The 1932–33 NHL season was the 16th

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 ...

(NHL). Nine teams each played 48 games. The

Ottawa Senators The Ottawa Senators (), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. The Senators compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Di ...

rejoined the league after missing one season, while the Detroit team was renamed the

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

. 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 ...

beat the

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. The Maple Leafs compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the A ...

three games to one for the

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup () 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, and the International Ic ...

League business

After sitting out for a season due to financial difficulties, the

rejoined the NHL. The Philadelphia Quakers never rejoined the NHL after sitting out the 1931–32 season. Detroit Falcons were renamed as the

. Although the Montreal Maroons had Flat Walsh,

Dave Kerr David Alexander Kerr (January 11, 1910 – May 11, 1978) was a Canadian NHL goaltender who played for the Montreal Maroons, New York Americans and New York Rangers. Playing career He played amateur hockey before joining the NHL, winning the All ...

and

Normie Smith Norman Eugene Smith (March 18, 1908 – February 2, 1988) was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender who played for the Montreal Maroons and the Detroit Red Wings in the National Hockey League. Rookie career Smith enjoyed much success in ...

for goal, they were interested in acquiring Chuck Gardiner of Chicago. James Strachan offered $10,000 plus one of his goalkeepers, but there was no deal.

Billy Coutu Wilfrid Arthur "Billy" Coutu (March 1, 1892 – February 25, 1977), nicknamed "Wild Beaver", was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who played ten seasons in the National Hockey League for the Montreal Canadiens, the Hamilton Tigers, ...

, expelled from the NHL in 1927, was reinstated to the NHL, but never returned.

Rule changes

This season, the NHL started allowing a substitute to serve penalties for goaltender's penalties. The NHL now required a captain or alternate captain to be on the ice at all times.

Regular season

There was a record number of four goaltenders who served as captains for their teams: George Hainsworth, Roy Worters, Charlie Gardiner, and Alex Connell. The Red Wings 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 (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The t ...

tied for the best overall record with 58 points apiece, but it was Boston that was awarded first overall due to a better head-to-head record. Ottawa started the season up in second place in the Canadian Division near the .500 mark at mid season, but collapsed in the second half and finished last. President Ahearn instructed coach

Cy Denneny Cyril Joseph Denneny (December 23, 1891 – September 10, 1970) was a Canadian ice hockey forward who played for the Ottawa Senators and Boston Bruins in the National Hockey League from 1917 to 1929 and the Toronto Blueshirts of the National Hock ...

to fine players who displayed indifferent hockey. At the same time, he stated that Hector Kilrea was not for sale. The Montreal Canadiens, under new coach Newsy Lalonde, spent much of the season in last place, but made the playoffs when they rallied to finish third. Toronto, with its Kid line, finished first for the first time as the Maple Leafs. Led by the play of Eddie Shore, the Boston Bruins finished first in the American Division. The first forfeit in NHL history occurred during a Black Hawks-Bruins game at Boston Garden on March 14, 1933. Chicago coach Tommy Gorman punched referee Bill Stewart following a disputed overtime goal by Boston's Marty Barry. Stewart threw several punches at Gorman before summoning the police to remove Gorman from the visitors' bench. The Hawks refused to continue the game without their coach. The puck was placed at center ice by Stewart. Boston's Cooney Weiland scored without any Hawks on the ice—at which point the game was forfeited to Boston. Ironically, referee Stewart would coach the Black Hawks to the Stanley Cup in 1937–1938.

Final standings

Playoffs

Playoff bracket

The top three teams in each division qualified for the playoffs. The two division winners met in a

best-of-five There are a number of formats used in various levels of competition in sports and games to determine an overall champion. Some of the most common are the ''single elimination'', the ''best-of-'' series, the ''total points series'' more commonly kn ...

Stanley Cup semifinal series. The divisional second-place teams and third-place teams played off in a

two-game total-goals In sports (especially association football), a two-legged tie is a contest between two teams which comprises two matches or "legs", with each team as the home team in one leg. The winning team is usually determined by aggregate score, the sum of ...

series to determine the participants for the other two-game total-goals semifinal series. The semifinal winners then played in a best-of-five Stanley Cup Finals.

