1929–30 NHL season
| 1929–30 NHL season | |
|---|---|
| League | National Hockey League |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Duration | November 14, 1929 – April 3, 1930 |
| Number of games | 44 |
| Number of teams | 10 |
| Regular season | |
| Season champions | Boston Bruins |
| Season MVP | Nels Stewart (Maroons) |
| Top scorer | Cooney Weiland (Bruins) |
| Canadian Division champions | Montreal Maroons |
| American Division champions | Boston Bruins |
| Stanley Cup | |
| Champions | Montreal Canadiens |
| Runners-up | Boston Bruins |
The 1929–30 NHL season was the 13th season of the National Hockey League. Ten teams played 44 games each. The Montreal Canadiens upset the heavily favoured Boston Bruins two games to none in the Stanley Cup Finals.
League business
[edit]The league instituted in the new rules the standard dimensions for ice hockey rinks, that of 200 feet (61 m) × 85 feet (26 m). The already-built Boston Garden 191 feet (58 m) × 88 feet (27 m) and the Chicago Stadium 188 feet (57 m) × 85 feet (26 m), which were smaller were exempt from the new rule.[1]
To combat low scoring, the off-side rules were rewritten. Players were now allowed forward passing in the offensive zone, instead of only in the defensive and neutral zones. Players were now allowed to enter the offensive zone before the puck.[2] The only off-side rule left was that passing was not allowed from one zone to another.[3] The changes led to abuse: players sat in front of the opposing net waiting for a pass. It was joked that players like the Maroons' Nels Stewart and the Bruins' Cooney Weiland were "setting up 'light housekeeping' at the opposition goal crease."[2] The rule was changed in mid-season and players were no longer allowed to enter the offensive zone before the puck.[4]
Arena changes
[edit]The Chicago Black Hawks moved from the Chicago Coliseum to the Chicago Stadium in December 1929 after Paddy Harmon was removed from the presidency of the Stadium in November. Harmon had not been able to negotiate a deal with the Black Hawks, but within weeks of his ouster the Stadium's board of directors agreed to the Black Hawks' terms of US$4,500 (equivalent to $79,849 in 2023) per night and a guaranteed Sunday afternoon slot.[5] The gate receipts for the Black Hawks increased to nearly triple the previous season's receipts. The team grossed US$282,350 (equivalent to $5,149,794 in 2023) and attendance jumped to 186,920.[6]
Regular season
[edit]Cooney Weiland of the Boston Bruins took advantage of the rule changes and smashed the old NHL scoring record with 73 points. Weiland and Tiny Thompson, who won the Vezina Trophy with a 2.23 goals against average, led the Bruins to a final season standings record of 38 wins, 5 losses, and 1 tie. The Bruins set three impressive NHL records including most wins in the regular season (38), highest winning percentage (0.875), and most consecutive home ice wins (20).
The 1943–44 Montreal Canadiens and the 1944–45 Montreal Canadiens would tie the record for most wins in a season at 38. But the record remained unbroken for 21 years until March 11, 1951, when the 1950–51 Detroit Red Wings notched their 39th victory in a much longer 70-game season. The record for consecutive wins at home would stand for 82 years, being matched by the 1975–76 Philadelphia Flyers and finally surpassed on February 14, 2012, by the 2011–12 Detroit Red Wings. As of 2024 no team has ever won 38 of their first 44 games or broken the Bruins' single season winning percentage record of 0.875.[7]
Conn Smythe brought up two outstanding forwards, Harvey "Busher" Jackson, and Charlie Conacher, and combined with Joe Primeau, the Kid Line was born. Conacher actually scored on his first shift in the NHL. Jackson got his nickname Busher from Tim Daly, the Toronto trainer, when asked by Daly to assist with some sticks. "I'm a hockey player, not a stickboy", Jackson told Daly, who replied, "Why you fresh young busher!" And it was Busher Jackson from that day on.
On January 7, 1930, Clint Benedict became the first goalie in NHL history to don a protective face mask. He did so for five games to protect a broken nose. The next time a mask made its way into the NHL was almost 30 years later when Jacques Plante wore one in a game on November 1, 1959.
