The National Hockey Association (NHA), officially the National Hockey Association of Canada Limited, was a professional ice hockey organization with teams in Ontario and Quebec, Canada. It is the direct predecessor of today's National Hockey League (NHL). Founded in 1909 by Ambrose O'Brien, the NHA introduced 'six-man hockey' by removing the 'rover' position in 1911. During its lifetime, the league coped with competition for players with the rival Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA), the enlistment of players for World War I and disagreements between owners. The disagreements between owners came to a head in 1917, when the NHA suspended operations in order to get rid of an unwanted owner, Eddie Livingstone.
The remaining NHA team owners started the NHL in parallel as a temporary measure, to continue play while negotiations went on with Livingstone and other lawsuits were pending. A year later, after no progress was reached with Livingstone, the other NHA owners decided to permanently suspend the NHA. The NHA's rules, constitution and trophies were reused in the NHL.
In November 1909, the Eastern Canada Hockey Association (ECHA), holder of the Stanley Cup and ostensibly the pre-eminent ice hockey league, was in the midst of a dispute. The Montreal Wanderers team of the ECHA had been bought by P. J. Doran, owner of the Jubilee Rink in Montreal and he intended to move the team's games there. The Jubilee was smaller than the Wanderers' current rink, the Montreal Arena which meant visiting teams would earn less on their trips to play the Wanderers. On November 25, 1909, the other teams in the league disbanded the ECHA and formed the new Canadian Hockey Association (CHA), which excluded the Wanderers.[1]
At the same time, Ambrose O'Brien of Renfrew, Ontario– scion of a prosperous silver mine owner and founder of the Renfrew Creamery Kings ice hockey team –was seeking admission to the ECHA so as to be able to contest the Stanley Cup. The team had applied to the Stanley Cup trustees as champions of the Federal League, but had been rejected. At the November 25 CHA founding meeting, held at the Windsor Hotel in Montreal, O'Brien applied to join the CHA but the application was rejected. Sitting in the lobby of the hotel after the CHA meeting, O'Brien met Jimmy Gardner of the Wanderers, whose team had also been rejected by the CHA. Together, they decided to form their own league, the National Hockey Association (NHA). With Cobalt and Haileybury, two other teams controlled by O' Brien, the NHA was founded on December 2, 1909 at a private meeting at 300 Saint Jacques Street in Montreal, and adopted the constitution of the ECHA.[2]
At the same time, to build a rivalry and capture francophone interest in Montreal, O'Brien and Gardner conceived of creating a team consisting of francophone players, to be managed by francophones. 'Les Canadiens', known today as the Montreal Canadiens, was admitted on December 4, 1909 to be managed by Jack Laviolette, but owned by O'Brien, on the understanding ownership was to be transferred to francophone sportsmen as soon as practicable. In all, O'Brien and his father, Michael John O'Brien, were financing four teams in the league: the Renfrew Creamery Kings (which became known as the Renfrew Millionaires), Cobalt, Haileybury, and Les Canadiens. The Cobalt and Haileybury clubs were from the Timiskaming Professional Hockey League (TPHL)[3] and Renfrew from the Federal Hockey League (FHL). Along with the Wanderers, the league had five teams.
O'Brien Cup, the championship trophy of the NHA. The NHL would continue using it after 1917.
The O'Briens were determined to win the Stanley Cup and a bidding war for players immediately started. Frank and Lester Patrick were each signed by the Renfrew Millionaires for $3,000[clarification needed] apiece, the highest salaries recorded to that time.[4] Renfrew also signed star player Cyclone Taylor of the champion Ottawa Senators team, reputedly at $5,000 per season.
Attendance at the CHA games was poor and a meeting of the NHA was held on January 15, 1910 to discuss a possible merger of the two leagues. Instead, the NHA admitted Ottawa and the Montreal Shamrocks to the NHA and the CHA folded. The owners of the Montreal Le National were offered the ownership of the Canadiens but turned it down. The Quebec Bulldogs and the other teams of the CHA were not even considered for membership. Games played prior to January 15 were thrown out, and the season began again, now with seven teams.[5]
1910–1914: Consolidation
Despite the efforts of O'Brien, who added Newsy Lalonde from the Canadiens to Renfrew, the first championship went to the Wanderers, taking over the Stanley Cup and successfully defending it against Edmonton. It would be the Wanderers' only championship in the league. The off-season led to changes in membership in the league, as Cobalt, Haileybury and Shamrocks dropped out. Les Canadiens would be taken over by new management and Quebec would join the league for the 1910–11 season. Lalonde was returned to the Canadiens. The two dormant O'Brien franchises were to be held for two Toronto teams to join the league in the future, to play in the new Arena Gardens planned for Toronto.
