Joseph Sylvio Theobald Mantha (April 14, 1902 – August 7, 1974) 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
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 ...
defenceman who played fourteen seasons in the
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey sports league, league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranke ...
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 ...
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 ...
. Elected to the
Hockey Hall of Fame
The Hockey Hall of Fame (french: Temple de la renommée du hockey) is a museum and hall of fame located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dedicated to the history of ice hockey, it holds exhibits about players, teams, National Hockey League (NHL) rec ...
in 1960, he was regarded as one of the best two-way defencemen of his day.
Amateur career
Mantha started as a
right winger for the Notre Dame de Grace Juniors in 1919, before playing for Verdun in the Intermediate Mount Royal Hockey League, and Imperial Tobacco and Northern Electric in the Montreal industrial league. He played briefly for the Montreal Nationales in the Quebec league. After scoring four goals in nine games with the Nationales, he was signed by 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 December of 1923.
NHL career
The Canadiens started Mantha as a forward, then moved him to
defence
Defense or defence may refer to:
Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups
* Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare
* Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks
* Defense indus ...
as part of a youth movement, because veteran Montreal defencemen
Sprague Cleghorn and
Billy Coutu were aging. He was used sparingly as a substitute that first season, but gained more ice time thereafter as an injury replacement for Coutu and as Cleghorn was suspended during the season. Mantha played more regularly in the playoffs, helping the Canadiens to the
1924
Events
January
* January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after.
* January 20– 30 – Kuomintang in China hold ...
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 ...
championship.
When Cleghorn was traded just before the
1925–26 NHL season, Mantha gained a more prominent role. With the further trade of Coutu to Boston in the
1927
Events January
* January 1 – The British Broadcasting ''Company'' becomes the British Broadcasting ''Corporation'', when its Royal Charter of incorporation takes effect. John Reith becomes the first Director-General.
* January 7
...
offseason, he was named captain of the team, and paired with
Herb Gardiner -- acquired with the breakup of the
Western Hockey League
The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior ...
from the
Calgary Tigers -- to become the new starting defencemen for the Canadiens. Mantha was injured in the playoffs that year, but recovered to score Montreal's only goal on an end-to-end rush in the deciding (and losing) game to 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 member ...
.
Newly paired with defenceman
Battleship Leduc after Gardiner left to become player-coach in Chicago, Mantha scored the first-ever goal in
Boston Garden
The Boston Garden was an arena in Boston, Massachusetts. Designed by boxing promoter Tex Rickard, who also built the third iteration of New York's Madison Square Garden, it opened on November 17, 1928, as "Boston Madison Square Garden" (la ...
on November 20,
1928
Events January
* January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly proving the existence of DNA.
* January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris Bazhano ...
, leading the Canadiens to a 1–0 win over 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 in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making ...
. Mantha also got to play with his brother
Georges that season, a rookie forward signed by Montreal. By the end of the season, Mantha was paired on defence with
Marty Burke
Martin Alfonses Burke (January 28, 1905 in Toronto, Ontario – March 7, 1968) was a defenceman in the National Hockey League for the Montreal Canadiens, Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago Black Hawks. He was on two Stanley Cup championship teams in ...
, a partnership that would last for several seasons.
The
1929–30 saw Montreal win its second Stanley Cup during Mantha's tenure, in which he starred with two goals in the best-of-three
Stanley Cup Finals
The Stanley Cup Finals in ice hockey (also known as the Stanley Cup Final among various media, french: Finale de la Coupe Stanley) is the National Hockey League's (NHL) championship series to determine the winner of the Stanley Cup, North America ...
series against the heavily favored Bruins, which had the best winning percentage in NHL history during the regular season. In this season, Mantha had career highs in goals, assists and points, finishing second among league defencemen to
King Clancy of the Senators in goals, and third behind Clancy and Bruin
Eddie Shore
Edward William Shore (November 23, 1902 – March 16, 1985) was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman, principally for the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League, and the longtime owner of the Springfield Indians of the American ...
in points.
The first season-ending All-Star Team was named in
1930–31, and Mantha was named Second Team All-Star on defence for both that year and
the next, for his prowess as a defensive defenceman. Goaltender
George Hainsworth would take over as team captain for Mantha in
1933
Events
January
* January 11 – Sir Charles Kingsford Smith makes the first commercial flight between Australia and New Zealand.
* January 17 – The United States Congress votes in favour of Philippines independence, against the wis ...
, a post Mantha would regain the following season.
Following an incident in the
1934 season where Mantha successfully substituted for the suspended
Newsy Lalonde as coach for the Habs in two matches -- and beginning to fade as a player, no longer being a starter by the 1934 playoffs -- he was named the full-time player-coach for the
1935–36 NHL season. After a dismal season, with Montreal missing the playoffs for the first time in a decade and finishing in last place, the Canadiens fired him as a coach, and then released him as a player before the start of the
1937 season.
In a game against the
New York Rangers
The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its ho ...
on January 28, 1937, Boston superstar
Eddie Shore
Edward William Shore (November 23, 1902 – March 16, 1985) was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman, principally for the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League, and the longtime owner of the Springfield Indians of the American ...
sustained a back injury that proved to be season ending. In consequence, the Bruins signed Mantha as a replacement. It took some time for him to get into game shape, and ultimately he played only four games for Boston. Spurred on by cracking a bone in his elbow, Mantha admitted he could no longer play at a competitive level, and retired.
Retirement
After retirement as a player, Mantha worked as a linesman and referee for both the
American Hockey League
The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the lea ...
and the NHL. However, he found the continual travel required of an on-ice official grueling, and transitioned to coaching for Montreal-area junior league teams. He coached the
Montreal Concordias, Laval Nationales (1943–1945), Verdun Maple Leafs (1945–1947), St. Jerome Eagles (1947–1948, 1951–1952), and Verdun Lasalle (1950–1951) before leaving organized hockey for good. During this time, Mantha was instrumental in steering future Hall of Famer
Bernie Geoffrion
Joseph Bernard André Geoffrion (; February 14, 1931 – March 11, 2006), nicknamed "Boom Boom", was a Canadian professional ice hockey player and coach. Generally considered one of the innovators of the slapshot, he was inducted into the Hockey ...
to the Concordias, which at the time were under the control of the Canadiens, after seeing the then-14 year old Geoffrion score five goals in a match.
Mantha was inducted into the
Hockey Hall of Fame
The Hockey Hall of Fame (french: Temple de la renommée du hockey) is a museum and hall of fame located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dedicated to the history of ice hockey, it holds exhibits about players, teams, National Hockey League (NHL) rec ...
in 1960, and died in Montreal in August 1974.
The Georges and Sylvio Mantha Arenas are part of the Complexe Récréatif Gadbois 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 named for him and his brother Georges Mantha.
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
See also
*
List of members of the Hockey Hall of Fame
The Hockey Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum dedicated to the history of ice hockey. It was established in 1943 and is located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Originally, there were two categories for induction, players and builders, and i ...
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mantha, Sylvio
1902 births
1974 deaths
Boston Bruins players
Canadian ice hockey coaches
Canadian ice hockey defencemen
Hockey Hall of Fame inductees
Ice hockey people from Montreal
Montreal Canadiens coaches
Montreal Canadiens players
National Hockey League officials
Stanley Cup champions
Ice hockey player-coaches