National Hockey Association
Encyclopedia
The National Hockey Association (NHA) (officially the National Hockey Association of Canada Limited) was a professional ice hockey
organization with teams in Ontario
and Quebec
, Canada
. It is the direct predecessor organization to today's National Hockey League
(NHL). Founded in 1909 by Ambrose O'Brien (from Renfrew, Ontario
), the NHA was possibly the first major league of pro hockey, and introduced 'six-man hockey', removing the 'rover' position in 1911. During its lifetime, the league coped with competition for players with the rival Pacific Coast Hockey Association
(PCHA), the enlistment of players for World War I and disagreements between owners. The disagreements between owners came to a head in 1917, when the NHA suspended operations in order to get rid of an unwanted owner (Eddie Livingstone). The remaining NHA team owners started the NHL in parallel as a temporary measure, to continue play while negotiations went on with Livingstone and other lawsuits were pending. A year later, after no progress was reached with Livingstone, the other NHA owners decided to permanently suspend the NHA. The NHA's rules, constitution and trophies were continued in the NHL.
In November 1909, the Eastern Canada Hockey Association (ECHA), holder of the Stanley Cup
and ostensibly the pre-eminent ice hockey league, was in the midst of a dispute. The Montreal Wanderers
team of the ECHA had been bought by P. J. Doran, owner of the Jubilee Rink in Montreal
and he intended to move the team's games there. The Jubilee was smaller than the Wanderers' current rink, the Montreal Arena
which meant visiting teams would earn less on their trips to play the Wanderers. On November 25, 1909, the other teams in the league disbanded the ECHA and formed the new Canadian Hockey Association (CHA), which excluded the Wanderers.
At the same time, prosperous silver mine owner Ambrose O'Brien of Renfrew, Ontario
, president of the Renfrew Creamery Kings
ice hockey team, was seeking admission to the ECHA to be able to contest the Stanley Cup. The team had applied to the Stanley Cup trustees as champions of the Federal League
, but had been rejected. At the November 25 CHA founding meeting, held at the Windsor Hotel
in Montreal, O'Brien applied to join the CHA but the application was rejected. Sitting in the lobby of the hotel after the CHA meeting, O'Brien met Jimmy Gardner of the Wanderers, whose team had also been rejected by the CHA. Together, they decided to form their own league, the National Hockey Association (NHA). With Cobalt and Haileybury, two other teams controlled by O' Brien, the NHA was founded on December 2, 1909 at a private meeting at 300 St. James Street in Montreal, and adopted the constitution of the ECHA.
At the same time, to build a rivalry and capture francophone interest in Montreal, O'Brien and Gardner conceived of creating a team consisting of francophone players, to be managed by francophones. 'Les Canadiens', known today as the Montreal Canadiens
, was admitted on December 4, 1909 to be managed by Jack Laviolette
, but owned by O'Brien, on the understanding ownership was to be transferred to francophone sportsmen as soon as practicable. In all, O'Brien and his father, Michael John O'Brien, were financing four teams in the league: the Renfrew Creamery Kings (which became known as the Renfrew Millionaires), Cobalt, Haileybury, and Les Canadiens. The Cobalt and Haileybury clubs were from the Timiskaming Professional Hockey League
(TPHL) and Renfrew from the Federal Hockey League
(FHL). Along with the Wanderers, the league had five teams.
The O'Briens were determined to win the Stanley Cup and a bidding war for players immediately started. Frank Patrick and Lester Patrick
were each signed by the Renfrew Millionaires for $3,000 apiece, the highest salaries recorded to that time. Renfrew also signed star player Cyclone Taylor
of the champion Ottawa Senators
team, reputedly at $5,000 per season.
Attendance at the CHA games was poor and a meeting of the NHA was held on January 15, 1910 to discuss a possible merger of the two leagues. Instead, the NHA admitted Ottawa and the Montreal Shamrocks
to the NHA and the CHA folded. The owners of the Montreal Le National were offered the ownership of the Canadiens but turned it down. The Quebec Bulldogs
and the other teams of the CHA were not even considered for membership. Games played prior to January 15 were thrown out, and the season began again, now with seven teams.
from the Canadiens to Renfrew, the first championship went to the Wanderers, taking over the Stanley Cup and successfully defending it against Edmonton. It would be the Wanderers' only championship in the league. The off-season would lead to changes in membership in the league, as Cobalt, Haileybury and Shamrocks dropped out. Les Canadiens would be taken over by new management and Quebec would join the league for the 1910-11 season. Lalonde was returned to the Canadiens. The two dormant O'Brien franchises were to be held for two Toronto teams to join the league in the future, to play in the new Arena Gardens planned for Toronto.
The 1910–1911 season saw the start of labour unrest in the league, as the league imposed a salary cap. The season almost foundered because of widespread dissatisfaction amongst the players at the salaries on offer, and players' unions were rumored to be on the verge of creation at several points. The players at first intended to form their own league, but the arenas were under the NHA control and surrendered for that season. Ottawa won the championship and held the Stanley Cup against Galt and Port Arthur.
