WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.459 If you were scrolling through your audio feed 00:00:02.459 --> 00:00:04.080 right now looking for something fascinating to 00:00:04.080 --> 00:00:06.599 listen to, you might actually see a title for 00:00:06.599 --> 00:00:09.460 this deep dive that looks something like the 00:00:09.460 --> 00:00:12.419 deep dive. Unbreakable records and burning rinks 00:00:12.419 --> 00:00:15.939 of the 1919 -20 NHL season. Right. And you'd 00:00:15.939 --> 00:00:18.059 probably read a description packed with all these 00:00:18.059 --> 00:00:22.519 SEO keywords about, you know, the chaotic high 00:00:22.519 --> 00:00:24.660 scoring origins of the National Hockey League 00:00:24.660 --> 00:00:27.559 or Joe Malone's unbreakable seven goal record. 00:00:27.719 --> 00:00:31.589 Exactly. Or. The bizarre rules of the 1920 Stanley 00:00:31.589 --> 00:00:34.149 Cup finals, including the forgotten rover position 00:00:34.149 --> 00:00:37.530 and the Ottawa Senators championship run. And 00:00:37.530 --> 00:00:38.929 you might just think, oh, that sounds like a 00:00:38.929 --> 00:00:41.729 really fun bit of wild sports history. But reading 00:00:41.729 --> 00:00:43.750 a summary doesn't really prepare you for the 00:00:43.750 --> 00:00:46.909 actual ground level chaos of this specific year. 00:00:47.189 --> 00:00:49.570 So welcome to the Deep Dive. We are so glad you 00:00:49.570 --> 00:00:51.469 could join us today. Glad to be here and really 00:00:51.469 --> 00:00:53.399 excited to unpack this one with you. I want you 00:00:53.399 --> 00:00:55.280 to close your eyes for a second and just imagine 00:00:55.280 --> 00:00:58.640 a professional sports league, like the absolute 00:00:58.640 --> 00:01:01.579 highest level of competition in its field. Now, 00:01:01.600 --> 00:01:04.480 imagine a team in this elite league has their 00:01:04.480 --> 00:01:07.719 home stadium just burned to the ground, forcing 00:01:07.719 --> 00:01:10.079 them to live completely out of suitcases. It's 00:01:10.079 --> 00:01:12.379 wild. And imagine a player setting an all -time 00:01:12.379 --> 00:01:14.959 scoring record. Right. But when asked about his 00:01:14.959 --> 00:01:16.859 historic performance, all he can really remember 00:01:16.859 --> 00:01:20.159 is how bitterly cold it was on the ice. Yeah. 00:01:20.519 --> 00:01:23.359 Not the glory, just the frostbite. Right. Oh, 00:01:23.459 --> 00:01:25.239 and the championship finals. They have to be 00:01:25.239 --> 00:01:27.099 packed up and moved to an entirely different 00:01:27.099 --> 00:01:29.019 city right in the middle of the series because 00:01:29.019 --> 00:01:31.060 it's just, you know, a little too warm outside 00:01:31.060 --> 00:01:33.739 and the ice is melting. It paints a picture of 00:01:33.739 --> 00:01:37.170 a, I mean. Really, a disorganized pickup league, 00:01:37.269 --> 00:01:40.590 not a professional operation. But the reality 00:01:40.590 --> 00:01:42.670 is this was the National Hockey League. It was. 00:01:42.709 --> 00:01:44.930 And we are looking specifically at the 19 -19 00:01:44.930 --> 00:01:48.049 -20 NHL season today. We're relying on the really 00:01:48.049 --> 00:01:50.769 comprehensive Wikipedia article detailing this 00:01:50.769 --> 00:01:53.329 exact stretch of time. And our mission for this 00:01:53.329 --> 00:01:55.370 deep dive is to basically cut through those dry 00:01:55.370 --> 00:01:58.290 statistics. We want to explore how this single, 00:01:58.390 --> 00:02:01.370 wildly unpredictable four -team season bridged 00:02:01.370 --> 00:02:04.030 the gap between the chaotic origins of ice hockey. 