WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:01.740 Welcome everyone and thanks for joining us on 00:00:01.740 --> 00:00:03.560 this deep dive. Yeah, really glad to be here. 00:00:03.640 --> 00:00:06.120 Today we're doing something really fun. We are 00:00:06.120 --> 00:00:09.300 putting on our time traveling hats and transporting 00:00:09.300 --> 00:00:12.359 you back exactly a century. A full hundred years. 00:00:12.640 --> 00:00:14.740 Right, to an era that is completely foundational 00:00:14.740 --> 00:00:17.719 to modern sports. We're looking at the history 00:00:17.719 --> 00:00:22.940 of the 1923 -24 NHL season. Which is just a wild 00:00:22.940 --> 00:00:25.980 time in hockey history. Absolutely wild. Train 00:00:25.980 --> 00:00:29.660 wrecks, people falling down wells, a three -league 00:00:29.660 --> 00:00:31.539 race for the Stanley Cup. So our mission today 00:00:31.539 --> 00:00:34.299 is simple. We're going to extract the most entertaining 00:00:34.299 --> 00:00:37.920 and important nuggets from this specific season. 00:00:38.100 --> 00:00:40.439 Basically giving you the shortcut. Exactly. A 00:00:40.439 --> 00:00:42.380 shortcut to understanding the rough and tumble 00:00:42.380 --> 00:00:45.189 early days of professional ice hockey. Completely 00:00:45.189 --> 00:00:47.950 skipping the dry textbook reading. Which is good 00:00:47.950 --> 00:00:49.750 because the textbooks can get a little dense. 00:00:50.030 --> 00:00:52.210 Very dense. Now, you might think you know the 00:00:52.210 --> 00:00:55.070 NHL, right? But to understand this season, you 00:00:55.070 --> 00:00:58.549 really have to wipe your mind of the sprawling 00:00:58.549 --> 00:01:01.810 32 -team corporate behemoth playing 82 games 00:01:01.810 --> 00:01:04.349 a year that we see today. Oh, yeah. It looked 00:01:04.349 --> 00:01:07.069 nothing like that. In the winter of 1923 and 00:01:07.069 --> 00:01:10.269 1924, the National Hockey League consisted of 00:01:10.269 --> 00:01:13.340 exactly four teams. Just four. Four teams playing 00:01:13.340 --> 00:01:16.239 a 24 game regular season. You had the Ottawa 00:01:16.239 --> 00:01:19.019 Senators, the Montreal Canadiens, the Toronto 00:01:19.019 --> 00:01:21.260 St. Patrick's and the Hamilton Tigers. It was 00:01:21.260 --> 00:01:24.900 an incredibly intimate league. I bet. And, you 00:01:24.900 --> 00:01:28.040 know, that naturally breeds some fierce, bruising 00:01:28.040 --> 00:01:30.859 rivalries when you're playing the same guys over 00:01:30.859 --> 00:01:34.329 and over. Things get heated. Exactly. But when 00:01:34.329 --> 00:01:35.890 you look at the source material we're pulling 00:01:35.890 --> 00:01:38.769 from today, it paints a picture of a sport that 00:01:38.769 --> 00:01:41.290 was in the middle of a massive identity shift. 00:01:41.430 --> 00:01:44.849 How so? Well, the 1923 -24 season is really where 00:01:44.849 --> 00:01:46.890 we start seeing the scaffolding of the modern 00:01:46.890 --> 00:01:49.290 professional league being erected. Okay, give 00:01:49.290 --> 00:01:51.430 me an example. For instance, at a league meeting 00:01:51.430 --> 00:01:54.510 in February of 1924, they officially introduced 00:01:54.510 --> 00:01:57.840 a brand new individual award. The Hart Trophy. 00:01:57.939 --> 00:02:00.519 Oh, wow. The MVP award. Right, which is still 00:02:00.519 --> 00:02:02.659 given today to the player judged most valuable 00:02:02.659 --> 00:02:05.019 to his team. So who ended up taking that inaugural 00:02:05.019 --> 00:02:07.260 award home? That went to Frank Niebuhr of the 00:02:07.260 --> 00:02:09.580 Ottawa Senators. A trivia night must know right 00:02:09.580 --> 00:02:12.300 there. Definitely. But beyond just, you know, 00:02:12.319 --> 00:02:14.879 handing out new hardware, that exact same meeting 00:02:14.879 --> 00:02:17.740 saw the NHL formally discussing plans for expansion 00:02:17.740 --> 00:02:20.650 into the United States. Really? That early on. 00:02:20.750 --> 00:02:22.930 Yeah. The Canadian