The 1953–54 NHL season was the 37th

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 tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...

of 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 ...

. Six teams each played 70 games. 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

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 the final to win the team's sixth championship.

League business

(NHL) team owners gave notice to terminate the professional-amateur agreement with the

Canadian Amateur Hockey Association The Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA; french: Association canadienne de hockey amateur) was the national governing body of amateur ice hockey in Canada from 1914 until 1994, when it merged with Hockey Canada. Its jurisdiction include ...

(CAHA).

The Canadian Press The Canadian Press (CP; french: La Presse canadienne, ) is a Canadian national news agency headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. Established in 1917 as a vehicle for the time's Canadian newspapers to exchange news and information, The Canadian Pre ...

reported that the decision was to protect investments into amateur teams and to improve the financial return. The NHL proposed a new national

junior ice hockey Junior hockey is a level of competitive ice hockey generally for players between 16 and 21 years of age. Junior hockey leagues in the United States and Canada are considered amateur (with some exceptions) and operate within regions of each cou ...

playoff format solely for teams sponsored by the NHL, instead of the existing

Memorial Cup The Memorial Cup () is the national championship of the Canadian Hockey League, a consortium of three major junior ice hockey leagues operating in Canada and parts of the United States. It is a four-team round-robin tournament played between t ...

championship.; CAHA president W. B. George predicted that the NHL would not last three years without the CAHA, and stated that it would end the current system which allowed a three-game tryout for an amateur with a professional team. In August 1953, the CAHA and NHL agreed in principle to a proposal that resumed east-west transfers of junior players, and increased the amount of profits to junior teams sponsored by the NHL. At the semi-annual meeting, the CAHA agreed to distribute playoffs funds proportional to the profit on a series-by-series basis, but rejected the request to resume transfers from west to east.

Regular season

The New York Rangers decided to drop

Gump Worsley Lorne John "Gump" Worsley (May 14, 1929 – January 26, 2007) was a professional ice hockey goaltender. Born and raised in Montreal, Quebec, 'Gump' was given his nickname because friends thought he looked like comic-strip character Andy Gump. ...

and went with

Johnny Bower John William Bower (né Kiszkan; November 8, 1924 – December 26, 2017), nicknamed "The China Wall", was a Canadian Hockey Hall of Fame goaltender who won four Stanley Cups during his career with the Toronto Maple Leafs. In 2017 he was named one ...

in goal this season. Bower did well, but not well enough to get the Rangers into the playoffs. However, the Rangers managed to come up with a fine rookie in

Camille Henry Joseph Wilfred Camille "The Eel" Henry (January 31, 1933 – September 11, 1997) was a professional Canadian ice hockey left winger who played for the New York Rangers, the Chicago Black Hawks and the St. Louis Blues in the National Hockey Leagu ...

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 ...

. On December 9, the

played 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. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

Maple Leaf Gardens Maple Leaf Gardens is a historic building located at the northwest corner of Carlton Street and Church Street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The building was initially constructed in 1931 as an arena to host ice hockey games, though it has sinc ...

and the teams set a record of most penalties in a game. The trouble started when Montreal's

Eddie Mazur Edward Joseph "Spider" Mazur (July 25, 1929 – July 3, 1995) was a Canadian ice hockey forward. He played in the National Hockey League with the Montreal Canadiens and Chicago Black Hawks between 1951 and 1956. The rest of his career, which las ...

got into a fight with Toronto's George Armstrong in the first period. Both received game misconduct penalties. Early in the second period,

Bud MacPherson James Albert MacPherson (March 31, 1927 in Edmonton, Alberta – August 31, 1988), known as Bud MacPherson or Jim MacPherson, was a Canadian ice hockey defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that ...

broke his stick on the ribs of Toronto's

Ron Stewart Ronald George Stewart (July 11, 1932 – March 17, 2012) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1952 to 1973, as well as a coach. He spent the first half of his career with the Toronto Maple Leafs, ...

