Cyril Joseph Denneny (December 23, 1891 – September 10, 1970) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and skil ...

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

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who played for 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 ...

and

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 in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making t ...

in 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 ...

and the

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 ...

of 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 ...

. His younger brother

Corbett Denneny Charles Corbett "Corb" Denneny (January 25, 1894 – January 16, 1963) was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward who played professionally from 1912 to 1931, including nine seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Toronto Arenas, ...

also played in the NHL.

Early life

Cy Denneny was born in Farran's Point,

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, near

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

. He was the son of James Israel Denneny who was a top

lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensively ...

player in the late 19th century and was descended from the Dennenys of

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Playing career

Denneny played senior hockey in Cornwall, starting with the Cornwall Sons of England of the Lower Ottawa Valley hockey league in 1909–10. His professional playing career began with the Toronto Ontarios/Shamrocks of the

(NHA) in 1914 (The name of the team changed during the season). He had tried out for the

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 ...

in 1912 but failed to make the team and he returned to senior hockey. He was traded to the Ottawa Senators in 1916 and he would play with the Senators until 1928. Denneny was a member of four Senators Stanley Cup-winning teams; in 1920, 1921, 1923 and 1927. With the Senators during the 1917–18 season, Denneny set an NHL record by opening the season with four straight multi-goal games, a record that was tied in

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San Jose Sharks The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference, and are owned by San Jose Sports & Entertainm ...

' forward

Patrick Marleau Patrick Denis Marleau (born September 15, 1979) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward. With 1,779 NHL games played, he is the all-time leader in games played in league history. He passed the record previously held by Gordie Howe ...

. Denneny was sold to Boston in 1928, where he would be an assistant playing-coach of the Bruins' 1929 Stanley Cup-winner. In 1929, Denneny retired to become an NHL on-ice official. In 1932, he re-joined the Senators as head coach, but the team was in decline due to financial difficulties which forced management to sell top players in order to survive. The team finished last and Denneny was not retained as coach. Denneny was one of the top scorers in the NHL from 1917 through 1925. While leading the league in scoring during the

1923–24 NHL season The 1923–24 NHL season was the seventh season of the National Hockey League. Four teams each played 24 games. The league champions were the Montreal Canadiens, who defeated the first-place Ottawa Senators in the league playoff. The Canadiens the ...

, he did so by recording 22 goals and one assist for a total of 23 points, the lowest winning total in NHL history. When he retired, he was the all-time top scorer in NHL history. He was inducted into the

Hockey Hall of Fame , logo = Hockey Hall of Fame Logo.svg , logo_upright = 0.5 , image = Hockey Hall of Fame, Toronto.jpg , caption = The Hall's present location on Yonge Street since 1992 , map_type = , former_name = , established = 1943 , location = 30 Y ...

in 1959. In 1998, he was ranked number 62 on ''

The Hockey News ''The Hockey News'' (''THN'') is a Canadian-based ice hockey magazine. ''The Hockey News'' was founded in 1947 by Ken McKenzie and Will Cote and has since become the most recognized hockey publication in North America. The magazine has a readers ...

list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players ''The Hockey News'' (''THN'') is a Canadian-based ice hockey magazine. ''The Hockey News'' was founded in 1947 by Ken McKenzie and Will Cote and has since become the most recognized hockey publication in North America. The magazine has a readers ...

. He was the first and fastest player in NHL history to score 200 goals (181 GP). During a six-week span in the

1920–21 NHL season The 1920–21 NHL season was the fourth season of the National Hockey League (NHL). Four teams each played 24 games in a split season. The Quebec franchise was transferred to Hamilton, Ontario, to become the Hamilton Tigers. The Ottawa Senators ...

, Cy and his brother

Corbett Corbett may refer to: * List of Corbetts (mountains), 222 mountains in Scotland between , with prominence over * Corbett, Oregon, a community in the United States * Corbett Award, US award for athletics administrators * Corbett (surname), people w ...

(

Toronto St. Patricks The Toronto St. Patricks (colloquially known as the St. Pats) were a professional ice hockey team which began playing in the National Hockey League (NHL) in 1919. The Toronto NHL franchise (league membership) had previously been held by the Arena ...

), each scored six goals during a game—a feat accomplished by only five other players in the history of the NHL.

Playing style

Despite not being a swift skater, Denneny had one of the most deceptive and accurate shots in the league, which enabled him to achieve his scoring feats so rapidly. He was one of the first known players to use opposing defencemen as screens,Weir, Glenn; Chapman, Jeff; and Weir, Travis. Ultimate Hockey (1999) p. 161-163 and would beat goaltenders with head fakes and subsequently with shots that often would not leave the ice. Denneny was also one of the first players to use a curved blade, which he used to take high-rising shots as well as "sinkers" that would fool goaltenders.Montreal Gazette – February 3, 1943 He was a very physical player who often acted as an

enforcer Enforcer or enforcers may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Comics * Enforcer (comics), a Marvel Comics character * Enforcers (comics), a Marvel Comics team * New Enforcers, another Marvel Comics team Film and television * ''The Enforcer ...

for his linemates,

Jack Darragh John Proctor Darragh (December 4, 1890 – June 28, 1924) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. Darragh played the forward position for the Ottawa Senators in the National Hockey League (NHL) and its predecessor the National Hockey ...

and

Frank Nighbor Julius Francis Joseph "Pembroke Peach" Nighbor (January 26, 1893 – April 13, 1966) was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward who played primarily for the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey Association (NHA) and National Hockey Leagu ...

Personal life

Denneny was married twice. His first wife Melvina died, and Denneny remarried. He was the father of two daughters with his second wife Isobel. After Denneny retired from hockey, he worked for the Canadian federal government. He retired from the civil service in 1959. He died on September 10, 1970, and is buried in Ottawa's Pinecrest Cemetery.

Career statistics

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...

Champion.

NHL coaching record

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Denneny, Cy 1891 births 1970 deaths Boston Bruins coaches Boston Bruins players Canadian ice hockey coaches Canadian ice hockey left wingers Canadian people of Irish descent Hockey Hall of Fame inductees Ice hockey people from Ontario National Hockey League scoring leaders (prior to 1947–48) Ottawa Senators (1917) players Ottawa Senators (NHA) players Ottawa Senators coaches People from the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Sportspeople from Cornwall, Ontario Stanley Cup champions Stanley Cup championship-winning head coaches Toronto Blueshirts players Toronto Shamrocks players Ice hockey player-coaches