1940–41 NHL season
The 1940–41 NHL season was the 24th season of the National Hockey League (NHL). Seven teams each played 48 games. The Boston Bruins were the Stanley Cup winners as they swept the Detroit Red Wings four games to none in the final series.
| 1940–41 NHL season | |
|---|---|
| League | National Hockey League |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Duration | November 2, 1940 – April 12, 1941 |
| Number of games | 48 |
| Number of teams | 7 |
| Regular season | |
| Season champion | Boston Bruins |
| Season MVP | Bill Cowley (Bruins) |
| Top scorer | Bill Cowley (Bruins) |
| Stanley Cup | |
| Champions | Boston Bruins |
| Runners-up | Detroit Red Wings |
League business
In September 1940, International Ice Hockey Association president W. G. Hardy announced a new one-year agreement was reached with the NHL, who agreed to pay $250 for signing an amateur and another $250 if the amateur played in the NHL.[1] NHL president Frank Calder signed the new professional-amateur agreement in October 1940.[2] The agreement also included allowing the NHL to sign a limited number of junior age players.[3]
Regular season
The Montreal Canadiens had hit the bottom in 1939–40, and were in financial trouble. Frank Patrick decided to become an investor and governor for the team, and Tommy Gorman was hired as general manager. He hired recently released Toronto coach Dick Irvin to run the team. One of the first things Gorman and Irvin did was scout for players, and the Canadiens came up with Johnny Quilty, Joe Benoit, Elmer Lach and defenceman Ken Reardon. Bert Gardiner would be used in goal, replacing Claude Bourque and Wilf Cude. Murph Chamberlain was bought from Toronto to bolster the offence.
Quilty and Benoit came through, as did Toe Blake, but the Habs had a long way to go, finishing sixth. Quilty won the Calder Trophy as the league's top rookie. In fact, before the season started, Coach Irvin handed a sealed envelope to a reporter of his guess who would win the Calder Trophy, and when the season ended, the reporter opened the envelope: Johnny Quilty was the choice Irvin made.
The Boston Bruins set a record 23 straight unbeaten games en route to a strong first place finish at the end of the schedule. The Rangers, finished fourth after the previous year's Stanley Cup win and Dave Kerr was not up to his usual form in goal.
Final standings
| GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston Bruins | 48 | 27 | 8 | 13 | 67 | 168 | 102 |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | 48 | 28 | 14 | 6 | 62 | 145 | 99 |
| Detroit Red Wings | 48 | 21 | 16 | 11 | 53 | 112 | 102 |
| New York Rangers | 48 | 21 | 19 | 8 | 50 | 143 | 125 |
| Chicago Black Hawks | 48 | 16 | 25 | 7 | 39 | 112 | 139 |
| Montreal Canadiens | 48 | 16 | 26 | 6 | 38 | 121 | 147 |
| New York Americans | 48 | 8 | 29 | 11 | 27 | 99 | 186 |
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against
Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.
Record vs. opponents
| 1940–41 NHL Records [5] | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | BOS | CHI | DET | MTL | NYA | NYR | TOR | |||||
| Boston | — | 4–2–2 | 3–0–5 | 5–2–1 | 7–0–1 | 4–2–2 | 4–2–2 | |||||
| Chicago | 2–4–2 | — | 2–6 | 3–4–1 | 3–2–3 | 4–3–1 | 2–6 | |||||
| Detroit | 0–3–5 | 6–2 | — | 4–3–1 | 5–1–2 | 3–2–3 | 3–5 | |||||
| Montreal | 2–5–1 | 4–3–1 | 3–4–1 | — | 4–3–1 | 2–5–1 | 1–6–1 | |||||
| N.Y. Americans | 0–7–1 | 2–3–3 | 1–5–2 | 3–4–1 | — | 1–6–1 | 1–4–3 | |||||
| N.Y. Rangers | 2–4–2 | 3–4–1 | 2–3–2 | 5–2–1 | 6–1–1 | — | 3–5 | |||||
| Toronto | 2–4–2 | 6–2 | 5–3 | 6–1–1 | 4–1–3 | 5–3 | — | |||||
Playoffs
Playoff bracket
| Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Stanley Cup Finals | |||||||||||
| 1 | Boston | 4 | |||||||||||
| 2 | Toronto | 3 | |||||||||||
| 1 | Boston | 4 | |||||||||||
| 3 | Detroit | 2 | |||||||||||
| 3 | Detroit | 0 | |||||||||||
| 4 | NY Rangers | 1 | |||||||||||
