1936–37 NHL season

The 1936–37 NHL season was the 20th season of the National Hockey League (NHL). Eight teams each played 48 games. The Detroit Red Wings were the Stanley Cup winners as they beat the New York Rangers three games to two in the final series.

1936–37 NHL season
League	National Hockey League
Sport	Ice hockey
Duration	November 5, 1936 – April 15, 1937
Number of games	48
Number of teams	8
Regular season
Season champions	Detroit Red Wings
Season MVP	Babe Siebert (Canadiens)
Top scorer	Sweeney Schriner (Americans)
Canadian Division champions	Montreal Canadiens
American Division champions	Detroit Red Wings
Stanley Cup
Champions	Detroit Red Wings
Runners-up	New York Rangers

League business

Bruins

Black Hawks

Red Wings

Canadiens

Maroons

Americans

Rangers

Maple Leafs

Canadian Division American Division

Frank Calder had been naming the top rookies commencing with 1932–33. This year, he commenced buying a trophy for the top rookie and Syl Apps was this year's winner.

The Great Depression continued to take its toll on the NHL. At the beginning of the decade there were ten teams and in the years since two teams had folded. It appeared like the New York Americans were to become the third team but the NHL took steps to prevent that from happening. Instead of letting the team cease operating because of money and ownership problems the league assumed control of the team for the 1936–37 season. It was then that team owner Bill Dwyer sued. A settlement then allowed for Dwyer to own the team, run by the NHL, and that Dwyer would be given a chance to pay back his debts.

The Montreal Maroons, short of money, had to sell their star and team captain Hooley Smith to Boston. It was hoped that Carl Voss of the former Eagles would fill in adequately for him, but he came down with influenza and was not much help. However, Bob Gracie started scoring and the Maroons almost nipped the Canadiens for first place in the Canadian Division.

Teams

1936-37 National Hockey League
Division	Team	City	Arena	Capacity
Canadian
	Montreal Canadiens	Montreal, Quebec	Montreal Forum	12,500
	Montreal Maroons	Montreal, Quebec	Montreal Forum	12,500
	New York Americans	New York, New York	Madison Square Garden	15,925
	Toronto Maple Leafs	Toronto, Ontario	Maple Leaf Gardens	12,473
American	Boston Bruins	Boston, Massachusetts	Boston Garden	13,909
	Chicago Black Hawks	Chicago, Illinois	Chicago Stadium	16,000
	Detroit Red Wings	Detroit, Michigan	Detroit Olympia	15,000
	New York Rangers	New York, New York	Madison Square Garden	15,925

Regular season

Highlights

The New York Americans had started in first place, but then their players came down with influenza and the team went downhill. But the worst blow was when Roy Worters suffered a hernia and had to retire. Alfie Moore and Lorne Chabot were not adequate replacements and the Amerks finished last in the Canadian Division.

On November 16, 1936, Hal Winkler made his NHL debut for the New York Rangers and gained a 1–0 shutout over the Montreal Maroons. He was the first goaltender to have a shutout in his NHL debut.^[1] The Montreal Canadiens had hit the bottom in 1935–36, and Babe Siebert was obtained to shore up the defence. But the most loved of all movements was buying Howie Morenz back from the Rangers. The Canadiens went from last to first in the Canadian Division. Morenz was just hitting his stride in January 1937, when tragedy struck. On one of his hurtling rushes, he was being checked by Earl Seibert of Chicago when his left skate got caught in the dasher of the end boards, and Morenz suffered a badly fractured leg. After suffering a nervous breakdown worrying about if he would be able to come back, more bad luck occurred. On March 8, 1937, X-rays revealed that Howie had blood clots in his healing leg. An operation was scheduled for the next day, but when Howie ate a light supper and told the nurse he wanted to rest, in falling asleep his pallor suddenly changed and the nurse knew something was wrong. A blood clot had stopped his heart, and attempts to revive Howie failed. News of Morenz's death shocked the hockey world, and thousands filed past his bier, many in tears, to pay their last respects.

