1944–45 NHL Season
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The 1944–45 NHL season was the 28th
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 ...
. Six teams played 50 games each. 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 ...
won 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 ...
in seven games against 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 ...
.


League business

In October 1944,
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 ...
sponsored W. G. Hardy to become NHL president, replacing
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 ...
who wanted to step down. Patrick credited Hardy for being largely responsible for the current professional-amateur agreement between the NHL and the amateur associations in the International Ice Hockey Association, and said he was "temperamentally suited and has an excellent record as an executive of 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, ...
".


Regular season

It was the year of the "Punch Line" as
Rocket 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 ...
scored
50 goals in 50 games In the National Hockey League (NHL), the phrase "50 goals in 50 games" (50-in-50) refers to a player scoring 50 goals within the first 50 (or fewer) games of his team's season. An extremely rare feat, the NHL has only officially deemed five player ...
, breaking Joe Malone's record of 44 goals, and when Richard scored his 45th, Malone was on hand to present him with the record-breaking puck. Richard had a five-goal, three-assist night against Detroit at the
Montreal Forum Montreal Forum () is a historic building located facing Cabot Square, Montreal, Cabot Square in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Called "the most storied building in hockey history" by ''Sporting News'', it was an indoor arena which served as the home o ...
on December 28, 1944. His centreman,
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 ...
, though, won the scoring race with 26 goals and 80 points.
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 ...
finished third with 29 goals, 38 assists, and for the second time, an entire line finished first, second, third scoring. The previous time had been in 1939–40, when 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 ...
' Kraut Line of
Milt Schmidt Milton Conrad Schmidt (March 5, 1918 – January 4, 2017) was a Canadian professional ice hockey centre, coach and general manager, mostly for the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL), where he was a member of the Kraut Line. He w ...
,
Bobby Bauer Robert Theodore Bauer (February 16, 1915 – September 16, 1964) was a Canadian professional ice hockey right winger who played 10 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Boston Bruins. He was a member of the famed " Kraut Line" with ...
and Woody Dumart accomplished the feat. Schmidt finished with 52 points in 48 games that year, and Bauer and Dumart 43 apiece. Montreal dared not loan Paul Bibeault to Toronto again with his fine year the previous season and loaned him instead to Boston. But the Maple Leafs came up with a fine rookie named
Frank McCool Tobias Francis McCool (October 27, 1918 – May 20, 1973) was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender who played for the Toronto Maple Leafs in the National Hockey League. He was born in Calgary, Alberta. Playing career McCool played minor ...
who won the
Calder Memorial Trophy The Calder Memorial Trophy is an annual award given "to the player selected as the most proficient in his first year of competition in the National Hockey League (NHL)." It is named after Frank Calder, the first president of the NHL. Serving ...
as the league's top rookie. For the first time, a team produced three consecutive top rookies. McCool and Chicago netminder
Mike Karakas Michael George Karakas (November 13, 1910 – May 2, 1992) was an Americans, American professional ice hockey goaltender in the National Hockey League (NHL). He was the league's first American-born and -trained goaltender. He played eight se ...
tied for the league lead in shutouts with four each.
Bill Durnan William Ronald Durnan (January 22, 1916 – October 31, 1972) was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender who played with the Montreal Canadiens in the National Hockey League (NHL) between 1943 and 1950. He was one of the best goaltenders in ...
won his second consecutive
Vezina Trophy The Vezina Trophy ( ) is awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) goaltender who is "adjudged to be the best at this position". At the end of each season, the thirty-two List of NHL general managers, NHL general managers vote to dete ...
with Montreal. Flash Hollett became the first defenceman to score twenty goals in one season.Hockey's Book of Firsts, p.23, James Duplacey, JG Press, The record would stand until Bobby Orr broke it several decades later. A major trade that occurred this year was Chicago trading their great defenceman Earl Seibert to Detroit for Don Grosso, Cully Simon and Byron "Butch" McDonald. After team owner
Frederic McLaughlin Maj. Frederic McLaughlin (27 June 1877 – 17 December 1944) was an American businessman and soldier. He was the first owner of the Chicago Black Hawks National Hockey League (NHL) ice hockey team. Born in Chicago, Illinois, McLaughlin inheri ...
died, it was just a matter of time before Bill Tobin would trade Seibert, as the two did not get along.