| 3 | Detroit | 2 | |||||||||||
| 5 | Chicago | 0 | |||||||||||
| 5 | Chicago | 2 | |||||||||||
| 6 | Montreal | 1 | |||||||||||
(3) Detroit Red Wings vs. (4) New York Rangers
| March 20 | New York Rangers | 1–2 | OT | Detroit Red Wings | Olympia Stadium | Recap | ||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 14:39 – Carl Liscombe (1) | ||||||
| Lynn Patrick (1) – pp – 04:33 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | First overtime period | 12:01 – Gus Giesebrecht (1) | ||||||
| Dave Kerr | Goalie stats | Johnny Mowers | ||||||
| March 23 | Detroit Red Wings | 1–3 | New York Rangers | Madison Square Garden III | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 18:38 – pp – Babe Pratt (1) | ||||||
| Don Grosso (1) – 03:02 | Second period | 11:30 – Alex Shibicky (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 19:31 – Mac Colville (1) | ||||||
| Johnny Mowers | Goalie stats | Dave Kerr | ||||||
| March 25 | New York Rangers | 2–3 | Detroit Red Wings | Olympia Stadium | Recap | |||
| Kilby MacDonald (1) – 15:25 | First period | 11:38 – Bill Jennings (1) 19:48 – Jack Stewart (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Neil Colville (1) – 19:51 | Third period | 09:39 – pp – Mud Bruneteau (1) | ||||||
| Dave Kerr | Goalie stats | Johnny Mowers | ||||||
| Detroit won series 2–1 | |
(5) Chicago Black Hawks vs. (6) Montreal Canadiens
| March 20 | Montreal Canadiens | 1–2 | Chicago Black Hawks | Chicago Stadium | Recap | |||
| Elmer Lach (1) – 08:14 | First period | 16:21 – George Allen (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 07:57 – Max Bentley (1) | ||||||
| Bert Gardiner | Goalie stats | Sam LoPresti | ||||||
| March 22 | Chicago Black Hawks | 3–4 | 2OT | Montreal Canadiens | Montreal Forum | Recap | ||
| Cully Dahlstrom (1) – pp – 02:33 | First period | 08:01 – Joe Benoit (1) 14:02 – pp – Joe Benoit (2) | ||||||
| Joe Cooper (1) – 03:13 | Second period | 10:51 – Joe Benoit (3) | ||||||
| Mush March (1) – 10:13 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second overtime period | 14:03 – Charlie Sands (1) | ||||||
| Sam LoPresti | Goalie stats | Bert Gardiner | ||||||
| March 25 | Montreal Canadiens | 2–3 | Chicago Black Hawks | Chicago Stadium | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 14:56 – George Allen (2) | ||||||
| Joe Benoit (4) – 18:37 Ray Getliffe (1) – 18:58 |
Second period | 12:11 – Cully Dahlstrom (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 03:31 – Cully Dahlstrom (3) | ||||||
| Bert Gardiner | Goalie stats | Sam LoPresti | ||||||
| Chicago won series 2–1 | |
(1) Boston Bruins vs. (2) Toronto Maple Leafs
| March 20 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 0–3 | Boston Bruins | Boston Garden | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 15:33 – Flash Hollett (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 18:21 – Terry Reardon (1) 19:24 – Eddie Wiseman (1) | ||||||
| Turk Broda | Goalie stats | Frank Brimsek | ||||||
| March 22 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 5–3 | Boston Bruins | Boston Garden | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 08:13 – Eddie Wiseman (2) 09:47 – Milt Schmidt (1) | ||||||
| Gordie Drillon (1) – 02:33 Reg Hamilton (1) – pp – 07:30 Nick Metz (1) – 15:00 Nick Metz (2) – 15:47 |
Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Don Metz (1) – 01:44 | Third period | 04:00 – Eddie Wiseman (3) | ||||||
| Turk Broda | Goalie stats | Frank Brimsek | ||||||
| March 25 | Boston Bruins | 2–7 | Toronto Maple Leafs | Maple Leaf Gardens | Recap | |||
| Milt Schmidt (2) – pp – 13:35 | First period | 18:03 – Sweeney Schriner (1) | ||||||
| Herb Cain (1) – 05:07 | Second period | 06:59 – Syl Apps (1) 12:46 – pp – Bucko McDonald (1) 17:36 – pp – Syl Apps (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 05:26 – Sweeney Schriner (2) 16:43 – Syl Apps (3) 17:05 – Nick Metz (3) | ||||||
