1924-25 NHL season
The
1924-25 NHL season was the eighth
season of the
National Hockey League. Six teams each played 30 games. The
Stanley Cup winners were the
Victoria Cougars of the
WCHL, the last non-NHL team to win the Cup, who defeated the
Montreal Canadiens. The NHL regular season champion
Hamilton Tigers did not participate in the playoffs, as their players demanded to their owner,
Percy Thompson that they would not participate in the NHL Finals unless they received an additional $200 each for the extra six games played that year. Under their contracts the Tigers players were to receive the same amount of money no matter how many games they played from
December 1 1924 -
March 31 1925 (even though the season started on
November 29 1924). NHL President
Frank Calder was not amused, stating that the players would be fined or suspended if they did not play in the final series, but the players stated that they would rather retire than advantage to be taken of them. The day of the final game of the Semi-Final, Tiger
Shorty Green met with Calder to try and reach an agreement, but to no avail. The players were all suspended and fined $200 each, therefore eliminating themselves from the playoffs.
Prior to the start of this hockey season, the
Pacific Coast Hockey Association folded and two of its teams, the
Vancouver Maroons and
Victoria Cougars, joined the
Western Canada Hockey League. This meant that after three seasons of having three leagues compete for the Stanley Cup, there were once again only two.
A new trophy was added for the 1924-25 NHL season. The original
Lady Byng Trophy was donated by Lady Bying, wife of
Viscount Byng of Vimy, to be handed out to the player who shows the best sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with performance in play.
This was the first campaign for the
Montreal Maroons and
Boston Bruins, the first
United States team. It was also the last one for the
Hamilton Tigers, whose franchise would be revoked at season's end. The number of games per season was also increased from 24 to 30.
The Maroons weren't actually the Maroons, as they had considered the name of Wanderers,but
Sam Lichtenhein and
Dickie Boon refused them that name. So, as the season wore on,writers began to refer to their deep crimson sweaters and dubbed them the Maroons.
Cecil Hart was the manager and was expected to coach the team as well. But it was
Eddie Gerard who coached them all season. As the season was about to end, Cecil Hartwas fired and Gerard succeeded Hart as manager.
A new arena, the Montreal Forum, was built, and it was to house the Maroons. But it wasthe Canadiens who would play in it first. Amongst the wails of Forum management, becausethe Mount Royal Arena couldn't produce ice, it was decided to move a game against theToronto St. Patricks to the Forum. The Canadiens beat the St. Patricks 7-1, as Billy Boucherhad the hat trick.
Final standings
Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points, PIM = Penalties in minutesNote: Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in boldScoring leaders
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = PointsAll dates 1925With an increase in the number of NHL teams, the NHL changed its playoff format by having the second and third place teams play a two game
total goals series to see who would play the number one seed for the NHL championship, the
Prince of Wales Trophy. The winner of the Wales Trophy would go on to play the winner of the
Western Canada Hockey League for the
Stanley Cup.
Prince of Wales Trophy
The third seed Montreal Canadiens played against the second seed Toronto St. Patricks in a total goals series. The winner of that series was to go on and play the first seed team, the
Hamilton Tigers. But it was not to happen that way. During the total goals series, the Hamilton players demanded $200 each for the extra six games played during the regular season and the league threatened to suspend the players and the team. Last ditch efforts to reach a compromise failed and the Tigers were suspended. Montreal won the series against Toronto and was awarded the Prince of Wales Trophy and earned the right to play for the Stanley Cup.
Montreal Canadiens vs. Toronto St. Patricks| Date | Team | Score | Team | Score | Notes |
|---|
| March 11 | Montreal Canadiens | 3 | Toronto St. Patricks | 2 |
| March 13 | Montreal Canadiens | 2 | Toronto St. Patricks | 0 |
Montreal wins total goals series 5 goals to 2Stanley Cup Finals
Over in the Western Canada Hockey League, the third place
Victoria Cougars won their league championship and would face the Montreal Canadiens for the Stanley Cup championship. Victoria easily beat Montreal three games to one out-scoring the Canadiens 16 to 8. This marks the first, and last, time since the inception of the NHL that a non-NHL team won the Stanley Cup. On a foot-note, though, the
Seattle Metropolitans could have claimed the Cup during the flu cancelled season of
1919, but chose not to out of good-sportsmanship. The series was played in
Patrick Arena in
Victoria .
Montreal Canadiens vs. Victoria Cougars| Date | Away | Score | Home | Score | Notes |
|---|
| March 21 | Montreal Canadiens | 2 | Victoria Cougars | 5 |
| March 23 | Montreal Canadiens | 1 | Victoria Cougars | 3 |
| March 27 | Montreal Canadiens | 4 | Victoria Cougars | 2 |
| March 30 | Montreal Canadiens | 1 | Victoria Cougars | 6 |
Victoria Cougars win best-of-five series 3 games to 1 for the Stanley CupNHL Playoff scoring leader
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points*
List of Stanley Cup champions*
Western Canada Hockey League*
List of pre-NHL seasons*
1924 in sports*
1925 in sports*
Hockey Database*
NHL.com
