1931–32 Toronto Maple Leafs season

The 1931–32 Toronto Maple Leafs season was Toronto's 15th season in the NHL. The Maple Leafs were coming off their best regular season in team history in 1930–31, and the club set team records in wins and points, with 23 and 53 respectively, finishing in second place in the Canadian Division. Toronto then won three playoff rounds to win the Stanley Cup, first as the Maple Leafs, and third in the history of the franchise.

1931–32 Toronto Maple Leafs
Stanley Cup champions
Division2nd Canadian
1931–32 record23–18–7
Home record17–4–3
Road record6–14–4
Goals for155
Goals against127
Team information
General managerConn Smythe
CoachArt Duncan (0–3–2)
Conn Smythe (1–0–0)
Dick Irvin (22–15–5)
CaptainHap Day
ArenaMaple Leaf Gardens
Team leaders
GoalsCharlie Conacher (34)
AssistsJoe Primeau (37)
PointsBusher Jackson (53)
Penalty minutesRed Horner (97)
WinsLorne Chabot (22)
Goals against averageLorne Chabot (2.36)

Offseason

Prior to the season, the NHL announced that the schedule would increase from 44 games to 48. Also, the Maple Leafs announced they were moving from the Arena Gardens, which had been their home since entering the NHL in 1917, to the newly constructed Maple Leaf Gardens.

Regular season

Toronto started the season off slowly, going win-less in their first five games, which cost head coach Art Duncan his job. He was replaced by former Chicago Black Hawks head coach Dick Irvin. Having to travel from his home in Winnipeg, Irvin joined the club for the December 1 game after Smythe coached the team to their first win of the season against the Boston Bruins.[1] The hiring of Irvin would pay off immediately, as the Leafs got hot and had an 8–3–2 record in his first month behind the bench. The Leafs continued to play good hockey for the remainder of the season, finishing with a team record 23 victories, and tying the club record with 53 points. Toronto finished in second place in the Canadian Division, behind the Montreal Canadiens, and qualified for the playoffs for the second straight season.

The Leafs offense was led by Busher Jackson, who led the NHL with 53 points, scoring 28 goals and added 25 assists in 48 games. Linemate Joe Primeau led the league with 37 assists to finish second to Jackson in league scoring with 50 points. Charlie Conacher posted an NHL high 34 goals, and finished fourth in league scoring with 48 points. Defenceman King Clancy anchored the blueline, scoring 10 goals and 19 points, while Red Horner provided the team toughness, getting a club high 97 penalty minutes. In goal, Lorne Chabot had another very solid season, winning a team high 22 games while posting a 2.36 GAA and earning four shutouts along the way.

Maple Leaf Gardens
Toronto Maple Leafs opening night program at MLG, November 12, 1931

Overseen by Leafs managing director Conn Smythe, the new Maple Leaf Gardens was built in a six-month period during 1931 at a total cost of $1.5 million. The site was purchased from The T. Eaton Co. Ltd. for a price said to be $150,000 below market value. The building was designed by the architectural firm of Ross and Macdonald. Construction was partly funded through a public offering of 7% preferred shares in a new corporation "Maple Leaf Gardens Limited" at $10 each, with a free common share for each five preferred shares purchased.[2] Smythe and the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club Ltd. transferred ownership of the hockey team to the new corporation in return for shares.

The contract to construct the building was awarded to Thomson Brothers Construction of Port Credit in Toronto Township.[3] Thomson Bros bid just under $990,000 for the project, the lowest of ten tenders received, mainly due to the fact that amongst the Thomson Brothers' various enterprises they had much of the sub contract work covered, others could not compete in this manner.[4] That price did not include steel work, which was estimated at an additional $100,000. Construction began at midnight on June 1, 1931.[4] In what is to this day considered to be an outstanding accomplishment, the Gardens was built in under five months and two weeks.

W. A. Hewitt, sports editor of the Toronto Star, was hired as general manager to oversee all events other than professional hockey.[2] His son, Foster Hewitt, was hired to run the radio broadcasts.

The Gardens opened on November 12, 1931, with the Maple Leafs losing 2–1 to the Chicago Black Hawks. Reported attendance on opening night was 13,542.[5] The Leafs would go on to win their first Stanley Cup (third of the Toronto franchise) that season.

