The 1930–31 NHL season was the 14th season of the National Hockey League. Ten teams played 44 games each. The Pittsburgh Pirates moved to Philadelphia and became the Philadelphia Quakers, while the Detroit team was renamed the Detroit Falcons. The Montreal Canadiens beat the Chicago Black Hawks three games to two in the best-of-five Stanley Cup Finals for their second consecutive Stanley Cup victory.
| 1930–31 NHL season | |
|---|---|
| League | National Hockey League |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Duration | November 11, 1930 – April 14, 1931 |
| Number of games | 44 |
| Number of teams | 10 |
| Regular season | |
| Season champions | Boston Bruins |
| Season MVP | Howie Morenz (Canadiens) |
| Top scorer | Howie Morenz (Canadiens) |
| Canadian Division champions | Montreal Canadiens |
| American Division champions | Boston Bruins |
| Stanley Cup | |
| Champions | Montreal Canadiens |
| Runners-up | Chicago Black Hawks |
League business
editThe Great Depression was starting to take its toll on the NHL. In attempts to solve financial problems, the Pittsburgh Pirates moved to Philadelphia and became the Philadelphia Quakers, but there was nothing about the team to win games or fans. It was intended that the team stay in Philadelphia only until a new arena was built in Pittsburgh. The arena was never built, and the team folded after only one season in the new city. The state of Pennsylvania would be without an NHL team until the league doubled in size 36 years later.[1]
The Ottawa Senators were in a similar financial boat but instead of relocating, they sold a star asset and future Hall of Famer, King Clancy, to the Toronto Maple Leafs for $35,000 and two players. Even after the sale of Clancy, the Senators' owners put the team up for sale for $200,000, although no bids approached anywhere near that figure. The team would suspend operations before the start of the next season.[2]
The Detroit Cougars changed the team name to the Detroit Falcons.[3]
The Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA) sent W. A. Fry and W. A. Hewitt to the 1930 NHL general meeting to seek a better working agreement. The CAHA suggested that players remain as amateurs for one season after graduating from junior ice hockey, and in return the CAHA would permit its amateurs to tryout and practice with professional teams.[4] Hewitt subsequently met multiple times with NHL president Frank Calder, who saw merit in Hewitt's request to keep players in amateur hockey, and continued to discuss having a professional-amateur agreement.[5]
Arena changes
editThe relocated Philadelphia Quakers moved from Pittsburgh's Duquesne Gardens to Philadelphia Arena.
Regular season
editHowie Morenz led the league in scoring.
Dick Irvin started his career in coaching with Chicago and they finished second in the American Division. He resigned at season's end after having taken the Black Hawks to the finals.
Final standings
edit| GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | PTS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston Bruins | 44 | 28 | 10 | 6 | 143 | 90 | 62 |
| Chicago Black Hawks | 44 | 24 | 17 | 3 | 108 | 78 | 51 |
| New York Rangers | 44 | 19 | 16 | 9 | 106 | 87 | 47 |
| Detroit Falcons | 44 | 16 | 21 | 7 | 102 | 105 | 39 |
| Philadelphia Quakers | 44 | 4 | 36 | 4 | 76 | 184 | 12 |
| GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | PTS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montreal Canadiens | 44 | 26 | 10 | 8 | 129 | 89 | 60 |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | 44 | 22 | 13 | 9 | 118 | 99 | 53 |
| Montreal Maroons | 44 | 20 | 18 | 6 | 105 | 106 | 46 |
| New York Americans | 44 | 18 | 16 | 10 | 76 | 74 | 46 |
| Ottawa Senators | 44 | 10 | 30 | 4 | 91 | 142 | 24 |
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
editOn March 26, during the second game of the best-of-five series between the Bruins and Canadiens, coach-GM Art Ross of Boston pulled his goalie for an extra attacker while down 1–0 with 40 seconds left in the final period. The attempt was unsuccessful. This marked the first time in Stanley Cup play that a goalie was pulled for an extra attacker.[6]
Playoff bracket
edit| First round | Semifinals | Final | |||||||||||
| C1 | Mtl Canadiens | 3 | |||||||||||
| A1 | Boston | 2 | |||||||||||
| C1 | Mtl Canadiens | 3 | |||||||||||
| C2 | Toronto | 3G | |||||||||||
| A2 | Chicago | 2 | |||||||||||
| A2 | Chicago | 4G | |||||||||||
| A2 | Chicago | 3G | |||||||||||
| A3 | NY Rangers | 0G | |||||||||||
| C3 | Mtl Maroons | 1G | |||||||||||
| A3 | NY Rangers | 8G | |||||||||||
Quarterfinals
edit(C2) Toronto Maple Leafs vs. (A2) Chicago Black Hawks
edit| March 24 | Chicago Black Hawks | 2–2 | Toronto Maple Leafs | Arena Gardens | Recap | |||