| Frank Brimsek | Goalie stats | Turk Broda | ||||||
| March 27 | Boston Bruins | 2–1 | Toronto Maple Leafs | Maple Leaf Gardens | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Woody Dumart (1) – 07:15 | Second period | 10:30 – Gordie Drillon (2) | ||||||
| Herb Cain (2) – 08:13 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Frank Brimsek | Goalie stats | Turk Broda | ||||||
| March 29 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 2–1 | OT | Boston Bruins | Boston Garden | Recap | ||
| Lex Chisholm (1) – 04:58 | First period | 14:16 – Pat McReavy (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Pete Langelle (1) – 17:37 | First overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
| Turk Broda | Goalie stats | Frank Brimsek | ||||||
| April 1 | Boston Bruins | 2–1 | Toronto Maple Leafs | Maple Leaf Gardens | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Bobby Bauer (1) – 10:39 Herb Cain (3) – 12:00 |
Third period | 09:48 – Gordie Drillon (3) | ||||||
| Frank Brimsek | Goalie stats | Turk Broda | ||||||
| April 3 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 1–2 | Boston Bruins | Boston Garden | Recap | |||
| Bucko McDonald (2) – 13:28 | First period | 14:32 – Flash Hollett (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 14:17 – Mel Hill (1) | ||||||
| Turk Broda | Goalie stats | Frank Brimsek | ||||||
| Boston won series 4–3 | |
(3) Detroit Red Wings vs. (5) Chicago Black Hawks
| March 27 | Chicago Black Hawks | 1–3 | Detroit Red Wings | Olympia Stadium | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 19:59 – pp – Sid Abel (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 10:15 – Carl Liscombe (2) | ||||||
| Mush March (2) – 05:15 | Third period | 15:28 – Joe Fisher (1) | ||||||
| Sam LoPresti | Goalie stats | Johnny Mowers | ||||||
| March 30 | Detroit Red Wings | 2–1 | OT | Chicago Black Hawks | Chicago Stadium | Recap | ||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Alex Motter (1) – pp – 01:25 | Second period | 04:02 – pp – Doug Bentley (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Gus Giesebrecht (2) – 09:52 | First overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
| Johnny Mowers | Goalie stats | Sam LoPresti | ||||||
| Detroit won series 2–0 | |
Stanley Cup Finals
| April 6 | Detroit Red Wings | 2–3 | Boston Bruins | Boston Garden | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 13:26 – Eddie Wiseman (4) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 14:45 – Milt Schmidt (3) | ||||||
| Carl Liscombe (3) – 10:55 Syd Howe (1) – 17:45 |
Third period | 09:16 – Pat McReavy (2) | ||||||
| Johnny Mowers | Goalie stats | Frank Brimsek | ||||||
| April 8 | Detroit Red Wings | 1–2 | Boston Bruins | Boston Garden | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Mud Bruneteau (2) – 02:41 | Third period | 13:35 – Terry Reardon (2) 17:35 – Roy Conacher (1) | ||||||
| Johnny Mowers | Goalie stats | Frank Brimsek | ||||||
| April 10 | Boston Bruins | 4–2 | Detroit Red Wings | Olympia Stadium | Recap | |||
| Eddie Wiseman (5) – 03:57 Milt Schmidt (4) – 14:07 |
First period | 03:15 – Bill Jennings (2) 07:45 – Sid Abel (2) | ||||||
| Milt Schmidt (5) – 00:59 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Art Jackson (1) – pp – 17:20 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Frank Brimsek | Goalie stats | Johnny Mowers | ||||||
| April 12 | Boston Bruins | 3–1 | Detroit Red Wings | Olympia Stadium | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 10:14 – pp – Carl Liscombe (4) | ||||||
| Flash Hollett (3) – pp – 07:42 Bobby Bauer – pp – 08:43 Eddie Wiseman (6) – 19:32 |
Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Frank Brimsek | Goalie stats | Johnny Mowers | ||||||
| Boston won series 4–0 | |
Awards
| Calder Trophy: (Best first-year player) | Johnny Quilty, Montreal Canadiens |
| Hart Trophy: (Most valuable player) | Bill Cowley, Boston Bruins |
