From Surf Wiki (app.surf) — the open knowledge base
1944–45 NHL season
Professional ice hockey league season
Professional ice hockey league season
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| title | 1944–45 NHL season |
| league | National Hockey League |
| sport | Ice hockey |
| duration | October 28, 1944 – April 22, 1945 |
| season | Regular season |
| no_of_games | 50 |
| no_of_teams | 6 |
| season_champ_name | Season champion |
| season_champs | Montreal Canadiens |
| MVP | Elmer Lach (Canadiens) |
| MVP_link | Hart Memorial Trophy |
| top_scorer | Elmer Lach (Canadiens) |
| finals | Stanley Cup |
| finals_link | 1945 Stanley Cup Finals |
| finals_champ | Toronto Maple Leafs |
| finals_runner-up | Detroit Red Wings |
| nextseason_link | 1945–46 NHL season |
| prevseason_link | 1943–44 NHL season |
| nextseason_year | 1945–46 |
| prevseason_year | 1943–44 |
| seasonslistnames | NHL |
| finals_runner-up = Detroit Red Wings The 1944–45 NHL season was the 28th season of the National Hockey League. Six teams played 50 games each. The Toronto Maple Leafs won the Stanley Cup in seven games against the Detroit Red Wings.
League business
In October 1944, Lester Patrick sponsored W. G. Hardy to become NHL president, replacing Red Dutton who wanted to step down. Patrick credited Hardy for being largely responsible for the current professional-amateur agreement between the NHL and the amateur associations in the International Ice Hockey Association, and said he was "temperamentally suited and has an excellent record as an executive of the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association".
Regular season
It was the year of the "Punch Line" as Rocket Richard scored 50 goals in 50 games, breaking Joe Malone's record of 44 goals, and when Richard scored his 45th, Malone was on hand to present him with the record-breaking puck. Richard had a five-goal, three-assist night against Detroit at the Montreal Forum on December 28, 1944. His centreman, Elmer Lach, though, won the scoring race with 26 goals and 80 points. Toe Blake finished third with 29 goals, 38 assists, and for the second time, an entire line finished first, second, third scoring. The previous time had been in 1939–40, when the Boston Bruins' Kraut Line of Milt Schmidt, Bobby Bauer and Woody Dumart accomplished the feat. Schmidt finished with 52 points in 48 games that year, and Bauer and Dumart 43 apiece.
Montreal dared not loan Paul Bibeault to Toronto again with his fine year the previous season and loaned him instead to Boston. But the Maple Leafs came up with a fine rookie named Frank McCool who won the Calder Memorial Trophy as the league's top rookie. For the first time, a team produced three consecutive top rookies. McCool and Chicago netminder Mike Karakas tied for the league lead in shutouts with four each.
Bill Durnan won his second consecutive Vezina Trophy with Montreal. Flash Hollett became the first defenceman to score twenty goals in one season. The record would stand until Bobby Orr broke it several decades later.
A major trade that occurred this year was Chicago trading their great defenceman Earl Seibert to Detroit for Don Grosso, Cully Simon and Byron "Butch" McDonald. After team owner Frederic McLaughlin died, it was just a matter of time before Bill Tobin would trade Seibert, as the two did not get along.
Final standings
Playoffs
Playoff bracket
The top four teams in the league qualified for the playoffs. In the semifinals, the first-place team played the third-place team, while the second-place team faced the fourth-place team, with the winners advancing to the Stanley Cup Finals. In both rounds, teams competed in a best-of-seven series (scores in the bracket indicate the number of games won in each best-of-seven series).
| RD1-seed1=1 | RD1-team1=Montreal | RD1-score1=2 | RD1-seed2=3 | RD1-team2=Toronto | RD1-score2=4 | RD1-seed3=2 | RD1-team3=Detroit | RD1-score3=4 | RD1-seed4=4 | RD1-team4=Boston | RD1-score4=3 | RD2-seed1=3 | RD2-team1=Toronto | RD2-score1=4 | RD2-seed2=2 | RD2-team2=Detroit | RD2-score2=3
Semifinals
(1) Montreal Canadiens vs. (3) Toronto Maple Leafs
The Montreal Canadiens finished first in the league with 80 points. The Toronto Maple Leafs finished third with 52 points. This was the fourth playoff meeting between these two teams with Montreal winning two of the three previous series. They last met in previous year's Stanley Cup Semifinals where the Canadiens won in five games. Toronto won this season's ten-game regular-season series earning eleven of twenty points.
