Changing the Game
Page 4
In the expansion era, the Black Hawks continued to dominate and made it to the Stanley Cup Final in 1970–71 and 1972–73 with Tony Esposito protecting the crease. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, they enjoyed a lengthy streak of playoff seasons but were unable to bring everything together to claim another title. As a franchise, they experienced tough times in the early 2000s as a result of fan apathy brought about by the way the Wirtz brothers ran the club, but once a new generation took over, the future looked brighter. In 2009–10, Lord Stanley’s Mug made its return to Chicago, and the city is once again in love with their hockey team.
Dick Irvin
Irvin was one of the greatest playmakers of his era and a genuine star in the western pro loops before the NHL began its big expansion into American markets. He made his pro debut in 1915–16 but served in World War I and afterward was granted amateur status. In 1921–22, he returned to elite-level hockey and starred for the Regina Capitals until they relocated to Portland. In 1925–26, he scored 30 goals in 30 games with the Portland Rosebuds and the newly formed Black Hawks signed him on, hoping he would bring some of that magic to NHL rinks.
The 1926–27 season saw him lead the league with 18 assists — a strong total in an era when helpers were rarely granted — and he was second in overall scoring behind Bill Cook of the Rangers by a single point. On December 15, 1926, he had a hat trick against those same Broadway Blueshirts and one of his goals was the winning tally. The prematurely greying superstar also scored a big goal to secure victory over the New York Americans on February 23, 1927. In the postseason battle with Boston, he scored two goals in the second game, but it wasn’t enough to ensure a series victory.
In his second year with Chicago, Irvin’s hockey career was changed forever when he fractured his skull. He subsequently retired after the 1928–29 season to take over as the club’s coach. The Black Hawks excelled under his guidance the next year. Eventually the Toronto Maple Leafs brought him over, and in 1931–32, he led them to win a Stanley Cup. He later coached the Montreal Canadiens for 15 seasons and earned three more championships. In 1955–56, he returned to the Windy City for a final year behind the bench then stepped away from the game soon before dying of bone cancer. His son, Dick Irvin Jr., is a celebrated hockey broadcaster.
Dick Irvin
Babe Dye
One of the NHL’s earliest superstars, Dye scored more goals than any other player in the 1920s. He was a brilliant athlete that also excelled in football and baseball. He spent most of his professional career with the Toronto St. Pats, until 1926–27 when the team chose to sell him to Chicago.
In the Windy City, Dye proved that he was nowhere near washed up. He spent most of the season as the league’s top goal producer until Bill Cook surpassed him in the last few games. He had a pair of goals against the New York Americans on December 18, 1926. He had several other two-goal games, but the most significant of them had to be the 5–4 overtime victory over the Maroons on December 29, in which he also fed the puck to Mickey MacKay to complete the comeback. At the end of the year, he had a remarkable 200 career-goals to his credit.
Dye suffered a broken leg in training camp before the 1927–28 season. He was never the same after that and scored only one more time in his career. He eventually returned to Chicago to coach the Shamrocks of the American Hockey Association and remained in the area for the rest of his life
Babe Dye
Duncan “Mickey” MacKay
Lester Patrick considered MacKay the greatest centreman to ever play hockey in the west in the early days of the professional game. He was the Pacific Coast Hockey League’s all-time leading scorer. Although he is largely forgotten by many hockey fans today, MacKay is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame. At the time, it was a big deal that he was going to be a part of the original Chicago roster for the 1926–27 NHL campaign.
His first big game for the Black Hawks came during a 3–0 shutout of the mighty Montreal Canadiens on December 11, 1926. MacKay scored the first two goals that night against George Hainsworth. Often paired on a line with Dick Irvin and Babe Dye, he got many opportunities to score and had a couple of significant game-winners over the season. One of them helped cap a huge overtime comeback from a 4–0 deficit against the Montreal Maroons on December 29. Even more amazing than that was his big difference-maker in Chicago’s 5–3 defeat of the Ottawa Senators on February 9, 1927.
