1938–39 NHL season

1938–39 NHL season
League	National Hockey League
Sport	Ice hockey
Duration	November 3, 1938 – April 16, 1939
Number of games	48
Number of teams	7
Regular season
Season champions	Boston Bruins
Season MVP	Toe Blake (Canadiens)
Top scorer	Toe Blake (Canadiens)
Stanley Cup
Champions	Boston Bruins
Runners-up	Toronto Maple Leafs
NHL seasons
← 1937–38 1939–40 →

The 1938–39 NHL season was the 22nd season of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Montreal Maroons suspended operations prior to the season. With seven teams left playing 48 games, the league reverted back to a one division format. The Boston Bruins were the Stanley Cup winners as they beat the Toronto Maple Leafs four games to one in the final series.

Just prior to the start of the 1938–39 season, the league held a meeting to decide the fate of the Montreal Maroons. The team had requested a shift to St. Louis, but this was rejected after considerable discussion, resulting in the Maroons suspending operations for the season. They sold most of their players to the Canadiens, and it was evident that the Maroons were through for good. This was the last time a team that had previously won a Stanley Cup either folded or relocated to another market. With only seven teams left, the NHL decided to go back to the one division format.

The Stanley Cup Finals were expanded to a best-of-seven format.

NHL president Frank Calder reached a new professional-amateur agreement with Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA) and its president W. G. Hardy in August 1938. The CAHA agreed not to allow international transfers for players on NHL reserve lists, and the NHL agreed not to sign any junior players without permission. It limited the number of amateur players which could be signed to contracts, and stipulated that both organizations use the same playing rules and recognize each other's suspensions.^[1]

Prior to the start of the season, the Boston Bruins sold their star goaltender, Tiny Thompson, who had just won a record fourth Vezina Trophy, to the Detroit Red Wings. The fans thought Art Ross was crazy, but soon they were applauding rookie Frank Brimsek, who would go on to back-stop the Bruins to a first overall finish and a Stanley Cup victory. He wiped out Thompson's shutout sequence record with three consecutive shutouts. He nearly equalled his new record with three more. He ended the season with 10 shutouts, and earned the nickname "Mr. Zero". He also became the first goaltender to win both the Vezina Trophy and Calder Memorial Trophy in the same season.

Joseph Cattarinich died on December 7 of a heart attack following an eye operation. Cattarinich was the original goaltender of the Montreal Canadiens when they were formed in 1909 and later a part-owner of the team. He was 57.

The Montreal Canadiens eroded to the point where Jules Dugal replaced Cecil Hart as manager and coach. Dugal was not much better and the Canadiens finished sixth. One bright note was that Toe Blake won the scoring title, however, despite the poor showing of the team.

Chicago, after its Stanley Cup win the previous season, began floundering at mid-season and owner Frederic McLaughlin was displeased. Accordingly, he fired coach Bill Stewart and hired left wing Paul Thompson in his place. But the Black Hawks continued to lose and finished last.

The New York Americans, up in third place at mid-season, proceeded to fall into a big slump in the second half and though they finished fourth, they were below .500 and had the worst defence in the league. Part of the problem was the retirements of Ching Johnson and Hap Day on defence. Al Murray was also out of action for quite a time. Still, goaltender Earl Robertson found himself on the second all-star team.

National Hockey League

	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
Boston Bruins	48	36	10	2	156	76	74
New York Rangers	48	26	16	6	149	105	58
Toronto Maple Leafs	48	19	20	9	114	107	47
New York Americans	48	17	21	10	119	157	44
Detroit Red Wings	48	18	24	6	107	128	42
Montreal Canadiens	48	15	24	9	115	146	39
Chicago Black Hawks	48	12	28	8	91	132	32

^[2]

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.