00:02:04.590 --> 00:02:07.670 and the polished, modern NHL we know today. Yeah, 00:02:07.810 --> 00:02:09.810 because to really understand this, we have to 00:02:09.810 --> 00:02:13.250 set the stage for you. The timeline is late 1919. 00:02:13.789 --> 00:02:16.830 Right, so the world is just emerging from the 00:02:16.830 --> 00:02:19.469 devastation of World War I. And the NHL itself 00:02:19.469 --> 00:02:23.449 is barely out of its infancy. It's entering only 00:02:23.449 --> 00:02:26.330 its third season in existence. Let's actually 00:02:26.330 --> 00:02:28.789 start with the business side of things, because 00:02:28.789 --> 00:02:31.349 looking at the league landscape back then is 00:02:31.349 --> 00:02:34.110 staggering compared to today. Right now, in this 00:02:34.110 --> 00:02:37.009 1919 season, there are only four teams in the 00:02:37.009 --> 00:02:39.960 entire NHL. Just four. You have the Ottawa Senators, 00:02:40.199 --> 00:02:42.800 the Montreal Canadiens, the Quebec Athletics, 00:02:42.800 --> 00:02:45.680 and Toronto. Just four franchises carrying the 00:02:45.680 --> 00:02:47.759 entire weight of this professional experiment. 00:02:48.000 --> 00:02:50.120 Yeah. And the instability of those organizations 00:02:50.120 --> 00:02:52.240 is really something to behold. Take Toronto, 00:02:52.400 --> 00:02:54.539 for example. Oh, the Toronto situation is fascinating. 00:02:54.800 --> 00:02:58.219 The source notes that in December 1919, the NHL 00:02:58.219 --> 00:03:00.139 approved a name change for the Toronto franchise 00:03:00.139 --> 00:03:02.659 to the Tecumsehs. Right. But then, just a matter 00:03:02.659 --> 00:03:04.580 of days later, the franchise is transferred from 00:03:04.580 --> 00:03:06.800 the Arena Company to a group of private investors. 00:03:07.500 --> 00:03:10.120 And this new group immediately renames the club 00:03:10.120 --> 00:03:13.719 the Toronto St. Patrick's. But what really stands 00:03:13.719 --> 00:03:16.280 out to you about that transaction? It has to 00:03:16.280 --> 00:03:18.780 be the price tag. The historical record shows 00:03:18.780 --> 00:03:21.340 this group of investors paid the NHL for the 00:03:21.340 --> 00:03:24.319 franchise, and the cost was exactly $5 ,000. 00:03:24.639 --> 00:03:28.199 $5 ,000 for a professional hockey franchise. 00:03:28.939 --> 00:03:31.080 I mean, to put that into perspective, today we 00:03:31.080 --> 00:03:33.879 are talking about NHL team valuations in the 00:03:33.879 --> 00:03:36.259 hundreds of millions. Yeah, with many crossing 00:03:36.259 --> 00:03:38.740 the billion dollar mark now. Exactly. But the 00:03:38.740 --> 00:03:42.180 business of hockey in 1919 relied entirely on 00:03:42.180 --> 00:03:45.560 gate receipts. Right. There were no massive television 00:03:45.560 --> 00:03:48.319 broadcasting rights. No global merchandising 00:03:48.319 --> 00:03:50.819 empire. No corporate arena sponsors. You paid 00:03:50.819 --> 00:03:52.759 the players based on how many people actually 00:03:52.759 --> 00:03:55.400 walk through the turnstiles on a freezing Tuesday 00:03:55.400 --> 00:03:58.479 night. It highlights just how informal and fledgling 00:03:58.479 --> 00:04:00.639 the business side of the league was. And that 00:04:00.639 --> 00:04:03.080 instability wasn't just limited to Toronto. No, 00:04:03.159 --> 00:04:05.240 definitely not. The source mentions that Quebec 00:04:05.240 --> 00:04:08.639 was finally icing a team for the 1919 -20 season 00:04:08.639 --> 00:04:11.020 after actually sitting out the first two years 00:04:11.020 --> 00:04:13.439 of the NHL. What was the holdup there? Well, 00:04:13.460 --> 00:04:16.870 that goes back to a man named Percy Quinn. According 00:04:16.870 --> 00:04:19.430 to our source, the NHL