markets were either fully 00:02:22.930 --> 00:02:25.710 saturated or just too small to sustain massive 00:02:25.710 --> 00:02:28.909 growth. So you had this localized four -team 00:02:28.909 --> 00:02:31.810 Canadian league looking over the border and dreaming 00:02:31.810 --> 00:02:34.310 big. Laying the groundwork for the multinational 00:02:34.310 --> 00:02:37.250 industry it is today. Precisely. In fact, the 00:02:37.250 --> 00:02:39.210 Boston Bruins would enter the league the very 00:02:39.210 --> 00:02:42.310 next year. So this season was truly the precipice 00:02:42.310 --> 00:02:44.569 of the modern NHL. Okay, so we're looking at 00:02:44.569 --> 00:02:47.330 a tiny league on the verge of massive expansion. 00:02:48.110 --> 00:02:50.550 But looking at the action on the ice, who were 00:02:50.550 --> 00:02:53.210 the standout players making history in that tight 00:02:53.210 --> 00:02:55.969 24 -game environment? Well, the source material 00:02:55.969 --> 00:02:58.409 highlights a few rookies making their mark. You 00:02:58.409 --> 00:03:00.289 really have to start with a newcomer for the 00:03:00.289 --> 00:03:02.189 Montreal Canadiens, who would go on to become 00:03:02.189 --> 00:03:06.189 the NHL's very first true box office draw. Oh, 00:03:06.210 --> 00:03:08.050 I know who this is. I'm talking about Harry Morenz. 00:03:08.110 --> 00:03:10.409 The Stratford Street. That's the one. His debut 00:03:10.409 --> 00:03:13.849 season was 1923 -24. He scored his very first 00:03:13.849 --> 00:03:17.409 career goal on December 27, 1923. And the setting 00:03:17.409 --> 00:03:19.449 for this was pretty special, right? It was. It 00:03:19.449 --> 00:03:22.210 was the inaugural NHL game played at the brand 00:03:22.210 --> 00:03:24.889 new Ottawa Auditorium. The Senators had just 00:03:24.889 --> 00:03:26.969 moved there from their old rink. Which was just 00:03:26.969 --> 00:03:28.849 called the Arena, right? Yeah, simply the Arena. 00:03:29.259 --> 00:03:31.960 Very creative. So in this shiny new building, 00:03:32.259 --> 00:03:35.280 Moran scores the first of what would ultimately 00:03:35.280 --> 00:03:39.439 be a 270 goal career. OK, put that 270 goal number 00:03:39.439 --> 00:03:42.319 into perspective for me, because modern superstars 00:03:42.319 --> 00:03:45.259 routinely score over 500 or 600 goals in their 00:03:45.259 --> 00:03:48.599 careers. So 270 might not sound huge to a casual 00:03:48.599 --> 00:03:51.259 fan today. You really have to factor in the conditions 00:03:51.259 --> 00:03:54.620 of the 1920s. Right. The equipment was just heavy, 00:03:54.659 --> 00:03:58.340 waterlogged wool and leather. Ugh. Playing in 00:03:58.340 --> 00:04:01.000 wet wool sounds miserable. It was. And the sticks 00:04:01.000 --> 00:04:04.000 were flat, heavy slabs of wood with absolutely 00:04:04.000 --> 00:04:06.139 no curve to the blade. So precision shooting 00:04:06.139 --> 00:04:08.800 was out the window. Incredibly difficult. Plus, 00:04:08.840 --> 00:04:10.719 the seasons were short, as we mentioned, and 00:04:10.719 --> 00:04:12.780 the ice conditions in natural rinks were often 00:04:12.780 --> 00:04:16.439 terrible. In that context, 270 goals is a monumental 00:04:16.439 --> 00:04:18.959 achievement. That makes total sense. Were there 00:04:18.959 --> 00:04:21.160 any veterans giving him a run for his money that 00:04:21.160 --> 00:04:23.889 season? Oh, absolutely. Looking at the scoring 00:04:23.889 --> 00:04:26.970 leaders, Sy Denany of the Ottawa Senators was 00:04:26.970 --> 00:04:29.769 practically unstoppable. What were his numbers? 00:04:29.930 --> 00:04:33.029 In a 24 -game season, Denany played 21 games 00:04:33.029 --> 00:04:36.069 and scored 22 goals. Wow. He averaged more than 00:04:36.069 --> 00:04:38.970 a goal a game, finishing with 24 points to lead 00:04:38.970 --> 00:04:41.810 the entire league. More than a goal a game is 00:04:41.810 --> 00:04:44.509 impressive in literally any era of hockey. Completely. 