The1924–25 NHL season was theeighthseason of theNational Hockey League. The NHL added two teams this season, a second team in Montreal, theMontreal Maroons and the first U.S. team, theBoston Bruins. Six teams played 30 games each.

The NHL regular-season championHamilton Tigers did not participate in the playoffs, as their players demanded to their owner,Percy Thompson, that they would not participate in the NHL championship series unless they received an additional $200 each for the extra six games played that year. Under their contracts, the Tigers players were to receive the same amount of money no matter how many games they played from December 1, 1924, to March 31, 1925 (even though the season started on November 29, 1924). NHL PresidentFrank Calder was not amused, stating that the players would be fined or suspended if they did not play in the final series, but the players stated that they would rather retire than advantage be taken of them. The day of the final game of the Semi-Final, TigerShorty Green met with Calder to try to reach an agreement, but to no avail. The players were all suspended and fined $200 each, therefore eliminating themselves from the playoffs.

Because of the suspension, the semi-final playoff series between Montreal and Toronto became the NHL championship series. TheMontreal Canadiens won the series and faced off against theVictoria Cougars of theWestern Canada Hockey League (WCHL) for theStanley Cup. Victoria won the series, the last non-NHL team to win the Cup.

Prior to the start of this hockey season, thePacific Coast Hockey Association folded and two of its teams, theVancouver Maroons andVictoria Cougars, joined theWestern Canada Hockey League. This meant that after three seasons of having three leagues compete for the Stanley Cup, there were once again only two.

At the November 1924 NHL meeting, the NHL approved two new franchises, including its first franchise in theUnited States of America.Charles Adams ofBoston was granteda franchise. The NHL also granted a second franchise forMontreal toJames Strachan andDonat Raymond. Applications fromNew York City,Pittsburgh andPhiladelphia were shelved.^[1]

In January 1925,Tommy Gorman and Ted Dey sold their interests in theOttawa Senators toT. Franklin Ahearn.^[2] Ahearn then hired amateur hockey executive,Dave Gill, to be secretary-treasurer (general manager) of the team.^[3]

A new trophy was added for the 1924–25 NHL season. The originalLady Byng Trophy was donated by Lady Byng, wife ofGovernor GeneralViscount Byng of Vimy, to be handed out to the player who showed the best sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with performance in play. She presented it toFrank Nighbor of theOttawa Senators.

• The expansionBoston Bruins moved intoBoston Arena.
• The expansionMontreal Maroons moved into theMontreal Forum.

This was the first season for theMontreal Maroons andBoston Bruins, the Bruins becoming the firstAmerican NHL team. It was also the last season for theHamilton Tigers, which would dissolve at season's end. The number of games played per team was increased from 24 to 30.

The first game the League ever played on United States soil was the first game for the Bruins, who hosted the Maroons on December 1, 1924.^[4]

A new arena, theMontreal Forum, was built to house the Maroons. However, the Montreal Canadiens played in it first. Because the Canadiens' home rink,Mount Royal Arena, couldn't produce ice, the November 29 home opener against the Toronto St. Patricks was moved to the Forum. The Canadiens beat the St. Patricks 7–1, before 9,000 fans. an NHL attendance record of 11,000 was set on December 27, when the Maroons hosted the Canadiens.^[5]

The Maroons actually had no official nickname their first season. However, fans took to the deep crimson uniforms they wore and called them the Maroons, and the team leaned on two former Ottawa Senators,Punch Broadbent andClint Benedict they picked up from Ottawa before the season but still managed only fifth place. Broadbent scored a pair of goals in the Maroons' first ever victory, a 3–1 victory over Ottawa at the Forum in Montreal. Broadbent scored five goals in a game on January 7 as Montreal defeated the Tigers 6–2 in the Abso-Pure rink in Hamilton.^[6]

On December 17, goaltendersJake Forbes of Hamilton andAlex Connell of Ottawa engaged in the first ever scoreless tie in a regular season game in NHL history.

Just before the end of the season, the Bruins, which finished in last place, had a modest winning streak. First, they beat the Montreal Canadiens 3–2 March 3.Normand Shay scored the winning goal on a two on one break at 16:39 of the third period asJimmy Herbert shot and then Shay pounced on the rebound and put it byGeorges Vezina. The game was rough and referee Jerry Laflamme meted out quite a few penalties, including four minors toLionel Hitchman of Boston.Howie Morenz starred in a losing cause with two goals. The Bruins then defeated the league-leading Hamilton Tigers 2–0 in their next game asDoc Stewart played well in goal.

