| 1942–43 NHL season | |
|---|---|
| League | National Hockey League |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Duration | October 31, 1942 – April 8, 1943 |
| Number of games | 50 |
| Number of teams | 6 |
| Regular season | |
| Season champion | Detroit Red Wings |
| Season MVP | Bill Cowley (Bruins) |
| Top scorer | Doug Bentley (Black Hawks) |
| Stanley Cup | |
| Champions | Detroit Red Wings |
| Runners-up | Boston Bruins |
The 1942–43 NHL season was the 26th season of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Brooklyn Americans were dropped, leaving six teams to play a schedule of 50 games. This is the first season of the "Original Six" era of the NHL. The league's long-time president Frank Calder died due to heart disease. The Detroit Red Wings defeated the Boston Bruins to win the Stanley Cup.
League business
The NHL and the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA) agreed in principle that a junior-aged player could become a professional whenever he wanted, to make a living under wartime conditions. They expected that NHL clubs would rely on junior-aged players as replacements due to military enlistments.[1] In October 1942, a new professional-amateur agreement was reached by NHL president Frank Calder, and CAHA president Frank Sargent. NHL teams were permitted to sign junior-aged players if the junior club was contacted first, and agreed not to sign any other junior-eligible players who had not yet played for the CAHA. The NHL continued to pay the CAHA for developing players.[2]
The Brooklyn Americans franchise was dropped, as Madison Square Garden turned down a lease agreement with team owner Red Dutton. Dutton argued that the other teams would be weakened by the war, but the other owners pointed out the number of American players serving in the armed forces was such that the Americans could not operate. A despondent Dutton left the league meeting, but was to return to the NHL sooner than he thought.
With the suspension of the Americans, this was the inaugural season of the so-called Original Six era, with the NHL consisting of six teams (the Boston Bruins, Chicago Black Hawks, Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers, and Toronto Maple Leafs). This arrangement would last until the 1966–67 season, after which the league doubled in size.
Death of Frank Calder
The league's meeting of January 25, 1943, was to have been a non-event. The only news that was supposed to come out of the meeting was that the playoffs would begin on March 20, and that all series would be best-of-seven affairs. This was resolved in the morning session.
The afternoon session had just begun and Calder had informed Red Dutton of the reserve status of his suspended franchise, when Toronto coach Hap Day noticed that Calder appeared to be in pain. Two league governors came up to his aid, but he assured them he was all right. Then Calder's face contracted as if he were in pain. He took a few steps and exclaimed "My God, there IS something wrong!" He was taken to his hotel room and a doctor diagnosed a heart attack. A specialist convinced him, despite his protests, to check into St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto, where he suffered a second heart attack. In a week, Calder felt well enough to return to Montreal and checked into Montreal General Hospital. After eating a light breakfast surrounded by his family and friends, he was looking over the league books when he slipped back on the pillows of his bed and died of a third heart attack. He died on February 4, 1943, at the age of 65 years. Red Dutton was chosen as the new president, on an "interim" basis.[3]
Regular season
Due to war-time travel restrictions, the NHL ceased playing overtimes to decide tie games on November 21 partway through the season. The last regular season overtime game was November 10, 1942, between the Chicago Black Hawks and the New York Rangers, won by New York 5–3. Regular season overtime would not be re-introduced until the 1983–84 NHL season, with a slight change from playing out an entire 10-minute overtime period, to a 5-minute sudden death format.
Highlights
Detroit finished first, partly due to the six shutouts of goaltender Johnny Mowers, who won the Vezina Trophy. During the season, Jimmy Orlando got into a stick-swinging incident with Toronto rookie Gaye Stewart and came out of it on the short end, badly cut in the face and bleeding profusely. Both players were suspended for the incident.
