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The 1934–35 NHL season was the 18th season of the National Hockey League (NHL). Nine teams each played 48 games. The Ottawa Senators moved to St. Louis and became the St. Louis Eagles. The Montreal Maroons were the Stanley Cup winners as they swept the Toronto Maple Leafs in three games in the Stanley Cup Finals.
| 1934–35 NHL season | |
|---|---|
| League | National Hockey League |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Duration | November 8, 1934 – April 9, 1935 |
| Number of games | 48 |
| Number of teams | 9 |
| Regular season | |
| Season champions | Toronto Maple Leafs |
| Season MVP | Eddie Shore (Bruins) |
| Top scorer | Charlie Conacher (Maple Leafs) |
| Canadian Division champions | Toronto Maple Leafs |
| American Division champions | Boston Bruins |
| Stanley Cup | |
| Champions | Montreal Maroons |
| Runners-up | Toronto Maple Leafs |
In the midst of the Great Depression financial difficulties continued for the Ottawa Senators. The franchise transferred to St. Louis, changing the nickname to the Eagles. The Ottawa organization continued the Senators as a senior amateur team. Despite the new locale the franchise was not profitable in St. Louis either, due in part high travel expenses resulting from still being in the Canadian Division. The Eagles would sell players Syd Howe and Ralph "Scotty" Bowman to Detroit for $50,000 to make ends meet.
Montreal Canadiens owners Leo Dandurand and Joseph Cattarinich sell the team to Ernest Savard and Maurice Forget of the Canadian Arena Company.
The penalty shot, an invention of the old Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA), was introduced in the NHL this season.[1] The puck was placed in a 10-foot circle, 38 feet (12 m) from the goalmouth. The player could shoot while stationary within the circle, or could shoot while moving, as long as the shot was taken within the circle.[1] The goaltender had to be stationary until the puck was shot, and no more than 1 foot (0.30 m) in front of the goal mouth.[1]
Several more teams changed from a single uniform to a light version and dark version. The Detroit Red Wings introduced a white version of their existing uniform, swapping red elements for white elements. The Chicago Black Hawks introduced a new uniform design, and differentiated between versions by using white in the main horizontal stripe and their socks, and using brown in the other version. The New York Americans and Toronto Maple Leafs continued using their two sets of uniforms. The Boston Bruins, Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Maroons, New York Rangers and St. Louis Eagles used only a single uniform design each.[2]
- The Boston Bruins' home arena, Boston Madison Square Garden, became simply known as Boston Garden after the Madison Square Garden Corporation sold its ownership stake in the building to the Boston Arena Corporation.
- The relocated St. Louis Eagles moved from the Ottawa Auditorium to St. Louis Arena.
Charlie Conacher decided to play coy this year and Conn Smythe had trouble signing him. With Harvey Jackson out, it looked as though Joe Primeau would be the only member of the Kid line in action for Toronto. However, he did finally sign. Conacher responded with his best season, scoring 36 goals and leading the league in scoring.
A bombshell trade was made with Howie Morenz, Lorne Chabot and Marty Burke going to Chicago for Leroy Goldsworthy, Roger Jenkins, and Lionel Conacher. Although Morenz was not his old self, he did help Chicago, who finished second in the American Division, just falling short of Boston by only one point. The Canadiens then traded Lionel Conacher and Herb Cain to the Maroons for Nels Crutchfield. The trades did not help and the Canadiens lost some fans.
Meanwhile, Tommy Gorman bought a share of the Montreal Maroons from James Strachan and when he picked up Alex Connell, he had another winner.
The first penalty shot was awarded to the Montreal Canadiens' Armand Mondou on November 10, 1934; he was stopped by the Toronto Maple Leafs' George Hainsworth. On November 13, Ralph "Scotty" Bowman of the St. Louis Eagles scored the first penalty shot goal in NHL history.
The playoffs continued to elude the New York Americans, but they added two important additions, left wing Dave "Sweeney" Schriner and right wing Lorne Carr. Teamed with centre Art Chapman, the Americans were on the way up.
