1940–41 NHL season

1940–41 NHL season
1940–41 NHL season
League	National Hockey League
Sport	Ice hockey
Duration	November 2, 1940 – April 12, 1941
Number of games	48
Number of teams	7
Regular season
Season champion	Boston Bruins
Season MVP	Bill Cowley (Bruins)
Top scorer	Bill Cowley (Bruins)
Stanley Cup
Champions	Boston Bruins
Runners-up	Detroit Red Wings
NHL seasons
	← 1939–40 1941–42 →

The 1940–41 NHL season was the 24th season of the National Hockey League (NHL). Seven teams each played 48 games. The Boston Bruins were the Stanley Cup winners as they swept the Detroit Red Wings four games to none in the final series.

League business

In September 1940, International Ice Hockey Association president W. G. Hardy announced a new one-year agreement was reached with the NHL, who agreed to pay $250 for signing an amateur and another $250 if the amateur played in the NHL.^[1] NHL president Frank Calder signed the new professional-amateur agreement in October 1940.^[2] The agreement also included allowing the NHL to sign a limited number of junior age players.^[3]

Regular season

The Montreal Canadiens had hit the bottom in 1939–40, and were in financial trouble. Frank Patrick decided to become an investor and governor for the team, and Tommy Gorman was hired as general manager. He hired recently released Toronto coach Dick Irvin to run the team. One of the first things Gorman and Irvin did was scout for players, and the Canadiens came up with Johnny Quilty, Joe Benoit, Elmer Lach and defenceman Ken Reardon. Bert Gardiner would be used in goal, replacing Claude Bourque and Wilf Cude. Murph Chamberlain was bought from Toronto to bolster the offence.

Quilty and Benoit came through, as did Toe Blake, but the Habs had a long way to go, finishing sixth. Quilty won the Calder Trophy as the league's top rookie. In fact, before the season started, Coach Irvin handed a sealed envelope to a reporter of his guess who would win the Calder Trophy, and when the season ended, the reporter opened the envelope: Johnny Quilty was the choice Irvin made.

The Boston Bruins set a record 23 straight unbeaten games en route to a strong first-place finish at the end of the schedule. The Rangers, finished fourth after the previous year's Stanley Cup win and Dave Kerr was not up to his usual form in goal.

Final standings

National Hockey League
	GP	W	L	T	Pts	GF	GA
Boston Bruins	48	27	8	13	67	168	102
Toronto Maple Leafs	48	28	14	6	62	145	99
Detroit Red Wings	48	21	16	11	53	112	102
New York Rangers	48	21	19	8	50	143	125
Chicago Black Hawks	48	16	25	7	39	112	139
Montreal Canadiens	48	16	26	6	38	121	147
New York Americans	48	8	29	11	27	99	186

^[4]

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against
Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

Playoffs

Playoff bracket


Quarterfinals			Semifinals			Stanley Cup Finals



			1	Boston	4

			2	Toronto	3

						1	Boston	4
3	Detroit	2
						3	Detroit	0
4	NY Rangers	1
			3	Detroit	2

			5	Chicago	0
5	Chicago	2

6	Montreal	1

Quarterfinals

(3) Detroit Red Wings vs. (4) New York Rangers

March 20	New York Rangers		1–2	OT	Detroit Red Wings	Olympia Stadium	Recap
No scoring		First period			No scoring
No scoring		Second period			14:39 – Carl Liscombe (1)
Lynn Patrick (1) – pp – 04:33		Third period			No scoring
No scoring		First overtime period			12:01 – Gus Giesebrecht (1)
Dave Kerr		Goalie stats			Johnny Mowers

March 23	Detroit Red Wings		1–3	New York Rangers	Madison Square Garden III	Recap
No scoring		First period		18:38 – pp – Babe Pratt (1)
Don Grosso (1) – 03:02		Second period		11:30 – Alex Shibicky (1)
No scoring		Third period		19:31 – Mac Colville (1)
Johnny Mowers		Goalie stats		Dave Kerr

March 25	New York Rangers		2–3	Detroit Red Wings	Olympia Stadium	Recap
Kilby MacDonald (1) – 15:25		First period		11:38 – Bill Jennings (1) 19:48 – Jack Stewart (1)
No scoring		Second period		No scoring
Neil Colville (1) – 19:51		Third period		09:39 – pp – Mud Bruneteau (1)
Dave Kerr		Goalie stats		Johnny Mowers

