1934–35 NHL season

Did You Know?

• The Boston Bruins' home arena, Boston Madison Square Garden, became known as Boston Garden after the Madison Square Garden Corporation sold its ownership stake.
• The relocated St. Louis Eagles moved from the Ottawa Auditorium to St. Louis Arena.

League business

The Great Depression forced the Ottawa Senators to relocate to St. Louis, where they became the Eagles, while the original Ottawa club continued as a senior amateur team. The Eagles struggled financially in their new home, partly because they remained in the Canadian Division, which meant high travel costs. To raise money, they sold Syd Howe and Ralph "Scotty" Bowman to Detroit for $50,000. Meanwhile, Montreal Canadiens owners Leo Dandurand and Joseph Cattarinich sold the franchise to Ernest Savard and Maurice Forget of the Canadian Arena Company.

The NHL introduced the penalty shot, borrowed from the old Pacific Coast Hockey Association. The puck sat in a 10-foot circle, 38 feet from the goal. The shooter could fire while standing still or moving, as long as the shot came from inside the circle. The goaltender had to stay still, no more than one foot in front of the goal line.

Several teams switched to two uniform sets, one light and one dark. Detroit added a white version of its uniform, swapping red details for white. Chicago used white in one uniform's main stripe and socks, and brown in the other. The New York Americans and Toronto Maple Leafs kept using two sets. Boston, Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Maroons, New York Rangers, and St. Louis Eagles each stuck with a single design.

Regular season

Charlie Conacher delayed signing with Toronto but eventually did, leading the league with 36 goals. A major trade sent Howie Morenz, Lorne Chabot, and Marty Burke to Chicago for Leroy Goldsworthy, Roger Jenkins, and Lionel Conacher; Morenz helped Chicago finish second in the American Division, one point behind Boston. Montreal then traded Lionel Conacher and Herb Cain to the Maroons for Nels Crutchfield, but the moves did not stem a loss of fans. Tommy Gorman bought a share of the Montreal Maroons from James Strachan and acquired Alex Connell. The first penalty shot was awarded to Montreal's Armand Mondou on November 10, stopped by Toronto's George Hainsworth; three days later, St. Louis's Ralph "Scotty" Bowman scored the first penalty shot goal in NHL history. The New York Americans added Dave "Sweeney" Schriner and Lorne Carr, strengthening their lineup.

Playoffs

The top three teams per division qualified; division winners met in a best-of-five semifinal, while second and third place teams played two-game total-goals series. Chicago coach Clem Loughlin predicted the series winner would likely take the Stanley Cup. After two regulation games without a goal, Maroons forward Dave Trottier left for stitches, and Baldy Northcott scored the overtime winner. Toronto goaltender George Hainsworth eliminated Boston, and the Rangers outlasted Montreal Canadiens on Bill Cook's goal despite Cook being knocked groggy by Nels Crutchfield.

In the finals, the Maroons shut down Toronto's Kid line and Alex Connell repeatedly stopped scoring chances, winning the series three games to none; Connell leaned on the crossbar and cried as the crowd roared. The Maroons did not lose a single playoff game, the last team to do so until the 1951–52 Detroit Red Wings, and were the last non-Original Six team to win the Stanley Cup until 1974, as well as the last currently defunct team to win it.