1943–44 Montreal Canadiens season

The 1943–44 Montreal Canadiens season was the club's 35th season, 27th in the National Hockey League (NHL). The team would win the Stanley Cup for the fifth time. Bill Durnan would join the club as its new goaltender and he won the Vezina Trophy in his rookie season.^[1]

Offseason

At the Habs' training camp in 1943, Canadiens manager Tommy Gorman settled on Durnan as his goalie. Durnan stated that he was happy as an amateur and happy with less money if it meant avoiding the stress of the professional game. On opening night, Durnan was not yet signed. Ten minutes before the first faceoff, he spoke with Gorman and reached a deal. Durnan signed the contract and played in the game. The result was a 2–2 draw with the Boston Bruins. The rookie netminder was a few months shy of his 27th birthday.^[2]

Regular season

Some of Durnan’s teammates included the Punch Line of Elmer Lach, Rocket Richard and Toe Blake. Durnan was a key element that took Montreal back to the Stanley Cup after 13 years of frustration. Durnan led the league in games played, wins and goals-against average in the regular season.^[2]

Final standings

National Hockey League^[3]
		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	DIFF	Pts
1	Montreal Canadiens	50	38	5	7	234	109	+125	83
2	Detroit Red Wings	50	26	18	6	214	177	+37	58
3	Toronto Maple Leafs	50	23	23	4	214	174	+40	50
4	Chicago Black Hawks	50	22	23	5	178	187	−9	49
5	Boston Bruins	50	19	26	5	223	268	−45	43
6	New York Rangers	50	6	39	5	162	310	−148	17

Schedule and results

Regular season results
No.	R	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
1	T	October 30, 1943	2–2	Boston Bruins (1943–44)	0–0–1
2	W	November 2, 1943	2–1	New York Rangers (1943–44)	1–0–1
3	W	November 4, 1943	5–3	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1943–44)	2–0–1
4	W	November 7, 1943	5–1	Chicago Black Hawks (1943–44)	3–0–1
5	W	November 13, 1943	4–1	Detroit Red Wings (1943–44)	4–0–1
6	W	November 14, 1943	2–0	@ Detroit Red Wings (1943–44)	5–0–1
7	T	November 16, 1943	2–2	@ Boston Bruins (1943–44)	5–0–2
8	W	November 18, 1943	5–2	Toronto Maple Leafs (1943–44)	6–0–2
9	W	November 20, 1943	7–2	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1943–44)	7–0–2
10	W	November 21, 1943	13–4	Boston Bruins (1943–44)	8–0–2
11	W	November 27, 1943	6–3	New York Rangers (1943–44)	9–0–2
12	T	November 28, 1943	2–2	@ New York Rangers (1943–44)	9–0–3
13	W	December 2, 1943	6–2	Chicago Black Hawks (1943–44)	10–0–3
14	W	December 4, 1943	8–2	Detroit Red Wings (1943–44)	11–0–3
15	L	December 5, 1943	4–5	@ Boston Bruins (1943–44)	11–1–3
16	L	December 11, 1943	2–4	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1943–44)	11–2–3
17	W	December 12, 1943	5–1	@ Detroit Red Wings (1943–44)	12–2–3
18	W	December 19, 1943	3–1	Boston Bruins (1943–44)	13–2–3
19	W	December 25, 1943	5–1	Chicago Black Hawks (1943–44)	14–2–3
20	W	December 30, 1943	8–3	Detroit Red Wings (1943–44)	15–2–3
21	W	January 1, 1944	4–0	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1943–44)	16–2–3
22	W	January 2, 1944	5–2	@ Detroit Red Wings (1943–44)	17–2–3
23	W	January 4, 1944	6–3	Toronto Maple Leafs (1943–44)	18–2–3
24	W	January 8, 1944	8–2	New York Rangers (1943–44)	19–2–3
25	W	January 9, 1944	6–5	@ New York Rangers (1943–44)	20–2–3
26	L	January 11, 1944	0–5	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1943–44)	20–3–3
27	T	January 13, 1944	2–2	Detroit Red Wings (1943–44)	20–3–4
28	T	January 16, 1944	1–1	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1943–44)	20–3–5
29	W	January 22, 1944	6–2	Boston Bruins (1943–44)	21–3–5
30	W	January 23, 1944	4–1	@ Boston Bruins (1943–44)	22–3–5
31	T	January 27, 1944	2–2	Toronto Maple Leafs (1943–44)	22–3–6
32	W	January 30, 1944	5–3	@ New York Rangers (1943–44)	23–3–6
33	W	February 5, 1944	6–1	Chicago Black Hawks (1943–44)	24–3–6
34	L	February 8, 1944	0–3	@ Boston Bruins (1943–44)	24–4–6
35	W	February 12, 1944	3–2	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1943–44)	25–4–6
36	T	February 13, 1944	2–2	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1943–44)	25–4–7
37	W	February 17, 1944	3–2	@ Detroit Red Wings (1943–44)	26–4–7
38	W	February 19, 1944	5–2	New York Rangers (1943–44)	27–4–7
39	W	February 20, 1944	7–2	@ New York Rangers (1943–44)	28–4–7
40	W	February 24, 1944	3–1	Toronto Maple Leafs (1943–44)	29–4–7
41	W	February 26, 1944	10–2	Boston Bruins (1943–44)	30–4–7
42	W	February 27, 1944	5–1	@ Detroit Red Wings (1943–44)	31–4–7
43	W	March 4, 1944	5–2	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1943–44)	32–4–7
44	W	March 5, 1944	8–3	Toronto Maple Leafs (1943–44)	33–4–7
45	W	March 9, 1944	3–2	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1943–44)	34–4–7
46	W	March 11, 1944	4–3	Detroit Red Wings (1943–44)	35–4–7
47	L	March 12, 1944	5–6	@ Boston Bruins (1943–44)	35–5–7
48	W	March 16, 1944	3–2	Chicago Black Hawks (1943–44)	36–5–7
49	W	March 18, 1944	11–2	New York Rangers (1943–44)	37–5–7
50	W	March 19, 1944	6–1	@ New York Rangers (1943–44)	38–5–7