In the off-season, O'Brien exited the hockey business and Renfrew exited the league. This season, the league dropped the 'rover' position, changing the game to six-man hockey, although other leagues would hold on to seven-man play into the 1920s. Attempts would be made to reintroduce seven-man hockey in subsequent years but were unsuccessful. While the league delayed its schedule to try to accommodate the Toronto teams, who were waiting for the Arena Gardens' completion, in the end the league played with only four teams. In that same off-season, the Patrick brothers built two arenas in Vancouver
and Victoria
and formed the Pacific Coast Hockey Association
(PCHA). The PCHA exploited the low pay of the NHA teams to raid the teams for players. Quebec would win the league championship, winning its first Stanley Cup, defending it successfully against Moncton. Despite the raids by the PCHA, the NHA allowed a player-organized team of all-stars to play an exhibition series out west against the PCHA after the season. Some of the NHA players, notably Cyclone Taylor
would be enticed to join the PCHA in the following season.
In 1912–13, the two new Toronto teams joined the league, the Torontos
, later dubbed the 'Blueshirts' and the Tecumsehs
and the league expanded to six teams. Although the PCHA had raided Quebec for three players of its championship squad, they were replaced by top players from the Ontario and Maritime leagues, and Quebec repeated as champions. This year, the Quebec team traveled out west to play the PCHA champion Victoria Aristocrats, in the first series between the two leagues' champion teams.
In 1913-14, the last before World War I, saw a tie between the Torontos and the Canadiens for first place, and the league's first play-off was held. Toronto won the two-game series to win the championship and the first Stanley Cup win by any Toronto team. After the play-off, PCHA champion Victoria came east to play Toronto in a best-of-five series. The series was 'unofficial' as it was not approved by the Stanley Cup trustees, but any controversy was moot as Toronto won the series in three-straight games.
Starting in the 1914–1915
season, the Stanley Cup was awarded exclusively to the winner of a playoff between the NHA and the PCHA
regular season winners. The league championship was decided by a two-game total goal playoff between the Wanderers and the Senators. Ottawa won the championship, and the right to defend the Cup against Vancouver
in a three game series in which Vancouver won in dominating fashion. The notion of a league champion being awarded the Cup to defend ceased with that season, as the Portland Rosebuds
were the PCHA champions in 1915–1916 but were not automatically accorded the Cup. Instead, they played the Montreal Canadiens for the trophy (and became the first American team to do so), which the Canadiens won in a five game series. However both Ottawa in 1915 and Portland in 1916 engraved their names on the Stanley Cup as well as the eventual champions.
Prior to the 1915–16 season, Toronto Shamrocks team owner Eddie Livingstone made two moves that infuriated the NHA and the PCHA. At that time Quebec was to be one of the designated NHA teams which the PCHA would draft players from. Livingstone arranged a trade with Quebec to hide some players from the draft, infuriating the PCHA. He bought the Toronto Blueshirts without league permission for its players, and ended up with no players for the Shamrocks team as the PCHA in retaliation raided the Blueshirts for players. The league ordered Livingstone to sell his Shamrocks franchise, but he was unable to do so as he had only enough players for one team. The 1915–16 season was played with only five teams, a situation whereby one team each week would not play, a situation limiting team owner revenues and infuriating the other owners. Instead of two games in Toronto to cover travel expenses from the other cities, there was only one per trip.
In 1916, the league stripped Livingstone of the Shamrocks franchise and fielded a second team in Toronto for the 1916–17 season. The team was composed of hockey players who had enlisted for wartime duty. The team, known as the 228th Battalion
or Northern Fusiliers, played wearing khaki military uniforms and was the league's most popular and highest scoring club until the regiment was ordered overseas in February 1917 and the team was forced to withdraw. A scandal ensued when several stars were subsequently discharged and alleged they had been promised commissions solely to play hockey for the military team. The Battalion dropping out left the league at five teams again. Instead of continuing with five teams, the league suspended the Blueshirts also and dispersed its players to the other clubs and continued with four teams. Livingstone threatened to sue the league over the suspension, infuriating the other owners. The league next made a demand that Livingstone sell the Toronto franchise between April and June 1917. Instead of selling, Livingstone followed through with his threat to sue the NHA.
The season would prove to be the NHA's last. The owners of the Canadiens, Wanderers, Senators and Bulldogs wanted nothing more to do with Livingstone, but discovered the NHA constitution didn't allow them to simply expel him from the league. Instead, they met in November 1917 to suspend the NHA's operations and then formed the National Hockey League
so that they could continue the business of pro hockey without Livingstone. Every owner except Livingstone was granted a franchise in the NHL and the NHA contracts transferred. Wanderers owner Sam Lichtenhein
was quoted as saying, "We didn't throw Livingstone out; he's still got his franchise in the old National Hockey Association. He has his team, and we wish him well. The only problem is he's playing in a one-team league."
The Bulldogs, however, announced they didn't have enough financing to ice a team for the NHL's first season. Wanting to balance the schedule, and feeling it unthinkable not to have a team from Canada's second-largest city, the NHL granted a temporary franchise to the Toronto Arena Company, which inherited the Blueshirts' contracts. This temporary franchise would evolve into today's Toronto Maple Leafs
.
The NHA's organization did not dissolve immediately. The owners had launched a lawsuit against the Battalion to attempt to make the Canadian Army pay $3000 for leaving the league and this had yet to be heard in court. The NHL could operate in the meantime, without Livingstone.
