1919–20 Montreal Canadiens season

1919–20 Montreal Canadiens
1919–20 Montreal Canadiens
League	2nd (1st half), 3rd (2nd half) NHL
1919–20 record	8-4-0 (1st half), 5-7-0 (2nd half)
Goals for	129
Goals against	113
Team information
General manager	George Kennedy
Coach	Newsy Lalonde
Captain	Newsy Lalonde
Arena	Mount Royal Arena
Team leaders
Goals	Newsy Lalonde (37)
Assists	Didier Pitre (7); Louis Berlinquette (7)
Points	Newsy Lalonde (42)
Penalty minutes	Bert Corbeau (59)
Wins	Georges Vezina (13)
Goals against average	Georges Vezina (4.66)
	← 1918–19 1920–21 →

The 1919–20 Montreal Canadiens season was the team's 11th season and third as a member of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Canadiens opened their new Mount Royal Arena built to replace burnt-down Jubilee Rink.

The Toronto NHL franchise was now operated by a new group and known as the Toronto St. Patricks. A Quebec team was active this season, meaning a four-team league operated, and players from the Quebec NHA team were 'returned' to the new Quebec Bulldogs NHL team. The Canadiens lost Joe Malone and Jack McDonald to the Bulldogs.

Harry Cameron joined the Canadiens from Ottawa and Howard McNamara re-joined the Canadiens after not playing since 1917 with the Toronto 228th Battalion, and serving in the Canadian army. Don Smith, who had last played for the Canadiens in 1914–15, returned after serving in the army, last playing for the Montreal Wanderers in 1915–16.

Regular season

The Mount Royal Arena was not ready for the start of the season, and the Canadiens started their season on the road. The home opener was held January 10, and Newsy Lalonde used the occasion to celebrate with six goals in a 14–7 drubbing of the Toronto St. Patricks.

On March 3, the Montreal Canadiens pummeled the Quebec Bulldogs 16–3, setting an all-time record for goals by one team.

Georges Vezina came third in the league in goals against average of 4.66 per game. Newsy Lalonde led the Canadiens in offence, scoring 37 goals and 9 assists to place second in league scoring to Joe Malone.

The Canadiens picked up their scoring from the previous season, but gave up more goals on defence and failed to make the playoffs for the first time since the 1914–15 season.

Final Standings

First half
	GP	W	L	Pts	GF	GA
Ottawa Senators	12	9	3	18	59	23
Montreal Canadiens	12	8	4	16	62	51
Toronto St. Patricks	12	5	7	10	52	62
Quebec Athletics	12	2	10	4	44	81

Second half
	GP	W	L	Pts	GF	GA
Ottawa Senators	12	10	2	20	62	41
Toronto St. Patricks	12	7	5	14	67	44
Montreal Canadiens	12	5	7	10	67	62
Quebec Athletics	12	2	10	4	47	96

^[1] Note: GP = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against
Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

Game log

Date	Opponent	Score	Record
December
25	at Quebec Bulldogs	12 - 5	1–0
27	Ottawa Senators	0 - 2	1–1
31	at Toronto St. Pats	1 - 5	1–2
January
7	at Ottawa Senators	3 - 4	1–3
10	Toronto St. Pats	14 - 7	2–3
12	Quebec Bulldogs	7 - 3	3–3
14	at Toronto St. Pats	4 - 3	4–3
17	Ottawa Senators	3 - 2	5–3
21	Toronto St. Pats	3 - 2	6–3
24	at Quebec Bulldogs	8 - 4	7–3
28	Quebec Bulldogs	4 - 3	8–3
31	at Ottawa Senators	3 - 11	8–4

Second half

Date	Opponent	Score	Record
February
4	at Toronto St. Pats	6 - 5	1–0
7	Quebec Bulldogs	6 - 2	2–0
11	at Ottawa Senators	3 - 4	2–1
14	Ottawa Senators	2 - 3	2–2
18	Toronto St. Pats	2 - 8	2–3
21	at Quebec Bulldogs	7 - 8	2–4
25	at Ottawa Senators	3 - 6	2–5
28	Quebec Bulldogs	8 - 6	3–5
March
3	at Quebec Bulldogs	16 - 3	4–5
6	Ottawa Senators	3 - 4	4–6
10	Toronto St. Pats	7 - 2	5–6
13	at Toronto St. Pats	4 - 11	5–7

Playoffs

There was no playoffs as the Ottawa Senators won both halves of the season.