Detroit won series 2–1

(5) Chicago Black Hawks vs. (6) Montreal Canadiens

March 20	Montreal Canadiens		1–2	Chicago Black Hawks	Chicago Stadium	Recap
Elmer Lach (1) – 08:14		First period		16:21 – George Allen (1)
No scoring		Second period		No scoring
No scoring		Third period		07:57 – Max Bentley (1)
Bert Gardiner		Goalie stats		Sam LoPresti

March 22	Chicago Black Hawks		3–4	2OT	Montreal Canadiens	Montreal Forum	Recap
Cully Dahlstrom (1) – pp – 02:33		First period			08:01 – Joe Benoit (1) 14:02 – pp – Joe Benoit (2)
Joe Cooper (1) – 03:13		Second period			10:51 – Joe Benoit (3)
Mush March (1) – 10:13		Third period			No scoring
No scoring		Second overtime period			14:03 – Charlie Sands (1)
Sam LoPresti		Goalie stats			Bert Gardiner

March 25	Montreal Canadiens		2–3	Chicago Black Hawks	Chicago Stadium	Recap
No scoring		First period		14:56 – George Allen (2)
Joe Benoit (4) – 18:37 Ray Getliffe (1) – 18:58		Second period		12:11 – Cully Dahlstrom (2)
No scoring		Third period		03:31 – Cully Dahlstrom (3)
Bert Gardiner		Goalie stats		Sam LoPresti

Chicago won series 2–1

Semifinals

(1) Boston Bruins vs. (2) Toronto Maple Leafs

March 20	Toronto Maple Leafs		0–3	Boston Bruins	Boston Garden	Recap
No scoring		First period		No scoring
No scoring		Second period		15:33 – Flash Hollett (1)
No scoring		Third period		18:21 – Terry Reardon (1) 19:24 – Eddie Wiseman (1)
Turk Broda		Goalie stats		Frank Brimsek

March 22	Toronto Maple Leafs		5–3	Boston Bruins	Boston Garden	Recap
No scoring		First period		08:13 – Eddie Wiseman (2) 09:47 – Milt Schmidt (1)
Gordie Drillon (1) – 02:33 Reg Hamilton (1) – pp – 07:30 Nick Metz (1) – 15:00 Nick Metz (2) – 15:47		Second period		No scoring
Don Metz (1) – 01:44		Third period		04:00 – Eddie Wiseman (3)
Turk Broda		Goalie stats		Frank Brimsek

March 25	Boston Bruins		2–7	Toronto Maple Leafs	Maple Leaf Gardens	Recap
Milt Schmidt (2) – pp – 13:35		First period		18:03 – Sweeney Schriner (1)
Herb Cain (1) – 05:07		Second period		06:59 – Syl Apps (1) 12:46 – pp – Bucko McDonald (1) 17:36 – pp – Syl Apps (2)
No scoring		Third period		05:26 – Sweeney Schriner (2) 16:43 – Syl Apps (3) 17:05 – Nick Metz (3)
Frank Brimsek		Goalie stats		Turk Broda

March 27	Boston Bruins		2–1	Toronto Maple Leafs	Maple Leaf Gardens	Recap
No scoring		First period		No scoring
Woody Dumart (1) – 07:15		Second period		10:30 – Gordie Drillon (2)
Herb Cain (2) – 08:13		Third period		No scoring
Frank Brimsek		Goalie stats		Turk Broda

March 29	Toronto Maple Leafs		2–1	OT	Boston Bruins	Boston Garden	Recap
Lex Chisholm (1) – 04:58		First period			14:16 – Pat McReavy (1)
No scoring		Second period			No scoring
No scoring		Third period			No scoring
Pete Langelle (1) – 17:37		First overtime period			No scoring
Turk Broda		Goalie stats			Frank Brimsek

April 1	Boston Bruins		2–1	Toronto Maple Leafs	Maple Leaf Gardens	Recap
No scoring		First period		No scoring
No scoring		Second period		No scoring
Bobby Bauer (1) – 10:39 Herb Cain (3) – 12:00		Third period		09:48 – Gordie Drillon (3)
Frank Brimsek		Goalie stats		Turk Broda

April 3	Toronto Maple Leafs		1–2	Boston Bruins	Boston Garden	Recap
Bucko McDonald (2) – 13:28		First period		14:32 – Flash Hollett (2)
No scoring		Second period		No scoring
No scoring		Third period		14:17 – Mel Hill (1)
Turk Broda		Goalie stats		Frank Brimsek

