# 1938–39 NHL season

The 1938–39 NHL season was the 22nd season of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Montreal Maroons suspended operations prior to the season. With seven teams left playing 48 games, the league reverted back to a one division format. The Boston Bruins were the Stanley Cup winners as they beat the Toronto Maple Leafs four games to one in the final series.

## League business

Just prior to the start of the 1938–39 season, the league held a meeting to decide the fate of the Montreal Maroons. The team had requested a shift to St. Louis, but this was rejected after considerable discussion, resulting in the Maroons suspending operations for the season. They sold most of their players to the Canadiens, and it was evident that the Maroons were through for good. This was the last time a team that had previously won a Stanley Cup either folded or relocated to another market. With only seven teams left, the NHL decided to go back to the one division format.
The Stanley Cup Finals were expanded to a best-of-seven format.
NHL president Frank Calder reached a new professional-amateur agreement with Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA) and its president W. G. Hardy in August 1938. The CAHA agreed not to allow international transfers for players on NHL reserve lists, and the NHL agreed not to sign any junior players without permission. It limited the number of amateur players which could be signed to contracts, and stipulated that both organizations use the same playing rules and recognize each other's suspensions.

## Regular season

Prior to the start of the season, the Boston Bruins sold their star goaltender, Tiny Thompson, who had just won a record fourth Vezina Trophy, to the Detroit Red Wings. The fans thought Art Ross was crazy, but soon they were applauding rookie Frank Brimsek, who would go on to back-stop the Bruins to a first overall finish and a Stanley Cup victory. He wiped out Thompson's shutout sequence record with three consecutive shutouts. He nearly equalled his new record with three more. He ended the season with 10 shutouts, and earned the nickname "Mr. Zero". He also became the first goaltender to win both the Vezina Trophy and Calder Memorial Trophy in the same season.
Joseph Cattarinich died on December 7 of a heart attack following an eye operation. Cattarinich was the original goaltender of the Montreal Canadiens when they were formed in 1909 and later a part-owner of the team. He was 57.
The Montreal Canadiens eroded to the point where Jules Dugal replaced Cecil Hart as manager and coach. Dugal was not much better and the Canadiens finished sixth. One bright note was that Toe Blake won the scoring title, however, despite the poor showing of the team.
Chicago, after its Stanley Cup win the previous season, began floundering at mid-season and owner Frederic McLaughlin was displeased. Accordingly, he fired coach Bill Stewart and hired left wing Paul Thompson in his place. But the Black Hawks continued to lose and finished last.
The New York Americans, up in third place at mid-season, proceeded to fall into a big slump in the second half and though they finished fourth, they were below .500 and had the worst defence in the league. Part of the problem was the retirements of Ching Johnson and Hap Day on defence. Al Murray was also out of action for quite a time. Still, goaltender Earl Robertson found himself on the second all-star team.

### Final standings

National Hockey League :
| | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| Boston Bruins | 48 | 36 | 10 | 2 | 156 | 76 | 74 |
| New York Rangers | 48 | 26 | 16 | 6 | 149 | 105 | 58 |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | 48 | 19 | 20 | 9 | 114 | 107 | 47 |
| New York Americans | 48 | 17 | 21 | 10 | 119 | 157 | 44 |
| Detroit Red Wings | 48 | 18 | 24 | 6 | 107 | 128 | 42 |
| Montreal Canadiens | 48 | 15 | 24 | 9 | 115 | 146 | 39 |
| Chicago Black Hawks | 48 | 12 | 28 | 8 | 91 | 132 | 32 |
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

## Playoffs
### Playoff bracket

| Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Stanley Cup Finals | Stanley Cup Finals | Stanley Cup Finals |
| | | | 1 | Boston | 4 | | | |
| | | | 2 | NY Rangers | 3 | | | |
| | | | | | | 1 | Boston | 4 |
| 3 | Toronto | 2 | | | | 1 | Boston | 4 |
| 3 | Toronto | 2 | | | | 3 | Toronto | 1 |
| 4 | NY Americans | 0 | | | | 3 | Toronto | 1 |
| 4 | NY Americans | 0 | 3 | Toronto | 2 | | | |
| | | | 5 | Detroit | 1 | | | |
| 5 | Detroit | 2 | 5 | Detroit | 1 | | | |
| 6 | Montreal | 1 | | | | | | |

