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League | National Hockey League |
Sport | Ice hockey |
Duration | October 24, 1945 - April 9, 1946 |
Number of games | 50 |
Number of teams | 6 |
Regular season | |
Season champion | Montreal Canadiens |
Season MVP | Max Bentley (Chicago Black Hawks) |
Top scorer | Max Bentley (Chicago Black Hawks) |
Stanley Cup | |
Stanley Cup champions | Montreal Canadiens |
Runners-up | Boston Bruins |
NHL seasons | |
← 1944–45 |
The 1945–46 NHL season was the 29th season of the National Hockey League. The Montreal Canadiens won the Stanley Cup, defeating the Boston Bruins for the team's sixth championship.
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Synchronized red lights to signal goals were made obligatory for all NHL rinks.
It was rumoured in the press that Lester Patrick planned to retire as general manager of the New York Rangers. On February 22, 1946, he announced his retirement from the general manager position, however he would stay on as vice president of Madison Square Garden.
Veterans came back to their teams this year, as World War II ended, but many found they could not regain their form. One who did regain his form was the man formerly known as "Mr. Zero" — Boston Bruins' goaltender Frank Brimsek. He was shelled in an 8–3 contest with Chicago, but got better game by game. The Bruins had first place at one point, then finished second. Brimsek made the Second All-Star Team as a result.
Max Bentley of Chicago led the league in scoring, and, because of the "Pony Line" including him, his brother Doug and Bill Mosienko, the Black Hawks were in first place at one point. But misfortune hit the Hawks when Doug Bentley injured his knee in a January 23 game and the team sagged.
Frank Patrick, former Pacific Coast Hockey Association president and former managing director for the NHL, suffered a heart attack and was not released from the hospital for several weeks.
A bombshell exploded on January 30, 1946, when defenceman Babe Pratt was expelled from the NHL for betting on games. However, he only bet on his own team and appealed his expulsion. On his promise he would not bet on any more games, he was reinstated. Pratt missed 9 games during his suspension.
Maple Leaf Gaye Stewart led the league in goals with 37, but Toronto finished fifth and missed the playoffs for the first time since playing at Maple Leaf Gardens.
Bill Durnan equalled George Hainsworth's record of three consecutive Vezina Trophies and led the league in shutouts with 4.
GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA | PIM | |
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Montreal Canadiens | 50 | 28 | 17 | 5 | 61 | 172 | 134 | 337 |
Boston Bruins | 50 | 24 | 18 | 8 | 56 | 167 | 156 | 273 |
Chicago Black Hawks | 50 | 23 | 20 | 7 | 53 | 200 | 178 | 339 |
Detroit Red Wings | 50 | 20 | 20 | 10 | 50 | 146 | 159 | 298 |
Toronto Maple Leafs | 50 | 19 | 24 | 7 | 45 | 174 | 185 | 247 |
New York Rangers | 50 | 13 | 28 | 9 | 35 | 144 | 191 | 285 |
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against
Teams that qualify for the playoffs are indicated in bold.
Semi-finals | Stanley Cup Final | |||||||
1 | Montreal Canadiens | 4 | ||||||
3 | Chicago Black Hawks | 0 | ||||||
1 | Montreal Canadiens | 4 | ||||||
2 | Boston Bruins | 1 | ||||||
2 | Boston Bruins | 4 | ||||||
4 | Detroit Red Wings | 1 |
Note: GP = Games played, G = Goals, A = Assists, PTS = Points, PIM = Penalties in minutes
Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
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Max Bentley | Chicago Black Hawks | 47 | 31 | 30 | 61 | 6 |
Gaye Stewart | Toronto Maple Leafs | 50 | 37 | 15 | 52 | 8 |
Toe Blake | Montreal Canadiens | 50 | 29 | 21 | 50 | 2 |
Clint Smith | Chicago Black Hawks | 50 | 26 | 24 | 50 | 2 |
Bill Mosienko | Chicago Black Hawks | 40 | 18 | 30 | 48 | 12 |
Maurice Richard | Montreal Canadiens | 50 | 27 | 21 | 48 | 50 |
Ab DeMarco | New York Rangers | 50 | 20 | 27 | 47 | 20 |
Elmer Lach | Montreal Canadiens | 50 | 13 | 34 | 47 | 34 |
Alex Kaleta | Chicago Black Hawks | 49 | 19 | 27 | 46 | 17 |
Billy Taylor | Toronto Maple Leafs | 48 | 23 | 18 | 41 | 14 |
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 |
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Bill Durnan | Montreal Canadiens | 40 | 2400 | 104 | 2.60 | 24 | 11 | 5 | 4 |
Harry Lumley | Detroit Red Wings | 50 | 3000 | 159 | 3.18 | 20 | 20 | 10 | 2 |
Frank Brimsek | Boston Bruins | 34 | 2040 | 111 | 3.26 | 16 | 14 | 4 | 2 |
Mike Karakas | Chicago Black Hawks | 48 | 2880 | 166 | 3.46 | 22 | 19 | 7 | 1 |
Turk Broda | Toronto Maple Leafs | 15 | 900 | 53 | 3.53 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 0 |
Frank McCool | Toronto Maple Leafs | 22 | 1320 | 81 | 3.68 | 10 | 9 | 3 | 0 |
Chuck Rayner | New York Rangers | 40 | 2377 | 149 | 3.76 | 12 | 21 | 7 | 1 |
Jim Henry | New York Rangers | 11 | 623 | 42 | 4.04 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 1 |
The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1945–46 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs):
The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1945–46 (listed with their last team):
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