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The 1937–38 NHL season was the 21st season of the National Hockey League (NHL). Eight teams each played 48 games. The Chicago Black Hawks were the Stanley Cup winners as they beat the Toronto Maple Leafs three games to one in the Stanley Cup Finals.
| 1937–38 NHL season | |
|---|---|
| League | National Hockey League |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Duration | November 4, 1937 – April 12, 1938 |
| Number of games | 48 |
| Number of teams | 8 |
| Regular season | |
| Season champions | Boston Bruins |
| Season MVP | Eddie Shore (Bruins) |
| Top scorer | Gordie Drillon (Maple Leafs) |
| Canadian Division champions | Toronto Maple Leafs |
| American Division champions | Boston Bruins |
| Stanley Cup | |
| Champions | Chicago Black Hawks |
| Runners-up | Toronto Maple Leafs |
Bill Dwyer could not come up with the capital required to retain his team and the NHL took full control of the New York Americans.
The Howie Morenz Memorial Game, the NHL's second all-star game, was played November 2, 1937, and raised over $11,447, which, added to other contributions, established a fund of over $20,000 for the Morenz family. Prior to the start of the game, Howie Morenz's uniform and playing kit was auctioned and Joseph Cattarinich put down the winning bid of $500. The uniform was presented to Howie Morenz Jr. The NHL All-stars defeated a combined team of Canadiens and Maroons players 6–5.
In February 1938, NHL president Frank Calder terminated the professional-amateur agreement with the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA) which limited signing contracts with junior ice hockey players. After a player suspended by the NHL was registered by a CAHA team, he met with CAHA vice-president W. G. Hardy without resolution, then told NHL teams that they could approach any junior player with a contract offer.[1][2]
Rule changes
In September 1937, the NHL passed the 'icing' rule whereby teams could no longer shoot the puck the length of the ice to delay the game. Teams were allowed to continue to 'ice' the puck during penalties.[3] The penalty shot was amended to remove the dots where the shot was to take place. Two new lines 30 feet from the goal were added instead. A player taking a penalty shot would start from the line closest to his own goal, skate with the puck and shoot before he crossed the penalty line nearest the opposition goal. After a puck was shot out-of-bounds, the location of the following faceoff was now to occur at the point where the shot was made, instead of where it exited the rink as was done until that time.[4]
Charlie Conacher was named captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs, and he had a big weekend at the expense of Chicago November 13 with a hat trick in a 7–3 win. He then scored 2 goals in a 3–3 tie. However, The Big Bomber ran into misfortune once more on November 18 in Montreal against the Canadiens when he dislocated his shoulder. The cycle of injuries had a cumulative effect on Conacher's nervous and physical condition and his doctor told him to retire from hockey. He did retire for the rest of the season, but would play again the next season, but was forever gone from the Leafs.
The New York Rangers lost their star center Neil Colville for a few games as the result of some horseplay that must have infuriated Lester Patrick. Defenceman Joe Cooper was pursuing a fad of slicing off neckties from teammates using a penknife. Colville threw up his hand only to receive a gash that required 11 stitches to close.
The New York Americans, with Ching Johnson and Hap Day to relieve Joe Jerwa and Al Murray on defence, were doing much better than usual. Earl Robertson, their new goaltender, was leading the Canadian Division in goaltending and ended up doing so at season's end. The Amerks also had Sweeney Schriner and Nels Stewart contributing in a nice way to the offence.
The Montreal Maroons, coached at first by King Clancy, settled into last place and president and general manager Tommy Gorman decided he would take over as coach. He did even worse and the fans stayed away. Although the team did badly, one highlight was an 11–7 win over their rivals, the Canadiens, and Baldy Northcott had a hat trick in the game. There seemed to be nothing Gorman could do to revitalize the team and at one stretch the team lost 8 straight games. On March 17, 1938, the Maroons played their last game against their rivals, the Canadiens.
Detroit was the shockingly bad team of the American Division. After winning the Stanley Cup in 1937, they were reclining in the cellar of the Division. They had one bright moment when Carl Liscombe set a record for the fastest hat trick to this time (since broken by Bill Mosienko). Liscombe scored three goals in 1 minute and 52 seconds in a 5–1 win over Chicago.
On March 17, 1938, Nels Stewart scored his 300th National Hockey League goal in a 5–3 loss to the Rangers.
