1918–19 Toronto Arenas season

The 1918–19 Toronto Arenas season was the second season of the Toronto franchise of the National Hockey League. After being operated on a temporary basis in the previous year, the team became a formal entity, known as the 'Toronto Arena Hockey Club.' The club played 18 games and suspended operations.

1918–19 Toronto Arenas
League3rd (1st half), 3rd (2nd half) NHL
1918–19 record5–13–0 (overall)
Goals for65
Goals against92
Team information
General managerCharles Querrie
CoachDick Carroll
ArenaArena Gardens
Team leaders
GoalsAlf Skinner (12)
AssistsKen Randall (6)
PointsAlf Skinner (15)
Penalty minutesRusty Crawford (51)
WinsBert Lindsay (5)
Goals against averageHap Holmes (4.50)

Regular season

The NHL had been formed mainly because the other four clubs in the National Hockey Association were unable to expel Toronto Blueshirts owner Eddie Livingstone, even though they had long since lost patience with him. To get around this, they suspended the NHA's operations and created the NHL, but didn't invite Livingstone to join them. Motivated by a desire to have a team in Toronto, as well as balance the schedule with the Quebec Bulldogs sitting out the season, the NHL granted a temporary franchise to the Toronto Arena Company, who then leased most of Livingstone's players pending resolution of the dispute.

However, the "Torontos" won the Stanley Cup, throwing a monkey wrench into the other owners' plans to get rid of Livingstone. Estimating that his team was worth $20,000, Livingstone was unwilling to accept the Arena Company's offer of $7,000. When the Arena Company refused to bend, Livingstone sued the Arena Company and Charlie Querrie for the $20,000. A league meeting of the old NHA proved futile as heated arguments broke out between Livingstone and the other owners. The old NHA was extinguished. However, Montreal Canadiens owner George Kennedy gave some ground, saying that if Livingstone dropped his lawsuits, he might be allowed in the league.

In the meantime, the Arena Company returned its temporary franchise to the NHL. It then formed a separate club, the Toronto Arena Hockey Club, nominally owned by Arena Company treasurer Hubert Vearncombe. The new club applied for full membership in the NHL, which was duly granted. This separated the hockey club from the Livingstone lawsuits, though the franchise still used Livingstone's players without permission.

It was announced on February 18, that Ken Randall and Harry Meeking had signed with Glace Bay of the Maritime League with the Arenas' permission. The game that night was attended by only 1,000 fans watching a 4–3 overtime loss to Ottawa. After a follow-up game in Ottawa on February 20, lost 9–3, manager Querrie announced that the club sought to withdraw from the NHL season[1] and this was agreed to by Ottawa and Montreal.[2] The NHL season ended at 18 games, with Montreal and Ottawa to play off for the championship.

Final standings
First Half
GP W L T Pts GF GA
Montreal Canadiens10730145750
Ottawa Senators10550103939
Toronto Arenas1037064249
Second Half
GP W L T Pts GF GA
Ottawa Senators8710143214
Montreal Canadiens835063128
Toronto Arenas826042243

[3] 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.

Record vs. opponents
1918–19 NHL Records [4]
Team MTL OTT TOR
Montreal —4–56–3
Ottawa 5–4—7–2
Toronto 3–62–7—

Schedule and results

First half
#DateVisitorScoreHomeRecordPts
1December 23Montreal Canadiens4–3Toronto Arenas0–1–00
2December 26Toronto Arenas2–5Ottawa Senators0–2–00
3December 28Toronto Arenas3–6Montreal Canadiens0–3–00
4December 31Ottawa Senators2–4Toronto Arenas1–3–02
5January 7Montreal Canadiens7–6Toronto Arenas1–4–02
6January 9Toronto Arenas2–4Ottawa Senators1–5–02
7January 11Toronto Arenas4–13Montreal Canadiens1–6–02
8January 14Ottawa Senators2–5Toronto Arenas2–6–04
9January 21Montreal Canadiens3–11Toronto Arenas3–6–06
10January 23Toronto Arenas2–3Ottawa Senators3–7–06

Second half
#DateVisitorScoreHomeRecordPts
1January 28Ottawa Senators2–1Toronto Arenas0–1–00
2February 1Toronto Arenas0–10Montreal Canadiens0–2–00
3February 4Montreal Canadiens3–6Toronto Arenas1–2–02
4February 6Toronto Arenas1–3Ottawa Senators1–3–02
5February 11Montreal Canadiens4–6Toronto Arenas2–3–04
6February 15Toronto Arenas2–8Montreal Canadiens2–4–04
7February 18Ottawa Senators4–3Toronto Arenas2–5–04
8February 20Toronto Arenas3–9Ottawa Senators2–6–04

Playoffs

The Arenas did not qualify for the playoffs.

Player statistics

Scorers
Player GP G A Pts PIM
Alf Skinner171241626
Reg Noble171051535
Ken Randall14861427
Corb Denneny16831115
Rusty Crawford18741151
Harry Meeking14731032
Harry Cameron76289
Jack Adams1733635
Harry Mummery1320230
Hap Holmes20000
Paul Jacobs10000
Bert Lindsay160000
Dave Ritchie40009

[5]

Note:
Pos = Position; GPI = Games played in; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes; +/- = Plus/minus; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals
Min, TOI = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T,T/OT = Ties; OTL = Overtime losses; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; SV = Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;

Transactions

See also

References
  • Holzman, Morey; Joseph Nieforth (2002). Deceptions and doublecross : how the NHL conquered hockey. Toronto, ON, Canada: Dundurn Press. ISBN 1-55002-413-2.
  • "1918–19 National Hockey League [NHL]". hockeydb.com. Archived from the original on 17 September 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-29.
  1. "Arenas Wish to Withdraw". The Globe. February 21, 1919. p. 11.
  2. "Ottawa Consents to Withdrawal". The Globe. February 21, 1919. p. 11.
  3. Standings: NHL Public Relations Department (2008). Dave McCarthy; et al. (eds.). THE NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE Official Guide & Record Book/2009. National Hockey League. p. 145. ISBN 978-1-894801-14-0.
  4. "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
  5. "1918-19 Toronto Arenas Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved 2009-05-26.
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