1914-15 A Hard Fall To Last Place

The Canadiens sixth season is marred by contract squabbles and the ongoing tug of war over players with the Pacific Coast Hockey Association.

The one year delay in Newsy Lalonde's promise to the Vancouver Millionaires to head west and play for them in the 1914-15 season gave him just enough time for him to change his mind.

Just before the beginning of the season, the teams are informed of Lalonde's decision in November, and the Canadiens suggest that Vancouver keep Didier Pitre for another season. Of course, Pitre won't have any of this, as he feels the pull of Montreal hockey fans who desperately want him back. Vancouver is left with no other choice but to trade Pitre back to the Canadiens for a sum of money, which suits the Canadiens just fine.

Lalonde's contract is another problem as Newsy holds out for more money, wanting a better renumeration than Pitre, George Vezina, Jack Laviolette and Don Smith. Manager George Kennedy refuses to barter, and suspends Lalonde, fining him $100, and a subsequent $100 for each week of the season that he misses. Jimmy Gardner remains on as team captain.

In February, the Canadiens trade Smith to the Wanderers for cash shortly after Lalonde returns, having worked out a deal secretly with Kennedy. Newsy is not back for long, as the team suspends him once again, this time for lacklustre play. In all, Lalonde plays but seven games for the Canadiens in 1915, scoring four goals and three assists.

The personel squabbles make for a difficult start to the season for Montreal, and they drop their first four contests and never recover. Despite high hopes with 9 returning players in addition to Pitre, it would be a miserable season for the Canadiens. They would finish with a 6-14 record and they would surrender almost an additional goal per game. Vezina, who was named the league's best goaltender in three of his first four seasons, finishes third in goals against.

Five new players joined the Canadiens ranks in 1914-15 and they included Albert Corbeau, Jack Fournier, Nick Bawlf, Ed Lowrey and Marcel Béliveau. Corbeau, a right shooting defenseman, who signed with the team on December 23, would spend 8 seasons in total with the Canadiens.

The off ice commotion left many scars on the team throughout the season. Gardner, as coach and captain, asked for a pay raise in light of his cummulative duties following the season. His stand was rebuffed, and he retires to officiating.

George Vezina's temper emerged in a few matches. On one occasion against Quebec, he is penalized and tossed from the game for hitting Lalonde's rival Joe Hall - even though it is Vezina who goes flying and takes the goal net with him. With the Bulldogs behind 3-2, Laviolette replaces him in goal, and Quebec ties the game. As was then permitted, Vezina returns in extra play, only to surrender the fifth Quebec goal in a game that went on record as the longest overtime to that point. Fifty minutes and 28 seconds of additional play for needed to settle the contest.

The Canadiens finally won in their ninth game, a 7-2 win over the Wanderers on January 23. The game was marked by a 5 goal performance by Didier Pitre, who was one of the few Canadiens having a good season. Pitre would finish second in the NHA in goals this season with 30, and along the way becomes the first Canadiens player in history to net 100 career goals. On January 30, Pitre would notch a pair against Percy Lesueur of the Toronto Ontarios to achieve the feat in only 74 games.

Strangely enough, the Canadiens dressed six english speaking players in 1915, in contravention of the two player ruling. Other than Gardner and Pitre, Harry Scott, Bert Hunt, Nick Bawlf and Ed Lowrey were english speaking. The Canadiens tried to sign and dress a seventh, the legendary Art Ross, but the league governors stepped up to stop it.

Ross, who incidently had no connection to the Canadiens whatsoever beyond this boardroom battle, had his case argued for heavily by Montreal manager Kennedy. A rugged defenseman in his day, who never shied away from conflicts with authority, Ross had been banned from the NHA in this season for attempting to launch his own league. He had been organizing it quietly on the sidelines, and had signed on close to a dozen players when he was sniffed out by the league. Had Ross named the players he had signed, his suspension would have been lifted, but he refused to do so and it took Kennedy's effort to get him reinstated. Once that was accomplished however, he was not allowed to join the Canadiens. Upon his January 7 reinstatement, Ross signed with the Ottawa Senators.

Art Ross would go on to play and coach with the Wanderers, Hamilton, and later in Boston. He became a highly respected league governor, despite punch ups with NHL presisent Red Dutton and Detroit owner James Norris. It is curious in hindsight to note that although today's NHL leading scorer trophy is named after him, Ross only ever scored one goal in the National Hockey League. The reason for that oddity is that when Ross donated the trophy in his name in the late 1930's, it was to be given to the player judged as the league's most spectacular. Being that it was difficult to agree on how to judge such, the trophy went unawarded until 1948, whereupon it was given to the league's leading point scorer.















There was a little more controversy after the season had ended when it was revealed by players on the Bulldogs and Canadiens that they had been approached by gamblers offering wine bottles to them to help fix games. The ringers were not punished in light of a brief investigation that found no scores had been tampered with.

Towards the end of the year, the directors of the Westmount Arena announced that starting in 1915-16, there would be artificial ice at the arena. Other changes incurring in the NHA during 1915 included the Ontarios changing their name to the Shamrocks. The former Tecumsehs, now on their third name change, would not survive the year.


New rulings in the game included pucks played after rebounding from goalkeepers no longer being ruled offside, players standing a minimum of five feet away in distance from players facing off, and match fouls were now penalized by 10 minutes off and $15 fine. Charging a player into the boards is added as a major foul.

Even without Newsy Lalonde, the Vancouver Millionaires became a powerhouse. In the first year of PCHA champs meeting the NHA winners, Vancouver won the Stanley Cup over the Ottawa Senators three games to none.
























Some photo notes: What you see directly above is an "Official Score Card" from a Wednesday, January 13th, 1915 game at the Quebec Arena between the Bulldogs and the visiting Montreal Canadiens. The flimsy and tattered paper piece has multiple creases and was plasticized at some point to prevent further deterioration and allow for handling. And what a treat to handle! The Canadiens’ lineup featured Hall-of-Famers Georges Vezina, Newsy Lalonde, Didier Pitre and Jack Laviolette, the latter relieving Vezina in goal during overtime play when Vezina was assessed a penalty for clipping Joe Hall! Joining Hall for Quebec was goalie Paddy Moran, while Joe Malone is listed in the lineup but did not play because of an ankle injury. Newspaper accounts relate that Quebec City had never witnessed a more hotly contested or sensational game than this one which ended after 50 minutes of overtime when Jack McDonald’s second goal of the game gave Quebec a 4-3 victory. Don Smith, twice, and Pitre had scored for Montreal, with Harry Mummery and Rusty Crawford getting Quebec’s other goals. Remarkable pre-NHL relic measures 10-3/4" by 8-1/4" and is museum worthy.

The photo of skates are those belonging to the Georges Vezina in this era.

Another photo note: The picture of Newsy Lalonde in the "CA" logo is a composite, photoshopped by someone with a creative side. Considering that Lalonde spent more time away from the Canadiens team than he spent time playing in 1914-15, there are precious few photos of him in a "CA" from this era. The head of Newsy is from an entirely different photo, and the "CA" logo was either drawn onto this sweater erroneously. The backdrop is actually a Seattle photo shoot from 1919.
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1915-16 A First Of Many Stanleys

The Canadiens had endured a miserable season in 1914-15 and team owner George Kennedy was determined that the situation would not repeat itself. He offered contracts to defenseman Goldie Prodgers and Howard McNamara - who he'd soon name captain - as well as Georges Poulin and Amos Arbour. Later in the season, Kennedy would add Skene Ronan, the NHA's leading scorer from 1911-12.

The addition of Ronan caused a bit of a stir, as the Canadiens had only been allowed to dress only one english speaking player per game. Dressing Ronan in a January 20 match against the Quebec Bulldogs bent the rule, and a complaint was filed with the league. Agreements had been previously drafted whereupon the Montreal Wanderers, the city's other NHA franchise would be stocked almost entirely with english speaking players. From the Ronan incident on, and after a $100 fine and the forfeiting of a point gained in a tie game, the language restrictions were dropped for both teams.