Boston won series 4–3

(3) Detroit Red Wings vs. (5) Chicago Black Hawks

March 27	Chicago Black Hawks		1–3	Detroit Red Wings	Olympia Stadium	Recap
No scoring		First period		19:59 – pp – Sid Abel (1)
No scoring		Second period		10:15 – Carl Liscombe (2)
Mush March (2) – 05:15		Third period		15:28 – Joe Fisher (1)
Sam LoPresti		Goalie stats		Johnny Mowers

March 30	Detroit Red Wings		2–1	OT	Chicago Black Hawks	Chicago Stadium	Recap
No scoring		First period			No scoring
Alex Motter (1) – pp – 01:25		Second period			04:02 – pp – Doug Bentley (1)
No scoring		Third period			No scoring
Gus Giesebrecht (2) – 09:52		First overtime period			No scoring
Johnny Mowers		Goalie stats			Sam LoPresti

Detroit won series 2–0

Stanley Cup Finals

April 6	Detroit Red Wings		2–3	Boston Bruins	Boston Garden	Recap
No scoring		First period		13:26 – Eddie Wiseman (4)
No scoring		Second period		14:45 – Milt Schmidt (3)
Carl Liscombe (3) – 10:55 Syd Howe (1) – 17:45		Third period		09:16 – Pat McReavy (2)
Johnny Mowers		Goalie stats		Frank Brimsek

April 8	Detroit Red Wings		1–2	Boston Bruins	Boston Garden	Recap
No scoring		First period		No scoring
No scoring		Second period		No scoring
Mud Bruneteau (2) – 02:41		Third period		13:35 – Terry Reardon (2) 17:35 – Roy Conacher (1)
Johnny Mowers		Goalie stats		Frank Brimsek

April 10	Boston Bruins		4–2	Detroit Red Wings	Olympia Stadium	Recap
Eddie Wiseman (5) – 03:57 Milt Schmidt (4) – 14:07		First period		03:15 – Bill Jennings (2) 07:45 – Sid Abel (2)
Milt Schmidt (5) – 00:59		Second period		No scoring
Art Jackson (1) – pp – 17:20		Third period		No scoring
Frank Brimsek		Goalie stats		Johnny Mowers

April 12	Boston Bruins		3–1	Detroit Red Wings	Olympia Stadium	Recap
No scoring		First period		10:14 – pp – Carl Liscombe (4)
Flash Hollett (3) – pp – 07:42 Bobby Bauer – pp – 08:43 Eddie Wiseman (6) – 19:32		Second period		No scoring
No scoring		Third period		No scoring
Frank Brimsek		Goalie stats		Johnny Mowers

Boston won series 4–0

Awards

Calder Trophy: (Best first-year player)	Johnny Quilty, Montreal Canadiens
Hart Trophy: (Most valuable player)	Bill Cowley, Boston Bruins
Lady Byng Trophy: (Excellence and sportsmanship)	Bobby Bauer, Boston Bruins
O'Brien Cup: (Stanley Cup runners-up)	Detroit Red Wings
Prince of Wales Trophy: (Top regular season record)	Boston Bruins
Vezina Trophy: (Fewest goals allowed)	Turk Broda, Toronto Maple Leafs

All-Star teams

First Team	Position	Second Team
Turk Broda, Toronto Maple Leafs	G	Frank Brimsek, Boston Bruins
Dit Clapper, Boston Bruins	D	Earl Seibert, Chicago Black Hawks
Wally Stanowski, Toronto Maple Leafs	D	Ott Heller, New York Rangers
Bill Cowley, Boston Bruins	C	Syl Apps, Toronto Maple Leafs
Bryan Hextall, New York Rangers	RW	Bobby Bauer, Boston Bruins
Sweeney Schriner, Toronto Maple Leafs	LW	Woody Dumart, Boston Bruins
Cooney Weiland, Boston Bruins	Coach	Dick Irvin, Montreal Canadiens

Player statistics

Scoring leaders

Note: GP = Games played, G = Goals, A = Assists, PTS = Points, PIM = Penalties in minutes

PLAYER	TEAM	GP	G	A	PTS	PIM
Bill Cowley	Boston Bruins	46	17	45	62	16
Bryan Hextall	New York Rangers	48	26	18	44	16
Gordie Drillon	Toronto Maple Leafs	42	23	21	44	2
Syl Apps	Toronto Maple Leafs	41	20	24	44	6
Syd Howe	Detroit Red Wings	48	20	24	44	8
Lynn Patrick	New York Rangers	48	20	24	44	12
Neil Colville	New York Rangers	48	14	28	42	28
Eddie Wiseman	Boston Bruins	47	16	24	40	10
Bobby Bauer	Boston Bruins	48	17	22	39	2
Roy Conacher	Boston Bruins	41	24	14	38	7