00:04:44.939 --> 00:04:47.480 but the source material also puts a massive spotlight 00:04:47.480 --> 00:04:51.100 on the goaltenders. I saw the name Georges Vizina 00:04:51.100 --> 00:04:54.060 in the notes. How dominant were the goalies under 00:04:54.060 --> 00:04:57.319 these 1920s conditions? They were the undisputed 00:04:57.319 --> 00:04:59.819 anchors of their teams. For Montreal, Georges 00:04:59.819 --> 00:05:03.379 Bozina played all 24 games, logged over 1 ,400 00:05:03.379 --> 00:05:05.959 minutes, recorded three shutouts, and had a goals 00:05:05.959 --> 00:05:09.120 against average of 1 .97. Under two goals a game. 00:05:09.279 --> 00:05:11.540 That's incredible. And pushing him every single 00:05:11.540 --> 00:05:13.579 night was Ottawa's goaltender, Clint Benedict, 00:05:13.800 --> 00:05:16.660 who finished right behind him with a 1 .99 goals 00:05:16.660 --> 00:05:18.579 against average. So it was just a dead heat. 00:05:18.720 --> 00:05:20.540 The margin between the two best teams in the 00:05:20.540 --> 00:05:23.120 league was razor thin, largely due to those two 00:05:23.120 --> 00:05:25.019 men. And you have to remember how restrictive 00:05:25.019 --> 00:05:26.649 the goal... goaltending rules were back then. 00:05:26.790 --> 00:05:28.670 Restrictive hats. Well, it was only a few years 00:05:28.670 --> 00:05:30.689 prior that the league even allowed goaltenders 00:05:30.689 --> 00:05:32.829 to drop to the ice to make a save without taking 00:05:32.829 --> 00:05:34.889 a penalty. Wait, they used to get a penalty for 00:05:34.889 --> 00:05:38.149 falling down? Yes. The stand -up style of goaltending 00:05:38.149 --> 00:05:41.269 was still very much the norm in 1924. It required 00:05:41.269 --> 00:05:44.029 incredible reflex saves rather than just, you 00:05:44.029 --> 00:05:46.290 know, blocking the bottom of the net with massive 00:05:46.290 --> 00:05:48.769 pads like they do today. That sounds physically 00:05:48.769 --> 00:05:51.170 exhausting. Very. And speaking of the physical 00:05:51.170 --> 00:05:54.959 toll, the 1920s NHL... had a reputation for being 00:05:54.959 --> 00:05:57.939 notoriously rough. But the notes mention the 00:05:57.939 --> 00:06:00.019 league was actually trying to clean up its image 00:06:00.019 --> 00:06:03.220 this season. Okay, let's unpack this. What did 00:06:03.220 --> 00:06:05.579 that discipline system look like? It was very 00:06:05.579 --> 00:06:07.899 much a work in progress. The previous season, 00:06:08.000 --> 00:06:10.180 Montreal actually had to suspend their own players 00:06:10.180 --> 00:06:12.579 for violence. Which is saying something. Right. 00:06:12.639 --> 00:06:14.899 Which made the NHL realize they needed a centralized 00:06:14.899 --> 00:06:18.759 discipline system. So heading into the 1923 -24 00:06:18.759 --> 00:06:21.939 season, they redefined match fouls. And those 00:06:21.939 --> 00:06:24.379 are penalties resulting in immediate ejection 00:06:24.379 --> 00:06:27.279 and a hefty fine. They also added a presidential 00:06:27.279 --> 00:06:29.660 review process for possible further punishment. 00:06:29.920 --> 00:06:33.180 The executives wanted to project a refined professional 00:06:33.180 --> 00:06:36.579 entertainment product. Did the players actually 00:06:36.579 --> 00:06:38.759 buy into that or is it just lip service from 00:06:38.759 --> 00:06:41.300 the executives? The players were still playing 00:06:41.300 --> 00:06:45.339 a gritty, localized brand of hockey. And the 00:06:45.339 --> 00:06:47.779 clash between those two mentalities is perfectly 00:06:47.779 --> 00:06:50.660 illustrated by a situation involving Montreal's 00:06:50.660 --> 00:06:54.240 Sprague Claycorn. Oh, boy. What did he do? Mid 00:06:54.240 --> 00:06:56.800 -season, the NHL held a special meeting to consider 00:06:56.800 --> 00:06:58.939 suspending Cleghorn based on claims from the 00:06:58.939 --> 00:07:01.660 Ottawa Senators. Ottawa alleged that Cleghorn 00:07:01.660 --> 00:07:03.519 was deliberately trying to injure opponents, 00:07:03.920 --> 00:07:06.480 specifically accusing him of spearing their star, 00:07:06.680 --> 00:07:09.339 Sydenny. For those who might not know the vintage 00:07:09.339 --> 00:07:11.980 terminology, what exactly is spearing? Spearing 00:07:11.980 --> 00:07:14.740 is when a player uses the blade of their stick 00:07:14.740 --> 00:07:17.180 in a stabbing motion towards an opponent. Yikes. 