. He chose not to retaliate until a more opportune time. It came at 18:12 of the third period when Stewart and MacPherson collided again. This time they pushed and shoved and the gloves came off and they began to pummel each other. Tom Johnson came to MacPherson's aid by putting a headlock on Stewart and Stewart threw a punch that landed on Johnson's jaw. Stewart pursued MacPherson again, now that he was in combat with

Eric Nesterenko Eric Paul Nesterenko (October 31, 1933 – June 4, 2022) was a Canadian professional ice hockey centre who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Toronto Maple Leafs from 1951 until 1956 and for the Chicago Black Hawks from 1956 until ...

of Toronto and soon the benches emptied and everyone was fighting except Maurice Richard and

Tim Horton Miles Gilbert "Tim" Horton (January 12, 1930 – February 21, 1974) was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who played 24 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL). He played for the Toronto Maple Leafs, New York Rangers, Pittsburg ...

who merely grabbed each other's sweaters. Referee Frank Udvari handed out 36 penalties, including 15 misconducts for a record 204 minutes in penalties. With almost 2 minutes left in the game, only 8 players from each team excluding the goaltenders Gerry McNeil and Harry Lumley, who did battle in the brawl, were permitted to finish the game. Almost forgotten was that Toronto won the game 3–0. There were persistent rumours that the Chicago Black Hawks would fold due to the poor performance of the team and fans staying away in droves. NHL president

Clarence Campbell Clarence Sutherland Campbell, (July 9, 1905 – June 24, 1984) was a Canadian ice hockey executive, referee, and soldier. He refereed in the National Hockey League (NHL) during the 1930s, served in the Canadian Army during World War II, th ...

discussed the problems with

Arthur M. Wirtz Arthur Michael Wirtz (January 23, 1901 – July 21, 1983) was an American entrepreneur. He was the founder of Wirtz Corporation, a holding company that owned Chicago Stadium, the Bismarck Hotel in Chicago, the Chicago Blackhawks, Chicago Black ...

and it was announced that the rumours were without foundation. Campbell was busy this year imposing fines and suspensions. As a result of pushing referee Frank Udvari into the boards during a November 12 game, Bernie Geoffrion was fined $250. Later, in a December 20 game, he and Ron Murphy engaged in stick swinging which left Murphy with a broken jaw. Both players were suspended. There was trouble brewing for Maurice Richard when he ghosted an article in the Samedi Dimanche newspaper, calling NHL president Clarence Campbell a dictator and took exception to Campbell's suspension of Bernie "Boom Boom" Geoffrion for the stick swinging incident. Richard was required to post a $1000 bond and refrain from any more articles. The Detroit Red Wings were first overall in the National Hockey League for the sixth straight season.

Final standings

Playoffs

After losing four straight games to the Montreal Canadiens, Boston Bruins general manager Art Ross, their manager from the day the Bruins came into the NHL, announced his retirement. He had been grooming

Lynn Patrick Joseph Lynn Patrick (February 3, 1912 – January 26, 1980) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player and executive. As a player, Patrick played ten seasons in the National Hockey League for the New York Rangers. He was twice named to the NHL ...

to succeed him and Patrick took over as general manager.

Playoff bracket

Semifinals

(1) Detroit Red Wings vs. (3) Toronto Maple Leafs

(2) Montreal Canadiens vs. (4) Boston Bruins

Stanley Cup Finals

Awards

The

James Norris Memorial Trophy The James Norris Memorial Trophy, or simply the Norris Trophy, is awarded annually to the National Hockey League's top " defense player who demonstrates throughout the season the greatest all-round ability in the position". It is named after Ja ...

made its debut this season and its first winner was Red Kelly of the

. The Norris Trophy goes to the top defenceman each year and was named in honour of

James E. Norris James E. Norris (December 10, 1879 – December 4, 1952) was a Canadian-American businessman, operating companies in the grain and cattle industries, and owner of the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League. He also had significant owne ...

, owner of the Detroit Red Wings franchise from 1932 until his death in 1952.