Source: NHL^[5]

Leading goaltenders

Note: GP = Games played; Min – Minutes played; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts

Player	Team	GP	MIN	GA	GAA	W	L	T	SO
Turk Broda	Toronto Maple Leafs	48	2970	99	2.00	28	14	6	5
Frank Brimsek	Boston Bruins	48	3040	102	2.01	27	8	13	6
Johnny Mowers	Detroit Red Wings	48	3040	102	2.01	21	16	11	4
Dave Kerr	New York Rangers	48	3010	125	2.49	21	19	8	2
Paul Goodman	Chicago Black Hawks	21	1320	55	2.50	7	10	4	2
Bert Gardiner	Montreal Canadiens	42	2600	119	2.75	13	23	6	2
Sam LoPresti	Chicago Black Hawks	27	1670	84	3.02	9	15	3	1
Chuck Rayner	N.Y. Americans	12	773	44	3.42	2	7	3	0
Earl Robertson	N.Y. Americans	36	2260	142	3.77	6	22	8	1

Coaches

Boston Bruins: Cooney Weiland
Chicago Black Hawks: Paul Thompson
Detroit Red Wings: Jack Adams
Montreal Canadiens: Dick Irvin
New York Americans: Red Dutton
New York Rangers: Frank Boucher
Toronto Maple Leafs: Hap Day

Debuts

The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1940–41 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs):

Max Bentley, Chicago Black Hawks
John Mariucci, Chicago Black Hawks
Joe Carveth, Detroit Red Wings
Elmer Lach, Montreal Canadiens
Ken Reardon, Montreal Canadiens
John Quilty, Montreal Canadiens
Chuck Rayner, New York Americans
Bill Juzda, New York Rangers

Last games

The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1940–41 (listed with their last team):

Paul Haynes, Montreal Canadiens
Georges Mantha, Montreal Canadiens
Hooley Smith, New York Americans
Charlie Conacher, New York Americans
Dave Kerr, New York Rangers

References

Diamond, Dan, ed. (2000). Total Hockey. Total Sports. ISBN 1-892129-85-X.
Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. ISBN 978-1-894801-22-5.
Dryden, Steve, ed. (2000). Century of hockey. Toronto, ON: McClelland & Stewart Ltd. ISBN 0-7710-4179-9.
Fischler, Stan; Fischler, Shirley; Hughes, Morgan; Romain, Joseph; Duplacey, James (2003). The Hockey Chronicle: Year-by-Year History of the National Hockey League. Publications International Inc. ISBN 0-7853-9624-1.
McFarlane, Brian (1973). The Story of the National Hockey League. New York: Pagurian Press. ISBN 0-684-13424-1.

Notes

^ "N.H.L. Will Pay I.H.A. $500 Cash For Signing Up Amateur Players". Lethbridge Herald. Lethbridge, Alberta. September 13, 1940. p. 16.
^ "Clubs Will Share Reimbursement Under This Plan". Winnipeg Free Press. Winnipeg, Manitoba. October 18, 1940. p. 20.
^ "Close Co-Operation Exists Between Hockey Organizations". Winnipeg Tribune. Winnipeg, Manitoba. January 2, 1941. p. 12.
^ Standings: NHL Public Relations Department (2008). Dave McCarthy; et al. (eds.). THE NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE Official Guide & Record Book/2009. National Hockey League. p. 148. ISBN 978-1-894801-14-0.
^ Dinger 2011, p. 148.

External links

[1] "N.H.L. Will Pay I.H.A. $500 Cash For Signing Up Amateur Players". Lethbridge Herald. Lethbridge, Alberta. September 13, 1940. p. 16.

[2] "Clubs Will Share Reimbursement Under This Plan". Winnipeg Free Press. Winnipeg, Manitoba. October 18, 1940. p. 20.

[3] "Close Co-Operation Exists Between Hockey Organizations". Winnipeg Tribune. Winnipeg, Manitoba. January 2, 1941. p. 12.

[4] Standings: NHL Public Relations Department (2008). Dave McCarthy; et al. (eds.). THE NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE Official Guide & Record Book/2009. National Hockey League. p. 148. ISBN 978-1-894801-14-0.

[FOOTNOTEDinger2011148-5] Dinger 2011, p. 148.

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