Newsy Lalonde, who had played only 7 games for the Canadiens due to a contract dispute the previous season, returned to the team full time, satisfied with his new deal. He would center a line featuring Jack Laviolette on the left side and Didier Pitre on the right. Pitre would total 39 points ( 24 goals,15 assists ), but officially the scoring championship was won by Lalonde with 28 goals, as assists did not yet count in the scoring race.

Kennedy had difficulty coming to a contract with coach Jimmy Gardner, who opted to become a referee instead, so the owner turned to Lalonde to assume the duties as a playing coach.

The lineup for the Canadiens in 1915-16 included Newsy Lalonde (center/rover/playing coach), Amos Arbour (left wing), Louis Berlinguette (left wing), Albert Corbeau (defense), Jack Fournier (right wing), Howard McNamara (defense/team captain), Harold McNamara (defense), Didier Pitre (right wing/rover), Georges Poulin (center), Goldie Prodgers (defense), Skene Ronan (center), and Georges Vezina (goaltender).

Things began roughly for Lalonde as coach, with the team winning just 6 of their first 11 games. Early in February, an unhappy Kennedy served an ultimatum to his coach that delivered results. On February 12, Lalonde would score his 100th goal in his 75th game in a Canadiens uniform, in a win over the Ottawa Senators.

Towards the end of the season, the Canadiens demolished the Wanderers in a 15-5 rout. Four Habs - Lalonde, Pitre, Ronan, and defenseman McNamara - recorded hat tricks.

The Canadiens went on to win 10 of their final 11 games, capturing the league title and the O' Brien Cup. They would go onto meet the PCHL champion Portland Rosebuds for the Stanley Cup in a five game series played at the Westmount Arena.

Being that all games of the best of five series were on Montreal ice, they would play games one, three, and five by NHA rules, and games two and four by PCHL rules. The Rosebuds, the first American team in a Stanley Cup final, boasted a PCHL best record of 13-5, while the Canadiens finished up with a 16-7-1 record.

The five game series would go the distance and the Rosebuds won the opening contest with a 2-0 shutout of the Canadiens on March 20. Montreal bounced back two nights later, edging Portland 2-1 to even the series. On March 25th, the Canadiens took the lead in series with a 6-3 win, but the Rosebuds made up for it with a 6-5 win on March 28.

The series deciding game would be played on March 30 under NHA rules, and both teams played a tighter game than the previous two. Portland's Tommy Dunderdale gave his team a 1–0 lead before Skene Ronan tied the game later in the first period.

The seldom used Goldie Prodgers came in as a late game substitution and scored the game winner with four minutes left in the third period to clinch the Cup for the Canadiens with a 2-1 win.

During the entire series, future Hockey Hall Of Fame goaltender Georges Vézina aided Montreal by posting a 2.60 goals against average, while Didier Pitre led the Canadiens in scoring with 4 goals.

Then, as now, the city was swept up by the moment, with many fans not able to get tickets for games gathering at several spots where updates were being telegraphed.

The day following the win, a six paragraph writeup on the final appeared in the Montreal paper.

Written in the hockey terminology of the day, the piece aptly captures the excitement and drama of the first Stanley Cup championship in Montreal.

Both of the Winners' Goals Were Tallied by Players Used in Early Season as Substitutes

Goldie Prodgers, who has been used as a substitute by his club throughout the greater part of their scheduled season and who has been the sensation of the world's professional series which terminated last night, scored the deciding goal that gave the Canadiens possession of the Stanley Cup and his team mates the winners' share of the amount to be divided amongst the players. Following an attack on the Flying Frenchmen's nets Lalonde and Prodgers faked a play that turned the tide for the local club and accounted for their narrow margin victory, they beating the Portland Rosebuds by a score of 2 to 1.

Lalonde took the puck after Vezina cleared from a shot by Harris and started around the goal while he yelled at Prodgers to come on. The big defence player started from the other direction and taking the rubber as Lalonde left it in the corner, started on his way for Portland's end. He was given a rough journey, having to force his way past some of the opposing forwards and then the two outside defence men. He beat Harris in a rush for the centre of the ice by swinging around and starting in an opposite direction. Prodgers then skated into Irvine and his weight toppled the Portland player over, while it was an easy matter to skate around Johnson. Prodgers took his time in shooting in an effort to draw Murray out. As the Portland goaltender came out to meet him, Prodgers skated around him and lobbed the puck into the nets. That play spelled defeat for Portland, as there was less than four minutes to play and the Flying Frenchmen had little trouble in holding out their opponents for the remaining time by playing back on the defence.

TEAMS WELL MATCHED

That there was little to choose between the teams is best shown by the score of the final meeting. The Canadiens scored their first goal in the opening session, it coming from Ronan, another of the club's substitutes who has also made good in the series. The advantage was held by the Flying Frenchmen until well on in the third period, the middle session being a scoreless one. In the third session Dunderdale, who was sent in to relieve Harris, scored the goal that tied the score in a spectacular manner. He started to go between Corbeau and McNamara after getting clear of the forwards and then swung around and skated behind Corbeau, going almost into the nets before shooting. Following this score came the gruelling session of the contest, the players, ready to drop from exhaustion, became desperate in their efforts and through their over-anxiety to tally tossed away many chances from which goals would have been scored under other conditions.

The Canadiens allowed themselves to become bottled up and only the good generalship of their leader, Newsy Lalonde, enabled Prodgers to get his start. As the players went after Lalonde, Prodgers was on his way and was never overtaken. The exhibition of hockey furnished was not as brilliant as some of the previous games of the series, the checking being too close and hard to permit of the spectacular end to end rushes so conspicuous in former games. From the commencement of the play the players showed signs of ill feeling and slashed and cross-checked one another, which accounted for the almost steady procession of players to the penalty bench. The play was well handled by Harvey Pulford and Johnny Brennan, only their prompt ruling holding the players in control. During the first session there were fifteen minors and two major penalties handed out. This almost gave the game an appearance of burlesque, but it had the desired effect on the players and checked them up so that they played cleaner and more brilliant hockey in the remaining two sessions.

MADE HOCKEY HISTORY

In winning this series the Canadiens added to hockey history. They are the first French team to ever hold the coveted trophy, while through mistakes made from their bench in the fourth game they made it necessary for the series to go the full five games before a winner was determined. The victory of last night shows that the leaving of Newsy Lalonde on the bench in the final period of the game on Tuesday night was an error that might have cost the Flying Frenchmen the championship. The only advantage held by the winners under the six-man rules was their better supply of substitutes and, even with almost a second team on the bench, the regulars played throughout the better part of the match. The six-man game added to the number of substitutes on the Portland bench, as it gave them three men to send in to relieve the regulars and all of them were whipped into service at one time or another.

The game was played over a sheet of ice that was as nearly perfect as possible, which enabled the players to maintain the fast pace at which they started. The greatest number of changes were made in the opening period, these being necessary through the numerous penalties, which also served to give the regulars a rest occasionally, which served them well at the finish.

The play was witnessed by another disappointingly small attendance, so that the clubs will not reap a very rich financial harvest from the final match. The crowd of last night looked to be the smallest of the series, showing that even with the Stanley Cup at stake that the public have grown tired of hockey throughout the prolonged season.



SUBSTITUTES THE STARS

The series just brought to a finish brought together two of the fastest hockey teams who have perhaps ever competed for the Stanley Cup.

In the days when the trophy represented the amateur championship the game was not as fast as at the present time, while the meeting between the winners of the West and the East during the past two years have not brought forth the speed shown in the games played between Portland and Canadiens.


The Canadiens showed themselves the speediest aggregation in the National Hockey Association this season, and are the only team who could have kept pace with the Westerners.










The outstanding feature of the series has been the making good of men who have been used as substitutes throughout the scheduled season; Arbour, Prodgers and Lalonde have been the outstanding stars of the locals, while on the few occasions that Ronan was used he made good. His goal of last night was perhaps a flukey one, but it counted and started the French club on their victorious march. Manager Savage, of the Portland team, took exception to the scoring of the Canadiens' first goal. He claimed that the puck had not touched the ice as Referee Pulford dropped it for a face-off before Ronan batted it into the nets. Manager Savage had the option of protesting, but the decision of a referee or goal umpire is final in all matches.






















