1944–45 NHL season
The 1944–45 NHL season was the 28th season of the National Hockey League. Six teams each played 50 games. The Toronto Maple Leafs won the Stanley Cup in seven games versus the Detroit Red Wings.
| 1944–45 NHL season | |
|---|---|
| League | National Hockey League |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Duration | October 28, 1944 – April 22, 1945 |
| Number of games | 50 |
| Number of teams | 6 |
| Regular season | |
| Season champion | Montreal Canadiens |
| Season MVP | Elmer Lach (Canadiens) |
| Top scorer | Elmer Lach (Canadiens) |
| Stanley Cup | |
| Champions | Toronto Maple Leafs |
| Runners-up | Detroit Red Wings |
League business
In October 1944, Lester Patrick sponsored W. G. Hardy to become NHL president, replacing Red Dutton who wanted to step down. Patrick credited Hardy for being largely responsible for the current professional-amateur agreement between the NHL and the amateur associations in the International Ice Hockey Association, and said he was "temperamentally suited and has an excellent record as an executive of the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association".[1]
Dutton offered to resign because of business concerns, but the league's board of governors dissuaded him. Conn Smythe, at one point, was offered the presidency, but turned it down. Dutton then stayed on.
Regular season
It was the year of the "Punch Line" as Rocket Richard scored 50 goals in 50 games, breaking Joe Malone's record of 44 goals, and when Richard scored his 45th, Malone was on hand to present him with the record-breaking puck. Richard had a five-goal, three-assist night against Detroit at the Montreal Forum on December 28, 1944. His centreman, Elmer Lach, though, won the scoring race with 26 goals and 80 points. Toe Blake finished third with 29 goals, 38 assists, and for the second time, an entire line finished first, second, third scoring. The previous time had been in 1939–40, when the Boston Bruins' Kraut Line of Milt Schmidt, Bobby Bauer and Woody Dumart accomplished the feat. Schmidt finished with 52 points in 48 games that year, and Bauer and Dumart 43 apiece.
Montreal dared not loan Paul Bibeault to Toronto again with his fine year the previous season and loaned him instead to Boston. But the Maple Leafs came up with a fine rookie named Frank McCool who won the Calder Memorial Trophy as the league's top rookie. For the first time, a team produced three consecutive top rookies. McCool and Chicago netminder Mike Karakas tied for the league lead in shutouts with four each.
Bill Durnan won his second consecutive Vezina Trophy with Montreal. Flash Hollett became the first defenceman to score twenty goals in one season.[2] The record would stand until Bobby Orr broke it several decades later.
A major trade that occurred this year was Chicago trading their great defenceman Earl Seibert to Detroit for Don Grosso, Cully Simon and Byron "Butch" McDonald. After team owner Frederic McLaughlin died, it was just a matter of time before Bill Tobin would trade Seibert, as the two did not get along.
Final standings
| GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | DIFF | Pts | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Montreal Canadiens | 50 | 38 | 8 | 4 | 228 | 121 | +107 | 80 |
| 2 | Detroit Red Wings | 50 | 31 | 14 | 5 | 218 | 161 | +57 | 67 |
| 3 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 50 | 24 | 22 | 4 | 183 | 161 | +22 | 52 |
| 4 | Boston Bruins | 50 | 16 | 30 | 4 | 179 | 219 | −40 | 36 |
| 5 | Chicago Black Hawks | 50 | 13 | 30 | 7 | 141 | 194 | −53 | 33 |
| 6 | New York Rangers | 50 | 11 | 29 | 10 | 154 | 247 | −93 | 32 |
Playoffs
Playoff bracket
| Semifinals | Stanley Cup Finals | ||||||||
| 1 | Montreal | 2 | |||||||
| 3 | Toronto | 4 | |||||||
| 3 | Toronto | 4 | |||||||
| 2 | Detroit | 3 | |||||||
| 2 | Detroit | 4 | |||||||
| 4 | Boston | 3 | |||||||
(1) Montreal Canadiens vs. (3) Toronto Maple Leafs
The Montreal Canadiens finished first in the league with 80 points. The Toronto Maple Leafs finished third with 52 points. This was the fourth playoff meeting between these two teams with Montreal winning the two of the three previous series. They last met in previous year's Stanley Cup Semifinals where the Canadiens won in five games. Toronto won this season's ten-game regular-season series earning eleven of twenty points.