The NHA's officials met nearly a year later, on September 20, 1918, when a vote was taken to permanently suspend operations over Livingstone's objections. That fall, Livingstone, along with Percy Quinn would attempt to launch a rival "Canadian Hockey Association" (CHA) unsuccessfully. Blocked, Livingstone and Quinn would call a final meeting of the NHA owners on December 11, 1918. The NHL owners, against the wishes of Frank Calder, attended the meeting. Calder considered that an NHA meeting could not proceed with shareholders not having paid legal fees owed the league books held in court for lawsuits. Livingstone's plan was to use the fact that the Canadiens had a minority shareholder, contrary to NHA voting rules, to disallow the Canadiens vote and cause the vote to swing their way and lead to the resumption of the NHA. At first, Lichtenhein refused to recognize Quinn's purchase of the Quebec NHL franchise, but agreed to if Quinn would pay the costs of the meeting itself, which he refused. The meeting ended when the NHL owners offered to pay legal fees owed to the NHA so as to proceed, according to Calder's terms, but Livingstone and Quinn refused. The NHL owners then left the meeting. Separately, the Montreal and Ottawa NHA owners met and paid the fees owing to the league and Calder fined the Torontos, Ontarios and Quebec a further $200. Calder now publicly promised to file a court order to "wind up" the NHA organization. When the NHL decided to continue with play, Livingstone and Quinn threatened injunctions to stop the NHL from operating. However, the threats were not followed through on and the NHL season began on schedule. The NHA organization itself was not formally dissolved for several years afterwards and Frank Calder
held the presidency in both organizations.
The championship trophy of the NHA was the O'Brien Cup
, made of solid silver, donated by the O'Brien family. It survived as the championship trophy of the NHL until 1927. It was awarded annually as a NHL trophy afterward before being retired in 1950.
Two current NHL teams, the Canadiens and Maple Leafs, have roots in the NHA. While the Canadiens acknowledge their NHA history and records, the Maple Leafs do not claim the Blueshirts' history as their own.
† Stanley Cup Champions. In 1910, both the Wanderers and Senators are considered champions.
* 228th Battalion dropped out after first half of season. Toronto was suspended by league after first half.
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
organization with teams in Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
and Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. It is the direct predecessor organization to today's National Hockey League
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
(NHL). Founded in 1909 by Ambrose O'Brien (from Renfrew, Ontario
Renfrew, Ontario
Renfrew, Ontario, Canada, is a town on the Bonnechere River in Renfrew County. Located one hour west of Ottawa in Eastern Ontario, Renfrew is the third largest town in the county after Petawawa and Pembroke. The town is a small transportation hub connecting Ontario Highway 60 and Highway 132 with...
), the NHA was possibly the first major league of pro hockey, and introduced 'six-man hockey', removing the 'rover' position in 1911. During its lifetime, the league coped with competition for players with the rival Pacific Coast Hockey Association
Pacific Coast Hockey Association
The Pacific Coast Hockey Association was a professional men's ice hockey league in western Canada and the western United States, which operated from 1911 to 1924 when it then merged with the Western Canada Hockey League...
(PCHA), the enlistment of players for World War I and disagreements between owners. The disagreements between owners came to a head in 1917, when the NHA suspended operations in order to get rid of an unwanted owner (Eddie Livingstone). The remaining NHA team owners started the NHL in parallel as a temporary measure, to continue play while negotiations went on with Livingstone and other lawsuits were pending. A year later, after no progress was reached with Livingstone, the other NHA owners decided to permanently suspend the NHA. The NHA's rules, constitution and trophies were continued in the NHL.
History
FoundingIn November 1909, the Eastern Canada Hockey Association (ECHA), holder of the Stanley Cup
Stanley Cup
The Stanley Cup is an ice hockey club trophy, awarded annually to the National Hockey League playoffs champion after the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Finals. It has been referred to as The Cup, Lord Stanley's Cup, The Holy Grail, or facetiously as Lord Stanley's Mug...
and ostensibly the pre-eminent ice hockey league, was in the midst of a dispute. The Montreal Wanderers
Montreal Wanderers
The Montreal Wanderers were a Canadian amateur, and later becoming a professional men's ice hockey team. The team played in the Federal Amateur Hockey League , the Eastern Canada Amateur Hockey Association , the National Hockey Association and briefly the National Hockey League . The Wanderers are...
team of the ECHA had been bought by P. J. Doran, owner of the Jubilee Rink in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
and he intended to move the team's games there. The Jubilee was smaller than the Wanderers' current rink, the Montreal Arena
Montreal Arena
The Montreal Arena, also known as Westmount Arena, was an indoor arena located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada on the corner of St. Catherine Street and Wood Avenue. It was likely one of the first arenas designed expressly for hockey, opening in 1898...
which meant visiting teams would earn less on their trips to play the Wanderers. On November 25, 1909, the other teams in the league disbanded the ECHA and formed the new Canadian Hockey Association (CHA), which excluded the Wanderers.
At the same time, prosperous silver mine owner Ambrose O'Brien of Renfrew, Ontario
Renfrew, Ontario
Renfrew, Ontario, Canada, is a town on the Bonnechere River in Renfrew County. Located one hour west of Ottawa in Eastern Ontario, Renfrew is the third largest town in the county after Petawawa and Pembroke. The town is a small transportation hub connecting Ontario Highway 60 and Highway 132 with...
, president of the Renfrew Creamery Kings
Renfrew Creamery Kings
The Renfrew Hockey Club, also known as the Creamery Kings and the "Renfrew Millionaires" was a founding franchise in 1909 of the National Hockey Association, the precursor to the National Hockey League...
ice hockey team, was seeking admission to the ECHA to be able to contest the Stanley Cup. The team had applied to the Stanley Cup trustees as champions of the Federal League
Federal Amateur Hockey League
The Federal Amateur Hockey League was a Canadian men's senior-level ice hockey league that played six seasons from 1904 to 1909. The league was formed initially to provide a league for teams not accepted by the rival Canadian Amateur Hockey League . One team, the Montreal Le National, was the first...