^[7]

Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points
       Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

ThePacific Coast Hockey Association folded prior to the 1924–25 season, leaving only the NHL and theWestern Canada Hockey League competing for the Stanley Cup. This marked the last time until2020 that the playoffs were played entirely in Canada.

With an increase in the number of NHL teams, the NHL changed itsO'Brien Cup playoff format by having the second- and third- place teams play atwo-game total-goals series to see who played the number one seed in another two-game total-goals for the NHL championship.

However, players on the first-place Hamilton Tigers demanded $200 each for the extra six games played during the regular season and the league threatened to suspend the players and the team. Last-ditch efforts to reach a compromise failed and the Tigers were suspended. It was suggested that the Ottawa Senators be included in the playoffs, but Toronto General ManagerCharlie Querrie and Montreal ownerLeo Dandurand cited a fourth-place finish did not qualify Ottawa a playoff berth. Thus, the series between second-place Toronto and third-place Montreal would determine the NHL title.

During the Toronto–Montreal series, NHL presidentFrank Calder announced that the Canadiens would playe their home games at the Forum, but Dandurand said that they would be played at Mount Royal Arena unless it were necessary to move to the Forum, citing home games were home games, and the Canadiens played better in front of their own fans. Calder backed down from his stand. Montreal won the series against Toronto and earned the right to play for the Stanley Cup. Early in the following1925–26 season, when they were given placeholder possession of the newPrince of Wales Trophy – which duplicated the O'Brien Cup as an award for the NHL playoff championship – the Canadiens retroactively engraved this 1925 championship on the new trophy.

In theWestern Canada Hockey League, the third placeVictoria Cougars won its league championship and faced the Montreal Canadiens for the Stanley Cup. The series was played inPatrick Arena inVictoria, except for game two, which was played atDenman Arena inVancouver to gather greater fan support and more income. Victoria beat Montreal three games to one, out-scoring the Canadiens 16 to 8. Victoria was the first (and only to date) non-NHL team to win the Stanley Cup since the NHL's founding.

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points

The NHL introduced its second individual award, the Lady Byng Trophy, named after its donor, Lady Byng, wife of Canada's Governor-General. It is awarded to Frank Nighbor for excellence, gentlemanly play and sportsmanship.

Note: The Prince of Wales Trophy was not in use during this season. The Canadiens were engraved onto the Trophy in 1925–26.^[8]

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points

Source: NHL.^[9]

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

• Boston Bruins:Art Ross
• Hamilton Tigers:Jimmy Gardner
• Montreal Canadiens:Leo Dandurand
• Montreal Maroons:Cecil Hart andEddie Gerard
• Ottawa Senators:Pete Green
• Toronto St. Patricks:Eddie Powers

The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1924–25 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs):

• Alex Connell, Ottawa Senators
• Carson Cooper, Boston Bruins
• Hap Day, Toronto St. Patricks
• Charles Dinsmore, Montreal Maroons
• Jimmy Herbert, Boston Bruins
• Bert McCaffrey, Toronto St. Patricks
• Alex Smith, Ottawa Senators
• Hooley Smith, Ottawa Senators

The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1924–25 (listed with their last team):

• List of Stanley Cup champions
• 1924–25 WCHL season

• Coleman, Charles L. (1966).The Trail of the Stanley Cup, vol.1 1893–1926 inc. National Hockey League. pp. 465–486.
• Diamond, Dan, ed. (2000).Total Hockey. Total Sports.ISBN 1-892129-85-X.
• Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011).The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates.ISBN 978-1-894801-22-5.
• Dryden, Steve, ed. (2000).Century of hockey. Toronto, ON: McClelland & Stewart Ltd.ISBN 0-7710-4179-9.
• Fischler, Stan; Fischler, Shirley; Hughes, Morgan; Romain, Joseph; Duplacey, James (2003).The Hockey Chronicle: Year-by-Year History of the National Hockey League. Publications International Inc.ISBN 0-7853-9624-1.
• McFarlane, Brian (1973).The Story of the National Hockey League. New York, NY: Pagurian Press.ISBN 0-684-13424-1.

Notes

• Hockey Database
• NHL.com

• 1924–25 NHL season
• 1924–25 in Canadian ice hockey by league
• 1924–25 in American ice hockey by league

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use mdy dates from August 2023
• Short description matches Wikidata