The National Hockey Association (NHA), officially the National Hockey Association of Canada Limited, was a professional
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 h ...
organization with teams in
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...
and
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
, Canada. It is the direct predecessor of today's
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 ...
(NHL). Founded in 1909 by
Ambrose O'Brien, the NHA introduced 'six-man hockey' by removing the 'rover' position in 1911. During its lifetime, the league coped with competition for players with the rival
Pacific Coast Hockey Association
The Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA) was a professional ice hockey league in western Canada and the western United States, which operated from 1911 to 1924 when it then merged with the Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL). The PCHA was cons ...
(PCHA), the enlistment of players for World War I and disagreements between owners. The disagreements between owners came to a head in 1917, when the NHA suspended operations in order to get rid of an unwanted 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 ...
).
The remaining NHA team owners started the NHL in parallel as a temporary measure, to continue play while negotiations went on with Livingstone and other lawsuits were pending. A year later, after no progress was reached with Livingstone, the other NHA owners decided to permanently suspend the NHA. The NHA's rules, constitution and trophies were continued in the NHL.
History
Founding
In November 1909, the
Eastern Canada Hockey Association (ECHA), holder of the
Stanley Cup and ostensibly the pre-eminent ice hockey league, was in the midst of a dispute. The
Montreal Wanderers
The Montreal Wanderers were an amateur, and later professional, ice hockey team based in Montreal. The team played in the Federal Amateur Hockey League (FAHL), the Eastern Canada Amateur Hockey Association (ECAHA), the National Hockey Association ...
team of the ECHA had been bought by P. J. Doran, owner of the
Jubilee Rink
A jubilee is a particular anniversary of an event, usually denoting the 25th, 40th, 50th, 60th, and the 70th anniversary. The term is often now used to denote the celebrations associated with the reign of a monarch after a milestone number of ...
in
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...
and he intended to move the team's games there. The Jubilee was smaller than the Wanderers' current rink, the
Montreal Arena
The Montreal Arena, also known as Westmount Arena, was an indoor arena located in Westmount, Quebec, Canada on the corner of St. Catherine Street and Wood Avenue. It was likely one of the first arenas designed expressly for hockey, opening in 1 ...
which meant visiting teams would earn less on their trips to play the Wanderers. On November 25, 1909, the other teams in the league disbanded the ECHA and formed the new
Canadian Hockey Association (CHA), which excluded the Wanderers.
![John Ambrose O'Brien](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3f/John_Ambrose_O%27Brien.jpg)
At the same time,
Ambrose O'Brien of
Renfrew, Ontario
Renfrew is a town on the Bonnechere River in Renfrew County, Ontario, Canada. Located one hour west of Ottawa in Eastern Ontario, Renfrew is the fourth largest town in the county after Petawawa, Pembroke and Arnprior. The town is a small tra ...
– scion of a prosperous silver mine owner and founder of the
Renfrew Creamery Kings ice hockey team –was seeking admission to the ECHA so as to be able to contest the Stanley Cup. The team had applied to the Stanley Cup trustees as champions of the
Federal League
The Federal League of Base Ball Clubs, known simply as the Federal League, was an American professional baseball league that played its first season as a minor league in 1913 and operated as a "third major league", in competition with the e ...
, but had been rejected. At the November 25 CHA founding meeting, held at the
Windsor Hotel in Montreal, O'Brien applied to join the CHA but the application was rejected. Sitting in the lobby of the hotel after the CHA meeting, O'Brien met Jimmy Gardner of the Wanderers, whose team had also been rejected by the CHA. Together, they decided to form their own league, the National Hockey Association (NHA). With Cobalt and Haileybury, two other teams controlled by O' Brien, the NHA was founded on December 2, 1909 at a private meeting at 300
Saint Jacques Street
Saint Jacques Street (officially in french: rue Saint-Jacques), or St. James Street, is a major street in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, running from Old Montreal westward to Lachine.
The street is commonly known by two names, "St. James Street" in ...
in Montreal, and adopted the constitution of the ECHA.
