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1926–27 NHL season

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The 1926–27 NHL season was the tenth season of the National Hockey League. The success of the Boston Bruins and the Pittsburgh Pirates led the NHL to expand further within the United States. The league added three new teams: the Chicago Black Hawks, Detroit Cougars, and New York Rangers, to make a total of ten, split in two divisions. This resulted in teams based in Canada being in the minority for the first time. To stock the teams with players the new teams brought in players from the Western Hockey League, which folded in May 1926. This left the NHL in sole possession of hockey's top players, as well as sole control of hockey's top trophy, the Stanley Cup, which was won by the Ottawa Senators. This was the original Senators' eleventh and final Stanley Cup win. The Senators' first was in 1903.

1926–27 NHL season
LeagueNational Hockey League
SportIce hockey
DurationNovember 16, 1926 – April 13, 1927
Number of games44
Number of teams10
Regular season
Season championsOttawa Senators
Season MVPHerb Gardiner (Canadiens)
Top scorerBill Cook (Rangers)
Canadian Division championsOttawa Senators
American Division championsNew York Rangers
Stanley Cup
ChampionsOttawa Senators
  Runners-upBoston Bruins
NHL seasons

League business

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NHL expansion was the main topic of discussion between the NHL owners at the April 1926 and May 1, 1926 league meetings. The new New York Rangers franchise was approved in principle after the Madison Square Gardens president Hammond agreed to revenue sharing. President Calder, plus owners Strachan and Dandurand formed a committee to study franchise candidates in Chicago, Detroit, Jersey City and Philadelphia, while further applications from Cleveland, New York, Chicago, Philadelphia and Detroit were received. The owners were split on which new franchises to accept. Part of the disagreement was over the Chicago franchise. Sports promoter Paddy Harmon had announced a new Chicago Stadium and backed a team in partnership with Thomas Duggan, while Madison Square Garden's Tex Rickard wanted to build a Chicago Madison Square Garden with the participation of Huntington Hardwick.[1]

At the 1926 Stanley Cup Finals, WHL president Frank Patrick had begun shopping the WHL's players to the NHL, hoping to raise $300,000 to distribute to the WHL owners. Patrick approached Art Ross of the Bruins, who agreed to purchase the contracts of Frank Fredrickson, Eddie Shore, and Duke Keats. After the series, Patrick approached the new New York Rangers owner Charles Hammond and their general manager Conn Smythe, but they were turned down. Patrick and Ross approached the Bruins' owner who agreed to purchase the entire lot of players for $250,000, and gave Patrick a $50,000 check as a deposit. He planned to keep some of the players for the Bruins, sell twelve players each to the new Chicago and Detroit franchises and distribute the rest to the rest of the league.[2]

At a May 14 meeting, the NHL awarded the Detroit franchise to the syndicate of Wesson Seybourn and John Townsend, formed by Charles A. Hughes.[3] The split over the new Chicago franchise prevented its immediate acceptance as a new franchise required unanimity. However, the NHL governors could amend their constitution with a two-thirds vote, and they amended the constitution at the May 14 meeting to lower the bar for a new franchise to a simple majority vote. The governors agreed that Huntwick would get the Chicago franchise. Huntwick proceeded to buy the Portland Rosebuds and the Hughes group purchased the Victoria Cougars, each for $100,000. The Bruins took Fredrickson, Shore, Keats and others, while the Rangers took Frank Boucher. In total, the player's contracts purchased that day totalled $267,000 for Patrick to take back to the WHL. On May 15, the NHL awarded the franchises to the Hardwick and Hughes consortiums, with provisos that each team would have an NHL-ready team for September 1, and new arenas by November 10.[4]

At the September 25, 1926, NHL meeting, the Chicago Black Hawks, Detroit Cougars and New York Rangers were added to the league. The Hughes consortium proceeded with the purchase of the Cougars and the franchise, while the Chicago franchise instead went to Frederic McLaughlin, who took over the deal from Huntwick on June 1.[5] The NHL's second franchise in New York City went to the Madison Square Garden syndicate of John S. Hammond.[6] Both Detroit and Chicago had not begun construction on arenas. Detroit would play in Windsor, Ontario at the Border Cities Arena, while the Black Hawks played at the Chicago Coliseum.[7]