00:07:17.629 --> 00:07:20.029 That is incredibly dangerous. It really is. So 00:07:20.029 --> 00:07:22.069 the league executives review the charges against 00:07:22.069 --> 00:07:24.670 Cleghorn, and they ultimately reject them. They 00:07:24.670 --> 00:07:26.970 let him off. They let him off. Cleghorn is cleared 00:07:26.970 --> 00:07:29.110 to keep playing. So the league holds a special 00:07:29.110 --> 00:07:31.750 meeting to clear him of a violent stabbing act. 00:07:32.449 --> 00:07:35.189 How did he respond to getting let off the hook? 00:07:35.470 --> 00:07:37.529 Well, he immediately went out in a game against 00:07:37.529 --> 00:07:40.519 Ottawa. Charged a player named Lionel Hitchman 00:07:40.519 --> 00:07:43.639 directly into the boards. A penalty known as 00:07:43.639 --> 00:07:46.459 boarding, where you violently hit a defenseless 00:07:46.459 --> 00:07:49.339 player into the wall and earned himself a one 00:07:49.339 --> 00:07:51.920 -game suspension. You literally cannot script 00:07:51.920 --> 00:07:54.540 that. It's unbelievable. They clear him for a 00:07:54.540 --> 00:07:57.259 stabbing motion, and he immediately gets suspended 00:07:57.259 --> 00:08:00.100 for boarding someone. It really highlights how 00:08:00.100 --> 00:08:02.360 difficult it was to tame the sport back then. 00:08:02.579 --> 00:08:05.459 It was the Wild West. Now, moving away from the 00:08:05.459 --> 00:08:07.439 heavy hitters, I want to talk about the bottom 00:08:07.439 --> 00:08:11.579 of the standings. In a four -team league, someone 00:08:11.579 --> 00:08:14.500 has to lose. How did the Hamilton Tigers fare 00:08:14.500 --> 00:08:16.939 this year? You really have to feel for the fans 00:08:16.939 --> 00:08:19.519 in Hamilton during this era. It was rough. Parody 00:08:19.519 --> 00:08:22.339 was exceptionally difficult to achieve. The talent 00:08:22.339 --> 00:08:24.839 pool was highly concentrated. And once a team 00:08:24.839 --> 00:08:27.279 like Ottawa or Montreal established a winning 00:08:27.279 --> 00:08:30.540 culture, it was incredibly hard to break that 00:08:30.540 --> 00:08:32.700 duopoly. But Hamilton was trying, right? They 00:08:32.700 --> 00:08:34.960 were trying to compete. They went out and acquired 00:08:34.960 --> 00:08:38.000 some real talent. adding Billy Birch and bringing 00:08:38.000 --> 00:08:41.320 in the Green brothers, Shorty and Redvers. Did 00:08:41.320 --> 00:08:43.340 those additions move the needle for them at all? 00:08:43.440 --> 00:08:46.220 They had a few flashes of brilliance. On December 00:08:46.220 --> 00:08:49.039 28th, Hamilton traveled to Ottawa and took the 00:08:49.039 --> 00:08:51.740 game into overtime. Okay, dramatic. Just over 00:08:51.740 --> 00:08:54.419 12 minutes into the extra period, Shorty Green 00:08:54.419 --> 00:08:57.419 scored the game winner, marking Hamilton's first 00:08:57.419 --> 00:09:00.379 ever road victory over the Ottawa Senators. That 00:09:00.379 --> 00:09:02.039 must have felt like a massive turning point for 00:09:02.039 --> 00:09:04.600 the franchise. It felt like one, but the magic 00:09:04.600 --> 00:09:07.389 simply didn't last. Despite the new additions 00:09:07.389 --> 00:09:10.529 and that thrilling overtime win, the Tigers ended 00:09:10.529 --> 00:09:13.070 up finishing the 24 -game season with a record 00:09:13.070 --> 00:09:16.929 of nine wins and 15 losses. Ouch. Yeah. That 00:09:16.929 --> 00:09:19.049 put them dead last in the standings for the fifth 00:09:19.049 --> 00:09:21.309 season in a row. A rebuilding phase that seems 00:09:21.309 --> 00:09:23.409 to last forever is a timeless sports tradition, 00:09:23.529 --> 00:09:26.009 I guess. Some things never change. Speaking of 00:09:26.009 --> 00:09:28.889 timeless traditions, winter weather in Canada 00:09:28.889 --> 00:09:31.669 is completely unforgiving. There's a note in 00:09:31.669 --> 00:09:33.570 the source material about a train delay near 00:09:33.570 --> 00:09:36.529 Hawkesbury, Ontario, involving the Ottawa Senators. 