| Lady Byng Trophy: (Excellence and sportsmanship) | Bobby Bauer, Boston Bruins |
| O'Brien Cup: (Stanley Cup runners-up) | Detroit Red Wings |
| Prince of Wales Trophy: (Top regular season record) | Boston Bruins |
| Vezina Trophy: (Fewest goals allowed) | Turk Broda, Toronto Maple Leafs |
All-Star teams
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bill Cowley | Boston Bruins | 46 | 17 | 45 | 62 | 16 |
| Bryan Hextall | New York Rangers | 48 | 26 | 18 | 44 | 16 |
| Gordie Drillon | Toronto Maple Leafs | 42 | 23 | 21 | 44 | 2 |
| Syl Apps | Toronto Maple Leafs | 41 | 20 | 24 | 44 | 6 |
| Syd Howe | Detroit Red Wings | 48 | 20 | 24 | 44 | 8 |
| Lynn Patrick | New York Rangers | 48 | 20 | 24 | 44 | 12 |
| Neil Colville | New York Rangers | 48 | 14 | 28 | 42 | 28 |
| Eddie Wiseman | Boston Bruins | 47 | 16 | 24 | 40 | 10 |
| Bobby Bauer | Boston Bruins | 48 | 17 | 22 | 39 | 2 |
| Roy Conacher | Boston Bruins | 41 | 24 | 14 | 38 | 7 |
Source: NHL[6]
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turk Broda | Toronto Maple Leafs | 48 | 2970 | 99 | 2.00 | 28 | 14 | 6 | 5 |
| Frank Brimsek | Boston Bruins | 48 | 3040 | 102 | 2.01 | 27 | 8 | 13 | 6 |
| Johnny Mowers | Detroit Red Wings | 48 | 3040 | 102 | 2.01 | 21 | 16 | 11 | 4 |
| Dave Kerr | New York Rangers | 48 | 3010 | 125 | 2.49 | 21 | 19 | 8 | 2 |
| Paul Goodman | Chicago Black Hawks | 21 | 1320 | 55 | 2.50 | 7 | 10 | 4 | 2 |
| Bert Gardiner | Montreal Canadiens | 42 | 2600 | 119 | 2.75 | 13 | 23 | 6 | 2 |
| Sam LoPresti | Chicago Black Hawks | 27 | 1670 | 84 | 3.02 | 9 | 15 | 3 | 1 |
| Chuck Rayner | N.Y. Americans | 12 | 773 | 44 | 3.42 | 2 | 7 | 3 | 0 |
| Earl Robertson | N.Y. Americans | 36 | 2260 | 142 | 3.77 | 6 | 22 | 8 | 1 |
Coaches
- Boston Bruins: Cooney Weiland
- Chicago Black Hawks: Paul Thompson
- Detroit Red Wings: Jack Adams
- Montreal Canadiens: Dick Irvin
- New York Americans: Red Dutton
- 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 1940–41 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs):
- Max Bentley, Chicago Black Hawks
- John Mariucci, Chicago Black Hawks
- Joe Carveth, Detroit Red Wings
- Elmer Lach, Montreal Canadiens
- Ken Reardon, Montreal Canadiens
- John Quilty, Montreal Canadiens
- Chuck Rayner, New York Americans
- Bill Juzda, New York Rangers
Last games
The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1940–41 (listed with their last team):
- Paul Haynes, Montreal Canadiens
- Georges Mantha, Montreal Canadiens
- Hooley Smith, New York Americans
- Charlie Conacher, New York Americans
- Dave Kerr, New York Rangers
References
- Diamond, Dan, ed. (2000). Total Hockey. Total Sports. ISBN 1-892129-85-X.
- Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. ISBN 978-1-894801-22-5.
- Dryden, Steve, ed. (2000). Century of hockey. Toronto, ON: McClelland & Stewart Ltd. ISBN 0-7710-4179-9.
- Fischler, Stan; Fischler, Shirley; Hughes, Morgan; Romain, Joseph; Duplacey, James (2003). The Hockey Chronicle: Year-by-Year History of the National Hockey League. Publications International Inc. ISBN 0-7853-9624-1.
- McFarlane, Brian (1973). The Story of the National Hockey League. New York, NY: Pagurian Press. ISBN 0-684-13424-1.
- Notes
- "N.H.L. Will Pay I.H.A. $500 Cash For Signing Up Amateur Players". Lethbridge Herald. Lethbridge, Alberta. September 13, 1940. p. 16.
- "Clubs Will Share Reimbursement Under This Plan". Winnipeg Free Press. Winnipeg, Manitoba. October 18, 1940. p. 20.
- "Close Co-Operation Exists Between Hockey Organizations". Winnipeg Tribune. Winnipeg, Manitoba. January 2, 1941. p. 12.
- Standings: NHL Public Relations Department (2008). Dave McCarthy; et al. (eds.). THE NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE Official Guide & Record Book/2009. National Hockey League. p. 148. ISBN 978-1-894801-14-0.
- "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
- Dinger 2011, p. 148.
External links
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