had previously canceled 00:04:19.430 --> 00:04:22.550 the Quebec franchise because Quinn tried to use 00:04:22.550 --> 00:04:25.370 it to resurrect a rival league. The NHRA. Exactly, 00:04:25.569 --> 00:04:27.889 the National Hockey Association, which was essentially 00:04:27.889 --> 00:04:31.339 the predecessor to the NHL. So when Quebec was 00:04:31.339 --> 00:04:34.259 finally reinstated by agreement in December 1919, 00:04:34.579 --> 00:04:37.199 it brought the league back up to that grand total 00:04:37.199 --> 00:04:40.220 of four teams. But even with just four teams, 00:04:40.319 --> 00:04:42.680 the logistics proved to be a total nightmare. 00:04:42.920 --> 00:04:45.600 Which brings us to the Montreal Canadiens. This 00:04:45.600 --> 00:04:49.139 is such a crazy story. In April 1919, so during 00:04:49.139 --> 00:04:51.279 the offseason, their home arena, the Jubilee 00:04:51.279 --> 00:04:54.279 Rink, burned down, just completely destroyed 00:04:54.279 --> 00:04:57.240 by fire. How does a professional team even function 00:04:57.240 --> 00:04:59.980 without a home rink? Well, it creates an immediate 00:04:59.980 --> 00:05:02.920 and severe logistical crisis because of the fire. 00:05:03.199 --> 00:05:05.540 Montreal was forced to play entirely on the road 00:05:05.540 --> 00:05:07.100 for the first part of the season. Just think 00:05:07.100 --> 00:05:09.079 about the physical toll of that. You're traveling 00:05:09.079 --> 00:05:12.480 by train in 1919. Living out of hotels. Playing 00:05:12.480 --> 00:05:14.680 in front of hostile crowds every single night 00:05:14.680 --> 00:05:17.259 without the comfort or routine of home ice. They 00:05:17.259 --> 00:05:20.199 were essentially nomads until their new building, 00:05:20.399 --> 00:05:22.819 the Mount Royal Arena, was finally completed 00:05:22.819 --> 00:05:25.699 in January 1920. And when they finally got into 00:05:25.699 --> 00:05:28.300 that new building, they made absolutely sure 00:05:28.300 --> 00:05:30.360 the opening night was one for the history books. 00:05:30.750 --> 00:05:33.310 Let's pivot to the on ice action because this 00:05:33.310 --> 00:05:34.990 is where the records really start shattering. 00:05:35.550 --> 00:05:39.829 January 10th, 1920, Montreal opens the brand 00:05:39.829 --> 00:05:42.829 new Mount Royal Arena against the Toronto St. 00:05:42.910 --> 00:05:45.370 Patrick's. And New Zealand decides to celebrate 00:05:45.370 --> 00:05:48.509 the new barn by scoring six goals himself. Yeah, 00:05:48.550 --> 00:05:51.069 Montreal drubs Toronto with a final score of 00:05:51.069 --> 00:05:54.189 14 to 7. And that scoreline isn't just a quirky 00:05:54.189 --> 00:05:57.110 historical footnote. That combined total of 21 00:05:57.110 --> 00:06:00.250 goals in a single game remains an NHL record 00:06:00.250 --> 00:06:03.029 to this very day. Over a century later. Right. 00:06:03.110 --> 00:06:05.389 In over a century of hockey since that night, 00:06:05.449 --> 00:06:07.529 with all the advancements in equipment, training, 00:06:07.629 --> 00:06:10.649 and offensive strategy, no two teams have ever 00:06:10.649 --> 00:06:13.129 combined to score more goals in an NHL game. 00:06:13.269 --> 00:06:15.170 That is staggering. But that wasn't even the 00:06:15.170 --> 00:06:17.050 most mind -blowing individual performance of 00:06:17.050 --> 00:06:19.110 the month. Not even close. Fast forward just 00:06:19.110 --> 00:06:23.370 a few weeks to January 31st, 1920. We have Joe 00:06:23.370 --> 00:06:26.970 Malone of the Quebec Athletics. In one single 00:06:26.970 --> 00:06:31.050 game, Joe Malone scores seven goals. Seven. And 00:06:31.050 --> 00:06:33.050 the source notes an eighth goal