Toronto bought the players of the Saskatoon franchise separately, and Montreal claimed George Hainsworth. The rest of the WHL players would be distributed by a committee of Frank Calder, Leo Dandurand and James Strachan. The former WHL players made an impact in the NHL. The top scorer was Bill Cook, the top goalie was George Hainsworth, and defenceman Herb Gardiner was the league MVP.[8]

A special meeting was held on October 26 at which the NHL was split into the Canadian and American divisions. It was the first divisional format to be implemented in a major professional North American sports league. To balance the divisions, the New York Americans were placed in the Canadian Division. With the new divisional alignment came an altered playoff format: the top team from each division would meet the winner of a total-goals series between the second and third place teams from their divisions. The winners of those total-goals series would meet in a best-of-five Stanley Cup Finals.

The Central Hockey League changed its name to the American Hockey Association. The new AHA signed an agreement of co-operation with the NHL, wanting to place itself on an equal footing with the NHL, but non-competitive. However, the new AHA placed franchises in Chicago and Detroit, competing with NHL teams. The Chicago Cardinals were backed by old nemesis Eddie Livingstone and became a source of friction with the NHL. Calder declared that several of the Cardinals' players were illegally signed and broke off the agreement with the AHA. The AHA could not compete with the NHL and the Detroit franchise folded in December, and the Chicago franchise folded in March. The AHA then signed another cooperation agreement with the NHL and forced Livingstone out.[9]

Majority ownership of the Toronto St. Patricks was sold on February 14, 1927 to a syndicate headed by Conn Smythe for CA$160,000 (equivalent to $2,762,198 in 2023).[8] Nathan Nathanson sold his interest entirely, while J. P. Bickell retained his share of the company.[10] The club was officially renamed the Toronto Maple Leafs and Bickell became its president,[11] but the league ruled that the team must remain using the St. Patricks name until season's end.

Rules changes

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The blue lines moved to sixty feet from the goal line from twenty feet from the center red line to increase the size of the neutral zone.

Two innovations attributed to Art Ross are adopted by the NHL. The league adopts a modified puck, which has rounded edges. The net is modified to keep the puck in the webbing.[8]

Arena changes

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Regular season

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The Montreal Canadiens, last place finishers in 1925–26, solved their goaltending woes by signing George Hainsworth. They further strengthened their team by signing Herb Gardiner of the Western League's Calgary Tigers for defence. The Canadiens finished second in the Canadian Division to powerful Ottawa, who was the league's best team.

Dave Gill, secretary-treasurer (general manager), decided to take over as coach of the Ottawa Senators. He would be assisted by Frank Shaughnessy, a former manager of the Senators in the NHA days, to assist him with the strategy used in games. Ottawa finished first atop the Canadian Division.

The arena is not ready in Detroit for the start of the regular season. The expansion Cougars play their first 22 home games just across the Canada–United States border in Windsor, Ontario, at the Border Cities Arena.[8]

On December 4, 1926, Cy Denneny and Frank Finnigan were seriously injured in a car accident. Finnigan suffered a slightly fractured skull and Denneny was badly gashed.

New York Americans right winger Shorty Green's career was ended after an injury in a game on February 27, 1927. New York Rangers defenceman Taffy Abel bodychecked Green, caused a kidney injury that requires an emergency operation to remove the kidney; Abel retired for health reasons.[8]

Final standings

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Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF= Goals For, GA = Goals Against

Canadian Division
GP W L T GF GA Pts
Ottawa Senators 44 30 10 4 86 69 64
Montreal Canadiens 44 28 14 2 99 67 58
Montreal Maroons 44 20 20 4 71 68 44
New York Americans 44 17 25 2 82 91 36
Toronto St. Patricks 44 15 24 5 79 94 35
American Division
GP W L T GF GA Pts
New York Rangers 44 25 13 6 95 72 56
Boston Bruins 44 21 20 3 97 89 45
Chicago Black Hawks 44 19 22 3 115 116 41
Pittsburgh Pirates 44 15 26 3 79 108 33
Detroit Cougars 44 12 28 4 76 105 28

[12]

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.

