1917–18 Montreal Canadiens season

The 1917–18 Montreal Canadiens season was the team's ninth season and first as a member of the new National Hockey League (NHL). The Canadiens sided with other members of the National Hockey Association (NHA) and voted to suspend the NHA and start the NHL to expel the Toronto Blueshirts ownership. The Canadiens qualified for the playoffs by winning the first half of the season, but lost the playoff to the temporary Toronto franchise, made up of Blueshirts players.

1917–18 Montreal Canadiens
League1st (1st half), 3rd (2nd half) NHL
1917–18 record10–4–0 (1st half), 3–5–0 (2nd half)
Goals for115
Goals against84
Team information
General managerGeorge Kennedy
CoachNewsy Lalonde
CaptainNewsy Lalonde
ArenaMontreal Arena/Jubilee Rink
Team leaders
GoalsJoe Malone (44)
Penalty minutesJoe Hall (60)
Goals against averageGeorges Vezina (4.00)

Team business

the 1917–18 logo

The club changed its name to "Club de Hockey Canadien Ltd." from "Club Athletic Canadien". The logo on the jersey was changed to reflect this, substituting the "A" within the "C" with an "H".

Regular season

Quebec did not ice a team for the season. Quebec's players were dispersed by draft and Montreal chose Joe Hall, Joe Malone and Walter Mummery.[1] Georges Vezina led the league in goals against average of 4 per game and Joe Malone had an outstanding 44 goals in 20 games to lead the league in goals.

The team was forced to return to its former arena the Jubilee Rink after the Montreal Arena burned down on January 2, 1918. The rival Montreal Wanderers folded after the fire, leaving only three teams (Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto) to continue the season. The Wanderers' players were dispersed and the Canadiens picked up Billy Bell and Jack McDonald.

On January 28, 1918, when Canadiens visited Toronto, Toronto's Alf Skinner and Montreal's Joe Hall got into a stick-swinging duel. Both players received match penalties, $15 fines and were arrested by the Toronto Police for disorderly conduct, for which they received suspended sentences.

Final standings

First Half
GP W L T Pts GF GA
Montreal Canadiens141040208147
Toronto Hockey Club14860167175
Ottawa Senators14590106779
Montreal Wanderers615021735
Second Half
GP W L T Pts GF GA
Toronto Hockey Club8530103734
Ottawa Senators844083535
Montreal Canadiens835063437

[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.
The Wanderers defaulted scheduled games against the Canadiens (Jan. 2, 1918) and Toronto (Jan. 5, 1918), when their arena burned down.
These appear as losses in the standings, but the games were not played.[3]

  • Wanderers defaulted scheduled games against the Canadiens (Jan. 2, 1918) and Toronto (Jan. 5, 1918), when their arena burned down. These appear as losses in the standings, but the games were not played.[4]

Record vs. opponents

1917-18 NHL Records
Team MON MTW OTT TOR
M. Canadiens 2–06–45–5
M. Wanderers 0–20–21–1
Ottawa 4–62–03–7
Toronto 5–51–17–3

Schedule and results

First half
Month Day Visitor Score Home Score
Dec. 19Ottawa4Canadiens7
22Canadiens11Wanderers2
26Canadiens5Toronto7
29Toronto2Canadiens9
Jan. 2†WanderersCanadiens
5Ottawa5Canadiens6 (27' OT)
9Canadiens4Toronto6
12Ottawa4Canadiens9
19Toronto1Canadiens5
21Canadiens5Ottawa3
23Ottawa4Canadiens3
28Canadiens1Toronto5
30Canadiens5Ottawa2
Feb. 2Toronto2Canadiens11

† Montreal Arena burned down and Wanderers withdraw. Two Wanderers games count as wins for Canadiens and Toronto.

Second half
Month Day Visitor Score Home Score
Feb. 6Canadiens3Ottawa6
9Toronto7Canadiens3
16Ottawa4Canadiens10
18Canadiens9Toronto0
20Toronto4Canadiens5
25Canadiens0Ottawa8
27Ottawa3Canadiens1 (at Quebec)
Mar. 2Canadiens3Toronto5

Playoffs

The Canadiens played the Torontos in a playoff to decide the league championship. In a two-game, total-goals series, Toronto won the first game 7–3 and Montreal won the second game 4–3. Toronto won the series 10–7 and proceeded to the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Date Away Score Home Score Notes
March 11Montreal Canadiens 3 Toronto 7
March 13Toronto 3 Montreal Canadiens 4

Toronto wins total goals series 10–7 for the O'Brien Cup

Player statistics

Skaters

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

    Regular season   Playoffs
Player # GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
Joe Malone720444483021010
Newsy Lalonde4142373051242617
Didier Pitre5201762329201113
Bert Corbeau221881641211211
Joe Hall3218715100201113
Jack McDonald11891101221010
Billy Coutu9202244920000
Jack Laviolette618213620000
Louis Berlinguette8202131220000
Evariste Payer1210000-----
Billy Bell1060006-----

†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Montreal. Stats reflect time with the Canadiens only.

Goaltenders

Note: GP = Games played; TOI = Time on ice (minutes); W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average

    Regular season   Playoffs
Player # GP TOI W L T GA SO GAA GP TOI W L GA SO GAA
Georges Vezina121128212908413.932120111005.00

Transactions

Roster

Source:

  • Mouton, Claude (1987). The Montreal Canadiens. Key Porter Books. p. 152.

References

  1. "Pro League to Operate". The Globe. 1917-11-27. p. 13.
  2. Standings: NHL Public Relations Department (2008). Dave McCarthy; et al. (eds.). THE NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE Official Guide & Record Book/2009. National Hockey League. p. 145. ISBN 978-1-894801-14-0.
  3. Holzman, Morey; Joseph Nieforth (2002). "Lichtenhein Loses the War". Deceptions and Doublecross: How the NHL Conquered Hockey. Toronto: Dundurn Press. pp. 169–70. ISBN 1-55002-413-2. The league did not accept the Wanderers' resignation immediately, electing to wait and see whether the team showed up for its scheduled match in Toronto on Saturday January 5. ... The deadline did expire, and the once-powerful team that had been known as the Little Men of Iron was thrown onto the scrap heap of hockey history. The Wanderers' scheduled games of January 2 and 5 were officially recorded in the standings as victories for their respective opponents, the Canadiens and Torontos.
  4. Holzman, Morey; Joseph Nieforth (2002). "Lichtenhein Loses the War". Deceptions and Doublecross: How the NHL Conquered Hockey. Toronto: Dundurn Press. pp. 169–70. ISBN 1-55002-413-2. The league did not accept the Wanderers' resignation immediately, electing to wait and see whether the team showed up for its scheduled match in Toronto on Saturday January 5. ... The deadline did expire, and the once-powerful team that had been known as the Little Men of Iron was thrown onto the scrap heap of hockey history. The Wanderers' scheduled games of January 2 and 5 were officially recorded in the standings as victories for their respective opponents, the Canadiens and Torontos.

See also

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