Beyond Morenz's tragic mishap, it was an injury-filled year for many stars. Already suffering from a bad back, Boston's Eddie Shore suffered a broken vertebra that cost him the remainder of the season. Charlie Conacher of the Maple Leafs repeatedly injured his wrist, costing him much of the season, and was never the same player thereafter. A series of minor injuries precipitated Lionel Conacher's decision to retire at year's end, while Sylvio Mantha and Roy Worters suffered career-ending injuries. Other stars who missed several weeks of time or had season-ending injuries included Red Wings captain Doug Young, Larry Aurie, Russ Blinco, Buzz Boll, Pit Lepine, Dave Trottier, Toe Blake and Art Chapman.

With five games left to play, Chicago owner Frederic McLaughlin, a partisan of American-born players, decided to field an all-American lineup, the first time in major senior hockey that this was done. With incumbent Mike Karakas in goal, the Black Hawks signed Ernest Klingbeil and Paul Schaefer on defence, with a line of Milt Brink centering Al Suomi and Bun Laprairie. The team went 1–3 with the sextet in the lineup.

Detroit, led by Vezina Trophy winning Normie Smith, finished first in the American Division.

Final standings

American Division

	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	PTS
Detroit Red Wings	48	25	14	9	128	102	59
Boston Bruins	48	23	18	7	120	110	53
New York Rangers	48	19	20	9	117	106	47
Chicago Black Hawks	48	14	27	7	99	131	35

Canadian Division

	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	PTS
Montreal Canadiens	48	24	18	6	115	111	54
Montreal Maroons	48	22	17	9	126	110	53
Toronto Maple Leafs	48	22	21	5	119	115	49
New York Americans	48	15	29	4	122	161	34

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

Playoffs

Playoff bracket

First round

Semifinals

Final

C1

Mtl Canadiens

2

A1

Detroit

3

A1

Detroit

3

C2

Mtl Maroons

2

A3

NY Rangers

2

A2

Boston

1

C2

Mtl Maroons

0

A3

NY Rangers

2

C3

Toronto

0

A3

NY Rangers

2

Quarterfinals

(A2) Boston Bruins vs. (C2) Montreal Maroons

March 23	Boston Bruins		1–4		Montreal Maroons	Montreal Forum	Recap
No scoring		First period			13:56 – Carl Voss (1)
No scoring		Second period			12:15 – pp – Baldy Northcott (1)
Ray Getliffe (1) – pp – 06:34		Third period			16:43 – Herb Cain (1) 17:32 – Bob Gracie (1)
Tiny Thompson		Goalie stats			Bill Beveridge

March 25	Montreal Maroons		0–4		Boston Bruins	Boston Garden	Recap
No scoring		First period			04:54 – Dit Clapper (1) 15:42 – Charlie Sands (1)
No scoring		Second period			16:19 – Ray Getliffe (2)
No scoring		Third period			13:50 – Red Beattie (1)
Bill Beveridge		Goalie stats			Tiny Thompson

March 28	Montreal Maroons		4–1		Boston Bruins	Boston Garden	Recap
No scoring		First period			No scoring
Cy Wentworth (1) – 15:49 Russ Blinco (1) – 19:25		Second period			05:18 – Dit Clapper (2)
Earl Robinson (1) – 14:30 Dave Trottier (1) – 17:58		Third period			No scoring
Bill Beveridge		Goalie stats			Tiny Thompson

Montreal won series 2–1

(C3) Toronto Maple Leafs vs. (A3) New York Rangers

March 23	New York Rangers		3–0		Toronto Maple Leafs	Maple Leaf Gardens	Recap
No scoring		First period			No scoring
Lynn Patrick (1) – pp – 05:29		Second period			No scoring
Murray Murdoch (1) – 15:07 Alex Shibicky (1) – 16:10		Third period			No scoring
Dave Kerr		Goalie stats			Turk Broda

March 25	Toronto Maple Leafs		1–2	OT	New York Rangers	Madison Square Garden III	Recap
Busher Jackson (1) – 01:42		First period			No scoring
No scoring		Second period			No scoring
No scoring		Third period			10:05 – Butch Keeling (1)
No scoring		First overtime period			13:05 – Babe Pratt (1)
Turk Broda		Goalie stats			Dave Kerr

New York won series 2–0

Semifinals

(A1) Detroit Red Wings vs. (C1) Montreal Canadiens

March 23	Montreal Canadiens		0–4		Detroit Red Wings	Olympia Stadium	Recap
No scoring		First period			05:21 – Ebbie Goodfellow (1)
No scoring		Second period			16:54 – Herbie Lewis (1)
No scoring		Third period			01:20 – Hec Kilrea (1) 17:52 – Hec Kilrea (2)
Wilf Cude		Goalie stats			Norm Smith

