Toronto St. Patricks
Encyclopedia
The Toronto St. Patricks professional men's ice hockey
team started as an amateur ice hockey organization. In 1919, the club purchased the Toronto National Hockey League
(NHL) franchise from the NHL. The club renamed the franchise the Toronto St. Patricks club and operated the franchise until 1927, when it was sold to a partnership of Conn Smythe
and Toronto investors. The club won the Stanley Cup
in 1922.
.
The Toronto NHL franchise, since the NHL's founding in 1917, had been operated by the Arena Company, operators of the Arena Gardens
in Toronto. The Arena Company had been granted a temporary franchise for the 1917-18 season, and leased the players from the Toronto Blue Shirts from owner Eddie Livingstone while litigation was underway between Livingstone and the NHL. This temporary franchise won the Stanley Cup in 1918. However, instead of returning the players to Livingstone, the Arena Company formed the Toronto Arena Hockey Club, popularly known as the Toronto Arenas
, with Arena Company auditor Hubert Vearncombe as team president. This new organization was duly admitted to the NHL as a full member in good standing, touching off a new round of litigation with Livingstone which forced the Arenas to unload most of their stars. They only won five games in 1918-19, and were forced to suspend operations in February.
Livingstone won a $20,000 judgment against the Arena Company, which declared bankruptcy to avoid paying the bill. Before the 1919–20 season, general manager Charlie Querrie learned that the Arena Company wanted to sell. As an interim measure, Querrie changed the team name to the Tecumsehs on December 7, 1919. The following day, Querrie reached agreement with the owners of the amateur St. Patrick's club to purchase the franchise. Frank Heffernan was named as manager. On December 13, 1919, the NHL transferred the Toronto franchise to the Querrie St. Patricks group, for the fee of $5,000. While the money was to go to Livingstone to settle the purchase of his NHA club, it appeared that NHL president Frank Calder
kept the money. The incorporation date of the club was December 22, 1919, and listed Fred Hambly, Percy Hambly, Paul Ciceri and Querrie with 99 shares each, and Richard Greer with 4 shares. This move was possible because the Arena Hockey Club was a self-contained corporation, and was therefore beyond the legal reach of Livingstone.
Although Querrie returned, player turnover was nearly 100%, partly because the Quebec NHL franchise was activating for this season, and the players that had been loaned to the Arenas and other NHL teams had been returned to Quebec. Additionally, with the poor performance of the previous season, and the turnover in franchise management, the franchise essentially started over. The club improved to second and third place finishes in the halves of the schedule.
In 1920–21, the club placed second and first in the schedule halves, enough to make a playoff appearance. Unfortunately, the 'Super Six' of Ottawa would dominate the club 7–0 in a two-game total goals playoff. The experience would be helpful in the following season, however.
Final. After placing second in the league standings, the club upset first place Ottawa to win the NHL championship and face Vancouver in the final. A fifth and deciding game five was necessary in this series to determine who would win the Cup. After Vancouver won game one, 4–3, Babe Dye
scored 4:50 into overtime of game two to give Toronto a 2–1 win. Then in game three, goaltender Hugh Lehman led the Millionaires to a 3–0 shutout win. However, the St. Patricks tied the series in game four, 6–0, as John Ross Roach
became the first rookie goaltender to record a Stanley Cup shutout. game five belonged to Toronto as Dye scored 4 goals in a 5–1 victory to clinch the Cup. For the series, Dye scored 9 out of the St. Pats 16 goals, while Roach posted a 1.80 goals-against average.
. While Hamilton had played first, the club was on strike, making the St. Pats-Canadiens semi-final the de facto final. The Canadiens would win the playoff to advance to the Stanley Cup Final.
In 1925–26, the club struggled to a sixth placing, finishing behind the expansion Pittsburgh and New York clubs. Top scorer Babe Dye struggled and the club finished sixth out of seven teams. The Canadiens had lost their top goalie Georges Vezina
and placed last. In 1926–27, the club finished fifth and last in the new Canadian division. Dye was sold to the new Chicago Black Hawks team for cash.
put together an ownership group of his own and made a $160,000 offer for the franchise. With the support of St. Pats shareholder J. P. Bickell, Smythe persuaded Querrie to reject the Philadelphia bid, arguing that civic pride was more important than money.