PLAYERS WERE NERVOUS

From the commencement of the play the teams started out in a cautious manner, neither showing any anxiety to leave their defence open for attacks. As the game progressed the players mastered their nervous condition and went at their work with more confidence and determination. The Canadiens were the first to break away for a combined effort, Lalonde, Prodgers and Pitre going down the ice almost apace. Lalonde shot, but missed, and the play was carried back to the locals' end by Irvine. As Corbeau came out to meet Irvine the Portland player passed over to Tobin, who shot without a great deal of accuracy and Vezina had little trouble in taking care of it. Corbeau checked Johnson in a strenuous manner and was sent to the bench, drawing the first penalty. Arbour was sent in to replace him, and Prodgers dropped back on the defence. Lalonde and Johnson then came together, and Lalonde was penalized, while Poulin replaced him. With two of the regulars on the bench the Canadiens played an almost airtight defence and held their opponents out.




























Ronan replaced Poulin, while Lalonde replaced McNamara on the defence, the latter being penalized. Following a rush of Prodgers, Harris took the puck offside and a face-off followed near the Portland nets. Ronan struck the puck as it dropped from Pulford's hand and it landed in the nets, giving Canadiens their first advantage, with nine minutes remaining in the period. Following the scoring of this goal the locals dropped back on the defensive and played a three-man defence, allowing only two to go up the ice at a time. On changing over for the second period, both clubs started their original teams. For the first few minutes the visitors had the edge and had the locals bottled up, but were unable to beat Vezina. On two occasions Tobin was inside the local defence, but failed to score. The players battled up and down the ice, being on the offensive and defensive in turn until the call of time for the resting interval.
















CANADIENS FINISHED STRONG

Again at the commencement of the third period were the visitors the first to assume the aggressive. They showed more speed than the locals, and for a time had them well bottled up. From a face-off near the centre of the ice, Dunderdale got the better of the draw, and after a brilliant play, tied the score. This was the commencement of even more gruelling play than had been shown in either of the two previous periods.





















Harris and Tobin got away for a combined effort and were in on top of the local defence when Corbeau stopped both of them. He bodied Tobin so that he went down and then reached out and tripped Harris, for which he was given a major penalty. Tobin continued to play, while Harris was replaced by Johnson, who had been serving a penalty. Following a shot on the locals' net Lalonde started the play from which the winning goal was scored, and the remaining time was devoted by the winners to purely defensive work, while Portland played five of their six men on the attack in an effort to tie the score, but without result.
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1916-17 Cupless In Seattle

Robert L Note: The following encapsulation of the Montreal Canadiens 1916-17 season is quite a lengthy and drawn out posting, as it will involve a great many evolving tentacles that detail the transition of the NHA into the NHL within a twelve month span. This particular season is quite historic on many levels, as it not only involves the Canadiens defending their first Stanley Cup, but it also takes in a great number of changes within the sport of hockey. World War I, an army hockey club in the NHA, and the ongoing saga of two Toronto based clubs run parallel to the Canadiens season in this detailed account.

For historians of the game, or anyone curious about the NHL's beginnings, this post will provide some detail into how it all came about. For fans of this era in hockey, this post is enlivened with a pair of newpaper reports from 1917, that shed light on the perception of the sports in all it's innocence. Enjoy!

The 1917-18 NHA season was the eighth and final season of the league's existence. Events during the season would divide teams owners on a number of issues, and the fracture would lead to the creation of the National Hockey League the following season. It could be said that it was a season of war, outside the NHL, and within it.

Prior to the start of the season, it was decided that the six clubs would play two half seasons of 10 games each, with the winners of each half meeting for the league championship. It was an idea the defending Stanley Cup champion Montreal Canadiens could warm to, as in recent seasons they often had great first halves, only to cool down in the latter part of the schedule.

With the onset of World War I about to rage overseas, the Canadiens and the other five NHA franchises would donate 2.5% of their gate receipts for the season to the Red Cross army relief fund. As the war wreaked havoc on all team sports in North America at the time, the NHA was not spared. Players league wide who were enlisted in the army were being called into service, and it would force the league to adapt and adjust haphazardly along the way.

The fledgling NHA considered suspending its activities initially, but soon approached dealing with the issue in a unique manner. Much of what transpired among the team owners during the schedule, affected the changes that would lead the league to being reborn at the season's close.

During the NHA summer meetings, the franchise of the dormant Toronto Shamrocks was revoked from renegade owner Eddie Livingstone, and baptised the 228th Battalion. The club would feature a number of NHA players who had enlisted in the military service.
























The Shamrocks were an unsuccessful venture for its owners and the NHA, and the franchise had gone through several cosmetic alterations during it's existence. It began as the 1909-10 Montreal Canadiens, as owned by J. Ambrose O' Brien. After the club went into failure, the team's activities were then suspended for a season pending a transfer or sale. Finally in late 1911, the NHA transferred the rights of the club to Toronto interests, and it became known as the Tecumsehs.

The NHA was quite keen to set up shop in Toronto, and the league debuted two teams in the city in 1912-13, with the other coming under the name of Blueshirts. After one season, the Tecumsehs had been renamed the Ontarios, but it would be the Blueshirts who gained all headlines in winning the 1913-14 Stanley Cup.

Although NHA hockey proved to be extremely popular in Toronto, the Ontarios were the lesser of the two city clubs. Interests in the team were purchased by Livingstone in 1914, and the NHA owners would come to regret his inclusion into their inner circle. Midway through the campaign, Livingstone changed the club's name from Ontarios to Shamrocks, switching their uniform colours from orange to green in the process. It did little to avert the club's misfortunes.

During the season, the Shamrocks had trouble dressing a full team and paying its players. A belligerent Livingstone, hardly in a position to make demands, began to make enemies within the NHA by expecting that the league cover for his team's inadequacies in a number of ways. When the season ended without a solution from Livingstone for his club's woes, the NHA suspended the franchise for one season, in order for Livingstone to buy himself time to reorganize his finances.

Livingstone then went about several moves to keep himself in the NHA mix, but having made foes out of potential allies, he was blocked on every front. On different occasions he attempted to sell his club, buy both the Blueshirts and Wanderers, and move his franchise to Boston. All of his efforts received a thumbs down from the league. He was also at odds in a set of similar legal conflicts with the Arena Gardens, who had been home to the Shamrocks franchise.

Damned at every turn, Livingstone then sold his best Shamrocks players of to the Blueshirts, which reduced the Shamrocks franchise value greatly. When the NHA blocked Livingstone's attempt to buy the Blueshirts, arguing that an owner could not hold two clubs according to league bylaws, he disbanded the Shamrocks and purchased the Blueshirts prior to the 1915-16 season. To his horror, he then watched as his players were picked apart from him, some joining the Battalion club, and others signing with the Pacific Coast Hockey League.

After the dust had settled, and few of Livingstone's efforts bore fruit prior to the start of the 1916-17 campaign, his Shamrocks franchise was revoked by the league, who also declared that he no longer owned rights to his remaining former players that had been spread out across the other franchises. The multitude of acts and threats by Livingston would provoke a decade long series of litigation between Livingstone and the NHA owners, based primarily on the notion that he felt he was never fully compensated for his losses and received unfair treatment at the hands of the other NHA owners.

The creation of the NHL from the remnants of the NHA after the term of the 1916-17 season, were the league's answers to sidestepping ongoing hassles with Livingstone. It was deviously planned that forcing him out of their picture would leave him with little legal recourse. An Ottawa team governor at the time, was quoted as suggesting that Livingstone's hands were tied in legal matters, as he still owned his team, essentially, and the league it played in. The only problem was that Livingstone's franchise currently existed in a one team league.











Prior to Livingstone's being dealt with terminally, the NHA came upon the idea of employing his dormant franchise as a means to counter the challenges presented by the war and players enlisting in the service.

