1923 - 24 NHL season The 1923 - 24 NHL season was the seventh season of the National Hockey League . Four teams each played 24 games . The Stanley Cup winners were the Montreal Canadiens , who defeated the Calgary Tigers of the WCHL and Vancouver Maroons of the PCHA . League Business . This season saw the introduction of two new trophies into the NHL . The Hart Trophy was to be awarded to the player judged most valuable to his team , and with the retirement of the O ' Brien Trophy , the Prince of Wales Trophy was to take its place in being given to the NHL champion . This would only last a short time as the O ' Brien Trophy came out of retirement for the 1927 - 28 NHL season when the league once again split into two divisions . This was the last season that three leagues competed for the Stanley Cup as , after the season , the PCHA folded . Two of its teams , the Vancouver Maroons and Victoria Cougars , joined the WCHL for the 1924 - 25 WCHL season . Regular season . A newcomer that would become the NHL ' s first drawing card , Howie Morenz , started his career with the Montreal Canadiens this year . Ottawa had a new arena , the Auditorium , and in an Ottawa win , Morenz scored his first of a career 270 goals in Ottawa ' s inaugural game at the Auditorium December 27 , 1923 . The Hamilton Tigers added Billy Burch and the Green brothers , Shorty and Redvers ( nicknamed Red ) and now they had a team that could compete nicely with the rest of the league . On December 28th , Shorty Green scored at 12 : 22 of overtime to give Hamilton its first ever road victory over the Ottawa Senators in Ottawa . The NHL held a mid - season meeting to consider Sprague Cleghorn ' s suspension . Ottawa claimed he was deliberately injuring opponents , citing a spearing incident against Cy Denneny . The league rejected the charges , and in a game against Ottawa shortly thereafter , Cleghorn charged Lionel Hitchman into the boards and earned a one game suspension . The Ottawa Senators had the best record in the NHL at 16 wins and only 8 losses despite a bizarre incident near the end of the season . Montreal fans hung around Mount Royal Arena for some hours before hearing the news of why the Ottawa Senators were so late . On their way to Montreal for the game with the Canadiens , their train got snowbound near Hawkesbury , Ontario . The team was stuck all night and so Cy Denneny decided to scrounge around for some food , and somehow fell down a well . Fortunately , he escaped injury . The game was postponed until the next night and Georges Vezina shut out the Senators 3 - 0 . The second place Montreal Canadiens would upset them in the playoffs to become the first winner of the new Prince of Wales Trophy . The Hamilton Tigers finished last for the fifth season in a row ( counting one season as the Quebec Bulldogs ) , but underwent some serious rebuilding efforts during the season and their efforts would pay off for the next season , 1924 - 25 , when they would go from worst to first . Final standings . " Note : W = Wins , L = Losses , T = Ties , GF = Goals For , GA = Goals Against , Pts = Points , PIM = Penalties in minutes " < br > " Note : Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold " Scoring leaders . " Note : GP = Games played ; G = Goals ; A = Assists ; Pts = Points " Stanley Cup Playoffs . The Montreal Canadiens had finished second overall in the NHL regular season standings but in the playoffs , they would have no problem beating the Ottawa Senators , who were first overall during the regular season . The second place Vancouver Maroons of the PCHA once again faced the first place Seattle Metropolitans and once again , Vancouver would come out on top winning the PCHA league championship . Meanwhile , in the Western Canada Hockey League , the Calgary Tigers won the regular season and the playoffs . The Canadiens owner , Leo Dandurand , wanted Calgary and Vancouver to face off against each other and then have the Canadiens play the winner for the Stanley Cup . Frank Patrick , the president of the PCHA , refused to go along with that idea . NHL Championship . " All dates 1924 " Montreal Canadiens vs . Ottawa Senators " Montreal wins 2 game total goal series 5 goals to 2 " Stanley Cup Playoffs . Semi - Finals . Since Leo Dandurand ' s request to have Vancouver and Calgary face off first was denied , the first round match - up was the Montreal Canadiens and Vancouver Maroons . This didn ' t dissuade Montreal at all as the Canadiens swept the best of three series two games to none . Vancouver Maroons vs . Montreal Canadiens " Montreal wins best - of - three 2 games to none " Finals . After sweeping Vancouver , Montreal ' s next opponent was the Calgary Tigers . Montreal swept them too in a best of three series . Howie Morenz was the star , scoring a hat trick in the first game , then another goal in the next game , which was transferred to Ottawa because of the slushy ice at Mount Royal Arena . Morenz was levelled by Cully Wilson of Calgary and suffered a chipped collarbone , but it was all in vain as Montreal won . The Canadiens swept all three teams they faced during the playoffs en route to their first Stanley Cup since their 1916 Cup win as a member of the NHA . Calgary Tigers vs . Montreal Canadiens " Montreal wins best - of - three 2 games to none for the Stanley Cup " NHL Playoff Scoring Leader . " Note : GP = Games played ; G = Goals ; A = Assists ; Pts = Points " Debuts . The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1923 - 24 ( listed with their first team , asterisk ( * ) marks debut in playoffs ) : Last games . The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1923 - 24 ( listed with their last team ) :