The Montreal Canadiens were still making progress, and coach Dick Irvin put together the first "Punch Line" of Elmer Lach, Toe Blake and Joe Benoit. Maurice Richard showed promise, but broke his leg, and Canadiens' manager Tommy Gorman began to look at him as brittle. Benoit became the first Canadien to hit the 30 goal plateau since Howie Morenz did it in 1929–30 (40 goals) scoring an even 30. Gordie Drillon also added some scoring power. The Canadiens made the playoffs by one slim point and lost to Boston in the playoffs' first round.
In contrast to the 1941–42 season, the Rangers felt the full impact of World War II and lost Art Coulter, Alex Shibicky, the Colville brothers, and Bill Juzda to the Armed Forces. Only Ott Heller was left of their defence. Babe Pratt was traded to Toronto for Hank Goldup and Dudley "Red" Garrett. Garrett proved to be an excellent replacement for Pratt. However, he only played 21 games, then gave his life in the Armed Forces. Goaltending was the Rangers problem as Steve Buzinski, Jimmy Franks, and old veteran Bill Beveridge all had to face lots of rubber as the Rangers went from first to worst.
Final standings
| GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | DIFF | Pts | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Detroit Red Wings | 50 | 25 | 14 | 11 | 169 | 124 | +45 | 61 |
| 2 | Boston Bruins | 50 | 24 | 17 | 9 | 195 | 176 | +19 | 57 |
| 3 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 50 | 22 | 19 | 9 | 198 | 159 | +39 | 53 |
| 4 | Montreal Canadiens | 50 | 19 | 19 | 12 | 181 | 191 | −10 | 50 |
| 5 | Chicago Black Hawks | 50 | 17 | 18 | 15 | 179 | 180 | −1 | 49 |
| 6 | New York Rangers | 50 | 11 | 31 | 8 | 161 | 253 | −92 | 30 |
Record vs. opponents
| 1942–43 NHL Records [5] | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | BOS | CHI | DET | MTL | NYR | TOR | ||||||
| Boston | — | 3–4–3 | 4–4–2 | 5–4–1 | 8–2 | 4–3–3 | ||||||
| Chicago | 4–3–3 | — | 2–4–4 | 1–4–5 | 4–4–2 | 6–3–1 | ||||||
| Detroit | 4–4–2 | 4–2–4 | — | 5–3–2 | 7–1–2 | 5–4–1 | ||||||
| Montreal | 4–5–1 | 4–1–5 | 3–5–2 | — | 6–2–2 | 2–6–2 | ||||||
| New York | 2–8 | 4–4–2 | 1–7–2 | 2–6–2 | — | 2–6–2 | ||||||
| Toronto | 3–4–3 | 3–6–1 | 4–5–1 | 6–2–2 | 6–2–2 | — | ||||||
Playoffs
With the reduction of the league to six teams, the number of teams qualifying for the Stanley Cup Playoffs was reduced to four, and the quarterfinal round was eliminated. In the best-of-seven semifinals, the first-place team would face the third-place team, while the second-place team would draw the fourth-place team, with the winners facing off in the best-of-seven Stanley Cup Finals. This format would remain in place through the 1966–67 NHL season, after which expansion would increase the number of teams in the playoffs.
