This Day In NHL Hockey History

This Day In NHL Hockey History October 11, 1924

This Day In NHL Hockey History October 11, 1924, The Boston Bruins and Montreal Maroons were awarded NHL franchises for $15,000 each. The Maroons were obligated to pay $11,000 of their fees to the Montreal Canadians for infringing on their territorial rights. The Boston Bruins became the first U.S. team to join the NHL.

The Montreal Maroons named Cecil Hart as the new team’s first General Manager on the same day the franchise was granted. The Maroons played in the NHL from 1924 to 1938, winning the Stanley Cup in 1926 and 1935. They were the last non-Original Six hockey team to win the Stanley Cup until the expansion Philadelphia Flyers turned the trick in 1974.

The Maroons were intended to appeal to Montreal’s English community. In 1924 a new arena was built for the team, the Montreal Forum. During their brief history, the Maroons were a contender, winning Lord Stanley’s mug twice and twice more, finishing first in their division. The Maroons had many of hockey’s finest players of that era, with eleven players being elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame and five of their six head coaches inducted.

The Maroons finished their inaugural season with a record of 9-19-2 and out of the playoffs.

Some of the most notable Maroon players were Toe Blake, King Clancy, Lionel Conacher, and many more. In 1938 the Maroons suspended play due to financial stresses caused by the Great Depression. After attempts to bring the team back, the Maroons officially canceled the team in 1947.

This Day In Hockey History — ***Montreal Maroons***

This Day In NHL Hockey History, October 11, 1924, The Boston Bruins named Art Ross as their first General Manager the same day the team was awarded an NHL franchise in 1924, making them the first U.S hockey team to join the NHL. The Bruins are the third oldest active team in the NHL and the oldest to be based in the United States. The Boston Bruins have won six Stanley Cups.

The Bruins first began to play at the Boston Arena, a.k.a. Matthews Arena, the world’s oldest indoor ice facility still in use, built (1909-1910). After leaving the Boston Arena, the team played the next 67 years, beginning in 1928 at the Boston Gardens before inhabiting the TD Garden in 1995.

Grocery store magnate Charles Adams was granted the Bruins franchise on November 1, 1924, after convincing the NHL to do so.

Adams then directed former player Art Ross to come up with a moniker for the new team, conveying the attributes of a wild animal displaying agility, speed, and cunning. Ross came up with “Bruin,” an old English word used to describe brown bears.

The Bruins played their inaugural game on December 1, 1924, defeating the Montreal Maroons 2-1. A Canadian player by the name of Smokey Harris scored the Bruins’ first-ever goal. The Bruins finished their initial season with a record of 6-24-0