1919–20 NHL season

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Template:Short description Template:Infobox sports season 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. Following changes in its ownership, the Toronto NHL franchise adopted the Toronto St. Patricks name. 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 for the first time since the Cup challenge era ended and their eighth time overall, by defeating the PCHA's Seattle Metropolitans three games to two in a best-of-five series in the Stanley Cup Finals. Template:Toclimit

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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Several days later the franchise was transferred from the Arena to private investors, which named the club the Toronto St. Patricks.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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.Template:Sfn Quebec, which did not ice teams in the first two seasons of the NHL, finally iced a team, although they were not successful.

Arena changes

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.Template:Sfn

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.Template:Sfn Template: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."Template:Sfn 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.Template:Sfn

Final standings

Template:1919–20 NHL standings

Playoffs

Because 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) was the Seattle Metropolitans, which battled in a tight PCHA, in which two wins separated its three teams. A problem arose as Seattle's green, red, and white uniforms looked similar to Ottawa's black, red, and white uniforms. The Senators agreed to play in white sweaters. The five-game series was scheduled to be played in Ottawa, but unseasonably warm weather forced the final two games to Toronto's Arena Gardens. In 1921, when the NHA's dormant O'Brien Cup was reinstated by the NHL as an award to its league playoff champions, this 1920 championship was engraved on the Cup.

Stanley Cup Finals

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Games one, three and five were played under NHL rules (without a rover), while games two and four were played under PCHA rules (with a rover).

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Awards

Note: The O'Brien Cup, still considered the championship of the NHA, was not 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Leading goaltenders

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

Name Team Template:Abbr Template:Abbr Template:Abbr Template:Abbr Template:Abbr Template:Abbr Template:Abbr [[Goals against average|Template:Abbr]]
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 4.20
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<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Coaches

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)Template:Sfn
  • March 3 – Montreal Canadiens defeat Quebec Athletics 16–3 (record for most goals by one team)Template:Sfn

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)

The last remaining active player to kick off their NHL career this season was Jake Forbes, who played his final NHL game in the 1932–33 season, although he missed the 1921–22 season.

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

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Template:NHL seasons Template:1919–20 NHL season by team

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