1937–38 NHL season

The 1937–38 NHL season, the league’s 21st, saw eight teams play 48 games each. The Chicago Black Hawks captured the Stanley Cup by beating the Toronto Maple Leafs three games to one in the Finals.

Off the ice, the NHL took full control of the New York Americans after owner Bill Dwyer failed to raise the necessary capital. On November 2, 1937, the league held its second all-star game, the Howie Morenz Memorial Game, raising over $11,447. Combined with other donations, this created a fund exceeding $20,000 for the Morenz family. Before the game, Morenz’s uniform and equipment were auctioned; Joseph Cattarinich won the bid at $500 and presented the gear to Howie Morenz Jr. The NHL All-Stars beat a combined Canadiens and Maroons team 6–5. In February 1938, NHL president Frank Calder ended the professional-amateur agreement with the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association, which had limited signing junior players. After a suspended NHL player joined a CAHA team without resolution, Calder told NHL teams they could approach any junior player with a contract offer.

Rule changes in September 1937 introduced the icing rule, barring teams from shooting the puck the length of the ice to waste time, though icing was still allowed during penalties. The penalty shot was revised: instead of starting from designated dots, a player began from a new line 30 feet from his own goal, skated with the puck, and shot before crossing the penalty line nearest the opponent’s goal. Faceoffs after a puck went out of bounds now occurred where the shot was made, not where it left the rink.

In the regular season, Charlie Conacher was named captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs. He had a standout weekend against Chicago on November 13, scoring a hat trick in a 7–3 win and two goals in a 3–3 tie. But on November 18 in Montreal, he dislocated his shoulder. The repeated injuries affected his health, and his doctor advised retirement.

Conacher sat out the rest of the season but returned the next year, though he never played for the Leafs again. The New York Rangers lost star center Neil Colville for several games after a prank by defenseman Joe Cooper, who was cutting teammates’ neckties with a penknife; Colville raised his hand and received a gash needing 11 stitches. The New York Americans improved with defensemen Ching Johnson and Hap Day relieving Joe Jerwa and Al Murray, and goaltender Earl Robertson led the Canadian Division in goals-against average.

Sweeney Schriner and Nels Stewart boosted the offense. The Montreal Maroons, initially coached by King Clancy, fell to last place. President and general manager Tommy Gorman took over as coach but fared worse, and attendance dropped. A bright spot was an 11–7 win over the Canadiens, with Baldy Northcott scoring a hat trick.

The Maroons lost eight straight games at one point and played their final game on March 17, 1938, against the Canadiens. The Detroit Red Wings, defending Stanley Cup champions, were surprisingly last in the American Division. Carl Liscombe set a then-record for fastest hat trick (1 minute and 52 seconds) in a 5–1 win over Chicago. On March 17, Nels Stewart scored his 300th NHL goal in a 5–3 loss to the Rangers.

The playoffs saw the Chicago Black Hawks, who barely qualified, defeat the Canadiens, the Americans, and the Maple Leafs to win the Cup with the lowest regular-season winning percentage of any champion in North America’s four major professional sports. In the quarterfinals, the New York Americans stunned the Rangers as Lorne Carr scored the overtime winner in the deciding game. The Canadiens won game one against Chicago with a Toe Blake hat trick, but Mike Karakas shut them out in game two.

In game three, Georges Mantha appeared to win with a freak goal, but Earl Seibert tied it late, and the Hawks won in overtime. In the semifinals, Toronto upset Boston in Series A. In Series B, Chicago faced the Americans. New York won game one 3–1. Game two was a goaltending duel between Karakas and Earl Robertson.

The Americans seemed headed to their first Stanley Cup Finals when Nels Stewart scored, but the result was not recorded in the source.