1938–39 NHL season
The 1938–39 NHL season was the 22nd season of the National Hockey League (NHL). Seven teams each played 48 games. The Boston Bruins were the Stanley Cup winners as they beat the Toronto Maple Leafs four games to one in the final series.
| 1938–39 NHL season | |
|---|---|
| League | National Hockey League |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Duration | November 3, 1938 – April 16, 1939 |
| Number of games | 48 |
| Number of teams | 7 |
| Regular season | |
| Season champions | Boston Bruins |
| Season MVP | Toe Blake (Canadiens) |
| Top scorer | Toe Blake (Canadiens) |
| Stanley Cup | |
| Champions | Boston Bruins |
| Runners-up | Toronto Maple Leafs |
League business
Just prior to the start of the 1938–39 season, the league held a meeting to decide the fate of the Montreal Maroons. The team had requested a shift to St. Louis, but this was rejected after considerable discussion, resulting in the Maroons suspending operations for the season. They sold most of their players to the Canadiens, and it was evident that the Maroons were through for good. This was the last time a team that had previously won a Stanley Cup either folded or relocated to another market. With only seven teams left, the NHL decided to go back to the one division format.
The Stanley Cup Finals were expanded to a best-of-seven format.
NHL president Frank Calder reached a new professional-amateur agreement with Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA) and its president W. G. Hardy in August 1938. The CAHA agreed not to allow international transfers for players on NHL reserve lists, and the NHL agreed not to sign any junior players without permission. It limited the number of amateur players which could be signed to contracts, and stipulated that both organizations use the same playing rules and recognize each other's suspensions.[1]
Regular season
Prior to the start of the season, the Boston Bruins sold their star goaltender, Tiny Thompson, who had just won a record fourth Vezina Trophy, to the Detroit Red Wings. The fans thought Art Ross was crazy, but soon they were applauding rookie Frank Brimsek, who would go on to back-stop the Bruins to a first overall finish and a Stanley Cup victory. He wiped out Thompson's shutout sequence record with three consecutive shutouts. He nearly equalled his new record with three more. He ended the season with 10 shutouts, and earned the nickname "Mr. Zero". He also became the first goaltender to win both the Vezina Trophy and Calder Memorial Trophy in the same season.
Joseph Cattarinich died on December 7 of a heart attack following an eye operation. Cattarinich was the original goaltender of the Montreal Canadiens when they were formed in 1909 and later a part-owner of the team. He was 57.
The Montreal Canadiens eroded to the point where Jules Dugal replaced Cecil Hart as manager and coach. Dugal was not much better and the Canadiens finished sixth. One bright note was that Toe Blake won the scoring title, however, despite the poor showing of the team.
Chicago, after its Stanley Cup win the previous season, began floundering at mid-season and owner Frederic McLaughlin was displeased. Accordingly, he fired coach Bill Stewart and hired left wing Paul Thompson in his place. But the Black Hawks continued to lose and finished last.
The New York Americans, up in third place at mid-season, proceeded to fall into a big slump in the second half and though they finished fourth, they were below .500 and had the worst defence in the league. Part of the problem was the retirements of Ching Johnson and Hap Day on defence. Al Murray was also out of action for quite a time. Still, goaltender Earl Robertson found himself on the second all-star team.