Playoffs

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With the collapse of the Western Hockey League, the Stanley Cup became the championship trophy of the NHL. The NHL teams now battled out amongst themselves for the coveted Cup. The new division alignment and the new playoff format also meant that an American team was guaranteed to be the first American NHL team to make the Cup Finals.

The division winners received a bye to the second round. The second-place and third-place finishers played a two-game, total-goals series to advance to the second round. The second-place Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins both advanced to the second round. The Canadiens lost to the first-place Ottawa Senators, while the Bruins upset the first-place New York Rangers to set up the Finals. Ties were not broken using overtime. After two ties in the Finals, Ottawa won two to Boston's none and the series ended on April 13 with Ottawa the winner.

Playoff bracket

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Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
C1 Ottawa 5G
C2 Mtl Canadiens 2G C2 Mtl Canadiens 1G
C3 Mtl Maroons 1G C1 Ottawa 2
A2 Boston 0
A1 NY Rangers 1G
A2 Boston 10G A2 Boston 3G
A3 Chicago 5G

Quarterfinals

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(C2) Montreal Canadiens vs. (C3) Montreal Maroons

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March 29 Montreal Canadiens 1–1 Montreal Maroons Montreal Forum Recap  
Aurele Joliat (1) – 19:57 First period No scoring
No scoring Second period 12:15 – Babe Siebert (1)
No scoring Third period No scoring
George Hainsworth Goalie stats Clint Benedict
March 31 Montreal Maroons 0–1 OT Montreal Canadiens Montreal Forum Recap  
No scoring First period No scoring
No scoring Second period No scoring
No scoring Third period No scoring
No scoring First overtime period 12:05 – Howie Morenz (1)
Clint Benedict Goalie stats George Hainsworth
Montreal Canadiens won series on total goals 2–1


(A2) Boston Bruins vs. (A3) Chicago Black Hawks

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Game one of this series was played in New York.


March 29 Boston Bruins 6–1 Chicago Black Hawks Madison Square Garden III Recap  
Frank Fredrickson (1) – 03:24
Sprague Cleghorn (1) – 14:36
Jimmy Herberts (1) – 16:57 		First period No scoring
No scoring Second period 09:43 – Gord Fraser (1)
Frank Fredrickson (2) – 08:26
Harry Oliver (1) – 14:55
Eddie Shore (1) – 16:55 		Third period No scoring
Hal Winkler Goalie stats Hugh Lehman
March 31 Chicago Black Hawks 4–4 Boston Bruins Boston Arena Recap  
No scoring First period No scoring
George Hay (1) – 16:00
Dick Irvin (1) – 18:00 		Second period 05:00 – Percy Galbraith (1)
10:00 – Billy Coutu (1)
15:00 – Percy Galbraith (2)
Cully Wilson (1) – 07:00
Dick Irvin (2) – 10:00 		Third period 04:00 – Percy Galbraith (3)
Hugh Lehman Goalie stats Hal Winkler
Boston won series on total goals 10–5


Semifinals

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(C1) Ottawa Senators vs. (C2) Montreal Canadiens

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April 2 Ottawa Senators 4–0 Montreal Canadiens Montreal Forum Recap  
Cy Denneny (1) – 09:45
Hec Kilrea (1) – 10:10
Hooley Smith (1) – 17:40 		First period No scoring
Frank Nighbor (1) – 11:40 Second period No scoring
No scoring Third period No scoring
Alec Connell Goalie stats George Hainsworth
April 4 Montreal Canadiens 1–1 Ottawa Senators Ottawa Auditorium Recap  
Sylvio Mantha (1) – 11:40 First period No scoring
No scoring Second period 12:58 – Frank Finnigan (1)
No scoring Third period No scoring
George Hainsworth Goalie stats Alec Connell
Ottawa won series on total goals 5–1