00:09:37.389 --> 00:09:40.330 What is the context there? It is arguably the 00:09:40.330 --> 00:09:43.370 most bizarre story of the entire era. I love 00:09:43.370 --> 00:09:45.649 it already. Nearing the end of the regular season, 00:09:45.889 --> 00:09:48.090 the Ottawa Senators were scheduled to travel 00:09:48.090 --> 00:09:51.529 by train to Montreal to play the Canadiens. Near 00:09:51.529 --> 00:09:54.250 Hawkesbury, the train got caught in a massive 00:09:54.250 --> 00:09:56.629 snowstorm. Okay, so they're stuck. The tracks 00:09:56.629 --> 00:09:59.210 were totally blocked and the team was snowbound, 00:09:59.370 --> 00:10:02.210 trapped on the train all night long. Being stuck 00:10:02.210 --> 00:10:04.049 on a freezing train right before a professional 00:10:04.049 --> 00:10:08.330 hockey game sounds miserable. How did the players 00:10:08.330 --> 00:10:10.129 handle it? Well, they started getting hungry. 00:10:10.450 --> 00:10:13.129 And this is where it turns into a slapstick comedy. 00:10:13.690 --> 00:10:16.870 Oh, no. Ottawa's top scorer, Cy Denany, decided 00:10:16.870 --> 00:10:19.850 to step off the train into the pitch black snowstorm 00:10:19.850 --> 00:10:22.690 to go scrounging for food. In a blizzard. In 00:10:22.690 --> 00:10:25.309 a blizzard. And as he was wandering around in 00:10:25.309 --> 00:10:28.610 the snowdrifts, he fell down a hidden well. Wait, 00:10:28.629 --> 00:10:31.370 what? He literally fell down a well. The leading 00:10:31.370 --> 00:10:33.870 goal scorer in the National Hockey League vanished 00:10:33.870 --> 00:10:37.320 down a well in the middle of a blizzard. Did 00:10:37.320 --> 00:10:40.100 he survive the fall intact? Miraculously, the 00:10:40.100 --> 00:10:42.799 historical record notes he was completely uninjured. 00:10:42.879 --> 00:10:45.440 Thank goodness. But you can imagine the sheer 00:10:45.440 --> 00:10:48.539 panic of having to fish your star forward out 00:10:48.539 --> 00:10:50.720 of a subterranean hole in the ground. I can't 00:10:50.720 --> 00:10:53.159 even picture it. Because of the entire ordeal, 00:10:53.320 --> 00:10:55.720 the game had to be postponed. They finally got 00:10:55.720 --> 00:10:58.179 the train moving, arrived in Montreal, and had 00:10:58.179 --> 00:11:00.610 to play the game the very next night. How did 00:11:00.610 --> 00:11:03.450 the exhausted Ottawa Senators perform after spending 00:11:03.450 --> 00:11:06.289 the night stranded in a snowdrift? Montreal's 00:11:06.289 --> 00:11:08.990 goalie, Georges Vizina, showed absolute zero 00:11:08.990 --> 00:11:11.529 mercy and shut them out 3 -0. Of course he did. 00:11:11.669 --> 00:11:14.230 It's a story that sharply contrasts with the 00:11:14.230 --> 00:11:16.970 meticulously scheduled travel of modern athletes. 00:11:17.450 --> 00:11:20.669 Today, you have chartered flights, personal chefs, 00:11:20.909 --> 00:11:24.110 and sleep scientists. Right. In 1924, you had 00:11:24.110 --> 00:11:27.129 the top scorer foraging for food in a blizzard. 00:11:27.500 --> 00:11:29.779 falling into a well, and then having to lace 00:11:29.779 --> 00:11:31.879 up his skates to face a Hall of Fame goaltender. 00:11:32.059 --> 00:11:34.879 It is a stunning visual. Just incredible. Now, 00:11:34.919 --> 00:11:37.100 as we move past the regular season, I want to 00:11:37.100 --> 00:11:39.019 dive into the playoffs. Because here's where 00:11:39.019 --> 00:11:41.299 it gets really interesting. The playoff structure 00:11:41.299 --> 00:11:45.379 in 1924 was radically different. Montreal ends 00:11:45.379 --> 00:11:47.279 up beating Ottawa to win the NHL championship. 