Playoff bracket
| Semifinals | Stanley Cup Finals | ||||||||
| 1 | Detroit | 4 | |||||||
| 3 | Toronto | 2 | |||||||
| 1 | Detroit | 4 | |||||||
| 2 | Boston | 0 | |||||||
| 2 | Boston | 4 | |||||||
| 4 | Montreal | 1 | |||||||
Semifinals
(1) Detroit Red Wings vs. (3) Toronto Maple Leafs
| March 21 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 2–4 | Detroit Red Wings | Olympia Stadium | Recap | |||
| Mel Hill (1) – 13:18 | First period | 17:24 – Carl Liscombe (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Jack Hamilton (1) – 13:55 | Third period | 06:06 – Don Grosso (1) 06:43 – Eddie Wares (1) 11:00 – Les Douglas (1) | ||||||
| Turk Broda | Goalie stats | Johnny Mowers | ||||||
| March 23 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 3–2 | 4OT | Detroit Red Wings | Olympia Stadium | Recap | ||
| No scoring | First period | 12:36 – Joe Carveth (1) | ||||||
| Reg Hamilton (1) – 00:52 Lorne Carr (1) – pp – 16:27 |
Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 12:47 – Joe Carveth (2) | ||||||
| Jack McLean (1) – 10:18 | Fourth overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
| Turk Broda | Goalie stats | Johnny Mowers | ||||||
| March 25 | Detroit Red Wings | 4–2 | Toronto Maple Leafs | Maple Leaf Gardens | Recap | |||
| Cully Simon (1) – 01:04 Carl Liscombe (2) – pp – 09:21 Sid Abel (1) – pp – 17:30 |
First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Eddie Wares (2) – pp – 09:56 | Third period | 14:41 – pp – Bud Poile (1) 16:12 – Billy Taylor (1) | ||||||
| Johnny Mowers | Goalie stats | Turk Broda | ||||||
| March 27 | Detroit Red Wings | 3–6 | Toronto Maple Leafs | Maple Leaf Gardens | Recap | |||
| Carl Liscombe (3) – 02:15 Carl Liscombe (4) – pp – 13:50 |
First period | 12:02 – pp – Bud Poile (2) 17:37 – Bucko McDonald (1) | ||||||
| Sid Abel (2) – pp – 07:58 | Second period | 02:27 – Billy Taylor (2) 17:12 – Bob Davidson (1) 19:48 – pp – Sweeney Schriner (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 17:50 – Mel Hill (2) | ||||||
| Johnny Mowers | Goalie stats | Turk Broda | ||||||
| March 28 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 2–4 | Detroit Red Wings | Olympia Stadium | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 14:54 – Eddie Wares (3) | ||||||
| Mel Hill (3) – 15:12 Babe Pratt (1) – 16:11 |
Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 02:18 – Sid Abel (3) 08:13 – Mud Bruneteau (1) 19:59 – Sid Abel (4) | ||||||
| Turk Broda | Goalie stats | Johnny Mowers | ||||||
| March 30 | Detroit Red Wings | 3–2 | OT | Toronto Maple Leafs | Maple Leaf Gardens | Recap | ||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Mud Bruneteau (2) – 11:46 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Joe Carveth (3) – 07:19 | Third period | 11:55 – Jack McLean (2) 19:47 – Sweeney Schriner (2) | ||||||
| Adam Brown (1) – 09:21 | First overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
| Johnny Mowers | Goalie stats | Turk Broda | ||||||
| Detroit won series 4–2 | |
(2) Boston Bruins vs. (4) Montreal Canadiens
This was the last time that Boston defeated Montreal in a postseason series until 1988.
| March 21 | Montreal Canadiens | 4–5 | OT | Boston Bruins | Boston Garden | Recap | ||
| Toe Blake (1) – 18:19 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Buddy O'Connor (1) – pp – 00:42 Toe Blake (2) – 01:52 |
Second period | 03:51 – Don Gallinger (1) 08:06 – pp – Art Jackson (1) | ||||||
| Dutch Hiller (1) – 07:40 | Third period | 08:37 – Oscar Aubuchon (1) 15:53 – pp – Bill Cowley (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | First overtime period | 12:30 – Don Gallinger (2) | ||||||
