  • March 3 – Montreal Canadiens defeat Quebec Athletics 16–3 (record for most goals by one team)[4]

Debuts

The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1919–20 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs):

Player Team Notability
Babe Dye Toronto St. Patricks Hockey Hall of Fame (1970)

Team Photos

  • Toronto St. Patricks

    Toronto St. Patricks

  • Ottawa Senators

    Ottawa Senators

  • Montreal Canadiens

    Montreal Canadiens

See also

References

  • Coleman, Charles (1966). The Trail of the Stanley Cup, vol. 1, 1893–1926 inc. 
  • (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. 
  • Wong, John Chi-Kit (2005). Lords of the Rinks. University of Toronto Press. ISBN 0-8020-8520-2. 
Notes
  1. ↑ "NHL Drafts Its Schedule", The Globe, December 8, 1919, p. 14. 
  2. ↑ "Tecumseh Club Disposes of Franchise Secured From Arenas", The Globe, p. 12. 
  3. ↑ Wong 2005, p. 78.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Dryden 2000, p. 22.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 McFarlane 1973, p. 29.
  6. ↑ "O'Brien Trophy To Be Given To Ottawa", The Morning Leader, November 17, 1921, p. 14. Retrieved on July 27, 2011. 
  7. ↑ "1919–1920 – Regular Season – Skater – Skater Season Stats Leaders – Points". nhl.com. http://www.nhl.com/ice/historicalstats.htm?season=19191920&gameType=2&team=&position=S&country=. Retrieved June 26, 2012. 
  8. ↑ "1919–20 Regular Season – Goalie Season Stats Leaders". NHL. http://www.nhl.com/ice/historicalstats.htm?season=19191920&gameType=2&team=&position=G&country=. Retrieved December 1, 2011. 


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