was actually 00:06:33.050 --> 00:06:36.350 disallowed on an offside call. Which, as of the 00:06:36.350 --> 00:06:39.370 2020 update in our source material, still stands 00:06:39.370 --> 00:06:42.579 as the NHL record for the most goals. scored 00:06:42.579 --> 00:06:45.120 by a player in one game. It is widely considered 00:06:45.120 --> 00:06:47.959 one of the truly unbreakable records in professional 00:06:47.959 --> 00:06:50.180 sports. You would assume a guy who scores seven 00:06:50.180 --> 00:06:52.500 goals in a professional hockey game would talk 00:06:52.500 --> 00:06:55.019 about how perfectly his stick felt or how he 00:06:55.019 --> 00:06:57.500 was just reading the goaltender flawlessly. Right, 00:06:57.600 --> 00:06:59.879 but when quoted later about his historic performance, 00:07:00.100 --> 00:07:02.490 Joe Malone simply said, The thing I recall most 00:07:02.490 --> 00:07:05.209 vividly is that it was bitterly cold. It's just 00:07:05.209 --> 00:07:07.370 a brilliant detail. It strips away the mythology 00:07:07.370 --> 00:07:10.050 of the era. It really does. It reminds you that 00:07:10.050 --> 00:07:11.829 they were playing in conditions we would consider 00:07:11.829 --> 00:07:14.250 entirely unacceptable for professional athletes 00:07:14.250 --> 00:07:16.750 today. They weren't in climate -controlled mega 00:07:16.750 --> 00:07:19.350 arenas. They were in freezing, drafty buildings, 00:07:19.550 --> 00:07:21.769 likely trying to keep their extremities from 00:07:21.769 --> 00:07:24.170 going numb while playing a violently physical 00:07:24.170 --> 00:07:27.269 game. But there is a massive statistical paradox 00:07:27.269 --> 00:07:29.269 when it comes to Joe Malone and those Quebec 00:07:29.269 --> 00:07:31.730 Athletics. Oh, the team performance? Yeah. If 00:07:31.730 --> 00:07:34.170 Malone is putting up seven goals in a single 00:07:34.170 --> 00:07:36.810 night, and the source notes he led the entire 00:07:36.810 --> 00:07:39.610 league with 39 goals that season, how does his 00:07:39.610 --> 00:07:42.610 team perform overall? Well, you'd naturally assume 00:07:42.610 --> 00:07:44.910 a team with that kind of offensive juggernaut 00:07:44.910 --> 00:07:48.069 would be a powerhouse. I mean, Malone even almost 00:07:48.069 --> 00:07:50.629 tied his own seven -goal record later that season, 00:07:50.689 --> 00:07:53.389 scoring six goals in a game against Ottawa on 00:07:53.389 --> 00:07:56.699 March 10. Wow. But despite having the most lethal 00:07:56.699 --> 00:07:59.399 score in the sport, the Quebec Athletics were 00:07:59.399 --> 00:08:02.079 dreadful. The source shows they went 2 -10 in 00:08:02.079 --> 00:08:03.800 the first half of the season, and 2 -10 in the 00:08:03.800 --> 00:08:06.379 second half, they finished dead last. How is 00:08:06.379 --> 00:08:09.120 it possible to have a player scoring nearly 40 00:08:09.120 --> 00:08:12.100 goals and still lose almost every game you play? 00:08:12.300 --> 00:08:14.680 The answer is hidden in their defensive statistics. 00:08:15.279 --> 00:08:17.519 While Malone was filling the net at one end of 00:08:17.519 --> 00:08:19.680 the ice, the team was completely bleeding goals 00:08:19.680 --> 00:08:22.310 at the other. They surrendered an NHL record 00:08:22.310 --> 00:08:26.089 7 .18 goals against per game. So you're stepping 00:08:26.089 --> 00:08:28.230 onto the ice mathematically guaranteed to give 00:08:28.230 --> 00:08:31.529 up at least seven goals. Precisely. Their main 00:08:31.529 --> 00:08:34.970 goaltender, Frank Brophy, played 21 games and 00:08:34.970 --> 00:08:39.009 gave up 148 goals. That's a 7 .1 goals against 00:08:39.009 --> 00:08:42.009 average. It is a fascinating contradiction. You 00:08:42.009 --> 00:08:44.850 have the league's greatest scorer operating within 00:08:44.850 --> 00:08:47.379 the league's... absolute worst defensive structure. 