(A1) New York Rangers vs. (A2) Boston Bruins

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April 2 New York Rangers 0–0 Boston Bruins Boston Arena Recap  
No scoring First period No scoring
No scoring Second period No scoring
No scoring Third period No scoring
Lorne Chabot Goalie stats Hal Winkler
April 4 Boston Bruins 3–1 New York Rangers Madison Square Garden III Recap  
No scoring First period 04:51 – Bill Cook (1)
Jimmy Herberts (2) – 07:42
Lionel Hitchman (1) – 17:33
Harry Oliver (2) – 18:37 		Second period No scoring
No scoring Third period No scoring
Hal Winkler Goalie stats Lorne Chabot
Boston won series on total goals 3–1


Stanley Cup Finals

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Main article: 1927 Stanley Cup Finals


April 7 Ottawa Senators 0–0 OT Boston Bruins Boston Arena Recap  
No scoring First period No scoring
No scoring Second period No scoring
No scoring Third period No scoring
No scoring First overtime period No scoring
Alec Connell Goalie stats Hal Winkler
April 9 Ottawa Senators 3–1 Boston Bruins Boston Arena Recap  
King Clancy (1) – 06:37
Frank Finnigan (2) – 11:23 		First period No scoring
No scoring Second period No scoring
Cy Denneny (2) – 19:55 Third period 16:45 – Harry Oliver (3)
Alec Connell Goalie stats Hal Winkler
April 11 Boston Bruins 1–1 OT Ottawa Senators Ottawa Auditorium Recap  
Jimmy Herberts (3) – 07:00 First period No scoring
No scoring Second period 15:00 – Cy Denneny (3)
No scoring Third period No scoring
No scoring First overtime period No scoring
Hal Winkler Goalie stats Alec Connell
April 13 Boston Bruins 1–3 Ottawa Senators Ottawa Auditorium Recap  
No scoring First period No scoring
No scoring Second period 05:00 – Frank Finnigan (3)
07:30 – Cy Denneny (4)
Harry Oliver (4) – 17:50 Third period 11:00 – Cy Denneny (5)
Hal Winkler Goalie stats Alec Connell
Ottawa won series 2–0–2


Awards

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A new trophy in memory of Georges Vezina, the Vezina Trophy, was donated this year by Montreal Canadiens owners Leo Dandurand, Louis Letourneau and Joseph Cattarinich. It is to be presented to the league's "most valuable goaltender." It is won by his successor with the Canadiens, George Hainsworth.

1926–27 NHL awards
Hart Trophy:
(Most valuable player)		 Herb Gardiner, Montreal Canadiens
Lady Byng Trophy:
(Excellence and sportsmanship)		 Billy Burch, New York Americans
O'Brien Cup:
(League champions)		 Ottawa Senators
Prince of Wales Trophy:
(League champions)		 Ottawa Senators
Vezina Trophy:
(Fewest goals allowed)		 George Hainsworth, Montreal Canadiens

Player statistics

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Scoring leaders

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Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points

Player Team GP G A Pts
Bill Cook New York Rangers 44 33 4 37
Dick Irvin Chicago Black Hawks 43 18 18 36
Howie Morenz Montreal Canadiens 44 25 7 32
Frank Fredrickson Detroit Cougars / Boston Bruins 44 18 13 31
Babe Dye Chicago Black Hawks 41 25 5 30
Ace Bailey Toronto St. Patricks 42 15 13 28
Frank Boucher New York Rangers 44 13 15 28
Billy Burch New York Americans 43 19 8 27
Harry Oliver Boston Bruins 42 18 6 24
Duke Keats Boston / Detroit Cougars 42 16 8 24

Source: NHL.[13]

Leading goaltenders

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Note: GP = Games played; Mins = Minutes played; GA = Goals against; SO = Shut outs; GAA = Goals against average