The 1910–1911 season saw the start of labour unrest in the league, as the league imposed a salary cap. The season almost foundered because of widespread dissatisfaction amongst the players at the salaries on offer, and players' unions were rumored to be on the verge of creation at several points.[citation needed] The players at first intended to form their own league, but the arenas were under the NHA control and surrendered for that season. Ottawa won the championship and held the Stanley Cup against Galt and Port Arthur.
In the off-season, O'Brien exited the hockey business and Renfrew exited the league. This season, the league dropped the 'rover' position, changing the game to six-man hockey, although other leagues would hold on to seven-man play into the 1920s. Attempts would be made to reintroduce seven-man hockey in subsequent years but were unsuccessful. While the league delayed its schedule to try to accommodate the Toronto teams, who were waiting for the Arena Gardens' completion, in the end the league played with only four teams. In that same off-season, the Patrick brothers built two arenas in Vancouver and Victoria and formed the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA). The PCHA exploited the low pay of the NHA teams to raid the teams for players. Quebec won the league championship, winning its first Stanley Cup, defending it successfully against Moncton.[6] Despite the raids by the PCHA, the NHA allowed a player-organized team of all-stars to play an exhibition series out west against the PCHA after the season.[7] Some of the NHA players, notably Cyclone Taylor would be enticed to join the PCHA in the following season.
In 1912–13, the two new Toronto teams joined the league, the Torontos, later dubbed the 'Blueshirts', and the Tecumsehs and the league expanded to six teams. Although the PCHA had raided Quebec for three players of its championship squad, they were replaced by top players from the Ontario and Maritime leagues, and Quebec repeated as champions. This year, the Quebec team traveled west to play the PCHA champion Victoria Aristocrats, in the first series between the two leagues' champion teams.[8] 1913–14, the last before World War I, saw a tie between the Torontos and the Canadiens for first place, and the league's first play-off was held. Toronto won the two-game series to win the championship and the first Stanley Cup win by any Toronto team. After the play-off, PCHA champion Victoria came east to play Toronto in a best-of-five series. The series was 'unofficial' as it was not approved by the Stanley Cup trustees, but any controversy was moot as Toronto won the series in three-straight games.[9]
Starting in the 1914–1915 season, the Stanley Cup was awarded exclusively to the winner of a playoff between the NHA and the PCHA regular season winners. The league championship was decided by a two-game total goal playoff between the Wanderers and the Senators. Ottawa won the championship, and the right to defend the Cup against Vancouver in a three-game series in which Vancouver won in dominating fashion. The notion of a league champion being awarded the Cup to defend ceased with that season, as the Portland Rosebuds were the PCHA champions in 1915–1916 but were not automatically accorded the Cup. Instead, they played the Montreal Canadiens for the trophy (and became the first American team to do so), which the Canadiens won in a five-game series. However, both Ottawa in 1915 and Portland in 1916 engraved their names on the Stanley Cup as well as the eventual champions.[citation needed]
1915–1917: World War I and the end of the NHA
The start of World War I meant that players started enlisting for the military to fight overseas. By 1915, World War I and PCHA raiding left the NHA without enough quality players. At first, the NHA and PCHA made peace with an agreement limiting PCHA signings of NHA players to those on teams designated by a 'draft'. However the peace did not last and disputes within the NHA and with the PCHA led to the end of the NHA. Two factions developed, Toronto and Quebec City, and the Montreal teams and Ottawa.
Prior to the 1915–16 season, Toronto Shamrocks team owner Eddie Livingstone made two moves that infuriated the NHA and the PCHA. At that time Quebec was to be one of the designated NHA teams which the PCHA would draft players from. Livingstone arranged a trade with Quebec to hide some players from the draft, infuriating the PCHA. He bought the Toronto Blueshirts without league permission for its players, and ended up with no players for the Shamrocks team as the PCHA in retaliation raided the Blueshirts for players.[10] The league ordered Livingstone to sell his Shamrocks franchise,[11] but he was unable to do so as he had only enough players for one team. The 1915–16 season was played with only five teams, a situation whereby one team each week would not play, a situation limiting team owner revenues and infuriating the other owners.[12] Instead of two games in Toronto to cover travel expenses from the other cities, there was only one per trip.