| March 20 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 1–0 | Montreal Canadiens | Montreal Forum | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Ted Kennedy (1) – 19:38 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Frank McCool | Goalie stats | Bill Durnan | ||||||
| March 22 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 3–2 | Montreal Canadiens | Montreal Forum | Recap | |||
| Ted Kennedy (2) – pp – 04:07 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Lorne Carr (1) – 10:58 Nick Metz (1) – 15:37 |
Second period | 08:15 – pp – Butch Bouchard (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 17:21 – pp – Elmer Lach (1) | ||||||
| Frank McCool | Goalie stats | Bill Durnan | ||||||
| March 24 | Montreal Canadiens | 4–1 | Toronto Maple Leafs | Maple Leaf Gardens | Recap | |||
| Elmer Lach (2) – 11:14 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Bob Fillion (1) – sh – 07:58 Dutch Hiller (1) – 11:14 Murph Chamberlain (1) – 18:55 |
Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 09:02 – pp – Bob Davidson (1) | ||||||
| Bill Durnan | Goalie stats | Frank McCool | ||||||
| March 27 | Montreal Canadiens | 3–4 | OT | Toronto Maple Leafs | Maple Leaf Gardens | Recap | ||
| Elmer Lach (3) – 00:23 Maurice Richard (1) – 02:13 |
First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 02:34 – Mel Hill (1) 16:15 – Sweeney Schriner (1) | ||||||
| Bob Fillion (2) – pp – 03:47 | Third period | 09:15 – Babe Pratt (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | First overtime period | 12:36 – Gus Bodnar (1) | ||||||
| Bill Durnan | Goalie stats | Frank McCool | ||||||
| March 29 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 3–10 | Montreal Canadiens | Montreal Forum | Recap | |||
| Lorne Carr (2) – pp – 07:37 Ted Kennedy (3) – pp – 08:10 |
First period | 00:40 – Leo Lamoureux (1) 03:08 – sh – Butch Bouchard (2) 06:02 – Eddie Emberg (1) | ||||||
| Moe Morris (1) – 12:16 | Second period | 06:36 – Glen Harmon (1) 13:25 – Maurice Richard (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 01:10 – Maurice Richard (3) 01:35 – Elmer Lach (4) 10:48 – Maurice Richard (4) 15:03 – Maurice Richard (5) 19:06 – Bob Fillion (3) | ||||||
| Frank McCool | Goalie stats | Bill Durnan | ||||||
| March 31 | Montreal Canadiens | 2–3 | Toronto Maple Leafs | Maple Leaf Gardens | Recap | |||
| Maurice Richard (6) – 18:38 | First period | 13:59 – Moe Morris (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 07:11 – Sweeney Schriner (2) | ||||||
| Butch Bouchard (3) – 15:26 | Third period | 01:53 – Gus Bodnar (2) | ||||||
| Bill Durnan | Goalie stats | Frank McCool | ||||||
| Toronto won series 4–2 | |
(2) Detroit Red Wings vs. (4) Boston Bruins
The Detroit Red Wings finished second in the league with 67 points. The Boston Bruins finished fourth with 36 points. This was the fourth playoff meeting between these two teams with Detroit winning the two of the three previous series. They last met in the 1943 Stanley Cup Finals where the Red Wings won in four games. Detroit won this season's ten-game regular-season series earning nineteen of twenty points.
| March 20 | Boston Bruins | 4–3 | Detroit Red Wings | Olympia Stadium | Recap | |||
| Bill Cowley (1) – 06:20 Bill Cupolo (1) – 10:07 Herb Cain (1) – 14:04 |
First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Jack McGill (1) – 07:22 | Third period | 04:04 – Earl Seibert (1) 09:05 – Joe Carveth (1) 19:04 – Eddie Bruneteau (1) | ||||||
| Paul Bibeault | Goalie stats | Harry Lumley | ||||||
| March 22 | Boston Bruins | 4–2 | Detroit Red Wings | Olympia Stadium | Recap | |||
| Jack McGill (2) – 02:46 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Ken Smith (1) – 10:03 Jean-Paul Gladu (1) – 10:18 |
Second period | 08:25 – Harold Jackson (1) | ||||||
| Pat Egan (1) – 17:05 | Third period | 12:48 – Eddie Bruneteau (2) | ||||||
| Paul Bibeault | Goalie stats | Harry Lumley | ||||||
| March 24 | Detroit Red Wings | 3–2 | Boston Bruins | Boston Garden | Recap | |||
| Ted Lindsay (1) – 18:54 Murray Armstrong (1) – 19:35 |
First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 16:05 – Pat Egan (2) | ||||||