At the same time, to build a rivalry and capture francophone interest in Montreal, O'Brien and Gardner conceived of creating a team consisting of francophone players, to be managed by francophones. 'Les Canadiens', known today as 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 ...
, was admitted on December 4, 1909 to be managed by
Jack Laviolette, but owned by O'Brien, on the understanding ownership was to be transferred to francophone sportsmen as soon as practicable. In all, O'Brien and his father, Michael John O'Brien, were financing four teams in the league: the Renfrew Creamery Kings (which became known as the Renfrew Millionaires), Cobalt, Haileybury, and ''Les Canadiens''. The Cobalt and Haileybury clubs were from the
Timiskaming Professional Hockey League (TPHL) and Renfrew from the
Federal Hockey League
The Federal Prospects Hockey League (FPHL) is a professional ice hockey independent minor league with teams in the Midwestern, Southern, and Northeastern United States. The FPHL began operations in November 2010 as the Federal Hockey League. Do ...
(FHL). Along with the Wanderers, the league had five teams.
![O Brien Trophy](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/13/O_Brien_Trophy.jpg)
The O'Briens were determined to win the Stanley Cup and a bidding war for players immediately started.
Frank
Frank or Franks may refer to:
People
* Frank (given name)
* Frank (surname)
* Franks (surname)
* Franks, a medieval Germanic people
* Frank, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crusades - see Farang
Curr ...
and
Lester Patrick
Curtis Lester Patrick (December 31, 1883 – June 1, 1960) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player and coach associated with the Victoria Aristocrats/Cougars of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (Western Hockey League after 1924), and ...
were each signed by the Renfrew Millionaires for $3,000 apiece, the highest salaries recorded to that time. Renfrew also signed star player
Cyclone Taylor of the champion
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 ...
team, reputedly at $5,000 per season.
Attendance at the CHA games was poor and a meeting of the NHA was held on January 15, 1910 to discuss a possible merger of the two leagues. Instead, the NHA admitted Ottawa and the
Montreal Shamrocks
The Montreal Shamrocks were an amateur, later professional, and then amateur again men's ice hockey club in existence from 1886 to 1924, based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. They were spun off from the Montreal Shamrocks lacrosse club. Starting off ...
to the NHA and the CHA folded. The owners of the
Montreal Le National
The Montreal Nationals (Le National de Montreal) were an amateur, later professional, and then amateur again men's senior-level ice hockey team. They are notable in that they were the first team to represent French Canada and were the first ice ho ...
were offered the ownership of the Canadiens but turned it down. The
Quebec Bulldogs and the other teams of the CHA were not even considered for membership. Games played prior to January 15 were thrown out, and the season began again, now with seven teams.
1910–1914: Consolidation
Despite the efforts of O'Brien, who added
Newsy Lalonde
Édouard Cyrille "Newsy" Lalonde (October 31, 1887 – November 21, 1970) was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward in the National Hockey League (NHL) and a professional lacrosse player. Lalonde is regarded as one of hockey's and lacrosse's ...
from the Canadiens to Renfrew, the first championship went to the Wanderers, taking over the Stanley Cup and successfully defending it against Edmonton. It would be the Wanderers' only championship in the league. The off-season led to changes in membership in the league, as Cobalt, Haileybury and Shamrocks dropped out. Les Canadiens would be taken over by new management and Quebec would join the league for the 1910–11 season. Lalonde was returned to the Canadiens. The two dormant O'Brien franchises were to be held for two Toronto teams to join the league in the future, to play in the new
Arena Gardens
An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators ...
planned for Toronto.
The
1910–1911 season saw the start of labour unrest in the league, as the league imposed a salary cap. The season almost foundered because of widespread dissatisfaction amongst the players at the salaries on offer, and players' unions were rumored to be on the verge of creation at several points. The players at first intended to form their own league, but the arenas were under the NHA control and surrendered for that season. Ottawa won the championship and held the Stanley Cup against Galt and Port Arthur.