| Mush March (1) – 16:59 | First period | 11:53 – Ace Bailey (1) | ||||||
| Mush March (2) – 11:22 | Second period | 12:11 – Andy Blair (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Charlie Gardiner | Goalie stats | Lorne Chabot | ||||||
| March 26 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 1–2 | OT | Chicago Black Hawks | Chicago Stadium | Recap | ||
| No scoring | First period | 17:15 – Vic Ripley (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| King Clancy (1) – 17:00 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | First overtime period | 19:20 – Stew Adams (1) | ||||||
| Lorne Chabot | Goalie stats | Charlie Gardiner | ||||||
| Chicago won series on total goals 4–3 | |
(A3) New York Rangers vs. (C3) Montreal Maroons
edit| March 24 | Montreal Maroons | 1–5 | New York Rangers | Madison Square Garden III | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 10:34 – Bill Cook (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 16:51 – Bill Cook (2) | ||||||
| Nels Stewart (1) – 19:26 | Third period | 05:15 – Paul Thompson (1) 13:11 – Butch Keeling (1) 14:23 – Paul Thompson | ||||||
| Dave Kerr | Goalie stats | John Ross Roach | ||||||
| March 26 | New York Rangers | 3–0 | Montreal Maroons | Montreal Forum | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Bill Cook (3) – 07:15 Ching Johnson (1) – 10:20 Paul Thompson (3) |
Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| John Ross Roach | Goalie stats | Dave Kerr | ||||||
| New York won series on total goals 8–1 | |
Semifinals
edit(A1) Boston Bruins vs. (C1) Montreal Canadiens
edit| March 24 | Montreal Canadiens | 4–5 | OT | Boston Bruins | Boston Madison Square Garden | Recap | ||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Johnny Gagnon (1) – 05:23 Nick Wasnie (1) – 06:26 Marty Burke (1) – 19:08 |
Second period | 17:34 – Dit Clapper (1) | ||||||
| Sylvio Mantha (1) – 02:45 | Third period | 03:49 – Eddie Shore (1) 06:29 – Cooney Weiland (1) 10:26 – George Owen (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | First overtime period | 18:56 – Cooney Weiland (2) | ||||||
| George Hainsworth | Goalie stats | Tiny Thompson | ||||||
| March 26 | Montreal Canadiens | 1–0 | Boston Bruins | Boston Madison Square Garden | Recap | |||
| Georges Mantha (1) – 13:30 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| George Hainsworth | Goalie stats | Tiny Thompson | ||||||
| March 28 | Boston Bruins | 3–4 | OT | Montreal Canadiens | Montreal Forum | Recap | ||
| Dit Clapper (2) – 17:20 | First period | 02:30 – Sylvio Mantha (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 02:25 – Gus Rivers (1) 15:12 – Georges Mantha (2) | ||||||
| Cooney Weiland (3) – 00:55 Marty Barry (1) – 14:15 |
Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | First overtime period | 05:10 – Georges Mantha (3) | ||||||
| Tiny Thompson | Goalie stats | George Hainsworth | ||||||
| March 30 | Boston Bruins | 3–1 | Montreal Canadiens | Montreal Forum | Recap | |||
| Cooney Weiland (4) – 16:02 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Eddie Shore (2) – 08:32 George Owen (2) – 14:46 |
Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 09:39 – Nick Wasnie (2) | ||||||
| Tiny Thompson | Goalie stats | George Hainsworth | ||||||
| April 1 | Boston Bruins | 2–3 | OT | Montreal Canadiens | Montreal Forum | Recap | ||
| No scoring | First period | 06:28 – Johnny Gagnon (2) 09:18 – Pit Lepine (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Cooney Weiland (5) – 04:34 Cooney Weiland (6) – 13:42 |
Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | First overtime period | 19:00 – Wildor Larochelle (1) | ||||||
| Tiny Thompson | Goalie stats | George Hainsworth | ||||||
| Montreal won series 3–2 | |
(A2) Chicago Black Hawks vs. (A3) New York Rangers
edit| March 29 | New York Rangers | 0–2 | Chicago Black Hawks | Chicago Stadium | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 12:25 – Johnny Gottselig (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 04:36 – Doc Romnes (1) | ||||||
| John Ross Roach | Goalie stats | Charlie Gardiner | ||||||
| March 31 | Chicago Black Hawks | 1–0 | New York Rangers | Madison Square Garden III | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Tom Cook (1) – 05:30 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Charlie Gardiner | Goalie stats | John Ross Roach | ||||||
| Chicago won series on total goals 3–0 | |
Stanley Cup Finals
editIn the final series, the Chicago Black Hawks took an early two games to one lead in the newly expanded best-of-five Stanley Cup Finals but the Montreal Canadiens came back and won the series three games to two for their second consecutive Stanley Cup win.
| April 3 | Montreal Canadiens | 2–1 | Chicago Black Hawks | Chicago Stadium | Recap | |||
| Georges Mantha (3) – 04:50 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Pit Lepine (2) – 02:20 | Third period | 08:20 – Vic Ripley (2) | ||||||
| George Hainsworth | Goalie stats | Charlie Gardiner | ||||||
| April 5 | Montreal Canadiens | 1–2 | 2OT | Chicago Black Hawks | Chicago Stadium | Recap | ||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 11:45 – Stew Adams (2) | ||||||
| Nick Wasnie (3) – 12:10 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second overtime period | 04:50 – Johnny Gottselig (2) | ||||||
| George Hainsworth | Goalie stats | Charlie Gardiner | ||||||
| April 9 | Chicago Black Hawks | 3–2 | 3OT | Montreal Canadiens | Montreal Forum | Recap | ||
| No scoring | First period | 05:15 – Johnny Gagnon (3) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 07:29 – Georges Mantha (5) | ||||||
| Mush March (3) – 16:20 Stew Adams (3) – 17:07 |
Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Cy Wentworth (1) – 13:50 | Third overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
| Charlie Gardiner | Goalie stats | George Hainsworth | ||||||
| April 11 | Chicago Black Hawks | 2–4 | Montreal Canadiens | Montreal Forum | Recap | |||
| Johnny Gottselig (3) – 01:33 Ty Arbour (1) – 13:58 |
First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 04:34 – Johnny Gagnon (4) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 04:25 – Johnny Gagnon (5) 10:55 – Pit Lepine (3) 17:25 – Pit Lepine (4) | ||||||
| Charlie Gardiner | Goalie stats | George Hainsworth | ||||||
| April 14 | Montreal Canadiens | 2–0 | Chicago Black Hawks | Chicago Stadium | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| 09:59 – Johnny Gagnon (6) | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| 15:27 – Howie Morenz (1) | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| George Hainsworth | Goalie stats | Charlie Gardiner | ||||||
| Montreal won series 3–2 | |
Awards
editHowie Morenz won the Hart Trophy for the second time in his career. Frank Boucher won the Lady Byng for the fourth consecutive year. Roy Worters won the Vezina Trophy for the one and only time in his career.
| 1930–31 NHL awards | |
|---|---|
| O'Brien Cup: (Canadian Division champion) |
Montreal Canadiens |
| Prince of Wales Trophy: (American Division champion) |
Boston Bruins |
| Hart Trophy: (Most valuable player) |
Howie Morenz, Montreal Canadiens |
| Lady Byng Trophy: (Excellence and sportsmanship) |
Frank Boucher, New York Rangers |
| Vezina Trophy: (Fewest goals allowed) |
Roy Worters, New York Americans |
All-Star teams
editThis was the first season that the NHL named its 'all-stars'. Although Roy Worters won the Vezina Trophy for "most valuable goaltender", Charlie Gardiner and Tiny Thompson were named to the all-star teams at the goaltender position.