| Mud Bruneteau (1) – 15:48 | Third period | 17:57 – Gino Rozzini (1) | ||||||
| Harry Lumley | Goalie stats | Paul Bibeault | ||||||
| March 27 | Detroit Red Wings | 3–2 | Boston Bruins | Boston Garden | Recap | |||
| Earl Seibert (2) – 17:21 | First period | 08:31 – Ken Smith (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 14:38 – Herb Cain (2) | ||||||
| Joe Carveth (2) – 05:10 Murray Armstrong (2) – 17:15 |
Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Harry Lumley | Goalie stats | Paul Bibeault | ||||||
| March 29 | Boston Bruins | 2–3 | OT | Detroit Red Wings | Olympia Stadium | Recap | ||
| Herb Cain (3) – 11:52 | First period | 02:51 – Mud Bruneteau (2) 11:41 – Flash Hollett (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Bill Jennings (1) – pp – 17:00 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | First overtime period | 17:12 – Mud Bruneteau (3) | ||||||
| Paul Bibeault | Goalie stats | Harry Lumley | ||||||
| April 1 | Detroit Red Wings | 3–5 | Boston Bruins | Boston Garden | Recap | |||
| Jud McAtee (1) – 00:45 | First period | 12:54 – Bill Cowley (2) | ||||||
| Joe Carveth (3) – 03:24 Jud McAtee (2) – 17:12 |
Second period | 06:24 – Bill Jennings (2) 07:33 – pp – Herb Cain (4) 10:38 – Jean-Paul Gladu (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 09:25 – Bill Cowley (3) | ||||||
| Harry Lumley | Goalie stats | Paul Bibeault | ||||||
| April 3 | Boston Bruins | 3–5 | Detroit Red Wings | Olympia Stadium | Recap | |||
| Jack McGill (3) – 19:15 | First period | 08:20 – pp – Carl Liscombe (1) | ||||||
| Herb Cain (5) – 08:50 Ken Smith (3) – 19:39 |
Second period | 03:51 – Carl Liscombe (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 02:01 – Eddie Bruneteau (3) 04:09 – Carl Liscombe (3) 19:54 – Carl Liscombe (4) | ||||||
| Paul Bibeault | Goalie stats | Harry Lumley | ||||||
| Detroit won series 4–3 | |
Stanley Cup Finals
This was the eighth playoff meeting between these two teams with Toronto winning four of the seven previous series. They last met in the 1943 Stanley Cup Semifinals where Detroit won in six games. Detroit won this season's ten-game regular-season series earning seventeen of twenty points.
| April 6 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 1–0 | Detroit Red Wings | Olympia Stadium | Recap | |||
| Sweeney Schriner (3) – 13:56 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Frank McCool | Goalie stats | Harry Lumley | ||||||
| April 8 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 2–0 | Detroit Red Wings | Olympia Stadium | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Ted Kennedy (4) – 13:05 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Moe Morris (3) – 12:03 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Frank McCool | Goalie stats | Harry Lumley | ||||||
| April 12 | Detroit Red Wings | 0–1 | Toronto Maple Leafs | Maple Leaf Gardens | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 03:02 – Gus Bodnar (3) | ||||||
| Harry Lumley | Goalie stats | Frank McCool | ||||||
| April 14 | Detroit Red Wings | 5–3 | Toronto Maple Leafs | Maple Leaf Gardens | Recap | |||
| Flash Hollett (2) – pp – 08:35 | First period | 09:19 – Ted Kennedy (5) 11:44 – pp – Ted Kennedy (6) | ||||||
| Murray Armstrong (3) – 09:20 | Second period | 10:20 – Ted Kennedy (7) | ||||||
| Eddie Bruneteau (4) – sh – 01:11 Ted Lindsay (2) – 03:20 Joe Carveth (4) – 17:38 |
Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Harry Lumley | Goalie stats | Frank McCool | ||||||
| April 19 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 0–2 | Detroit Red Wings | Olympia Stadium | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 08:21 – Flash Hollett (3) 16:16 – Joe Carveth (5) | ||||||
| Frank McCool | Goalie stats | Harry Lumley | ||||||
| April 21 | Detroit Red Wings | 1–0 | OT | Toronto Maple Leafs | Maple Leaf Gardens | Recap | ||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Eddie Bruneteau (5) – 14:16 | First overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
| Harry Lumley | Goalie stats | Frank McCool | ||||||
| April 22 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 2–1 | Detroit Red Wings | Olympia Stadium | Recap | |||
| Mel Hill (2) – 05:38 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Babe Pratt (2) – pp – 12:14 | Third period | 08:16 – Murray Armstrong (4) | ||||||
| Frank McCool | Goalie stats | Harry Lumley | ||||||
| Toronto won series 4–3 | |
Awards
| O'Brien Cup: (Stanley Cup runner-up) | Detroit Red Wings |
| Prince of Wales Trophy: (Regular season champion) | Montreal Canadiens |
| Calder Memorial Trophy: (Best first-year player) | Frank McCool, Toronto Maple Leafs |
| Hart Trophy: (Most valuable player) | Elmer Lach, Montreal Canadiens |
| Lady Byng Trophy: (Excellence and sportsmanship) | Bill Mosienko, Chicago Black Hawks |
| Vezina Trophy: (Fewest goals allowed) | Bill Durnan, Montreal Canadiens |
| First team | Position | Second team |
|---|---|---|
| Bill Durnan, Montreal Canadiens | G | Mike Karakas, Chicago Black Hawks |
| Émile Bouchard, Montreal Canadiens | D | Glen Harmon, Montreal Canadiens |
| Flash Hollett, Detroit Red Wings | D | Babe Pratt, Toronto Maple Leafs |
| Elmer Lach, Montreal Canadiens | C | Bill Cowley, Boston Bruins |
| Maurice Richard, Montreal Canadiens | RW | Bill Mosienko, Chicago Black Hawks |
| Toe Blake, Montreal Canadiens | LW | Syd Howe, Detroit Red Wings |
| Dick Irvin, Montreal Canadiens | Coach | Jack Adams, Detroit Red Wings |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elmer Lach | Montreal Canadiens | 50 | 26 | 54 | 80 | 37 |
| Maurice Richard | Montreal Canadiens | 50 | 50 | 23 | 73 | 46 |
| Toe Blake | Montreal Canadiens | 49 | 29 | 38 | 67 | 35 |
| Bill Cowley | Boston Bruins | 49 | 25 | 40 | 65 | 12 |
| Ted Kennedy | Toronto Maple Leafs | 49 | 29 | 25 | 54 | 14 |
| Bill Mosienko | Chicago Black Hawks | 50 | 28 | 26 | 54 | 0 |
| Joe Carveth | Detroit Red Wings | 50 | 26 | 28 | 54 | 6 |
| Ab DeMarco | New York Rangers | 50 | 24 | 30 | 54 | 10 |
| Clint Smith | Chicago Black Hawks | 50 | 23 | 31 | 54 | 0 |
| Syd Howe | Detroit Red Wings | 46 | 17 | 36 | 53 | 6 |
Source: NHL[5]
Leading goaltenders
Note: GP = Games played; Min – Minutes played; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts
| Player | Team | GP | MIN | GA | GAA | W | L | T | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bill Durnan | Montreal Canadiens | 50 | 3000 | 121 | 2.42 | 38 | 8 | 4 | 1 |
| Frank McCool | Toronto Maple Leafs | 50 | 3000 | 161 | 3.22 | 24 | 22 | 4 | 4 |
| Harry Lumley | Detroit Red Wings | 37 | 2220 | 119 | 3.22 | 24 | 10 | 3 | 1 |
| Connie Dion | Detroit Red Wings | 12 | 720 | 39 | 3.25 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| Mike Karakas | Chicago Black Hawks | 48 | 2880 | 187 | 3.90 | 12 | 29 | 7 | 4 |
| Harvey Bennett | Boston Bruins | 24 | 1470 | 103 | 4.20 | 10 | 12 | 2 | 0 |
| Paul Bibeault | Boston Bruins | 26 | 1530 | 116 | 4.55 | 6 | 18 | 2 | 0 |
| Ken McAuley | New York Rangers | 46 | 2760 | 227 | 4.93 | 11 | 25 | 10 | 1 |
Coaches
- Boston Bruins: Art Ross
- Chicago Black Hawks: Johnny Gottselig
- 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 1944–45 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs):
- Fern Flaman, Boston Bruins
- Murray Henderson, Boston Bruins
- Pete Horeck, Chicago Black Hawks
- Ted Lindsay, Detroit Red Wings
- Bill Ezinicki, Toronto Maple Leafs
- Frank McCool, Toronto Maple Leafs
Last games
The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1944–45 (listed with their last team):
- Bill Thoms, Boston Bruins
- Cully Dahlstrom, Chicago Black Hawks
- Mush March, Chicago Black Hawks
- Johnny Gottselig, Chicago Black Hawks
- Kilby MacDonald, New York Rangers
- Bucko McDonald, New York Rangers
- Jack McLean, Toronto Maple Leafs
- John McCreedy, Toronto Maple Leafs
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
- "Patrick Sponsorshing Hardy As N.H.L. Chief". Lethbridge Herald. Lethbridge, Alberta. October 18, 1944. p. 23.
- Hockey's Book of Firsts, p.23, James Duplacey, JG Press, ISBN 978-1-57215-037-9
- "1944–1945 Division Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". National Hockey League.
- "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
- Dinger 2011, p. 148.