^[4]

Playoffs

In the Stanley Cup playoffs, Durnan allowed only 1.53 goals per game as the Canadiens skated to the title. At season’s end, Durnan was awarded the Vezina Trophy, the first rookie to win the award, and was selected to the league's First All-Star Team.^[2]

Semi-final: Montreal vs. Toronto

Rocket Richard scored seven goals in the series, including all five for Montreal in game two. After giving up the first game at home to Toronto, Montreal took over, winning the next four, finishing the series with an 11–0 shellacking in game five.

Date	Away	Score	Home	Score
March 21	Toronto	3	Montreal	1
March 23	Toronto	1	Montreal	5
March 25	Montreal	2	Toronto	1
March 28	Montreal	4	Toronto	1
March 30	Toronto	0	Montreal	11

^[5]

Stanley Cup Final: Montreal vs. Chicago

Main article: 1944 Stanley Cup Finals

Maurice 'Rocket' Richard made his Stanley Cup debut with a five goal performance in the series, including a hat-trick in game two. The Punch Line of Richard, Elmer Lach and Toe Blake scored 10 of the Canadiens 16 goals. Blake scored the Cup winner in overtime. In the same overtime, Bill Durnan stopped the first penalty shot awarded in the finals, awarded to Virgil Johnson.

Date	Away	Score	Home	Score	Notes
April 4	Chicago	1	Montreal	5
April 6	Montreal	3	Chicago	1
April 9	Montreal	3	Chicago	2
April 13	Chicago	4	Montreal	5	OT

^[6] Montreal wins best-of-seven series 4–0.

Player statistics

Regular season

Scoring

Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Lach, ElmerElmer Lach	C	48	24	48	72	23
Blake, ToeToe Blake	LW	41	26	33	59	10
Richard, MauriceMaurice Richard	RW	46	32	22	54	45
O'Connor, BuddyBuddy O'Connor	C	44	12	42	54	6
Getliffe, RayRay Getliffe	C/LW	44	28	25	53	44
Watson, PhilPhil Watson	RW/C	44	17	32	49	61
Heffernan, GerryGerry Heffernan	RW	43	28	20	48	12
Chamberlain, MurphMurph Chamberlain	LW	47	15	32	47	85
Majeau, FernFern Majeau	C/LW	44	20	18	38	39
Lamoureux, LeoLeo Lamoureux	C/D	44	8	23	31	32
Fillion, BobBob Fillion	LW	41	7	23	30	14
McMahon, MikeMike McMahon	D	42	7	17	24	98
Harmon, GlenGlen Harmon	D	43	5	16	21	36
Bouchard, ButchButch Bouchard	D	39	5	14	19	52
Campeau, TodTod Campeau	C	2	0	0	0	0
Durnan, BillBill Durnan	G	50	0	0	0	0
Walton, BobbyBobby Walton	C/RW	4	0	0	0	0

Goaltending

Player	MIN	GP	W	L	T	GA	GAA	SO
Durnan, BillBill Durnan	3000	50	38	5	7	109	2.18	2
Team:	3000	50	38	5	7	109	2.18	2

Playoffs

Scoring

Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Blake, ToeToe Blake	LW	9	7	11	18	2
Richard, MauriceMaurice Richard	RW	9	12	5	17	10
Lach, ElmerElmer Lach	C	9	2	11	13	4
Getliffe, RayRay Getliffe	C/LW	9	5	4	9	16
Chamberlain, MurphMurph Chamberlain	LW	9	5	3	8	12
Watson, PhilPhil Watson	RW/C	9	3	5	8	16
Bouchard, ButchButch Bouchard	D	9	1	3	4	4
Harmon, GlenGlen Harmon	D	9	1	2	3	4
Heffernan, GerryGerry Heffernan	RW	7	1	2	3	8
McMahon, MikeMike McMahon	D	8	1	2	3	16
O'Connor, BuddyBuddy O'Connor	C	8	1	2	3	2
Lamoureux, LeoLeo Lamoureux	C/D	9	0	3	3	8
Durnan, BillBill Durnan	G	9	0	0	0	0
Fillion, BobBob Fillion	LW	3	0	0	0	0
Majeau, FernFern Majeau	C/LW	1	0	0	0	0

