The 1918–19 Toronto Arenas season was the second

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and ...

of the Toronto franchise of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

. After being operated on a temporary basis in the previous year, the team became a formal entity, known as the 'Toronto Arena Hockey Club.' The club played 18 games and suspended operations.

Regular season

The NHL had been formed mainly because the other four clubs in the

National Hockey Association The National Hockey Association (NHA), officially the National Hockey Association of Canada Limited, was a professional ice hockey organization with teams in Ontario and Quebec, Canada. It is the direct predecessor of today's National Hockey Lea ...

were unable to expel

Toronto Blueshirts The Toronto Hockey Club, known as the Torontos and the Toronto Blueshirts, was a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They were a member of the National Hockey Association (NHA). The club was founded in 1911 and began operations in 1912 ...

owner

Eddie Livingstone Edward James Livingstone (September 12, 1884 – September 11, 1945) was a Canadian sports team owner and manager. He was the principal owner of the Toronto Shamrocks and the Toronto Blueshirts professional ice hockey clubs of the National Hocke ...

, even though they had long since lost patience with him. To get around this, they suspended the NHA's operations and created the NHL, but didn't invite Livingstone to join them. Motivated by a desire to have a team in Toronto, as well as balance the schedule with the Quebec Bulldogs sitting out the season, the NHL granted a temporary franchise to the Toronto Arena Company, who then leased most of Livingstone's players pending resolution of the dispute. However, the "Torontos" won the Stanley Cup, throwing a monkey wrench into the other owners' plans to get rid of Livingstone. Estimating that his team was worth $20,000, Livingstone was unwilling to accept the Arena Company's offer of $7,000. When the Arena Company refused to bend, Livingstone sued the Arena Company and

Charlie Querrie Charles Laurens Querrie (July 25, 1877 – April 5, 1950) was the first General Manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs, at the time called the Toronto Arenas (1917–20) and the Toronto St. Patricks (1920–27). Querrie was born in Markham, Ontario ...

for the $20,000. A league meeting of the old NHA proved futile as heated arguments broke out between Livingstone and the other owners. The old NHA was extinguished. However,

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

owner George Kennedy gave some ground, saying that if Livingstone dropped his lawsuits, he might be allowed in the league. In the meantime, the Arena Company returned its temporary franchise to the NHL. It then formed a separate club, the Toronto Arena Hockey Club, nominally owned by Arena Company treasurer Hubert Vearncombe. The new club applied for full membership in the NHL, which was duly granted. This separated the hockey club from the Livingstone lawsuits, though the franchise still used Livingstone's players without permission. It was announced on February 18, that Ken Randall and

Harry Meeking Henry Arthur "Hurricane Howie" Meeking (November 4, 1894 – December 13, 1971) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played three seasons in the National Hockey League for the Toronto Arenas, Detroit Cougars and Boston Bruins. He was ...

had signed with Glace Bay of the Maritime League with the Arenas' permission. The game that night was attended by only 1,000 fans watching a 4–3 overtime loss to Ottawa. After a follow-up game in Ottawa on February 20, lost 9–3, manager Querrie announced that the club sought to withdraw from the NHL season and this was agreed to by Ottawa and Montreal. The NHL season ended at 18 games, with Montreal and Ottawa to play off for the championship.

Final standings

Record vs. opponents

Schedule and results

First half

Second half

Playoffs

The Arenas did not qualify for the playoffs.

Player statistics

Scorers

Transactions

* December 14, 1918: Acquired Rusty Crawford from the

Ottawa Senators The Ottawa Senators (french: Sénateurs d'Ottawa), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a membe ...

for future considerations * December 15, 1918: Signed Free Agent Paul Jacobs * December 28, 1918: Signed Free Agent

Bert Lindsay Leslie Bertrand Lindsay (July 23, 1881 – November 11, 1960) was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender in the National Hockey Association (NHA), Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA), and National Hockey League (NHL). Born in West Gar ...

* January 19, 1919: Loaned Harry Cameron to

to complete December 14 trade

References

* *

External links

NHL Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:1918-19 Toronto Arenas season Toronto Arenas season, 1918-19

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

Toronto Maple Leafs seasons