Sylvio Mantha

Sylvio Mantha
Hockey Hall of Fame, 1960
Born	April 14, 1902 Montreal, QC, CAN
Died	August 7, 1974 (aged 72) Montreal, QC, CAN
Height	5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight	173 lb (78 kg; 12 st 5 lb)
Position	Defence
Shot	Right
Played for	Montreal Canadiens Boston Bruins
Playing career	1923–1937

Joseph Sylvio Theobald Mantha (April 14, 1902 – August 7, 1974) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played fourteen seasons in the National Hockey League for the Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins.

Playing career

Born in Montreal, Mantha was a three-time Stanley Cup winner - 1924, 1930 (Captain), 1931 (Captain). He played fourteen NHL seasons from 1923–24 to 1936–37, with all but four games as a Montreal Canadiens player. He was the captain of the Montreal Canadiens from 1926–27 to 1931–32 and from 1933–34 to 1935–36.

Mantha started as a right-winger for the Notre Dame de Grace Juniors in 1918–19 season, before playing for Verdun in the Intermediate Mount Royal Hockey League, Montreal Imperial Tobacco, and Montreal Northern Electric in the Montreal industrial league. He played briefly for the Montreal Nationales in the Quebec league. After scoring four goals in nine games with the Nationales, he was signed by the Montreal Canadiens. The Canadiens started Mantha as a forward, then moved him to right defence, because veterans Sprague Cleghorn and Billy Coutu were aging.

When Cleghorn was traded just before the 1925–26 NHL season, Mantha gained a more prominent role. He scored the first-ever goal in Boston Garden on November 20, 1928, leading the Canadiens to a 1–0 win over the Boston Bruins. Mantha was named to the NHL Second All-Star Team in both the 1929–30 and 1930–31 seasons.

In the 1935–36 NHL season, Mantha became the Canadiens' player coach. After a dismal season, the Canadiens fired him. The Boston Bruins were involved in a contract dispute with Eddie Shore so they signed Mantha at the start of the 1936–37 NHL season—and gave him Shore's number 2 jersey. Four games into the season, Mantha admitted he could no longer play at a competitive level and retired.

Mantha then worked as a linesman and referee for the AHL and NHL. He then coached the junior league Montreal Concordias, Laval Nationales (1943 to 1945), Verdun Maple Leafs (1945 to 1947), and St. Jerome Eagles (1947 to 1948).

He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1960, and died in Montreal, in August 1974.

The Georges and Sylvio Mantha Arenas are part of the Complexe Récréatif Gadbois in Montreal and named for him and his brother, Georges Mantha, who also played in the National Hockey League.

Career statistics

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1922–23	Montreal Nationale	MCBHL		9	4	0	4	—		—	—	—	—	—
1923–24	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		24	1	3	4	11		2	0	0	0	0
1923–24	Montreal Canadiens	St-Cup		—	—	—	—	—		4	0	0	0	0
1924–25	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		30	2	3	5	18		2	0	1	1	0
1924–25	Montreal Canadiens	St-Cup		—	—	—	—	—		4	0	0	0	2
1925–26	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		34	2	1	3	66		—	—	—	—	—
1926–27	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		43	10	5	15	77		4	1	0	1	0
1927–28	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		43	4	11	15	61		2	0	0	0	6
1928–29	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		44	9	4	13	56		3	0	0	0	0
1929–30	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		44	13	11	24	108		6	2	1	3	18
1930–31	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		44	4	7	11	75		10	2	1	3	26
1931–32	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		47	5	5	10	62		4	0	1	1	8
1932–33	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		48	4	7	11	50		2	0	1	1	2
1933–34	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		48	4	6	10	24		2	0	0	0	2
1934–35	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		47	3	11	14	36		2	0	0	0	2
1935–36	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		42	2	4	6	25		—	—	—	—	—
1936–37	Boston Bruins	NHL		4	0	0	0	2		—	—	—	—	—
NHL totals				542	63	78	141	671		39	5	5	10	64
St-Cup totals				—	—	—	—	—		8	0	0	0	2

NHL coaching record

Team	Year	Regular season						Post season
		G	W	L	T	Pts	Division rank	Result
Montreal Canadiens	1935–36	48	11	26	11	33	4th in Canadian	Missed playoffs

See also

• List of members of the Hockey Hall of Fame

External links

• Sylvio Mantha's biography at Legends of Hockey
• Sylvio Mantha's career statistics at The Internet Hockey Database