1919–20 NHL season

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
Champions Ottawa Senators
  Runners-up Montreal Canadiens, Toronto St. Patricks

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 2012, 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

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 Athletics 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 Athletics 12 2 10 0 4 47 96

[6] Note: 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.

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

Seattle Metropolitans vs. Ottawa Senators

Date Away Score Home Score Notes
March 22Seattle Metropolitans 2Ottawa Senators 3
March 24Seattle Metropolitans 0Ottawa Senators 3
March 27Ottawa Senators 1Seattle Metropolitans 3
March 30Ottawa Senators 2Seattle Metropolitans 5Played in Toronto
April 1Seattle Metropolitans 1Ottawa Senators 6Played 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.[7] The Hockey Hall of Fame lists Ottawa as the winner for 1919–20.

Player statistics

Scoring leaders

GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points, PIM = Penalties In Minutes

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.[8]

Leading goaltenders

GP = Games Played, Mins = Minutes played, GA = Goals Against, SO = Shutouts, GAA = Goals Against Average

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[9]

Milestones and records

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)

Last games

The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1919–20 (listed with their last team):

See also

References

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. 1 2 3 Dryden 2000, p. 22.
  5. 1 2 3 McFarlane 1973, p. 29.
  6. ↑ Standings: NHL Public Relations Department (2008). Dave McCarthy; et al., eds. THE NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE Official Guide & Record Book/2009. National Hockey League. p. 145. ISBN 978-1-894801-14-0.
  7. ↑ "O'Brien Trophy To Be Given To Ottawa". The Morning Leader (Regina, Saskatchewan). November 17, 1921. p. 14. Retrieved July 27, 2011.
  8. ↑ "1919–1920 – Regular Season – Skater – Skater Season Stats Leaders – Points". nhl.com. Retrieved June 26, 2012.
  9. ↑ "1919–20 Regular Season – Goalie Season Stats Leaders". NHL. Retrieved December 1, 2011.
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