00:11:47.659 --> 00:11:49.200 Does that mean they just get handed the Stanley 00:11:49.200 --> 00:11:51.960 Cup? Not at all. Winning the NHL meant you won 00:11:51.960 --> 00:11:54.580 the O 'Brien Cup. which was the league's internal 00:11:54.580 --> 00:11:58.059 championship trophy. The Stanley Cup was a challenge 00:11:58.059 --> 00:12:00.980 cup for the best team in North America. In the 00:12:00.980 --> 00:12:04.759 1923 -24 season, the NHL did not have a monopoly 00:12:04.759 --> 00:12:07.360 on it. They had to fight two entirely different 00:12:07.360 --> 00:12:09.340 professional leagues for the ultimate prize. 00:12:09.659 --> 00:12:12.559 Wow. Who are the other leagues challenging for 00:12:12.559 --> 00:12:15.659 the Cup? You had the Pacific Coast Hockey Association, 00:12:15.919 --> 00:12:18.259 or PCHA, which was represented by the Vancouver 00:12:18.259 --> 00:12:21.740 Maroons. And you had the Western Canada Hockey 00:12:21.740 --> 00:12:24.519 League, the WCHL, represented by the Calgary 00:12:24.519 --> 00:12:27.399 Tigers. How does a three -league playoff even 00:12:27.399 --> 00:12:31.230 function? It led to a fascinating power struggle 00:12:31.230 --> 00:12:33.750 in the executive boardrooms. Montreal's owner, 00:12:33.889 --> 00:12:36.090 Leo Danderand, looked at the Trav's statistics 00:12:36.090 --> 00:12:38.330 and the physical toll of playing two different 00:12:38.330 --> 00:12:41.509 teams. Yeah. He made a proposal. He wanted Vancouver 00:12:41.509 --> 00:12:43.830 and Calgary to face off against each other first 00:12:43.830 --> 00:12:45.830 so that Montreal would only have to play the 00:12:45.830 --> 00:12:47.970 winner for the Stanley Cup. That seems like a 00:12:47.970 --> 00:12:50.129 very convenient proposal for Montreal. Did the 00:12:50.129 --> 00:12:51.850 Western Leagues agree to that? The president 00:12:51.850 --> 00:12:54.409 of the PCHA, Frank Patrick, flat out refused. 00:12:54.710 --> 00:12:56.610 Good for him. You have to look at the economics 00:12:56.610 --> 00:12:59.100 of the three -league war. The Western leagues 00:12:59.100 --> 00:13:01.419 were fighting for financial survival against 00:13:01.419 --> 00:13:04.600 the NHL's growing power in the East. Patrick 00:13:04.600 --> 00:13:07.059 wanted to guarantee his team a showcase series 00:13:07.059 --> 00:13:10.100 against the NHL champion to maximize gate receipts 00:13:10.100 --> 00:13:13.200 and prestige. He wasn't about to give Montreal 00:13:13.200 --> 00:13:17.000 a free pass. Exactly. As a result, Dan Duran's 00:13:17.000 --> 00:13:19.600 request was denied and the Canadians were forced 00:13:19.600 --> 00:13:22.259 to run a gauntlet. They had to face both Western 00:13:22.259 --> 00:13:25.480 champions in succession. So first up is the Vancouver 00:13:25.480 --> 00:13:28.980 Maroons. The notes say Montreal swept them 2 00:13:28.980 --> 00:13:31.799 -0 in a best -of -three series. But there's a 00:13:31.799 --> 00:13:34.039 really fascinating detail here about the rules 00:13:34.039 --> 00:13:36.679 they played under. It says Game 1 was played 00:13:36.679 --> 00:13:39.139 under Eastern rules and Game 2 was played under 00:13:39.139 --> 00:13:41.379 Western rules. What does that actually mean for 00:13:41.379 --> 00:13:44.240 the players on the ice? It meant completely rewiring 00:13:44.240 --> 00:13:46.360 their muscle memory overnight. Because these 00:13:46.360 --> 00:13:48.980 leagues operated entirely independently, they 00:13:48.980 --> 00:13:51.240 had fundamentally different rulebooks. Like what? 00:13:51.629 --> 00:13:54.090 Under Eastern rules, forward passing was completely 00:13:54.090 --> 00:13:56.750 illegal. Wait, illegal? Like you couldn't pass 00:13:56.750 --> 00:13:58.909 the puck forward at all? Not at all. You had 00:13:58.909 --> 00:14:01.370 to carry the puck on your stick or pass it backwards, 00:14:01.470 --> 00:14:04.570 similar to rugby. It made the game heavily focused 00:14:04.570 --> 00:14:07.509 on individual stick handling rushes. That changes 