George Hay
Often called “The Western Wizard,” Hay was a superstar in the old WCHL with the Regina Capitals and grew up alongside hockey legend Dick Irvin. After his strong 31-point season with Portland in 1925–26, NHL fans were looking forward to seeing him play for Chicago.
Although Hay played only a single season in the Windy City, he has a permanent spot in the team’s record books because he scored the first goal in franchise history when they took on the Toronto St. Pats on November 17, 1926. He put the puck past John Ross Roach at the 3:20 mark of the first period and beat him again with the game-winning tally a minute later.
One of Hay’s best goals was the opening marker that sealed the fate of Detroit in a 2–0 shutout on Christmas. The Cougars also fell victim to his first NHL hat trick on February 19, 1927, when his offence was all that was needed in a 4–1 victory. In the playoffs, he led the Black Hawks with three points.
George Hay
Jim Riley
Riley is one of the most unique athletes in hockey history because he holds the distinction of being the only person to play both in the NHL and in major league baseball.
Riley spent most of his on-ice pro career with the Seattle Metropolitans in the PCHA and put up some decent numbers, but he spent his summers playing ball and stepped up to the plate for several minor league clubs. In 1921, he debuted with the St. Louis Browns, and his last big-league action came two years later with the Washington Senators. Over six games, he made 17 plate appearances but never registered a hit.
It is not clear how he became a member of the Chicago team, but Riley was with the club during the early part of the 1926–27 campaign. A former Stanley Cup champion with Seattle, he made it into just three games with the Black Hawks, did not put up any offence and was sent to the Detroit Cougars soon after.
Hugh Lehman
The career of one Lehman, one of hockey’s greatest goaltenders, was in its twilight when the Chicago Black Hawks came into existence, but the team made the decision to put the 41-year-old ice warrior between the pipes for their first NHL season. Lehman’s pro resumé stretched back 20 years. He was one of the sport’s pro pioneers who made the trek west to play in the Pacific Coast loop in 1911–12 and spent 12 seasons starring for Vancouver, winning a Stanley Cup in 1914–15.
In Chicago, he was somewhat reliable in the crease but was starting to show his age. The Black Hawks surrendered the most goals among the NHL’s 10 clubs in 1926–27, but he still gave some great performances, including five shutout wins. A true workhorse, Lehman led all netminders in minutes played, but that was not enough to take them past the first playoff round.
Hugh Lehman
EXPANSION YEAR RECORD: 12–28–4
(28 points — fifth in American Division)
COACHES: Art Duncan and Duke Keats
FIRST GAME: November 18, 1926 —
2–0 loss vs. Boston Bruins
FIRST GOAL: November 20, 1926 by Harold Halderson
DETROIT
COUGARS
With the NHL looking at expanding once again for its 10th season, there was great interest from several groups and cities eager to jump on the pro hockey bandwagon. At a league meeting on April 18, 1926, a number of applications were examined, five of them proposing a team from Detroit, and others from Chicago, New Jersey, Cleveland, Hamilton and New York.
Just two weeks later, the NHL approved new clubs for Detroit and Chicago (the New York Rangers had been previously admitted), but two of the Motor City–based applicants — Townsend and McCreath, along with Bierer — were asked by the league to ama
lgamate. The very next day, the Detroit group announced they had purchased the WHL’s Victoria Cougars, and the Detroit Cougars were tentatively welcomed into the league on May 15 on the condition that they have an arena ready for their first season.
Unfortunately for the Cougars, there was no suitable arena for the team to play in during the 1926–27 campaign. While they waited for the Olympia to be constructed, they were based out of nearby Windsor, Ontario, and skated at the Border Cities Arena. Art Duncan of the Calgary Tigers was brought in as a playing coach, but it cost Detroit two players because the Chicago Black Hawks held his NHL rights.
Like the Black Hawks, the Cougars also faced a threat from the upstart American Hockey Association in their expansion year. The menace of the Detroit Greyhounds was short lived, however, as they could not secure home ice and folded after six-straight road losses.
