
1942–43 NHL season
1942–43 NHL season | |
---|---|
League | National Hockey League |
Sport | Ice hockey |
Duration | October 31, 1942 – April 8, 1943 |
Number of games | 50 |
Number of teams | 6 |
Regular season | |
Season champion | Detroit Red Wings |
Season MVP | Bill Cowley (Bruins) |
Top scorer | Doug Bentley (Black Hawks) |
Stanley Cup | |
Champions | Detroit Red Wings |
Runners-up | Boston Bruins |
The 1942–43 NHL season marked the 26th season of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Brooklyn Americans were discontinued, reducing the league to six teams, who played a schedule of 50 games. This season heralded the beginning of the “Original Six” era of the NHL. Sadly, the league mourned the loss of its long-time president, Frank Calder, who passed away due to heart disease. In an exciting culmination, the Detroit Red Wings emerged victorious over the Boston Bruins to claim the Stanley Cup.
1942–43 NHL season | |
---|---|
League | National Hockey League |
Sport | Ice hockey |
Duration | October 31, 1942 – April 8, 1943 |
Number of games | 50 |
Number of teams | 6 |
Regular season | |
Season champion | Detroit Red Wings |
Season MVP | Bill Cowley (Bruins) |
Top scorer | Doug Bentley (Black Hawks) |
Stanley Cup | |
Champions | Detroit Red Wings |
Runners-up | Boston Bruins |
League business
The Brooklyn Americans franchise was discontinued when Madison Square Garden declined to renew the lease agreement with team owner Red Dutton. Dutton contended that the war would weaken the other teams, but the league owners countered by highlighting the significant number of American players serving in the armed forces, making it impractical for the Americans to continue operating. Disheartened, Dutton left the league meeting, only to find himself returning to the NHL sooner than he anticipated.
With the suspension of the Americans, this was the inaugural season of the so-called Original Six era, with the NHL consisting of six teams (the Boston Bruins, Chicago Black Hawks, Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers, and Toronto Maple Leafs). This arrangement would last until the 1966–67 season, after which the league doubled in size.
Death of Frank Calder
The league’s meeting of January 25, 1943, was to have been a non-event. The only news that was supposed to come out of the meeting was that the playoffs would begin on March 20, and that all series would be best-of-seven affairs. This was resolved in the morning session.
The afternoon session had just begun and NHL president Frank Calder had informed Red Dutton of the reserve status of his suspended franchise, when Toronto coach Hap Day noticed that Calder appeared to be in pain. Two league governors came up to his aid, but he assured them he was all right. Then Calder’s face contracted as if he were in pain. He took a few steps and exclaimed “My God, there IS something wrong!” He was taken to his hotel room and a doctor diagnosed a heart attack. A specialist convinced him, despite his pros, to check into St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, where he suffered a second heart attack. In a week, Calder felt well enough to return to Montreal and checked into Montreal General Hospital. After eating a light breakfast surrounded by his family and friends, he was looking over the league books when he slipped back on the pillows of his bed and died of a third heart attack. He died on February 4, 1943, at the age of 65 years. Red Dutton was chosen as the new president, on an “interim” basis.[1]
Regular season
Due to war-time travel restrictions, the NHL ceased playing overtimes to decide tie games on November 21 partway through the season. The last regular season overtime game was November 10, 1942, between the Chicago Black Hawks and the New York Rangers, won by New York 5–3. Regular season overtime would not be re-introduced until the 1983–84 NHL season.
Highlights
Detroit finished first, partly due to the six shutouts of goaltender Johnny Mowers, who won the Vezina Trophy. During the season, Jimmy Orlando got into a stick-swinging incident with Toronto rookie Gaye Stewart and came out of it on the short end, badly cut in the face and bleeding profusely. Both players were suspended for the incident.
The Montreal Canadiens were still making progress, and coach Dick Irvin put together the first “Punch Line” of Elmer Lach, Toe Blake and Joe Benoit. Maurice Richard showed promise, but broke his leg, and Canadiens’ manager Tommy Gorman began to look at him as brittle. Benoit became the first Canadien to hit the 30 goal plateau since Howie Morenz did it in 1929–30 (40 goals) scoring an even 30. Gordie Drillon also added some scoring power. The Canadiens made the playoffs by one slim point and lost to Boston in the playoffs’ first round.
In contrast to the 1941–42 season, the Rangers deeply felt the impact of World War II during the 1945–46 season, losing key players such as Art Coulter, Alex Shibicky, the Colville brothers, and Bill Juzda to the Armed Forces. With only Ott Heller remaining in their defense, the team faced significant challenges. Babe Pratt was traded to Toronto for Hank Goldup and Dudley “Red” Garrett, who proved to be an excellent replacement. Unfortunately, Garrett’s tenure with the team was short-lived, as he played only 21 games before sacrificing his life in the Armed Forces. Goaltending emerged as a major issue for the Rangers, as Steve Buzinski, Jimmy Franks, and veteran Bill Beveridge found themselves under immense pressure, leading the team’s fortunes to plummet from first to worst.