Goaltending

Player	MIN	GP	W	L	GA	GAA	SO
Durnan, BillBill Durnan	549	9	8	1	14	1.53	1
Team:	549	9	8	1	14	1.53	1

^[7]

Note:

Pos = Position; GPI = Games played in; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes; +/- = Plus/minus; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals

Min, TOI = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T,T/OT = Ties; OTL = Overtime losses; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; SV = Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;

Awards and records

Bill Durnan, Vezina Trophy
Bill Durnan, NHL First Team All-Star
Emile "Butch" Bouchard, Defense, NHL Second Team All-Star
Elmer Lach, Centre, NHL Second Team All-Star
Maurice Richard, Right Wing, NHL Second Team All-Star
Dick Irvin, Coach, NHL First Team All-Star

Montreal Canadiens 1944 Stanley Cup champions

Roster

Centres

Wingers

Defencemen

Goaltenders

1 Bill Durnan

Coaching and administrative staff

Donat Raymond (President/Owner), Dalton Coleman (Vice President/Owner)
Leonard (Len) Peto (Director), Tommy Gorman (Manager)
Dick Irvin Sr, (Coach)
Ernie Cook (Trainer)&, Hector Dubois (Ass’t Trainer)&.

Stanley Cup engraving

Trainer Ernie Cook and Hector Dubois were included on the team picture in 1944, 1946. However, their names were not engraved on the Cup. When the Stanley Cup was redesigned during the 1957–58 season Cook was added to cup in 1944, but not to 1946 team. Dubois would later have his name on the Stanley Cup 6 times 1953–56–57–58–59–60.
In 1944 Tommy Gorman became the only Manager to win 4 Stanley Cup with 4 different teams. 1920–21–23 Ottawa Senators, 1934 Chicago Black Hawks, 1935 Montreal Maroons and 1944 Montreal Canadiens. He would retire as a champion, after winning one more cup with the Canadiens in 1946.

Spelling mistakes

Bill Durnan's name was misspelled as BILL DURMAN. The first "N" was engraved as a "M". The mistake was corrected in 1992–93 when the Replica Cup was created.
Gerald "Gerry" Heffernan won only 1 Stanley Cup in his career in 1944. However, his name is spelled differently on each of the rings that included the 1944 Montreal Canadiens.
On the original ring in 1944 as GERALD HEFFERNAN
On the Redesigned ring created during 1957–58 season as JERRY HEFFERNAN
On the Replica ring created in 1992–93 as GERRY HEFFERNAN

References

Canadiens on Hockey Database
Diamond, Dan, ed. (2008). 2008 Playoff Media Guide:Total Stanley Cup. NHL.

↑ http://habslegends.blogspot.com/2006/05/bill-durnan.html
1 2 3 http://www.legendsofhockey.net/LegendsOfHockey/jsp/LegendsMember.jsp?mem=p196402&type=Player&page=bio&list=#photo
↑ "1943–1944 Division Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". National Hockey League.
↑ "1943–44 Montreal Canadiens Games". Hockey-reference.com. Retrieved 2009-06-04.
↑ Diamond(2008), p. 54
↑ Diamond(2008), pp. 54–55
↑ "1943-44 Montreal Canadiens Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved 2009-05-28.

Montreal Canadiens

Founded in 1909
Based in Montreal, Quebec

Franchise

History

Personnel

Owners: Molson family (Geoff Molson, chairman)
General manager: Marc Bergevin
Head coach: Michel Therrien
Team captain: Max Pacioretty
Current roster

Arenas

Rivalries

Affiliates

AHL: St. John's IceCaps

ECHL: Brampton Beast

General managers

Head coaches

Media

TV	City TV (English) Sportsnet East (English) Réseau des sports (French) TVA Sports (French)

Radio	English TSN Radio 990 French 98,5 FM

Culture and lore

Montreal Canadiens seasons

1900s	1909–10

1910s	1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20

1920s	1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30

1930s	1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40

1940s	1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50

1950s	1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60

1960s	1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70

1970s	1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80

1980s	1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90

1990s	1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00

2000s	2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10

2010s	2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15

Highlighted seasons indicate Stanley Cup championship

1943–44 NHL season

Teams	Boston Chicago Detroit Montreal New York Toronto

See also	Punch line Stanley Cup Finals

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1943–44 Montreal Canadiens season

Offseason

Regular season

Final standings

Schedule and results

Playoffs

Semi-final: Montreal vs. Toronto

Stanley Cup Final: Montreal vs. Chicago

Player statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Awards and records

Montreal Canadiens 1944 Stanley Cup champions

Roster

Stanley Cup engraving

See also

References