In the off-season, O'Brien exited the hockey business and Renfrew exited the league. This season, the league dropped the 'rover' position, changing the game to six-man hockey, although other leagues would hold on to seven-man play into the 1920s. Attempts would be made to reintroduce seven-man hockey in subsequent years but were unsuccessful. While the league delayed its schedule to try to accommodate the Toronto teams, who were waiting for the Arena Gardens' completion, in the end the league played with only four teams. In that same off-season, the Patrick brothers built two arenas in
Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
and
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
and formed the
Pacific Coast Hockey Association
The Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA) was a professional ice hockey league in western Canada and the western United States, which operated from 1911 to 1924 when it then merged with the Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL). The PCHA was cons ...
(PCHA). The PCHA exploited the low pay of the NHA teams to raid the teams for players. Quebec won the league championship, winning its first Stanley Cup, defending it successfully against Moncton. Despite the raids by the PCHA, the NHA allowed a player-organized team of all-stars to play an exhibition series out west against the PCHA after the season.
Some of the NHA players, notably
Cyclone Taylor would be enticed to join the PCHA in the following season.
In 1912–13, the two new Toronto teams joined the league, the
Torontos, later dubbed the 'Blueshirts', and the
Tecumsehs and the league expanded to six teams. Although the PCHA had raided Quebec for three players of its championship squad, they were replaced by top players from the Ontario and Maritime leagues, and Quebec repeated as champions. This year, the Quebec team traveled west to play the PCHA champion
Victoria Aristocrats
The Victoria Cougars were a major league professional ice hockey team that played in the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA) from 1911 to 1924 under various names, and (after the PCHA's merger with the Western Canada Hockey League) in the W ...
, in the first series between the two leagues' champion teams.
1913–14, the last before World War I, saw a tie between the Torontos and the Canadiens for first place, and the league's first play-off was held. Toronto won the two-game series to win the championship and the first Stanley Cup win by any Toronto team. After the play-off, PCHA champion Victoria came east to play Toronto in a best-of-five series. The series was 'unofficial' as it was not approved by the Stanley Cup trustees, but any controversy was moot as Toronto won the series in three-straight games.
Starting in the
1914–1915 season, the Stanley Cup was awarded exclusively to the winner of a playoff between the NHA and the
PCHA regular season winners. The league championship was decided by a two-game total goal playoff between the Wanderers and the Senators. Ottawa won the championship, and the right to defend the Cup against
Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
in a three-game series in which Vancouver won in dominating fashion. The notion of a league champion being awarded the Cup to defend ceased with that season, as the
Portland Rosebuds were the PCHA champions in
1915–1916 but were not automatically accorded the Cup. Instead, they played the Montreal Canadiens for the trophy (and became the first American team to do so), which the Canadiens won in a five-game series. However, both Ottawa in 1915 and Portland in 1916 engraved their names on the Stanley Cup as well as the eventual champions.
1915–1917: World War I and the end of the NHA
![Frank Calder](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5e/Frank_Calder.jpg)
The start of World War I meant that players started enlisting for the military to fight overseas. By 1915, World War I and PCHA raiding left the NHA without enough quality players. At first, the NHA and PCHA made peace with an agreement limiting PCHA signings of NHA players to those on teams designated by a 'draft'. However the peace did not last and disputes within the NHA and with the PCHA led to the end of the NHA. Two factions developed, Toronto and Quebec City, and the Montreal teams and
Ottawa.
![Eddie Livingstone](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c2/Eddie_Livingstone.jpg)
Prior to the 1915–16 season,
Toronto Shamrocks
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 ancho ...
team 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 ...
made two moves that infuriated the NHA and the PCHA. At that time Quebec was to be one of the designated NHA teams which the PCHA would draft players from. Livingstone arranged a trade with Quebec to hide some players from the draft, infuriating the PCHA. He bought the Toronto Blueshirts without league permission for its players, and ended up with no players for the Shamrocks team as the PCHA in retaliation raided the Blueshirts for players. The league ordered Livingstone to sell his Shamrocks franchise, but he was unable to do so as he had only enough players for one team. The
1915–16 season was played with only five teams, a situation whereby one team each week would not play, a situation limiting team owner revenues and infuriating the other owners. Instead of two games in Toronto to cover travel expenses from the other cities, there was only one per trip.
