The 1942–43 NHL season was the
26th 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). The
Brooklyn Americans were dropped, leaving six teams played 50 games each. This is the first season of the "
Original Six
The Original Six () are the teams that composed the National Hockey League (NHL) between 1942 and 1967. The six teams are the Boston Bruins, Chicago Black Hawks, Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers, and Toronto Maple Leafs. ...
" era of the NHL. The league's long-time president
Frank Calder died due to
heart disease
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is any disease involving the heart or blood vessels. CVDs constitute a class of diseases that includes: coronary artery diseases (e.g. angina pectoris, angina, myocardial infarction, heart attack), heart failure, ...
. 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 ...
defeated 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 ...
to win 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
The NHL and the
Canadian Amateur Hockey Association
The Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA; ) was the national governing body of amateur ice hockey in Canada from 1914 until 1994, when it merged with Hockey Canada. Its jurisdiction included senior ice hockey leagues and the Allan Cup, ...
(CAHA) agreed in principle that a junior-aged player could become a professional whenever he wanted, to make a living under wartime conditions. They expected that NHL clubs would rely on junior-aged players as replacements due to military enlistments. In October 1942, a new professional-amateur agreement was reached by NHL president
Frank Calder, and CAHA president
Frank Sargent. NHL teams were permitted to sign junior-aged players if the junior club was contacted first, and agreed not to sign any other junior-eligible players who had not yet played for the CAHA. The NHL continued to pay the CAHA for developing players.
The
Brooklyn Americans franchise was dropped, as
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...
turned down a lease agreement with team owner
Red Dutton
Norman Alexander Dutton (July 23, 1897 – March 15, 1987) was a Canadian ice hockey player, coach and executive. Commonly known as Red Dutton, and earlier by the nickname "Mervyn", he played for the Calgary Tigers of the Western Canada Hock ...
. Dutton argued that the other teams would be weakened by
the war, but the other owners pointed out the number of American players serving in the armed forces was such that the Americans could not operate. A despondent Dutton left the league meeting, but was to return to the NHL sooner than he thought.
With the suspension of the Americans, this was the inaugural season of the so-called
Original Six
The Original Six () are the teams that composed the National Hockey League (NHL) between 1942 and 1967. The six teams are the Boston Bruins, Chicago Black Hawks, Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers, and Toronto Maple Leafs. ...
era, with the NHL consisting of six teams (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 ...
,
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 ...
,
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 ...
,
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 ...
,
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 ...
, and
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 ...
). This arrangement would last until the
1966–67 season, after which the league
doubled in size.
Death of Frank Calder
The league's meeting of January 25, 1943, was to have been a non-event. The only news that was supposed to come out of the meeting was that the playoffs would begin on March 20, and that all series would be best-of-seven affairs. This was resolved in the morning session.
The afternoon session had just begun and Calder had informed Red Dutton of the reserve status of his suspended franchise, when Toronto coach
Hap Day
Clarence Henry "Happy" Day (June 14, 1901 – February 17, 1990), later known as Hap Day, was a Canadian professional hockey player who played 14 seasons in the National Hockey League for the Toronto Maple Leafs and New York Americans. Day enjo ...
noticed that Calder appeared to be in pain. Two league governors came up to his aid, but he assured them he was all right. Then Calder's face contracted as if he were in pain. He took a few steps and exclaimed "''My God, there IS something wrong''!" He was taken to his hotel room and a doctor diagnosed a
heart attack
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...
. A specialist convinced him, despite his protests, to check into St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto, where he suffered a second heart attack. In a week, Calder felt well enough to return to
Montreal
Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
and checked into
Montreal General Hospital. After eating a light breakfast surrounded by his family and friends, he was looking over the league books when he slipped back on the pillows of his bed and died of a third heart attack. He died on February 4, 1943, at the age of 65 years. Red Dutton was chosen as the new president, on an "interim" basis.
[Diamond(1994), p. 10]
Regular season
Due to war-time travel restrictions, the NHL ceased playing
overtimes to decide tie games on November 21 partway through the season. The last regular season overtime game was November 10, 1942, between 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 ...
and 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 ...
, won by New York 5–3. Regular season overtime would not be re-introduced until the
1983–84 NHL season
The 1983–84 NHL season was the 67th season of the National Hockey League. The Edmonton Oilers de-throned the four-time defending Stanley Cup champion New York Islanders four games to one in the Cup finals.
League business Ownership change ...
, with a slight change from playing out an entire 10-minute overtime period, to a 5-minute
sudden death format.
Highlights
Detroit finished first, partly due to the six shutouts of goaltender
Johnny Mowers, who won the Vezina Trophy. During the season,
Jimmy Orlando got into a stick-swinging incident with Toronto rookie
Gaye Stewart and came out of it on the short end, badly cut in the face and bleeding profusely. Both players were suspended for the incident.
The Montreal Canadiens were still making progress, and coach
Dick Irvin put together the first "Punch Line" of
Elmer Lach
Elmer James Lach ( , January 22, 1918 – April 4, 2015) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played 14 seasons for the Montreal Canadiens in the National Hockey League (NHL). A Centre (ice hockey), centre, he was a member of the Pun ...