Source: NHL.[7]
Player statistics
editScoring leaders
editGP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points, PIM = Penalties In Minutes
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Howie Morenz | Montreal Canadiens | 39 | 28 | 23 | 51 | 49 |
| Ebbie Goodfellow | Detroit Falcons | 44 | 25 | 23 | 48 | 32 |
| Charlie Conacher | Toronto Maple Leafs | 37 | 31 | 12 | 43 | 78 |
| Bill Cook | New York Rangers | 43 | 30 | 12 | 42 | 39 |
| Ace Bailey | Toronto Maple Leafs | 40 | 23 | 19 | 42 | 46 |
| Joe Primeau | Toronto Maple Leafs | 38 | 9 | 32 | 41 | 18 |
| Nels Stewart | Montreal Maroons | 42 | 25 | 14 | 39 | 75 |
| Frank Boucher | New York Rangers | 44 | 12 | 27 | 39 | 20 |
| Cooney Weiland | Boston Bruins | 44 | 25 | 13 | 38 | 14 |
| Bun Cook | New York Rangers | 44 | 18 | 17 | 35 | 72 |
| Aurel Joliat | Montreal Canadiens | 43 | 13 | 22 | 35 | 73 |
Source: NHL.[8]
Leading goaltenders
editNote: GP = Games played; Mins = Minutes played; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average
| Player | Team | GP | W | L | T | Mins | GA | SO | GAA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roy Worters | New York Americans | 44 | 18 | 16 | 10 | 2760 | 74 | 8 | 1.61 |
| Charlie Gardiner | Chicago Black Hawks | 44 | 24 | 17 | 3 | 2710 | 78 | 12 | 1.73 |
| John Ross Roach | New York Rangers | 44 | 19 | 16 | 9 | 2760 | 87 | 7 | 1.89 |
| George Hainsworth | Montreal Canadiens | 44 | 26 | 10 | 8 | 2740 | 89 | 8 | 1.95 |
| Tiny Thompson | Boston Bruins | 44 | 28 | 10 | 6 | 2730 | 90 | 3 | 1.98 |
| Lorne Chabot | Toronto Maple Leafs | 37 | 21 | 8 | 8 | 2300 | 80 | 6 | 2.09 |
Source: NHL.[9]
Coaches
editAmerican Division
edit- Boston Bruins: Art Ross
- Chicago Black Hawks: Emil Iverson
- Detroit Falcons: Jack Adams
- New York Rangers: Lester Patrick
- Philadelphia Quakers:Cooper Smeaton
Canadian Division
edit- Montreal Canadiens: Cecil Hart
- Montreal Maroons: Dunc Munro and George Boucher
- New York Americans: Eddie Gerard
- Ottawa Senators: Newsy Lalonde and Dave Gill
- Toronto Maple Leafs: Art Duncan
Debuts
editThe following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1930–31 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs):
- Art Chapman, Boston Bruins
- Doc Romnes, Chicago Black Hawks
- John Sorrell, Detroit Falcons
- Johnny Gagnon, Montreal Canadiens
- Paul Haynes, Montreal Maroons
- Dave Kerr, Montreal Maroons
- Alex Levinsky, Toronto Maple Leafs
- Bob Gracie, Toronto Maple Leafs
Last games
editThe following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1930–31 (listed with their last team):
- Frank Fredrickson, Detroit Falcons
- Bert McCaffrey, Montreal Canadiens
- Joe Simpson, New York Americans
- Babe Dye, Toronto Maple Leafs
See also
editReferences
edit- Diamond, Dan, ed. (2000). Total Hockey. Total Sports. ISBN 1-892129-85-X.
- Diamond, Dan, ed. (2009). NHL Official Guide & Rule Book 2010. NHL.
- 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: Pagurian Press. ISBN 0-684-13424-1.
- Kitchen, Paul (2008). Win, Tie or Wrangle. Manotick, Ontario: Penumbra Press. ISBN 978-1-897323-46-5.
- McFarlane, Brian (1989). One hundred years of hockey. Toronto, Ontario: Deneau Publishers. ISBN 0-88879-216-6.
- Notes
- ^ Charnoff, Amber (January 3, 2024). "Hockey teams that no longer exist in Pennsylvania". ABC27.com. Nexstar Media Inc. Retrieved June 16, 2024.
- ^ Kitchen(2008), pp. 306–309
- ^ Falls, Joe (September 30, 1995). "Those magnificent men in red". Detroit News. Archived from the original on January 21, 2013. Retrieved July 27, 2008.
- ^ "C.A.H.A. Officials Seek Better Working Agreement". Winnipeg Free Press. Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Canadian Press. May 12, 1930. p. 8.
- ^ "Professional Rules Might Be Adopted". The Kingston Whig-Standard. Kingston, Ontario. May 15, 1930. p. 8.
- ^ McFarlane, p. 28
- ^ Diamond 2009, p. 234.
- ^ Dinger 2011, p. 146.
- ^ "1930–1931 – Regular Season – Goalie – Goalie Season Stats Leaders – Goals Against Average". nhl.com. Retrieved March 24, 2015.