March 21	New York Americans		0–4		Toronto Maple Leafs	Maple Leaf Gardens	Recap
No scoring		First period			04:09 – Pep Kelly (1)
No scoring		Second period			10:46 – pp – Pete Langelle (1) 14:48 – Syl Apps (1)
No scoring		Third period			02:31 – Gordie Drillon (1)
Alfie Moore		Goalie stats			Turk Broda

March 23	Toronto Maple Leafs		2–0		New York Americans	Madison Square Garden III	Recap
No scoring		First period			No scoring
No scoring		Second period			No scoring
Gordie Drillon (2) – 03:18 Gus Marker (1) – 18:12		Third period			No scoring
Turk Broda		Goalie stats			Alfie Moore

Toronto won series 2–0

March 21	Detroit Red Wings		0–2		Montreal Canadiens	Montreal Forum	Recap
No scoring		First period			No scoring
Toe Blake (1) – pp – 13:31 Lou Trudel (1) – 17:25		Second period			No scoring
No scoring		Third period			No scoring
Tiny Thompson		Goalie stats			Claude Bourque

March 23	Montreal Canadiens		3–7		Detroit Red Wings	Olympia Stadium	Recap
Walt Buswell (1) – 18:43		First period			06:49 – Ken Kilrea (1)
Walt Buswell (2) – pp – 07:53 Armand Mondou (1) – pp – 14:22		Second period			00:32 – pp – Marty Barry (1) 01:02 – pp – Syd Howe (1)
No scoring		Third period			13:44 – pp – Syd Howe (2) 14:39 – pp – Syd Howe (3) 17:02 – Sid Abel (1) 18:30 – Eddie Wares (1)
Claude Bourque		Goalie stats			Tiny Thompson

March 26	Montreal Canadiens		0–1	OT	Detroit Red Wings	Olympia Stadium	Recap
No scoring		First period			No scoring
No scoring		Second period			No scoring
No scoring		Third period			No scoring
No scoring		First overtime period			07:47 – pp – Marty Barry (2)
Claude Bourque		Goalie stats			Tiny Thompson

Detroit won series 2–1

This series was the first to need seven games in NHL history; additionally, the Rangers were the first team in NHL history to force a Game seven after losing the first three games of a series. Mel Hill, a right winger for the Bruins, scored a record three overtime goals in a single series.^[3]

March 21	Boston Bruins		2–1	3OT	New York Rangers	Madison Square Garden III	Recap
No scoring		First period			No scoring
No scoring		Second period			18:18 – pp – Alex Shibicky (1)
Bill Cowley (1) – pp – 04:50		Third period			No scoring
Mel Hill (1) – 19:25		Third overtime period			No scoring
Frank Brimsek		Goalie stats			Dave Kerr

March 23	New York Rangers		2–3	OT	Boston Bruins	Boston Garden	Recap
No scoring		First period			18:15 – Roy Conacher (1) 19:13 – Bill Cowley (2)
Alex Shibicky (2) – 14:20		Second period			No scoring
Dutch Hiller (1) – 17:46		Third period			No scoring
No scoring		First overtime period			08:24 – Mel Hill (2)
Bert Gardner		Goalie stats			Frank Brimsek

March 26	New York Rangers		1–4		Boston Bruins	Boston Garden	Recap
No scoring		First period			07:38 – Gord Pettinger (1)
Babe Pratt (1) – 13:06		Second period			00:25 – Milt Schmidt (1)
No scoring		Third period			10:00 – Milt Schmidt (2) 12:06 – Bill Cowley (3)
Bert Gardiner		Goalie stats			Frank Brimsek

March 28	Boston Bruins		1–2		New York Rangers	Madison Square Garden III	Recap
Milt Schmidt (3) – 00:49		First period			08:58 – Mac Colville (1)
No scoring		Second period			10:02 – sh – Lynn Patrick (1)
No scoring		Third period			No scoring
Frank Brimsek		Goalie stats			Bert Gardiner

