1941–42 NHL season

League business

This was the last season for the Brooklyn Americans who had changed their name from the New York Americans in an attempt to build a civic relationship with those from the Flatbush area of New York. However, the team continued to play at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan since there was no suitable arena in Brooklyn.

Due to World War II travel restrictions on adults, the NHL demanded more junior-aged players who were free of the travel restrictions. NHL president Frank Calder reported there was a general agreement with the amateur leagues that a junior-aged player should be able to determine his own financial future due to the war.

Regular season

The Americans started the season without Harvey "Busher" Jackson who refused to sign. He was then sold to Boston. But the Amerks had two positive notes: two defencemen, Tommy Anderson and Pat Egan, were now All-Star calibre. That did not prevent them from finishing last, though. On December 9, 1941, the Chicago Black Hawks-Boston Bruins game would be delayed for over a half-hour as United States President Franklin Delano Roosevelt declared that the United States was at war.

Frank Patrick suffered a heart attack and had to sell his interest in the Montreal Canadiens, and the Habs almost had to move to Cleveland. But Tommy Gorman kept the team alive. They added Emile "Butch" Bouchard to start his great career on defence and another very good player, Buddy O'Connor, at centre. Montreal had goaltending problems as Bert Gardiner slumped, and rookie Paul Bibeault replaced him. He showed flashes of brilliance, but his inexperience showed. Joe Benoit starred with 20 goals, the first Canadien to do that since 1938–39, when Toe Blake did it.

The New York Rangers had a new goaltender as Sugar Jim Henry replaced the retired Dave Kerr. Henry was one of the reasons the Rangers finished first, something they did not do again for the next 50 years.

Final standings

Playoffs

Playoff bracket

The top six teams in the league qualified for the playoffs. The top two teams played in a best-of-seven Stanley Cup semifinal series. The third-place team then met the fourth-place team in one best-of-three series, and the fifth-place team faced the sixth-place team in another best-of-three series, to determine the participants for the other best-of-five semifinal series. The semifinal winners then met in a best-of-seven Stanley Cup Finals (scores in the bracket indicate the number of games won in each series).

| RD1-seed1=3 | RD1-team1=Boston | RD1-score1=2 | RD1-seed2=4 | RD1-team2=Chicago | RD1-score2=1 | RD1-seed3=5 | RD1-team3=Detroit | RD1-score3=2 | RD1-seed4=6 | RD1-team4=Montreal | RD1-score4=1 | RD2-seed1=1 | RD2-team1=New York | RD2-score1=2 | RD2-seed2=2 | RD2-team2=Toronto | RD2-score2=4 | RD2-seed3=3 | RD2-team3=Boston | RD2-score3=0 | RD2-seed4=5 | RD2-team4=Detroit | RD2-score4=2 | RD3-seed1=2 | RD3-team1=Toronto | RD3-score1=4 | RD3-seed2=5 | RD3-team2=Detroit | RD3-score2=3

Quarterfinals

(3) Boston Bruins vs. (4) Chicago Black Hawks

|1-1-1 =No scoring |1-1-2 =Roy Conacher (1) – 11:08 |1-2-1 =No scoring |1-2-2 =No scoring |1-3-1 =18:50 – Max Bentley (1) |1-3-2 =No scoring |1-4-1 =No scoring |1-4-2 =Des Smith (1) – 06:51 |goalie1-1 =Sam LoPresti |goalie1-2 =Frank Brimsek

|2-1-1 =No scoring |2-1-2 =No scoring |2-2-1 =Bill Mosienko (1) – 03:57 Alex Kaleta (1) – 10:19 Bill Carse (1) – 10:30 |2-2-2 =No scoring |2-3-1 =George Allen (1) – 06:27 |2-3-2 =No scoring |goalie2-1 =Sam LoPresti |goalie2-2 =Frank Brimsek

|3-1-1 =No scoring |3-1-2 =18:01 – Gordie Bruce (1) |3-2-1 =Max Bentley (2) – 07:09 Bill Mosienko (2) – pp – 15:26 |3-2-2 =00:48 – Gordie Bruce (2) 08:15 – Jack McGill (1) |3-3-1 =No scoring |3-3-2 =No scoring |goalie3-1 =Sam LoPresti |goalie3-2 =Frank Brimsek

