1947–48 NHL season

The 1947–48 NHL season was the 31st season of the National Hockey League. Six teams each played 60 games. The Toronto Maple Leafs were the Stanley Cup winners. They defeated the Detroit Red Wings four games to none. This season saw the introduction of a new trophy – Art Ross Trophy – that would be handed out to the player who scored the most points during the regular season.
==Regular season==
The season saw the return of the National Hockey League All-Star Game, an idea that, although proposed in the previous season, came into fruition this year. The all-star game, however, saw a bad ankle injury to Chicago Black Hawks forward Bill Mosienko that nearly ended his career. Other stars would retire, ending both the Montreal Canadiens' Punch line and the Boston Bruins' Kraut Line. However, this season saw the creation of the Detroit Red Wings' Production Line. The policy of having players raise their hockey sticks to signify that a goal was scored was also initiated in this season, at the suggestion of Frank Patrick, with Habs forward Billy Reay being the first to do on November 13, 1947. The season also saw Boston's Don Gallinger suspended indefinitely pending an investigation of gambling activities and the New York Rangers' Billy "The Kid" Taylor being expelled for life for gambling.
Seven games into the season, the Toronto Maple Leafs and Chicago Black Hawks made, at that time, the biggest trade in NHL history. The Maple Leafs sent five players to the Black Hawks in trade for Max Bentley and rookie winger Cy Thomas. Thomas only played eight games that year but Bentley handed to the Leafs a much-needed offensive boost that helped propel the team to first overall and an eventual Stanley Cup.
The New York Rangers decided to make a trade to improve their fortunes and sent Hal Laycoe, Joe Bell, and George Robertson to Montreal in exchange for Buddy O'Connor and defenceman Frank Eddolls. Montreal missed O'Connor, as their goal-scoring plummeted. Ken Mosdell was out from the start of the season with a broken arm, Rocket Richard had trouble with a bad knee and Murph Chamberlain broke his leg. In an attempt to boost the goal-scoring, Montreal traded Jimmy Peters and Johnny Quilty to Boston in exchange for Joe Carveth, but the rot continued. However, the worst occurred on January 11, 1948, when the Canadiens played the Rangers at Madison Square Garden. The Habs lost more than a game when Bill Juzda checked captain Toe Blake into the boards, breaking Blake's ankle and ending his career. It was also the end of the famed "Punch Line". (Ironically, that same night, Johnny Quilty's career was ended with a compound fracture of the leg). The Canadiens missed the playoffs for the first time since 1940, and Bill Durnan, for the only time in his career, failed to win the Vezina Trophy. This season was also the last season in which a goaltender was allowed to be named captain of their team. Bill Durnan was the last goaltender in NHL history to be captain. Toronto's Turk Broda won the Vezina this season.
===Final standings===
GP = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, PIM = Penalties In Minutes
Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold
National Hockey League	GP	W 	L 	T 	Pts	GF 	GA 	PIM
Toronto Maple Leafs 	60	32	15	13	77 	182	143	758
Detroit Red Wings 	60	30	18	12	72 	187	148	593
Boston Bruins 	60	23	24	13	59 	167	168	515
New York Rangers 	60	21	26	13	55 	176	201	480
Montreal Canadiens 	60	20	29	11	51 	147	169	724
Chicago Black Hawks 	60	20	34	6 	46 	195	225	572
==Playoffs==
All dates in 1948
The first round of the playoffs saw third place Boston Bruins matched up with first place Toronto Maple Leafs and fourth place New York Rangers against second place Detroit Red Wings.
=== Toronto vs. Boston ===
Toronto defeated Boston four games to one, although Boston kept it closer than the series tally would indicate. Three of the five games were decided by a single goal.
Boston Bruins vs. Toronto Maple Leafs
Date 	Away 	Score	Home 	Score	Notes
March 24	Boston Bruins 	4 	Toronto Maple Leafs	5 	(OT)
March 27	Boston Bruins 	3 	Toronto Maple Leafs	5 	
March 30	Toronto Maple Leafs	5 	Boston Bruins 	1 	
April 1 	Toronto Maple Leafs	2 	Boston Bruins 	3 	
April 3 	Boston Bruins 	2 	Toronto Maple Leafs	3 	
Toronto wins best-of-seven series 4 games to 1
=== NY Rangers vs. Detroit ===
It looked initially to be a close series as, after the Blueshirts lost the first two games, the Rangers won the next two to tie the series. Detroit then took the next two to win the series in six games to qualify for the Final. It was Detroit's fourth time in six years.
