1934–35 St. Louis Eagles season

Off-season

The St. Louis Arena had an ice surface that was 215 ft × 115 ft, reputedly the "largest ice surface in the world". The rink was cut down to the league standard 75 ft wide, but left 215 ft, leaving a neutral zone of 75 ft. It was the largest ice surface in the NHL.

Regular season

The first NHL game in St. Louis was played on November 8, 1934, against the Chicago Black Hawks with a paid attendance of 12,622. The Eagles lost 3–1 and their only goal was scored by Earl Roche.

The Eagles were led offensively by Carl Voss and his team-leading 31 points, team captain Syd Howe would lead the club with 14 goals, despite being traded to the Detroit Red Wings late in the season, while Glen Brydson would finish second in team scoring with 29 points. Frank Jerwa, acquired from the Boston Bruins, would lead the defense with 11 points in 16 games in St. Louis.

Bill Beveridge was the Eagles' only goaltender, winning 11 games with a 2.89 goals against average (GAA) and 3 shutouts.

The strain of so many long train rides showed early on. Midway through the season, new head coach and former Senators player Eddie Gerard was relieved of his duties after a 2–11–0 start and was replaced by Buck Boucher, who was the head coach of the Senators the previous season. Boucher would post a 9–20–6 record in 35 games. The Eagles finished the season last in the NHL with a 11–31–6 record and a .292 winning percentage.

After the season, the franchise owners asked permission to suspend operations for a year. Instead, the NHL bought the players' contracts for and dispersed the players to other NHL teams. The NHL took back the franchise, on the condition that if it were resold, the original franchisees would share in the proceeds.

The Montreal Maroons nearly relocated to St. Louis in 1938, but the NHL nixed the move. St. Louis would be without an NHL team until the 1967–68 season, when the league expanded from 6 teams to 12, and granted the St. Louis Blues a place in the NHL.

Final standings

Record vs. opponents

Schedule and results

|- | 1 || November 8 || Chicago || 3–1 || St. Louis || || Beveridge || St. Louis Arena || 0–1–0 || 0 |- | 2 || November 10 || NY Rangers || 2–4 || St. Louis || || Beveridge || St. Louis Arena || 1–1–0 || 2 |- | 3 || November 13 || Mtl Maroons || 2–1 || St. Louis || OT || Beveridge || St. Louis Arena || 1–2–0 || 2 |- | 4 || November 17 || St. Louis || 0–1 || Boston || || Beveridge || Boston Garden || 1–3–0 || 2 |- | 5 || November 18 || St. Louis || 0–5 || NY Rangers || || Beveridge || Madison Square Garden || 1–4–0 || 2 |- | 6 || November 20 || Toronto || 5–2 || St. Louis || || Beveridge || St. Louis Arena || 1–5–0 || 2 |- | 7 || November 22 || St. Louis || 0–1 || Chicago || || Beveridge || Chicago Stadium || 1–6–0 || 2 |- | 8 || November 24 || Boston || 4–1 || St. Louis || || Beveridge || St. Louis Arena || 1–7–0 || 2 |- | 9 || November 25 || St. Louis || 1–4 || Detroit || || Beveridge || Detroit Olympia || 1–8–0 || 2

| Legend:

Player statistics

Skaters

Goaltenders

• Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Eagles. Stats reflect time with the Eagles only.
• Denotes player was traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Eagles only.

Awards and records

Transactions

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References

References

1. Wernig, Darin. (October 2014). "Gateway City Puckchasers: The History of Hockey in St. Louis". Wernig Media, LLC.
2. Colemen, Charles. "Trail of the Stanley Cup, vol. 2 1927–1946 inc".
3. (February 10, 1966). "Mixed Reaction Greets NHL Expansion Into Six Cities Across United States". Montreal Star Limited.
4. "1934-35 St. Louis Eagles Schedule".
5. "NHL.com - Stats - St. Louis Eagles Skaters - Regular season".
6. "NHL.com - Stats - St. Louis Eagles Goalies - Regular season".