In 1916, the league stripped Livingstone of the Shamrocks franchise and fielded a second team in Toronto for the 1916–17 season. The team was composed of hockey players who had enlisted for wartime duty. The team, known as the 228th Battalion or Northern Fusiliers—actually from North Bay, Ontario[13]—played wearing khaki military uniforms and was the league's most popular and highest scoring club until the regiment was ordered overseas in February 1917 and the team was forced to withdraw. A scandal ensued when several stars were subsequently discharged and alleged they had been promised commissions solely to play hockey for the military team. The Battalion dropping out left the league at five teams again. Instead of continuing with five teams, the league suspended the Blueshirts also and dispersed its players to the other clubs and continued with four teams.[14] Livingstone threatened to sue the league over the suspension, infuriating the other owners. The league next made a demand that Livingstone sell the Toronto franchise between April and June 1917.[15] Instead of selling, Livingstone followed through with his threat to sue the NHA.
By this time, the owners of the Canadiens, Wanderers, Senators and Bulldogs wanted nothing more to do with Livingstone. However, they discovered the NHA constitution did not allow them to simply expel him from the league. Instead, on November 22, 1917, the other four owners voted to suspend the NHA's operations. Two weeks later, the four clubs founded the National Hockey League so that they could continue the business of pro hockey without Livingstone. Every owner except Livingstone was granted a franchise in the NHL and the NHA contracts transferred. The NHL also continued to use the same rules and season format as the NHA, with the NHL champion now moving on to face the PCHA champion in the Stanley Cup Finals. Wanderers owner Sam Lichtenhein was quoted as saying, "We didn't throw Livingstone out; he's still got his franchise in the old National Hockey Association. He has his team, and we wish him well. The only problem is he's playing in a one-team league."
The Bulldogs, however, announced they didn't have enough financing to ice a team for the NHL's first season. Wanting to balance the schedule, and feeling it unthinkable not to have a team from Canada's second-largest city, the NHL granted a temporary franchise to the Toronto Arena Company, which leased the Blueshirts' players from Livingstone pending resolution of the dispute. This temporary franchise would evolve into today's Toronto Maple Leafs.
The NHA's organization did not dissolve immediately. The owners had launched a lawsuit against the Battalion to attempt to make the Canadian Army pay $3000 for leaving the league and this had yet to be heard in court. The NHL could operate in the meantime, without Livingstone.
Frank Calder served as secretary-treasurer of the NHA, from 1914 until 1917. He also served as the last acting president of the league, following Frank Robinson's resignation in 1917.
The NHA's officials met nearly a year later, on September 20, 1918, when a vote was taken to permanently suspend operations over Livingstone's objections.[16] That fall, Livingstone, along with Percy Quinn, attempted to launch a rival "Canadian Hockey Association" (CHA) unsuccessfully.[17] Blocked, Livingstone and Quinn called a final meeting of the NHA owners on December 11, 1918. The NHL owners, against the wishes of Frank Calder, attended the meeting. Calder considered that an NHA meeting could not proceed with shareholders not having paid legal fees owed the league books held in court for lawsuits. Livingstone's plan was to use the fact that the Canadiens had a minority shareholder, contrary to NHA voting rules, to disallow the Canadiens vote and cause the vote to swing their way and lead to the resumption of the NHA.[18] At first, Lichtenhein refused to recognize Quinn's purchase of the Quebec NHL franchise, but agreed to if Quinn would pay the costs of the meeting itself, which he refused. The meeting ended when the NHL owners offered to pay legal fees owed to the NHA so as to proceed, according to Calder's terms, but Livingstone and Quinn refused. The NHL owners then left the meeting.[19] Separately, the Montreal and Ottawa NHA owners met and paid the fees owing to the league and Calder fined the Torontos, Ontarios and Quebec a further $200.[20] Calder now publicly promised to file a court order to "wind up" the NHA organization. When the NHL decided to continue with play, Livingstone and Quinn threatened injunctions to stop the NHL from operating. However, the threats were not followed through on and the NHL season began on schedule. The NHA organization itself was not formally dissolved for several years afterwards and Frank Calder held the presidency in both organizations.
Legacy
The NHA was innovative for its time. The league put forth several innovations, among them the abolition of the rover position in 1912 (a labour-saving measure), the institution of match penalties, and allowing line changes on the fly.
While the originator of jersey numbers in ice hockey is disputed, the NHA is commonly cited as the first to use them, requiring players wear numbered armbands beginning with the 1911–12 season.[21]
The championship trophy of the NHA was the O'Brien Cup, made of solid silver, donated by the O'Brien family. It survived as the championship trophy of the NHL until the Western Hockey League, the successor to the PCHA, folded after the 1925–26 hockey season. This left the NHL as the only professional league that competed for the Stanley Cup. Thus starting in 1926–27 season, the Stanley Cup became the championship trophy of the NHL. The O'Brien Trophy was then awarded annually as an NHL trophy afterward before being retired in 1950.