, but had been rejected. At the November 25 CHA founding meeting, held at the Windsor Hotel
Windsor Hotel (Montreal)
The Windsor Hotel in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, is often considered to be the first grand hotel in Canada, and for decades billed itself as "the best in all the Dominion".-Early years:...
in Montreal, O'Brien applied to join the CHA but the application was rejected. Sitting in the lobby of the hotel after the CHA meeting, O'Brien met Jimmy Gardner of the Wanderers, whose team had also been rejected by the CHA. Together, they decided to form their own league, the National Hockey Association (NHA). With Cobalt and Haileybury, two other teams controlled by O' Brien, the NHA was founded on December 2, 1909 at a private meeting at 300 St. James Street in Montreal, and adopted the constitution of the ECHA.
At the same time, to build a rivalry and capture francophone interest in Montreal, O'Brien and Gardner conceived of creating a team consisting of francophone players, to be managed by francophones. 'Les Canadiens', known today as the Montreal Canadiens
Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal Canadiens are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The club is officially known as ...
, was admitted on December 4, 1909 to be managed by Jack Laviolette
Jack Laviolette
Jean-Baptiste "Jack" Laviolette was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played nine seasons for the Montreal Canadiens hockey club and was their first Captain, Coach, and General Manager....
, but owned by O'Brien, on the understanding ownership was to be transferred to francophone sportsmen as soon as practicable. In all, O'Brien and his father, Michael John O'Brien, were financing four teams in the league: the Renfrew Creamery Kings (which became known as the Renfrew Millionaires), Cobalt, Haileybury, and Les Canadiens. The Cobalt and Haileybury clubs were from the Timiskaming Professional Hockey League
Timiskaming Professional Hockey League
The Timiskaming Professional Hockey League was a minor professional ice hockey league based in the area of Lake Timiskaming, Canada. Founded in 1906, the league is notable for providing teams and Ambrose O'Brien, the founder of the National Hockey Association, which became today's National Hockey...
(TPHL) and Renfrew from the Federal Hockey League
Federal Amateur Hockey League
The Federal Amateur Hockey League was a Canadian men's senior-level ice hockey league that played six seasons from 1904 to 1909. The league was formed initially to provide a league for teams not accepted by the rival Canadian Amateur Hockey League . One team, the Montreal Le National, was the first...
(FHL). Along with the Wanderers, the league had five teams.
Lester Patrick
Curtis Lester "The Silver Fox" Patrick born in Drummondville, Quebec, Canada, was a professional ice hockey player and coach associated with the Victoria Aristocrats/Cougars of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association , and the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League...
were each signed by the Renfrew Millionaires for $3,000 apiece, the highest salaries recorded to that time. Renfrew also signed star player Cyclone Taylor
Cyclone Taylor
Frederick Wellington "Cyclone" Taylor, OBE, was a Canadian professional ice hockey player and civil servant. Taylor was one of the earliest professional players. He played professionally for the Portage Lakes Hockey Club, the Ottawa Hockey Club and the Vancouver Millionaires from 1905 to 1923...
of the champion Ottawa Senators
Ottawa Senators (original)
The Ottawa Senators were an amateur, and later, professional, ice hockey team based in Ottawa, Canada which existed from 1883 to 1954. The club was the first hockey club in Ontario, a founding member of the National Hockey League and played in the NHL from 1917 until 1934...
team, reputedly at $5,000 per season.
Attendance at the CHA games was poor and a meeting of the NHA was held on January 15, 1910 to discuss a possible merger of the two leagues. Instead, the NHA admitted Ottawa and the Montreal Shamrocks
Montreal Shamrocks
The Montreal Shamrocks were an amateur, later professional, men's ice hockey club in existence from 1886, merging with the Montreal Crystals club in 1896. They won the Stanley Cup ice hockey championship in 1899 and 1900...
to the NHA and the CHA folded. The owners of the Montreal Le National were offered the ownership of the Canadiens but turned it down. The Quebec Bulldogs
Quebec Bulldogs
The Quebec Bulldogs were a men's senior-level ice hockey team officially known as the Quebec Hockey Club, later as the Quebec Athletic Club. Their recorded play goes back as far as the Amateur Hockey Association of Canada in 1889, although the Quebec Hockey Club is known to have played since 1880...
and the other teams of the CHA were not even considered for membership. Games played prior to January 15 were thrown out, and the season began again, now with seven teams.
1910-1914: Consolidation
Despite the efforts of O'Brien, who added Newsy LalondeNewsy Lalonde
Édouard Cyrille "Newsy" Lalonde was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward in the National Hockey League and a professional lacrosse player, regarded as one of hockey's and lacrosse's greatest players of the first half of the 20th century and one of sport's most colourful characters...
from the Canadiens to Renfrew, the first championship went to the Wanderers, taking over the Stanley Cup and successfully defending it against Edmonton. It would be the Wanderers' only championship in the league. The off-season would lead to changes in membership in the league, as Cobalt, Haileybury and Shamrocks dropped out. Les Canadiens would be taken over by new management and Quebec would join the league for the 1910-11 season. Lalonde was returned to the Canadiens. The two dormant O'Brien franchises were to be held for two Toronto teams to join the league in the future, to play in the new Arena Gardens planned for Toronto.