Frank Frederickson badly injured his knee and the Pittsburgh Pirates fortunes went from bad to worse.
Eddie Gerard resigned as manager-coach of the Montreal Maroons. He was replaced as manager by team president James Strachan. Dunc Munro was hired as coach and led the team to first place in the Canadian Division.
There was a well-founded rumour that Gerard would take the coaching reins of Ottawa from Newsy Lalonde when Lalonde was not well. Dave Gill filled in during his absence and the team did much better and made the playoffs. Gerard turned down the coaching job.
Final standings
[edit]| GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | PTS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston Bruins | 44 | 38 | 5 | 1 | 179 | 98 | 77 |
| Chicago Black Hawks | 44 | 21 | 18 | 5 | 117 | 111 | 47 |
| New York Rangers | 44 | 17 | 17 | 10 | 136 | 143 | 44 |
| Detroit Cougars | 44 | 14 | 24 | 6 | 117 | 133 | 34 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 44 | 5 | 36 | 3 | 102 | 185 | 13 |
| GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | PTS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montreal Maroons | 44 | 23 | 16 | 5 | 141 | 114 | 51 |
| Montreal Canadiens | 44 | 21 | 14 | 9 | 142 | 114 | 51 |
| Ottawa Senators | 44 | 21 | 15 | 8 | 138 | 118 | 50 |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | 44 | 17 | 21 | 6 | 116 | 124 | 40 |
| New York Americans | 44 | 14 | 25 | 5 | 113 | 161 | 33 |
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.
Playoffs
[edit]Playoff bracket
[edit]| First round | Semifinals | Final | |||||||||||
| C1 | Mtl Maroons | 1 | |||||||||||
| A1 | Boston | 3 | |||||||||||
| C2 | Mtl Canadiens | 2 | |||||||||||
| C2 | Mtl Canadiens | 3G | |||||||||||
| A1 | Boston | 0 | |||||||||||
| A2 | Chicago | 2G | |||||||||||
| C2 | Mtl Canadiens | 2 | |||||||||||
| A3 | NY Rangers | 0 | |||||||||||
| C3 | Ottawa | 3G | |||||||||||
| A3 | NY Rangers | 6G | |||||||||||
Quarterfinals
[edit](A2) Chicago Black Hawks vs. (C2) Montreal Canadiens
[edit]| March 23 | Montreal Canadiens | 1–0 | Chicago Black Hawks | Chicago Stadium | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Wildor Larochelle (1) – 07:40 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| George Hainsworth | Goalie stats | Charlie Gardiner | ||||||
| March 26 | Chicago Black Hawks | 2–2 | 3OT | Montreal Canadiens | Montreal Forum | Recap | ||
| Ty Arbour (1) – 01:38 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Earl Miller (1) – 12:49 | Second period | 09:20 – Howie Morenz (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third overtime period | 11:53 – Howie Morenz (2) | ||||||
| Charlie Gardiner | Goalie stats | George Hainsworth | ||||||
| Montreal won series on total goals 3–2 | |
(C3) Ottawa Senators vs. (A3) New York Rangers
[edit]| March 20 | New York Rangers | 1–1 | Ottawa Senators | Ottawa Auditorium | Recap | |||
| Leo Bourgeault (1) – 09:45 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 06:45 – Art Gagne (1) | ||||||
| John Ross Roach | Goalie stats | Alex Connell | ||||||
| March 23 | Ottawa Senators | 2–5 | New York Rangers | Madison Square Garden III | Recap | |||
| Bill Touhey (1) – 08:00 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 09:02 – Bun Cook (1) 18:02 – Frank Boucher (1) | ||||||
| Harold Starr (1) – 13:26 | Third period | 04:16 – Murray Murdoch (1) 05:25 – Murray Murdoch (2) 06:46 – Bun Cook (2) | ||||||
| Alex Connell | Goalie stats | John Ross Roach | ||||||
| New York won series on total goals 6–3 | |
Semifinals
[edit](A1) Boston Bruins vs. (C1) Montreal Maroons