Two current NHL teams, the Canadiens and Maple Leafs, have roots in the NHA. While the Canadiens acknowledge their NHA history and records, the Maple Leafs do not claim the Blueshirts' history as their own. A third, the Ottawa Senators, borrows its name and heritage from its NHA counterpart, but is a separate expansion franchise founded in 1992 while the original Senators ceased operations in 1934.
Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Wanderers, Ottawa Senators, Quebec Bulldogs, Toronto*, Toronto 228th Battalion*
Montreal Canadiens (won playoff over Ottawa)
† Stanley Cup Champions. In 1910, both the Wanderers and Senators are considered champions.
*228th Battalion was from North Bay, Ontario, training at Camp Borden and in Toronto at the time. It dropped out after first half of season. Toronto was suspended by league after first half.
new, originally held by O'Brien; taken over by Kennedy after 1910 season, using Haileybury NHA franchise from O'Brien, Les Canadiens franchise suspended and sold in 1912 to Toronto.
new, took place of Tecumsehs/Ontarios/Shamrocks for 1916–17 season, composed of professional hockey players in military; actually from North Bay, Ontario[22]
Frank Robinson submitted his resignation letter during an NHA's meeting on October 20, 1917. However, his resignation was not considered and he was voted as NHA president for another term.[27] In Robinson's absence, the secretary-treasurer of the league, Frank Calder, chaired NHA meetings and served as the acting president of the NHA.[28]
The Toronto Arenas or Torontos were a professional men's ice hockey team that played in the first two seasons of the National Hockey League (NHL). It was operated by the owner of the Arena Gardens, the Toronto Arena Company. As the ownership of the National Hockey Association (NHA) Toronto Blueshirts franchise was in dispute, the new NHL league was started, and a temporary Toronto franchise was operated. The NHL itself was intended to only be a one-year entity until the NHA could be reactivated, although it never was.
The 1917–18 NHL season was the first season of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league was formed after the suspension of the National Hockey Association (NHA). Play was held in two halves, December 19 to February 4, and February 6 to March 6. The Canadiens won the first half, and Toronto the second half. The Montreal Wanderers withdrew early in January 1918 after their rink, the Westmount 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.
The 1918–19 NHL season was the second season of the National Hockey League (NHL). While at first it was uncertain that the NHL would operate, and the possibility that National Hockey Association (NHA) would be resumed, the unfinished business of Eddie Livingstone's Toronto and Ottawa's NHA franchise, led to the NHL owners suspending the NHA again. Livingstone would attempt to overthrow the NHA management, and failing that, attempt to operate a rival league. The pre-season was filled with legal actions, deceptions and public verbal attacks. Ultimately, the NHL operated with three teams, in Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto. However, the season ended early with Toronto suspending operations, leaving Montreal and Ottawa to play off for the championship. Montreal would win the playoff and travel to Seattle for the Stanley Cup Finals. However, the championship series was not completed due to influenza infecting the whole Montreal team and causing the eventual death of Montreal's Joe Hall.
The Toronto Hockey Club, known as the Torontos and the Toronto Blueshirts, was a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They were a member of the National Hockey Association (NHA). The club was founded in 1911 and began operations in 1912. The club won its sole Stanley Cup championship in 1914.
The Jubilee Arena also known as Jubilee Rink and l'Aréna Jubilee was an indoor arena located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was located at the area bounded by rue Alphonse-D. Roy Street and rue Ste. Catherine Est. It was used for games of the Montreal Canadiens hockey club of the National Hockey Association (NHA) and National Hockey League (NHL) from 1909 to 1910 and again in 1919, and it was home of the Montreal Wanderers NHA club from 1910. It was originally built in 1908 and held seating for 3,200 spectators.
The Ottawa Senators were an ice hockey team based in Ottawa, which existed from 1883 to 1954. The club was the first hockey club in Ontario, a founding member of the National Hockey League (NHL) and played in the NHL from 1917 until 1934. The club, which was officially the Ottawa Hockey Club, was known by several nicknames, including the Generals in the 1890s, the Silver Seven from 1903 to 1907 and the Senators dating from 1908.
The 1910–11 NHA season was the second season of the now defunct National Hockey Association. The Ottawa Hockey Club won the league championship. Ottawa took over the Stanley Cup from the Montreal Wanderers and defended it against teams from Galt, Ontario, and Port Arthur, Ontario.
The 1911–12 NHA season was the third season of the National Hockey Association (NHA). Four teams played 18 games each. The Quebec Bulldogs would win the league championship and take over the Stanley Cup.