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes, TG = Playoff series decided on total goals
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...
team started as an amateur ice hockey organization. In 1919, the club purchased the Toronto 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) franchise from the NHL. The club renamed the franchise the Toronto St. Patricks club and operated the franchise until 1927, when it was sold to a partnership of Conn Smythe
Conn Smythe
Constantine Falkland Cary Smythe MC was a Canadian businessman, soldier and sportsman in ice hockey and horse racing. He is best known as the principal owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League from 1927 to 1961 and as the builder of Maple Leaf Gardens...
and Toronto investors. The club won 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...
in 1922.
Early years
The St. Pats organization had operated amateur hockey clubs in the Toronto area since the first decade of the 1900s, including the senior amateur St. Patricks team in the Ontario Hockey AssociationOntario Hockey Association
The Ontario Hockey Association is the governing body for the majority of Junior and Senior level ice hockey teams in the Province of Ontario. The OHA is sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Federation along with the Northern Ontario Hockey Association. Other Ontario sanctioning bodies along with the...
.
The Toronto NHL franchise, since the NHL's founding in 1917, had been operated by the Arena Company, operators of the Arena Gardens
Mutual Street Arena
Mutual Street Arena, initially called Arena Gardens or just the Arena, was an ice hockey arena and sports and entertainment venue in Toronto, Ontario...
in Toronto. The Arena Company had been granted a temporary franchise for the 1917-18 season, and leased the players from the Toronto Blue Shirts from owner Eddie Livingstone while litigation was underway between Livingstone and the NHL. This temporary franchise won the Stanley Cup in 1918. However, instead of returning the players to Livingstone, the Arena Company formed the Toronto Arena Hockey Club, popularly known as the Toronto Arenas
Toronto Arenas
The Toronto Arenas, Toronto Blueshirts or Torontos was a professional men's ice hockey team that played in the first two seasons of the National Hockey League . It was operated by the owner of the Arena Gardens, the Toronto Arena Company...
, with Arena Company auditor Hubert Vearncombe as team president. This new organization was duly admitted to the NHL as a full member in good standing, touching off a new round of litigation with Livingstone which forced the Arenas to unload most of their stars. They only won five games in 1918-19, and were forced to suspend operations in February.
Livingstone won a $20,000 judgment against the Arena Company, which declared bankruptcy to avoid paying the bill. Before the 1919–20 season, general manager Charlie Querrie learned that the Arena Company wanted to sell. As an interim measure, Querrie changed the team name to the Tecumsehs on December 7, 1919. The following day, Querrie reached agreement with the owners of the amateur St. Patrick's club to purchase the franchise. Frank Heffernan was named as manager. On December 13, 1919, the NHL transferred the Toronto franchise to the Querrie St. Patricks group, for the fee of $5,000. While the money was to go to Livingstone to settle the purchase of his NHA club, it appeared that NHL president Frank Calder
Frank Calder
-External links:*...
kept the money. The incorporation date of the club was December 22, 1919, and listed Fred Hambly, Percy Hambly, Paul Ciceri and Querrie with 99 shares each, and Richard Greer with 4 shares. This move was possible because the Arena Hockey Club was a self-contained corporation, and was therefore beyond the legal reach of Livingstone.
Although Querrie returned, player turnover was nearly 100%, partly because the Quebec NHL franchise was activating for this season, and the players that had been loaned to the Arenas and other NHL teams had been returned to Quebec. Additionally, with the poor performance of the previous season, and the turnover in franchise management, the franchise essentially started over. The club improved to second and third place finishes in the halves of the schedule.
In 1920–21, the club placed second and first in the schedule halves, enough to make a playoff appearance. Unfortunately, the 'Super Six' of Ottawa would dominate the club 7–0 in a two-game total goals playoff. The experience would be helpful in the following season, however.
1922 Stanley Cup champions
In the 1921–22 season, the St. Pats made their first and only appearance in the Stanley CupStanley 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...