March 30	New York Rangers		2–1	OT	Boston Bruins	Boston Garden	Recap
Art Coulter (1) – 06:20		First period			07:39 – Bobby Bauer (1)
No scoring		Second period			No scoring
No scoring		Third period			No scoring
Clint Smith (1) – 17:19		First overtime period			No scoring
Bert Gardiner		Goalie stats			Frank Brimsek

April 1	Boston Bruins		1–3		New York Rangers	Madison Square Garden III	Recap
No scoring		First period			No scoring
Mel Hill (3) – 11:40		Second period			14:08 – Phil Watson (1)
No scoring		Third period			05:58 – pp – Bill Carse (1) 09:25 – pp – Alex Shibicky (3)
Frank Brimsek		Goalie stats			Bert Gardiner

April 2	New York Rangers		1–2	3OT	Boston Bruins	Boston Garden	Recap
No scoring		First period			No scoring
Muzz Patrick (1) – 17:45		Second period			15:52 – Ray Getliffe (1)
No scoring		Third period			No scoring
No scoring		Third overtime period			08:00 – Mel Hill (4)
Bert Gardiner		Goalie stats			Frank Brimsek

Boston won series 4–3

March 28	Detroit Red Wings		1–4		Toronto Maple Leafs	Maple Leaf Gardens	Recap
No scoring		First period			05:03 – Nick Metz (1) 09:36 – pp – Gordie Drillon (3)
Marty Barry (3) – pp – 10:35		Second period			02:55 – pp – Nick Metz (2) 04:10 – pp – Gordie Drillon (4)
No scoring		Third period			No scoring
Tiny Thompson		Goalie stats			Turk Broda

March 30	Toronto Maple Leafs		1–3		Detroit Red Wings	Olympia Stadium	Recap
Gordie Drillon (5) – pp – 09:00		First period			06:30 – pp – Charlie Conacher (1) 15:00 – Don Deacon (1) 18:00 – Herbie Lewis (1)
No scoring		Second period			No scoring
No scoring		Third period			No scoring
Turk Broda		Goalie stats			Tiny Thompson

April 1	Detroit Red Wings		4–5	OT	Toronto Maple Leafs	Maple Leaf Gardens	Recap
Don Grosso (1) – 15:14		First period			05:05 – pp – Nick Metz (3) 16:48 – Gordie Drillon (6)
Don Deacon (2) – pp – 15:51		Second period			No scoring
Charlie Conacher (2) – 04:46 Hec Kilrea (1) – 11:07		Third period			08:20 – Bob Davidson (1) 09:23 – Murph Chamberlain (1)
No scoring		First overtime period			05:42 – Gordie Drillon (7)
Tiny Thompson		Goalie stats			Turk Broda

Toronto won series 2–1

April 6	Toronto Maple Leafs		1–2		Boston Bruins	Boston Garden	Recap
No scoring		First period			16:04 – Woody Dumart (1)
No scoring		Second period			No scoring
Red Horner (1) – 13:54		Third period			16:31 – Bobby Bauer (2)
Turk Broda		Goalie stats			Frank Brimsek

April 9	Toronto Maple Leafs		3–2	OT	Boston Bruins	Boston Garden	Recap
Murph Chamberlain (2) – 08:55 Syl Apps (2) – 09:29		First period			No scoring
No scoring		Second period			15:05 – Roy Conacher (2) 16:18 – Mel Hill (5)
No scoring		Third period			No scoring
Doc Romnes (1)		First overtime period			No scoring
Turk Broda		Goalie stats			Frank Brimsek

April 11	Boston Bruins		3–1		Toronto Maple Leafs	Maple Leaf Gardens	Recap
No scoring		First period			No scoring
No scoring		Second period			No scoring
Bobby Bauer (3) – 01:28 Roy Conacher (3) – 08:12 Jack Crawford (1) – 13:03		Third period			19:11 – Gus Marker (2)
Frank Brimsek		Goalie stats			Turk Broda

