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| 1920–21 NHL season | |
|---|---|
| League | National Hockey League |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Duration | December 22, 1920 – March 14, 1921 |
| Games | 24 |
| Teams | 4 |
| Regular season | |
| Top scorer | Newsy Lalonde (Canadiens) |
| O'Brien Cup | |
| Champions | Ottawa Senators |
| Runners-up | Toronto St. Patricks |
| NHL seasons | |
The1920–21 NHL season was thefourthseason of theNational Hockey League (NHL). Four teams each played 24 games in a split season. The Quebec franchise was transferred toHamilton, Ontario, to become theHamilton Tigers. TheOttawa Senators won the league championship in a playoff with theToronto St. Patricks. The Senators went on to win theStanley Cup by defeating theVancouver Millionaires of thePacific Coast Hockey Association three games to two in a best-of-five series. This would be the last split season before the NHL changed its regular season and playoff formats.
Eddie Livingstone was again talking of creating a rival league and mentioned Hamiltonas a city in his league. To head this off, league presidentFrank Calder got the owners of the league to admit a Hamilton franchise. As Abso-Pure had built an arena, all owners agreed that it would be wise tohave a franchise in Hamilton. Because Quebec had done so badly the previous season, Calder said that Quebec's players would be given to Hamilton. Although Mike Quinn was non-committal at first, he finally sold the team to Hamilton and it became the Hamilton Tigers.
The Tigers had some trouble signingJoe Malone from the Quebec days, but he finally did sign. The Tigers were awarded two players from the Senators,Punch Broadbent andSprague Cleghorn by NHL president Calder, but both refused to sign with the Tigers, and eventually returned to the Senators.[1] Cleghorn was awarded to the Toronto St. Patricks and at first balked at the move, but did report. After the St. Patricks were defeated in the NHL playoffs, Cleghorn joined Ottawa in a deal. NHL president Frank Calder did not like this and the following season a trading deadline was instituted.
The Tigers stunned the Canadiens 5–0 in the team's first-ever game withBabe Dye starring andHoward Lockhart getting the only shutout of his NHL career.[1] TheToronto St. Patricks lostCorbett Denneny to injuries and recalled Dye from Hamilton, giving them Mickey Roach in his place.
Corbett Denneny scored six goals in a game January 26, 1921, helping the Toronto St. Patricks to wallop the Hamilton Tigers 10–3.Cy Denneny wasn't about to let his brother steal the thunder and he scored six goals himself in a March 7 game as the Ottawa Senators hammered the Hamilton Tigers 12–5. For the first time, a brother combination had scored six goals in a game the same season.
Also on January 26, 1921, the Ottawa Senators left the ice with 5:13 to play in a game against the Montreal Canadiens. According to the Senators, referee Cooper Smeaton was one-sided in favour of the Canadiens. Smeaton let the Canadiens continue to play, allowing goals by Newsy Lalonde and Amos Arbour before calling the game. Smeaton denied the claim, stating "a referee is always paid and receives the same salary, regardless what team wins." Smeaton would resign over the incident, but was convinced to return to refereeing later in the season. The Senators were fined $500 by NHL president Frank Calder for the incident.[1]
TheOttawa Senators won the first half of the split season while theToronto St. Patricks won the second half.
| GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ottawa Senators | 10 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 16 | 49 | 23 |
| Toronto St. Patricks | 10 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 10 | 39 | 47 |
| Montreal Canadiens | 10 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 8 | 37 | 51 |
| Hamilton Tigers | 10 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 34 | 38 |
| GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toronto St. Patricks | 14 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 20 | 66 | 53 |
| Montreal Canadiens | 14 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 18 | 75 | 48 |
| Ottawa Senators | 14 | 6 | 8 | 0 | 12 | 48 | 52 |
| Hamilton Tigers | 14 | 3 | 11 | 0 | 6 | 58 | 94 |
[2]Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF= Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points
Note: Teams that qualified for playoffs highlighted in bold.
Ottawa, winner of the first half of the split regular season, played Toronto, winner of the second half, in a total-goals series for theO'Brien Cup and to compete for the Stanley Cup. Ottawa won by shutting out the St. Pats in both games. Ottawa then went on to play theVancouver Millionaires of the PCHA.
| March 10 | Toronto St. Pats | 0–5 | Ottawa Senators | The Arena | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 01:45 –pp –Cy Denneny (1) 06:30 –Buck Boucher (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 11:00 – Cy Denneny (2) 16:45 – Buck Boucher (2) 18:15 – Buck Boucher (3) | ||||||
| Jake Forbes | Goalie stats | Clint Benedict | ||||||
| March 14 | Ottawa Senators | 2–0 | Toronto St. Pats | Arena Gardens | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Eddie Gerard (1) - 11:00 Frank Nighbor (1) - 14:00 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Clint Benedict | Goalie stats | Jake Forbes | ||||||
| Senators won series on total goals 7–0 | |
The five games were played inDenman Arena,Vancouver.