(5) Detroit Red Wings vs. (6) Montreal Canadiens

|1-1-1 =No scoring |1-1-2 =11:32 – Don Grosso (1) |1-2-1 =Terry Reardon (1) – 09:57 |1-2-2 =02:35 – Don Grosso (2) |1-3-1 =No scoring |1-3-2 =No scoring |goalie1-1 =Paul Bibeault |goalie1-2 =Johnny Mowers

|2-1-1 =12:03 – pp – Jim Haggarty (1) |2-1-2 =No scoring |2-2-1 =10:26 – Terry Reardon (2) 17:20 – Butch Bouchard (1) |2-2-2 =No scoring |2-3-1 =15:41 – Joe Benoit (1) 16:17 – Gerry Heffernan (1) |2-3-2 =No scoring |goalie2-1 =Paul Bibeault |goalie2-2 =Johnny Mowers

|3-1-1 =No scoring |3-1-2 =No scoring |3-2-1 =Jim Haggarty (2) – 01:26 |3-2-2 =04:21 – Mud Bruneteau (1) 19:37 – Sid Abel (1) |3-3-1 =Gerry Heffernan (2) – 19:49 |3-3-2 =07:30 – Joe Carveth (1) 11:40 – Mud Bruneteau (2) 13:02 – Carl Liscombe (1) 19:33 – Carl Liscombe (2) |goalie3-1 =Paul Bibeault |goalie3-2 =Johnny Mowers

Semifinals

(1) New York Rangers vs. (2) Toronto Maple Leafs

|1-1-1 =04:15 – Gordie Drillon (1) 05:33 – Nick Metz (1) |1-1-2 =Babe Pratt (1) – 02:26 |1-2-1 =14:14 – Syl Apps (1) |1-2-2 =No scoring |1-3-1 =No scoring |1-3-2 =No scoring |goalie1-1 =Turk Broda |goalie1-2 =Jim Henry

|2-1-1 =John McCreedy (1) – 11:41 Gordie Drillon (2) – 19:32 |2-1-2 =No scoring |2-2-1 =No scoring |2-2-2 =No scoring |2-3-1 =John McCreedy (2) – 04:49 Billy Taylor (1) – 06:15 |2-3-2 =01:31 – pp – Mac Colville (1) 02:22 – pp – Mac Colville (2) |goalie2-1 =Turk Broda |goalie2-2 =Jim Henry

|3-1-1 =No scoring |3-1-2 =No scoring |3-2-1 =No scoring |3-2-2 =02:50 – pp – Alex Shibicky (1) 06:10 – Alan Kuntz (1) |3-3-1 =No scoring |3-3-2 =10:49 – Mac Colville (3) |goalie3-1 =Turk Broda |goalie3-2 =Jim Henry

|4-1-1 =No scoring |4-1-2 =No scoring |4-2-1 =No scoring |4-2-2 =No scoring |4-3-1 =09:09 – Syl Apps (2) 13:08 – Sweeney Schriner (1) |4-3-2 =Bryan Hextall (1) – 17:32 |goalie4-1 =Turk Broda |goalie4-2 =Jim Henry

|5-1-1 =No scoring |5-1-2 =02:01 – Alex Shibicky (2) 16:07 – Alex Shibicky (3) |5-2-1 =No scoring |5-2-2 =No scoring |5-3-1 =Pete Langelle (1) – 18:05 |5-3-2 =15:56 – Lynn Patrick (1) |goalie5-1 =Turk Broda |goalie5-2 =Jim Henry

|6-1-1 =11:41 – John McCreedy (3) |6-1-2 =No scoring |6-2-1 =00:50 – Pete Langelle (2) |6-2-2 =No scoring |6-3-1 =19:55 – Nick Metz (2) |6-3-2 =Phil Watson (1) – 10:31 Alf Pike (1) – pp – 12:18 |goalie6-1 =Turk Broda |goalie6-2 =Jim Henry

(3) Boston Bruins vs. (5) Detroit Red Wings

|1-1-1 =Mud Bruneteau (3) – 00:19 Eddie Wares (1) – 03:25 Carl Liscombe (3) – 10:49 |1-1-2 =16:24 – Roy Conacher (2) |1-2-1 =Don Grosso (3) – 01:00 Carl Liscombe (4) – 09:20 |1-2-2 =05:39 – Jack McGill (2) |1-3-1 =Sid Abel (2) – 09:00 |1-3-2 =09:15 – Jack McGill (3) 16:04 – Jack McGill (4) |goalie1-1 =Johnny Mowers |goalie1-2 =Frank Brimsek

|2-1-1 =03:50 – Joe Carveth (2) |2-1-2 =Herb Cain (1) – 08:32 |2-2-1 =No scoring |2-2-2 =No scoring |2-3-1 =09:46 – Joe Carveth (3) 19:54 – Don Grosso (4) |2-3-2 =No scoring |goalie2-1 =Johnny Mowers |goalie2-2 =Frank Brimsek