In 1916, the league stripped Livingstone of the Shamrocks franchise and fielded a second team in Toronto for the
1916–17 season. The team was composed of hockey players who had enlisted for wartime duty. The team, known as the
228th Battalion or Northern Fusiliers—actually from
North Bay, Ontario
North Bay is a city in Northeastern Ontario, Canada. It is the seat of Nipissing District, and takes its name from its position on the shore of Lake Nipissing. North Bay developed as a railroad centre, and its airport was an important military ...
—played wearing khaki military uniforms and was the league's most popular and highest scoring club until the regiment was ordered overseas in February 1917 and the team was forced to withdraw. A scandal ensued when several stars were subsequently discharged and alleged they had been promised commissions solely to play hockey for the military team. The Battalion dropping out left the league at five teams again. Instead of continuing with five teams, the league suspended the Blueshirts also and dispersed its players to the other clubs and continued with four teams. Livingstone threatened to sue the league over the suspension, infuriating the other owners. The league next made a demand that Livingstone sell the Toronto franchise between April and June 1917. Instead of selling, Livingstone followed through with his threat to sue the NHA.
By this time, the owners of the Canadiens, Wanderers, Senators and Bulldogs wanted nothing more to do with Livingstone. However, they discovered the NHA constitution did not allow them to simply expel him from the league. Instead, on November 22, 1917, the other four owners voted to suspend the NHA's operations. Two weeks later, the four clubs founded 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 ...
so that they could continue the business of pro hockey without Livingstone. Every owner except Livingstone was granted a franchise in the NHL and the NHA contracts transferred. The NHL also continued to use the same rules and season format as the NHA, with the NHL champion now moving on to face the PCHA champion in the Stanley Cup final. Wanderers owner
Sam Lichtenhein was quoted as saying, "We didn't throw Livingstone out; he's still got his franchise in the old National Hockey Association. He has his team, and we wish him well. The only problem is he's playing in a one-team league."
The Bulldogs, however, announced they didn't have enough financing to ice a team for the NHL's first season. Wanting to balance the schedule, and feeling it unthinkable not to have a team from Canada's second-largest city, the NHL granted a temporary franchise to the Toronto Arena Company, which leased the Blueshirts' players from Livingstone pending resolution of the dispute. This temporary franchise would evolve into today's
Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...
.
The NHA's organization did not dissolve immediately. The owners had launched a lawsuit against the Battalion to attempt to make the Canadian Army pay $3000 for leaving the league and this had yet to be heard in court. The NHL could operate in the meantime, without Livingstone.
The NHA's officials met nearly a year later, on September 20, 1918, when a vote was taken to permanently suspend operations over Livingstone's objections. That fall, Livingstone, along with Percy Quinn, attempted to launch a rival "Canadian Hockey Association" (CHA) unsuccessfully. Blocked, Livingstone and Quinn called a final meeting of the NHA owners on December 11, 1918. The NHL owners, against the wishes of Frank Calder, attended the meeting. Calder considered that an NHA meeting could not proceed with shareholders not having paid legal fees owed the league books held in court for lawsuits. Livingstone's plan was to use the fact that the Canadiens had a minority shareholder, contrary to NHA voting rules, to disallow the Canadiens vote and cause the vote to swing their way and lead to the resumption of the NHA. At first, Lichtenhein refused to recognize Quinn's purchase of the Quebec NHL franchise, but agreed to if Quinn would pay the costs of the meeting itself, which he refused. The meeting ended when the NHL owners offered to pay legal fees owed to the NHA so as to proceed, according to Calder's terms, but Livingstone and Quinn refused. The NHL owners then left the meeting. Separately, the Montreal and Ottawa NHA owners met and paid the fees owing to the league and Calder fined the Torontos, Ontarios and Quebec a further $200. Calder now publicly promised to file a court order to "wind up" the NHA organization. When the NHL decided to continue with play, Livingstone and Quinn threatened injunctions to stop the NHL from operating. However, the threats were not followed through on and the NHL season began on schedule. The NHA organization itself was not formally dissolved for several years afterwards and
Frank Calder
Frank Sellick Calder (November 17, 1877 – February 4, 1943) was a British-born Canadian ice hockey executive, journalist, and athlete.