Final standings
| GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | PTS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston Bruins | 48 | 26 | 16 | 6 | 129 | 112 | 58 |
| Chicago Black Hawks | 48 | 26 | 17 | 5 | 118 | 88 | 57 |
| New York Rangers | 48 | 22 | 20 | 6 | 137 | 139 | 50 |
| Detroit Red Wings | 48 | 19 | 22 | 7 | 127 | 114 | 45 |
| GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | PTS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toronto Maple Leafs | 48 | 30 | 14 | 4 | 157 | 111 | 64 |
| Montreal Maroons | 48 | 24 | 19 | 5 | 123 | 92 | 53 |
| Montreal Canadiens | 48 | 19 | 23 | 6 | 110 | 145 | 44 |
| New York Americans | 48 | 12 | 27 | 9 | 100 | 142 | 33 |
| St. Louis Eagles | 48 | 11 | 31 | 6 | 86 | 144 | 28 |
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.
Playoff bracket
| First round | Semifinals | Final | |||||||||||
| C1 | Toronto | 3 | |||||||||||
| A1 | Boston | 1 | |||||||||||
| C1 | Toronto | 0 | |||||||||||
| C2 | Mtl Maroons | 1G | |||||||||||
| C2 | Mtl Maroons | 3 | |||||||||||
| A2 | Chicago | 0G | |||||||||||
| C2 | Mtl Maroons | 5G | |||||||||||
| A3 | NY Rangers | 4G | |||||||||||
| C3 | Mtl Canadiens | 5G | |||||||||||
| A3 | NY Rangers | 6G | |||||||||||
Quarterfinals
(A2) Chicago Black Hawks vs. (C2) Montreal Maroons
Chicago coach Clem Loughlin said that the team who won the series very likely would win the Stanley Cup. Neither team scored after two regulation games. In the overtime, Maroons forward Dave Trottier was cut and retired for stitches. He had hardly arrived in the dressing room when Baldy Northcott scored the goal that won the series for the Maroons.
| March 23 | Chicago Black Hawks | 0–0 | Montreal Maroons | Montreal Forum | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Lorne Chabot | Goalie stats | Alex Connell | ||||||
| March 26 | Montreal Maroons | 1–0 | OT | Chicago Black Hawks | Chicago Stadium | Recap | ||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Baldy Northcott (1) – pp – 04:02 | First overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
| Alex Connell | Goalie stats | Lorne Chabot | ||||||
| Montreal won series on total goals 1–0 | |
(A3) New York Rangers vs. (C3) Montreal Canadiens
| March 24 | Montreal Canadiens | 1–2 | New York Rangers | Madison Square Garden III | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 08:00 – Cecil Dillon (1) | ||||||
| Roger Jenkins (1) – 13:54 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 12:42 – pp – Bill Cook (1) | ||||||
| Wilf Cude | Goalie stats | Dave Kerr | ||||||
| March 26 | New York Rangers | 4–4 | Montreal Canadiens | Montreal Forum | Recap | |||
| Lynn Patrick (1) – 16:34 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Butch Keeling (1) – 08:23 Cecil Dillon (2) – 13:11 |
Second period | 10:52 – pp – Leroy Goldsworthy (1) | ||||||
| Butch Keeling (2) – 05:14 | Third period | 04:39 – Jack McGill (1) 09:52 – pp – Jack McGill (2) 10:17 – Aurele Joliat (1) | ||||||
| Dave Kerr | Goalie stats | Wilf Cude | ||||||
| New York won series on total goals 6–5 | |
Semifinals
Toronto's goaltender George Hainsworth got hot and eliminated the Bruins, while the Rangers outlasted the Montreal Canadiens on Bill Cook's goal in the deciding game. He had been knocked goofy by the Canadiens Nels Crutchfield, but was not too groggy to win the series for the Rangers.