Player statistics

Skaters

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

		Regular season					Playoffs
Player	#	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Newsy Lalonde	4	23	37	9	46	34	-	-	-	-	-
Amos Arbour	10	22	21	5	26	13	-	-	-	-	-
Didier Pitre	5	23	14	12	26	6	-	-	-	-	-
Odie Cleghorn	6	21	20	4	24	30	-	-	-	-	-
Harry Cameron†	11	16	12	5	17	36	-	-	-	-	-
Bert Corbeau	2	24	11	6	17	65	-	-	-	-	-
Louis Berlinguette	8	24	8	9	17	36	-	-	-	-	-
Billy Coutu	9	20	4	0	4	67	-	-	-	-	-
Don Smith	7	12	1	0	1	6	-	-	-	-	-
Howard McNamara	3	12	1	0	1	6	-	-	-	-	-
Jack Coughlin†	12	3	0	0	0	0	-	-	-	-	-

†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Montreal. Stats reflect time with the Canadiens only.

Goaltenders

Note: GP = Games played; TOI = Time on ice (minutes); W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average

			Regular season									Playoffs
Player	#		GP	TOI	W	L	T	GA	SO	GAA		GP	TOI	W	L	T	GA	SO	GAA
Georges Vezina	1		24	1456	13	11	0	113	0	4.66		--	--	--	--	--	--	--	-.--

Transactions

transferred Joe Malone and Jack McDonald to Quebec Bulldogs when the club returned to the NHL, November 25, 1919
signed Don Smith as a free agent, November, 1919
signed Howard McNamara as a free agent, December 5, 1919
signed Eddie Carpenter as a free agent, December 15, 1919
traded Eddie Carpenter to Quebec Bulldogs for Goldie Prodgers, December 21, 1919
traded Goldie Prodgers to Toronto St. Pats for Harry Cameron, January 14, 1920
signed Jack Coughlin as a free agent, February 18, 1920

Roster

Source:

Mouton, p. 153

References

Coleman, Charles L. (1966). The Trail of the Stanley Cup, vol. 1 1893–1926 inc. National Hockey League.
McFarlane, Brian (1996). The Habs. Toronto: Stoddart Publishing. ISBN 077372981X.
Mouton, Claude (1987). The Montreal Canadiens. Key Porter Books.
O'Brien, Andy (1971). Les Canadiens: the story of the Montreal Canadiens. Toronto, New York: McGrawHill-Ryerson. ISBN 0070929509. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: checksum (help)

^ Standings: NHL Public Relations Department (2008). Dave McCarthy; et al. (eds.). THE NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE Official Guide & Record Book/2009. National Hockey League. p. 145. ISBN 978-1-894801-14-0.

v t e Montreal Canadiens
Founded in 1909 Based in Montreal, Quebec
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Personnel	Owner(s) Molson family (Geoff Molson, chairman) General manager Kent Hughes Head coach Martin St. Louis Team captain Nick Suzuki Current roster
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Category Commons

v t e Montreal Canadiens seasons
1900s	1909–10
1910s	1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20
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1960s	1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70
1970s	1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80
1980s	1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90
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2010s	2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20
2020s	2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
Highlighted seasons indicate Stanley Cup championship

v t e 1919–20 NHL season
NHL	Montreal Ottawa Quebec Toronto
See also	Stanley Cup Finals Transactions