00:14:07.509 --> 00:14:10.450 the entire sport. And how did Western rules differ 00:14:10.450 --> 00:14:12.789 from that? The Western Leagues allowed forward 00:14:12.789 --> 00:14:16.049 passing in the neutral zone. It completely changed 00:14:16.049 --> 00:14:18.529 the speed and geometry of the sport, allowing 00:14:18.529 --> 00:14:21.409 for stretch passes and highly coordinated team 00:14:21.409 --> 00:14:23.649 positioning. That's a huge advantage for the 00:14:23.649 --> 00:14:26.289 West. It was. Historically, the Western Leagues 00:14:26.289 --> 00:14:28.970 had also used seven players on the ice, including 00:14:28.970 --> 00:14:32.350 a position called the rover, though by 1924, 00:14:32.450 --> 00:14:35.090 they were mostly adapting to six players to compete 00:14:35.090 --> 00:14:37.710 with the NHL. But the forward passing role was 00:14:37.710 --> 00:14:40.399 a massive tactical shift. How do you even prepare 00:14:40.399 --> 00:14:42.440 for a championship game where the fundamental 00:14:42.440 --> 00:14:44.840 mechanics of moving the puck change depending 00:14:44.840 --> 00:14:46.899 on the day of the week? It required incredible 00:14:46.899 --> 00:14:49.879 adaptability. Players had to suppress their instincts. 00:14:50.179 --> 00:14:52.700 A Montreal player conditioned to rush the puck 00:14:52.700 --> 00:14:55.039 end -to -end suddenly had to watch for passing 00:14:55.039 --> 00:14:57.580 lanes in the neutral zone only to revert back 00:14:57.580 --> 00:15:00.200 to individual rushes two days later. It sounds 00:15:00.200 --> 00:15:03.639 like a nightmare. But Montreal manages to survive 00:15:03.639 --> 00:15:06.320 that rule -switching ordeal against Vancouver. 00:15:06.879 --> 00:15:09.259 So their reward is that they immediately have 00:15:09.259 --> 00:15:13.379 to play the Calgary Tigers of the WCHL in the 00:15:13.379 --> 00:15:15.519 Stanley Cup Finals. Yeah. How did that series 00:15:15.519 --> 00:15:18.460 play out? Once again, Montreal proved too dominant. 00:15:18.500 --> 00:15:21.840 They swept Calgary 2 -0. Another sweep. Yeah. 00:15:21.919 --> 00:15:25.600 And this series is where Howie Morenz truly cemented 00:15:25.600 --> 00:15:28.720 his superstar status. In Game 1, which Montreal 00:15:28.720 --> 00:15:32.000 won in a massive 6 -1 blowout, Morenz scored 00:15:32.000 --> 00:15:34.759 a hat trick. Did Calgary mount any sort of pushback 00:15:34.759 --> 00:15:37.399 in Game 2? They did, both physically and environmentally. 00:15:37.519 --> 00:15:39.639 The game was originally supposed to be played 00:15:39.639 --> 00:15:42.159 in Montreal at the Mount Royal Arena. Okay, home 00:15:42.159 --> 00:15:44.899 ice advantage. Usually, yes. However, spring 00:15:44.899 --> 00:15:46.940 was arriving and the natural ice in the arena 00:15:46.940 --> 00:15:49.000 was turning into slush. Oh, wow. They couldn't 00:15:49.000 --> 00:15:50.639 play on it, so they had to pack up the Stanley 00:15:50.639 --> 00:15:52.620 Cup final and move the game down the road to 00:15:52.620 --> 00:15:54.740 the newly built Ottawa Auditorium just to find 00:15:54.740 --> 00:15:57.240 suitable ice. Moving a championship game to a 00:15:57.240 --> 00:16:00.379 rival city because the ice is melting is unimaginable 00:16:00.379 --> 00:16:03.080 today. How did Morens and the Canadians handle 00:16:03.080 --> 00:16:05.379 the disruption? They didn't miss a beat. They 00:16:05.379 --> 00:16:07.899 won that second game 3 -0. Morens scored another 00:16:07.899 --> 00:16:09.639 goal in that game, and he did it while dealing 00:16:09.639 --> 00:16:13.279 with immense physical punishment. Calgary's Cully 00:16:13.279 --> 00:16:15.679 Wilson heavily body -checked him during the series, 00:16:15.899 --> 00:16:18.580 resulting in a chipped collarbone for Morens. 