The 228th Battalion would be based in Toronto, and it would be comprised of several star players from the other five remaining clubs. The Canadiens lost three players to the service as Amos Arbour, Goldie Prodgers, and Howard McNamara all became members of the Battalion team. Skene Ronan, a key player in the Canadiens plans, went onto play with the Ottawa Munitions club in the OCHL.

The Battalion, also going under the Northern Fusiliers moniker, wore khaki military uniforms and were the league's most popular and highest scoring team in the earlier half of the schedule. The addition of the club to the NHA in this season was a morale booster during these times, but their creation would be short lived.

When the regiment was ordered overseas in February of 1917, the team was forced to withdraw from league play midway through the schedule's second half. This threw the NHA into an unforeeen tizzy, and rash decisions on what to do with the remainder of scheduled games ensued.

As the Toronto Blueshirts were also mired in financial straights at the moment, the NHA suspended the club for the rest of the season, and its players moved on to play for other teams for what was left of the season. Part of the decision by league governors had to do with the simplicity of recreating a schedule for four teams rather than five. The league made it known that it intended for the Blueshirts players to be returned to the franchise at the season's end when new ownership for the club would be found.

Several scandals for the NHA ensued beyond the nullifying of both Toronto based squads during 1916-17. The Blueshirts would not be sold, but instead the league approved a transfer of it's ownership to a group headed by the Arena Gardens, much to ire of Livingstone. The club would be an immediate hit in 1918, eventually metamorphisizing into the Toronto Maple Leafs.

A second scandal involved the Battalion players, as it was later revealed upon several of the stars being subsequently discharged from the army, that they had been promised commissions solely to play hockey, and not fight in the war. Of course this conflicted with the reasoning behind their withdrawl from the NHA schedule in the first place. Apparently, there was not much substance to the allegations, and although the NHA would sue the 228th Battalion club for its withdrawal, the suit ultimately did not succeed.

Considering the constant facelifts the NHA endured in 1917-18, the member clubs did a great deal of improvising on the fly to maintain the composition of their teams. In this regard, the Canadiens fared better than most in adapting to the changes.

The Canadiens would employ 18 players in 1917-18, the most they had ever dressed in one single season up to this time. The returnees included core players Georges Vezina, Newsy Lalonde, Didier Pitre, Bert Corbeau, Jack Laviolette, Louis Berlinguette and Skinner Poulin. Not returning were Skene Ronan, Amos Arbour, Howard McNamara, Jack Fournier, and the man who scored the Stanley Cup clinching goal in 1916, Goldie Prodgers. All but Fournier were enlisted in enlisted into the army and were called into service at different points.

An incredible eleven new faces, a mixture of veterans and hopefuls, joined the 1917-18 Canadiens, with visions of another Stanley Cup trip in their eyes. They included the seasoned Harry Mummery and Tommy Smith, who had each spent parts of the last four years with the Quebec Bulldogs and were part of their 1912-13 Cup win.

Reg Noble and Arthur Brooks came to the Canadiens in the second half when the Blueshirts season had been ended abruptly. Billy Coutu, Sarsfield Malone, Jules Rochon, Dave Creighton, Joe Maltais, Harold McNamara, and Dave Major were the other additions to the club. Harold McNamara, was the younger brother of Howard and was acquired on November 27 in exchange for the rights to Jack Fournier on November 27.

Of this new group of players, only Coutu would play beyond this season with the Canadiens, remaining until the end of the 1925-26 season.

Defenseman Mummery, all 220 lbs of him, would return for 24 games in the 1920-21 season. Coutu, whose real name was William Couture, would later become the first player banned from the professional hockey for assault in 1927, while a member of the Boston Bruins.

The aquisition of Smith was somewhat disapointing. After scoring 40 goals three seasons ago, and 16 goals for the Bulldogs the previous season, his goal total dropped to 8 with the Canadiens.

With the popularity of the Canadiens having grown by extremes following their 1916 Stanley Cup win, the Jubilee Arena, the rink that housed the Canadiens in their inaugural 1909-10 season, wanted them back as tenants in a big way. Even though the Jubilee had less seating capacity, they made the Canadiens an offer that was quite tempting, but eventually passed up by the club. The Canadiens then used the Jubilee offer as a bargaining chip for a better deal at the Westmount Arena. In an unfortunate twist of fate, the Canadiens would return to the Jubilee in 1918, when the Westmount Arena would burn to the ground.

Starting the season, several Canadiens players were again unhappy with their contract offers from the club. Corbeau, Pitre, Laviolette and as usual, Newsy Lalonde, all balked at initial offers made, but all had little salary leverage with the World War's effect on the economy. Despite problems during negotiations, all four players were duly signed without any holdouts, trades, or league skipping due to the new restrictions brought on one season prior in agreements put in place by the NHA and the PCHL.

Money was tight in this time of war, and despite the team coffers being crowbarred for player raises, the Canadiens finally settled a year old outstanding debt with the Vancouver Millionaires for $750. A disputed fee owed to the Patrick brother's PCHA club in the botched Lalonde transfer from two seasons back was dealt with easier than had been expected due to the tough times.

As for the Canadiens starting the split schedule season hot and ending it cold, that exact scenario played out. They went 7-3 in the first ten game slice, earning a spot in the league final halfway through the season, before settling down in the second half and going 3-7 down the stretch.

In the first half, Montreal scored 58 goals, second behind the 228th Battalion with 70. However, they allowed only 38, the least among teams in the first ten games. In the second half, the Canadiens would manage but 32 goals, the least of the four teams who finished the season. They allowed 42 goals against, good enough for second place but well behind the Seantors who only surrendered a mere 22 goals.

Ottawa goalie Clint Benedict would beat out Vezina for the best goals against average and the leading scorers for the season were Joe Malone of the Bulldogs and Frank Nighbor of the Senators each with 41 tallies. The Canadiens best were Lalonde with 28 and Pitre with 21.















In the season's opening ten game half, both the Canadiens and Senators shared a 7-3 record, but first place was awarded to Montreal based on percentage system of wins versus losses and goals scored versus goals against. Montreal was plus 20 in goals and had a .604 percentage to Ottawa's plus 15 and a .577 percentage.

The Senators would excel in the second half, running up a 9-1 record. With a combined 16-4 season, the Senators were favorites over the Canadiens to represent the NHA in the Stanley Cup final. The two teams would square off in a two game total goals final to decide which club would represent the NHA.



















The Canadiens took the first contest in Montreal by a 5-2 score and held off the Senators with a 4-2 loss in Ottawa for a final score of 7-6 in the Canadiens favor.

The Canadiens were a very confident bunch as they headed out to Seattle to defend their Stanley Cup championship against the Metropolitans. The series began on March 17 and things got off to a good start with 4 goals by Didier Pitre in game one, an 8-4 handling of the west champs.

All games were scheduled with two days off between matches, and the rest did little to help Montreal the rest of the way. They lost the three next games by scores of 6-1, 4-1, and 9-1. The Canadiens had to console themselves with being Canada's best eastern team for the time being.

They would have an opportunity to avenge the loss to the Metropolitans again in two years time.




















Here is an account of the 1917 final from Collections Canada.

In 1917, the Seattle Metropolitans, of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA), became the first American based team to win the Stanley Cup. They did so by defeating the Montreal Canadiens, of the National Hockey Association (NHA), 23 to 11 in a four game, total goal series. The games alternated between the seven player rule of the PCHA and the six player rule of the NHA.

SEATTLE, March 27. The Seattle Hockey team annexed the highest honors in hockey last night when they met and defeated the Montreal Canadiens in the fourth and final game of the series for the Stanley Cup, the score was nine goals to one.

Starting in a manner which threatened to give the local team trouble the Flying Frenchmen couldn't keep the pace and in the latter stages of the battle the Seattle forwards rained goals through Vezina. The speed of the local team again won for Seattle. The Mets outskated and bested the Montreal players at every turn. At times the visitors showed flashes of the form they exhibited on the first night but for the most part their play lacked the dash and aggressiveness expected of them.