The 1910–1911 season saw the start of labour unrest in the league, as the league imposed a salary cap. The season almost foundered because of widespread dissatisfaction amongst the players at the salaries on offer, and players' unions were rumored to be on the verge of creation at several points. The players at first intended to form their own league, but the arenas were under the NHA control and surrendered for that season. Ottawa won the championship and held the Stanley Cup against Galt and Port Arthur.
In the off-season, O'Brien exited the hockey business and Renfrew exited the league. This season, the league dropped the 'rover' position, changing the game to six-man hockey, although other leagues would hold on to seven-man play into the 1920s. Attempts would be made to reintroduce seven-man hockey in subsequent years but were unsuccessful. While the league delayed its schedule to try to accommodate the Toronto teams, who were waiting for the Arena Gardens' completion, in the end the league played with only four teams. In that same off-season, the Patrick brothers built two arenas in Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
and Victoria
Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 78,000 within the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, which has a population of 360,063, the 15th most populous Canadian...
and formed the Pacific Coast Hockey Association
Pacific Coast Hockey Association
The Pacific Coast Hockey Association was a professional men's ice hockey league in western Canada and the western United States, which operated from 1911 to 1924 when it then merged with the Western Canada Hockey League...
(PCHA). The PCHA exploited the low pay of the NHA teams to raid the teams for players. Quebec would win the league championship, winning its first Stanley Cup, defending it successfully against Moncton. Despite the raids by the PCHA, the NHA allowed a player-organized team of all-stars to play an exhibition series out west against the PCHA after the season. Some of the NHA players, notably Cyclone Taylor
Cyclone Taylor
Frederick Wellington "Cyclone" Taylor, OBE, was a Canadian professional ice hockey player and civil servant. Taylor was one of the earliest professional players. He played professionally for the Portage Lakes Hockey Club, the Ottawa Hockey Club and the Vancouver Millionaires from 1905 to 1923...
would be enticed to join the PCHA in the following season.
In 1912–13, the two new Toronto teams joined the league, the Torontos
Toronto Blueshirts
The Toronto Hockey Club, known as the Torontos and the Toronto Blue Shirts were a professional National Hockey Association team that played in Toronto, Ontario, Canada...
, later dubbed the 'Blueshirts' and the Tecumsehs
Toronto Tecumsehs
The Tecumseh Hockey Club, also known as the Toronto Tecumsehs and nicknamed the Indians, were a team in the National Hockey Association in 1912-13. They then became the Toronto Ontarios....
and the league expanded to six teams. Although the PCHA had raided Quebec for three players of its championship squad, they were replaced by top players from the Ontario and Maritime leagues, and Quebec repeated as champions. This year, the Quebec team traveled out west to play the PCHA champion Victoria Aristocrats, in the first series between the two leagues' champion teams.
In 1913-14, the last before World War I, saw a tie between the Torontos and the Canadiens for first place, and the league's first play-off was held. Toronto won the two-game series to win the championship and the first Stanley Cup win by any Toronto team. After the play-off, PCHA champion Victoria came east to play Toronto in a best-of-five series. The series was 'unofficial' as it was not approved by the Stanley Cup trustees, but any controversy was moot as Toronto won the series in three-straight games.
Starting in the 1914–1915
1914–15 NHA season
The 1914–15 NHA season was the sixth season of the National Hockey Association and played from December 26, 1914 until March 3, 1915. Each team played 20 games. The Ottawa Senators won the NHA championship in a two game, total goal playoff against the Montreal Wanderers...
season, the Stanley Cup was awarded exclusively to the winner of a playoff between the NHA and the PCHA
Pacific Coast Hockey Association
The Pacific Coast Hockey Association was a professional men's ice hockey league in western Canada and the western United States, which operated from 1911 to 1924 when it then merged with the Western Canada Hockey League...
regular season winners. The league championship was decided by a two-game total goal playoff between the Wanderers and the Senators. Ottawa won the championship, and the right to defend the Cup against Vancouver
Vancouver Millionaires
The Vancouver Millionaires were a professional ice hockey team that competed in the Pacific Coast Hockey Association and the Western Canada Hockey League between 1911 and 1926...
in a three game series in which Vancouver won in dominating fashion. The notion of a league champion being awarded the Cup to defend ceased with that season, as the Portland Rosebuds
Portland Rosebuds
Portland Rosebuds is the name of at least three professional teams based in Portland, Oregon during the first half of the 20th century. Two were professional men's ice hockey teams playing their home games at the Portland Ice Arena, one from 1914 to 1918 and another in 1925-6...
were the PCHA champions in 1915–1916 but were not automatically accorded the Cup. Instead, they played the Montreal Canadiens for the trophy (and became the first American team to do so), which the Canadiens won in a five game series. However both Ottawa in 1915 and Portland in 1916 engraved their names on the Stanley Cup as well as the eventual champions.
