In November 1917, Gorman, George Kennedy, Sam Lichtenhein and Mike Quinn all played a part in suspending the NHA and forming the National Hockey League in an effort to rid themselves of Toronto NHA owner Eddie Livingstone.
Pred sezono 1916/17 se je Ted Dey, lastnik kluba Ottawa Hockey Club, ubadal s težavami pri iskanju novih igralcev, zato je za to nalogo najel Gormana.