Calder was the first president of the National Hockey League (NHL), from 1917 until his death in 1943. He ...
held the presidency in both organizations.
Legacy
The NHA was innovative for its time. The league put forth several innovations, among them the abolition of the rover position in 1912 (a labour-saving measure), the institution of match penalties, and allowing line changes on the fly.
While the originator of jersey numbers in ice hockey is disputed, the NHA is commonly cited as the first to use them, requiring players wear numbered armbands beginning with the 1911–12 season.
The championship trophy of the NHA was the
O'Brien Cup
The O'Brien Trophy, or O'Brien Cup, as labelled on the trophy itself, is a retired trophy that was awarded in the National Hockey Association (NHA) and the National Hockey League (NHL) ice hockey leagues of North America from 1910 to 1950. It was ...
, made of solid silver, donated by the O'Brien family. It survived as the championship trophy of the NHL until the Western Hockey League, the successor to the PCHA, folded after the 1925–26 hockey season. This left the NHL as the only professional league that competed for the Stanley Cup. Thus starting in 1926–27 season, the Stanley Cup became the championship trophy of the NHL. The O'Brien Trophy was then awarded annually as an NHL trophy afterward before being retired in 1950.
Two current NHL teams, the Canadiens and Maple Leafs, have roots in the NHA. While the Canadiens acknowledge their NHA history and records, the Maple Leafs do not claim the Blueshirts' history as their own. A third, 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 ...
, borrows its name and heritage from its NHA counterpart, but is a separate expansion franchise founded in 1992 while the original Senators ceased operations in 1934.
Teams
Season by season record
† Stanley Cup Champions. In 1910, both the Wanderers and Senators are considered champions.
*228th Battalion was from North Bay, Ontario, training at Camp Borden and in Toronto at the time. It dropped out after first half of season. Toronto was suspended by league after first half.
Team history
See also
*
1918–19 NHL season
The 1918–19 NHL season was the second season of the National Hockey League (NHL). While at first it was uncertain that the NHL would operate, and the possibility that National Hockey Association (NHA) would be resumed, the unfinished business o ...
*
Stanley Cup
*
List of Stanley Cup champions
The Stanley Cup is a trophy awarded annually to the playoff champion club of the National Hockey League (NHL) ice hockey league. It was donated by the Governor General of Canada Lord Stanley of Preston in 1892, and is the oldest professional sp ...
*
O'Brien Cup
The O'Brien Trophy, or O'Brien Cup, as labelled on the trophy itself, is a retired trophy that was awarded in the National Hockey Association (NHA) and the National Hockey League (NHL) ice hockey leagues of North America from 1910 to 1950. It was ...
*
List of pre-NHL seasons
Prior to the first season of the National Hockey League (NHL), which commenced on December 19, 1917, there had been many seasons of ice hockey played by various amateur and professional leagues, often held contemporaneously, going back to the 188 ...
*
List of ice hockey leagues
This is a list of ice hockey leagues, both professional and amateur, from around the world; parentheses denote year of establishment and, where applicable, year of disestablishment.
North America Major professional
* National Hockey League (1917 ...
*
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 ...
Notes
References
*
*
*
*
{{Authority control
Sports leagues established in 1909
1918 disestablishments in Canada
Defunct ice hockey leagues in Ontario
Pre–National Hockey League
Defunct ice hockey leagues in Quebec
1909 establishments in Canada
Sports leagues disestablished in 1918