- Sylvio Mantha
Sylvio Mantha (
April 14 ,1902 -August 7 ,1974 ) was aCanadian professional ice hockey player who played fourteen seasons in theNational Hockey League for theMontreal Canadiens andBoston Bruins .Playing career
Born in
Montreal , Mantha was a three-timeStanley Cup winner - 1924, 1930(Captain), 1931(Captain). He played fourteen NHL seasons from 1923–24 to 1936–37, with all but four games as aMontreal Canadiens player. He was the captain of theMontreal Canadiens from 1926–27 to 1931–32 and from 1933–34 to 1935–36.Mantha started as a right-winger for the
Notre Dame de Grace Juniors in 1918–19 season, before playing for Verdun in the Intermediate Mount Royal Hockey League, Montreal Imperial Tobacco, and Montreal Norther Electric in the Montreal industrial league. He played briefly for theMontreal Nationales in the Quebec league. After scoring four goals in nine games with the Nationales, he was signed by theMontreal Canadiens . The Canadiens started Mantha as a forward, then moved him to right defence, because veteransSprague Cleghorn andBilly Coutu were aging.When Cleghorn was traded just before the
1925–26 NHL season , Mantha gained a more prominent role. He scored the first-ever goal inBoston Garden on November 20, 1928, leading the Canadiens to a 1–0 win over theBoston Bruins . Mantha was named to the NHL Second All-Star Team in both the 1929–30 and 1930–31 seasons.In the
1935–36 NHL season , Mantha became the Canadiens' player coach. After a dismal season, the Canadiens fired him. TheBoston Bruins were involved in a contract dispute withEddie Shore so they signed Mantha at the start of the1936–37 NHL season -- and gave him Shore's number 2 jersey. Four games into the season, Mantha admitted he could no longer play at a competitive level and retired.Mantha then worked as a linesman and referee for the AHL and NHL. He then coached the junior league Montreal Concordias, Laval Nationales (1943 to 1945), Verdun Maple Leafs (1945 to 1947), and St. Jerome Eagles (1947 to 1948).
He was inducted into the
Hockey Hall of Fame in 1960, and died in Montreal, in August 1974.The Georges & Sylvio Mantha Arenas are part of the Complexe Récréatif Gadbois in Montreal and named for him and his brother,
Georges Mantha , who also played in the National Hockey League.ee also
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List of members of the Hockey Hall of Fame
*List of NHL seasons
*List of NHL players External links
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