The 1924 Stanley Cup playoffs was the third and final year in which the National Hockey League (NHL) champions, the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA) champions, and the Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL) champions all competed for the Stanley Cup (the PCHA and the WCHL would later merge after the season). The playoffs began on March 18, 1924, and concluded on March 25 when the NHL champion Montreal Canadiens defeated the WCHL champion Calgary Tigers in the final series, two games to zero.
| 1924 Stanley Cup playoffs | |||||
| League | Team | City | Arena | Capacity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NHL | |||||
| Montreal Canadiens | Montreal, Quebec | Mount Royal Arena | 10,000 | ||
| Ottawa Senators | Ottawa, Ontario | Ottawa Auditorium | 7,500 | ||
| PCHA | Seattle Metropolitans | Seattle, Washington | Seattle Ice Arena | 4,000 | |
| Vancouver Maroons | Vancouver, British Columbia | Denman Arena | 10,500 | ||
| WCHL | Calgary Tigers | Calgary, Alberta | Victoria Arena | 3,000 | |
| Regina Capitals | Regina, Saskatchewan | Regina Exhibition Stadium | 4,000 | ||
Montreal finished second overall in the 1923–24 NHL regular season standings with a 13–11 record, behind the 16–8 Ottawa Senators. However, the Canadiens upset the Senators in the two-game total goal league champion series, 5 goals to 2, to win the NHL title.
Calgary finished the 1923–24 WCHL regular season with an 18–11–1 record. The Tigers then defeated the 17–11–2 second place Regina Capitals in the WCHL championship series, tying Game 1 in Regina, 2–2, and then winning 2–0 in Calgary.
The 1923–24 PCHA season was capped with the 13–6–1 Vancouver Maroons defeating the 14–16–1 Seattle Metropolitans in a two-game league championship series.
Both rounds of the Stanley Cup playoffs were scheduled to be played on the NHL winner's home ice, with Montreal having to face both the PCHA and the WCHL champions. However, Canadiens owner Leo Dandurand claimed that Calgary and Vancouver were inferior to his. He therefore wanted the two western teams to face off against each other, and then have the Canadiens play the winner in the final round. PCHA President Frank Patrick refused to go along with that idea and instead proposed a compromise in which the host team's (Montreal's) customary contribution towards the two other clubs' travel expenses would be cut in half.
But in order to generate the additional money, Calgary and Vancouver decided to play a three-game series before going to Montreal, with the loser having to face the Canadiens in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Games were played in Vancouver, Calgary, and Winnipeg, with the Tigers coming back from a Game 1 loss to win the next two contests.
Despite this extra series between the Tigers and the Maroons, Montreal still had to defeat both western teams in order to win the Cup.
The Canadiens swept the Maroons in two, one-goal victories in the best-of-three series. Billy Boucher scored the game-winning goal in Montreal's 3–2 victory in the Game 1. In Game 2, Vancouver scored first on a goal by Billy's brother, Frank Boucher. But Billy scored two goals of his own to give the Canadiens a 2–1 win and clinch the series.
| March 18 | Vancouver Maroons | 2–3 | Montreal Canadiens | Mount Royal Arena | Recap | |||
| Helge Bostrom (1) – 05:10 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 01:00 – Sprague Cleghorn (1) 18:00 - Aurele Joliat (2) | ||||||
| Joe Matte (1) – 07:00 | Third period | 08:00 – Billy Boucher (2) | ||||||
| Hugh Lehman | Goalie stats | Georges Vezina | ||||||
| March 20 | Vancouver Maroons | 1–2 | Montreal Canadiens | Mount Royal Arena | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Frank Boucher (1) – 15:00 | Third period | 05:00 – Billy Boucher (3) 14:00 – Billy Boucher (4) | ||||||
| Hugh Lehman | Goalie stats | Georges Vezina | ||||||
| Montreal won series 2–0 | |
Montreal also swept Calgary in the best-of-three series to clinch the Cup. In the first game, rookie Howie Morenz recorded a hat-trick as he led the Canadiens to a 6–1 victory. The second game was then moved to the artificial ice at Ottawa Auditorium in Ottawa because of poor ice conditions at Mount Royal Arena. There, goaltender Georges Vézina lead Montreal to a 3–0 shutout to clinch the Cup. Morenz also added another goal in the second contest, but was also leveled by Calgary right wing Cully Wilson and suffered a chipped collarbone. The Canadiens won their first Stanley Cup as a member of the NHL, their second counting the 1916 Cup win.