1915-17: World War I and the end of the NHA
The start of World War I meant that players started enlisting for the military to fight overseas. By 1915, World War I and PCHA raiding left the NHA without enough quality players. At first, the NHA and PCHA would make peace with an agreement limiting PCHA signings of NHA players to those on teams designated by a 'draft'. However the peace would not last and disputes within the NHA and with the PCHA would lead to the end of the NHA. Two factions would develop, Toronto and Quebec City, and the Montreal teams and Ottawa.Prior to the 1915–16 season, Toronto Shamrocks team owner Eddie Livingstone made two moves that infuriated the NHA and the PCHA. At that time Quebec was to be one of the designated NHA teams which the PCHA would draft players from. Livingstone arranged a trade with Quebec to hide some players from the draft, infuriating the PCHA. He bought the Toronto Blueshirts without league permission for its players, and ended up with no players for the Shamrocks team as the PCHA in retaliation raided the Blueshirts for players. The league ordered Livingstone to sell his Shamrocks franchise, but he was unable to do so as he had only enough players for one team. The 1915–16 season was played with only five teams, a situation whereby one team each week would not play, a situation limiting team owner revenues and infuriating the other owners. Instead of two games in Toronto to cover travel expenses from the other cities, there was only one per trip.
In 1916, the league stripped Livingstone of the Shamrocks franchise and fielded a second team in Toronto for the 1916–17 season. The team was composed of hockey players who had enlisted for wartime duty. The team, known as the 228th Battalion
Toronto 228th Battalion (NHA)
The Toronto 228th Battalion was an ice hockey team, composed entirely of troops in the 228th Battalion, CEF of the Canadian Army, in the National Hockey Association for the 1916–17 season....
or Northern Fusiliers, played wearing khaki military uniforms and was the league's most popular and highest scoring club until the regiment was ordered overseas in February 1917 and the team was forced to withdraw. A scandal ensued when several stars were subsequently discharged and alleged they had been promised commissions solely to play hockey for the military team. The Battalion dropping out left the league at five teams again. Instead of continuing with five teams, the league suspended the Blueshirts also and dispersed its players to the other clubs and continued with four teams. Livingstone threatened to sue the league over the suspension, infuriating the other owners. The league next made a demand that Livingstone sell the Toronto franchise between April and June 1917. Instead of selling, Livingstone followed through with his threat to sue the NHA.
The season would prove to be the NHA's last. The owners of the Canadiens, Wanderers, Senators and Bulldogs wanted nothing more to do with Livingstone, but discovered the NHA constitution didn't allow them to simply expel him from the league. Instead, they met in November 1917 to suspend the NHA's operations and then formed the National Hockey League
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
so that they could continue the business of pro hockey without Livingstone. Every owner except Livingstone was granted a franchise in the NHL and the NHA contracts transferred. Wanderers owner Sam Lichtenhein
Sam Lichtenhein
Samuel "Sam" Edward Lichtenhein was a businessman and sports executive. He was the owner and president of the Montreal Wanderers ice hockey team of the National Hockey Association , later National Hockey League and the owner of the Montreal Royals baseball team.-Personal life:Lichtenhein was born...
was quoted as saying, "We didn't throw Livingstone out; he's still got his franchise in the old National Hockey Association. He has his team, and we wish him well. The only problem is he's playing in a one-team league."
The Bulldogs, however, announced they didn't have enough financing to ice a team for the NHL's first season. Wanting to balance the schedule, and feeling it unthinkable not to have a team from Canada's second-largest city, the NHL granted a temporary franchise to the Toronto Arena Company, which inherited the Blueshirts' contracts. This temporary franchise would evolve into today's Toronto Maple Leafs
Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
.
The NHA's organization did not dissolve immediately. The owners had launched a lawsuit against the Battalion to attempt to make the Canadian Army pay $3000 for leaving the league and this had yet to be heard in court. The NHL could operate in the meantime, without Livingstone.
The NHA's officials met nearly a year later, on September 20, 1918, when a vote was taken to permanently suspend operations over Livingstone's objections. That fall, Livingstone, along with Percy Quinn would attempt to launch a rival "Canadian Hockey Association" (CHA) unsuccessfully. Blocked, Livingstone and Quinn would call a final meeting of the NHA owners on December 11, 1918. The NHL owners, against the wishes of Frank Calder, attended the meeting. Calder considered that an NHA meeting could not proceed with shareholders not having paid legal fees owed the league books held in court for lawsuits. Livingstone's plan was to use the fact that the Canadiens had a minority shareholder, contrary to NHA voting rules, to disallow the Canadiens vote and cause the vote to swing their way and lead to the resumption of the NHA. At first, Lichtenhein refused to recognize Quinn's purchase of the Quebec NHL franchise, but agreed to if Quinn would pay the costs of the meeting itself, which he refused. The meeting ended when the NHL owners offered to pay legal fees owed to the NHA so as to proceed, according to Calder's terms, but Livingstone and Quinn refused. The NHL owners then left the meeting. Separately, the Montreal and Ottawa NHA owners met and paid the fees owing to the league and Calder fined the Torontos, Ontarios and Quebec a further $200. Calder now publicly promised to file a court order to "wind up" the NHA organization. When the NHL decided to continue with play, Livingstone and Quinn threatened injunctions to stop the NHL from operating. However, the threats were not followed through on and the NHL season began on schedule. The NHA organization itself was not formally dissolved for several years afterwards and Frank Calder
Frank Calder
-External links:*...
held the presidency in both organizations.
Legacy
The NHA was innovative for its time. The league put forth several innovations, among them the abolition of the rover position in 1912, (a labour-saving measure), the inclusion of numbers on jerseys, the institution of match penalties and allowing line changes on the fly.The championship trophy of the NHA was the O'Brien Cup
O'Brien Trophy
The O'Brien Trophy, or O'Brien Cup, as labelled on the trophy itself, is a retired trophy that was awarded in the National Hockey Association and the National Hockey League ice hockey leagues of North America from 1910 to 1950. It was originally donated to the NHA by Canadian Senator M.J....
