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The 1930-31 NHL season was the fourteenth season of the National Hockey League. Ten teams played 44 games each. The Montreal Canadiens beat the Chicago Black Hawks three games to two in a best-of-five Stanley Cup final for their second consecutive Cup win.
Art Ross made a bitter complaint about the Stanley Cup final setup. His team had been vanquished in two consecutive games by the Montreal Canadiens in 1929-30. As a result, the Board of Governors decided to make the final a best of five series.
Regular season
The Great Depression was starting to take its toll on the NHL. In attempts to solve financial problems, the Pittsburgh Pirates moved to Philadelphia and became the Philadelphia Quakers, but there was nothing about the team to win games or fans. It was intended that the team stay in Philadelphia only until a new arena was built in Pittsburgh. The arena wasn't built and the team folded after only one season in the new city. The Ottawa Senators were in a similar financial boat but instead of relocating, they sold their star asset and future Hall of Famer, King Clancy, to the Toronto Maple Leafs for $35,000 and two players. It hurt the team, and attendance declined all the more. However, after a very poor turnout to watch the Philadelphia Quakers,over 10,000 fans came to see the Montreal Canadiens beat Ottawa. Obviously the fans in Ottawa were being selective of who they came to see.
Howie Morenz led the league in scoring and kept the turnstiles clicking at NHL rinks, despite the Depression.
Dick Irvin started his career in coaching with Chicago and they finished second in the American Division. He resigned at season's end after having taken the Black Hawks to the finals.
This season also saw the Detroit Cougars re-name themselves the Detroit Falcons.
Final standings
GP = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, PIM = Penalties In MinutesTeams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold
| Canadian Division | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montreal Canadiens | 44 | 26 | 10 | 8 | 60 | 129 | 89 | 602 |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | 44 | 22 | 13 | 9 | 53 | 118 | 99 | 540 |
| Montreal Maroons | 44 | 20 | 18 | 6 | 46 | 105 | 106 | 568 |
| New York Americans | 44 | 18 | 16 | 10 | 46 | 76 | 74 | 495 |
| Ottawa Senators | 44 | 10 | 30 | 4 | 24 | 9 1 | 142 | 486 |
| American Division | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston Bruins | 44 | 28 | 10 | 6 | 62 | 143 | 90 | 403 |
| Chicago Black Hawks | 44 | 24 | 17 | 3 | 51 | 108 | 78 | 416 |
| New York Rangers | 44 | 19 | 16 | 9 | 47 | 106 | 87 | 514 |
| Detroit Falcons | 44 | 16 | 21 | 7 | 39 | 102 | 105 | 429 |
| Philadelphia Quakers | 44 | 4 | 36 | 4 | 12 | 76 | 184 | 477 |
Leading scorers
GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points, PIM = Penalties In Minutes| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Howie Morenz | Montreal Canadiens | 39 | 28 | 23 | 51 | 49 |
| Ebbie Goodfellow | Detroit Red Wings | 44 | 25 | 23 | 48 | 32 |
| Charlie Conacher | Toronto Maple Leafs | 37 | 31 | 12 | 43 | 78 |
| Bill Cook | New York Rangers | 43 | 30 | 12 | 42 | 39 |
| Ace Bailey | Toronto Maple Leafs | 40 | 23 | 19 | 42 | 46 |
| Joe Primeau | Toronto Maple Leafs | 38 | 9 | 32 | 41 | 18 |
| Nels Stewart | Montreal Maroons | 42 | 25 | 14 | 39 | 75 |
| Frank Boucher | New York Rangers | 44 | 12 | 27 | 39 | 20 |
| Cooney Weiland | Boston Bruins | 44 | 25 | 13 | 38 | 14 |
| Bun Cook | New York Rangers | 44 | 18 | 17 | 35 | 72 |
| Aurel Joliat | Montreal Canadiens | 43 | 13 | 22 | 35 | 73 |
Stanley Cup playoffs
The Chicago Black Hawks took an early two games to one lead in the newly expanded best-of-five Stanley Cup finals but the Montreal Canadiens came back and won the series three games to two for their second consecutive Stanley Cup win.
Playoff bracket
NHL awards
Team trophies
| O'Brien Trophy: | Montreal Canadiens |
| Prince of Wales Trophy: | Boston Bruins |
Individual awards
| Hart Memorial Trophy: | Howie Morenz, Montreal Canadiens |
| Lady Byng Trophy: | Frank Boucher, New York Rangers |
| Vezina Trophy: | Roy Worters, New York Americans |
All-Star teams
See also
References
"1930-31 NHL season"