April 13	Boston Bruins		2–0		Toronto Maple Leafs	Maple Leaf Gardens	Recap
Roy Conacher (4) – pp – 02:20		First period			No scoring
No scoring		Second period			No scoring
Roy Conacher (5) – 12:55		Third period			No scoring
Frank Brimsek		Goalie stats			Turk Broda

April 16	Toronto Maple Leafs		1–3		Boston Bruins	Boston Garden	Recap
Bingo Kampman (1) – 18:40		First period			11:40 – Mel Hill (6)
No scoring		Second period			17:54 – Roy Conacher (6)
No scoring		Third period			19:23 – Flash Hollett (1)
Turk Broda		Goalie stats			Frank Brimsek

Boston won series 4–1

Award winners

Calder Trophy: (Best first-year player)	Frank Brimsek, Boston Bruins
Hart Trophy: (Most valuable player)	Toe Blake, Montreal Canadiens
Lady Byng Memorial Trophy: (Excellence and sportsmanship)	Clint Smith, New York Rangers
O'Brien Cup: (Stanley Cup runner-up)	Toronto Maple Leafs
Prince of Wales Trophy: (regular-season champion)	Boston Bruins
Vezina Trophy: (fewest goals allowed)	Frank Brimsek, Boston Bruins

All-Star teams

First team	Position	Second team
Frank Brimsek, Boston Bruins	G	Earl Robertson, New York Americans
Eddie Shore, Boston Bruins	D	Earl Seibert, Chicago Black Hawks
Dit Clapper, Boston Bruins	D	Art Coulter, New York Rangers
Syl Apps, Toronto Maple Leafs	C	Neil Colville, New York Rangers
Gordie Drillon, Toronto Maple Leafs	RW	Bobby Bauer, Boston Bruins
Toe Blake, Montreal Canadiens	LW	Johnny Gottselig, Chicago Black Hawks
Art Ross, Boston Bruins	Coach	Red Dutton, New York Americans

Player	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	PIM
Toe Blake	Montreal Canadiens	48	24	23	47	10
Sweeney Schriner	New York Americans	48	13	31	44	20
Bill Cowley	Boston Bruins	34	8	34	42	2
Clint Smith	New York Rangers	48	21	20	41	2
Marty Barry	Detroit Red Wings	48	13	28	41	4
Syl Apps	Toronto Maple Leafs	44	15	25	40	4
Tommy Anderson	New York Americans	48	13	27	40	14
Johnny Gottselig	Chicago Black Hawks	48	16	23	39	15
Paul Haynes	Montreal Canadiens	47	5	33	38	27
Roy Conacher	Boston Bruins	47	26	11	37	12

^[2]

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

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• Boston Bruins: Art Ross
• Chicago Black Hawks: Bill Stewart and Paul Thompson
• Detroit Red Wings: Jack Adams
• Montreal Canadiens: Cecil Hart
• New York Americans: Red Dutton
• New York Rangers: Lester Patrick
• Toronto Maple Leafs: Dick Irvin

The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1938–39 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs):

• Roy Conacher, Boston Bruins
• Frank Brimsek, Boston Bruins
• Ab DeMarco, Chicago Black Hawks
• Don Grosso, Detroit Red Wings
• Sid Abel, Detroit Red Wings
• Jack Stewart, Detroit Red Wings

The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1938–39 (listed with their last team):

• Russ Blinco, Chicago Black Hawks
• Paul Thompson, Chicago Black Hawks
• Baldy Northcott, Chicago Black Hawks
• Alex Levinsky, Chicago Black Hawks
• Bob Gracie, Chicago Black Hawks
• Larry Aurie, Detroit Red Wings
• Herbie Lewis, Detroit Red Wings
• Dave Trottier, Detroit Red Wings
• Babe Siebert, Montreal Canadiens
• Jimmy Ward, Montreal Canadiens

• 1938–39 NHL transactions
• List of Stanley Cup champions
• 1938 in sports
• 1939 in sports

• 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

• Hockey Database
• NHL.com