Final standings
| GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toronto Maple Leafs | 48 | 24 | 15 | 9 | 57 | 151 | 127 | 404 |
| New York Americans | 48 | 19 | 18 | 11 | 49 | 110 | 111 | 327 |
| Montreal Canadiens | 48 | 18 | 17 | 13 | 49 | 123 | 128 | 340 |
| Montreal Maroons | 48 | 12 | 30 | 6 | 30 | 101 | 149 | 470 |
| GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston Bruins | 48 | 30 | 11 | 7 | 67 | 142 | 89 | 284 |
| New York Rangers | 48 | 27 | 15 | 6 | 60 | 149 | 96 | 435 |
| Chicago Black Hawks | 48 | 14 | 25 | 9 | 37 | 97 | 139 | 238 |
| Detroit Red Wings | 48 | 12 | 25 | 11 | 35 | 99 | 133 | 258 |
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes
Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.
The Cinderella story of the century was the Chicago Black Hawks who would barely make the playoffs but proceeded to defeat the Canadiens, the Americans and the Maple Leafs to win the Cup with the lowest regular-season winning percentage of any champions in the big-four major professional sports leagues of North America.
Playoff bracket
| First round | Semifinals | Final | |||||||||||
| C1 | Toronto | 3 | |||||||||||
| A1 | Boston | 0 | |||||||||||
| C1 | Toronto | 1 | |||||||||||
| C2 | NY Americans | 2 | |||||||||||
| A3 | Chicago | 3 | |||||||||||
| A2 | NY Rangers | 1 | |||||||||||
| C2 | NY Americans | 1 | |||||||||||
| A3 | Chicago | 2 | |||||||||||
| C3 | Mtl Canadiens | 1 | |||||||||||
| A3 | Chicago | 2 | |||||||||||
Quarterfinals
The New York Americans stunned the New York Rangers as Lorne Carr scored the winner in overtime in the third and deciding game.
| March 22 | New York Americans | 2–1 | 2OT | New York Rangers | Madison Square Garden III | Recap | ||
| No scoring | First period | 01:30 – Cecil Dillon (1) | ||||||
| Red Beattie (1) – 09:26 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| John Sorrell (1) – 01:25 | Second overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
| Earl Robertson | Goalie stats | Dave Kerr | ||||||
| March 24 | New York Rangers | 4–3 | New York Americans | Madison Square Garden III | Recap | |||
| Bryan Hextall (1) – 11:28 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Clint Smith (1) – 04:05 Alex Shibicky (1) – 08:37 |
Second period | 12:23 – pp – Tommy Anderson (1) | ||||||
| Clint Smith (2) – 15:00 | Third period | 07:13 – John Sorrell (2) 17:58 – John Sorrell (3) | ||||||
| Dave Kerr | Goalie stats | Earl Robertson | ||||||
| March 27 | New York Americans | 3–2 | 4OT | New York Rangers | Madison Square Garden III | Recap | ||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 06:27 – Alex Shibicky (2) 07:31 – Bryan Hextall (2) | ||||||
| Lorne Carr (1) – 04:36 Nels Stewart (1) – 10:38 |
Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Lorne Carr (2) – 00:40 | Fourth overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
| Earl Robertson | Goalie stats | Dave Kerr | ||||||
| New York Americans won series 2–1 | |
The Canadiens beat the Hawks in game one of the quarterfinal, as Toe Blake had the hat trick. But Mike Karakas shut out the Canadiens in the second game and even though Georges Mantha appeared to win the game with a freak goal in game three, Earl Seibert kept the Hawks from losing with a goal late in the game, and then the Hawks won the series in overtime.
| March 22 | Chicago Black Hawks | 4–6 | Montreal Canadiens | Montreal Forum | Recap | |||
| Paul Thompson (1) – 01:31 | First period | 10:58 – Babe Siebert (1) | ||||||
| Mush March (1) – 12:23 | Second period | 13:38 – pp – Toe Blake (1) 18:45 – Red Goupille (1) | ||||||
| Johnny Gottselig (1) – 09:30 Cully Dahlstrom (1) – 11:51 |
Third period | 11:32 – Toe Blake (2) 17:32 – Toe Blake (3) 18:40 – Red Goupille (2) | ||||||
| Mike Karakas | Goalie stats | Wilf Cude | ||||||
| March 24 | Montreal Canadiens | 0–4 | Chicago Black Hawks | Chicago Stadium | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 17:58 – Earl Seibert (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 10:06 – Earl Seibert (2) 13:34 – Johnny Gottselig (2) 19:59 – Paul Thompson (2) | ||||||
| Wilf Cude | Goalie stats | Mike Karakas | ||||||
| March 26 | Chicago Black Hawks | 3–2 | OT | Montreal Canadiens | Montreal Forum | Recap | ||
| Johnny Gottselig (3) – 18:24 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 08:52 – Johnny Gagnon (1) | ||||||
| Earl Seibert (3) – 18:34 | Third period | 12:46 – pp – Georges Mantha (1) | ||||||
| Paul Thompson (3) – 11:49 | First overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
| Mike Karakas | Goalie stats | Wilf Cude | ||||||
| Chicago won series 2–1 | |
Semifinals
In an upset, the Toronto Maple Leafs beat Boston in the Series A semifinal.