| March 22 | Calgary Tigers | 1–6 | Montreal Canadiens | Mount Royal Arena (Game 2 at Ottawa Auditorium) | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 19:10 – Howie Morenz (4) | ||||||
| Herb Gardiner (1) – 19:30 | Second period | 00:40 – Howie Morenz (5) 11:20 – Billy Boucher (5) 15:55 – Howie Morenz (6) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 03:40 – Aurele Joliat (3) 04:50 – Sprague Cleghorn (2) | ||||||
| Charlie Reid | Goalie stats | Georges Vezina | ||||||
| March 25 | Calgary Tigers | 0–3 | Montreal Canadiens | Mount Royal Arena (Game 2 at Ottawa Auditorium) | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 04:55 – Howie Morenz (7) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 03:30 – Billy Boucher (6) 13:50 – Aurele Joliat (4) | ||||||
| Charlie Reid | Goalie stats | Georges Vezina | ||||||
| Montreal won series 2–0 | |
After the playoffs, a new ring was added to the Cup with the player's names engraved along with the following: "Canadiens of Montreal / World's Champions / Defeated / Ottawa Vancouver Calgary / Two Straight Games Each"
The Vancouver Millionaires were a professional ice hockey team that competed in the Pacific Coast Hockey Association and the Western Canada Hockey League between 1911 and 1926. Based in Vancouver, British Columbia, they played in Denman Arena, the first artificial ice surface in Canada and the largest indoor ice rink in the world at the time it opened.
Howard William Morenz was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. Beginning in 1923, he played centre for three National Hockey League (NHL) teams: the Montreal Canadiens, the Chicago Black Hawks, and the New York Rangers. Before joining the NHL, Morenz excelled in the junior Ontario Hockey Association, where his team played for the Memorial Cup, the championship for junior ice hockey in Canada. In the NHL, he was one of the most dominant players in the league and set several league scoring records. A strong skater, Morenz was referred to as the "Stratford Streak" and "Mitchell Meteor" in reference to his speed on the ice.
The 1922–23 NHL season was the sixth season of the National Hockey League (NHL). Four teams played 24 games each. The Ottawa Senators defeated the Montreal Canadiens for the NHL championship, and then defeated Vancouver and Edmonton to win the Stanley Cup.
The Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL), founded in 1921, was a major professional ice hockey league originally based in the prairies of Canada. It was renamed the Western Hockey League (WHL) in 1925 and disbanded in 1926.
The 1923–24 NHL season was the seventh season of the National Hockey League. Four teams each played 24 games. The league champions were the Montreal Canadiens, who defeated the first-place Ottawa Senators in the league playoff. The Canadiens then defeated the Calgary Tigers of the Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL) and Vancouver Maroons of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA) to win their second Stanley Cup championship.
The 1921–22 NHL season was the fifth season of the National Hockey League (NHL). Four teams each played 24 games. The league dropped the split season and the two top teams played off for the league championship. The second-place Toronto St. Patricks defeated the first-place Ottawa Senators for the league championship.
The Calgary Tigers, often nicknamed the Bengals, were an ice hockey team based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada from 1920 until 1927 as members of the Big-4 League, Western Canada Hockey League and Prairie Hockey League. The Tigers were revived in 1932, playing for a short-lived four years in the North Western Hockey League. They played their games at the Victoria Arena.