00:16:18.720 --> 00:16:21.679 And he kept playing? He kept playing. Yet he 00:16:21.679 --> 00:16:23.919 still finished the playoffs as the leading scorer, 00:16:24.059 --> 00:16:26.720 with seven goals and three assists in just six 00:16:26.720 --> 00:16:30.179 games. What a warrior. Truly. By winning that 00:16:30.179 --> 00:16:32.799 final game on March 25th, the Canadians earned 00:16:32.799 --> 00:16:35.360 their second Stanley Cup championship and notably 00:16:35.360 --> 00:16:39.379 their first since 1916, back before the NHL even 00:16:39.379 --> 00:16:42.200 existed. So what does this all mean for you listening 00:16:42.200 --> 00:16:45.019 to this today? Why do we care about a 24 -game 00:16:45.019 --> 00:16:47.259 season from a century ago? It's a great question. 00:16:47.440 --> 00:16:49.980 Because knowing about the 1923 -24 season gives 00:16:49.980 --> 00:16:52.159 you a profound appreciation for the roots of 00:16:52.159 --> 00:16:54.919 the game. It shows you the exact moment the sport 00:16:54.919 --> 00:16:57.980 began to transform. It was a chaotic, multi -league 00:16:57.980 --> 00:17:00.360 turf war where teams moved arenas because of 00:17:00.360 --> 00:17:02.779 slushy ice, players got suspended for revenge 00:17:02.779 --> 00:17:05.579 hits, and the league's top scorer fell down a 00:17:05.579 --> 00:17:07.839 well looking for a snack. It really paints a 00:17:07.839 --> 00:17:10.799 picture. It does. But it was also the birth of 00:17:10.799 --> 00:17:13.240 the Hart Trophy. It was the debut of superstars 00:17:13.240 --> 00:17:15.519 like Howie Morens, and it was the moment the 00:17:15.519 --> 00:17:17.660 NHL started looking at expanding into the United 00:17:17.660 --> 00:17:21.130 States. It's a stark reminder that the streamlined, 00:17:21.390 --> 00:17:23.829 highly polished sports industry we consume today 00:17:23.829 --> 00:17:26.390 started out incredibly rough around the edges, 00:17:26.549 --> 00:17:29.950 built by sheer willpower, grit, and a few lucky 00:17:29.950 --> 00:17:32.630 bounces on natural ice. It's a phenomenal foundation 00:17:32.630 --> 00:17:35.089 to build on, and it leaves us with an alternate 00:17:35.089 --> 00:17:37.869 reality to mull over. Oh, I like alternate realities. 00:17:38.150 --> 00:17:41.609 The source material notes that this 1923 -24 00:17:41.609 --> 00:17:44.069 season was actually the very last time three 00:17:44.069 --> 00:17:46.089 leagues competed for the Stanley Cup. Really? 00:17:46.170 --> 00:17:48.329 The very last time? Yeah, the financial strain 00:17:48.329 --> 00:17:50.730 was just too much. Immediately after this season, 00:17:50.869 --> 00:17:53.869 Frank Patrick's PCHA folded, and two of its teams 00:17:53.869 --> 00:17:57.069 joined the WCHL. But what if the West Coast had 00:17:57.069 --> 00:17:59.349 managed to sustain its own rival major league? 00:17:59.430 --> 00:18:02.420 That's a wild thought. Right. If the NHL hadn't 00:18:02.420 --> 00:18:04.799 eventually monopolized the Stanley Cup and absorbed 00:18:04.799 --> 00:18:07.579 the competition, how different would the geography, 00:18:07.839 --> 00:18:10.460 the rules, and the entire culture of modern North 00:18:10.460 --> 00:18:13.019 American hockey be today? We might be looking 00:18:13.019 --> 00:18:15.599 at a completely fractured, regionalized sport 00:18:15.599 --> 00:18:17.660 with different rule books depending on which 00:18:17.660 --> 00:18:19.799 side of the Rockies you play on. An alternate 00:18:19.799 --> 00:18:22.460 reality with an East Coast Cup and a West Coast 00:18:22.460 --> 00:18:25.240 Cup playing by entirely different rules is definitely 00:18:25.240 --> 00:18:27.059 something to think about the next time you tune 00:18:27.059 --> 00:18:30.119 in to a game. Thank you so much for joining us 00:18:30.119 --> 00:18:33.160 on this deep dive into the wild world of 1920s 00:18:33.160 --> 00:18:35.319 hockey. We hope you enjoyed the journey as much 00:18:35.319 --> 00:18:37.940 as we did. Keep asking questions, keep looking 00:18:37.940 --> 00:18:40.119 into the history behind the headlines, and above 00:18:40.119 --> 00:18:42.480 all, keep staying curious. We'll catch you next 00:18:42.480 --> 00:18:42.720 time.