### Quarterfinals
#### (3) Toronto Maple Leafs vs. (4) New York Americans

* Toronto won series 2–0

#### (5) Detroit Red Wings vs. (6) Montreal Canadiens

* Detroit won series 2–1

### Semifinals
#### (1) Boston Bruins vs. (2) New York Rangers

This series was the first to need seven games in NHL history; additionally, the Rangers were the first team in NHL history to force a Game seven after losing the first three games of a series. Mel Hill, a right winger for the Bruins, scored a record three overtime goals in a single series.
* Boston won series 4–3

#### (3) Toronto Maple Leafs vs. (5) Detroit Red Wings

* Toronto won series 2–1

### Stanley Cup Finals

* Boston won series 4–1

## Awards

Award winners :
| Calder Trophy: (Best first-year player) | Frank Brimsek, Boston Bruins |
| Hart Trophy: (Most valuable player) | Toe Blake, Montreal Canadiens |
| Lady Byng Memorial Trophy: (Excellence and sportsmanship) | Clint Smith, New York Rangers |
| O'Brien Cup: (Stanley Cup runner-up) | Toronto Maple Leafs |
| Prince of Wales Trophy: (regular-season champion) | Boston Bruins |
| Vezina Trophy: (fewest goals allowed) | Frank Brimsek, Boston Bruins |
All-Star teams :
| First team | Position | Second team |
| Frank Brimsek, Boston Bruins | G | Earl Robertson, New York Americans |
| Eddie Shore, Boston Bruins | D | Earl Seibert, Chicago Black Hawks |
| Dit Clapper, Boston Bruins | D | Art Coulter, New York Rangers |
| Syl Apps, Toronto Maple Leafs | C | Neil Colville, New York Rangers |
| Gordie Drillon, Toronto Maple Leafs | RW | Bobby Bauer, Boston Bruins |
| Toe Blake, Montreal Canadiens | LW | Johnny Gottselig, Chicago Black Hawks |
| Art Ross, Boston Bruins | Coach | Red Dutton, New York Americans |

## Player statistics
### Scoring leaders

| Player | Team | GP | G | A | PTS | PIM |
| Toe Blake | Montreal Canadiens | 48 | 24 | 23 | 47 | 10 |
| Sweeney Schriner | New York Americans | 48 | 13 | 31 | 44 | 20 |
| Bill Cowley | Boston Bruins | 34 | 8 | 34 | 42 | 2 |
| Clint Smith | New York Rangers | 48 | 21 | 20 | 41 | 2 |
| Marty Barry | Detroit Red Wings | 48 | 13 | 28 | 41 | 4 |
| Syl Apps | Toronto Maple Leafs | 44 | 15 | 25 | 40 | 4 |
| Tommy Anderson | New York Americans | 48 | 13 | 27 | 40 | 14 |
| Johnny Gottselig | Chicago Black Hawks | 48 | 16 | 23 | 39 | 15 |
| Paul Haynes | Montreal Canadiens | 47 | 5 | 33 | 38 | 27 |
| Roy Conacher | Boston Bruins | 47 | 26 | 11 | 37 | 12 |
Note: GP = Games played, G = Goals, A = Assists, PTS = Points, PIM = Penalties in minutes

### Leading goaltenders
## Coaches

* Boston Bruins: Art Ross
* Chicago Black Hawks: Bill Stewart and Paul Thompson
* Detroit Red Wings: Jack Adams
* Montreal Canadiens: Cecil Hart
* New York Americans: Red Dutton
* New York Rangers: Lester Patrick
* Toronto Maple Leafs: Dick Irvin

## Debuts

The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1938–39 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs):
* Roy Conacher, Boston Bruins
* Frank Brimsek, Boston Bruins
* Ab DeMarco, Chicago Black Hawks
* Don Grosso, Detroit Red Wings
* Sid Abel, Detroit Red Wings
* Jack Stewart, Detroit Red Wings

## Last games

The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1938–39 (listed with their last team):
* Russ Blinco, Chicago Black Hawks
* Paul Thompson, Chicago Black Hawks
* Baldy Northcott, Chicago Black Hawks
* Alex Levinsky, Chicago Black Hawks
* Bob Gracie, Chicago Black Hawks
* Larry Aurie, Detroit Red Wings
* Herbie Lewis, Detroit Red Wings
* Dave Trottier, Detroit Red Wings
* Babe Siebert, Montreal Canadiens
* Jimmy Ward, Montreal Canadiens