|1-1-1 =No scoring |1-1-2 =No scoring |1-2-1 =No scoring |1-2-2 =No scoring |1-3-1 =Ted Kennedy (1) – 19:38 |1-3-2 =No scoring |goalie1-1 =Frank McCool |goalie1-2 =Bill Durnan
|2-1-1 =Ted Kennedy (2) – pp – 04:07 |2-1-2 =No scoring |2-2-1 =Lorne Carr (1) – 10:58 Nick Metz (1) – 15:37 |2-2-2 =08:15 – pp – Butch Bouchard (1) |2-3-1 =No scoring |2-3-2 =17:21 – pp – Elmer Lach (1) |goalie2-1 =Frank McCool |goalie2-2 =Bill Durnan
|3-1-1 =No scoring |3-1-2 =Elmer Lach (2) – 11:14 |3-2-1 =No scoring |3-2-2 =Bob Fillion (1) – sh – 07:58 Dutch Hiller (1) – 11:14 Murph Chamberlain (1) – 18:55 |3-3-1 =09:02 – pp – Bob Davidson (1) |3-3-2 =No scoring |goalie3-1 =Frank McCool |goalie3-2 =Bill Durnan
|4-1-1 =No scoring |4-1-2 =Elmer Lach (3) – 00:23 Maurice Richard (1) – 02:13 |4-2-1 =02:34 – Mel Hill (1) 16:15 – Sweeney Schriner (1) |4-2-2 =No scoring |4-3-1 =09:15 – Babe Pratt (1) |4-3-2 =Bob Fillion (2) – pp – 03:47 |4-4-1 =12:36 – Gus Bodnar (1) |4-4-2 =No scoring |goalie4-1 =Frank McCool |goalie4-2 =Bill Durnan
|5-1-1 =Lorne Carr (2) – pp – 07:37 Ted Kennedy (3) – pp – 08:10 |5-1-2 =00:40 – Leo Lamoureux (1) 03:08 – sh – Butch Bouchard (2) 06:02 – Eddie Emberg (1) |5-2-1 =Moe Morris (1) – 12:16 |5-2-2 =06:36 – Glen Harmon (1) 13:25 – Maurice Richard (2) |5-3-1 =No scoring |5-3-2 =01:10 – Maurice Richard (3) 01:35 – Elmer Lach (4) 10:48 – Maurice Richard (4) 15:03 – Maurice Richard (5) 19:06 – Bob Fillion (3) |goalie5-1 =Frank McCool |goalie5-2 =Bill Durnan
|6-1-1 =13:59 – Moe Morris (2) |6-1-2 =Maurice Richard (6) – 18:38 |6-2-1 =07:11 – Sweeney Schriner (2) |6-2-2 =No scoring |6-3-1 =01:53 – Gus Bodnar (2) |6-3-2 =Butch Bouchard (3) – 15:26 |goalie6-1 =Frank McCool |goalie6-2 =Bill Durnan
(2) Detroit Red Wings vs. (4) Boston Bruins
The Detroit Red Wings finished second in the league with 67 points. The Boston Bruins finished fourth with 36 points. This was the fourth playoff meeting between these two teams with Detroit winning two of the three previous series. They last met in the 1943 Stanley Cup Finals where the Red Wings won in four games. Detroit won this season's ten-game regular-season series earning nineteen of twenty points.
|1-1-1 =Bill Cowley (1) – 06:20 Bill Cupolo (1) – 10:07 Herb Cain (1) – 14:04 |1-1-2 =No scoring |1-2-1 =No scoring |1-2-2 =No scoring |1-3-1 =Jack McGill (1) – 07:22 |1-3-2 =04:04 – Earl Seibert (1) 09:05 – Joe Carveth (1) 19:04 – Eddie Bruneteau (1) |goalie1-1 =Paul Bibeault |goalie1-2 =Harry Lumley
|2-1-1 =Jack McGill (2) – 02:46 |2-1-2 =No scoring |2-2-1 =Ken Smith (1) – 10:03 Jean-Paul Gladu (1) – 10:18 |2-2-2 =08:25 – Harold Jackson (1) |2-3-1 =Pat Egan (1) – 17:05 |2-3-2 =12:48 – Eddie Bruneteau (2) |goalie2-1 =Paul Bibeault |goalie2-2 =Harry Lumley
|3-1-1 =No scoring |3-1-2 =Ted Lindsay (1) – 18:54 Murray Armstrong (1) – 19:35 |3-2-1 =16:05 – Pat Egan (2) |3-2-2 =No scoring |3-3-1 =17:57 – Gino Rozzini (1) |3-3-2 =Mud Bruneteau (1) – 15:48 |goalie3-1 =Paul Bibeault |goalie3-2 =Harry Lumley
|4-1-1 =08:31 – Ken Smith (2) |4-1-2 =Earl Seibert (2) – 17:21 |4-2-1 =14:38 – Herb Cain (2) |4-2-2 =No scoring |4-3-1 =No scoring |4-3-2 =Joe Carveth (2) – 05:10 Murray Armstrong (2) – 17:15 |goalie4-1 =Paul Bibeault |goalie4-2 =Harry Lumley