| March 21 | Ottawa Senators | 1–3 | Vancouver Millionaires | Denman Arena | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 15:40 -Alf Skinner (1) 18:15 -Art Duncan (1) | ||||||
| Jack Darragh (1) - 15:55 | Second period | 1:20 -Smokey Harris (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Clint Benedict | Goalie stats | Hugh Lehman | ||||||
| March 24 | Ottawa Senators | 4–3 | Vancouver Millionaires | Denman Arena | Recap | |||
| Buck Boucher (4) - 8:05 Cy Denneny (3) - 18:26 | First period | 1:29 -Smokey Harris (2) 3:01 -Jack Adams (1) 10:29 -Art Duncan (1) | ||||||
| Jack Darragh (2) - 10:49 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Punch Broadbent (1) -pp - 16:40 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Clint Benedict | Goalie stats | Hugh Lehman | ||||||
| March 28 | Ottawa Senators | 3–2 | Vancouver Millionaires | Denman Arena | Recap | |||
| Jack Darragh (3) - 8:57 | First period | 1:59 -Lloyd Cook (1) | ||||||
| Cy Denneny (4) -sh - 8:22 Sprague Cleghorn (1) - 10:52 | Second period | 18:02 -Jack Adams (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Clint Benedict | Goalie stats | Hugh Lehman | ||||||
| March 31 | Ottawa Senators | 2–3 | Vancouver Millionaires | Denman Arena | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Buck Boucher (5) - 13:43 | Second period | 2:22 -Alf Skinner (2) | ||||||
| Punch Broadbent (2) - 16:52 | Third period | 1:35 - Alf Skinner (3) 15:52 -pp -Lloyd Cook (2) | ||||||
| Clint Benedict | Goalie stats | Hugh Lehman | ||||||
| April 4 | Ottawa Senators | 2–1 | Vancouver Millionaires | Denman Arena | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 16:26 -Alf Skinner (4) | ||||||
| Jack Darragh (4) - 7:27 Jack Darragh (5) - 9:40 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Clint Benedict | Goalie stats | Hugh Lehman | ||||||
| Ottawa won the series 3–2 | |
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newsy Lalonde | Montreal Canadiens | 24 | 33 | 10 | 43 |
| Cecil "Babe" Dye | Hamilton Tigers / Toronto St. Pats | 24 | 35 | 5 | 40 |
| Cy Denneny | Ottawa Senators | 24 | 34 | 5 | 39 |
| Joe Malone | Hamilton Tigers | 20 | 28 | 9 | 37 |
| Frank Nighbor | Ottawa Senators | 24 | 19 | 10 | 29 |
| Reg Noble | Toronto St. Patricks | 24 | 19 | 8 | 27 |
| Harry Cameron | Toronto St. Patricks | 24 | 18 | 9 | 27 |
| George "Goldie" Prodgers | Hamilton Tigers | 24 | 18 | 9 | 27 |
| Corbett Denneny | Toronto St. Patricks | 20 | 19 | 7 | 26 |
| Jack Darragh | Ottawa Senators | 24 | 11 | 15 | 26 |
Source: NHL.[3]
GP = Games 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 | 1462 | 14 | 10 | 0 | 75 | 2 | 3.08 |
| Jake Forbes | Toronto St. Patricks | 20 | 1221 | 13 | 7 | 0 | 78 | 0 | 3.83 |
| Georges Vezina | Montreal Canadiens | 24 | 1441 | 13 | 11 | 0 | 99 | 1 | 4.12 |
| Howie Lockhart | Hamilton Tigers | 24 | 1454 | 6 | 18 | 0 | 132 | 1 | 5.45 |
| Ivan Mitchell | Toronto St. Patricks | 4 | 240 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 22 | 0 | 5.50 |
Source: NHL[4]
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frank Nighbor | Ottawa Senators | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 |
Note:
The O'Brien Cup, still considered the championship of the NHA, was not awarded to Ottawa until November 1921. It had remained under the care of the Canadiens who had won it in 1917, until the death of their owner, George Kennedy in October 1921, when the NHL made arrangements to re-use the trophy.[5]
The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1920–21 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs):
The last remaining active player to kick off their NHL career this season wasLeo Reise, Sr., who played his final NHL game in the1929–30 season, although he missed the1924–25 and1925–26 seasons.
The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1920–21 (listed with their last team):
| Date | Players | Team |
|---|---|---|
| February 23, 1921 | Leo Reise | Hamilton Tigers |
| November 27, 1920 | ToToronto St. Patricks Harry Cameron | ToMontreal Canadiens Joe Matte Goldie Prodgers |
| November 27, 1920 | ToHamilton Tigers Jack Coughlin Joe Matte Goldie Prodgers Loan ofBilly Coutu for the 1920-21 Season | ToMontreal Canadiens Jack McDonald Harry Mummery Dave Ritchie |
| December 16, 1920 | ToHamilton Tigers Howard Lockhart | ToToronto St. Patricks cash |
| January 4, 1921 | ToMontreal Canadiens Rights toPunch Broadbent Rights toSprague Cleghorn | ToHamilton Tigers cash |
| January 21, 1921 | ToHamilton Tigers Mickey Roach | ToToronto St. Patricks cash |
| January 25, 1921 | ToToronto St. Patricks Sprague Cleghorn | ToHamilton Tigers Future Considerations |