Final standings


Playoffs


Playoff bracket

The top four teams in the league qualified for the playoffs. 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 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 ...
series (scores in the bracket indicate the number of games won in each best-of-seven series).


Semifinals


(1) Montreal Canadiens vs. (3) Toronto Maple Leafs

The Montreal Canadiens finished first in the league with 80 points. The Toronto Maple Leafs finished third with 52 points. This was the fourth playoff meeting between these two teams with Montreal winning two of the three previous series. They last met in previous year's Stanley Cup Semifinals where the Canadiens won in five games. Toronto won this season's ten-game regular-season series earning eleven of twenty points.


(2) Detroit Red Wings vs. (4) Boston Bruins

The Detroit Red Wings finished second in the league with 67 points. The Boston Bruins finished fourth with 36 points. This was the fourth playoff meeting between these two teams with Detroit winning two of the three previous series. They last met in the
1943 Stanley Cup Finals The 1943 Stanley Cup Finals was a best-of-seven series between the Boston Bruins and the Detroit Red Wings. The Red Wings, appearing in their third straight Finals, swept the Bruins to win their third Stanley Cup. Paths to the Finals Boston defe ...
where the Red Wings won in four games. Detroit won this season's ten-game regular-season series earning nineteen of twenty points.


Stanley Cup Finals

This was the eighth playoff meeting between these two teams with Toronto winning four of the seven previous series. They last met in the 1943 Stanley Cup Semifinals where Detroit won in six games. Detroit won this season's ten-game regular-season series earning seventeen of twenty points.


Awards


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; Min – 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 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: Johnny Gottselig *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 ...
*Montreal Canadiens:
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 ...
*New York Rangers:
Frank Boucher François Xavier Boucher (October 7, 1901 – December 12, 1977) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player and executive. Boucher played the forward (ice hockey), forward position for the Ottawa Senators (original), Ottawa Senators and New ...
*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 1944–45 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs): *
Fern Flaman Ferdinand Charles Carl "Fernie" Flaman (January 25, 1927 – June 22, 2012) was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who played for the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs in the National Hockey League. He was known as a physical defen ...
, Boston Bruins * Murray Henderson, Boston Bruins * Pete Horeck, Chicago Black Hawks *
Ted Lindsay Robert Blake Theodore Lindsay (July 29, 1925 – March 4, 2019) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played as a forward for the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Black Hawks of the National Hockey League (NHL). Lindsay scored over 800 ...
, Detroit Red Wings * Bill Ezinicki, Toronto Maple Leafs *
Frank McCool Tobias Francis McCool (October 27, 1918 – May 20, 1973) was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender who played for the Toronto Maple Leafs in the National Hockey League. He was born in Calgary, Alberta. Playing career McCool played minor ...
, Toronto Maple Leafs


Last games

The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1944–45 (listed with their last team): * Bill Thoms, Boston Bruins * Cully Dahlstrom, Chicago Black Hawks * Mush March, Chicago Black Hawks * Johnny Gottselig, Chicago Black Hawks * Kilby MacDonald, New York Rangers * Bucko McDonald, New York Rangers * Jack McLean, Toronto Maple Leafs * John McCreedy, Toronto Maple Leafs


See also

* 1944–45 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 ...
*
1944 in sports :''Note — many sporting events did not take place because of World War II. The 1944 Summer Olympics was also cancelled due to WWII. It was going to be held in London, United Kingdom. For more visit 1944 Summer Olympics.'' 1944 in sports describ ...
* 1945 in sports


References

* * * * * * ;Notes


External links


Hockey DatabaseNHL.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:NHL, 1944-45 1944–45 in Canadian ice hockey by league 1944–45 in American ice hockey by league