Player Team GP Mins GA SO GAA
Clint Benedict Montreal Maroons 43 2748 65 13 1.42
Lorne Chabot New York Rangers 36 2307 56 10 1.46
George Hainsworth Montreal Canadiens 44 2732 67 14 1.47
Alex Connell Ottawa Senators 44 2782 69 13 1.49
Hal Winkler New York Rangers / Boston Bruins 31 1959 56 6 1.72
Jake Forbes New York Americans 44 2715 91 8 2.01
John Ross Roach Toronto St. Patricks 44 2764 94 4 2.04
Hap Holmes Detroit Cougars 41 2685 100 6 2.23
Roy Worters Pittsburgh Pirates 44 2711 108 4 2.39
Hugh Lehman Chicago Black Hawks 44 2797 116 5 2.49

Playoff scoring leaders

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Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points

Player Team GP G A Pts
Harry Oliver Boston Bruins 8 4 2 6
Percy Galbraith Boston Bruins 8 3 3 6

Coaches

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American Division

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Canadian Division

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Debuts

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The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1926–27 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs):

Last games

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The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1926–27 (listed with their last team):

Transactions

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August 1, 1926 To Ottawa Senators
Jack Adams 		To Toronto St. Patricks
cash
October 18, 1926 To Chicago Black Hawks
Babe Dye 		To Toronto St. Patricks
$15,000 cash
October 18, 1926 To Detroit Cougars
rights to Art Duncan 		To Chicago Black Hawks
Gord Fraser
Art Gagne
October 18, 1926 To Montreal Canadiens
Art Gagne 		To Chicago Black Hawks
cash
October 22, 1926 To Boston Bruins
Billy Coutu 		To Montreal Canadiens
Amby Moran
October 28, 1926 To Pittsburgh Pirates
John McKinnon 		To Montreal Canadiens
cash
November 15, 1926 To New York Americans
Laurie Scott 		To Toronto St. Patricks
Jesse Spring
December 12, 1926 To Montreal Canadiens
Gizzy Hart 		To Detroit Cougars
cash
December 16, 1926 To Pittsburgh Pirates
Charlie Langlois
$2,000 cash 		To New York Americans
Lionel Conacher
January 1, 1927 To New York Rangers
rights to Leo Bourgeault 		To Toronto St. Patricks
cash
January 6, 1927 To Montreal Maroons
Russell Oatman 		To Detroit Cougars
cash
January 7, 1927 To Detroit Cougars
Pete Bellefeuille 		To Toronto St. Patricks
Harold Halderson
January 7, 1927 To Detroit Cougars
Archie Briden
Duke Keats 		To Boston Bruins
Frank Fredrickson
Harry Meeking
January 17, 1927 To Boston Bruins
rights to Hal Winkler 		To New York Rangers
cash
January 17, 1927 To Boston Bruins
Billy Boucher 		To Montreal Canadiens
Carson Cooper
January 18, 1927 To Ottawa Senators
Stan Jackson 		To Boston Bruins
cash
January 31, 1927 To Detroit Cougars
Jim Riley 		To Chicago Black Hawks
cash
April 11, 1927 To Detroit Cougars
George Hay
Percy Traub 		To Chicago Blackhawks
$15,000 cash

See also

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References

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  • 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.
  • Jenish, D'Arcy (2013). The NHL: 100 Years of On-Ice Action and Boardroom Battles. Random House LLC. ISBN 9780385671477.
  • McFarlane, Brian (1973). The Story of the National Hockey League. New York, NY: Pagurian Press. ISBN 0-684-13424-1.
  • Ross, J. Andrew (2015). Joining the Clubs: The Business of the National Hockey League to 1945. Syracuse University Press. ISBN 9780815633839.
Notes
  1. ^ Ross 2015, pp. 132–134.
  2. ^ Jenish 2013, pp. 46–47.
  3. ^ Ross 2015, p. 134.
  4. ^ Jenish 2013, pp. 47–48.
  5. ^ Jenish 2013, p. 52.
  6. ^ McFarlane 1973, p. 37.
  7. ^ Ross 2015, pp. 151–152.
  8. ^ a b c d e Dryden 2000, p. 29.
  9. ^ Ross 2015, pp. 155–156.
  10. ^ Ross 2015, pp. 161–162.
  11. ^ Ross 2015, p. 162.
  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. 146. ISBN 978-1-894801-14-0.
  13. ^ Dinger 2011, p. 146.
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