The 1928–29 NHL season was the 12th

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 axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

. Ten teams played 44 games each. This was the first

Stanley Cup Finals The Stanley Cup Finals in ice hockey (also known as the Stanley Cup Final among various media, ) is the annual championship series of the National Hockey League (NHL). The winner is awarded the Stanley Cup, North America's oldest professional spo ...

that saw two United States–based teams compete for the cup. The

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The t ...

defeated the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in New York City. The Rangers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team plays ...

two games to none in the best-of-three final.

League business

Notable rule changes

Forward passing was permitted from the neutral zone across the blue line into the attacking zone, as long as no offensive player preceded the puck into the attacking zone; forward passing within the attacking zone was still forbidden. Regular season overtime was changed to a 10-minute, non-sudden-death format, to be played in its entirety. During this season, the NHL office started tabulating defensive statistics, such as shots stopped, saves made and save percentage. The league was determined to increase scoring. In the final game of the season between the Rangers and Pittsburgh, forward passing in the attacking zone was allowed; kicking of the puck was allowed; and goalies were prohibited from holding the puck more than three seconds. The experiment was considered a success, and the changes were a part of the rules for the 1928–29 season.

Arena changes

* The

moved from Boston Arena to Boston Madison Square Garden. * Due to the new

Chicago Stadium Chicago Stadium was an indoor arena in Chicago from 1929 to 1995. When it was built, it was the largest indoor arena in the world with a maximum seating capacity of 26,000. It was the home of the National Hockey League's Chicago Blackhawks and ...

, the new home of the

Chicago Black Hawks Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, still under construction, the team played games at

Chicago Coliseum Chicago Coliseum was the name applied to three large indoor arenas, which stood at various times in Chicago, Illinois, from the 1860s to 1982. They served as venues for large national conventions, exhibition halls, sports events, and entertai ...

through January, then played the rest of their "home" games in February and March at either

Detroit Olympia Detroit Olympia, also known as Olympia Stadium, was a multi-purpose arena in Detroit. Nicknamed "The Old Red Barn", it was best known as the home of the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League (NHL) from its opening in 1927 to 1979. Hist ...

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

(sharing it with the Detroit Cougars) or Peace Bridge Arena in

Fort Erie, Ontario Fort Erie is a town in the Regional Municipality of Niagara, Niagara Region of Ontario, Canada. The town is located at the south eastern corner of the region, on the Niagara River, directly across the Canada–United States border from Buffal ...

Regular season

Ottawa continued in financial trouble and sold Punch Broadbent to the

New York Americans The New York Americans, colloquially known as the Amerks, were a professional ice hockey team based in New York City from 1925 to 1942. They were the third expansion team in the history of the National Hockey League (NHL) and the second to play ...

. They continued to erode, and at one point, rumour had it that they would be sold to a Chicago group. Frank Ahearn, the Senators owner, denied this, but admitted that the team was for sale to the highest bidder. The New York Americans, last place finishers in 1927–28, surprised everyone by occupying first place for much of the season in the Canadian Division. They were held up by the great play of defenceman

Lionel Conacher Lionel Pretoria Conacher ( ; May 24, 1900 – May 26, 1954), nicknamed "the Big Train", was a Canadian athlete and politician. Voted the country's top athlete of the first half of the 20th century, he won championships in numerous sports. ...

and goaltender Roy Worters. However, the

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal Canadiens (), officially ' ( Canadian Hockey Club) and colloquially known as the Habs, are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal. The Canadiens compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic D ...

dislodged the Americans and finished first. Boston, led by rookie Tiny Thompson in goal, led the American Division. Bruins' player George Owen was the first NHL player to regularly wear

headgear Headgear, headwear, or headdress is any element of clothing which is worn on one's Human head, head, including hats, helmets, turbans and many other types. Headgear is worn for many purposes, including protective clothing, protection against t ...

for protective purposes. Prior to this, the only time protective headgear was worn was to temporarily protect injuries. Fifty-one years later the NHL mandated the use of helmets. Craig MacTavish was the last NHL player to not wear a helmet, retiring in

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

. The

set records for goal scoring futility, scoring on average less than one goal per game (33), while giving up a league worst 85 goals against. In one stretch from February 7 through February 28, the Hawks were shut out in eight consecutive games. Forward Vic Ripley was the Hawks' leading goal scorer with only 11 goals and 2 assists for 13 points for the entire 44-game season. The season produced a record 120 shutouts in the 220 games played. George Hainsworth, Canadiens goaltender, set an NHL record that remains unmatched through the 2015–16 season of 22 shutouts and a 0.92 goals against average. Seven other goaltenders hit double digits in shutouts.

