1930–31 Montreal Maroons season

The 1930–31 Montreal Maroons season was the 7th season of the Maroons franchise in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Maroons finished 3rd in the Canadian Division and lost in the Quarter-finals to the New York Rangers 8 goals to 1.
==Off-season==
GM James Strachan took the Maroons through the most significant overhaul in the franchise's history, replacing half the team.
Red Dutton, a reliable defenseman with four seasons service with the Maroons, was sold to the New York Americans along with three other players. Dutton was replaced with Lionel Conacher.
With the retirement of goalie Clint Benedict, the Maroons signed Dave Kerr while Flat Walsh became the starter. Kerr was one of multiple players signed from the Montreal AAA team that won the 1930 Allan Cup. These included Des Roche and his brother Earl Roche, John Gallagher, Paul Haynes, Al Huggins and Glenn Brydson.
Defenseman Jack McVicar was signed and played the first of two NHL seasons.
==Regular Season==
Opening night on November 11, 1930 saw five of the seven signed from the Montreal AAA team in the line-up in addition to Jack McVicar. Goalie Dave Kerr and Glenn Brydson didn't play as the Maroons lost 2-0 to the Ottawa Senators. The losing and scoreless streak continued for the next two games but the final straw was a 7-1 humiliation at the hands of the cross-town Montreal Canadiens on November 20, 1930. Down 6-1 after two periods, goalie Dave Kerr made his NHL debut and allowed one goal.
The veterans took over in the next game on November 22, 1930 as the "S Line" scored twice in a 4-3 win over the New York Americans. During the December 18, 1930 game versus the Toronto Maple Leafs, Flat Walsh was injured and Dave Kerr took over in net. The Maroons won 2-1 and Kerr played the rest of the season.
The introduction of so many rookies into the line-up had a predictable effect. Many struggled and they scored a combined 8 goals, led by John Gallagher's 4 markers. However, with the exception of Al Huggins, all would go on to successful NHL careers. Glenn Brydson would play 295 games while goalie Dave Kerr would be named once to the NHL First All-Star Team, once to the Second Team and win the Vezina Trophy while playing for the 1939–40 New York Rangers who he'd lead to victory in the 1940 Stanley Cup Finals.
The Maroons veterans continued to dominate play as the team went on a 9-2-3 run that had them in first place in the Canadian Division on January 3, 1931. After the 5-1 loss to the New York Rangers on January 6, 1931, Paul Haynes, Des Roche and Al Huggins were demoted to the minors and Baldy Northcott was called up. Northcott became a regular and played the next seven seasons for the Maroons, capped with a First Team All-Star selection in 1933. In the midst of a losing skid in February, coach Dunc Munro returned to the line-up and played four games while George Boucher took over the coaching duties for the rest of the season.
By late February, the Maroons were battling the Americans for the last playoff berth. A 3-2 win over the Philadelphia Quakers on March 14, 1931 sealed a post season spot. Although the Maroons were tied in points with the Americans, they won by virtue of more wins. However, top scorer Hooley Smith was injured during the March 7, 1931 game against Toronto and lost for the rest of the season and playoffs.