[edit]| March 20 | Boston Bruins | 2–1 | 3OT | Montreal Maroons | Montreal Forum | Recap | ||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Cooney Weiland (1) – 12:34 | Second period | 09:41 – Dunc Munro (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Harry Oliver (1) – 05:35 | Third overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
| Tiny Thompson | Goalie stats | Flat Walsh | ||||||
| March 22 | Boston Bruins | 4–2 | Montreal Maroons | Montreal Forum | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Marty Barry (1) – 04:00 Harry Oliver (2) – 05:35 Dit Clapper (1) – 07:30 |
Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Dit Clapper (2) – 19:24 | Third period | 10:07 – Hooley Smith (1) 13:22 – Nels Stewart (1) | ||||||
| Tiny Thompson | Goalie stats | Flat Walsh | ||||||
| March 25 | Montreal Maroons | 1–0 | 2OT | Boston Bruins | Boston Madison Square Garden | Recap | ||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Archie Wilcox (1) – 06:26 | Second overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
| Flat Walsh | Goalie stats | Tiny Thompson | ||||||
| March 27 | Montreal Maroons | 1–5 | Boston Bruins | Boston Madison Square Garden | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 15:26 – Marty Barry (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 08:11 – Lionel Hitchman (1) | ||||||
| Dunc Munro (2) – 19:08 | Third period | 06:51 – Bill Carson (1) 11:30 – Marty Barry (3) 17:39 – Dit Clapper (4) | ||||||
| Flat Walsh | Goalie stats | Tiny Thompson | ||||||
| Boston won series 3–1 | |
(C2) Montreal Canadiens vs. (A3) New York Rangers
[edit]| March 28 | New York Rangers | 1–2 | 4OT | Montreal Canadiens | Montreal Forum | Recap | ||
| Murray Murdoch (3) – 15:34 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 16:44 – Armand Mondou (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Fourth overtime period | 08:52 – Gus Rivers (1) | ||||||
| John Ross Roach | Goalie stats | George Hainsworth | ||||||
| March 30 | Montreal Canadiens | 2–0 | New York Rangers | Madison Square Garden III | Recap | |||
| Nick Wasnie (1) – 14:56 Pit Lepine (1) – 15:56 |
First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| George Hainsworth | Goalie stats | John Ross Roach | ||||||
| Montreal won series 2–0 | |
Stanley Cup Finals
[edit]After defeating the Montreal Maroons and after having not lost consecutive games all season, the Boston Bruins were swept by the Montreal Canadiens two games to none in a best-of-three series. The first game saw Boston play way below its usual form. The Canadiens then won the Stanley Cup with a 4–3 victory in game two. The Canadiens went 5–0–1 in the playoffs, making them one of the few Stanley Cup-winning teams in history to not lose a game in the playoffs.
| April 1 | Montreal Canadiens | 3–0 | Boston Bruins | Boston Madison Square Garden | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Albert Leduc (1) – 08:43 Sylvio Mantha (1) – 13:17 |
Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Pit Lepine (2) – 06:27 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| George Hainsworth | Goalie stats | Tiny Thompson | ||||||
| April 3 | Boston Bruins | 3–4 | Montreal Canadiens | Montreal Forum | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 09:10 – Bert McCaffrey (1) 17:36 – Nick Wasnie (2) | ||||||
| Eddie Shore (1) – 10:42 | Second period | 01:33 – Sylvio Mantha (2) 15:43 – Howie Morenz (3) | ||||||
| Percy Galbraith (1) – 08:47 Dit Clapper (4) – 10:59 |
Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Tiny Thompson | Goalie stats | George Hainsworth | ||||||
| Montreal won series 2–0 | |
Awards
[edit]Nels Stewart won the Hart Trophy for the second time. Frank Boucher won the Lady Byng for the third consecutive year. Tiny Thompson won the Vezina for the first time. Thompson would go on to win the trophy four times.
