| 1935–36 NHL season | |
| League: | National Hockey League |
| Sport: | Ice hockey |
| Duration: | November 7, 1935 – April 11, 1936 |
| Season: | Regular season |
| No Of Games: | 48 |
| No Of Teams: | 8 |
| Season Champs: | Detroit Red Wings |
| Mvp: | Eddie Shore (Bruins) |
| Mvp Link: | Hart Memorial Trophy |
| Top Scorer: | Sweeney Schriner (Americans) |
| Conf1: | Canadian Division |
| Conf1 Champ: | Montreal Maroons |
| Conf2: | American Division |
| Conf2 Champ: | Detroit Red Wings |
| Finals: | Stanley Cup |
| Finals Link: | 1936 Stanley Cup Finals |
| Finals Champ: | Detroit Red Wings |
| Finals Runner-Up: | Toronto Maple Leafs |
| Nextseason Link: | 1936–37 NHL season |
| Prevseason Link: | 1934–35 NHL season |
| Nextseason Year: | 1936–37 |
| Prevseason Year: | 1934–35 |
| Seasonslistnames: | NHL |
The 1935–36 NHL season was the 19th season of the National Hockey League (NHL). The St. Louis Eagles dropped out of the league, leaving eight teams. The Detroit Red Wings were the Stanley Cup winners as they beat the Toronto Maple Leafs three games to one in the Stanley Cup Finals.
Prior to the season, the St. Louis Eagles franchise owners asked the league for permission to suspend operations for a year and then relocate back to Ottawa, however the league denied the requests. On October 15, 1935, the NHL bought back the franchise and players contracts for $40,000 and suspended operations. Chicago would not participate in the dispersal draft, while St. Louis would not have another NHL team until 1967.
During the season, the New York Americans were reported in financial trouble and were up for sale. Leo Dandurand, who had sold his interest in the Montreal Canadiens, was interested as was Joseph Cattarinich. Cattarinich said he would buy the team if the price was right. Later it was announced there would be no deal.
This was the first year the Boston Bruins switched from brown and gold to their now-familiar black and gold uniforms, while also placing the number on the front instead of the block B, which was moved to smaller B's on the shoulders.
| 1935-36 National Hockey League | |||||
| Division | Team | City | Arena | Capacity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canadian | |||||
| Montreal Canadiens | Montreal, Quebec | Montreal Forum | 12,500 | ||
| Montreal Maroons | Montreal, Quebec | Montreal Forum | 12,500 | ||
| New York Americans | New York, New York | Madison Square Garden | 15,925 | ||
| Toronto Maple Leafs | Toronto, Ontario | Maple Leaf Gardens | 12,473 | ||
| American | Boston Bruins | Boston, Massachusetts | Boston Garden | 13,909 | |
| Chicago Black Hawks | Chicago, Illinois | Chicago Stadium | 16,000 | ||
| Detroit Red Wings | Detroit, Michigan | Detroit Olympia | 15,000 | ||
| New York Rangers | New York, New York | Madison Square Garden | 15,925 | ||
Howie Morenz played badly for Chicago and incurred the wrath of Chicago owner Frederic McLaughlin. He was subsequently traded to the New York Rangers.
This was the year of Detroit. They finished first in the American Division. The Montreal Maroons finished first in the Canadian Division, but fans were starting to stay away from games they played, which worried now team president, manager and coach Tommy Gorman. At one point, Lionel Conacher had to run the team when Gorman experienced health and nervous problems.At .500 at mid-season, they traded Toe Blake for Lorne Chabot, owned by the Canadiens after being suspended by Chicago and refusing demotion to the minors, and the team began to win with Chabot in the net.
This was the final year that the league used a two-game total-goals series.
The first game of the Maroons-Red Wings series set a record for the longest game in Stanley Cup playoff history, as well as the longest ice hockey game ever played. The game began at 8:30 p.m. at the Forum in Montreal, and ended at 2:25 a.m. The game was scoreless until the sixth overtime, when Mud Bruneteau scored on Maroon goaltender Lorne Chabot to win the game. Normie Smith shut out the Maroons in the next game, and the Red Wings then beat the Maroons to win the series.
See main article: 1936 Stanley Cup Finals.
Eddie Shore won his second consecutive Hart trophy. Frank Boucher's run of seven Lady Byng trophy awards came to an end as Doc Romnes won the award. Tiny Thompson won the Vezina trophy for the third time in his career.
| Hart Trophy
| Eddie Shore, Boston Bruins | |
| Lady Byng Trophy
| Doc Romnes, Chicago Black Hawks | |
| O'Brien Cup
| Montreal Maroons | |
| Prince of Wales Trophy
| Detroit Red Wings | |
| Rookie of the Year
| Mike Karakas, Chicago Black Hawks | |
| Vezina Trophy
| Tiny Thompson, Boston Bruins |
| First Team | Position | Second Team | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tiny Thompson, Boston Bruins | align=center | G | Wilf Cude, Montreal Canadiens | |
| Eddie Shore, Boston Bruins | align=center | D | Earl Seibert, Chicago Black Hawks | |
| Babe Siebert, Boston Bruins | align=center | D | Ebbie Goodfellow, Detroit Red Wings | |
| Hooley Smith, Montreal Maroons | align=center | C | Bill Thoms, Toronto Maple Leafs | |
| Charlie Conacher, Toronto Maple Leafs | align=center | RW | Cecil Dillon, New York Rangers | |
| Sweeney Schriner, New York Americans | align=center | LW | Paul Thompson, Chicago Black Hawks | |
| Lester Patrick, New York Rangers | align=center | Coach | Tommy Gorman, Montreal Maroons |
Note: GP = Games played, G = Goals, A = Assists, PTS = Points, PIM = Penalties in minutes
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | PTS | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York Americans | 48 | 19 | 26 | 45 | 8 | ||
| Detroit Red Wings | 48 | 21 | 19 | 40 | 16 | ||
| Chicago Black Hawks | 45 | 17 | 23 | 40 | 19 | ||
| Toronto Maple Leafs | 44 | 23 | 15 | 38 | 74 | ||
| Toronto Maple Leafs | 48 | 23 | 15 | 38 | 29 | ||
| Montreal Maroons | 47 | 19 | 19 | 38 | 75 | ||
| Chicago Black Hawks | 48 | 13 | 25 | 38 | 6 | ||
| New York Americans | 47 | 10 | 28 | 38 | 14 | ||
| Detroit Red Wings | 45 | 14 | 23 | 37 | 25 | ||
| Montreal Maroons | 48 | 15 | 21 | 36 | 41 |
The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1935–36 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs):
The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1935–36 (listed with their last team):