1919–20 NHL season
The 1919–20 NHL season was the third season of the National Hockey League. A Quebec team was activated by the NHL, increasing the number of teams to four. Following changes in its ownership, the Toronto NHL franchise adopted the Toronto St. Patricks name. The four teams played 24 games in a split-schedule format. The Ottawa Senators won the league championship by winning both halves of the split-season. The Senators went on to win the Stanley Cup for the first time since the Cup challenge era ended and their eighth time overall, by defeating the PCHA's Seattle Metropolitans three games to two in a best-of-five series in the Stanley Cup Finals.
League business
The NHL approved the name change of Toronto's franchise to Tecumsehs on December 6, 1919, a previous name of a Toronto franchise in the NHA. Several days later the franchise was transferred from the Arena to private investors, which named the club the Toronto St. Patricks. The group paid $5,000 to the NHL for the franchise.Since the NHL had cancelled the previous Quebec franchise after Percy Quinn tried to use the franchise to resurrect the NHA, Quebec was without a franchise. By agreement with the NHL franchise's previous owners, a new Quebec franchise was approved on December 16, 1919. Quebec, which did not ice teams in the first two seasons of the NHL, finally iced a team, although they were not successful.
Arena changes
- The Montreal Canadiens' home arena, Jubilee Rink, burned down during the off-season in April 1919, forcing the team to play on the road at the start of the 1919–20 season until Mount Royal Arena was completed in January 1920.
- The new Quebec Athletics team played their home games at Quebec Arena.
Regular season
Highlights
The Montreal Canadiens had their home opener January 10 in brand new Mount Royal Arena and Newsy Lalonde used the occasion to celebrate with six goals in a 14–7 drubbing of the Toronto St. Patricks. The combined total of 21 goals by both teams set the NHL record.Jack Darragh of Ottawa had a chance to play in goal when Toronto defeated Ottawa 5–3 on January 24. He took over when Clint Benedict was penalized. He did not surrender any goals during the two minutes.
Despite a dismal record of 2–10 in both halves of the season, the Quebec Athletics' Joe Malone scored seven goals in one game on January 31, 1920., it is still the NHL record for most goals in one game. An eighth goal was disallowed on an off-side call. Malone was later quoted "the thing I recall most vividly is that it was bitterly cold." He nearly equalled the record on March 10 when he scored six goals in a 10–4 win over the Ottawa Senators. Malone led the league in goals with 39. But by surrendering 7.18 goals against per game, a record that stands today, Quebec finished dead last.
With the war now over, players came home and fans were now coming in larger numbers to see games. On February 21, 1920, a record crowd of 8,500 fans came to see Ottawa play Toronto at the Arena Gardens.
Playoffs
Because the Ottawa Senators won both halves of the split regular season, there was no need for an NHL playoff. The Senators were named NHL champions and given a spot in the Stanley Cup championship series. Representing the Pacific Coast Hockey Association was the Seattle Metropolitans, which battled in a tight PCHA, in which two wins separated its three teams. A problem arose as Seattle's green, red, and white uniforms looked similar to Ottawa's black, red, and white uniforms. The Senators agreed to play in white sweaters. The five-game series was scheduled to be played in Ottawa, but unseasonably warm weather forced the final two games to Toronto's Arena Gardens. In 1921, when the NHA's dormant O'Brien Cup was reinstated by the NHL as an award to its league playoff champions, this 1920 championship was engraved on the Cup.Stanley Cup Finals
Games one, three and five were played under NHL rules, while games two and four were played under PCHA rules.Awards
- NHL champion – Ottawa Senators
The O'Brien Cup, still considered the championship of the NHA, was not awarded in 1920. It remained under the care of the Canadiens who had won it in 1917, until the death of their owner, George Kennedy in 1921, when the NHL made arrangements to re-use the trophy. The Hockey Hall of Fame lists Ottawa as the winner for 1919–20.
Player statistics
Scoring leaders
GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points, PIM = Penalties In Minutes| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| Joe Malone | Quebec Athletics | 24 | 39 | 10 | 49 | 12 |
| Newsy Lalonde | Montreal Canadiens | 23 | 37 | 9 | 46 | 34 |
| Frank Nighbor | Ottawa Senators | 23 | 26 | 15 | 41 | 18 |
| Corbett Denneny | Toronto St. Patricks | 24 | 24 | 12 | 36 | 20 |
| Jack Darragh | Ottawa Senators | 23 | 22 | 14 | 36 | 22 |
| Reg Noble | Toronto St. Patricks | 24 | 24 | 9 | 33 | 52 |
| Amos Arbour | Montreal Canadiens | 22 | 21 | 5 | 26 | 13 |
| Cully Wilson | Toronto St. Patricks | 23 | 20 | 6 | 26 | 86 |
| Didier Pitre | Montreal Canadiens | 22 | 14 | 12 | 26 | 6 |
| Punch Broadbent | Ottawa Senators | 21 | 19 | 6 | 25 | 40 |
Source: NHL.
Leading goaltenders
GP = Games Played, Mins = Minutes played, GA = Goals Against, SO = Shutouts, GAA = Goals Against Average| Name | Team | [Goals against average|] | |||||||
| Clint Benedict | Ottawa Senators | 24 | 1443 | 19 | 5 | 0 | 64 | 5 | 2.66 |
| Jake Forbes | Toronto St. Patricks | 5 | 300 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 21 | 0 | 4.20 |
| Ivan Mitchell | Toronto St. Patricks | 16 | 830 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 60 | 0 | 4.34 |
| Georges Vezina | Montreal Canadiens | 24 | 1456 | 13 | 11 | 0 | 113 | 0 | 4.66 |
| Howard Lockhart | Toronto,Quebec | 8 | 370 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 36 | 0 | 5.84 |
| Frank Brophy | Quebec Athletics | 21 | 1249 | 3 | 18 | 0 | 148 | 0 | 7.11 |
Source: NHL
Coaches
- Montreal Canadiens: Newsy Lalonde
- Ottawa Senators: Pete Green
- Quebec Athletics: Mike Quinn
- Toronto St. Patricks: Frank Carroll
Milestones and records
- January 31 – Quebec Athletics' Joe Malone scores seven goals in one game
- March 3 – Montreal Canadiens defeat Quebec Athletics 16–3
Debuts
The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1919–20 :| Player | Team | Notability |
| Babe Dye | Toronto St. Patricks | Hockey Hall of Fame |
The last remaining active player to kick off their NHL career this season was Jake Forbes, who played his final NHL game in the 1932–33 season, although he missed the 1921–22 season.