00:08:47.639 --> 00:08:49.700 Montreal definitely took advantage of that non 00:08:49.700 --> 00:08:52.840 -existent Quebec defense. Just to toss in one 00:08:52.840 --> 00:08:55.539 more absurd scoreline from our source, on March 00:08:55.539 --> 00:08:59.139 3, Montreal beat Quebec by a massive margin of 00:08:59.139 --> 00:09:02.659 16 -3. 16 -3? Yeah, and that stands as the record 00:09:02.659 --> 00:09:05.159 for the most goals scored by one team in a single 00:09:05.159 --> 00:09:07.350 game. The overarching theme of this season really 00:09:07.350 --> 00:09:10.409 is chaos. The defensive strategies, the goaltending 00:09:10.409 --> 00:09:12.909 equipment, the rule enforcement, everything was 00:09:12.909 --> 00:09:15.509 still evolving in real time. Which leads us perfectly 00:09:15.509 --> 00:09:17.629 into some of the bizarre roster quirks from that 00:09:17.629 --> 00:09:19.610 season. Oh, I have to share this detail from 00:09:19.610 --> 00:09:23.690 January 24. Ottawa is playing Toronto, and Ottawa's 00:09:23.690 --> 00:09:26.850 goalie, Clint Benedict, gets penalized. Now today, 00:09:27.029 --> 00:09:29.409 if a goalie gets a penalty, a skater goes to 00:09:29.409 --> 00:09:31.610 the penalty box to serve it, and the goalie stays 00:09:31.610 --> 00:09:33.929 in the net to protect the team. Right. But how 00:09:33.929 --> 00:09:36.549 did it work in 1920? The rules were far less 00:09:36.549 --> 00:09:39.190 forgiving. Clint Benedict actually had to leave 00:09:39.190 --> 00:09:41.669 the crease and serve his own penalty. So for 00:09:41.669 --> 00:09:44.149 two minutes, Ottawa forward Jack Dara had to 00:09:44.149 --> 00:09:46.690 play in goal. A forward, strapping on the heavy 00:09:46.690 --> 00:09:48.909 goaltender pads right in the middle of a professional 00:09:48.909 --> 00:09:51.509 game. And the best part is that Dara didn't surrender 00:09:51.509 --> 00:09:54.149 any goals during those two minutes. He pitched 00:09:54.149 --> 00:09:56.850 a perfect two -minute shutout. That's incredible. 00:09:56.889 --> 00:09:59.230 All of these elements, the massive scores, the 00:09:59.230 --> 00:10:01.370 forwards playing in goal, the burning rinks, 00:10:01.470 --> 00:10:04.230 they paint a picture of a sport that is incredibly 00:10:04.230 --> 00:10:08.070 raw, yet intensely vibrant. And people were flocking 00:10:08.070 --> 00:10:10.570 to witness it. The source points out that with 00:10:10.570 --> 00:10:13.549 World War I now over, players had returned home 00:10:13.549 --> 00:10:16.070 and fans were coming out in much larger numbers. 00:10:16.389 --> 00:10:18.429 The public was hungry for entertainment after 00:10:18.429 --> 00:10:20.970 years of global hardship. We have hard numbers 00:10:20.970 --> 00:10:23.669 to back up that cultural shift, too. On February 00:10:23.669 --> 00:10:28.620 21st, 1920... record crowd of 8 ,500 fans packed 00:10:28.620 --> 00:10:31.059 into the arena gardens in Toronto to watch the 00:10:31.059 --> 00:10:33.299 St. Patrick's play the Ottawa Senators. Gathering 00:10:33.299 --> 00:10:36.659 8 ,500 people into an indoor arena in 1920 is 00:10:36.659 --> 00:10:39.080 a massive achievement. It really is. It proves 00:10:39.080 --> 00:10:41.980 that despite the logistical hurdles, the moving 00:10:41.980 --> 00:10:45.059 franchises, the changing team names, the game 00:10:45.059 --> 00:10:47.120 of hockey was rapidly capturing the public's 00:10:47.120 --> 00:10:49.860 imagination. It was validating the sport as a 00:10:49.860 --> 00:10:54.240 major cultural and economic event. With crowds 00:10:54.240 --> 00:10:58.039 of 8 ,500 people buying tickets, you would assume 00:10:58.039 --> 00:11:00.860 the league owners would want a massive, drawn 00:11:00.860 --> 00:11:03.860 -out playoff format to maximize their gate receipts. 