Final. After placing second in the league standings, the club upset first place Ottawa to win the NHL championship and face Vancouver in the final. A fifth and deciding game five was necessary in this series to determine who would win the Cup. After Vancouver won game one, 4–3, Babe Dye
Babe Dye
Cecil Henry "Babe" Dye was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward who played 11 seasons in the National Hockey League for the Toronto St. Pats, Chicago Black Hawks, New York Americans and Toronto Maple Leafs. He was the NHL's top goal scorer of the 1920s and is a member of the Hockey Hall of...
scored 4:50 into overtime of game two to give Toronto a 2–1 win. Then in game three, goaltender Hugh Lehman led the Millionaires to a 3–0 shutout win. However, the St. Patricks tied the series in game four, 6–0, as John Ross Roach
John Ross Roach
John Ross Roach was a Canadian ice hockey goaltender in the National Hockey League. Roach was known for his acrobatic style of goaltending. He was a First Team All-Star during the 1932–33 NHL season. He won a Stanley Cup in 1922...
became the first rookie goaltender to record a Stanley Cup shutout. game five belonged to Toronto as Dye scored 4 goals in a 5–1 victory to clinch the Cup. For the series, Dye scored 9 out of the St. Pats 16 goals, while Roach posted a 1.80 goals-against average.
Later years
In the following two seasons, the St. Pats would miss the playoffs with third place finishes. In 1924–25, the club would place second and play off against the Montreal CanadiensMontreal 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 ...
. While Hamilton had played first, the club was on strike, making the St. Pats-Canadiens semi-final the de facto final. The Canadiens would win the playoff to advance to the Stanley Cup Final.
In 1925–26, the club struggled to a sixth placing, finishing behind the expansion Pittsburgh and New York clubs. Top scorer Babe Dye struggled and the club finished sixth out of seven teams. The Canadiens had lost their top goalie Georges Vezina
Georges Vézina
Joseph-Georges-Gonzague Vézina was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender who played seven seasons in the National Hockey Association and nine in the National Hockey League , all with the Montreal Canadiens...
and placed last. In 1926–27, the club finished fifth and last in the new Canadian division. Dye was sold to the new Chicago Black Hawks team for cash.
Franchise sale to Smythe
The club was in trouble in 1927, both on the ice and legally. Querrie lost a lawsuit to Livingstone and decided to put the St. Pats up for sale. He gave serious consideration to a $200,000 bid from a Philadelphia group. However, Toronto Varsity Graduates coach Conn SmytheConn Smythe
Constantine Falkland Cary Smythe MC was a Canadian businessman, soldier and sportsman in ice hockey and horse racing. He is best known as the principal owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League from 1927 to 1961 and as the builder of Maple Leaf Gardens...
put together an ownership group of his own and made a $160,000 offer for the franchise. With the support of St. Pats shareholder J. P. Bickell, Smythe persuaded Querrie to reject the Philadelphia bid, arguing that civic pride was more important than money.
Seasons
| Stanley Cup Champions | Conference Champions | Division Champions/Reg. Season Leader | League Leader |
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes, TG = Playoff series decided on total goals
| Season | GP | W | L | T | OTL | Pts | GF | GA | PIM | Finish | Playoffs |
| 1919–20 1919–20 Toronto St. Patricks season The 1919–20 Toronto St. Patricks season was the third season of the Toronto National Hockey League franchise. The franchise was sold to the owners of the Toronto St. Patricks amateur hockey association and renamed the St. Patricks... |
24 | 12 | 12 | 0 | |||||||
| 24 | 119 | 106 | 219 | 3rd in NHL(1st half) 2nd in NHL(2nd half) |
Did not qualify | ||||||
| 1920–21 1920–21 Toronto St. Patricks season The 1920–21 Toronto St. Patricks season was the Toronto National Hockey League franchise's fourth season, second as the St. Patricks. The club won the regular season schedule, but lost in the playoffs and did not play for the Stanley Cup.-Game log:... |
24 | 15 | 9 | 0 | |||||||
| 30 | 105 | 100 | 254 | 2nd in NHL(1st half) 1st in NHL(2nd half) |
Lost in NHL Finals (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... ) |
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| 1921–22 1921–22 Toronto St. Patricks season The 1921–22 Toronto St. Patricks season was the fifth season of the Toronto NHL franchise, third as the St. Patricks. The St. Patricks would win the NHL championship and the Stanley Cup.-Regular season:... |