| Paul Bibeault | Goalie stats | Frank Brimsek | ||||||
| March 23 | Montreal Canadiens | 3–5 | Boston Bruins | Boston Garden | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 06:07 – Don Gallinger (3) 16:39 – Ab DeMarco (1) 18:02 – Art Jackson (2) | ||||||
| Gordie Drillon (1) – 14:28 Toe Blake (3) – 15:02 Gordie Drillon (2) – 15:45 |
Third period | 06:46 – Herb Cain (1) 18:56 – Art Jackson (3) | ||||||
| Paul Bibeault | Goalie stats | Frank Brimsek | ||||||
| March 25 | Boston Bruins | 3–2 | OT | Montreal Canadiens | Montreal Forum | Recap | ||
| No scoring | First period | 13:44 – Elmer Lach (1) | ||||||
| Herb Cain (2) – 08:45 | Second period | 05:14 – Gordie Drillon (3) | ||||||
| Dit Clapper (1) – 19:08 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Busher Jackson (1) – sh – 03:20 | First overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
| Frank Brimsek | Goalie stats | Paul Bibeault | ||||||
| March 27 | Boston Bruins | 0–4 | Montreal Canadiens | Montreal Forum | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 04:14 – Jack Portland (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 17:26 – Toe Blake (4) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 08:47 – Buddy O'Connor (2) 16:06 – Joe Benoit (1) | ||||||
| Frank Brimsek | Goalie stats | Paul Bibeault | ||||||
| March 30 | Montreal Canadiens | 4–5 | OT | Boston Bruins | Boston Garden | Recap | ||
| Elmer Lach (2) – 10:31 Buddy O'Connor (3) – 11:15 |
First period | 12:20 – Dit Clapper (2) | ||||||
| Buddy O'Connor (4) – 08:51 Gordie Drillon (4) – 13:17 |
Second period | 12:41 – Murph Chamberlain (1) 14:54 – Herb Cain (3) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 09:49 – Herb Cain (4) | ||||||
| No scoring | First overtime period | 03:41 – Ab DeMarco (2) | ||||||
| Paul Bibeault | Goalie stats | Frank Brimsek | ||||||
| Boston won series 4–1 | |
Stanley Cup Finals
| April 1 | Boston Bruins | 2–6 | Detroit Red Wings | Olympia Stadium | Recap | |||
| Art Jackson (4) – 18:13 | First period | 01:15 – Jack Stewart (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 01:12 – Mud Bruneteau (3) 15:43 – sh – Sid Abel (5) 19:06 – Joe Carveth (4) | ||||||
| Ab DeMarco (3) – 17:53 | Third period | 01:21 – Mud Bruneteau (4) 16:24 – Mud Bruneteau (5) | ||||||
| Frank Brimsek | Goalie stats | Johnny Mowers | ||||||
| April 4 | Boston Bruins | 3–4 | Detroit Red Wings | Olympia Stadium | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Jack Crawford (1) – 10:16 Art Jackson (5) – 11:04 |
Second period | 17:06 – Les Douglas (2) | ||||||
| Art Jackson (6) – 16:38 | Third period | 05:55 – Joe Carveth (5) 06:21 – Carl Liscombe (5) 13:16 – Syd Howe (1) | ||||||
| Frank Brimsek | Goalie stats | Johnny Mowers | ||||||
| April 7 | Detroit Red Wings | 4–0 | Boston Bruins | Boston Garden | Recap | |||
| Don Grosso (2) – 03:46 Don Grosso (3) – pp – 10:16 |
First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Les Douglas (3) – 08:03 Don Grosso (4) – 18:41 |
Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Johnny Mowers | Goalie stats | Frank Brimsek | ||||||
| April 8 | Detroit Red Wings | 2–0 | Boston Bruins | Boston Garden | Recap | |||
| Joe Carveth (6) – 12:09 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Carl Liscombe (6) – 02:45 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Johnny Mowers | Goalie stats | Frank Brimsek | ||||||
| Detroit won series 4–0 | |
Awards
| Calder Memorial Trophy: (Best first-year player) | Gaye Stewart, Toronto Maple Leafs |
| Hart Trophy: (Most valuable player) | Bill Cowley, Boston Bruins |
