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1921–22 NHL season

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1921–22 NHL season
LeagueNational Hockey League
SportIce hockey
DurationDecember 17, 1921 – March 13, 1922
Number of games24
Number of teams4
Regular season
Season championsOttawa Senators
Top scorerPunch Broadbent (Senators)
O'Brien Cup
ChampionsToronto St. Patricks
  Runners-upOttawa Senators
NHL seasons

The 1921–22 NHL season was the fifth season of the National Hockey League (NHL). Four teams each played 24 games. The league dropped the split season and the two top teams played off for the league championship. The second-place Toronto St. Patricks defeated the first-place Ottawa Senators for the league championship.

For the first four seasons of the NHL, the winner of the league playoffs had faced the winner of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA) for the Stanley Cup. That changed this season with the introduction of another professional hockey league called the Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL). Now, three leagues were competing for the coveted Stanley Cup. The winner of a playoff between the PCHA and the WCHL travelled to Toronto to play off for the Stanley Cup. The St. Patricks defeated the Vancouver Millionaires to win the Stanley Cup.

League business

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1921-22 NHL teams

This was the first season away from the split season used in the NHA and the first four NHL seasons. Under the old split system, the winner of each half of the season would face each other in the playoffs. If the same team won both halves, then there would be no league playoffs and that team would simply move on to the Stanley Cup series. For the new system, the top two teams at the end of the season squared off against each other in a two-game total goals series for the chance to move on to the Stanley Cup series.[1]

The NHL adopted the penalty rules of the amateur Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) for this season. Starting this season, there was no substitution for penalized players and no deferred penalties This was therefore the first season of the power play in the NHL. Penalized players immediately had to serve their penalties in the penalty box. Also, the minor penalty was reduced to two minutes, and major fouls were assessed at five minutes. A match penalty was now awarded for deliberate attempts to injure.[2]

Frank Calder, NHL president, again declared Sprague Cleghorn property of the Hamilton Tigers and Cleghorn balked at the move. The Tigers asked Cleghorn where he wanted to play other than Ottawa, and he expressed interest in joining his brother on the Montreal Canadiens and so prior to the start of this season, the NHL's first multiple-player trade in its history was made when Billy Coutu and Sprague Cleghorn of the Hamilton Tigers were traded to the Montreal Canadiens for Harry Mummery, Amos Arbour, and Cully Wilson.

Canadiens owner George Kennedy never recovered from the influenza he contracted in 1919, and died on October 19, 1921, at age 39. His widow sold the Canadiens to a unit that would be known affectionately as the Three Musketeers of owners, Leo Dandurand, Louis Letourneau, and Joseph Cattarinich. Dandurand became manager and coach, and immediately there were problems between him and Newsy Lalonde. At one point, Dandurand accused Lalonde of not trying, and also the fans started to boo their old hero. Finally, Lalonde walked out on the team. NHL president Frank Calder mediated the dispute and Lalonde returned to the team. But his days in Montreal were numbered.

Teams

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1921-22 National Hockey League
Team City Arena Capacity
Hamilton Tigers Hamilton, Ontario Barton Street Arena 4,500
Montreal Canadiens Montreal, Quebec Mount Royal Arena 10,000
Ottawa Senators Ottawa, Ontario The Arena 4,500
Toronto St. Patricks Toronto, Ontario Arena Gardens 7,500

Regular season

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After a fairly impressive season for the Toronto St. Patricks, the St. Pats goaltender Jake Forbes refused to play after being denied a raise, and was suspended for the season.[3] John Ross Roach took over in goal.

Punch Broadbent was the star this year, as he scored 27 goals in 16 consecutive games en route [3] to a 32-goal campaign. Broadbent led the league in goals, assists and points.[3] His Ottawa team finished first, too.

On February 1, Sprague Cleghorn almost wiped out the Ottawa team singlehandedly. He cut Eddie Gerard and Cy Denneny and charged Frank Nighbor. All three players missed two games because of injuries and Cleghorn drew a match penalty and a $30 fine. Ottawa police tried to arrest him in wake of his one-man war.[3]

Final standings

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National Hockey League
GP W L T Pts GF GA
Ottawa Senators 24 14 8 2 30 106 84
Toronto St. Patricks 24 13 10 1 27 98 97
Montreal Canadiens 24 12 11 1 25 88 94
Hamilton Tigers 24 7 17 0 14 88 105

[4] 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 in bold.

Playoffs

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Starting in the Western Canada Hockey League, the Calgary Tigers lost to the Regina Capitals in a match-up to determine second place. The Capitals then went on to beat the first place Edmonton Eskimos in that league's first championship series. Over in the Pacific Coast Hockey Association, once again, the Vancouver Millionaires faced the Seattle Metropolitans for their league championship. The Mets had the better regular season record, but the Millionaires won both games of the playoffs by 1–0 scores. The Millionaires were then matched up against the Capitals to see who would go on to play against the winner of the NHL's playoffs. Vancouver beat Regina in the two-game total goals series.

NHL Championship

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The first-place Ottawa Senators played off against the second-place Toronto St. Patricks in a two-game total goals series for the O'Brien Cup. The St. Pats used a strategy of icing the puck to defend their lead.

Toronto St. Patricks vs. Ottawa Senators

Date Home Score Away Score Notes
March 11 Toronto St. Patricks 5 Ottawa Senators 4
March 13 Ottawa Senators 0 Toronto St. Patricks 0

Toronto wins total goals series five goals to four.

