1942–43 NHL season

League business

During World War II, the NHL and the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA) struck a deal allowing junior-aged players to turn professional at any time to support themselves in wartime. The league anticipated needing these young players to fill roster spots lost to military service. In October 1942, NHL president Frank Calder and CAHA president Frank Sargent finalized a new professional-amateur agreement. Under its terms, NHL teams could sign junior players only after contacting their junior club first, and they agreed not to sign any other junior-eligible players who had not yet played for the CAHA. The NHL also kept paying the CAHA for developing talent.

The Brooklyn Americans franchise folded when Madison Square Garden refused a lease with owner Red Dutton. Dutton argued that the war would weaken the other teams, but the other owners countered that so many American players were serving in the armed forces that the Americans could not field a team. A dejected Dutton walked out of the league meeting, though he would return to the NHL sooner than expected.

With the Americans gone, the league entered what is now called the Original Six era, consisting of the Boston Bruins, Chicago Black Hawks, Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers, and Toronto Maple Leafs. This six-team setup lasted until the 1966–67 season, after which the NHL doubled in size.

The league meeting on January 25, 1943, was expected to be routine. The only planned announcement was that the playoffs would start on March 20 and that all series would be best-of-seven. That matter was settled during the morning session.

Regular season

The NHL stopped playing overtime to settle tied regular-season games on November 21, 1942, because of wartime travel restrictions. The last overtime game before that change happened on November 10, when the New York Rangers beat the Chicago Black Hawks 5–3. Overtime wouldn't return to the regular season until 1983–84, and when it did, the format shifted from a full 10-minute period to a five-minute sudden-death setup. Detroit finished first in the standings, helped by goaltender Johnny Mowers, who recorded six shutouts and won the Vezina Trophy.

During the season, a stick-swinging fight broke out between Detroit's Jimmy Orlando and Toronto rookie Gaye Stewart. Orlando came out worse, with a deep, bloody gash on his face. Both players were suspended. The Montreal Canadiens kept improving under coach Dick Irvin, who assembled the first "Punch Line" of Elmer Lach, Toe Blake, and Joe Benoit.

Maurice Richard showed flashes of talent but broke his leg, leading manager Tommy Gorman to view him as fragile. Benoit became the first Canadien since Howie Morenz in 1929–30 to score 30 goals in a season, reaching exactly that mark. Gordie Drillon also contributed offensively. Montreal squeezed into the playoffs by a single point, then lost to Boston in the first round.

The Rangers, by contrast, fell hard from their 1941–42 form as World War II stripped them of Art Coulter, Alex Shibicky, the Colville brothers, and Bill Juzda, all of whom joined the armed forces. Only defenseman Ott Heller remained from their blue line. Babe Pratt was traded to Toronto for Hank Goldup and Dudley "Red" Garrett. Garrett played well as a replacement for Pratt, but he appeared in just 21 games before dying in military service.

Goaltending became a major weakness for New York: Steve Buzinski, Jimmy Franks, and veteran Bill Beveridge all faced heavy workloads as the Rangers tumbled from first place to last.