00:11:04.019 --> 00:11:05.740 You would think so. So how did they actually 00:11:05.740 --> 00:11:08.379 decide a champion? They utilized a format you 00:11:08.379 --> 00:11:11.120 almost never see in major modern sports leagues, 00:11:11.299 --> 00:11:14.100 a split schedule. The regular season was divided 00:11:14.100 --> 00:11:16.659 into a distinct first half and a second half. 00:11:16.879 --> 00:11:19.440 And the Ottawa Senators completely dominated. 00:11:19.480 --> 00:11:21.820 They went 9 -3 in the first half. They went 10 00:11:21.820 --> 00:11:24.379 -2 in the second half. Because Ottawa won both 00:11:24.379 --> 00:11:27.379 halves of this split season, the NHL didn't even 00:11:27.379 --> 00:11:30.519 bother holding a league playoff. Ottawa was automatically 00:11:30.519 --> 00:11:33.620 crowned the NHL champion. But being the NHL champion 00:11:33.620 --> 00:11:36.019 in 1920 didn't mean you automatically were on 00:11:36.019 --> 00:11:38.580 the Stanley Cup. Right. Who did Ottawa have to 00:11:38.580 --> 00:11:40.960 play to claim the ultimate prize? Ottawa had 00:11:40.960 --> 00:11:43.919 to face the champion of a rival league, the Pacific 00:11:43.919 --> 00:11:47.240 Coast Hockey Association, or the PCHA. And their 00:11:47.240 --> 00:11:50.399 champion was the Seattle Metropolitans. So the 00:11:50.399 --> 00:11:52.809 Stanley Cup final. was this showdown between 00:11:52.809 --> 00:11:56.210 the NHL champion from the East and the PCHH champion 00:11:56.210 --> 00:11:58.710 from the West. But before the puck even drops, 00:11:58.909 --> 00:12:01.009 they run into a logistical problem regarding 00:12:01.009 --> 00:12:03.389 their uniforms. The source notes that the Seattle 00:12:03.389 --> 00:12:06.269 Metropolitans wore green, red, and white uniforms. 00:12:06.649 --> 00:12:09.850 The Ottawa Senators wore black, red, and white. 00:12:10.090 --> 00:12:11.970 Someone looked at the ice and realized they looked 00:12:11.970 --> 00:12:14.710 way too similar. So Ottawa agreed to wear white 00:12:14.710 --> 00:12:17.070 sweaters for the series just so the players could 00:12:17.070 --> 00:12:19.679 tell each other apart. But a uniform clash is 00:12:19.679 --> 00:12:22.179 a minor inconvenience compared to the actual 00:12:22.179 --> 00:12:24.779 rules of the game. The source mentions games 00:12:24.779 --> 00:12:28.600 two and four were played under PCHA rules. What 00:12:28.600 --> 00:12:30.700 did that actually change on the ice? It introduced 00:12:30.700 --> 00:12:33.460 a completely extra position. Under NHL rules, 00:12:33.700 --> 00:12:35.860 they played the standard six -man setup we see 00:12:35.860 --> 00:12:38.649 today. But the PCHA rules forced the seventh 00:12:38.649 --> 00:12:41.389 man onto the ice, the rover. The rover. Yeah. 00:12:41.490 --> 00:12:43.730 This was a player who didn't have a fixed zone 00:12:43.730 --> 00:12:46.070 like a left winger or a right defenseman. They 00:12:46.070 --> 00:12:48.309 simply roamed the ice wherever the play demanded. 