1945–46 NHL season

The 1945–46 NHL season was the 29th season of the National Hockey League. Six teams each played 50 games. The Montreal Canadiens won the Stanley Cup.

League business

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.

Regular season

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.

Bill Durnan equalled George Hainsworth's record of three consecutive Vezina Trophies and led the league in shutouts with 4.

Final standings

"GP = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, PIM = Penalties In Minutes"
"Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold"

All-Star teams

Debuts

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):
*Leo Reise, Chicago Black Hawks
*George Gee, Chicago Black Hawks
*Jimmy Peters, Montreal Canadiens
*Cal Gardner, New York Rangers
*Edgar Laprade, New York Rangers
*Tony Leswick, New York Rangers
*Jimmy Thomson, Toronto Maple Leafs

Last games

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):
*Herb Cain, Boston Bruins
*Mike Karakas, Chicago Black Hawks
*Carl Liscombe, Detroit Red Wings
*Earl Seibert, Detroit Red Wings
*Flash Hollett, Detroit Red Wings
*Mud Bruneteau, Detroit Red Wings
*Syd Howe, Detroit Red Wings
*Ott Heller, New York Rangers
*Lynn Patrick, New York Rangers
*Frank McCool, Toronto Maple Leafs
*Bob Davidson, Toronto Maple Leafs
*Sweeney Schriner, Toronto Maple Leafs
*Lorne Carr, Toronto Maple Leafs
*Mel Hill, Toronto Maple Leafs

ee also

*List of Stanley Cup champions
*1945 in sports
*1946 in sports

References

* [http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/leagues/nhl1927.html Hockey Database]
* [http://nhl.com/ NHL.com]