| 1940–41 NHL season | |
| League: | National Hockey League |
| Sport: | Ice hockey |
| Duration: | November 2, 1940 – April 12, 1941 |
| Season: | Regular season |
| No Of Games: | 48 |
| No Of Teams: | 7 |
| Season Champ Name: | Season champion |
| Season Champs: | Boston Bruins |
| Mvp: | Bill Cowley (Bruins) |
| Mvp Link: | Hart Memorial Trophy |
| Top Scorer: | Bill Cowley (Bruins) |
| Finals: | Stanley Cup |
| Finals Link: | 1941 Stanley Cup Finals |
| Finals Champ: | Boston Bruins |
| Finals Runner-Up: | Detroit Red Wings |
| Nextseason Link: | 1941–42 NHL season |
| Prevseason Link: | 1939–40 NHL season |
| Nextseason Year: | 1941–42 |
| Prevseason Year: | 1939–40 |
| Seasonslistnames: | NHL |
The 1940–41 NHL season was the 24th season of the National Hockey League (NHL). Seven teams each played 48 games. The Boston Bruins were the Stanley Cup winners as they swept the Detroit Red Wings four games to none in the final series.
In September 1940, International Ice Hockey Association president W. G. Hardy announced a new one-year agreement was reached with the NHL, who agreed to pay $250 for signing an amateur and another $250 if the amateur played in the NHL.[1] NHL president Frank Calder signed the new professional-amateur agreement in October 1940.[2] The agreement also included allowing the NHL to sign a limited number of junior age players.[3]
The Montreal Canadiens had hit the bottom in 1939–40, and were in financial trouble. Frank Patrick decided to become an investor and governor for the team, and Tommy Gorman was hired as general manager. He hired recently released Toronto coach Dick Irvin to run the team. One of the first things Gorman and Irvin did was scout for players, and the Canadiens came up with Johnny Quilty, Joe Benoit, Elmer Lach and defenceman Ken Reardon. Bert Gardiner would be used in goal, replacing Claude Bourque and Wilf Cude. Murph Chamberlain was bought from Toronto to bolster the offence.
Quilty and Benoit came through, as did Toe Blake, but the Habs had a long way to go, finishing sixth. Quilty won the Calder Trophy as the league's top rookie. In fact, before the season started, Coach Irvin handed a sealed envelope to a reporter of his guess who would win the Calder Trophy, and when the season ended, the reporter opened the envelope: Johnny Quilty was the choice Irvin made.
The Boston Bruins set a record 23 straight unbeaten games en route to a strong first-place finish at the end of the schedule. The Rangers, finished fourth after the previous year's Stanley Cup win and Dave Kerr was not up to his usual form in goal.
See main article: 1941 Stanley Cup Finals.
| Calder Trophy
| Johnny Quilty, Montreal Canadiens | |
| Hart Trophy
| Bill Cowley, Boston Bruins | |
| Lady Byng Trophy
| Bobby Bauer, Boston Bruins | |
| O'Brien Cup
| Detroit Red Wings | |
| Prince of Wales Trophy
| Boston Bruins | |
| Vezina Trophy
| Turk Broda, Toronto Maple Leafs |
| First Team | Position | Second Team | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turk Broda, Toronto Maple Leafs | align=center | G | Frank Brimsek, Boston Bruins | |
| Dit Clapper, Boston Bruins | align=center | D | Earl Seibert, Chicago Black Hawks | |
| Wally Stanowski, Toronto Maple Leafs | align=center | D | Ott Heller, New York Rangers | |
| Bill Cowley, Boston Bruins | align=center | C | Syl Apps, Toronto Maple Leafs | |
| Bryan Hextall, New York Rangers | align=center | RW | Bobby Bauer, Boston Bruins | |
| Sweeney Schriner, Toronto Maple Leafs | align=center | LW | Woody Dumart, Boston Bruins | |
| Cooney Weiland, Boston Bruins | align=center | Coach | Dick Irvin, Montreal Canadiens |
Note: GP = Games played, G = Goals, A = Assists, PTS = Points, PIM = Penalties in minutes
| PLAYER | TEAM | GP | G | A | PTS | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston Bruins | 46 | 17 | 45 | 62 | 16 | ||
| New York Rangers | 48 | 26 | 18 | 44 | 16 | ||
| Toronto Maple Leafs | 42 | 23 | 21 | 44 | 2 | ||
| Toronto Maple Leafs | 41 | 20 | 24 | 44 | 6 | ||
| Detroit Red Wings | 48 | 20 | 24 | 44 | 8 | ||
| New York Rangers | 48 | 20 | 24 | 44 | 12 | ||
| New York Rangers | 48 | 14 | 28 | 42 | 28 | ||
| Boston Bruins | 47 | 16 | 24 | 40 | 10 | ||
| Boston Bruins | 48 | 17 | 22 | 39 | 2 | ||
| Boston Bruins | 41 | 24 | 14 | 38 | 7 |
Note: GP = Games played; Min – Minutes played; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts
| Player | Team | GP | MIN | GA | GAA | W | L | T | SO | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toronto Maple Leafs | 48 | 2970 | 99 | 2.00 | 28 | 14 | 6 | 5 | ||
| Boston Bruins | 48 | 3040 | 102 | 2.01 | 27 | 8 | 13 | 6 | ||
| Detroit Red Wings | 48 | 3040 | 102 | 2.01 | 21 | 16 | 11 | 4 | ||
| New York Rangers | 48 | 3010 | 125 | 2.49 | 21 | 19 | 8 | 2 | ||
| Chicago Black Hawks | 21 | 1320 | 55 | 2.50 | 7 | 10 | 4 | 2 | ||
| Montreal Canadiens | 42 | 2600 | 119 | 2.75 | 13 | 23 | 6 | 2 | ||
| Chicago Black Hawks | 27 | 1670 | 84 | 3.02 | 9 | 15 | 3 | 1 | ||
| N.Y. Americans | 12 | 773 | 44 | 3.42 | 2 | 7 | 3 | 0 | ||
| N.Y. Americans | 36 | 2260 | 142 | 3.77 | 6 | 22 | 8 | 1 |
The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1940–41 (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 1940–41 (listed with their last team):