1917 - 18 NHL season The 1917 - 18 NHL season was the first season of the National Hockey League ( NHL ) . Play was held in two halves , December 19 to February 4 , and February 6 to March 6 . Canadiens won the first half , and Toronto the second half . The Montreal Wanderers withdrew early in January 1918 after their rink , the Montreal Arena , burned down . Toronto won the NHL playoff and then won the Stanley Cup by defeating the PCHA ' s Vancouver Millionaires three games to two in a best - of - five series League Business . " See main article , History of the National Hockey League " On November 9 , 1917 , it was reported that the Toronto NHA franchise was sold to Charles Querrie of the Toronto Arena corporation . At this point , NHA president Robertson and secretary Calder denied that the NHA would change , dissolve or adopt other subterfuge . This sale never completed . The November 10 , 1917 annual meeting of the NHA was presided over by Mr . Calder and was adjourned without any public statement . On November 17 , 1917 , it was announced that Quebec had dropped out , but that NHA league play would continue . On November 26 , 1917 , representatives of the NHA clubs met at the Windsor Hotel in Montreal . The decision was made to start a new league , the NHL : A Toronto franchise was to be operated ' temporarily ' by the Toronto Arena Company while the Toronto ownership situation was resolved . The franchise used the players of the Blueshirts , including those who had been transferred to other NHA teams for the second half of the 1916 - 17 NHA season . This was done without the permission of Mr . Livingstone , who would sue for the team ' s revenues . According to George Kennedy , owner of the Canadiens : " The Toronto players belong as a body to the National Hockey League , for they were only loaned to the Toronto Arena Company , though Livingstone tried to make the Arena Company believe that he controlled those players " The team played without a nickname for the season . According to Holzman , the NHL itself was intended to operate temporarily until the Toronto NHA franchise was resolved . The NHA had a pending lawsuit against the 228th Battalion , and could or would not fold until after that was heard . Major rule changes . The championship trophy , the O ' Brien Trophy , which was transferred to the new NHL from the defunct National Hockey Association , became the league ' s championship trophy . It was awarded to the winner of the NHL playoffs and that winner then went on to play for the Stanley Cup in a series against rival leagues . On January 9 , 1918 , the league decided to allow goaltender s to drop to the ice surface in order to make saves . This was the first implemented and amended rule change in the National Hockey League . It was done in response to Ottawa ' s Clint Benedict constantly falling to make saves . Regular season . The new league faced stiff competition for players from a number of other leagues including the Pacific Coast Hockey Association . Also , filling rosters was a challenge because the talent pool was decimated by World War I . The Wanderers were in trouble from the start of the season . They won their home opener but drew only 700 fans . The Wanderer then lost the next three games and owner Lichtenhein threatened to withdraw from the league unless he could get some players . Although they could have acquired Joe Malone in the draft they turned to the PCHA and signed goaltender Hap Holmes . They also obtained permission to sign such players as Frank Foyston , Jack Walker and others if they could do so . The Wanderers loaned Holmes to the Seattle Metropolitans of the PCHA but he eventually found his way back to the NHL when Seattle loaned him to the Toronto Arenas . A league meeting was planned to deal with the situation , however on January 2 , 1918 , the matter was resolved when the Montreal Arena burned down , leaving the Canadiens and Wanderers homeless . The Canadiens moved into the 3 , 250 - seat Jubilee Rink . The Hamilton arena offered to provide a home for the Wanderers , but Lichtenhein disbanded the team on January 4 , after the other clubs refused to give him any players . The remaining three teams would complete the season . The last active player from the inaugural season was Reg Noble , who retired following the 1933 Stanley Cup Playoffs . Highlights . The first game of the season featured Toronto versus the Wanderers . Montreal ' s Dave Ritchie scored the first goal in NHL history and Harry Hyland had four goals in the Wanderers 10 - 9 victory , which would be their only one in the NHL . The opening game was played in front of only 700 fans . On January 28 , when Canadiens visited Toronto , players Alf Skinner and Joe Hall got into a stick - swinging duel . Both players received match penalties , $ 15 fines and were arrested by the Toronto Police for disorderly conduct , for which they received suspended sentences . Final standings . " 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 " Scoring leaders . " GP = Games Played , G = Goals , A = Assists , Pts = Points , PIM = Penalties In Minutes " Stanley Cup Playoffs . " All dates in 1918 " NHL Championship . Montreal had won the first half of the NHL split season and Toronto had won the second half . The two teams then played a two game total goals series for the NHL championship and the O ' Brien Trophy . Toronto won the series and advanced to the Stanley Cup finals . Toronto vs . Montreal Canadiens " Toronto wins total goals series 10 - 7 for the O ' Brien Trophy " Finals . Vancouver Millionaires vs . Toronto " Toronto wins best - of - five series 3 games to 2 for the Stanley Cup " NHL playoff scoring leaders . " 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 1917 - 18 ( listed with their first team , not including players who previously played in the NHA ) : Last games . The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1917 - 18 ( listed with their last team ) :