00:12:48.669 --> 00:12:51.929 So in a best of five championship series, games 00:12:51.929 --> 00:12:54.289 one, three, and five are played under normal 00:12:54.289 --> 00:12:57.960 NHL rules. But in games two and four, there is 00:12:57.960 --> 00:13:00.440 suddenly an extra guy flying around the ice. 00:13:00.679 --> 00:13:03.019 Imagine the mental agility required from these 00:13:03.019 --> 00:13:06.100 athletes to completely alter their defensive 00:13:06.100 --> 00:13:08.460 and offensive strategies from one night to the 00:13:08.460 --> 00:13:11.100 next. It speaks volumes about their raw athletic 00:13:11.100 --> 00:13:13.799 intelligence. They couldn't rely on heavily structured 00:13:13.799 --> 00:13:17.460 modern coaching systems or video analysis. They 00:13:17.460 --> 00:13:19.860 had to figure out how to adapt. to fundamental 00:13:19.860 --> 00:13:23.220 rule changes on the fly in the middle of a championship 00:13:23.220 --> 00:13:25.679 series. And speaking of figuring things out on 00:13:25.679 --> 00:13:27.980 the fly, remember at the beginning of this deep 00:13:27.980 --> 00:13:30.039 dive when I asked you to imagine the championship 00:13:30.039 --> 00:13:32.399 finals being relocated because it was too warm 00:13:32.399 --> 00:13:35.039 outside? The ultimate weather interference. This 00:13:35.039 --> 00:13:37.220 five -game series was scheduled to be played 00:13:37.220 --> 00:13:40.139 entirely in Ottawa, but unseasonably warm weather 00:13:40.139 --> 00:13:42.379 hit the city. Because they didn't have the modern 00:13:42.379 --> 00:13:44.539 climate -controlled systems we take for granted, 00:13:45.100 --> 00:13:47.700 The warm weather literally melted the ice. It 00:13:47.700 --> 00:13:50.100 became completely unplayable. It is incredible 00:13:50.100 --> 00:13:52.220 to consider the highest prize in the sport being 00:13:52.220 --> 00:13:55.159 derailed by a warm spring breeze. So they pack 00:13:55.159 --> 00:13:57.559 up the entire Stanley Cup final and move the 00:13:57.559 --> 00:13:59.860 final two games to the Arena Gardens in Toronto, 00:14:00.080 --> 00:14:03.059 where the artificial ice was still intact. How 00:14:03.059 --> 00:14:05.240 does this series conclude once they get to Toronto? 00:14:05.559 --> 00:14:07.960 Ottawa ultimately wins the series, three games 00:14:07.960 --> 00:14:10.340 to two. They capped it off with an explosive 00:14:10.340 --> 00:14:14.360 6 -1 win in Game 5. And it was Jack Darrah, the 00:14:14.360 --> 00:14:17.299 forward, who had to serve as an emergency goalie 00:14:17.299 --> 00:14:19.580 earlier in the season, who scored three goals 00:14:19.580 --> 00:14:21.940 in the third period to seal the victory for Ottawa. 00:14:22.240 --> 00:14:24.659 A legendary performance to clinch the title. 00:14:24.840 --> 00:14:27.019 But wait, what did the actual trophy presentation 00:14:27.019 --> 00:14:29.320 look like? Because the source outlines a very 00:14:29.320 --> 00:14:31.820 strange oddity regarding the hardware for this 00:14:31.820 --> 00:14:34.789 19 - Well, nothing was straightforward in 1920. 00:14:35.210 --> 00:14:37.590 The NHL champion was supposed to be awarded the 00:14:37.590 --> 00:14:40.529 O 'Brien Cup, which was a trophy carried over 00:14:40.529 --> 00:14:43.669 from the old NHA days. But the O 'Brien Cup wasn't 00:14:43.669 --> 00:14:45.950 actually awarded in 1920. Why not? Because the 00:14:45.950 --> 00:14:48.049 owner of the Montreal Canadiens, a man named 00:14:48.049 --> 00:14:51.830 George Kennedy, had won it back in 1917. And 00:14:51.830 --> 00:14:53.970 he simply kept it. He just hoarded the league 00:14:53.970 --> 00:14:56.330 championship trophy in his own possession for 00:14:56.330 --> 00:14:59.159 years. Essentially, yes. It remained under his 00:14:59.159 --> 00:15:01.679 control. That's hilarious. It wasn't until Kennedy 00:15:01.679 --> 00:15:05.200 died in 1921 that the NHL finally made arrangements 00:15:05.200 --> 00:15:09.059 to reclaim the trophy from his estate. Wow. When 00:15:09.059 --> 00:15:11.500 they reinstated it as the official award