, made of solid silver, donated by the O'Brien family. It survived as the championship trophy of the NHL until 1927. It was awarded annually as a NHL trophy afterward before being retired in 1950.
Two current NHL teams, the Canadiens and Maple Leafs, have roots in the NHA. While the Canadiens acknowledge their NHA history and records, the Maple Leafs do not claim the Blueshirts' history as their own.
Season by season record
| Season | Teams | Champion |
|---|---|---|
| 1910 1910 NHA season The 1910 NHA season was the first season of the National Hockey Association men's ice hockey league. The season started on January 5, but was suspended immediately and the league then absorbed the Ottawa and Shamrocks teams of the Canadian Hockey Association and the season continued from January 15... |
Cobalt Silver Kings Cobalt Silver Kings The Cobalt Silver Kings are a defunct ice hockey club which played in Cobalt, Ontario, Canada from 1906 to 1911, notably during the 1910 NHA season, founding season of the National Hockey Association forerunner of today's National Hockey League... , Haileybury Comets, Montreal Canadiens Montreal Canadiens The Montreal Canadiens are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The club is officially known as ... , Montreal Shamrocks Montreal Shamrocks The Montreal Shamrocks were an amateur, later professional, men's ice hockey club in existence from 1886, merging with the Montreal Crystals club in 1896. They won the Stanley Cup ice hockey championship in 1899 and 1900... , Montreal Wanderers Montreal Wanderers The Montreal Wanderers were a Canadian amateur, and later becoming a professional men's ice hockey team. The team played in the Federal Amateur Hockey League , the Eastern Canada Amateur Hockey Association , the National Hockey Association and briefly the National Hockey League . The Wanderers are... , Ottawa Senators Ottawa Senators (original) The Ottawa Senators were an amateur, and later, professional, ice hockey team based in Ottawa, Canada which existed from 1883 to 1954. The club was the first hockey club in Ontario, a founding member of the National Hockey League and played in the NHL from 1917 until 1934... †, Renfrew Creamery Kings Renfrew Creamery Kings The Renfrew Hockey Club, also known as the Creamery Kings and the "Renfrew Millionaires" was a founding franchise in 1909 of the National Hockey Association, the precursor to the National Hockey League... |
Montreal Wanderers† |
| 1910–11 | Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Wanderers, Ottawa Senators, Quebec Bulldogs Quebec Bulldogs The Quebec Bulldogs were a men's senior-level ice hockey team officially known as the Quebec Hockey Club, later as the Quebec Athletic Club. Their recorded play goes back as far as the Amateur Hockey Association of Canada in 1889, although the Quebec Hockey Club is known to have played since 1880... , Renfrew Creamery Kings |
Ottawa Senators† |
| 1911–12 | Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Wanderers, Ottawa Senators, Quebec Bulldogs | Quebec Bulldogs† |
| 1912–13 | Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Wanderers, Ottawa Senators, Quebec Bulldogs, Toronto Toronto Blueshirts The Toronto Hockey Club, known as the Torontos and the Toronto Blue Shirts were a professional National Hockey Association team that played in Toronto, Ontario, Canada... , Toronto Tecumsehs Toronto Tecumsehs The Tecumseh Hockey Club, also known as the Toronto Tecumsehs and nicknamed the Indians, were a team in the National Hockey Association in 1912-13. They then became the Toronto Ontarios.... |
Quebec Bulldogs† |
| 1913–14 1913–14 NHA season The 1913–14 NHA season was the fifth season of the National Hockey Association . At the end of the regular season, a tie for first place necessitated a playoff to determine the championship. The Toronto Hockey Club defeated the Montreal Canadiens 6–2 in a two-game, total-goals playoff... |
Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Wanderers, Ottawa Senators, Quebec Bulldogs, Toronto, Toronto Ontarios Toronto Ontarios The Toronto Ontarios was a professional men's ice hockey team in the National Hockey Association from 1912 to 1915 based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada... |
Toronto† (won playoff over Canadiens) |
| 1914–15 1914–15 NHA season The 1914–15 NHA season was the sixth season of the National Hockey Association and played from December 26, 1914 until March 3, 1915. Each team played 20 games. The Ottawa Senators won the NHA championship in a two game, total goal playoff against the Montreal Wanderers... |
Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Wanderers, Ottawa Senators, Quebec Bulldogs, Toronto, Toronto Shamrocks | Ottawa Senators (won playoff over Wanderers) |
| 1915–16 | Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Wanderers, Ottawa Senators, Quebec Bulldogs, Toronto | Montreal Canadiens† |
| 1916–17 | Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Wanderers, Ottawa Senators, Quebec Bulldogs, Toronto*, Toronto 228th Battalion Toronto 228th Battalion (NHA) The Toronto 228th Battalion was an ice hockey team, composed entirely of troops in the 228th Battalion, CEF of the Canadian Army, in the National Hockey Association for the 1916–17 season.... * |
Montreal Canadiens (won playoff over Ottawa) |
† Stanley Cup Champions. In 1910, both the Wanderers and Senators are considered champions.