Detroit’s home opener was a bit disappointing, as they were blanked 2–0 by the Boston Bruins on November 18. They finally made a mark on the scoresheet two nights later against Pittsburgh and bounced back to record four straight victories. They proved a bit better on the road than at home in the first half of the season, but some serious losing streaks marred any chance they had at making the playoffs. One of those bad stretches lasted for seven games after they defeated Toronto in their final outing as the St. Patricks on February 16, 1927.
This streak also saw the end of Duncan’s tenure as coach when he was relieved by Duke Keats for the last 11 games of the year. By the end of the regular schedule, Detroit was in last place in the new American Division and dead last in the league, but there was at least some hope for the future.
The Cougars finally arrived in Detroit for their second season. Jack Adams was brought in to run the team and turn it into a contender. They made their first playoff appearance in 1928–29, but struggles on the ice and at the box office led them to try changing their nickname to the Falcons for two years before becoming the Red Wings in 1932–33.
The second name change did something to spark them on the ice, and they won their first regular-season title the next year with a lineup that included Larry Aurie and Ebbie Goodfellow. In 1935–36, they were Stanley Cup champions. They repeated the victory the following year. Under Adams’s guidance, they were one of the sport’s best franchises throughout the 1940s, boosted by a constant influx of top talent that boasted the likes of Ted Lindsay, Red Kelly, Sid Abel, Gordie Howe and many more.
From 1948–49 to 1954–55, the hockey heroes of the Motor City captured seven straight regular-season crowns and four Stanley Cups. The Original Six era was a great time to play for the Red Wings. The early years of expansion, however, were not good for the franchise and marked the beginning of their struggles on the ice. Gordie Howe’s retirement was one of the first bad omens for the team. The 1970s and 1980s were often bleak.
There was a new hope for fans in 1983–84, though, with the debut of Steve Yzerman. After Mike Ilitch bought the team from the Norris family, the organization had a new commitment to success on the ice. Thanks to shrewd scouting and drafting, Detroit began to add many great players to the lineup and made it to the Campbell Conference Final twice in the late 1980s. The following decade proved even better when players like Nicklas Lidstrom and Brendan Shanahan brought them two consecutive Stanley Cup championships, starting in 1996–97.
From 2000–01 to 2008–09, the Red Wings always finished first in their division and racked up two more Stanley Cup wins. The 2011–12 campaign gave them their first third-place finish since 1990–91, but with a successful track record, it is likely they will continue to dominate for many years.
Johnny Sheppard
Sheppard was regarded as a small but very effective performer. After starring for the Edmonton Eskimos at the pro level, he was sold to Detroit for the 1926–27 season and became the club’s top offensive star in their first year in the NHL.
Sheppard was a fairly consistent producer for the Cougars. One of his best efforts came against Boston on December 14, 1926, when he scored two quick goals to prevent a shutout. Two days later he scored the final goal in a 5–0 win over the Ottawa Senators that handed them their first loss of the season. On January 6, 1926, he scored twice in a 3–1 win over Pittsburgh. By the end of the season, he not only led Detroit in scoring but also was their leader in penalty minutes.
Johnny Sheppard
Frank Foyston
A dominant playmaker from hockey’s early days, Foyston had incredible success in the PCHA with the Seattle Metropolitans and was a part of their Stanley Cup victory in 1916–17. For the 1924–25 campaign he joined the Victoria Cougars where, even though his offensive totals were declining, he won another Stanley Cup before his rights were transferred to the new NHL club in Detroit.
With the new Cougars, Foyston showed some spark at the age of 35 and was second on the team in scoring. Comfortable playing at centre or on the wing, he scored the winning goal against the Boston Bruins on January 13, 1926. A little more than two weeks later, he secured another victory by scoring in overtime against the Chicago Black Hawks.