Stanley Cup Finals

Main article: 1942 Stanley Cup Finals

|1-1-1 =Don Grosso (5) – 01:38 Sid Abel (3) – 12:30 |1-1-2 =06:36 – John McCreedy (4) 12:59 – Sweeney Schriner (2) |1-2-1 =Don Grosso (6) – 14:11 |1-2-2 =No scoring |1-3-1 =No scoring |1-3-2 =No scoring |goalie1-1 =Johnny Mowers |goalie1-2 =Turk Broda

|2-1-1 =Don Grosso (7) – 11:48 Mud Bruneteau (4) – 14:17 |2-1-2 =No scoring |2-2-1 =No scoring |2-2-2 =11:13 – Sweeney Schriner (3) |2-3-1 =Don Grosso (8) – 04:15 Gerry Brown (1) – pp – 10:08 |2-3-2 =13:40 – Wally Stanowski (1) |goalie2-1 =Johnny Mowers |goalie2-2 =Turk Broda

|3-1-1 =18:20 – Gerry Brown (2) 18:40 – Joe Carveth (4) |3-1-2 =Lorne Carr (1) – 15:36 Lorne Carr (2) – 16:06 |3-2-1 =13:12 – Pat McReavy (1) 15:11 – Syd Howe (1) |3-2-2 =No scoring |3-3-1 =07:11 – Eddie Bush (1) |3-3-2 =No scoring |goalie3-1 =Johnny Mowers |goalie3-2 =Turk Broda

|4-1-1 =No scoring |4-1-2 =No scoring |4-2-1 =01:32 – Mud Bruneteau (5) 09:08 – Sid Abel (4) |4-2-2 =Bob Davidson (1) – 13:54 Lorne Carr (3) – 15:20 |4-3-1 =04:18 – Carl Liscombe (5) |4-3-2 =Syl Apps (3) – 06:15 Nick Metz (3) – 12:45 |goalie4-1 =Johnny Mowers |goalie4-2 =Turk Broda

|5-1-1 =No scoring |5-1-2 =09:29 – pp – Nick Metz (4) 15:14 – pp – Wally Stanowski (2) |5-2-1 =No scoring |5-2-2 =01:59 – Bob Goldham (1) 04:11 – Sweeney Schriner (4) 14:11 – Don Metz (1) 14:28 – Syl Apps (4) 16:44 – sh – Don Metz (2) |5-3-1 =Syd Howe (2) – 03:08 Alex Motter (1) – 14:03 Carl Liscombe (6) – pp – 15:45 |5-3-2 =05:36 – Don Metz (3) 09:25 – Syl Apps (5) |goalie5-1 =Johnny Mowers |goalie5-2 =Turk Broda

|6-1-1 =No scoring |6-1-2 =No scoring |6-2-1 =No scoring |6-2-2 =Don Metz (4) – 00:14 |6-3-1 =No scoring |6-3-2 =Bob Goldham (2) – 13:32 Billy Taylor (2) – 14:04 |goalie6-1 =Johnny Mowers |goalie6-2 =Turk Broda

|7-1-1 =No scoring |7-1-2 =No scoring |7-2-1 =Syd Howe (3) – 01:45 |7-2-2 =No scoring |7-3-1 =No scoring |7-3-2 =07:47 – Sweeney Schriner (5) 09:48 – Pete Langelle (3) 16:17 – Sweeney Schriner (6) |goalie7-1 =Johnny Mowers |goalie7-2 =Turk Broda

Awards

Player statistics

Scoring leaders

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

Source: NHL

Leading goaltenders

Note: GP = Games played; Mins – Minutes Played; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts

Coaches

• Boston Bruins: Art Ross
• Brooklyn Americans: Red Dutton
• Chicago Black Hawks: Paul Thompson
• Detroit Red Wings: Jack Adams
• Montreal Canadiens: Dick Irvin
• New York Rangers: Frank Boucher
• Toronto Maple Leafs: Hap Day

Debuts

The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1941–42 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs):

• Kenny Mosdell, Brooklyn Americans
• Harry Watson, Brooklyn Americans
• Bill Mosienko, Chicago Black Hawks
• Adam Brown, Detroit Red Wings
• Buddy O'Connor, Montreal Canadiens
• James Haggarty, Montreal Canadiens
• Emile "Butch" Bouchard, Montreal Canadiens
• Grant Warwick, New York Rangers
• Jim Henry, New York Rangers
• Bob Goldham, Toronto Maple Leafs
• Gaye Stewart*, Toronto Maple Leafs

Last games

The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1941–42 (listed with their last team):

• Eddie Wiseman, Boston Bruins
• Tommy Anderson, Brooklyn Americans
• Art Coulter, New York Rangers
• Pete Langelle, Toronto Maple Leafs

References

• {{cite book |last1=Fischler |first1=Stan |last2=Fischler |first2=Shirley

;Notes

References

1. (April 20, 1942). "Amateurs Receive $17,000". Winnipeg Tribune.
2. (August 22, 1942). "Young Players For N.H.L. Clubs?". Winnipeg Tribune.
3. Hockey's Book of Firsts, p.71, James Duplacey, JG Press, {{ISBN. 978-1-57215-037-9