,
Toe Blake
Joseph Hector "Toe" Blake (August 21, 1912 – May 17, 1995) was a Canadian ice hockey Player (game), player and Coach (ice hockey), coach in the National Hockey League (NHL). Blake played in the NHL from 1935 to 1948 with the Montreal Maroons a ...
and
Joe Benoit.
Maurice Richard
Joseph Henri Maurice "Rocket" Richard ( , ; August 4, 1921 – May 27, 2000) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played 18 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Montreal Canadiens. He was the first player in NHL his ...
showed promise, but broke his leg, and Canadiens' manager
Tommy Gorman began to look at him as brittle. Benoit became the first Canadien to hit the 30 goal plateau since
Howie Morenz did it in 1929–30 (40 goals) scoring an even 30.
Gordie Drillon also added some scoring power. The Canadiens made the playoffs by one slim point and lost to Boston in the playoffs' first round.
In contrast to the 1941–42 season, the Rangers felt the full impact of World War II and lost
Art Coulter,
Alex Shibicky, the Colville brothers, and
Bill Juzda
William Juzda (October 29, 1920 – February 17, 2008) was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman from Winnipeg, Manitoba. He played with the Toronto Maple Leafs and New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL) between 1940 and 1952 ...
to the Armed Forces. Only
Ott Heller was left of their defence. Babe Pratt was traded to Toronto for
Hank Goldup and
Dudley "Red" Garrett. Garrett proved to be an excellent replacement for Pratt. However, he only played 21 games, then gave his life in the Armed Forces. Goaltending was the Rangers problem as
Steve Buzinski,
Jimmy Franks, and old veteran
Bill Beveridge all had to face lots of rubber as the Rangers went from first to worst.
Final standings
Playoffs
Playoff bracket
With the reduction of the league to six teams, the number of teams qualifying for the Stanley Cup playoffs was reduced to four, and the quarterfinal round was eliminated. In the semifinals, the first-place team played the third-place team, while the second-place team faced the fourth-place team, with the winners advancing to the Stanley Cup Finals. In both rounds, teams competed in a
best-of-seven series (scores in the bracket indicate the number of games won in each best-of-seven series).
This format would remain in place through the
1966–67 NHL season, after which
expansion would increase the number of teams in the playoffs.
Semifinals
(1) Detroit Red Wings vs. (3) Toronto Maple Leafs
(2) Boston Bruins vs. (4) Montreal Canadiens
This was the last time that Boston defeated Montreal in a postseason series until 1988.
Stanley Cup Finals
Awards
All-Star teams
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; 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 ...
; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts''
Coaches
*Boston Bruins:
Art Ross
*Chicago Black Hawks:
Paul Thompson
*Detroit Red Wings:
Jack Adams
*Montreal Canadiens:
Dick Irvin
*New York Rangers:
Frank Boucher
*Toronto Maple Leafs:
Hap Day
Clarence Henry "Happy" Day (June 14, 1901 – February 17, 1990), later known as Hap Day, was a Canadian professional hockey player who played 14 seasons in the National Hockey League for the Toronto Maple Leafs and New York Americans. Day enjo ...
Debuts
The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1942–43 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs):
*
Bep Guidolin, Boston Bruins (youngest rookie in NHL history)
*
Glen Harmon, Montreal Canadiens
*
Ted Kennedy
Edward Moore Kennedy (February 22, 1932 – August 25, 2009) was an American lawyer and politician from Massachusetts who served as a member of the United States Senate from 1962 to his death in 2009. A member of the Democratic Party and ...
, Toronto Maple Leafs
*
Joe Klukay*, Toronto Maple Leafs
*
Bobby Lee
Robert Young Lee Jr. (born September 17, 1971) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and podcaster. Lee co-hosts the podcasts Bad Friends (podcast), ''Bad Friends'' with Andrew Santino and ''TigerBelly'' with Khalyla Kuhn.
From 2001 to 2009, ...
, Montreal Canadiens
*
Bud Poile, Toronto Maple Leafs
*
Bill Quackenbush, Detroit Red Wings
*
Maurice Richard
Joseph Henri Maurice "Rocket" Richard ( , ; August 4, 1921 – May 27, 2000) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played 18 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Montreal Canadiens. He was the first player in NHL his ...
, Montreal Canadiens
Last games
The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1942–43 (listed with their last team):
*
Ebbie Goodfellow, Detroit Red Wings
*
Gordie Drillon, Montreal Canadiens
See also
*
1942–43 NHL transactions
*
List of Stanley Cup champions
The Stanley Cup is a trophy awarded annually to the Season structure of the NHL, playoff champion club of the National Hockey League (NHL). It was donated by the Governor General of Canada Frederick Stanley, 16th Earl of Derby, Lord Stanley of Pr ...
*
1942 in sports
*
1943 in sports
References
*
*
*
*
*
*
;Notes
External links
Hockey DatabaseNHL.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:NHL, 1942-43
1942–43 in Canadian ice hockey by league
1942–43 in American ice hockey by league