The visitors seemed tired and listless and plainly showed the strain of former struggles. Again and again the Seattle skaters rushed through their defence for scores. Bernie Morris seemed to be the principal fly in the Montreal ointment, the Seattle forward snagging five scores alone. Captain Foyston followed with three. Pitre who shot goals like a world beater on the opening night got the only Canadien score late in the struggle.















A peculiar feature of last night's contest was the lack of roughness, not one player was sent off the ice by the referee and the penalty bench was deserted all through the game. The play was clean all the way but lacked the thrills and excitement of the other three contests.

The victory for the Mets makes Seattle the first American team which ever won the world's title. Every game found the Arena filled to overflowing and the Seattle people were treated to one of the most thrilling series of hockey ever played.

Manager Kennedy admits his team was outclassed. He said his boys never had a chance and that the speed of the local men was altogether too much for his players. He believes however that with Noble in the lineup his team can trim the Champions. They will get a chance to make good Wednesday night when the same teams play for the gate receipts, after this game the teams will go south where they will play a series of three games in San Francisco.






















Here is another accounting from the Seattle Metropolitan's perspective:

That Championship Season: The Story of the 1917 Seattle Metropolitans by Gary M. Bernklow

FUTILE DEFENSE

The NHA playoff pitted the defending Cup holders and first half champion Montreal Canadiens against the second half champion Ottawa Senators. The predominantly French speaking Canadiens won the first game of the two game, total-goals series by the score of 5-2. They managed to stay close enough to the Senators in the second game, losing 4-2, to win the series 7-6. The Canadiens, nicknamed the "Flying Frenchmen," would head to Seattle to defend the Cup, in a five game series. As captain of the Canadiens, Newsy Lalonde headed back to the PCHA, this time as an opponent.

With an opponent finally set, the city of Seattle began to buzz with talk of the World Series of Hockey. Arena manager Curtis Lester prepared the building for what he expected would be the biggest crowd ever, and sportswriters from all over the Northwest converged on the city. Special telegraph wires were strung into the Arena, and newspapers all over Canada prepared to print bulletins on the goals as they occurred.

While enthusiasm ran high among the fans, oddsmakers put Seattle's chances of winning the cup at around 50-50. Just before the series was to begin, Mets' defenseman Bobby Rowe injured his shoulder in practice. Without Rowe in the lineup, Seattle's defense was weakened. Roy Rickey, Rowe's replacement, was hailed as a promising prospect, but lacked the experience of Rowe.

Muldoon's players were further disheartened when Seattle sportswriters, unfamiliar with any of the teams in the Eastern league, requested player biographies for the Montreal team. "Statistics taken from the Montreal Herald, giving the individual weight of the Canadiens, indicate that the NHA pennant winners probably are the heaviest hockey team in the world," commented a Seattle Daily Times writer. With an average weight of 179 pounds compared to the Mets' average of 163 pounds, "the Canadiens loom like giants."

Tickets for the first game went on sale at 9 A.M. on March 14, three days before the first game. A crowd gathered hours before the ticket window opened, stretching nearly one block. The seats were sold in a few hours, at which time the Arena management printed standing room only vouchers, raising the building's capacity to more than four thousand.


















As injured defenseman Bobby Rowe tried to heal in time for the first game, Montreal was delayed on its trip to the West. Due to arrive on March 16, the team stopped and practiced at the Vancouver Arena as Frank Patrick's guests. They arrived late at night on March 16, just one day before the first game was scheduled. Travel weary and without their skating legs, even the Canadiens manager expected them to lose the first game.

"I do not expect my team to have their feet tonight because of the long trip they have just finished, " said Montreal manager George Kennedy, just before the first game. "They will be in fighting form by Tuesday, however, and we have not the slightest doubt of the outcome of the series."

In addition to fatigue, his team also had to play the first game under the seven player system still used in the West, adding to Seattle's advantages for the first game.

On St. Patrick's Day, 1917, the Canadiens drew first blood in the series, winning the opening game easily. Led by the great goaltending of Georges Vezina, the Montreal team "skimmed over the ice like feathers floating down an airshaft." The aging winger, Didier Pitre, scored four goals for Montreal, all on fifty foot shots that whizzed past Seattle netminder Hap Holmes "so fast that Holmes could not see them."

At 40 years old, Pitre was one of the oldest players in either league. But if his age slowed him down, he didn't show it. In the NHA, he was recognized as having the hardest shot in the league. "Whenever the whirlwind forward for the Frenchmen hooked his stick on the puck, 'Happy' Holmes folded his arms, closed his eyes, and prayed."

When the third period began, Montreal led 5-1, as Seattle tried to mount a counterattack, without the services of Bobby Rowe. Bernie Morris scored his second goal of the night just one minute into the period, which was followed by another from Frank Foyston just minutes later. But the comeback fell short two minutes later, as Pitre again blasted one by Happy Holmes, making the score 6-3. Bernie Morris got his hat-trick later, but to no avail, as the Canadiens held on to take the first game, 8-4. In addition to the victory, Newsy Lalonde also managed to make some enemies with the Seattle team by taking three penalties for a total of nine minutes.

Montreal was elated by the victory. The Mets, on the other hand, seemed to take the loss in stride, saying they still intended to win the series. But the loss must have weighed as heavily on Pete Muldoon as it did on the Seattle sportswriters:

"When the speed boys from the East got through with the home lads you could only recognize them by the 'S' on their uniforms," quipped Royal Brougham in the Post-Intelligencer. "In the language of the street, they 'blew'. The goalkeeper leaked like a fork," he continued, "altogether it was a sad night." Muldoon vowed his team would be prepared for the next meeting.

The teams met for game two just three nights later. This time, the match would be played under the NHA six man system. Oddsmakers, or "dopesters" as they were called by the press, gave the edge to the Canadiens on the basis of their showing in the first contest and Seattle's unfamiliarity with the six player game. Muldoon was outwardly confidant, if inwardly troubled, by his team's performance in the previous match.

"My team got all the bad hockey out of its system Saturday night," he told reporters.

"Five of my men were on the team which beat the Canadiens out of the NHA pennant in 1914," he added. "Foyston, Walker, Carpenter, Wilson, and Holmes beat the Frenchmen then and they ought to be able to do it again."

Happy Homes echoed the sentiments of his boss. Realizing that his poor play was partially responsible for the defeat, Holmes promised to "show up those frog-eaters Tuesday night if he ever showed up a team in his life." Despite the outward confidence of the Seattle players, none of them would have predicted the outcome of the crucial second game.

Seattle came out of the locker room flying. Ten minutes into the game, Bernie Morris scored his fourth goal of the series, giving the Mets their first lead against the Canadiens. Then, with Newsy Lalonde of Montreal out for roughing, Cully Wilson scored a power play goal on a pass from Jack Walker, giving Seattle a two goal lead.

The second period featured more of the same, with Bernie Morris again putting the puck behind Georges Vezina. Frank Foyston then added another, giving Seattle a four goal edge to begin the third period. Captain Foyston then added two more in the third, closing out the Mets' scoring. Tommy Smith scored for Montreal with less than a minute remaining to spoil Holmes' shutout.

Besides the lopsided 6-1 score, the game provided excitement for the boxing enthusiasts.

"The fight fan was in his glory," wrote Royal Brougham. "There were not any eight ounce gloves or padded rings, but there was plenty of mixing just the same."

Once again, it was Montreal who received the bulk of the penalties, leading one columnist to crack, "The brand of hockey those lads play is as clean as the bottom of a parrot's cage. Tuesday's contest wasn't a game, it was a crime."

The controversy about the fighting, however, did not matter to the Metropolitans. They had tied the series, and earned a measure of respect from the Canadiens.

Happy Holmes was especially pleased, having redeemed himself in front of his fans.

"If 'Happy' had nailed a six-foot fence across his nets the Montreal forwards couldn't have had any more trouble slipping the puck through for scores," Brougham said.

The Seattle Times wrote, "Last night Holmes was stopping them with everything from his toe to his eyebrow, fending off shots from every angle and guarding his goal like Horatius watched the bridge." Then, as now, a player's popularity was the direct result of his last performance.

By "upsetting the dope," Seattle managed to cause a switch in the wagering and put the pressure back on the shoulders of the defending Cup champions. Believing the loss resulted from his players having "too many parties," Montreal Manager George Kennedy forced his team to buckle down. "No more pleasure from now on, " he told the press. "The boys have found out that they haven't any walk away and they are going to knuckle down to business now."

The third game, on March 23, proved not only to be the most important contest of the series, but the most controversial as well.

Led once again by the amazing scoring touch of Bernie Morris, the Mets moved to within one game of taking home the Stanley Cup. Morris opened the first period with the first of his three goals on the night. The Canadiens held Seattle scoreless in the second to preserve their hopes of equalizing the score in the third. But Frank Foyston netted his fifth goal of the series, and Morris followed with two goals in two minutes to seal the victory. Tommy Smith again spoiled the shutout with a Montreal goal in the last minute.

But the real fireworks began after the game. George Kennedy filed a formal protest following the match, claiming that when his best defenseman, Harry Mummery, was given a ten minute penalty, the Canadiens had no replacement for him. The Montreal reserves were all either serving penalties or actively playing on the ice. Seattle scored all three of its third period goals while Mummery served his penalty. Kennedy formally submitted his protest to league president Frank Patrick the following day. The surprise move by the Montreal manager made him "about as popular as a worm in a chestnut" with Seattle fans.

On March 25, just one day before the scheduled fourth game, Frank Patrick handed down his decision regarding the protest. After consulting with NHA president Frank Robinson, Patrick ruled against the protest, validating the results of the game.

"I do not think Montreal was deprived of Friday's game by any action of the officials," Frank said in a written statement to the press. "And for that reason I cannot allow the protest. The Seattle players were in the lead all the way, and they got none the worst of the refereeing."

Despite the near setback, Seattle fans were confidant that their team would capture the Cup in the next game. "Seattle fans are unable to see how the Canadiens can win from the dashing Metros," wrote reporters. "In the last two games the Seattle puck chasers have so far outplayed the Canadiens that nothing but a drastic reversal of form by the Mets or a wonderful revival of form by the Canadiens would make it possible for the Montreal men to win."

By the start of the fourth game, all of the "dope" was with Seattle. The game would be played under NHA rules (six players), but the Mets seemed to have no trouble adapting to the different style, as they had demonstrated in the second game. They had dominated the Canadiens since getting over their opening night jitters, outclassing the Frenchmen at every turn. Mike Jay, a Vancouver Sun sports reporter, declared that he would like to be "in at the death Monday." The Seattle players were "filled to overflowing with confidence and pep," sure that the Cup would be theirs following the game.

GROUNDING THE FLYING FRENCHMEN

At precisely 8:30 P.M. on Monday, March 26, referee Mickey Ion dropped the puck for the opening face off of the fourth game between the opposing centers, Bernie Morris for the Mets and Newsy Lalonde for the Canadiens. Less than two minutes later, in front of the largest crowd to ever witness a hockey game in Seattle, Morris bulged the twine behind Georges Vezina with an unassisted goal. That goal held up through the period, which ended with Seattle nursing a 1-0 lead.

The second period began with the Mets becoming more aggressive. A Frank Foyston shot right after the faceoff just missed the net. Montreal forward Jack Laviolette, after leading a brilliant rush, crumpled to the ice following a check from Mets defenseman Ed Carpenter. He returned later in the game, but the tone had been set: the Metropolitans would not lose this game.



























Eight minutes into the second stanza, Foyston and Morris carried the puck into the Montreal zone on a two on one. Foyston feathered a pass to Morris who then slipped it by Vezina for a 2-0 lead. One minute later, Foyston tallied one of his own, unassisted, for a three goal lead. Now, the Seattle players had found their stride, and the floodgates were about to open, with Bernie Morris leading the deluge.

Roy Rickey, the young Seattle defenseman, shot down the ice with Morris close behind. He held the puck as Morris positioned himself in front of the net, then floated a pass right on Bernie's stick. "The tricky Morris," wrote a sportswriter, "shot with ridiculous ease." Seattle headed into the second intermission with a comfortable 4-0 lead.

The third period started as badly for the Montreal Canadiens as the second period had ended. First, as George Kennedy walked across the ice to his bench, the Seattle fans gave the Montreal manager quite a good natured heckling. Soon after the puck was dropped, Kennedy's spirits sank even further. Again the source was Bernie Morris, picking up his fourth goal of the game a little more than one minute after the face off. At this point, the Arena fans erupted, sensing the demise of the Canadiens. The crowd had scarcely quieted down when Morris struck again, this time with an assist to Jack Walker.

The fans were in an uproar, cheering and stomping their feet until the iron girders in the Arena rattled from the vibration. All the Montreal Canadiens could do was wait for the clock to run out in the game, and their reign as Stanley Cup Champions. Foyston scored again, making it 7-0. Didier Pitre countered for the Canadiens, but it was too late. Jack Walker added one more late for the soon to be champion Seattle team, and the amazing Bernie Morris put away his sixth goal of the game to close it out. As the game ended, Seattle had walloped Montreal, 9-1.

The Seattle fans went berserk. "The lexicon of sport," wrote the Seattle Daily Times, "does not contain language adequate to describe the fervor of the fans."

But if the Seattle faithful were expecting to catch a glimpse of the fabled Stanley Cup, they were disappointed. Not only had the Montreal Canadiens left the chalice at home, but the Mets would have to put up a $500 bond before the NHA would relinquish it to their possession. It would be another three months before any of the Seattle players could hold the Cup aloft as world champions.

Even though the physical symbol of their victory was missing for a short time, the players took pride in the fact that they had done what no other U.S. team had ever done - etched their name on the base of the Stanley Cup.

With their victory over Montreal, Seattle sports fans had their first ever big league professional sports championship. It would be sixty two years before the Seattle Supersonics of the National Basketball Association would give them another. Mets fans showed their appreciation by presenting the Seattle players with trophies purchased with donations.

Seattle sports writers wasted no time before gloating about the victory.

"The Mets went through the invaders defense like a tornado on wheels in huckleberry time," wrote one columnist. "They couldn't have played better if they cheated."

The Canadiens prized Stanley Cup had "gone where the woodbind twineth and the grass is ever green, and Lalonde and his gladiator's chests have receeded and resumed their normal position on their backs."

The reporter concluded with a nod to the more than sixteen thousand fans who witnessed the four games, and exclaimed, "Among Monday's four thousand spectators were the Montreal players."


.

1917-18 Malone Paces Canadiens In NHL Launch

It was the Montreal Canadiens ninth season of existance, and the NHL as we know it, was about to be born.

The Canadiens were not yet known as "the Habs", "Les Glorieux" or "Le Tricolore", and the term "Flying Frenchman" was only beginning to spread. In fact, the Canadiens were just another professional hockey team in what was then a rapidly growing sport.

Albeit just two years removed from their first Stanley Cup championship, the Canadiens team and franchise of the day were possibly best recognized at the time as the one professional city hockey team made of mostly of french speaking players. It was their calling card upon their 1909 creation, and remained their identity and public perception despite the fact that they had been signing more and more players from outside the province of Quebec in order to maintain it's survival.

Up until 1917, teams in the city of Montreal had won no less than 17 Stanley Cups since 1893. In the 24 years since Lord Stanley of Preston donated the trophy that was to be competed for in the dominion of Canada as a challenge cup, the city of Montreal was for all intents and purposes, the center of the hockey universe.