| March 24 | Boston Bruins | 0–1 | 2OT | Toronto Maple Leafs | Maple Leaf Gardens | Recap | ||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second overtime period | 01:31 – George Parsons (1) | ||||||
| Tiny Thompson | Goalie stats | Turk Broda | ||||||
| March 26 | Boston Bruins | 1–2 | Toronto Maple Leafs | Maple Leaf Gardens | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 14:30 – Pep Kelly (1) | ||||||
| Charlie Sands (1) – 07:37 | Third period | 08:57 – Gordie Drillon (1) | ||||||
| Turk Broda | Goalie stats | Tiny Thompson | ||||||
| March 29 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 3–2 | OT | Boston Bruins | Boston Garden | Recap | ||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Gordie Drillon (2) – 01:16 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Pep Kelly (2) – 05:02 | Third period | 03:24 – Bill Cowley (1) 16:49 – Bill Cowley (2) | ||||||
| Gordie Drillon (3) – 10:04 | First overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
| Tiny Thompson | Goalie stats | Turk Broda | ||||||
| Toronto won series 3–0 | |
In the Series B semifinal, it was Chicago and the New York Americans, who beat Chicago in game one 3–1. Game two was a great goaltenders battle between Mike Karakas and Earl Robertson. It appeared that the Americans were headed to their first Stanley Cup Finals when Nels Stewart scored with seconds left in the game, but referee Clarence Campbell disallowed the goal, saying Eddie Wiseman was in the goal crease. Cully Dahlstrom scored the goal that saved the Black Hawks. In New York, the deciding game saw Alex Levinsky of Chicago score the go-ahead goal, but the red light did not go on. Investigation revealed that fans were holding the goal judge's hand so he could not signal the goal. Although the Amerks came close, they were unable to tie the score and the Black Hawks were in the finals.
| March 29 | Chicago Black Hawks | 1–3 | New York Americans | Madison Square Garden III | Recap | |||
| Carl Voss (1) – 05:19 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 16:47 – Nels Stewart (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 15:52 – John Sorrell (4) 19:08 – pp – Sweeney Schriner (1) | ||||||
| Mike Karakas | Goalie stats | Earl Robertson | ||||||
| March 31 | New York Americans | 0–1 | 2OT | Chicago Black Hawks | Chicago Stadium | Recap | ||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second overtime period | 13:01 – Cully Dahlstrom (2) | ||||||
| Earl Robertson | Goalie stats | Mike Karakas | ||||||
| April 3 | Chicago Black Hawks | 3–2 | New York Americans | Madison Square Garden III | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 19:40 – pp – Lorne Carr (3) | ||||||
| Earl Seibert (4) – 14:52 Alex Levinsky (1) – 17:43 |
Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Doc Romnes (1) – 15:53 | Third period | 16:29 – Red Beattie (2) | ||||||
| Mike Karakas | Goalie stats | Earl Robertson | ||||||
| Chicago won series 2–1 | |
Stanley Cup Finals
| April 5 | Chicago Black Hawks | 3–1 | Toronto Maple Leafs | Maple Leaf Gardens | Recap | |||
| Johnny Gottselig (4) – pp – 19:08 | First period | 01:54 – Gordie Drillon (4) | ||||||
| Paul Thompson (4) – 01:51 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Johnny Gottselig (5) – 12:08 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Alfie Moore | Goalie stats | Turk Broda | ||||||
| April 7 | Chicago Black Hawks | 1–5 | Toronto Maple Leafs | Maple Leaf Gardens | Recap | |||
| Earl Seibert (5) – pp – 08:31 | First period | 01:42 – Gordie Drillon (5) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 06:10 – Busher Jackson (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 09:44 – Gordie Drillon (6) 11:29 – George Parsons (2) 12:08 – George Parsons (3) | ||||||
| Alfie Moore | Goalie stats | Turk Broda | ||||||
| April 10 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 1–2 | Chicago Black Hawks | Chicago Stadium | Recap | |||
| Syl Apps (1) – pp – 01:35 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 16:02 – Carl Voss (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 15:55 – Doc Romnes (2) | ||||||
| Turk Broda | Goalie stats | Alfie Moore | ||||||
| April 12 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 1–4 | Chicago Black Hawks | Chicago Stadium | Recap | |||
| Gordie Drillon (7) – 08:26 | First period | 05:52 – Cully Dahlstrom (3) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 16:45 – Carl Voss (3) 17:58 – Jack Shill (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 16:24 – Mush March (2) | ||||||
| Turk Broda | Goalie stats | Alfie Moore | ||||||
| Chicago won series 3–1 | |
After the Stanley Cup Finals finished, the Detroit Red Wings and the Montreal Canadiens played a nine-game exhibition series in Europe, becoming the first NHL teams to play outside North America. Six games were played in the United Kingdom, three in France. The Canadiens won the series with a record of 5–3–1.