Quarterfinals

(A2) Detroit Red Wings vs. (C2) Montreal Maroons

(A3) New York Rangers vs. (C3) Montreal Canadiens

Semifinals

(A1) Boston Bruins vs. (C1) Toronto Maple Leafs

Game five of this series is the second longest game in NHL history, it was the longest at the time.

(A2) Detroit Red Wings vs. (A3) New York Rangers

Stanley Cup Finals

Awards

It was the first season that league president Frank Calder named the best rookie of the year. The first winner was

Carl Voss Carl Potter Voss (January 6, 1907 – September 13, 1993) was an American ice hockey forward in the National Hockey League. He played for several teams between 1926 and 1938. He would later become a referee, and was inducted into the Hockey Hall ...

of the

. Although

Tiny Thompson Cecil Ralph "Tiny" Thompson (May 31, 1903 – February 9, 1981) was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender. He played 12 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL), first for the Boston Bruins, and later for the Detroit Red Wings. A ...

was named 'most valuable goaltender', he was not named to the NHL All-Star team.

All-Star teams

Player statistics

Leading scorers

''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 In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which the losing team fails to score. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usually seen as a result of ...

; 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: NHL.

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: Emil Iverson and

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 ...

*Detroit Red Wings:

Jack Adams John James "Jolly Jack" Adams (June 14, 1894 – May 1, 1968) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player, coach, and general manager in the National Hockey League and Pacific Coast Hockey Association. He played for the Toronto Arenas, Vancouv ...

*New York Rangers:

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 (PCHA; Western Hockey League (WHL) after ...

Canadian Division

*Montreal Canadiens:

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 ...

*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:

Bullet Joe Simpson Harold Edward Joseph "Bullet Joe" Simpson (August 13, 1893 – December 26, 1973) was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who played for the Edmonton Eskimos and New York Americans between 1920 and 1931. He later served as coach of the ...

*Ottawa Senators:

*Toronto Maple Leafs:

Dick Irvin James Dickinson "Dick" Irvin Jr. (or II) (July 19, 1892 – May 16, 1957) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player and coach. He played for professional teams in the Pacific Coast Hockey Association, the Western Canada Hockey League, and t ...

Debuts

The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1932–33 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs): * Art Wiebe, Chicago Black Hawks *

Eddie Wiseman Edward Randall Wiseman (December 28, 1911 – May 6, 1977) was a Canadian ice hockey forward. He was born in Newcastle, New Brunswick, but grew up in Regina, Saskatchewan. Wiseman started his National Hockey League career with the Detroit Red Wi ...

, Detroit Red Wings * Charlie Sands, Toronto Maple Leafs * Buzz Boll*, Toronto Maple Leafs *

Bill Thoms William David Thoms (March 5, 1910 – December 26, 1964) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played 548 games in the National Hockey League for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Chicago Black Hawks and Boston Bruins between 1932 and 1945. ...

, Toronto Maple Leafs

Last games

The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1932–33 (listed with their last team): * George Owen, Boston Bruins *

Billy Burch Harry Wilfred Burch (November 20, 1900 – November 30, 1950) was an American-born Canadian professional ice hockey forward who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Hamilton Tigers, New York Americans, Chicago Black Hawks, and Bo ...

, Chicago Black Hawks, last active player from the

Hamilton Tigers The Hamilton Tigers were a professional ice hockey team based in Hamilton, Ontario, that competed in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1920 to 1925. The Tigers were formed by the sale of the Quebec Bulldogs NHL franchise to Hamilton interest ...

franchise. *

Reg Noble Edward Reginald Noble (June 23, 1896 – January 19, 1962) was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward and defenceman who played 17 professional seasons in the National Hockey Association (NHA) and National Hockey League (NHL) for the Toronto ...

, Montreal Maroons * Hib Milks, Ottawa Senators *

Harold Darragh Harold Edward "Howl" Darragh (September 13, 1902 – April 28, 1993) was a Canadian ice hockey right winger who played eight seasons in the National Hockey League for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Philadelphia Quakers, Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple ...