1933–34 NHL season
The 1933–34 NHL season was the 17th season of the National Hockey League (NHL). Nine teams each played 48 games. The Chicago Black Hawks were the Stanley Cup winners as they beat the Detroit Red Wings three games to one.
Ace Bailey Benefit All-Star Game
On February 14, 1934, the first NHL All-Star Game, albeit an unofficial one, was held to benefit Toronto Maple Leafs forward Ace Bailey, who suffered a career-ending injury. On December 12, 1933, near the end of the second period of a game between the Leafs and the Boston Bruins in the Boston Garden, Bailey was tripped from behind by Bruins defenceman Eddie Shore, in retaliation for a check that Toronto defenceman King Clancy had delivered to Shore. Bailey was not the intended target of the check; Shore wanted to hit Clancy instead. Bailey was badly hurt, unconscious and bleeding. The Leafs' Red Horner took offence to the hit, and subsequently knocked out Shore with a punch. Shore was forgiven after the game when both players regained consciousness, with Bailey saying that it was "all part of the game." However, Bailey would pass out and lapse into convulsions.
Bailey was not expected to live after a single night in the hospital after suffering from severe hemorrhaging. It was made well-known that Shore would have been charged with manslaughter were Bailey to die. Fortunately, he gradually recovered, but his hockey career was over. For his actions, Shore received a 16-game suspension, a third of the 48-game schedule of the time, while Horner was suspended for the remainder of 1933.
The game itself was proposed by Walter Gilhooley, the sports editor of the Journal in Montreal. This proposal would become a reality on January 24, 1934, in a meeting of the NHL's Board of Governors in 1934.
The NHL's first All-Star Game was held at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, during which Bailey's #6 uniform was retired by the Leafs. It was the first number to be retired in the NHL. The game saw the Leafs battle against an All-Star team made of players from the other eight teams, which the Leafs won 7–3. One of the more memorable moments before the game was when Bailey presented Shore with his All-Star jersey, showing to the public that Bailey had clearly forgiven him for his actions. Bailey also presented a trophy to NHL President Frank Calder before a game in the hope that the trophy would go to the winner of an annual All-Star Game for the benefit of injured players.
| Toronto Maple Leafs (7) | All-Stars (3) |
|---|---|
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Source: Podnieks, Andrew (2000). The NHL All-Star Game: 50 years of the great tradition. Toronto: HarperCollins. pp. 5–10. ISBN 0-00-200058-X.
Regular season
The Ottawa Senators, having enough problems, now had to deal with holdout Cooney Weiland. He was sold to Detroit, strengthening the Red Wings. The Senators continued to lose, but won a few games when they signed an amateur named Max Kaminsky to centre the Roche brothers Desse and Earl. A defenceman, Ralph "Scotty" Bowman, gave Ottawa fans a little to cheer about. But the handwriting was on the wall, and in the last NHL game to be played in Ottawa for many years, the Senators let the New York Americans use goaltender Alex Connell when Roy Worters was hurt. He helped the Americans beat his club.
A major trade was a swap of goaltenders as Lorne Chabot was traded to the Montreal Canadiens for George Hainsworth. The Canadiens also loaned Wilf Cude to Detroit and he led the Red Wings to first place. Chabot did not do badly either, leading the Canadian Division in goaltending, helping the goal-strapped Canadiens to second place. Aurel Joliat of the Canadiens won the Hart Trophy.
Final standings
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes
Note: Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold
| Canadian Division | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toronto Maple Leafs | 48 | 26 | 13 | 9 | 61 | 174 | 119 | 529 |
| Montreal Canadiens | 48 | 22 | 20 | 6 | 50 | 99 | 101 | 308 |
| Montreal Maroons | 48 | 19 | 18 | 11 | 49 | 117 | 122 | 414 |
| New York Americans | 48 | 15 | 23 | 10 | 40 | 104 | 132 | 365 |
| Ottawa Senators | 48 | 13 | 29 | 6 | 32 | 115 | 143 | 344 |
| American Division | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Detroit Red Wings | 48 | 24 | 14 | 10 | 58 | 113 | 98 | 368 |
| Chicago Black Hawks | 48 | 20 | 17 | 11 | 51 | 88 | 83 | 337 |
| New York Rangers | 48 | 21 | 19 | 8 | 50 | 120 | 113 | 401 |
| Boston Bruins | 48 | 18 | 25 | 5 | 41 | 111 | 130 | 385 |
Scoring leaders
Note: GP = Games played, G = Goals, A = Assists, PTS = Points, PIM = Penalties in minutes
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | PTS | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charlie Conacher | Toronto Maple Leafs | 42 | 32 | 20 | 52 | 38 |
| Joe Primeau | Toronto Maple Leafs | 45 | 14 | 32 | 46 | 8 |
| Frank Boucher | New York Rangers | 48 | 14 | 30 | 44 | 4 |
| Marty Barry | Boston Bruins | 48 | 27 | 12 | 39 | 12 |
| Nels Stewart | Boston Bruins | 48 | 22 | 17 | 39 | 68 |
| Cecil Dillon | New York Rangers | 48 | 13 | 26 | 39 | 10 |
| Busher Jackson | Toronto Maple Leafs | 38 | 20 | 18 | 38 | 38 |
| Aurel Joliat | Montreal Canadiens | 48 | 22 | 15 | 37 | 27 |
| Hooley Smith | Montreal Maroons | 47 | 18 | 19 | 37 | 58 |
| Paul Thompson | Chicago Black Hawks | 48 | 20 | 16 | 36 | 17 |
NHL All-Star Game
The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the NHL All-Stars 7-3 in the Ace Bailey Benefit Game.
Playoffs
Playoff bracket
Finals
The Chicago Black Hawks beat the Detroit Red Wings three games to one with the fourth game going into double overtime. After regulation time in the fourth game, Black Hawks star goaltender and two-time Vezina Trophy winner, Charlie Gardiner, left the game because he wasn't feeling well. He died two months later of a brain hemorrhage.
NHL awards
All-Star teams
Debuts
The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1933–34 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs):
- Russ Blinco, Montreal Maroons
- Herb Cain, Montreal Maroons
- Lorne Carr, New York Rangers
- Flash Hollett, Toronto Maple Leafs
Last games
The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1933–34 (listed with their last team):
- Lionel Hitchman, Boston Bruins
- Percy Galbraith, Boston Bruins
- Charles Gardiner, Chicago Black Hawks
- Clarence Abel, Chicago Black Hawks
- George Hay, Detroit Red Wings
- Ace Bailey, Toronto Maple Leafs