| Calder Trophy: (Best first-year player) | Cully Dahlstrom, Chicago Black Hawks |
| Hart Trophy: (Most valuable player) | Eddie Shore, Boston Bruins |
| Lady Byng Trophy: (Excellence and sportsmanship) | Gordie Drillon, Toronto Maple Leafs |
| O'Brien Cup: (Canadian Division champion) | Toronto Maple Leafs |
| Prince of Wales Trophy: (American Division champion) | Boston Bruins |
| Vezina Trophy: (Fewest goals allowed) | Tiny Thompson, Boston Bruins |
| First Team | Position | Second Team |
|---|---|---|
| Tiny Thompson, Boston Bruins | G | Dave Kerr, New York Rangers |
| Eddie Shore, Boston Bruins | D | Art Coulter, New York Rangers |
| Babe Siebert, Montreal Canadiens | D | Earl Seibert, Chicago Black Hawks |
| Bill Cowley, Boston Bruins | C | Syl Apps, Toronto Maple Leafs |
| Cecil Dillon, New York Rangers |
RW | |
| Paul Thompson, Chicago Black Hawks | LW | Toe Blake, Montreal Canadiens |
| Lester Patrick, New York Rangers | Coach | Art Ross, Boston Bruins |
Scoring leaders
Note: GP = Games played, G = Goals, A = Assists, PTS = Points, PIM = Penalties in minutes
| PLAYER | TEAM | GP | G | A | PTS | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gordie Drillon | Toronto Maple Leafs | 48 | 26 | 26 | 52 | 4 |
| Syl Apps | Toronto Maple Leafs | 47 | 21 | 29 | 50 | 9 |
| Paul Thompson | Chicago Black Hawks | 48 | 22 | 22 | 44 | 14 |
| Georges Mantha | Montreal Canadiens | 47 | 23 | 19 | 42 | 12 |
| Cecil Dillon | New York Rangers | 48 | 21 | 18 | 39 | 6 |
| Bill Cowley | Boston Bruins | 48 | 17 | 22 | 39 | 8 |
| Sweeney Schriner | New York Americans | 48 | 21 | 17 | 38 | 22 |
| Bill Thoms | Toronto Maple Leafs | 48 | 14 | 24 | 38 | 14 |
| Clint Smith | New York Rangers | 48 | 14 | 23 | 37 | 0 |
| Nels Stewart | New York Americans | 48 | 19 | 17 | 36 | 29 |
Source: NHL[5]
Leading goaltenders
- Cecil Tiny Thompson 1:80 Gaa Bos
- Dave Kerr New York R 1:95 Gaa
- Earl Robertson New York Americans 2:22
- Wilf Cude Montreal Canadiens 2:53
- Turk Broda Toronto Maple Leafs 2:56
- Norm Smith Detroit 2:66
- Mike Karakas Chicago 2:80
- Bill Beveridge Montreal Maroons 3:00
American Division
- Boston Bruins: Art Ross
- Chicago Black Hawks: Bill Stewart
- Detroit Red Wings: Jack Adams
- New York Rangers: Lester Patrick
Canadian Division
- Montreal Canadiens: Cecil Hart
- Montreal Maroons: King Clancy and Tommy Gorman
- New York Americans: Red Dutton
- Toronto Maple Leafs: Dick Irvin
The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1937–38 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs):
- Red Hamill, Boston Bruins
- Mel Hill, Boston Bruins
- Jack Crawford, Boston Bruins
- Cully Dahlstrom, Chicago Black Hawks
- Carl Liscombe, Detroit Red Wings
- Dutch Hiller, New York Rangers
- Murph Chamberlain, Toronto Maple Leafs
The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1937–38 (listed with their last team):
- Carl Voss, Chicago Black Hawks
- Joe Lamb, Detroit Red Wings
- Pit Lepine, Montreal Canadiens
- Aurel Joliat, Montreal Canadiens
- Marty Burke, Montreal Canadiens
- Tom Cook, Montreal Maroons
- Al Shields, Montreal Maroons
- Hap Day, New York Americans
- Hap Emms, New York Americans
- Ching Johnson, New York Americans
- Butch Keeling, New York Rangers
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