Final standings
| GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston Bruins | 48 | 36 | 10 | 2 | 156 | 76 | 74 |
| New York Rangers | 48 | 26 | 16 | 6 | 149 | 105 | 58 |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | 48 | 19 | 20 | 9 | 114 | 107 | 47 |
| New York Americans | 48 | 17 | 21 | 10 | 119 | 157 | 44 |
| Detroit Red Wings | 48 | 18 | 24 | 6 | 107 | 128 | 42 |
| Montreal Canadiens | 48 | 15 | 24 | 9 | 115 | 146 | 39 |
| Chicago Black Hawks | 48 | 12 | 28 | 8 | 91 | 132 | 32 |
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
| 1938–39 NHL Records [3] | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | BOS | CHI | DET | MTL | NYA | NYR | TOR | |||||
| Boston | — | 8–0 | 7–1 | 6–2 | 5–2–1 | 5–3 | 5–2–1 | |||||
| Chicago | 0–8 | — | 1–5–2 | 4–4 | 2–4–2 | 3–4–1 | 2–3–3 | |||||
| Detroit | 1–7 | 5–1–2 | — | 4–3–1 | 3–3–2 | 2–6 | 3–4–1 | |||||
| Montreal | 2–6 | 4–4 | 3–4–1 | — | 3–2–3 | 1–4–3 | 2–4–2 | |||||
| N.Y. Americans | 2–5–1 | 4–2–2 | 3–3–2 | 2–3–3 | — | 2–5–1 | 4–3–1 | |||||
| N.Y. Rangers | 3–5 | 4–3–1 | 6–2 | 4–1–3 | 5–2–1 | — | 4–3–1 | |||||
| Toronto | 2–5–1 | 3–2–2 | 4–3–1 | 4–2–2 | 3–4–1 | 3–4–1 | — | |||||
Playoffs
Playoff bracket
| Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Stanley Cup Finals | |||||||||||
| 1 | Boston | 4 | |||||||||||
| 2 | NY Rangers | 3 | |||||||||||
| 1 | Boston | 4 | |||||||||||
| 3 | Toronto | 2 | |||||||||||
| 3 | Toronto | 1 | |||||||||||
| 4 | NY Americans | 0 | |||||||||||
| 3 | Toronto | 2 | |||||||||||
| 5 | Detroit | 1 | |||||||||||
| 5 | Detroit | 2 | |||||||||||
| 6 | Montreal | 1 | |||||||||||
(3) Toronto Maple Leafs vs. (4) New York Americans
| March 21 | New York Americans | 0–4 | Toronto Maple Leafs | Maple Leaf Gardens | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 04:09 – Pep Kelly (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 10:46 – pp – Pete Langelle (1) 14:48 – Syl Apps (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 02:31 – Gordie Drillon (1) | ||||||
| Alfie Moore | Goalie stats | Turk Broda | ||||||
| March 23 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 2–0 | New York Americans | Madison Square Garden III | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Gordie Drillon (2) – 03:18 Gus Marker (1) – 18:12 |
Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Turk Broda | Goalie stats | Alfie Moore | ||||||
| Toronto won series 2–0 | |
(5) Detroit Red Wings vs. (6) Montreal Canadiens
| March 21 | Detroit Red Wings | 0–2 | Montreal Canadiens | Montreal Forum | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Toe Blake (1) – pp – 13:31 Lou Trudel (1) – 17:25 |
Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Tiny Thompson | Goalie stats | Claude Bourque | ||||||
| March 23 | Montreal Canadiens | 3–7 | Detroit Red Wings | Olympia Stadium | Recap | |||
| Walt Buswell (1) – 18:43 | First period | 06:49 – Ken Kilrea (1) | ||||||
| Walt Buswell (2) – pp – 07:53 Armand Mondou (1) – pp – 14:22 |
Second period | 00:32 – pp – Marty Barry (1) 01:02 – pp – Syd Howe (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 13:44 – pp – Syd Howe (2) 14:39 – pp – Syd Howe (3) 17:02 – Sid Abel (1) 18:30 – Eddie Wares (1) | ||||||
| Claude Bourque | Goalie stats | Tiny Thompson | ||||||
| March 26 | Montreal Canadiens | 0–1 | OT | Detroit Red Wings | Olympia Stadium | Recap | ||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | First overtime period | 07:47 – pp – Marty Barry (2) | ||||||
| Claude Bourque | Goalie stats | Tiny Thompson | ||||||
| Detroit won series 2–1 | |
(1) Boston Bruins vs. (2) New York Rangers
This series was the first to need seven games in NHL history; additionally, the Rangers were the first team in NHL history to force a Game seven after losing the first three games of a series. Mel Hill, a right wing for the Bruins, scored a record three overtime goals in a single series.[4]
| March 21 | Boston Bruins | 2–1 | 3OT | New York Rangers | Madison Square Garden III | Recap | ||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 18:18 – pp – Alex Shibicky (1) | ||||||
| Bill Cowley (1) – pp – 04:50 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Mel Hill (1) – 19:25 | Third overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