Duke Keats
A respected playmaker who was always looking to generate offence, Keats was a superstar and a perennial All-Star in the west for many years. He began the 1926–27 campaign as a member of the Boston Bruins but did not have the best start with the club, and he was dispatched to the Cougars as part of a blockbuster trade that involved Frank Frederickson going the other way.
One of the most obvious results of the trade was that his goal production increased dramatically. After less than a week in Detroit, Keats scored the lone goal in a shutout victory over the New York Americans. He put one in two days later in a 3–2 win over the Bruins on January 13, 1927, and scored twice more against his old club on February 22, the same night that he took over as coach of the Cougars.
On March 10, he had a hat trick in a big 7–1 drubbing of the Pittsburgh Pirates, but his 2–7–2 record as bench boss did not exactly make him want to lead the team for the 1927–28 season.
Duke Keats
Frank Fredrickson
Fredrickson was one of the biggest stars in the west before the NHL expanded southward. He made history with the Canadian team at the 1920 Olympics, winning a gold medal, and turned pro soon after. He spent several years with Victoria on the Aristocrats and Cougars clubs and was an All-Star performer.
In Detroit, Fredrickson had a strong start and scored the first game-winner in franchise history when he slipped the puck past Hugh Lehman on a pass from Hobie Kitchen in a 1–0 victory over the Chicago Black Hawks on November 24, 1926. Early in 1927, he was traded to Boston and his offensive contributions were definitely missed in Detroit.
Art Duncan
The playing coach, manager and captain of the Cougars, Duncan was picked up in a trade with Chicago before the season began. The veteran defender had a monumental task ahead of him in 1926–27. Before then he had starred out west for many years. He was also a flying ace with the Royal Flying Corps during World War I.
Duncan led the Cougars to just 10 victories over his first 33 games and was mercifully replaced by Duke Keats — a man who had even less luck behind the bench for the final stretch of the season.
On the ice, Duncan did not put up big numbers, but he did motivate the troops. His best game in a Cougars uniform came against the Montreal Canadiens on January 18, 1927. He popped in two goals to tie the game at three goals apiece, but the Flying Frenchmen came back to win 5–3.
Art Duncan
Russell Oatman
Russell Oatman was a promising young winger when he joined his much older brother, Ed, in the WHL in 1925–26 and remained with the Cougars as they travelled from Victoria to Detroit.
Known as a fast skater, Oatman spent some time on the team’s top line early on. His most memorable moment in the Motor City came against the Montreal Canadiens on December 23, 1926, when he scored to give the club a brief 2–1 lead. Soon after, the club suspended him for insubordination unde
r the excuse of “breaking training” and he was sold to the Montreal Maroons on January 6, 1927. The Maroons actually had his rights before the start of the season, but he was awarded to the Cougars in the big player sale. Oatman had the last laugh, however, as he scored the winning goal in overtime against his old club on January 25.
Hap Holmes
The only goaltender in hockey history to win four Stanley Cup titles with four different teams, Holmes was an elite netminder for many years but sadly is much forgotten by fans today. After the Seattle Metropolitans folded, he joined the Victoria Cougars in 1924–25 and backstopped them to a championship. He moved to Detroit along with many of his teammates when the professional sport essentially died in the west.
The prevailing opinion was that Holmes was not the same player he’d been in previous years, but by coming to play for a new club at the age of 38 he at least demonstrated bravery — and maybe a little madness. The NHL at the time was a no scorer’s paradise and, although Holmes was on the losing end for Detroit’s first two games, he quickly put together a four-game winning streak that included three shutouts against the Chicago Black Hawks, Montreal Maroons and New York Rangers. From then on, it was mostly downhill as the Cougars won consecutive games on only one more occasion and endured a rough seven-game losing streak.
Hap Holmes
EXPANSION YEAR RECORD: 25–13–6
(56 points — first in American Division)
COACH: Lester Patrick
FIRST GAME: November 16, 1926 —
1–0 win vs. Montreal Maroons
FIRST GOAL: November 16, 1926 by Bill Cook
NEW YORK