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; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts''

Coaches

*Boston Bruins:

*Chicago Black Hawks:

Sid Abel Sidney Gerald Abel (February 22, 1918February 8, 2000) was a Canadian Hall of Fame hockey player, coach and general manager in the National Hockey League, most notably for the Detroit Red Wings, and was a member of three Stanley Cup-winning team ...

*Detroit Red Wings:

Tommy Ivan Thomas Nathaniel Ivan (January 31, 1911 – June 25, 1999) was a Canadian ice hockey coach and general manager. He served as a National Hockey League (NHL) head coach for the Detroit Red Wings from 1947 to 1954 where he won three Stanley Cups, a ...

*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 th ...

*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 position for the Ottawa Senators and New York Rangers in the National Hockey League (NHL) ...

*Toronto Maple Leafs:

King Clancy Francis Michael "King" Clancy (February 25, 1902 – November 8, 1986) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player, referee, coach and executive. Clancy played 16 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Ottawa Senators and Toronto ...

Debuts

The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1953–54 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs): *

Doug Mohns Douglas Allen "Diesel" Mohns (December 13, 1933 – February 7, 2014) was a professional ice hockey player who played 22 seasons in the National Hockey League from 1953–54 until 1974–75. Mohns twice won the most coveted prize in junior hocke ...

, Boston Bruins *

Earl Reibel Earl "Dutch" Reibel (July 21, 1930 – January 3, 2007) was a Canadian ice hockey professional player. Reibel played primarily as a centre with the Detroit Red Wings, as well as the Chicago Black Hawks and Boston Bruins. A member of two Stanley ...

, Detroit Red Wings *

, New York Rangers *

, New York Rangers

Last games

The following is a list of players of note who played their last game in the NHL in 1953–54 (listed with their last team): *

Woody Dumart Woodrow Wilson Clarence Dumart (December 23, 1916 – October 19, 2001) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player, most notably for the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League. He is an Honoured Member of the Hockey Hall of Fame. Dumar ...

, Boston Bruins * George Gee, Chicago Black Hawks * Jack Gelineau, Chicago Black Hawks *

, Chicago Black Hawks *

Jim McFadden James Alexander McFadden (April 15, 1920 – August 22, 2002) was a professional ice hockey forward. He was born in Belfast, United Kingdom and raised in Miami, Manitoba, in the Opawaka district. One of six players born in Ireland to play in the ...

, Chicago Black Hawks *

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, he was a member of the Punch line, along with Ma ...

, Montreal Canadiens *

Gaye Stewart James Gaye Stewart (June 28, 1923 – November 18, 2010) was a professional ice hockey forward. He played nine seasons as a left winger in the National Hockey League. Playing career Born in Fort William, Ontario, Stewart was called from the min ...

, Montreal Canadiens *

Doug Bentley Douglas Wagner Bentley (September 3, 1916 – November 24, 1972) was a Canadian ice hockey left winger who played 13 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Chicago Black Hawks and New York Rangers as part of a senior and professiona ...

, New York Rangers *

Max Bentley Maxwell Herbert Lloyd Bentley (March 1, 1920 – January 19, 1984) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played for the Chicago Black Hawks, Toronto Maple Leafs, and New York Rangers in the National Hockey League (NHL) as part of a pr ...

, New York Rangers *

Leo Reise Leopold Adolph Emile Reise, Sr. (June 1, 1892 – July 8, 1975) was a Canadian hockey player who played 8 seasons in the National Hockey League for the Hamilton Tigers, New York Americans and New York Rangers. Prior to turning professional in ...

, New York Rangers * Howie Meeker, Toronto Maple Leafs

References

* * * * * * * * * ;Notes

External links

Hockey DatabaseNHL.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:1953-54 NHL season 1953–54 in American ice hockey by league 1953–54 in Canadian ice hockey by league

League business

Regular season

Final standings

Playoffs

Playoff bracket

Semifinals

(1) Detroit Red Wings vs. (3) Toronto Maple Leafs

(2) Montreal Canadiens vs. (4) Boston Bruins

Stanley Cup Finals

Awards

Player statistics

Scoring leaders

Leading goaltenders

Coaches

Debuts

Last games

See also

References

External links