| 1941–42 NHL season | |
| League: | National Hockey League |
| Sport: | Ice hockey |
| Duration: | November 1, 1941 – April 18, 1942 |
| Season: | Regular season |
| No Of Games: | 48 |
| No Of Teams: | 7 |
| Season Champ Name: | Season champion |
| Season Champs: | New York Rangers |
| Mvp: | Tommy Anderson (Americans) |
| Mvp Link: | Hart Memorial Trophy |
| Top Scorer: | Bryan Hextall (Rangers) |
| Finals: | Stanley Cup |
| Finals Link: | 1942 Stanley Cup final |
| Finals Champ: | Toronto Maple Leafs |
| Finals Runner-Up: | Detroit Red Wings |
| Nextseason Link: | 1942–43 NHL season |
| Prevseason Link: | 1940–41 NHL season |
| Nextseason Year: | 1942–43 |
| Prevseason Year: | 1940–41 |
| Seasonslistnames: | NHL |
The 1941–42 NHL season was the 25th season of the National Hockey League. Seven teams played 48 games each. The New York Americans rebranded as the Brooklyn Americans. The Toronto Maple Leafs won the Stanley Cup defeating the Detroit Red Wings, winning four straight after losing the first three in a best-of-seven series, a feat only repeated to date three times in NHL history (1975, 2010, 2014) and once in Major League Baseball (2004). However the '41–42 Leafs were the only ones to achieve the feat in a championship final series.
This was the last season for the Brooklyn Americans who had changed their name from the New York Americans in an attempt to build a civic relationship with those from the Flatbush area of New York. However, the team continued to play at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan since there was no suitable arena in Brooklyn.
Due to World War II travel restrictions on adults, the NHL demanded more junior-aged players who were free of the travel restrictions.[1] NHL president Frank Calder reported there was a general agreement with the amateur leagues that a junior-aged player should be able to determine his own financial future due to the war.[2]
| 1941-42 National Hockey League | ||||
| Team | City | Arena | Capacity | |
| Boston Bruins | Boston, Massachusetts | Boston Garden | 13,909 | |
| Brooklyn Americans | New York, New York | Madison Square Garden | 15,925 | |
| Chicago Black Hawks | Chicago, Illinois | Chicago Stadium | 16,000 | |
| Detroit Red Wings | Detroit, Michigan | Detroit Olympia | 15,000 | |
| Montreal Canadiens | Montreal, Quebec | Montreal Forum | 12,500 | |
| New York Rangers | New York, New York | Madison Square Garden | 15,925 | |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | Toronto, Ontario | Maple Leaf Gardens | 12,586 | |
The Americans started the season without Harvey "Busher" Jackson who refused to sign. He was then sold to Boston. But the Amerks had two positive notes: two defencemen, Tommy Anderson and Pat Egan, were now All-Star calibre. That did not prevent them from finishing last, though. On December 9, 1941, the Chicago Black Hawks-Boston Bruins game would be delayed for over a half-hour as United States President Franklin Delano Roosevelt declared that the United States was at war.[3]
Frank Patrick suffered a heart attack and had to sell his interest in the Montreal Canadiens, and the Habs almost had to move to Cleveland. But Tommy Gorman kept the team alive. They added Emile "Butch" Bouchard to start his great career on defence and another very good player, Buddy O'Connor, at centre. Montreal had goaltending problems as Bert Gardiner slumped, and rookie Paul Bibeault replaced him. He showed flashes of brilliance, but his inexperience showed. Joe Benoit starred with 20 goals, the first Canadien to do that since 1938–39, when Toe Blake did it.
The New York Rangers had a new goaltender as Sugar Jim Henry replaced the retired Dave Kerr. Henry was one of the reasons the Rangers finished first, something they did not do again for the next 50 years.
See main article: 1942 Stanley Cup Finals.
| Grant Warwick, New York Rangers | ||
| Hart Trophy
| Tommy Anderson, Brooklyn Americans | |
| Lady Byng Trophy
| Syl Apps, Toronto Maple Leafs | |
| O'Brien Cup
| Detroit Red Wings | |
| Prince of Wales Trophy
| New York Rangers | |
| Vezina Trophy
| Frank Brimsek, Boston Bruins |
| First team | Position | Second team | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frank Brimsek, Boston Bruins | align=center | G | Turk Broda, Toronto Maple Leafs | |
| Earl Seibert, Chicago Black Hawks | align=center | D | Pat Egan, Brooklyn Americans | |
| Tommy Anderson, Brooklyn Americans | align=center | D | Bucko McDonald, Toronto Maple Leafs | |
| Syl Apps, Toronto Maple Leafs | align=center | C | Phil Watson, New York Rangers | |
| Bryan Hextall, New York Rangers | align=center | RW | Gordie Drillon, Toronto Maple Leafs | |
| Lynn Patrick, New York Rangers | align=center | LW | Sid Abel, Detroit Red Wings | |
| Frank Boucher, New York Rangers | align=center | Coach | Paul Thompson, Chicago Black Hawks |
Note: GP = Games played, G = Goals, A = Assists, PTS = Points, PIM = Penalties in minutes
| PLAYER | TEAM | GP | G | A | PTS | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York Rangers | 48 | 24 | 32 | 56 | 30 | ||
| New York Rangers | 47 | 32 | 22 | 54 | 18 | ||
| Detroit Red Wings | 45 | 23 | 30 | 53 | 13 | ||
| New York Rangers | 48 | 15 | 37 | 52 | 58 | ||
| Detroit Red Wings | 48 | 18 | 31 | 49 | 45 | ||
| Montreal Canadiens | 48 | 17 | 28 | 45 | 29 | ||
| Chicago Black Hawks | 47 | 15 | 30 | 45 | 8 | ||
| Toronto Maple Leafs | 48 | 23 | 18 | 41 | 6 | ||
| Toronto Maple Leafs | 38 | 18 | 23 | 41 | 0 | ||
| Brooklyn Americans | 48 | 12 | 29 | 41 | 64 |
Note: GP = Games played; Mins – 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston Bruins | 47 | 2930 | 115 | 2.35 | 24 | 17 | 6 | 3 | |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | 48 | 2960 | 136 | 2.76 | 27 | 18 | 3 | 6 | |
| New York Rangers | 48 | 2960 | 143 | 2.90 | 29 | 17 | 2 | 1 | |
| Detroit Red Wings | 47 | 2880 | 144 | 3.00 | 19 | 25 | 3 | 5 | |
| Chicago Black Hawks | 47 | 2860 | 152 | 3.19 | 21 | 23 | 3 | 3 | |
| Montreal Canadiens | 38 | 2380 | 131 | 3.30 | 17 | 19 | 2 | 1 | |
| Brooklyn Americans | 36 | 2380 | 129 | 3.47 | 13 | 21 | 2 | 1 | |
| Brooklyn Americans | 12 | 750 | 46 | 3.68 | 3 | 8 | 1 | 0 | |
| Montreal Canadiens | 10 | 620 | 42 | 4.06 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 0 | |
The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1941–42 (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 1941–42 (listed with their last team):