The 1915–16 NHA season was the seventh season of the National Hockey Association. Five teams played a 24 game schedule. Montreal Canadiens won the league championship and defeated the Portland Rosebuds to win their first ever Stanley Cup.
The 1918 Stanley Cup Finals was contested by the National Hockey League (NHL) champion Toronto and the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA) champion Vancouver Millionaires. In a series held entirely in Toronto, the Toronto team won the series by three games to two in the best-of-five game series to win the Stanley Cup. It was the first series contested by the new NHL and subsequently the first Stanley Cup win by the Toronto NHL franchise team.
The 1916–17 NHA season was the eighth and final season of the National Hockey Association. Six teams were to play two half-seasons of ten games each, but this was disrupted and only four teams finished the season. The Montreal Canadiens defeated the Ottawa Senators in a playoff to win the NHA championship.
The Toronto Ontarios were a professional men's ice hockey team in the National Hockey Association from 1912 to 1915 based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They were first named the Tecumseh Hockey Club, renamed the Ontarios in 1913 and renamed the Toronto Shamrocks in January 1915 and ceased operations later that year.
The 1914–15 NHA season was the sixth season of the National Hockey Association and played from December 26, 1914, until March 3, 1915. Each team played 20 games. The Ottawa Senators won the NHA championship in a two-game, total goal playoff against the Montreal Wanderers. The Senators, however fell to the Vancouver Millionaires of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association in the Stanley Cup championship. It was the second 'World's Series' between the NHA and the PCHA for the Stanley Cup.
The 1913–14 NHA season was the fifth season of the National Hockey Association (NHA). At the end of the regular season, a tie for first place necessitated a playoff to determine the championship. The Toronto Hockey Club defeated the Montreal Canadiens 6–2 in a two-game, total-goals playoff. The Torontos then played the Victoria Aristocrats of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA) in the first Stanley Cup 'World's Series' between the leagues.
The 1917–18 Toronto Hockey Club season was the first season of the new Toronto franchise in the newly organized National Hockey League (NHL). The team was intended as a 'temporary' franchise, operating without an official club nickname and without a formal organization separate from the Toronto Arena Company that managed the Arena Gardens. Despite this, the team came together to win the first NHL Championship, competing against existing teams that had transferred directly from the National Hockey Association (NHA). Toronto would go on to win the Stanley Cup by defeating the Pacific Coast Hockey Association champion Vancouver Millionaires – the first Stanley Cup for an NHL team and the second Cup for a Toronto team after the Toronto Blueshirts' victory in the 1913–14 season of the NHA. To this day, the Toronto Arenas are the only team in the four major North American sports to win the title in their first season as a franchise.
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 1917–18 Montreal Wanderers season was the 15th and final season of play of the Montreal Wanderers ice hockey club. Along with the Canadiens, Ottawa and Quebec, the club voted to suspend the National Hockey Association (NHA) and form the National Hockey League (NHL) to freeze out the Toronto NHA franchise owner. On the ice club still had difficulties fielding a competitive club, and when the Montreal Arena burned down, owner Sam Lichtenhein elected to suspend the club. The team is officially credited with having played six games, though they only actually played the first four; the other two were declared forfeit.
The 1915–16 Toronto Hockey Club season was the fourth season of the Toronto franchise in the National Hockey Association (NHA).
The 1916–17 Ottawa Senators season was the Ottawa Hockey Club's 32nd season of play. This was the 8th and final season of the National Hockey Association. Teams were to play two half-seasons of 10 games each, though this was disrupted. Ottawa won the second half and played off against first-half winner Montreal Canadiens for the NHA title, but lost.
The 1910 NHA season was the first season of the National Hockey Association men's professional ice hockey league. The season started on January 5, but was suspended immediately and the league then absorbed the Ottawa and Shamrocks teams of the Canadian Hockey Association and the season continued from January 15 to March 15. Seven teams played 12 games each. The Ottawa Hockey Club played two Stanley Cup challenges during the season, but lost the Cup to their rivals the Montreal Wanderers who won the league championship and played a Cup challenge afterwards.
References
Coleman, Charles (1966). Trail of the Stanley Cup, Volume 1: 1893–1926. Montreal: NHL. ISBN0-84032941-5.
Wong, John Chi-Kit (2005). Lords of the Rinks: the emergence of the National Hockey League, 1875-1936. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. ISBN0-8020-8520-2.
Holzman, Morey; Nieforth, Joseph (2002). Deceptions and doublecross: how the NHL conquered hockey. Toronto: Dundurn Press. ISBN1-55002-413-2.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