(C1) Toronto Maple Leafs vs. (A1) Boston Bruins
| March 23 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 0–1 | 2OT | Boston Bruins | Boston Garden | Recap | ||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second overtime period | 13:26 – Dit Clapper (1) | ||||||
| George Hainsworth | Goalie stats | Tiny Thompson | ||||||
| March 26 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 2–0 | Boston Bruins | Boston Garden | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Charlie Conacher (1) – pp – 09:50 Busher Jackson (1) – 12:03 |
Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| George Hainsworth | Goalie stats | Tiny Thompson | ||||||
| March 28 | Boston Bruins | 0–3 | Toronto Maple Leafs | Maple Leaf Gardens | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 00:43 – Bill Thoms (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 11:03 – Nick Metz (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 12:27 – Busher Jackson (2) | ||||||
| Tiny Thompson | Goalie stats | George Hainsworth | ||||||
| March 30 | Boston Bruins | 1–2 | OT | Toronto Maple Leafs | Maple Leaf Gardens | Recap | ||
| Red Beattie (1) – pp – 15:45 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 18:11 – pp – Pep Kelly (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | First overtime period | 01:36 – Pep Kelly (2) | ||||||
| Tiny Thompson | Goalie stats | George Hainsworth | ||||||
| Toronto won series 3–1 | |
(C2) Montreal Maroons vs. (A3) New York Rangers
| March 28 | Montreal Maroons | 2–1 | New York Rangers | Madison Square Garden III | Recap | |||
| Herb Cain (1) – 10:18 | First period | 03:10 – Bun Cook (1) | ||||||
| Baldy Northcott (2) – 14:43 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Alex Connell | Goalie stats | Dave Kerr | ||||||
| March 30 | New York Rangers | 3–3 | Montreal Maroons | Montreal Forum | Recap | |||
| Bun Cook (2) – 13:46 | First period | 13:03 – Cy Wentworth (1) 19:33 – Russ Blinco (1) | ||||||
| Lynn Patrick (2) – pp – 09:06 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Bert Connelly (1) – 08:30 | Third period | 02:41 – Dave Trottier (1) | ||||||
| Dave Kerr | Goalie stats | Alex Connell | ||||||
| Montreal won series on total goals 5–4 | |
Stanley Cup Finals
The Montreal Maroons throttled the Kid line of Joe Primeau, Harvey Jackson and Charlie Conacher and goaltender Alex Connell time and again foiled sure goals for Toronto, and the Maroons won the series three games to none, and as game three ended, the crowd let out a roar of approval and Connell leaned back on the crossbar and cried. All of the Maroons' games ended in ties or victories, making them the last team until the 1951–52 Detroit Red Wings to not lose a single game during the playoffs. The Maroons were also the last non-Original Six team to win the Stanley Cup until the Philadelphia Flyers won it in 1974 and the last team that is currently defunct to have won a Stanley Cup.
| April 4 | Montreal Maroons | 3–2 | OT | Toronto Maple Leafs | Maple Leaf Gardens | Recap | ||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Earl Robinson (1) – 03:57 Cy Wentworth (2) – 19:12 |
Second period | 14:28 – Frank Finnigan (1) 18:12 – King Clancy (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Dave Trottier (2) – 05:28 | First overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
| Alex Connell | Goalie stats | George Hainsworth | ||||||
| April 6 | Montreal Maroons | 3–2 | Toronto Maple Leafs | Maple Leaf Gardens | Recap | |||
| Earl Robinson (2) – pp – 15:44 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Russ Blinco (2) – 16:47 | Second period | 07:31 – sh – Busher Jackson (3) | ||||||
| Baldy Northcott (3) – 03:27 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Alex Connell | Goalie stats | George Hainsworth | ||||||
| April 9 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 1–4 | Montreal Maroons | Montreal Forum | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 19:35 – sh – Jimmy Ward (1) | ||||||
| Bill Thoms (2) – 12:59 | Second period | 16:18 – Baldy Northcott (4) 16:30 – Cy Wentworth (3) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 01:02 – Gus Marker (1) | ||||||
| George Hainsworth | Goalie stats | Alex Connell | ||||||
| Montreal won series 3–0 | |
Eddie Shore won the Hart Trophy for the second time in his career. Frank Boucher won the Lady Byng for the seventh and final time in his career, and his third consecutive time. Lorne Chabot won the Vezina for the first and only time in his career.
