1924–25 Hamilton Tigers season



The 1924–25 Hamilton Tigers season was the last season of the Tigers. The club won the regular season but did not play in the playoffs as the players went on strike for increased pay. NHL president Frank Calder suspended the team. In the off-season, the assets of the Tigers were sold to form the new New York Americans expansion team.

Off-season
The league added two new expansion teams, the Boston Bruins and the Montreal Maroons.

Regular Season
The Tigers would change their jerseys four times in the five seasons they spent in the NHL. For their fifth and last season, their jerseys were nearly the same as the previous season. Thin horizontal black and gold stripes were on the arms and but the stripes on the lower body of the jersey was replaced with a large, black stripe, bordered with a thin gold and black stripe. The stylized "H" with "Tigers" written across the horizontal bar of the letter remained as the logo. The black and gold thin striped socks and white pants remained unchanged.

With yet another new head coach, Jimmy Gardner, the Hamilton Tigers roared off to an impressive 10–4–1 start in the 1924–25 NHL season. Only halfway through the season, they had more wins than any other season in their NHL history. The team slumped somewhat in the second half of the season but still managed to finish first overall with a record of 19 wins, 10 losses, and 1 tie, just ahead of the Toronto St. Pats. It looked like the franchise would have a chance at winning the Stanley Cup for the first time since winning it as the Quebec Bulldogs over a decade prior in 1913. But it was not to be. During the rail travel back to Hamilton after the season's final game, the Tigers' players went to their general manager, Percy Thompson, and demanded $200 pay for the six extra games they played that season or they would not play in the playoffs. The NHL had increased the number of games played that year from 24 to 30, but the players didn't receive an increase in pay. The Tigers management, stating that the players' contracts stated that the players were under contract from December 1 to March 30, regardless of the number of games, refused to pay the money and passed the issue to the NHL. Thus began the first players' strike in NHL history.

NHL President Frank Calder warned the players that if they sat out the final, they would be suspended and replaced in the final by fourth-place Ottawa Senators. At the same time, Calder ordered that the players' back-pay be held. The impasse continued while second-place Toronto and third-place Montreal played their semi-final, ending with Montreal winning on March 13. On March 14, after consulting with Tigers management, Calder declared the Canadiens league champions and fined the Tigers' players $200.

The Hamilton franchise was officially revoked at the September 22, 1924 league meeting and the matter of the players' suspensions and fines dropped. Bill Dwyer bought the rights to the Tigers' players who were transferred to the expansion New York Americans. The last active Tigers players was Billy Burch who retired in 1933.

Playoffs
No playoff games were played as the players went on strike.

Player Stats
Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes MIN = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts;

Awards and Records

 * Hart Trophy: Billy Burch