Season standings
Canadian Division
GP W L T GF GA PTS
Montreal Canadiens482516712811157
Toronto Maple Leafs482318715512753
Montreal Maroons481922714213945
New York Americans48162489514240

[6]

Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points
       Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

Record vs. opponents

Playoffs
See also: 1932 Stanley Cup Finals

The Maple Leafs would open the playoffs against the Chicago Black Hawks in a two-game, total goal series. The Black Hawks had a record of 18–19–11, earning 47 points, and finished in second place in the American Division. The Leafs dropped the opening game by a close 1–0 score at Chicago Stadium, however, they returned home for the second game, and Toronto easily defeated the Black Hawks 6–1, and won the total goal series by a score of 6–2, advancing to the second round of the playoffs.

Toronto's next opponent was the Montreal Maroons in another two game, total goal series. The Maroons finished behind Toronto in the Canadian Division, as they finished with a 19–22–7 record, registering 43 points. The Maroons defeated the Detroit Falcons in the opening round of the playoffs. The series opened at the Montreal Forum, and the game ended in a 1–1 tie. The second game was played at Maple Leaf Gardens, and Toronto used home ice to their advantage, defeating the Maroons 3–2 in overtime to win the series 4–3, and move to the Stanley Cup finals.

The Leafs would play the New York Rangers in a best of 5 series to determine the winner of the 1932 Stanley Cup Finals. The Rangers finished in first place in the American Division with a 23–17–8 record, earning 54 points. They had defeated the Montreal Canadiens in four games to advance to the finals. The series opened at Madison Square Garden in New York, however, it was the Leafs who struck first, defeating the Rangers 6–4. The second game of the series was moved from New York to the Boston Garden due to the circus having been booked for the Rangers home arena. Toronto took full advantage of this, and easily defeated the Rangers 6–2 to come within a victory of the Stanley Cup. The series moved to Toronto for the third game, and Toronto completed the sweep, defeating New York 6–4, and winning their third Stanley Cup in team history, and first since 1922, when they were still named the Toronto St. Pats. The "Kid Line" of Jackson, Conacher, and Primeau combined for 8 goals in the 3 games.

Schedule and results

Regular season
#DateVisitorScoreHomeRecordPts
1November 12Chicago Black Hawks2–1Toronto Maple Leafs0–1–00
2November 14Montreal Canadiens1–1Toronto Maple Leafs0–1–11
3November 18Toronto Maple Leafs1–1Chicago Black Hawks0–1–22
4November 21New York Rangers5–3Toronto Maple Leafs0–2–22
5November 26Toronto Maple Leafs2–3Montreal Canadiens0–3–22
6November 28Boston Bruins5–6Toronto Maple Leafs1–3–24
7December 1New York Americans2–2Toronto Maple Leafs1–3–35
8December 3Toronto Maple Leafs2–8Montreal Maroons1–4–35
9December 5Montreal Maroons0–4Toronto Maple Leafs2–4–37
10December 8Toronto Maple Leafs4–2New York Rangers3–4–39
11December 12Detroit Falcons1–3Toronto Maple Leafs4–4–311
12December 15Toronto Maple Leafs2–2New York Americans4–4–412
13December 19Montreal Maroons2–4Toronto Maple Leafs5–4–414
14December 20Toronto Maple Leafs0–1Chicago Black Hawks5–5–414
15December 22New York Americans3–9Toronto Maple Leafs6–5–416
16December 24Toronto Maple Leafs2–1Montreal Canadiens7–5–418
17December 26Montreal Canadiens2–0Toronto Maple Leafs7–6–418
18December 29Toronto Maple Leafs5–0New York Americans8–6–420
19December 31Montreal Maroons1–3Toronto Maple Leafs9–6–422
20January 3Toronto Maple Leafs2–3Detroit Falcons9–7–422
21January 5Toronto Maple Leafs3–3Boston Bruins9–7–523
22January 10Toronto Maple Leafs0–2New York Rangers9–8–523
23January 12Detroit Falcons4–7Toronto Maple Leafs10–8–525
24January 14Toronto Maple Leafs6–4Montreal Maroons11–8–527
25January 17Toronto Maple Leafs0–4New York Americans11–9–527
26January 19New York Americans3–11Toronto Maple Leafs12–9–529
27January 21Toronto Maple Leafs1–3Montreal Canadiens12–10–529
28January 23Montreal Canadiens0–2Toronto Maple Leafs13–10–531
29January 30New York Rangers3–6Toronto Maple Leafs14–10–533
30February 3Toronto Maple Leafs0–7Chicago Black Hawks14–11–533
31February 6Boston Bruins0–6Toronto Maple Leafs15–11–535
32February 7Toronto Maple Leafs1–3Detroit Falcons15–12–535
33February 13Montreal Maroons0–6Toronto Maple Leafs16–12–537
34February 16Toronto Maple Leafs0–3Boston Bruins16–13–537
35February 18New York Rangers3–5Toronto Maple Leafs17–13–539
36February 20Toronto Maple Leafs0–3Montreal Maroons17–14–539
37February 23Toronto Maple Leafs4–4New York Americans17–14–640
38February 25Detroit Falcons5–3Toronto Maple Leafs17–15–640
39February 27Chicago Black Hawks2–4Toronto Maple Leafs18–15–642
40March 1New York Americans1–3Toronto Maple Leafs19–15–644
41March 5Montreal Canadiens1–1Toronto Maple Leafs19–15–745
42March 10Toronto Maple Leafs1–3Montreal Maroons19–16–745
43March 12Boston Bruins3–5Toronto Maple Leafs20–16–747
44March 15Toronto Maple Leafs2–6Boston Bruins20–17–747
45March 17Toronto Maple Leafs6–3New York Rangers21–17–749
46March 19Chicago Black Hawks3–11Toronto Maple Leafs22–17–751
47March 20Toronto Maple Leafs3–2Detroit Falcons23–17–753
48March 22Toronto Maple Leafs2–4Montreal Canadiens23–18–753