March 25	Montreal Canadiens		1–5		Detroit Red Wings	Olympia Stadium	Recap
Paul Haynes (1) – 09:29		First period			15:42 – Mud Bruneteau (1)
No scoring		Second period			02:07 – Herbie Lewis (2) 04:45 – Herbie Lewis (3) 15:40 – Pete Kelly (1)
No scoring		Third period			17:15 – Pete Kelly (2)
Wilf Cude		Goalie stats			Norm Smith

March 27	Detroit Red Wings		1–3		Montreal Canadiens	Montreal Forum	Recap
No scoring		First period			03:10 – Johnny Gagnon (1)
No scoring		Second period			No scoring
Marty Barry (1) – 01:45		Third period			10:29 – Babe Siebert (1) 17:27 – Johnny Gagnon (2)
Norm Smith		Goalie stats			Wilf Cude

March 30	Detroit Red Wings		1–3		Montreal Canadiens	Montreal Forum	Recap
Syd Howe (1) – 17:00		First period			07:30 – Toe Blake (1) 12:27 – Paul Haynes (2)
No scoring		Second period			18:28 – Joffre Desilets (1)
No scoring		Third period			No scoring
Norm Smith		Goalie stats			Wilf Cude

April 1	Detroit Red Wings		2–1	OT	Montreal Canadiens	Montreal Forum	Recap
No scoring		First period			No scoring
Ebbie Goodfellow (2) – sh – 04:41		Second period			No scoring
No scoring		Third period			14:56 – Bill MacKenzie (1)
Hec Kilrea (3) – 11:49		First overtime period			No scoring
Norm Smith		Goalie stats			Wilf Cude

Detroit won series 3–2

(C2) Montreal Maroons vs. (A3) New York Rangers

April 1	Montreal Maroons		0–1		New York Rangers	Madison Square Garden III	Recap
No scoring		First period			16:46 – Babe Pratt (1)
No scoring		Second period			No scoring
No scoring		Third period			No scoring
Bill Beveridge		Goalie stats			Dave Kerr

April 3	Montreal Maroons		0–4		New York Rangers	Madison Square Garden III	Recap
No scoring		First period			No scoring
No scoring		Second period			Neil Colville (1) – 04:24 Neil Coville (2) – 06:45 Frank Boucher (1) – 09:10
No scoring		Third period			Mac Colville (1) – 02:41
Bill Beveridge		Goalie stats			Dave Kerr

New York won series 2–0

Stanley Cup Finals

Main article: 1937 Stanley Cup Finals

April 6	Detroit Red Wings		1–5		New York Rangers	Madison Square Garden III	Recap
No scoring		First period			05:23 – Butch Keeling (2) 09:40 – Lynn Patrick (2) 18:43 – Joe Cooper (1)
No scoring		Second period			18:55 – Frank Boucher (2)
Syd Howe (2) – 17:12		Third period			18:22 – Lynn Patrick (3)
Norm Smith		Goalie stats			Dave Kerr

April 8	New York Rangers		2–4		Detroit Red Wings	Olympia Stadium	Recap
No scoring		First period			09:22 – pp – John Sorrell (1) 12:07 – Mud Bruneteau (2) 13:31 – John Gallagher (1)
Babe Pratt (3) – 15:06 Butch Keeling (3) – 18:18		Second period			11:02 – Herbie Lewis (4)
No scoring		Third period			No scoring
Dave Kerr		Goalie stats			Norm Smith

April 11	New York Rangers		1–0		Detroit Red Wings	Olympia Stadium	Recap
No scoring		First period			No scoring
Neil Colville (3) – 00:23		Second period			No scoring
No scoring		Third period			No scoring
Dave Kerr		Goalie stats			Norm Smith

April 13	New York Rangers		0–1		Detroit Red Wings	Olympia Stadium	Recap
No scoring		First period			No scoring
No scoring		Second period			No scoring
No scoring		Third period			12:43 – Marty Barry (2)
Dave Kerr		Goalie stats			Norm Smith

April 15	New York Rangers		0–3		Detroit Red Wings	Olympia Stadium	Recap
No scoring		First period			19:22 – pp – Marty Barry (3)
No scoring		Second period			09:36 – John Sorrell (2)
No scoring		Third period			02:22 – Marty Barry (4)
Dave Kerr		Goalie stats			Norm Smith

Detroit won series 3–2

Awards

The "Rookie of the Year" award now had a trophy, the Calder Trophy, for the first time.