===Final Standings===
===Game Log===
Regular Season Results	Regular Season Results	Regular Season Results	Regular Season Results	Regular Season Results 	Regular Season Results
No. 	R 	Date 	Score 	Opponent 	Record
1 	L 	November 11, 1930 	0–2 	@ Ottawa Senators (1930–31) 	0–1–0
2 	L 	November 16, 1930 	0–1 	@ New York Americans (1930–31) 	0–2–0
3 	L 	November 18, 1930 	0–3 	Toronto Maple Leafs (1930–31) 	0–3–0
4 	L 	November 20, 1930 	1–7 	@ Montreal Canadiens (1930–31) 	0–4–0
5 	W 	November 22, 1930 	4–3 	New York Americans (1930–31) 	1–4–0
6 	W 	November 25, 1930 	5–2 	New York Rangers (1930–31) 	2–4–0
7 	W 	December 2, 1930 	2–1 	Chicago Black Hawks (1930–31) 	3–4–0
8 	W 	December 6, 1930 	1–0 	Ottawa Senators (1930–31) 	4–4–0
9 	L 	December 9, 1930 	1–2 	@ Boston Bruins (1930–31) 	4–5–0
10 	W 	December 11, 1930 	3–2 	Detroit Falcons (1930–31) 	5–5–0
11 	W 	December 14, 1930 	2–0 	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1930–31) 	6–5–0
12 	W 	December 18, 1930 	2–1 	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1930–31) 	7–5–0
13 	W 	December 20, 1930 	5–1 	Philadelphia Quakers (1930–31) 	8–5–0
14 	T 	December 23, 1930 	4–4 OT 	Toronto Maple Leafs (1930–31) 	8–5–1
15 	L 	December 25, 1930 	1–2 	@ New York Americans (1930–31) 	8–6–1
16 	T 	December 28, 1930 	2–2 OT 	@ Detroit Falcons (1930–31) 	8–6–2
17 	T 	December 30, 1930 	1–1 OT 	Montreal Canadiens (1930–31) 	8–6–3
18 	W 	January 1, 1931 	3–2 	@ Ottawa Senators (1930–31) 	9–6–3
19 	W 	January 3, 1931 	5–3 	Boston Bruins (1930–31) 	10–6–3
20 	L 	January 6, 1931 	1–5 	@ New York Rangers (1930–31) 	10–7–3
21 	L 	January 8, 1931 	0–1 	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1930–31) 	10–8–3
22 	L 	January 10, 1931 	3–4 OT 	@ Philadelphia Quakers (1930–31)	10–9–3
23 	W 	January 13, 1931 	6–1 	Detroit Falcons (1930–31) 	11–9–3
24 	L 	January 15, 1931 	1–4 	@ Montreal Canadiens (1930–31) 	11–10–3
25 	W 	January 17, 1931 	3–2 	Ottawa Senators (1930–31) 	12–10–3
26 	L 	January 22, 1931 	2–4 	Toronto Maple Leafs (1930–31) 	12–11–3
27 	W 	January 25, 1931 	3–2 OT 	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1930–31) 	13–11–3
28 	W 	January 27, 1931 	2–1 	@ Detroit Falcons (1930–31) 	14–11–3
29 	T 	January 31, 1931 	2–2 OT 	New York Rangers (1930–31) 	14–11–4
30 	L 	February 3, 1931 	0–3 	@ New York Rangers (1930–31) 	14–12–4
31 	T 	February 5, 1931 	4–4 OT 	Montreal Canadiens (1930–31) 	14–12–5
32 	L 	February 10, 1931 	2–4 	New York Americans (1930–31) 	14–13–5
33 	L 	February 14, 1931 	2–4 	Boston Bruins (1930–31) 	14–14–5
34 	L 	February 17, 1931 	0–2 	@ Montreal Canadiens (1930–31) 	14–15–5
35 	L 	February 19, 1931 	2–4 	@ New York Americans (1930–31) 	14–16–5
36 	T 	February 21, 1931 	3–3 OT 	@ Ottawa Senators (1930–31) 	14–16–6
37 	W 	February 24, 1931 	3–2 OT 	Chicago Black Hawks (1930–31) 	15–16–6
38 	W 	February 28, 1931 	4–1 	Philadelphia Quakers (1930–31) 	16–16–6
39 	W 	March 5, 1931 	6–5 	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1930–31) 	17–16–6
40 	W 	March 7, 1931 	6–2 	Ottawa Senators (1930–31) 	18–16–6
41 	W 	March 12, 1931 	3–0 	Montreal Canadiens (1930–31) 	19–16–6
42 	W 	March 14, 1931 	3–2 	@ Philadelphia Quakers (1930–31)	20–16–6
43 	L 	March 17, 1931 	1–2 	New York Americans (1930–31) 	20–17–6
44 	L 	March 21, 1931 	1–3 	@ Boston Bruins (1930–31) 	20–18–6
==Playoffs==
===New York Rangers 8 Goals, Montreal Maroons 1 Goal===
Hampered by the loss of star forward Hooley Smith at the end of the regular season, the Maroons were thoroughly outplayed by the New York Rangers. Rangers Bill Cook and Paul Thompson each scored three goals in the two game, total goals series.
