1931-32 NHL season

The 1931-32 NHL season was the fifteenth season of the National Hockey League. Eight teams played 48 games each. The Toronto Maple Leafs swept the New York Rangers in three games for the Stanley Cup.

League Business

Due to financial reasons, the Philadelphia Quakers and Ottawa Senators franchises were suspended for the season, bringing the total number of teams in the NHL down from ten to eight. (The Quakers would not return) The players went to other teams, but their contracts were intended to revert to the original clubs. The Detroit Falcons were bankrupt and went into receivership.

Meanwhile, the American Hockey Association, which had become the AHL in 1930-31 and declared itself a major league, was condemned as an outlaw league by NHL president Frank Calder. Among the reasons Calder cited for his actions was that the AHL had put a franchise in Chicago, which had an NHL franchise, and a franchise in Buffalo where the NHL had a minor league affiliate. However, the Buffalo team collapsed and Calder entered into negotiations to merge the Chicago Shamrocks, owned by James E. Norris, with the Detroit Falcons, now bankrupt.

Regular Season

The Canadiens 1931-32 special jersey.

The Canadiens wore an arm patch during the 1931-32 season to celebrate winning the Stanley Cup two years in a row. The jersey was worn for special occasions only.

Howie Morenz was as effective as ever for the Montreal Canadiens and won the Hart Trophy again, as the Habs once again finished first. The Rangers finished first in the American Division. But it was to be the year of Toronto, with the NHL's leading scorer Harvey "Busher" Jackson leading the way. Maple Leaf Gardens opened, and its story was harrowing. At one point, the whole project was near collapse, but when Conn Smythe and Frank Selke convinced the unions to accept stock in the Gardens as partial payment of wages, Maple Leaf Gardens was built. Chicago spoiled the home opener with a 3-1 win and it was the Black Hawks Mush March who scored the Gardens first goal.

The Montreal Maroons were very interested in obtaining Eddie Shore from Boston. James Strachan, president of the Maroons, said he was willing to pay up to $40,000 for his contract. However, there was no deal. As Boston had fallen to the bottom of the league, it was doubtful that the Bruins would part with their ace defenceman.

Final Standings

Canadian Division

	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
Montreal Canadiens	48	25	16	7	128	111	57
Toronto Maple Leafs	48	23	18	7	155	127	53
Montreal Maroons	48	19	22	7	142	139	45
New York Americans	48	16	24	8	95	142	40

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.

American Division

	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	PTS
New York Rangers	48	23	17	8	134	112	54
Chicago Black Hawks	48	18	19	11	86	101	47
Detroit Falcons	48	18	20	10	95	108	46
Boston Bruins	48	15	21	12	122	117	42

Leading Scorers

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

PLAYER	TEAM	GP	G	A	PTS	PIM
Busher Jackson	Toronto Maple Leafs	48	28	25	53	63
Joe Primeau	Toronto Maple Leafs	46	13	37	50	25
Howie Morenz	Montreal Canadiens	48	24	25	49	46
Charlie Conacher	Toronto Maple Leafs	44	34	14	48	66
Bill Cook	New York Rangers	48	33	14	47	33

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
Charlie Gardiner	Chicago Black Hawks	48	18	19	11	2989	92	4	1.85
Alec Connell	Detroit Falcons	48	18	20	10	3050	108	6	2.12
George Hainsworth	Montreal Canadiens	48	25	16	7	2998	110	6	2.20
John Ross Roach	New York Rangers	48	23	17	8	3020	112	9	2.23
Tiny Thompson	Boston Bruins	43	13	19	11	2698	103	9	2.29
Lorne Chabot	Toronto Maple Leafs	44	22	16	6	2698	106	4	2.36

Stanley Cup Playoffs

The Montreal Canadiens were favored for a third straight Cup, but injuries to Pit Lepine and Aurel Joliat dashed that dream. With Joliat half throttle and Lepine out, the Canadiens were no match for the speedy Rangers. Toronto broke through Chuck Gardiner's goaltending to polish Chicago off, then they beat the Montreal Maroons.

Finals

The Toronto Maple Leafs swept the best-of-five series against the New York Rangers three games to none. The first two games were to be played in New York City but because the circus was in town, the second game was played in Boston. The third and final game was played in Toronto. It was called the "Tennis Series", because the Leafs scored 6 goals in each game. The Rangers scored 4 times in their own building, twice at Boston Garden, and four more in Toronto.

Playoff Bracket

Quarterfinals

Semifinals

Finals

C1

Montreal Canadiens

1

A1

New York Rangers

3

A1

New York Rangers

0

C2

Toronto Maple Leafs

3

C2

Toronto Maple Leafs

6G

A2

Chicago Black Hawks

2G

C2

Toronto Maple Leafs

4G

C3

Montreal Maroons

3G

C3

Montreal Maroons

3G

A3

Detroit Falcons

1G

Attendance

1. Boston Bruins: 295,598
2. Toronto Maple Leafs: 249,000
3. Montreal Canadiens: 229,325
4. New York Rangers: 213,241
5. Montreal Maroons: 201,485
6. Chicago Black Hawks: 168,192
7. New York Americans: 139,804
8. Detroit Falcons: 130,207

NHL Awards

1931-32 NHL Awards
O'Brien Trophy:	Montreal Canadiens
Prince of Wales Trophy:	New York Rangers
Hart Memorial Trophy:	Howie Morenz, Montreal Canadiens
Lady Byng Trophy:	Joe Primeau, Toronto Maple Leafs
Vezina Trophy:	Chuck Gardiner, Chicago Black Hawks

All-Star Teams

First Team	Position	Second Team
Charlie Gardiner, Chicago Black Hawks	G	Roy Worters, New York Americans
Eddie Shore, Boston Bruins	D	Sylvio Mantha, Montreal Canadiens
Ching Johnson, New York Rangers	D	King Clancy, Toronto Maple Leafs
Howie Morenz, Montreal Canadiens	C	Hooley Smith, Montreal Maroons
Bill Cook, New York Rangers	RW	Charlie Conacher, Toronto Maple Leafs
Aurel Joliat, Montreal Canadiens	LW	Bun Cook, New York Rangers
Lester Patrick, New York Rangers	Coach	Dick Irvin, Toronto Maple Leafs

Debuts

The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1931-32 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs):

• Art Coulter, Chicago Black Hawks
• Earl Seibert, New York Rangers
• Ott Heller, New York Rangers

Last Games

The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1931-32 (listed with their last team):

• Georges Boucher, Chicago Black Hawks
• Art Gagne, Detroit Falcons
• Carson Cooper, Detroit Falcons

Gallery

Lionel Hitchman, Eddie Shore, Art Ross, George Owen, Joe Jerwa, November 3, 1931.

Game action from opening night at Maple Leaf Gardens, November 12, 1931.

#2 Eddie Shore and goalie Tiny Thompson versus the NY Rangers in 1931.

Howie Morenz, Hooley Smith, Charlie Conacher during the 1931-32 season. Note the commemorative arm patch on Morenz's jersey.

Johnny Gagnon, Gus Rivers, Sylvio Mantha during the 1931-32 season.

Action from Game 2 of the 1932 Semi-finals, April 2, 1932.

Ad for radio broadcast of Ottawa Senators game

Video

Action from Game 4 of the Rangers-Canadiens Semi-final series on March 27, 1932 featuring the game's only goal by Ott Heller.

The "Lightening" Game (1932)

See Also

• List of Stanley Cup champions

References

• Hockey Database
• NHL.com