| Lady Byng Trophy: (Excellence and sportsmanship) | Max Bentley, Chicago Black Hawks |
| O'Brien Cup: (Stanley Cup runner-up) | Boston Bruins |
| Prince of Wales Trophy: (Best regular-season record) | Detroit Red Wings |
| Vezina Trophy: (Fewest goals allowed) | Johnny Mowers, Detroit Red Wings |
All-Star teams
Player statistics
Scoring leaders
Note: GP = Games played, G = Goals, A = Assists, PTS = Points, PIM = Penalties in minutes
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | PTS | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Doug Bentley | Chicago Black Hawks | 50 | 33 | 40 | 73 | 18 |
| Bill Cowley | Boston Bruins | 48 | 27 | 45 | 72 | 10 |
| Max Bentley | Chicago Black Hawks | 47 | 26 | 44 | 70 | 2 |
| Lynn Patrick | New York Rangers | 50 | 22 | 39 | 61 | 28 |
| Lorne Carr | Toronto Maple Leafs | 50 | 27 | 33 | 60 | 15 |
| Billy Taylor | Toronto Maple Leafs | 50 | 18 | 42 | 60 | 2 |
| Bryan Hextall | New York Rangers | 50 | 27 | 32 | 59 | 28 |
| Toe Blake | Montreal Canadiens | 48 | 23 | 36 | 59 | 26 |
| Elmer Lach | Montreal Canadiens | 45 | 18 | 40 | 58 | 14 |
| Buddy O'Connor | Montreal Canadiens | 50 | 15 | 43 | 58 | 2 |
Source: NHL[6]
Leading goaltenders
Note: GP = Games played; Mins – Minutes played; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts
| Player | Team | GP | Mins | GA | W | L | T | SO | GAA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Johnny Mowers | Detroit Red Wings | 50 | 3010 | 124 | 25 | 14 | 11 | 6 | 2.47 |
| Turk Broda | Toronto Maple Leafs | 50 | 3000 | 159 | 22 | 19 | 9 | 1 | 3.18 |
| Frank Brimsek | Boston Bruins | 50 | 3000 | 176 | 24 | 17 | 9 | 1 | 3.53 |
| Bert Gardiner | Chicago Black Hawks | 50 | 3020 | 180 | 17 | 18 | 15 | 1 | 3.58 |
| Paul Bibeault | Montreal Canadiens | 50 | 3010 | 191 | 19 | 19 | 12 | 1 | 3.81 |
| Jimmy Franks | New York Rangers | 23 | 1380 | 103 | 5 | 14 | 4 | 0 | 4.48 |
| Bill Beveridge | New York Rangers | 17 | 1020 | 89 | 4 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 5.24 |
Coaches
- Boston Bruins: Art Ross
- Chicago Black Hawks: Paul Thompson
- Detroit Red Wings: Jack Adams
- Montreal Canadiens: Dick Irvin
- New York Rangers: Frank Boucher
- Toronto Maple Leafs: Hap Day
Debuts
The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1942–43 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs):
- Bep Guidolin, Boston Bruins (youngest rookie in NHL history)
- Glen Harmon, Montreal Canadiens
- Ted Kennedy, Toronto Maple Leafs
- Joe Klukay*, Toronto Maple Leafs
- Bobby Lee, Montreal Canadiens
- Bud Poile, Toronto Maple Leafs
- Bill Quackenbush, Detroit Red Wings
- Maurice Richard, Montreal Canadiens
Last games
The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1942–43 (listed with their last team):
- Ebbie Goodfellow, Detroit Red Wings
- Gordie Drillon, Montreal Canadiens
See also
References
- Diamond, Dan, ed. (1994). Years of glory, 1942–1967: the National Hockey League's official book of the six-team era. Toronto, ON: McClelland and Stewart. ISBN 0-7710-2817-2.
- 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. Toronto, ON: 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. Lincolnwood, IL: 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
- ↑ "Young Players For N.H.L. Clubs?". Winnipeg Tribune. Winnipeg, Manitoba. August 22, 1942. p. 19.
- ↑ "New Agreement Between Pros and Amateurs". Brandon Daily Sun. Brandon, Manitoba. October 26, 1942. p. 3.
- ↑ Diamond(1994), p. 10
- ↑ "1942–1943 Division Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". National Hockey League.
- ↑ "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
- ↑ Dinger 2011, p. 148.