Stanley Cup Finals

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Main article: 1922 Stanley Cup Finals


March 17 Vancouver Millionaires 4–3 Toronto St. Patricks Mutual Street Arena Recap  
Jack Adams (1) – 02:30
Jack Adams (2) – 05:30
Mickey MacKay (1) – 14:30 		First period 01:07 – Babe Dye (3)
10:30 – Ken Randall (2)
No scoring Second period 08:00 – Babe Dye (4)
Jack Adams (3) – 16:30 Third period No scoring
Hugh Lehman Goalie stats John Ross Roach
March 21 Vancouver Millionaires 1–2 OT Toronto St. Patricks Mutual Street Arena Recap  
Jack Adams (4) – 13:00 First period No scoring
No scoring Second period No scoring
No scoring Third period 01:45 – Corb Denneny (2)
No scoring First overtime period 04:50 – Babe Dye (5)
Hugh Lehman Goalie stats John Ross Roach
March 23 Vancouver Millionaires 3–0 Toronto St. Patricks Mutual Street Arena Recap  
Lloyd Cook (1) – 15:00 First period No scoring
Jack Adams (5) – 04:00 Second period No scoring
Eddie Oatman (1) – 18:00 Third period No scoring
Hugh Lehman Goalie stats John Ross Roach
March 25 Vancouver Millionaires 0–6 Toronto St. Patricks Mutual Street Arena Recap  
No scoring First period 12:00 – Lloyd Andrews (1)
15:00 - Babe Dye (6)
No scoring Second period 06:00 – Babe Dye (7)
10:00 – Lloyd Andrews (2)
18:00 – Corb Denneny (3)
No scoring Third period 17:00 – Rod Smylie (1)
Hugh Lehman Goalie stats John Ross Roach
March 28 Vancouver Millionaires 1–5 Toronto St. Patricks Mutual Street Arena Recap  
No scoring First period 03:00 – Babe Dye (8)
04:20 – Babe Dye (9)
No scoring Second period 07:00 – Corb Denneny (4)
Jack Adams (6) – 18:15 Third period 01:15 – Babe Dye (10)
08:15 – Babe Dye (11)
Hugh Lehman Goalie stats John Ross Roach
Toronto won series 3–2


NHL Playoff scoring leader

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

Player Team GP G A Pts PIM
Babe Dye Toronto St. Patricks 7 11 1 12

Awards

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O'Brien Cup — Toronto St. Patricks

Player statistics

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Scoring leaders

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

Player Team GP G A Pts PIM
Punch Broadbent Ottawa Senators 24 32 14 46 28
Cy Denneny Ottawa Senators 22 27 12 39 20
Cecil Dye Toronto St. Patricks 24 31 7 38 39
Harry Cameron Toronto St. Patricks 24 18 17 35 22
Joe Malone Hamilton Tigers 24 24 7 31 4
Corbett Denneny Toronto St. Patricks 24 19 9 28 28
Reg Noble Toronto St. Patricks 24 17 11 28 19
Sprague Cleghorn Montreal Canadiens 24 17 9 26 80
George Boucher Ottawa Senators 23 13 12 25 12
Odie Cleghorn Montreal Canadiens 23 21 3 24 26

Leading goaltenders

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

Name Team GP Mins W L T GA SO GAA
Ivan Mitchell Toronto St. Patricks 2 120 2 0 0 6 0 3.00
Clint Benedict Ottawa Senators 24 1510 14 8 2 84 2 3.34
Georges Vezina Montreal Canadiens 24 1469 12 11 1 94 0 3.84
John Ross Roach Toronto St. Patricks 22 1340 11 10 1 91 0 4.07
Howie Lockhart Hamilton Tigers 24 1409 6 17 0 103 0 4.39

Source: NHL[5]

Coaches

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Debuts

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The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1921–22 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs):

The last remaining active player to kick off their NHL career this season was Frank Boucher, who played his final NHL game in the 1943–44 season, although he missed the 1922–23, 1923–24, 1924–25, 1925–26, 1938–39, 1939–40, 1940–41, 1941–42, and 1942–43 seasons.

Last games

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The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1921–22 (listed with their last team):

Free agency

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Date Players Team
December 5, 1921 John Ross Roach Toronto St. Patricks
December 13, 1921 Billy Boucher Montreal Canadiens
December 14, 1921 King Clancy Ottawa Senators

Transactions

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November 9, 1921 To Hamilton Tigers
Cully Wilson 		To Toronto St. Patricks
Ed Carpenter
November 26, 1921 To Hamilton Tigers
Amos Arbour
Harry Mummery 		To Montreal Canadiens
Sprague Cleghorn

See also

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References

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  • Coleman, Charles (1966). The Trail of the Stanley Cup, vol. 1, 1893–1926 inc.
  • 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.
  • Ross, J. Andrew (2015). Joining the Clubs: The Business of the National Hockey League to 1945. Syracuse University Press. ISBN 978-0-8156-3383-9.
Notes
  1. ^ McFarlane 1973, p. 31.
  2. ^ Ross 2015, p. 79.
  3. ^ a b c d Dryden 2000, p. 24.
  4. ^ Standings: NHL Public Relations Department (2008). Dave McCarthy; et al. (eds.). THE NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE Official Guide & Record Book/2009. National Hockey League. p. 146. ISBN 978-1-894801-14-0.
  5. ^ "1921–22 Regular Season – Goalie Season Stats Leaders". NHL. Retrieved December 3, 2011.
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