1938–39 NHL season

The 1938–39 NHL season was the 22nd season of the National Hockey League (NHL). Seven teams each played 48 games. 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. With only seven teams left, the NHL decided to go back to the one division format.
==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, 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 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 wasn't 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===
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes
Note: Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold
National Hockey League	GP	W 	L 	T 	Pts	GF 	GA 	PIM
Boston Bruins 	48	36	10	2 	74 	156	76 	251
New York Rangers 	48	26	16	6 	58 	149	105	393
Toronto Maple Leafs 	48	19	20	9 	47 	114	107	370
New York Americans 	48	17	21	10	44 	119	157	276
Detroit Red Wings 	48	18	24	6 	42 	107	128	240
Montreal Canadiens 	48	15	24	9 	39 	115	146	294
Chicago Black Hawks 	48	12	28	8 	32 	91 	132	367
==Playoffs==
===Quarterfinals===
{| class="wikitable" 	Toronto Maple Leafs vs. New York Americans	Toronto Maple Leafs vs. New York Americans	Toronto Maple Leafs vs. New York Americans	Toronto Maple Leafs vs. New York Americans	Toronto Maple Leafs vs. New York Americans	Toronto Maple Leafs vs. New York Americans
Date 	Away Team 	Away Team 	Home Team 	Home Team 	 	
March 21 	NY Americans 	0 	4 	Toronto 	 	
March 23 	Toronto 	2 	0 	NY Americans 	 	
Toronto won the series 2-0.	Toronto won the series 2-0. 	Toronto won the series 2-0. 	Toronto won the series 2-0. 	Toronto won the series 2-0. 	Toronto won the series 2-0. 	
===Semifinals===
Boston Bruins vs. New York Rangers
The Rangers became the first team in NHL history to force a Game seven after losing the first three games of a series. Mel Hill, a right wing for the Bruins, scored a record three overtime goals in a single series.http://www.legendsofhockey.net/LegendsOfHockey/jsp/SearchPlayer.jsp?player=12944
Date 	Away 	Score	Home 	Score	Notes
March 21	Boston Bruins 	2 	New York Rangers	1 	3OT
March 23	New York Rangers	2 	Boston Bruins 	3 	OT
March 26	New York Rangers	1 	Boston Bruins 	4 	
March 28	Boston Bruins 	1 	New York Rangers	2 	
March 30	New York Rangers	2 	Boston Bruins 	1 	OT
April 1 	Boston Bruins 	1 	New York Rangers	3 	
April 2 	New York Rangers	1 	Boston Bruins 	2 	3OT
Boston wins best-of-seven series 4–3
{| class="wikitable" 	Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Detroit Red Wings	Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Detroit Red Wings	Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Detroit Red Wings	Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Detroit Red Wings	Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Detroit Red Wings	Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Detroit Red Wings	Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Detroit Red Wings
Date 	Away Team 	Away Team 	Home Team 	Home Team 	Notes 	 	
March 28 	Detroit 	1 	4 	Toronto 	 	 	
March 30 	Toronto 	1 	3 	Detroit 	 	 	
April 1 	Detroit 	4 	5 	Toronto 	OT 	 	
Toronto won the series 2-1.	Toronto won the series 2-1. 	Toronto won the series 2-1. 	Toronto won the series 2-1. 	Toronto won the series 2-1. 	Toronto won the series 2-1. 	Toronto won the series 2-1. 	
===Final===
Boston Bruins vs. Toronto Maple Leafs 	Boston Bruins vs. Toronto Maple Leafs 	Boston Bruins vs. Toronto Maple Leafs 	Boston Bruins vs. Toronto Maple Leafs 	Boston Bruins vs. Toronto Maple Leafs 	Boston Bruins vs. Toronto Maple Leafs 	Boston Bruins vs. Toronto Maple Leafs
Date 	Away Team 	Away Team 	Home Team 	Home Team 	Notes 	
April 6 	Toronto 	1 	2 	Boston 	 	
April 9 	Toronto 	3 	2 	Boston 	OT 	
April 11 	Boston 	3 	1 	Toronto 	 	
April 13 	Boston 	2 	0 	Toronto 	 	
April 16 	Toronto 	1 	3 	Boston 	 	
Boston won the series 4-1 and the Stanley Cup.	Boston won the series 4-1 and the Stanley Cup.	Boston won the series 4-1 and the Stanley Cup.	Boston won the series 4-1 and the Stanley Cup.	Boston won the series 4-1 and the Stanley Cup.	Boston won the series 4-1 and the Stanley Cup.	Boston won the series 4-1 and the Stanley Cup.
==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:(Canadian Division champion) 	Toronto Maple Leafs
Prince of Wales Trophy:(American Division champion) 	Boston Bruins
Vezina Trophy:(Fewest goals allowed) 	Frank Brimsek, Boston Bruins
==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 	47	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
==Team Photos==
38-39BosBru.jpg|Boston Bruins
38-39ChiBH.jpg|Chicago Black Hawks
38-39DetRW.jpg|Detroit Red Wings
38-39MtlCan.jpg|Montreal Canadiens
38-39NYA.jpg|New York Americans
38-39NYR.jpg|New York Rangers
38-39TorML.jpg|Toronto Maple Leafs
==References==
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;Notes
==External links==
*Hockey Database
*NHL.com
Category:1938 in ice hockey
Category:1939 in ice hockey