| 1929–30 NHL awards | |
|---|---|
| O'Brien Cup: (Canadian Division champion) |
Montreal Maroons |
| Prince of Wales Trophy: (American Division champion) |
Boston Bruins |
| Hart Trophy: (Most valuable player) |
Nels Stewart, Montreal Maroons |
| Lady Byng Trophy: (Excellence and sportsmanship) |
Frank Boucher, New York Rangers |
| Vezina Trophy: (Fewest goals allowed) |
Tiny Thompson, Boston Bruins |
Player statistics
[edit]Scoring leaders
[edit]Note: GP = Games played, G = Goals, A = Assists, PTS = Points, PIM = Penalties in minutes
| PLAYER | TEAM | GP | G | A | PTS | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cooney Weiland | Boston Bruins | 44 | 43 | 30 | 73 | 27 |
| Frank Boucher | New York Rangers | 42 | 26 | 36 | 62 | 16 |
| Dit Clapper | Boston Bruins | 44 | 41 | 20 | 61 | 48 |
| Bill Cook | New York Rangers | 44 | 29 | 30 | 59 | 56 |
| Hec Kilrea | Ottawa Senators | 44 | 36 | 22 | 58 | 70 |
| Nels Stewart | Montreal Maroons | 44 | 39 | 16 | 55 | 81 |
| Howie Morenz | Montreal Canadiens | 44 | 40 | 10 | 50 | 72 |
| Norman Himes | New York Americans | 44 | 28 | 22 | 50 | 15 |
| Joe Lamb | Ottawa Senators | 44 | 29 | 20 | 49 | 119 |
| Dutch Gainor | Boston Bruins | 42 | 18 | 31 | 49 | 39 |
Source: NHL.[8]
Leading goaltenders
[edit]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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tiny Thompson | Boston Bruins | 44 | 38 | 5 | 1 | 2680 | 98 | 3 | 2.19 |
| Flat Walsh | Montreal Maroons | 30 | 16 | 10 | 4 | 1897 | 74 | 2 | 2.34 |
| George Hainsworth | Montreal Canadiens | 42 | 20 | 13 | 9 | 2680 | 108 | 4 | 2.42 |
| Charlie Gardiner | Chicago Black Hawks | 44 | 21 | 16 | 9 | 2750 | 111 | 3 | 2.42 |
| Alex Connell | Ottawa Senators | 44 | 21 | 15 | 8 | 2780 | 118 | 3 | 2.55 |
Source: NHL.[9]
Coaches
[edit]American Division
[edit]- Boston Bruins: Art Ross
- Chicago Black Hawks: Tom Shaughnessy and Bill Tobin
- Detroit Cougars: Jack Adams
- New York Rangers: Lester Patrick
- Pittsburgh Pirates:Frank Frederickson
Canadian Division
[edit]- Montreal Canadiens: Cecil Hart
- Montreal Maroons: Dunc Munro
- New York Americans: Lionel Conacher
- Ottawa Senators: Newsy Lalonde
- Toronto Maple Leafs: Conn Smythe
Debuts
[edit]The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1929–30 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs):
- Tom Cook, Chicago Black Hawks
- Ebbie Goodfellow, Detroit Cougars
- Syd Howe, Ottawa Senators
- Busher Jackson, Toronto Maple Leafs
- Charlie Conacher, Toronto Maple Leafs
Last games
[edit]The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1929–30 (listed with their last team):
- Mickey MacKay, Boston Bruins
- Jimmy Herbert, Detroit Cougars
- Clint Benedict, Montreal Maroons
- Frank Nighbor, Toronto Maple Leafs
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Duplacey 1996, pp. 1–2.
- ^ a b Ross 2015, p. 171.
- ^ Duplacey 1996, p. 143.
- ^ Duplacey 1996, p. 144.
- ^ Ross 2015, pp. 204–205.
- ^ Ross 2015, p. 205.
- ^ "NHL Team Records". HockeyCentral.co.uk. Retrieved June 13, 2016.
- ^ Dinger 2011, p. 146.
- ^ "1929–1930 – Regular Season – Goaltender – Goalie Season Stats Leaders – Goals Against Average". nhl.com. Retrieved June 21, 2012.
Sources
[edit]- 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.
- Duplacey, James (1996). Diamond, Dan (ed.). The annotated rules of hockey. Lyons & Burford. ISBN 1-55821-466-6.
- 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.
- Ross, J. Andrew (2015). Joining the Clubs: The Business of the National Hockey League to 1945. Syracuse University Press. ISBN 9780815633839.