The 1924–25 NHL season was the eighth season of the National Hockey League. The NHL added two teams this season, a second team in Montreal, the Montreal Maroons and the first U.S. team, the Boston Bruins. Six teams each played 30 games.
John Phillip "Jack" Walker was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward who played for the Toronto Blueshirts, Seattle Metropolitans, Victoria Cougars, and Detroit Cougars. He played in all the big professional leagues at the time: the National Hockey Association (NHA), Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA), Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL), and National Hockey League (NHL).
The 1923–24 WCHL season was the third season for the Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL). Four teams played 30 games each. The Calgary Tigers defeated the Regina Capitals to win the WCHL title. Calgary moved on to the Stanley Cup playoffs, losing in the Finals to the Montreal Canadiens.
The 1924–25 WCHL season was the fourth season for the Western Canada Hockey League. With the collapse of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA), two teams, the Vancouver Maroons and Victoria Cougars joined the WCHL. Six teams played 28 games each.
Charles M. Cotch was a Canadian ice hockey left winger. He played two seasons in the Pacific Coast Hockey Association with the Vancouver Maroons and one season in the National Hockey League with the Hamilton Tigers and Toronto St. Pats between 1922 and 1925. Playing mainly as a spare player, Cotch appeared in 29 games in the PCHA and 12 in the NHL, and played in the 1923 and 1924 Stanley Cup playoffs with the Maroons.
The 1925 Stanley Cup Finals saw the Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL) champion Victoria Cougars defeat the National Hockey League (NHL) champion Montreal Canadiens three games to one in a best-of-five game series. The Canadiens were substitute NHL representatives, as the final series to decide the NHL champion was not played.
The 1923 Stanley Cup playoffs was the second year in which the National Hockey League (NHL) champions, the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA) champions, and the Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL) champions all competed for the Stanley Cup. The playoffs began on March 16, 1923, and concluded on March 31 when the NHL champion Ottawa Senators defeated the WCHL champion Edmonton Eskimos in the final series, two games to zero.
The 1922 Stanley Cup playoffs concluded on March 22 when the National Hockey League (NHL) champion Toronto St. Patricks defeated the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA) champion Vancouver Millionaires in the final series, three games to two. With the debut of the Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL) at the start of the season, these playoffs marked the first time that the NHL, the PCHA, and the WCHL all competed for the Cup.
The 1923 Stanley Cup Finals was contested by the NHL champion Ottawa Senators and the WCHL champion Edmonton Eskimos. The previous WCHL-PCHA playoff format was abandoned, and the Ottawa Senators now had to play first the PCHA champion Vancouver Maroons, followed by the WCHL champion Edmonton Eskimos in the Finals.
The 1924 Stanley Cup Finals saw the National Hockey League (NHL) champion Montreal Canadiens defeat the Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL) champion Calgary Tigers two games to none in the best-of-three-game series. It was Montreal's fourth appearance in the Finals and second championship.
The 1923–24 PCHA season was the 13th and last season of the professional men's ice hockey Pacific Coast Hockey Association league. Season play ran from November 26, 1923, until February 25, 1924. Each team played 30 games, including eight games against Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL) teams. The Seattle Metropolitans club were the regular-season PCHA champions, but lost the play-off against the Vancouver Maroons.
The National Hockey League (NHL) was founded in 1917 following the demise of its predecessor league, the National Hockey Association (NHA). In an effort to remove Eddie Livingstone as owner of the Toronto Blueshirts, a majority of the NHA franchises suspended the NHA and formed the new NHL. The Quebec Bulldogs, while a member, did not operate in the NHL for the first two years. Instead the owners of the Toronto Arena Gardens operated a new Toronto franchise. While the NHL was intended as a temporary measure, the continuing dispute with Livingstone led to the four NHA owners meeting and making the suspension of the NHA permanent one year later.
The 1923–24 Montreal Canadiens season was the team's 15th season and seventh as a member of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Canadiens once again returned to the playoffs and won their second Stanley Cup, defeating the Calgary Tigers.
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