|5-1-1 =Herb Cain (3) – 11:52 |5-1-2 =02:51 – Mud Bruneteau (2) 11:41 – Flash Hollett (1) |5-2-1 =No scoring |5-2-2 =No scoring |5-3-1 =Bill Jennings (1) – pp – 17:00 |5-3-2 =No scoring |5-4-1 =No scoring |5-4-2 =17:12 – Mud Bruneteau (3) |goalie5-1 =Paul Bibeault |goalie5-2 =Harry Lumley
|6-1-1 =12:54 – Bill Cowley (2) |6-1-2 =Jud McAtee (1) – 00:45 |6-2-1 =06:24 – Bill Jennings (2) 07:33 – pp – Herb Cain (4) 10:38 – Jean-Paul Gladu (2) |6-2-2 =Joe Carveth (3) – 03:24 Jud McAtee (2) – 17:12 |6-3-1 =09:25 – Bill Cowley (3) |6-3-2 =No scoring |goalie6-1 =Paul Bibeault |goalie6-2 =Harry Lumley
|7-1-1 =Jack McGill (3) – 19:15 |7-1-2 =08:20 – pp – Carl Liscombe (1) |7-2-1 =Herb Cain (5) – 08:50 Ken Smith (3) – 19:39 |7-2-2 =03:51 – Carl Liscombe (2) |7-3-1 =No scoring |7-3-2 =02:01 – Eddie Bruneteau (3) 04:09 – Carl Liscombe (3) 19:54 – Carl Liscombe (4) |goalie7-1 =Paul Bibeault |goalie7-2 =Harry Lumley
Stanley Cup Finals
Main article: 1945 Stanley Cup Finals
This was the eighth playoff meeting between these two teams with Toronto winning four of the seven previous series. They last met in the 1943 Stanley Cup Semifinals where Detroit won in six games. Detroit won this season's ten-game regular-season series earning seventeen of twenty points.
|1-1-1 =Sweeney Schriner (3) – 13:56 |1-1-2 =No scoring |1-2-1 =No scoring |1-2-2 =No scoring |1-3-1 =No scoring |1-3-2 =No scoring |goalie1-1 =Frank McCool |goalie1-2 =Harry Lumley
|2-1-1 =No scoring |2-1-2 =No scoring |2-2-1 =Ted Kennedy (4) – 13:05 |2-2-2 =No scoring |2-3-1 =Moe Morris (3) – 12:03 |2-3-2 =No scoring |goalie2-1 =Frank McCool |goalie2-2 =Harry Lumley
|3-1-1 =No scoring |3-1-2 =No scoring |3-2-1 =No scoring |3-2-2 =No scoring |3-3-1 =03:02 – Gus Bodnar (3) |3-3-2 =No scoring |goalie3-1 =Frank McCool |goalie3-2 =Harry Lumley
|4-1-1 =09:19 – Ted Kennedy (5) 11:44 – pp – Ted Kennedy (6) |4-1-2 =Flash Hollett (2) – pp – 08:35 |4-2-1 =10:20 – Ted Kennedy (7) |4-2-2 =Murray Armstrong (3) – 09:20 |4-3-1 =No scoring |4-3-2 =Eddie Bruneteau (4) – sh – 01:11 Ted Lindsay (2) – 03:20 Joe Carveth (4) – 17:38 |goalie4-1 =Frank McCool |goalie4-2 =Harry Lumley
|5-1-1 =No scoring |5-1-2 =No scoring |5-2-1 =No scoring |5-2-2 =No scoring |5-3-1 =No scoring |5-3-2 =08:21 – Flash Hollett (3) 16:16 – Joe Carveth (5) |goalie5-1 =Frank McCool |goalie5-2 =Harry Lumley
|6-1-1 =No scoring |6-1-2 =No scoring |6-2-1 =No scoring |6-2-2 =No scoring |6-3-1 =No scoring |6-3-2 =No scoring |6-4-1 =No scoring |6-4-2 =Eddie Bruneteau (5) – 14:16 |goalie6-1 =Frank McCool |goalie6-2 =Harry Lumley
|7-1-1 =Mel Hill (2) – 05:38 |7-1-2 =No scoring |7-2-1 =No scoring |7-2-2 =No scoring |7-3-1 =Babe Pratt (2) – pp – 12:14 |7-3-2 =08:16 – Murray Armstrong (4) |goalie7-1 =Frank McCool |goalie7-2 =Harry Lumley
Awards
| Vezina Trophy: | |
|---|---|
| (Fewest goals allowed) | Bill Durnan, Montreal Canadiens |
| First team | Position | Second team |
|---|---|---|
| Bill Durnan, Montreal Canadiens | G | Mike Karakas, Chicago Black Hawks |
| Emile Bouchard, Montreal Canadiens | D | Glen Harmon, Montreal Canadiens |
| Flash Hollett, Detroit Red Wings | D | Babe Pratt, Toronto Maple Leafs |
| Elmer Lach, Montreal Canadiens | C | Bill Cowley, Boston Bruins |
| Maurice Richard, Montreal Canadiens | RW | Bill Mosienko, Chicago Black Hawks |
| Toe Blake, Montreal Canadiens | LW | Syd Howe, Detroit Red Wings |
| Dick Irvin, Montreal Canadiens | Coach | Jack Adams, Detroit Red Wings |