Team history
| Team | Years | Origin |
|---|---|---|
| Cobalt Silver Kings Cobalt Silver Kings The Cobalt Silver Kings are a defunct ice hockey club which played in Cobalt, Ontario, Canada from 1906 to 1911, notably during the 1910 NHA season, founding season of the National Hockey Association forerunner of today's National Hockey League... |
1909–10 | from TPHL Timiskaming Professional Hockey League The Timiskaming Professional Hockey League was a minor professional ice hockey league based in the area of Lake Timiskaming, Canada. Founded in 1906, the league is notable for providing teams and Ambrose O'Brien, the founder of the National Hockey Association, which became today's National Hockey... , returned to TPHL in 1911, NHA franchise bought by Quebec Bulldogs Quebec Bulldogs The Quebec Bulldogs were a men's senior-level ice hockey team officially known as the Quebec Hockey Club, later as the Quebec Athletic Club. Their recorded play goes back as far as the Amateur Hockey Association of Canada in 1889, although the Quebec Hockey Club is known to have played since 1880... in 1911 |
| Haileybury Comets | 1909–10 | from TPHL Timiskaming Professional Hockey League The Timiskaming Professional Hockey League was a minor professional ice hockey league based in the area of Lake Timiskaming, Canada. Founded in 1906, the league is notable for providing teams and Ambrose O'Brien, the founder of the National Hockey Association, which became today's National Hockey... , returned to TPHL in 1911. Franchise taken over by Montreal Canadiens Montreal Canadiens The Montreal Canadiens are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The club is officially known as ... . |
| Les Canadiens Les Canadiens Les Canadiens was the original name of the Montreal Canadiens Canadian ice hockey team in the National Hockey Association, as used in the 1910 season... /Montreal Canadiens Montreal Canadiens The Montreal Canadiens are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The club is officially known as ... |
1909–1917 | new, originally held by O'Brien; taken over by Kennedy after 1910 season, using Haileybury NHA franchise from O'Brien, Les Canadiens franchise suspended and sold in 1912 to Toronto. |
| Montreal Shamrocks Montreal Shamrocks The Montreal Shamrocks were an amateur, later professional, men's ice hockey club in existence from 1886, merging with the Montreal Crystals club in 1896. They won the Stanley Cup ice hockey championship in 1899 and 1900... |
1910 | from ECHA, joined January 1910 |
| Montreal Wanderers Montreal Wanderers The Montreal Wanderers were a Canadian amateur, and later becoming a professional men's ice hockey team. The team played in the Federal Amateur Hockey League , the Eastern Canada Amateur Hockey Association , the National Hockey Association and briefly the National Hockey League . The Wanderers are... |
1909–17 | from ECHA, joined December 1909 |
| Ottawa Senators Ottawa Senators (original) The Ottawa Senators were an amateur, and later, professional, ice hockey team based in Ottawa, Canada which existed from 1883 to 1954. The club was the first hockey club in Ontario, a founding member of the National Hockey League and played in the NHL from 1917 until 1934... |
1910–17 | from ECHA, joined January 1910 |
| Quebec Bulldogs Quebec Bulldogs The Quebec Bulldogs were a men's senior-level ice hockey team officially known as the Quebec Hockey Club, later as the Quebec Athletic Club. Their recorded play goes back as far as the Amateur Hockey Association of Canada in 1889, although the Quebec Hockey Club is known to have played since 1880... |
1910–17 | from ECHA, joined December 1910 |
| Renfrew Creamery Kings Renfrew Creamery Kings The Renfrew Hockey Club, also known as the Creamery Kings and the "Renfrew Millionaires" was a founding franchise in 1909 of the National Hockey Association, the precursor to the National Hockey League... |
1909–11 | from Federal League, joined December 1909, folded in 1911. Franchise sold to Tecumsehs. |
| Toronto, aka Toronto Blueshirts Toronto Blueshirts The Toronto Hockey Club, known as the Torontos and the Toronto Blue Shirts were a professional National Hockey Association team that played in Toronto, Ontario, Canada... |
1912–17 | new, franchise bought from O'Brien. |
| Toronto Tecumsehs Toronto Tecumsehs The Tecumseh Hockey Club, also known as the Toronto Tecumsehs and nicknamed the Indians, were a team in the National Hockey Association in 1912-13. They then became the Toronto Ontarios.... renamed Toronto Ontarios Toronto Ontarios The Toronto Ontarios was a professional men's ice hockey team in the National Hockey Association from 1912 to 1915 based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada... , 1913–1914 renamed Toronto Shamrocks, 1915 |
1912–16 | new, franchise bought from O'Brien. |
| Toronto 228th Battalion Toronto 228th Battalion (NHA) The Toronto 228th Battalion was an ice hockey team, composed entirely of troops in the 228th Battalion, CEF of the Canadian Army, in the National Hockey Association for the 1916–17 season.... |
1916–17 | new, took place of Tecumsehs/Ontarios/Shamrocks for 1916–17 season, composed of professional hockey players in military |
See also
- 1918–19 NHL season
- Stanley CupStanley CupThe Stanley Cup is an ice hockey club trophy, awarded annually to the National Hockey League playoffs champion after the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Finals. It has been referred to as The Cup, Lord Stanley's Cup, The Holy Grail, or facetiously as Lord Stanley's Mug...
- List of Stanley Cup champions
- O'Brien CupO'Brien TrophyThe O'Brien Trophy, or O'Brien Cup, as labelled on the trophy itself, is a retired trophy that was awarded in the National Hockey Association and the National Hockey League ice hockey leagues of North America from 1910 to 1950. It was originally donated to the NHA by Canadian Senator M.J....
- List of pre-NHL seasons
- List of ice hockey leagues
- National Hockey LeagueNational Hockey LeagueThe National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...