Calder Trophy: (Best first-year player)	Syl Apps, Toronto Maple Leafs
Hart Trophy: (Most valuable player)	Babe Siebert, Montreal Canadiens
Lady Byng Trophy: (Excellence and sportsmanship)	Marty Barry, Detroit Red Wings
O'Brien Cup: (Canadian Division champion)	Montreal Canadiens
Prince of Wales Trophy: (American Division champion)	Detroit Red Wings
Vezina Trophy: (Fewest goals allowed)	Normie Smith, Detroit Red Wings

All-Star teams

First Team	Position	Second Team
Normie Smith, Detroit Red Wings	G	Wilf Cude, Montreal Canadiens
Babe Siebert, Montreal Canadiens	D	Earl Seibert, Chicago Black Hawks
Ebbie Goodfellow, Detroit Red Wings	D	Lionel Conacher, Montreal Maroons
Marty Barry, Detroit Red Wings	C	Art Chapman, New York Americans
Larry Aurie, Detroit Red Wings	RW	Cecil Dillon, New York Rangers
Busher Jackson, Toronto Maple Leafs	LW	Sweeney Schriner, New York Americans
Jack Adams, Detroit Red Wings	Coach	Cecil Hart, 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
Sweeney Schriner	New York Americans	48	21	25	46	17
Syl Apps	Toronto Maple Leafs	48	16	29	45	10
Marty Barry	Detroit Red Wings	48	17	27	44	6
Larry Aurie	Detroit Red Wings	45	23	19	42	20
Busher Jackson	Toronto Maple Leafs	46	21	19	40	12
Johnny Gagnon	Montreal Canadiens	48	20	16	36	38
Bob Gracie	Montreal Maroons	48	11	25	36	18
Nels Stewart	Boston Bruins/New York Americans	43	23	12	35	37
Paul Thompson	Chicago Black Hawks	47	17	18	35	28
Lorne Carr	New York Americans	48	18	16	34	22
Earl Robinson	Montreal Maroons	48	16	18	34	19
Bill Cowley	Boston Bruins	46	13	21	34	4

Source: NHL^[2]

Coaches

American Division

• Boston Bruins: Art Ross
• Chicago Black Hawks: Clem Loughlin
• Detroit Red Wings: Jack Adams
• New York Rangers: Lester Patrick

Canadian Division

• Montreal Canadiens: Cecil Hart
• Montreal Maroons: Tommy Gorman
• New York Americans: Red Dutton
• Toronto Maple Leafs: Dick Irvin

Debuts

The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1936–37 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs):

• Bobby Bauer, Boston Bruins
• Milt Schmidt, Boston Bruins
• Clint Smith, New York Rangers
• Bryan Hextall, New York Rangers
• Syl Apps, Toronto Maple Leafs
• Gordie Drillon, Toronto Maple Leafs
• Turk Broda, Toronto Maple Leafs

Last games

The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1936–37 (listed with their last team):

• Bun Cook, Boston Bruins
• Sylvio Mantha, Boston Bruins
• Andy Blair, Chicago Black Hawks
• Wildor Larochelle, Chicago Black Hawks
• Howie Morenz, Montreal Canadiens
• George Hainsworth, Montreal Canadiens
• Lionel Conacher, Montreal Maroons
• Alex Connell, Montreal Maroons
• Baldy Cotton, New York Americans
• Harry Oliver, New York Americans
• Lorne Chabot, New York Americans
• Roy Worters, New York Americans
• Bill Cook, New York Rangers
• Murray Murdoch, New York Rangers
• King Clancy, Toronto Maple Leafs
• Frank Finnigan, Toronto Maple Leafs

See also

• 1936–37 NHL transactions
• List of Stanley Cup champions
• 1936 in sports
• 1937 in sports

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

1. Hockey's Book of Firsts, p.19, James Duplacey, JG Press, ISBN 978-1-57215-037-9
2. "Statistics | Regular Season | 1936–37 | All Skaters". NHL.com. Retrieved March 1, 2023.

External links

• Hockey Database
• NHL.com