#	Date 	Visitor 	Score	Home 	Record
1	March 20	Montreal Maroons	1-5 	New York Rangers	1-5
2	March 22	New York Rangers	3-0 	Montreal Maroons	8-1
==Player Stats==
===Regular Season===
;Scoring
# 	Player	Pos 	GP	G 	A 	Pts	PIM
5 	 	C 	42	25	14	39 	75
6 	 	LW/D	43	16	12	28 	76
7 	 	C/RW	39	12	14	26 	68
4 	 	RW 	41	14	8 	22 	52
8 	 	LW 	43	9 	8 	17 	58
14 	 	D/LW	22	7 	3 	10 	15
12 	 	C 	43	6 	1 	7 	38
2 	 	D 	36	4 	3 	7 	57
11, 17	 	D 	35	4 	2 	6 	35
11, 17	 	D 	40	2 	4 	6 	35
2, 3 	 	RW/D	39	2 	2 	4 	42
10 	 	LW 	42	2 	0 	2 	18
16, 18	 	LW 	20	1 	1 	2 	2
14 	 	C 	19	1 	0 	1 	0
18 	 	D 	4 	0 	1 	1 	0
16 	 	RW 	19	0 	1 	1 	6
16 	 	RW 	14	0 	0 	0 	4
9 	 	D 	30	0 	0 	0 	25
1 	 	G 	16	0 	0 	0 	0
1, 15 	 	G 	28	0 	0 	0 	0
;Goaltending
Player	MIN 	GP	W 	L 	T	GA 	GAA 	SO
 	1769	29	13	11	4	70 	2.37	1
 	961 	16	7 	7 	2	36 	2.25	2
Team: 	2730	44	20	18	6	106	2.33	3
===Playoffs===
;Scoring
# 	Player	Pos 	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
5 	 	C 	2 	1	0	1 	6
14	 	D/LW	2 	0	1	1 	0
12	 	C 	1 	0	0	0 	2
16	 	RW 	2 	0	0	0 	0
2 	 	D 	2 	0	0	0 	2
17	 	D 	2 	0	0	0 	0
11	 	D 	2 	0	0	0 	2
10	 	LW 	2 	0	0	0 	0
6 	 	LW/D	2 	0	0	0 	6
8 	 	LW 	2 	0	0	0 	6
4 	 	RW 	2 	0	0	0 	2
3 	 	RW/D	2 	0	0	0 	2
15	 	G 	2 	0	0	0 	0
;Goaltending
Player	MIN	GP	W	L	GA	GAA 	SO
 	120	2 	0	2	8 	4.00	0
Team: 	120	2 	0	2	8 	4.00	0
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = Plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals
MIN = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; SO = Shutouts 
==Awards and Records==
*The Maroons did not win any awards this season.
==Transactions==
*Sell Frank Carson, Hap Emms, Red Dutton and Mike Neville to the New York Americans on May 14, 1930.
*Purchase Lionel Conacher from the Americans on November 5, 1930.
==Farm Teams==
*Windsor Bulldogs, IHL (League Champions)
==Trivia==
*Maroons who had a hat trick this season include:
**Dave Trottier during the 6-2 win over the Ottawa Senators on March 7, 1931.
==Gallery==
30-31NHLMonMarGameAd.jpg|Home Opener
==See Also==
*1930–31 NHL season
==References==
Category:Montreal Maroons seasons
Category:1930 in hockey
Category:1931 in hockey