Player statistics
Scoring leaders
Note: GP = Games played, G = Goals, A = Assists, PTS = Points, PIM = Penalties in minutes
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elmer Lach | Montreal Canadiens | 50 | 26 | 54 | 80 | 37 |
| Maurice Richard | Montreal Canadiens | 50 | 50 | 23 | 73 | 46 |
| Toe Blake | Montreal Canadiens | 49 | 29 | 38 | 67 | 35 |
| Bill Cowley | Boston Bruins | 49 | 25 | 40 | 65 | 12 |
| Ted Kennedy | Toronto Maple Leafs | 49 | 29 | 25 | 54 | 14 |
| Bill Mosienko | Chicago Black Hawks | 50 | 28 | 26 | 54 | 0 |
| Joe Carveth | Detroit Red Wings | 50 | 26 | 28 | 54 | 6 |
| Ab DeMarco | New York Rangers | 50 | 24 | 30 | 54 | 10 |
| Clint Smith | Chicago Black Hawks | 50 | 23 | 31 | 54 | 0 |
| Syd Howe | Detroit Red Wings | 46 | 17 | 36 | 53 | 6 |
Source: NHL
Leading goaltenders
Note: GP = Games played; Min – Minutes played; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts
| Player | Team | GP | MIN | GA | GAA | W | L | T | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bill Durnan | Montreal Canadiens | 50 | 3000 | 121 | 2.42 | 38 | 8 | 4 | 1 |
| Frank McCool | Toronto Maple Leafs | 50 | 3000 | 161 | 3.22 | 24 | 22 | 4 | 4 |
| Harry Lumley | Detroit Red Wings | 37 | 2220 | 119 | 3.22 | 24 | 10 | 3 | 1 |
| Connie Dion | Detroit Red Wings | 12 | 720 | 39 | 3.25 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| Mike Karakas | Chicago Black Hawks | 48 | 2880 | 187 | 3.90 | 12 | 29 | 7 | 4 |
| Harvey Bennett | Boston Bruins | 24 | 1470 | 103 | 4.20 | 10 | 12 | 2 | 0 |
| Paul Bibeault | Boston Bruins | 26 | 1530 | 116 | 4.55 | 6 | 18 | 2 | 0 |
| Ken McAuley | New York Rangers | 46 | 2760 | 227 | 4.93 | 11 | 25 | 10 | 1 |
Coaches
- Boston Bruins: Art Ross
- Chicago Black Hawks: Johnny Gottselig
- 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 1944–45 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs):
- Fern Flaman, Boston Bruins
- Murray Henderson, Boston Bruins
- Pete Horeck, Chicago Black Hawks
- Ted Lindsay, Detroit Red Wings
- Bill Ezinicki, Toronto Maple Leafs
- Frank McCool, Toronto Maple Leafs
Last games
The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1944–45 (listed with their last team):
- Bill Thoms, Boston Bruins
- Cully Dahlstrom, Chicago Black Hawks
- Mush March, Chicago Black Hawks
- Johnny Gottselig, Chicago Black Hawks
- Kilby MacDonald, New York Rangers
- Bucko McDonald, New York Rangers
- Jack McLean, Toronto Maple Leafs
- John McCreedy, Toronto Maple Leafs
References
- {{cite book |last1=Fischler |first1=Stan |last2=Fischler |first2=Shirley
;Notes
References
- (October 18, 1944). "Patrick Sponsorshing Hardy As N.H.L. Chief". Lethbridge Herald.
- Hockey's Book of Firsts, p.23, James Duplacey, JG Press, {{ISBN. 978-1-57215-037-9
This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.
Ask Mako anything about 1944–45 NHL season — get instant answers, deeper analysis, and related topics.
Research with MakoFree with your Surf account
Create a free account to save articles, ask Mako questions, and organize your research.
Sign up freeThis content may have been generated or modified by AI. CloudSurf Software LLC is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of AI-generated content. Always verify important information from primary sources.
Report