Final standings
GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | DIFF | Pts | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Detroit Red Wings | 50 | 25 | 14 | 11 | 169 | 124 | +45 | 61 |
2 | Boston Bruins | 50 | 24 | 17 | 9 | 195 | 176 | +19 | 57 |
3 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 50 | 22 | 19 | 9 | 198 | 159 | +39 | 53 |
4 | Montreal Canadiens | 50 | 19 | 19 | 12 | 181 | 191 | −10 | 50 |
5 | Chicago Black Hawks | 50 | 17 | 18 | 15 | 179 | 180 | −1 | 49 |
6 | New York Rangers | 50 | 11 | 31 | 8 | 161 | 253 | −92 | 30 |
Playoffs
Playoff bracket
Semifinals | Stanley Cup Finals | ||||||||
1 | Detroit | 4 | |||||||
3 | Toronto | 2 | |||||||
1 | Detroit | 4 | |||||||
2 | Boston | 0 | |||||||
2 | Boston | 4 | |||||||
4 | Montreal | 1 |
Semifinals
(1) Detroit Red Wings vs. (3) Toronto Maple Leafs
Detroit won series 4–2 |
(2) Boston Bruins vs. (4) Montreal Canadiens
This was the last time that Boston defeated Montreal in a postseason series until 1988.
Boston won series 4–1 |
Stanley Cup Finals
Detroit won series 4–0 |
Awards
Calder Memorial Trophy: (Best first-year player) |
Gaye Stewart, Toronto Maple Leafs |
Hart Trophy: (Most valuable player) |
Bill Cowley, Boston Bruins |
Lady Byng Trophy: (Excellence and sportsmanship) |
Max Bentley, Chicago Black Hawks |
O’Brien Cup: (Stanley Cup runner-up) |
Boston Bruins |
Prince of Wales Trophy: (Best regular-season record) |
Detroit Red Wings |
Vezina Trophy: (Fewest goals allowed) |
Johnny Mowers, Detroit Red Wings |
All-Star teams
First team | Position | Second team |
---|---|---|
Johnny Mowers, Detroit Red Wings | G | Frank Brimsek, Boston Bruins |
Earl Seibert, Chicago Black Hawks | D | Jack Crawford, Boston Bruins |
Jack Stewart, Detroit Red Wings | D | Flash Hollett, Boston Bruins |
Bill Cowley, Boston Bruins | C | Syl Apps, Toronto Maple Leafs |
Lorne Carr, Toronto Maple Leafs | RW | Bryan Hextall, New York Rangers |
Doug Bentley, Chicago Black Hawks | LW | Lynn Patrick, New York Rangers |
Jack Adams, Detroit Red Wings | Coach | Art Ross, Boston Bruins |
Player statistics
Scoring leaders
Note: GP = Games played, G = Goals, A = Assists, PTS = Points, PIM = Penalties in minutes
Player | Team | GP | G | A | PTS | PIM |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Doug Bentley | Chicago Black Hawks | 50 | 33 | 40 | 73 | 18 |
Bill Cowley | Boston Bruins | 48 | 27 | 45 | 72 | 10 |
Max Bentley | Chicago Black Hawks | 47 | 26 | 44 | 70 | 2 |
Lynn Patrick | New York Rangers | 50 | 22 | 39 | 61 | 28 |
Lorne Carr | Toronto Maple Leafs | 50 | 27 | 33 | 60 | 15 |
Billy Taylor | Toronto Maple Leafs | 50 | 18 | 42 | 60 | 2 |
Bryan Hextall | New York Rangers | 50 | 27 | 32 | 59 | 28 |
Toe Blake | Montreal Canadiens | 48 | 23 | 36 | 59 | 26 |
Elmer Lach | Montreal Canadiens | 45 | 18 | 40 | 58 | 14 |
Buddy O’Connor | Montreal Canadiens | 50 | 15 | 43 | 58 | 2 |
Source:NHL[3]
Leading goaltenders
Note: GP = Games played; Mins – Minutes played; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts
Player | Team | GP | Mins | GA | W | L | T | SO | GAA |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Johnny Mowers | Detroit Red Wings | 50 | 3010 | 124 | 25 | 14 | 11 | 6 | 2.47 |
Turk Broda | Toronto Maple Leafs | 50 | 3000 | 159 | 22 | 19 | 9 | 1 | 3.18 |
Frank Brimsek | Boston Bruins | 50 | 3000 | 176 | 24 | 17 | 9 | 1 | 3.53 |
Bert Gardiner | Chicago Black Hawks | 50 | 3020 | 180 | 17 | 18 | 15 | 1 | 3.58 |
Paul Bibeault | Montreal Canadiens | 50 | 3010 | 191 | 19 | 19 | 12 | 1 | 3.81 |
Jimmy Franks | New York Rangers | 23 | 1380 | 103 | 5 | 14 | 4 | 0 | 4.48 |
Bill Beveridge | New York Rangers | 17 | 1020 | 89 | 4 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 5.24 |
Coaches
-
Boston Bruins: Art Ross
-
Chicago Black Hawks: Paul Thompson
-
Detroit Red Wings: Jack Adams
-
Montreal Canadiens: Dick Irvin
-
New York Rangers: Frank Boucher
-
Toronto Maple Leafs: Hap Day
Debuts
The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1942–43 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs):
-
Bep Guidolin, Boston Bruins (youngest rookie in NHL history)
-
Glen Harmon, Montreal Canadiens
-
Ted Kennedy, Toronto Maple Leafs
-
Joe Klukay*, Toronto Maple Leafs
-
Bobby Lee, Montreal Canadiens
-
Bud Poile, Toronto Maple Leafs
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Bill Quackenbush, Detroit Red Wings
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Maurice Richard, Montreal Canadiens
Last games
The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1942–43 (listed with their last team):
-
Ebbie Goodfellow, Detroit Red Wings
-
Gordie Drillon, Montreal Canadiens
See also
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List of Stanley Cup champions
-
1942 in sports
-
1943 in sports