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The 1940-41 NHL season was the 24th season of the National Hockey League. Seven teams each played 48 games. The Boston Bruins were the Stanley Cup winners as they swept the Detroit Red Wings four games to none in the final series.
Regular season
The retirement of veterans left many vacancies in the New York Americans lineup. Hooley Smith and Charlie Conacher were not very effective on defence. For the sentimental, it was often a sad sight to see upstarts who couldn't make the grade as a substitute for Conacher in his prime whip past him as if he wasn't there.
The Amerks, though, had one positive note: rugged Pat Egan was a fan favourite on defence. But the team finished last and was in deep financial trouble.
The Montreal Canadiens had hit the bottom in 1939-40, and were in financial trouble. Frank Patrick decided to become an investor and governor for the team, and Tommy Gorman was hired as general manager. He hired recently released Toronto coach Dick Irvin to run the team. One of the first things Gorman and Irvin did was scout for players, and the Canadiens came up with Johnny Quilty, Joe Benoit, Elmer Lach and defenceman Kenny Reardon. Bert Gardiner would be used in goal, replacing Claude Bourque and Wilf Cude. Murph Chamberlain was bought from Toronto to bolster the offence.
Quilty and Benoit came through, as did Toe Blake, but the Habs had a long way to go, finishing sixth. Quilty won the Calder Trophy as the league's top rookie. In fact, before the season started, Coach Irvin handed a sealed envelope to a reporter of his guess who would win the Calder Trophy, and when the season ended, the reporter opened the envelope: Johnny Quilty was the choice Irvin made.
Final standings
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutesNote: Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold
| National Hockey League | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston Bruins | 48 | 27 | 8 | 13 | 67 | 168 | 102 | 246 |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | 48 | 28 | 14 | 6 | 62 | 145 | 99 | 306 |
| Detroit Red Wings | 48 | 21 | 16 | 11 | 53 | 112 | 102 | 337 |
| New York Rangers | 48 | 21 | 19 | 8 | 50 | 143 | 125 | 356 |
| Chicago Black Hawks | 48 | 16 | 25 | 7 | 39 | 112 | 139 | 335 |
| Montreal Canadiens | 48 | 16 | 26 | 6 | 38 | 121 | 147 | 435 |
| New York Americans | 48 | 8 | 29 | 11 | 27 | 99 | 186 | 231 |
Scoring leaders
Note: GP = Games played, G = Goals, A = Assists, PTS = Points, PIM = Penalties in minutes| PLAYER | TEAM | GP | G | A | PTS | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bill Cowley | Boston Bruins | 46 | 17 | 45 | 62 | 16 |
| Syl Apps | Toronto Maple Leafs | 41 | 20 | 24 | 44 | 6 |
| Gord Drillon | Toronto Maple Leafs | 42 | 23 | 21 | 44 | 2 |
| Bryan Hextall | New York Rangers | 48 | 26 | 18 | 44 | 16 |
| Syd Howe | Detroit Red Wings | 48 | 20 | 24 | 44 | 8 |
| Lynn Patrick | New York Rangers | 48 | 20 | 24 | 44 | 12 |
Stanley Cup playoffs
Playoff bracket
NHL awards
See also
References
"1940-41 NHL season"