| Hart Trophy: (Most valuable player) | Eddie Shore, Boston Bruins |
| Lady Byng Trophy: (Excellence and sportsmanship) | Frank Boucher, New York Rangers |
| O'Brien Cup: (Canadian Division champion) | Toronto Maple Leafs |
| Prince of Wales Trophy: (American Division champion) | Boston Bruins |
| Rookie of the Year: (Best first-year player) | Sweeney Schriner, New York Americans |
| Vezina Trophy: (Fewest goals allowed) | Lorne Chabot, Chicago Black Hawks |
All-Star teams
Scoring leaders
Note: GP = Games played, G = Goals, A = Assists, PTS = Points, PIM = Penalties in minutes
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | PTS | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charlie Conacher | Toronto Maple Leafs | 47 | 36 | 21 | 57 | 24 |
| Syd Howe | St. Louis Eagles/Detroit Red Wings | 50 | 22 | 25 | 47 | 34 |
| Larry Aurie | Detroit Red Wings | 48 | 17 | 29 | 46 | 24 |
| Frank Boucher | New York Rangers | 48 | 13 | 32 | 45 | 2 |
| Busher Jackson | Toronto Maple Leafs | 42 | 22 | 22 | 44 | 27 |
| Herbie Lewis | Detroit Red Wings | 47 | 16 | 27 | 43 | 26 |
| Art Chapman | New York Americans | 47 | 9 | 34 | 43 | 4 |
| Marty Barry | Boston Bruins | 48 | 20 | 20 | 40 | 33 |
| Sweeney Schriner | New York Americans | 48 | 18 | 22 | 40 | 6 |
| Nels Stewart | Boston Bruins | 47 | 21 | 18 | 39 | 45 |
Source: NHL.[3]
Leading goaltenders
Note: GP = Games played; Mins = Minutes played; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average
| Player | Team | GP | W | L | T | Mins | GA | SO | GAA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lorne Chabot | Chicago Black Hawks | 48 | 26 | 17 | 5 | 2940 | 88 | 8 | 1.80 |
| Alec Connell | Montreal Maroons | 48 | 24 | 19 | 5 | 2970 | 92 | 9 | 1.86 |
| Normie Smith | Detroit Red Wings | 25 | 12 | 11 | 2 | 1550 | 52 | 2 | 2.01 |
| George Hainsworth | Toronto Maple Leafs | 48 | 30 | 14 | 4 | 2957 | 111 | 8 | 2.25 |
| Tiny Thompson | Boston Bruins | 48 | 26 | 16 | 6 | 2970 | 112 | 8 | 2.26 |
| Dave Kerr | New York Rangers | 37 | 19 | 12 | 6 | 2290 | 94 | 4 | 2.46 |
Source: NHL.[4]
American Division
- Boston Bruins: Frank Patrick
- Chicago Black Hawks: Clem Loughlin
- Detroit Red Wings: Jack Adams
- New York Rangers: Lester Patrick
- St. Louis Eagles: Eddie Gerard, Georges Boucher
Canadian Division
- Montreal Canadiens: Leo Dandurand
- Montreal Maroons: Tommy Gorman
- New York Americans: Bullet Joe Simpson
- Toronto Maple Leafs: Dick Irvin
The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1934–35 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs):
- Tommy Anderson, Detroit Red Wings
- Bucko McDonald, Detroit Red Wings
- Sweeney Schriner, New York Americans
- Lynn Patrick, New York Rangers
- Toe Blake, Montreal Maroons
- Bill Cowley, St. Louis Eagles
- Art Jackson, Toronto Maple Leafs
- Bob Davidson, Toronto Maple Leafs
- Nick Metz, Toronto Maple Leafs
The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1934–35 (listed with their last team):
- John Ross Roach, Detroit Red Wings
- Albert Leduc, Montreal Canadiens
- Norman Gainor, Montreal Maroons
- Alex Smith, New York Americans
- Charley McVeigh, New York Americans
- Normie Himes, New York Americans
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