for 00:15:11.500 --> 00:15:14.419 the league playoff champions, they retroactively 00:15:14.419 --> 00:15:17.720 engraved Ottawa's 1920 championship win on it. 00:15:17.960 --> 00:15:20.399 So Ottawa won the title, but didn't even get 00:15:20.399 --> 00:15:22.399 their name on the league trophy until the following 00:15:22.399 --> 00:15:24.879 year because a rival owner refused to give it 00:15:24.879 --> 00:15:26.960 back. That is just the perfect cherry on top 00:15:26.960 --> 00:15:29.460 of this beautifully chaotic season. So bringing 00:15:29.460 --> 00:15:32.220 this all back to you listening right now, why 00:15:32.220 --> 00:15:34.620 does a single sports season from over a century 00:15:34.620 --> 00:15:37.539 ago matter? It matters because it is a stark 00:15:37.539 --> 00:15:40.299 reminder that the polished multi -billion dollar 00:15:40.299 --> 00:15:42.679 entertainment products we consume today with 00:15:42.679 --> 00:15:45.720 their flawless ice surfaces, digital video reviews 00:15:45.720 --> 00:15:49.120 and perfectly structured playoff brackets. They 00:15:49.120 --> 00:15:50.940 didn't just appear out of thin air. They were 00:15:50.940 --> 00:15:53.700 built on a precarious foundation of trial, error, 00:15:53.980 --> 00:15:56.419 burning buildings, missing trophies and rule 00:15:56.419 --> 00:15:58.799 bending chaos. It really makes you appreciate. 00:15:59.399 --> 00:16:02.340 The deep, unpredictable history baked into every 00:16:02.340 --> 00:16:04.639 single modern game you watch. It really does. 00:16:04.960 --> 00:16:06.879 And I want to leave you with a final thought 00:16:06.879 --> 00:16:09.580 to mull over. Let's hear it. Consider the fragile 00:16:09.580 --> 00:16:12.000 financial foundation of everything we just discussed. 00:16:12.559 --> 00:16:14.980 A group of investors bought the Toronto franchise 00:16:14.980 --> 00:16:19.759 for $5 ,000. Right. If those specific local businessmen 00:16:19.759 --> 00:16:22.139 or the handful of other owners in Montreal and 00:16:22.139 --> 00:16:24.559 Ottawa had decided the investment was too risky, 00:16:24.659 --> 00:16:27.539 or if that rink fire had bankrupted the Canadians 00:16:27.539 --> 00:16:31.559 entirely. Does professional hockey even survive 00:16:31.559 --> 00:16:34.000 the decade? That's a great point. We treat the 00:16:34.000 --> 00:16:36.539 NHL today as an inevitable global superpower. 00:16:37.379 --> 00:16:40.980 But in 1920, its existence hinged entirely on 00:16:40.980 --> 00:16:43.399 a few stubborn guys in eastern Canada willing 00:16:43.399 --> 00:16:45.919 to lose money on a game played on melting ice. 00:16:46.159 --> 00:16:48.500 Yeah. If those early chaotic investments had 00:16:48.500 --> 00:16:51.019 failed, would ice hockey have remained a niche 00:16:51.019 --> 00:16:53.000 regional hobby rather than the international 00:16:53.000 --> 00:16:55.769 phenomenon it is today? Furthermore, if the highest 00:16:55.769 --> 00:16:57.549 levels of modern professional sports were still 00:16:57.549 --> 00:16:59.570 entirely at the mercy of natural weather patterns, 00:16:59.750 --> 00:17:02.250 how would it fundamentally change the way athletes 00:17:02.250 --> 00:17:05.750 train, play, and win today? That is a fascinating 00:17:05.750 --> 00:17:07.869 question to think about the next time you are 00:17:07.869 --> 00:17:10.809 watching a game in a perfectly 65 -degree arena. 00:17:11.150 --> 00:17:13.269 Thank you so much for joining us on this deep 00:17:13.269 --> 00:17:17.210 dive into the 1919 -20 NHL season. We appreciate 00:17:17.210 --> 00:17:18.809 you being here, and we'll catch you next time. 00:17:18.890 --> 00:17:19.690 Thanks for listening. Take care.