Playoffs
Toronto Maple Leafs 6, Chicago Black Hawks 2
#DateVisitorScoreHomeRecord
1March 27Toronto Maple Leafs0–1Chicago Black Hawks0–1
2March 29Chicago Black Hawks1–6Toronto Maple Leafs1–1
Toronto Maple Leafs 4, Montreal Maroons 3
#DateVisitorScoreHomeRecord
1March 31Toronto Maple Leafs1–1Montreal Maroons0–0–1
2April 2Montreal Maroons2–3Toronto Maple Leafs1–0–1
Toronto Maple Leafs 3, New York Rangers 0
#DateVisitorScoreHomeRecord
1April 5Toronto Maple Leafs6–4New York Rangers1–0
2April 7Toronto Maple Leafs6–2New York Rangers2–0
3April 9New York Rangers4–6Toronto Maple Leafs3–0
  • Game 2 played in Boston

Player statistics

Regular season
Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM
Busher JacksonLW4828255363
Joe PrimeauC4613375025
Charlie ConacherRW4434144866
Andy BlairC489142335
Bob GracieC/LW481382129
Frank FinniganRW478132145
King ClancyD481091961
Baldy CottonLW485131841
Red HornerD42791697
Hap DayD47781533
Harold DarraghLW48510156
Ace BaileyRW41851362
Alex LevinskyD47551029
Earl MillerLW1533610
Lorne ChabotG440002
Benny GrantG50000
Syd HoweC/LW30000
Fred RobertsonD800023
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO
Lorne Chabot269844221661062.364
Benny Grant3205121183.381
King Clancy11000160.000
Red Horner11000160.000
Alex Levinsky11000160.000
Team:302148231871272.525

Playoffs
Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM
Charlie ConacherRW76286
Busher JacksonLW752713
Hap DayD73366
Joe PrimeauC70662
Frank FinniganRW72358
Bob GracieC/LW73140
Andy BlairC72246
Baldy CottonLW72248
Red HornerD722420
King ClancyD721314
Ace BaileyRW71014
Harold DarraghLW70112
Lorne ChabotG70000
Alex LevinskyD70006
Earl MillerLW70000
Fred RobertsonD70000
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L GA GAA SO
Lorne Chabot438751152.050
Team:438751152.050

[8]

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;

Awards and records

Transactions

See also

References
  1. Rodden, M. J. (November 30, 1931). "On The Highways of Sport: The Maple Leafs Finally Chase The Jinx". The Globe. p. 6.
  2. Maple Leaf Gardens, Limited – Prospectus, summary published in The Globe, March 5, 1931
  3. "Maple Leaf Gardens contract goes to local firm," The Globe, May 30, 1931
  4. "New arena work to start on Sunday at midnight," Toronto Star, May 30, 1931
  5. Rodden, Mike (November 13, 1931). "Over thirteen thousand attend opening game". The Globe.
  6. Standings: NHL Public Relations Department (2008). Dave McCarthy; et al. (eds.). THE NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE Official Guide & Record Book/2009. National Hockey League. p. 147. ISBN 978-1-894801-14-0.
  7. "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
  8. "1931-32 Toronto Maple Leafs Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved June 11, 2009.
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