| Frank Brimsek | Goalie stats | Dave Kerr | ||||||
| March 23 | New York Rangers | 2–3 | OT | Boston Bruins | Boston Garden | Recap | ||
| No scoring | First period | 18:15 – Roy Conacher (1) 19:13 – Bill Cowley (2) | ||||||
| Alex Shibicky (2) – 14:20 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Dutch Hiller (1) – 17:46 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | First overtime period | 08:24 – Mel Hill (2) | ||||||
| Bert Gardner | Goalie stats | Frank Brimsek | ||||||
| March 26 | New York Rangers | 1–4 | Boston Bruins | Boston Garden | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 07:38 – Gord Pettinger (1) | ||||||
| Babe Pratt (1) – 13:06 | Second period | 00:25 – Milt Schmidt (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 10:00 – Milt Schmidt (2) 12:06 – Bill Cowley (3) | ||||||
| Bert Gardiner | Goalie stats | Frank Brimsek | ||||||
| March 28 | Boston Bruins | 1–2 | New York Rangers | Madison Square Garden III | Recap | |||
| Milt Schmidt (3) – 00:49 | First period | 08:58 – Mac Colville (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 10:02 – sh – Lynn Patrick (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Frank Brimsek | Goalie stats | Bert Gardiner | ||||||
| March 30 | New York Rangers | 2–1 | OT | Boston Bruins | Boston Garden | Recap | ||
| Art Coulter (1) – 06:20 | First period | 07:39 – Bobby Bauer (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Clint Smith (1) – 17:19 | First overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
| Bert Gardiner | Goalie stats | Frank Brimsek | ||||||
| April 1 | Boston Bruins | 1–3 | New York Rangers | Madison Square Garden III | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Mel Hill (3) – 11:40 | Second period | 14:08 – Phil Watson (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 05:58 – pp – Bill Carse (1) 09:25 – pp – Alex Shibicky (3) | ||||||
| Frank Brimsek | Goalie stats | Bert Gardiner | ||||||
| April 2 | New York Rangers | 1–2 | 3OT | Boston Bruins | Boston Garden | Recap | ||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Muzz Patrick (1) – 17:45 | Second period | 15:52 – Ray Getliffe (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third overtime period | 08:00 – Mel Hill (4) | ||||||
| Bert Gardiner | Goalie stats | Frank Brimsek | ||||||
| Boston won series 4–3 | |
(3) Toronto Maple Leafs vs. (5) Detroit Red Wings
| March 28 | Detroit Red Wings | 1–4 | Toronto Maple Leafs | Maple Leaf Gardens | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 05:03 – Nick Metz (1) 09:36 – pp – Gordie Drillon (3) | ||||||
| Marty Barry (3) – pp – 10:35 | Second period | 02:55 – pp – Nick Metz (2) 04:10 – pp – Gordie Drillon (4) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Tiny Thompson | Goalie stats | Turk Broda | ||||||
| March 30 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 1–3 | Detroit Red Wings | Olympia Stadium | Recap | |||
| Gordie Drillon (5) – pp – 09:00 | First period | 06:30 – pp – Charlie Conacher (1) 15:00 – Don Deacon (1) 18:00 – Herbie Lewis (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Turk Broda | Goalie stats | Tiny Thompson | ||||||
| April 1 | Detroit Red Wings | 4–5 | OT | Toronto Maple Leafs | Maple Leaf Gardens | Recap | ||
| Don Grosso (1) – 15:14 | First period | 05:05 – pp – Nick Metz (3) 16:48 – Gordie Drillon (6) | ||||||
| Don Deacon (2) – pp – 15:51 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Charlie Conacher (2) – 04:46 Hec Kilrea (1) – 11:07 |
Third period | 08:20 – Bob Davidson (1) 09:23 – Murph Chamberlain (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | First overtime period | 05:42 – Gordie Drillon (7) | ||||||
| Tiny Thompson | Goalie stats | Turk Broda | ||||||
| Toronto won series 2–1 | |
Stanley Cup Finals
| April 6 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 1–2 | Boston Bruins | Boston Garden | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 16:04 – Woody Dumart (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Red Horner (1) – 13:54 | Third period | 16:31 – Bobby Bauer (2) | ||||||
| Turk Broda | Goalie stats | Frank Brimsek | ||||||
| April 9 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 3–2 | OT | Boston Bruins | Boston Garden | Recap | ||