Prior to the forming of the NHA in 1909, the Stanley Cup remained an amateur team's conquest. It's winners were:

Montreal AAA: 1893, 1894, 1895 (March), 1902 (March), 1903 (February)
Montreal Victorias: 1895, 1896 (December), 1897,1898,1899 (February)
Winnipeg Victorias: 1896 (February), 1901,1902 (January)
Montreal Shamrocks: 1899 (March), 1900
Ottawa Senators (Silver Seven): 1903 (March), 1904, 1905, 1906 (February), 1909
Montreal Wanderers: 1906 (March), 1907 (March), 1908
Kenora Thistles: 1907 (January)

From the formation of the NHA until the beginning of the first NHL season, the Stanley Cup was competed for by teams across Canada. The winners during those 8 years were:

Montreal Wanderers: 1910
Ottawa Senators: 1911
Quebec Bulldogs: 1912, 1913
Toronto Blueshirts: 1914
Vancouver Millionaires: 1915
Montreal Canadiens: 1916
Seattle Metropolitans: 1917

Since the Stanley Cup had been donated to the country and competed for since 1893 there had been 31 winners in 24 hockey seasons. The Montreal Canadiens had been but one of the 12 clubs to win the Cup. Other teams in the city of Montreal had already claimed 16 Stanley Cup championships when the NHL began in 1917-18

The game of hockey, and Stanley Cup competition, had gone through many changes in it's 24 years evolution. It had essentially evolved from an outdoor game of shinny to an indoor business capable of seating up to 7,000 paying customers in those years. However rudimetary it seems when looking back now, it became a business long before the NHL was formed. The NHA seasons from 1909 to 1917 were merely a template for what professional hockey would later become.

In all the constant change and flux of the earliest days of pro hockey, the Montreal Canadiens were nothing more than another pro hockey franchise dealing with the survival constraints brought on by the first world war. The Canadiens, by this time, had identifiable stars in Newsy Lalonde, Didier Pitre, Georges Vezina, and Jack Laviolette, and these early hockey pioneers helped forge an identity for the team among hockey fans in Montreal.

As pro hockey evolved, so did society. Times were moving fast, and they were hard times. Financial gain and prosperity for those willing to risk it all when investing in hockey were obtainable for the most daring of folks, but the circumstances of failure loomed large. Due to the times, it was so with any financial endeavor. Hockey was but another fleeting opportunity for financial prosperity in 1917. Fans of the game then, and the money makers and the visionary risk takers of the day interested in hockey pourred the foundation for what the game is today.

The Senators, Wanderers, and Canadiens were three of seven teams present when the NHA formed in 1909 that were still viable when the NHL began in 1917. Montreal would outlast its two inaugural partners due to good fortune and a loyal fanbase. As the NHL's first season dawned, the trials of the times and those fans and owners passions would make or break the Montreal Canadiens in the coming years.

The NHL's first season was a mere 6 games old when disaster struck and play was disrupted as a fire destroyed Montreal's stately Westmount Arena, home of the Canadiens and the Wanderers. Both clubs lost all their equipment. The Canadiens relocated to the Jubilee Rink, but Wanderers manager Art Ross folded his team because he thought the Jubilee was too far away from the Wanderers fan base.

Wanderers owner Sam Lichtenhein is best known for being unlucky with fires, which destroyed the arenas of two of his sports teams, one of his father's and one of his businesses. One of his father's department stores were destroyed in the 1871 Great Chicago Fire, after which the family moved to Montreal.

At the time of the fire, the Wanderers were drowning in problems, as they were hard hit financially because of the war. Owner Lichtenhein had threatened to withdraw from the league because of the scarcity of good players, due mostly to the outbreak of theWorld War I. Making matters worse the Cleghorn brothers, Odie and Sprague, were unable to play for the team. Sprague was still recovering from his broken leg while Odie couldn't play due to avoiding military enlistment. Things were so bad for the Wanderers, that the other teams sent some of their players to the Wanderers to keep them afloat. The Wanderers had a 1-5 record when the fire destroyed their Westmount Arena home.

The fire, which started in the Wanderers locker room, destroyed all the Wanderers equipment. The Montreal Canadiens who were also using the Westmount Arena that season returned to the Jubilee Rink with an offer to share the building with the Wanderers.

Another offer came from the city of Hamilton, however owner Sam Lichtenhein chose to fold citing he had already lost $30,000. Despite the suspicious nature of the fire there would be no official investigation for arson. Wanderers players would be distributed around the rest of the league.

The Canadiens fared much better in this sudden twist of fate. They called upon a previous offer by owners of the Jubilee Arena to return there without missing a game. Though the Canadiens had lost some equipement in the blaze, it is said that they were able to retain certain items - namely the players skates and some sweaters. Former Canadiens defenseman and goaltender Jos Cattarinich, who was still involved with the team, sold tickets for the Canadiens first rescheduled date at the Jubilee from his local business.




Here is an article from Collections Canada, recounting the Westmount Arena blaze:






Underwriters Inspectors Had Certified to Safety of Building Shortly Before the Outbreak Took Place

With the building just inspected and found to be in order by the inspectors of the Fire Underwriters Association, the Westmount Arena, home of hockey in Montreal for many years, and the scene of many historic ice battles and festivals, was totally destroyed by fire yesterday, the blaze starting shortly before midday. The flames, which originated between the floor of the secretary treasurer's office and the ceiling of the west side dressing room, spread so rapidly that it was impossible to save the building, the structure being burnt to the ground, causing a damage estimated by the president of the Montreal Arena Co., Mr. Ed. Sheppard, at $150,000. This is covered partly by an insurance of $50,000, an insufficient sum to rebuild the edifice in these times.

While no definite statement could be obtained last night as to the next steps of the company, it is believed the building will not be reconstructed, the probable cost being far in excess of the figures at which the house was originally built. The site, however, is very valuable and it is more than likely that the company's directors, when they meet this week, will decide to dispose of the property and close up affairs.


















The loss of the building brought about the loss of several thousands of dollars in incidentals. Canadiens manager William Northey will lose a large Buick motor car which he had stored in the annex of the building for the winter, while the superintendent of the building, James McKeene, lost most of his household goods. The clubs which had the use of the rink for the winter will also be heavy losers, both the Wanderers and Canadiens, who were scheduled to play there last night, having lost all their uniforms, sticks, and other paraphernalia. The clubs of the Montreal City League, with the single exception of Loyola, which has just returned from Pittsburgh, also lost all their effects.

The cause of the fire could not be determined yesterday, though it is thought a defective electric wire was responsible. Underwriters had just inspected the buildings and they found that usual precautions had been taken by the company to prevent fire.

The explosion of one of the boilers used in the heating apparatus was at first thought to have caused the outbreak, but this was afterwards found to be erroneous.

On the ice, the National Hockey League officially had its beginnings on December 19, 1917, as the Montreal Canadiens defeated Ottawa 7–4 and the Montreal Wanderers downed Toronto 10–9. Those historic games, however, were preceded by more than a month of meetings and backroom dealings by a group of gentlemen that were entrusted with the formation of the National Hockey League (NHL) following the demise of the National Hockey Association (NHA).

These meetings began in early November as the National Hockey Association’s directors, namely S.E. Lichtenhein of the Wanderers, George W. Kendall of the Canadiens, Thomas P. Gorman of Ottawa and M.J. Quinn of Quebec along with NHA secretary treasurer Frank Calder attempted to keep the league afloat. The numerous franchise problems in the preceding season, however, eventually led the NHA executives to start anew.

At the historic Board of Governors meeting in November 1917 at Montreal’s Windsor Hotel, the National Hockey League was formed. The crude 25 page constitution of the National Hockey Association, the NHL's predecessor, was adopted as the governing document of the new league. As president elect Calder told a sparse gathering of media, the purpose of the new league was the fostering and furtherance of the game of hockey to be governed by bylaws and rules.

The NHL's formation was a cunning affair. The NHA had admitted a military unit, the 228th Battalion, during the 1916-17 season, but it was called to active duty in February 1918. A majority of NHL owners were upset with Toronto owner Eddie Livingston for a variety of reasons. Livingston had owned the Toronto Ontarios, previously named the Tecumsehs and then later renamed the Shamrocks. He then purchased the rival Toronto Blueshirts and attempted to consolidate both Toronto teams in 1917. They also were tired of his constant demands regarding scheduling and player redistribution.

The other NHA owners used the 228th's departure to call for an even number of teams and dissolved the Blueshirts, promising to return Livingston's players later.

They didn't. Instead, they created a new four team league comprised of the Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Wanderers, Quebec Bulldogs and Ottawa Senators.

