| 1926–27Detroit Cougars | |
|---|---|
| Division | 5thAmerican |
| 1926–27 record | 12–28–4 |
| Home record | 6–15–1 |
| Road record | 6–13–3 |
| Goals for | 76 |
| Goals against | 105 |
| Team information | |
| General manager | Art Duncan |
| Coach | Art Duncan Duke Keats |
| Captain | Art Duncan |
| Arena | Border Cities Arena |
| Average attendance | 4,400 |
| Team leaders | |
| Goals | John Sheppard (13) |
| Assists | John Sheppard (8) Gordon "Duke" Keats (8) |
| Points | John Sheppard (21) |
| Penalty minutes | John Sheppard (60) |
| Wins | Hap Holmes (11) |
| Goals against average | Herb Stuart (1.67) |
1927–28 → | |
The1926–27 Detroit Cougars season was thefirstseason ofNational Hockey League (NHL) hockey inDetroit,Michigan. The Detroit Cougars scored 28 points, finished at the bottom of theAmerican Division as well as the league and failed to make the playoffs in their inaugural year.
On May 15, 1926, the Townsend syndicate of investors was granted a conditional expansion NHL franchise, to begin play in the upcoming season if their arena was ready. For players, the syndicate decided to purchase one of the most successful teams from the bankruptWestern Canada Hockey League, theVictoria Cougars, who had won theStanley Cup in 1925. On September 25, 1926, the NHL made the franchise purchase permanent, although the arena was not ready. The expansion club kept the Cougars name. The club played inWindsor for the entire season.
Olympia Stadium wasn't finished being built in time for the 1926–27 season, so the Cougars began play inBorder Cities Arena right across theDetroit River inWindsor,Ontario. The team struggled as the players adjusted to the style of play in the NHL and the team finished with only twelve wins on the season and over 80,000USD in debt.[1][2][3] The team's total of 28 points is the lowest total points for a season in the Detroit Red Wings' franchise history.
The team's first game, a "home" game in Windsor, was played on November 18 before a sell-out crowd of 6,000. Starting goaltenderHap Holmes took ill two hours before game time and substituteHerb Stuart gave up two goals in the first three minutes before shutting down theBoston Bruins for the rest of the game. However, Detroit could not score onDoc Stewart in the Boston net and lost 2–0.[4]
Haldor "Slim" Halderson scored the first goal in franchise history in the third period of a loss to Pittsburgh on November 20.[5] The team won its first game on November 24, defeating expansion cousinsChicago Black Hawks, 1–0, in Chicago.Frank Frederickson scored the game's only goal.[6] On November 30,Russell Oatman had the first multiple goal game in franchise history, scoring two goals in a 4–0 victory over the Maroons. In the same game, Hap Holmes recorded the first shutout in franchise history.[7]
On January 1, 1927, the Cougars suspended Oatman andHobie Kitchen for "breaking training." The Cougars then shook up their line-up that week by selling Oatman to the Maroons and tradingFrank Fredrickson andHarry Meeking to the Bruins forDuke Keats andArchie Briden.[8]
After 33 games, the Cougars replaced Duncan as coach with Keats. Duncan has a record of 10–21–2. Keats record was 2–7–2.[9]
| GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York Rangers | 44 | 25 | 13 | 6 | 95 | 72 | 56 |
| Boston Bruins | 44 | 21 | 20 | 3 | 97 | 89 | 45 |
| Chicago Black Hawks | 44 | 19 | 22 | 3 | 115 | 116 | 41 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 44 | 15 | 26 | 3 | 79 | 108 | 33 |
| Detroit Cougars | 44 | 12 | 28 | 4 | 76 | 105 | 28 |
Note: GP = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against
Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted inbold.For complete final standings, see1926–27 NHL season
Vs. American Division[edit]
| Vs. Canadian Division[edit]
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| 1926–27 regular season[12] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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November: 3–2–0 (home: 1–1–0; road: 2–1–0)
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December: 2–6–1 (home: 1–4–0; road: 1–2–1)
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January: 3–8–1 (home: 1–2–0; road: 2–6–1)
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February: 2–6–0 (home: 2–4–0; road: 0–2–0)
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March: 2–6–2 (home: 1–4–1; road: 1–2–1)
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Legend: Win (2 points) Loss (0 points) Tie (1 point) |
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = Plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes
| Regular season | Playoffs | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| John Sheppard | F | 43 | 13 | 8 | 21 | 60 | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| Gordon "Duke" Keats* | C | 25 | 11 | 8 | 19 | 42 | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| Frank Foyston | C | 41 | 10 | 5 | 15 | 16 | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| Clem Loughlin | D | 34 | 7 | 3 | 10 | 40 | – | -- | – | – | – | ||
| Fred Gordon | RW | 36 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 28 | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| Frank Fredrickson* | C | 16 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 12 | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| Archie Briden* | LW | 32 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 36 | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| Jack Walker | F | 37 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 6 | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| Pete Bellefeuille* | RW | 18 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 14 | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| Jack Arbour | D | 37 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 46 | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| Art Duncan | D | 34 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 26 | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| Russell Oatman* | LW | 14 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 12 | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| Harold "Slim" Halderson* | D | 18 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 29 | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| Chapman "Hobie" Kitchen | F | 17 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 42 | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| James Riley* | D | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| Harold "Gizzy" Hart* | LW | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| Harry Meeking* | D | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | – | – | – | – | – | ||
*Stats reflect games played with Detroit only.
Note: GP = Games played; TOI = Time on ice (minutes); W = Wins; L = Losses; OTL = Overtime losses; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average
| Regular season | Playoffs | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | GP | TOI | W | L | T | GA | SO | GAA | GP | TOI | W | L | GA | SO | GAA | ||
| Hap Holmes | 41 | 2685 | 11 | 26 | 4 | 100 | 6 | 2.23 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| Herb Stuart | 3 | 180 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1.67 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||
The Cougars were involved in the following transactions during the 1926–27 season.
| October 18, 1926 | ToDetroit Cougars Art Duncan | ToChicago Black Hawks Gord Fraser Art Gagne |
| October 27, 1926 | ToDetroit Cougars Fred Gordon | ToSaskatoon Crescents (WHL) Cash |
| December 12, 1926 | ToDetroit Cougars Cash | ToMontreal Canadiens Harold "Gizzy" Hart |
| January 6, 1927 | ToDetroit Cougars Cash | ToMontreal Maroons Russell Oatman |
| January 7, 1927 | ToDetroit Cougars Archie Briden Gordon "Duke" Keats | ToBoston Bruins Frank Fredrickson Harry Meeking |
| January 7, 1927 | ToDetroit Cougars Pete Bellefeuille | ToToronto St. Pats Harold "Slim" Halderson |
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