| Murph Chamberlain (2) – 08:55 Syl Apps (2) – 09:29 |
First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 15:05 – Roy Conacher (2) 16:18 – Mel Hill (5) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Doc Romnes (1) | First overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
| Turk Broda | Goalie stats | Frank Brimsek | ||||||
| April 11 | Boston Bruins | 3–1 | Toronto Maple Leafs | Maple Leaf Gardens | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Bobby Bauer (3) – 01:28 Roy Conacher (3) – 08:12 Jack Crawford (1) – 13:03 |
Third period | 19:11 – Gus Marker (2) | ||||||
| Frank Brimsek | Goalie stats | Turk Broda | ||||||
| April 13 | Boston Bruins | 2–0 | Toronto Maple Leafs | Maple Leaf Gardens | Recap | |||
| Roy Conacher (4) – pp – 02:20 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Roy Conacher (5) – 12:55 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Frank Brimsek | Goalie stats | Turk Broda | ||||||
| April 16 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 1–3 | Boston Bruins | Boston Garden | Recap | |||
| Bingo Kampman (1) – 18:40 | First period | 11:40 – Mel Hill (6) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 17:54 – Roy Conacher (6) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 19:23 – Flash Hollett (1) | ||||||
| Turk Broda | Goalie stats | Frank Brimsek | ||||||
| Boston won series 4–1 | |
Awards
| Calder Trophy: (Best first-year player) | Frank Brimsek, Boston Bruins |
| Hart Trophy: (Most valuable player) | Toe Blake, Montreal Canadiens |
| Lady Byng Memorial Trophy: (Excellence and sportsmanship) | Clint Smith, New York Rangers |
| O'Brien Cup: (Stanley Cup runner-up) | Toronto Maple Leafs |
| Prince of Wales Trophy: (regular-season champion) | Boston Bruins |
| Vezina Trophy: (fewest goals allowed) | Frank Brimsek, Boston Bruins |
Player statistics
Scoring leaders
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | PTS | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toe Blake | Montreal Canadiens | 48 | 24 | 23 | 47 | 10 |
| Sweeney Schriner | New York Americans | 48 | 13 | 31 | 44 | 20 |
| Bill Cowley | Boston Bruins | 34 | 8 | 34 | 42 | 2 |
| Clint Smith | New York Rangers | 48 | 21 | 20 | 41 | 2 |
| Marty Barry | Detroit Red Wings | 48 | 13 | 28 | 41 | 4 |
| Syl Apps | Toronto Maple Leafs | 44 | 15 | 25 | 40 | 4 |
| Tommy Anderson | New York Americans | 48 | 13 | 27 | 40 | 14 |
| Johnny Gottselig | Chicago Black Hawks | 48 | 16 | 23 | 39 | 15 |
| Paul Haynes | Montreal Canadiens | 47 | 5 | 33 | 38 | 27 |
| Roy Conacher | Boston Bruins | 47 | 26 | 11 | 37 | 12 |
Note: GP = Games played, G = Goals, A = Assists, PTS = Points, PIM = Penalties in minutes
Leading goaltenders
Coaches
- Boston Bruins: Art Ross
- Chicago Black Hawks: Bill Stewart and Paul Thompson
- Detroit Red Wings: Jack Adams
- Montreal Canadiens: Cecil Hart
- New York Americans: Red Dutton
- New York Rangers: Lester Patrick
- Toronto Maple Leafs: Dick Irvin
Debuts
The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1938–39 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs):
- Roy Conacher, Boston Bruins
- Frank Brimsek, Boston Bruins
- Ab DeMarco, Chicago Black Hawks
- Don Grosso, Detroit Red Wings
- Sid Abel, Detroit Red Wings
- Jack Stewart, Detroit Red Wings
Last games
The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1938–39 (listed with their last team):
- Russ Blinco, Chicago Black Hawks
- Paul Thompson, Chicago Black Hawks
- Baldy Northcott, Chicago Black Hawks
- Alex Levinsky, Chicago Black Hawks
- Bob Gracie, Chicago Black Hawks
- Larry Aurie, Detroit Red Wings
- Herbie Lewis, Detroit Red Wings
- Dave Trottier, Detroit Red Wings
- Babe Siebert, Montreal Canadiens
- Jimmy Ward, Montreal Canadiens
References
- 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.
- Notes
- "C.A.H.A.-N.H.L. Agreement Is Again Effected". Lethbridge Herald. Lethbridge, Alberta. August 15, 1938. p. 11.
- 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.
- "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
- "Legends of Hockey -- NHL Player Search -- Player -- Mel Hill". Archived from the original on June 17, 2011. Retrieved April 26, 2011.