The Bulldogs would fail to ice an NHL team for the 1917-18 season, temporarily reducing the league to four teams. Bulldogs owner M.J. Quinn was perceived in October of 1917 as being in with Livingstone's group in wanting to merge with interests south of the border in launching a rival league to the NHA. Quinn's financial concerns were later named as reasons for the Quebec franchise not being on board at the time of the NHL's creation. A club playing out of and under the control of the Toronto Arena company, under that name, was brought in by the league as a last minute replacement for the Bulldogs, who had to suspend activities for the season. Quebec players hence became free agents until the franchise was on solid ground once again.

The morphing of the NHA into the NHL, with an exact league constitution, was ostensibly undertaken as a method for the league and owners to rid themselves of Livingstone.

"He was always arguing about something," said Ottawa Senators owner Tommy Gorman of Livingston. "Without him, we can get down to the business of making money."



























In a delicious quote that is indicative of the freewheeling times, one owner was noted as saying that "we didn't throw Livingstone out because he still has his team in the NHA. The trouble is, he is playing in a one team league. We should thank Eddie. He solidified our new league, because we are all sick and tired of his constant wrangling."

Eddie Livingston did not take his exclusion lying down, suing players, teams, arenas and the NHL. A new Toronto NHL club, the St. Patricks, legally separate from the Toronto Arenas, was created in 1919-20, ending Livingston's quest to join the NHL. He tried to form a rival league, but was thwarted by moves taken by NHL President Frank Calder, beginning with the creation of the Pittsburgh Pirates franchise in 1925, and other American franchises that followed.

Both the Canadiens and Wanderers started playing in the Westmount Arena, which burned down after the Wanderers sixth game. That team was disbanded and its players were distributed around the league. Future Boston Bruins coach and general manager Art Ross played his only three NHL games for the Wanderers, scoring one goal.

The Wanderers were in trouble from the start of the season. They won their home opener but drew only 700 fans. The Wanderers then lost the next three games and owner Lichtenhein threatened to withdraw from the league unless he could get some players. Although they could have acquired Joe Malone in the draft they turned to the PCHA and signed goaltender Harry "Hap" Holmes. They also obtained permission to sign such players as Frank Foyston, Jack Walker and others if they could do so. The Wanderers loaned Holmes to the Seattle Metropolitans of the PCHA but he eventually found his way back to the NHL when Seattle loaned him to the Toronto Arenas.

A league meeting was planned to deal with the situation, however on January 2, 1918, the matter was resolved when the Westmount Arena burned down, leaving the Canadiens and Wanderers homeless. The Canadiens moved into the 3,250-seat Jubilee Arena. The Hamilton arena offered to provide a home for the Wanderers, but Lichtenhein disbanded the team on January 4, after the other clubs refused to give him any players. The remaining three teams would complete the season.

The Canadiens returned to the smaller Jubilee Arena where they had played their inaugural 1909-10 season, and the NHL was down to three teams.









The Canadiens 1917-18 lineup included, Georges Vezina, Newsy Lalonde, Didier Pitre, Billy Coutu, Bert Corbeau, Jack Laviolette, Louis Berlinquette and Evariste Payer. Joe Malone and Joe Hall were added from the dormant Bulldogs franchise while Billy Bell and Jack McDonald came from the Wanderers.

The Bulldogs loss would be the Canadiens gain in 1917-18, as Malone would establish a professional hockey record with his 44 goal season. The mark would stand as the goal scoring bar for 27 years until it was surpassed by Maurice "Rocket" Richard's 50 goal season in 1945. Malone averaged an incredible 2.2 goals per game - a standard no player would ever top.

The NHL's inaugural year would also see two other stars, the Senators Cy Denneny and the Canadiens Newsy Lalonde, curiously both Cornwall, Ontario natives, create equally impressive feats. Denneny's 36 goals in 20 games, and Lalonde's 23 markers in only 14 contests, set marks of 1.8 and 1.64 goals per game respectively.

Comparitively, Wayne Gretzky's 87 tallies in 74 games in the 1983-84 season, was good for a 1.18 goals per game average.

Though it couldn't be known at the time, Denneny and Lalonde also set upon owning the NHL's oldest record, that of an NHL player in his first season, not neccessarily a rookie by the definition of the times, scoring goals in their first six pro games. The feat was matched just once in 90 years of NHL history, by Evgeni Malkin of the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2006-07 season - some 89 years later!



























The Canadiens debut NHL season mirrored it's previous eight NHA campaigns in that it was filled with change, unpredictability, and certain constants.

For a third consecutive season, they would battle for the league championship with an eye on reaching the Stanley Cup finals. Despite the setback and demoralizing aspects of their home arena burning to the ground, Montreal would write a very interesting chapter to their NHL beginnings.

For a third successive season, Lalonde would act as player and coach for the team, while George "Kennedy" Kendall would remain it's manager.

A line was formed with Lalonde at center, Malone converted to left wing, and Didier Pitre on the right. The three stars would account for 84 of the Canadiens 115 goals during the 22 game season.

Malone, a native of Silary, Quebec who donned the Bulldogs colours for nine seasons, would have a career year in his first season in Montreal. Not only did he raise the goal scoring standard, he set a points total mark of 48, notched seven hat tricks, scored 5 goals on three different occassions, set a one game mark for most total points with 6, and had a 14 goal goal scoring streak during the season.





















The record of 7 hat tricks would not be bested until Mike Bossy of the New York Islanders topped the mark in 1980-81 with nine.

Malone would play part of the following season with Montreal before being returned to the Bulldogs for the 1919-20 season. After two season with the Hamilton Tigers, he would return to Montreal for two more less productive campaigns. In his NHL 7 year career alone, Malone would post 146-18-164 totals in 125 games.

George Vezina would record the NHL's first shutout - a 9-0 blanking of the Ottawa Senators. He would lead the league in wins with 13 and GAA with a 3.93 average.
Four days prior to the season's start, the Canadiens and Wanderers would play a benefit game for homeless victims of an explosion in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

The Canadiens Joe Hall, a longtime Newsy Lalonde rival, was suspended by the league and charged with assault by Toronto police after a stick swinging incident with the Arenas Alf Skinner on January 28.

In the NHL's opening game of the 1917-18 season, Ottawa defenseman Dave Ritchie, scored the first goal in NHL history, before scoring a second in the victory over the Wanderers.

Ritchie probably wasn't surprised to find that Joe Malone was the league's opening night leading scorer, with five goals, after his Canadiens downed the Senators. After all, Malone had been the leading scorer for the NHL's predecessor, the NHA, for the second time the previous season. Malone, who would score seven goals in a 1920 NHL game, led the League in its first season with 44 goals in 20 games, a scoring pace never equaled in NHL history.

The first NHL season was a 22 game affair, split in "halves," with the first half winner to meet the second half winner for the right to challenge the Pacific Coast Hockey Association champion for the Stanley Cup.

Malone and goalie Georges Vezina led the Canadiens to a 10-4 record to win the first half of the season. Toronto won the second half with a 5-3 mark, and then won the two game series with a 10-7 edge in total goals.

Combining the two half seasons, Toronto and the Canadiens both finished 13-9, while Ottawa was 9-13. The Wanderers were 1-5 at the time of the Westmount arena perishing.

Toronto went on to beat the Vancouver Millionaires in a five game series to win the Stanley Cup. Reg Noble, who briefly appeared as a Montreal Canadiens player in 1916-17 and was later an NHL referee, led Toronto with 30 goals. Noble would become the last active player from the NHA to perform in the NHL. He retired following the 1933 Stanley Cup playoffs. Harry "Hap" Holmes was the goaltender, although Arthur Brooks played four games and Sammy Herbert one.

It wasn't until later that NHL officials officially called the Toronto team the "Toronto Arenas." The name wasn't engraved onto the Stanley Cup until 1947, long after the tradition had begun. The NHL didn't control the Stanley Cup in 1918, but it would in 1947.





















A note on photos included in this post: None of the pictures of the Montreal Canadiens are from the 1917-18 NHL season. There were quite simply none to be found.
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