24 | 13 | 10 | 1 | |||||||
| 27 | 98 | 97 | 114 | 2nd in NHL | 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... Champions, 3–2 (Millionaires 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... ) |
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| 1922–23 1922–23 Toronto St. Patricks season The 1922–23 Toronto St. Patricks season was the sixth season of operation of the Toronto National Hockey League franchise. The St. Pats failed to repeat as Stanley Cup champions, not qualifying for the playoffs, by finishing third.-Game log:... |
24 | 13 | 10 | 1 | |||||||
| 27 | 82 | 88 | 200 | 3rd in NHL | Did not qualify | ||||||
| 1923–24 1923–24 Toronto St. Patricks season The 1923–24 Toronto St. Patricks was Toronto's seventh in the National Hockey League . The St. Patricks finished third to miss the playoffs.-Game log:-Player stats:-Transactions:* September 6, 1923: Babe Dye announces retirement... |
24 | 10 | 14 | 0 | |||||||
| 20 | 59 | 85 | 178 | 3rd in NHL | Did not qualify | ||||||
| 1924–25 1924–25 Toronto St. Patricks season The 1924–25 Toronto St. Patricks season was Toronto's eighth in the National Hockey League . The St. Pats qualified for the playoffs, finishing second. The St. Pats lost to the Montreal Canadiens in what turned out to be the NHL championship when Hamilton was suspended..-Game log:-Playoffs:The... |
30 | 19 | 11 | 0 | |||||||
| 38 | 90 | 84 | 249 | 2nd in NHL | Lost in NHL Finals (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 ... ) |
||||||
| 1925–26 1925–26 Toronto St. Patricks season The 1925–26 Toronto St. Patricks season was Toronto's ninth in the National Hockey League . The St. Pats slipped to sixth in the standings and missed the playoffs.-Game log:-Player stats:-Transactions:... |
36 | 12 | 21 | 3 | |||||||
| 27 | 92 | 114 | 325 | 6th in NHL | Did not qualify | ||||||
| 1926–27 1926–27 Toronto St. Patricks season The 1926–27 Toronto St. Patricks season was the tenth season and the last under the St. Patricks banner for the Toronto National Hockey League franchise. In February 1927, Conn Smythe and investors purchased the St. Patricks and changed the name to the Toronto Maple Leafs... 1 |
44 | 15 | 24 | 5 | |||||||
| 35 | 79 | 94 | 546 | 5th in Canadian | Did not qualify |
Coaches
- Frank HeffernanFrank HeffernanFrank Heffernan was a Canadian professional hockey defenceman and coach.From Peterborough, Ontario, Heffernan played junior hockey in his home town and then played at the senior level in Toronto with the Toronto Rugby and Athletic Association club and the Toronto Victorias...
- Harvey SprouleHarvey SprouleF. Harvey Sproule was a Canadian hockey player, National Hockey League coach, owner, executive, and referee, as well as a curler, journalist, and race horse owner....
- Frank CarrollFrank Carroll (ice hockey)Frank Carroll a former Canadian ice hockey player and coach. Carroll was head coach of the Toronto St. Pats for one season, 1920–21. He won the Stanley Cup with brother Dick in 1914, 1918 serving as the Trainer.-Coaching record:-External links:...
- George O'DonoghueGeorge O'DonoghueGeorge O'Donoghue was the head coach of the Toronto St. Pats when they won the Stanley Cup championship in 1922.-Coaching record:-Awards and achievements:*1922 Stanley Cup Championship...
- Charlie Querrie
- Eddie PowersEddie PowersEddie Powers is a former Canadian ice hockey player and coach. Powers was head coach of the Toronto St. Pats for two seasons.-Coaching record:-External links:...
- Mike RoddenMike RoddenMichael James Rodden was a Canadian sports journalist, National Hockey League referee, and Canadian football coach, and was the first person elected to both the Hockey Hall of Fame and the Canadian Football Hall of Fame .Born in Mattawa, Ontario, Rodden officiated in 1,187 National Hockey League...
See also
- Eddie Livingstone
- Toronto Maple LeafsToronto Maple LeafsThe 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...
- History of the National Hockey LeagueHistory of the National Hockey LeagueThe history of the National Hockey League begins with the end of its predecessor league, the National Hockey Association , in 1917. After unsuccessfully resolving disputes with Eddie Livingstone, owner of the Toronto Blueshirts, executives of the three other NHA franchises suspended the NHA, and...
- History of the Toronto Maple LeafsHistory of the Toronto Maple LeafsThis is a history of the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League.-Early years :The beginnings of the Maple Leafs NHL franchise arose out of a long-running dispute between Eddie Livingstone, owner of the National Hockey Association's Toronto Blueshirts, and his fellow NHA owners...
- List of Stanley Cup champions
- 1922 Stanley Cup Finals