Final standings

''Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, PIM = Penalties in minutes'' ''Note: Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold''

Playoffs

Playoff bracket

A new playoff format was adopted with a structure similar to a

double-elimination tournament A double-elimination tournament is a type of elimination tournament competition in which a participant ceases to be eligible to win the tournament's championship upon having lost ''two'' games or matches. It stands in contrast to a single-elimin ...

with a "winners' bracket" and a "losers' or

repechage Repechage ( , ; , ) is a practice in series competitions that allows participants who failed to meet qualifying standards by a small margin to continue to the next round. A well-known example is the wild card system. Types Different type ...

bracket". The top three teams in each division qualified for the playoffs. The two division winners met in a best-of-five Stanley Cup semifinal series. The divisional second-place teams and third-place teams played off in a two-game total-goals series to determine the participants for the other best-of-three semifinal series. The semifinal winners then played in a best-of-three Stanley Cup Finals.

Quarterfinals

(A2) New York Rangers vs. (C2) New York Americans

(C3) Toronto Maple Leafs vs. (A3) Detroit Cougars

Semifinals

(C1) Montreal Canadiens vs. (A1) Boston Bruins

(A2) New York Rangers vs. (C3) Toronto Maple Leafs

Stanley Cup Finals

The Bruins won their first Stanley Cup defeating the Rangers. In the process, Boston became one of the few Cup winners in history to not lose a single game in the playoffs, and the last team until 1952 to go undefeated in the playoffs.

Awards

Frank Boucher won his second consecutive Lady Byng award and George Hainsworth won his third consecutive Vezina Trophy.

Player statistics

Scoring leaders

''Note: GP = Games played, G = Goals, A = Assists, PTS = Points, PIM = Penalties in minutes'' Source: NHL.

Leading goaltenders

''Note: GP = Games played; Mins = Minutes played; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; GAA =

Goals against average Goals against average (GAA), also known as average goals against (AGA), is a statistic used in field hockey, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, and water polo that is the mean of goals allowed per game by a goaltender or goalkeeper (depending on spo ...

'' Source: hockey-reference.com

Coaches

American Division

*Boston Bruins:

Art Ross Arthur Howey Ross (January 13, 1885 – August 5, 1964) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player and corporate officer, executive from 1905 until 1954. Regarded as one of the best defenders of his era by his peers, he was one of the first t ...

*Chicago Black Hawks: Herb Gardiner and Dick Irvin *Detroit Cougars: Jack Adams *New York Rangers: Lester Patrick *Pittsburgh Pirates: Odie Cleghorn

Canadian Division

*Montreal Canadiens: Cecil Hart *Montreal Maroons:

Eddie Gerard Edward George Gerard (February22, 1890August7, 1937) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player, coach, and manager. Born in Ottawa, Ontario, he played for 10 seasons for his hometown Ottawa Senators. He spent the first three years of his p ...

*New York Americans:

Tommy Gorman Thomas Patrick Gorman (June 9, 1886 – May 15, 1961), known as "T.P." or "Tommy", was a Canadian ice hockey executive, sports entrepreneur and athlete. Gorman was a founder of the National Hockey League (NHL), won the Stanley Cup seven times a ...

*Ottawa Senators: Dave Gill *Toronto Maple Leafs:

Conn Smythe Constantine Falkland Cary Smythe Military Cross, MC (; February 1, 1895 – November 18, 1980) was a Canadian businessman, soldier and sportsman in ice hockey and horse racing. He is best known as the principal owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs ...

Debuts

The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1928–29 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs): * Tiny Thompson, Boston Bruins * Cooney Weiland, Boston Bruins * George Owen, Boston Bruins * Johnny Gottselig, Chicago Black Hawks * Mush March, Chicago Black Hawks * Herbie Lewis, Detroit Cougars * Georges Mantha, Montreal Canadiens * Armand Mondou, Montreal Canadiens * Baldy Northcott, Montreal Maroons * Dave Trottier, Montreal Maroons *

Earl Robinson Earl Hawley Robinson (July 2, 1910 – July 20, 1991) was an American composer, arranger and folk music singer-songwriter from Seattle, Washington. Robinson is remembered for his music, including the cantata " Ballad for Americans" and songs s ...

, Montreal Maroons * Red Horner, Toronto Maple Leafs * Andy Blair, Toronto Maple Leafs

Last games

The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1928–29 (listed with their last team): * Cy Denneny, Boston Bruins * Duke Keats, Chicago Black Hawks * Dick Irvin, Chicago Black Hawks * Red Green, Detroit Cougars * Herb Gardiner, Montreal Canadiens * Punch Broadbent, New York Americans

References

* * * * * * ;Notes

External links

Hockey DatabaseNHL.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:NHL, 1928-29 1928–29 in Canadian ice hockey by league 1928–29 in American ice hockey