New York Rangers vs. Detroit Red Wings
Date 	Away 	Score	Home 	Score	Notes
March 24	New York Rangers 	1 	Detroit Red Wings	2 	
March 26	New York Rangers 	2 	Detroit Red Wings	5 	
March 28	Detroit Red Wings	2 	New York Rangers 	3 	
March 30	Detroit Red Wings	1 	New York Rangers 	3 	
April 1 	New York Rangers 	1 	Detroit Red Wings	3 	
April 4 	Detroit Red Wings	4 	New York Rangers 	2 	
Detroit wins best-of-seven series 4 games to 2
===Finals===
Detroit Red Wings vs. Toronto Maple Leafs
Date 	Away 	Score	Home 	Score	Notes
April 7 	Detroit	3 	Toronto	5 	
April 10	Detroit	2 	Toronto	4 	
April 11	Toronto	2 	Detroit	0 	
April 14	Toronto	7 	Detroit	2 	
Toronto wins best-of-seven series four games to none.
==Awards==
O'Brien Cup:(Stanley Cup runner-up) 	Detroit Red Wings
Prince of Wales Trophy:(Top regular season record)	Toronto Maple Leafs
Art Ross Trophy:(Top scorer) 	Elmer Lach, Montreal Canadiens
Calder Memorial Trophy:(Top first-year player) 	Jim McFadden, Detroit Red Wings
Hart Trophy:(Most valuable player) 	Bud O'Connor, New York Rangers
Lady Byng Trophy:(Excellence and sportsmanship) 	Bud O'Connor, New York Rangers
Vezina Trophy:(Goaltender of team with lowest GAA)	Turk Broda, Toronto Maple Leafs
==Player statistics==
===Scoring leaders===
GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points
Player 	Team 	GP	G 	A 	Pts
Elmer Lach 	Montreal Canadiens 	60	30	31	61
Buddy O'Connor 	New York Rangers 	60	24	36	60
Doug Bentley 	Chicago Black Hawks 	60	20	37	57
Gaye Stewart 	Toronto Maple Leafs / Chicago Black Hawks	61	27	29	56
Max Bentley 	Black Hawks / Toronto Maple Leafs 	59	26	28	54
Bud Poile 	Toronto Maple Leafs / Chicago Black Hawks	58	25	29	54
Maurice Richard	Montreal Canadiens 	53	28	25	53
Syl Apps 	Toronto Maple Leafs 	55	26	27	53
Ted Lindsay 	Detroit Red Wings 	60	33	19	52
Roy Conacher 	Chicago Black Hawks 	52	22	27	49
Source: NHL
===Leading goaltenders===
GP = Games Played, TOI = Time On Ice (minutes), GA = Goals Against, SO = Shutouts, GAA = Goals Against Average
Player 	Team 	GP	TOI 	GA 	SO	GAA
Turk Broda 	Toronto Maple Leafs	60	3600	143	5 	2.38
Harry Lumley 	Detroit Red Wings 	60	3592	147	7 	2.46
Bill Durnan 	Montreal Canadiens 	59	3505	162	5 	2.77
Frank Brimsek	Boston Bruins 	60	3600	168	3 	2.80
Jim Henry 	New York Rangers 	48	2800	153	2 	3.19
Emile Francis	Chicago Black Hawks	54	3240	183	1 	3.39
==Team Photos==
47-48BosBru.jpg|Boston Bruins
47-48ChiBH.jpg|Chicago Black Hawks
47-48DetRW.jpg|Detroit Red Wings
47-48MtlCdn.jpg|Montreal Canadiens
47-48NYR.jpg|New York Rangers
47-48TorML.jpg|Toronto Maple Leafs
== References ==
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;Notes
==External links==
* Hockey Database
* NHL.com
Category:1947 in ice hockey
Category:1948 in ice hockey