1937 MHL Offseason: On the ice

Notable Retirements:
(note: because of the deletion of the original file, some statistics and dates may be wrong or incomplete)

Daniel Vanderbeken - W (CHI 1920-38)
One of the legends of the MHL’s first era. Vanderbeken is the last player from the league’s inaugural season to retire, and was twice the league’s leading goalscorer, in 1926 and 1927. He captained the Wildcats to their 2 Abbott Cups, and had one of the most feared shots in the league for his tenure. His 309 goals rank 2nd all-time, and his 466 points, at least for the time being, are the most in league history. He will absolutely be one of the league’s first inner circle hall of fame members when it gets built.

Robert Smith - C (OTT 19??-32, NYB 1933-38)
Smith was never the guy when he played, but he was always a consistent point producer. Helping Ottawa win their Abbott Cup in 1931, he made a big move to join the Blue Birds after the Lumberjacks folded, and was one of their best offensive weapons for the rest of his career. Smith finishes his career with 192 goals and 290 points in 559 career games, a solid resume.

Transactions:

Boston:

Ins:
Jean Rheault - W (Rookie)
Lucien Bernard - G (Rookie)

Outs:
Jeff Apps - C (FA)
Ivan Davison - W (FA)
John Wilson - D (FA)
David Gagnon - G (MTB)

Re-Signings:
Joseph Levesque - D
Christopher Russell - C
Basket Parker - D

Boston lost 3 longtime pieces of their roster in the offseason, with Jeff Apps, Ivan Davison, and John Wilson being 3 of the most synonymous names with the franchise. Davison is their all-time leader in GP and goals, while Apps has the hold on the all-time points mark. Wilson didn’t score much, but was always a dependable defenseman. Joseph Levesque is their future on defense, and he was signed to a big deal. Rookie winger Jean Rheault has lots of promise too.

Ins:

…

1937 MHL Offseason: Off the Ice

Quebec saved from folding, relocates to the United States

The amazing playoff run Les Bleus went on was enough to save them from folding, but unfortunate for the fans in the provincial capital, it was not enough to keep them within the city long-term. However, their play caught the attention of American businessman Cyril Calvin, who owns multiple manufacturing companies in Rochester, New York. The League and Calvin agreed to a deal for him to purchase the club, and move them stateside. Calvin, a proud Rochesterian, announced the team would be rebranded as the Rochester Blues, as a homage to both the flag of the city, and the original incarnation from Quebec. However, this caught the attention of the New York Blue Birds, who contested having a team in the same state with a similar name and logo. However, Calvin is very rich, and after a generous cash offer, they backed down and allowed the name to stand.

The team logo consists of the crane from the flag of the city, with the city name arched overtop. The jerseys consist of a navy blue base, with gold arms and a blue stripe on each. Similar to Quebec, they will only have one jersey, worn both home and away.



MHL adds overtime to the fold, restructures divisions

The MHL headquarters announced in the summer that the league would now be adding one 20-minute overtime period following ties in the regular season. This came in response to many complaints about the abundance of ties in the regular season, taking away from potential wins. While there will still be ties if there is no scoring after the extra period, the goal is to add more wins to teams’ records.

As well, with Quebec moving to Rochester, the league moved back to a West-East divisional structure, with Chicago, Detroit, Toronto, Rochester, Washington and Philadelphia joining the West, and the 3 New York teams, 2 Montreal team

1937 MHL Playoffs: Abbott Cup Final

(S2) Brooklyn Kings (32-25-7) vs (N1) Montreal Greys (28-21-15)

The Brooklyn Auditorium was hustling and bustling as the two teams got set for game 1 of the 1937 championship series. Brooklyn was looking for their first title in 9 years, while the Greys were attempting to win their second in 3.

The series started off with two great chances, as Wallace Harper had two breakaways early on, but both were stopped by Alan Clercius. The series icebreaker came 6 minutes in, when Montreal’s Rodney Tebow fed Frank Martin, who beat Randall Thomas cleanly. This lead wouldn’t last long, as 2 minutes later, a netfront scramble led to Clercius being far outside of the net, and Richard Gravel tapped home a loose puck to tie it up. It was a very fast-paced period overall, and it was tied after 20.

Montreal played much better in the second, limiting the Brooklyn chances and getting more of their own. For the majority of the period Brooklyn did well to contain the chances, though there was the occasional open look that was missed. Jean Dezouvre deflected a shot from the slot with 6 minutes to play, giving Montreal the lead back. However, Brooklyn responded before the frame ended, on the power play. The two late goals meant it was still deadlocked through 40.

The third period was the tightest period of the game. The majority of it was pretty tight, though Brooklyn did get a power play they couldn’t convert on. With the tension growing, the tightness increased. Eventually, Montreal got a power play in the final minutes, and on the man advantage, Anthony Wilson beat Randall Thomas 5-hole to give the visitors a late lead. Soon after though, Montreal took a penalty of their own, and in the dying seconds, Samuel Belmont scored on a defensive breakdown, tying the game and sending it to overtime. The crowd was electric.

It didn’t take long for overtime to find the winning goal. Both teams had chance

1936-37 MHL Season: Second Half

The second half of the 1936-37 saw tons of movement, including probably the single closest and most intense playoff race, right to the very end in both conferences. Lots of firsts as well. Let’s see what happened.

Finishing first in the new North Division was Montreal, but unlike at the half where it was the Barons, it was the Greys that finished atop. They went 15-8-9 to close out the year, just enough to get that first-round bye. Big second halves from players such as Paul Boyle and William Smith definitely helped, as both players finished in the top 3 in points, and the Greys’ offense finished #1 overall. On the other end, Alan Clercius did well in net, and the defense stepped up when needed. Montreal finished at 28-21-15, 2 points clear of second.

Finishing second and making the Abbott Cup playoffs for the first time in their history are the Detroit Guardians. After coming so close so many times, they’ve finally made it to the postseason. In a bit of a surprise, they finished with the best defense in the league, giving up 157 goals for 2.45 per game. This helped their average offense, and it gives them a good advantage heading into round 1. Detroit finished at 29-24-11, and has home ice advantage in round 1.

Finishing third, in an absolutely crazy surprise, is Quebec. The team everyone wrote off to start the year, and had a dismal first half, somehow managed to get the final Northern playoff spot. While their future is still unknown, this gives them a great hope of survival beyond this year. They’re quite clearly the worst playoff team, but anything can happen. They had some young talent break out, with Calvin Thomas finishing second in goals, and Stanley Brand finishing 4th in assists. Quebec finished at 25-25-14.

Finishing fourth are the Toronto Lakers, who somehow managed to get leapfrogged at the very end of the year to miss the postseason for the first time in 5 years. They went abo

1936 MHL Offseason: On the Ice

Notable Retirements:

Robert Courbouche - C (MTB 1920-34)
One Montreal legend retired last year in Thaddeus Morgan, and this year it’s his longtime teammate Robert Courbouche. Courbouche has a highly impressive resume, including: holding the MHL single-season goals record; leading the league in points twice and assists once; winning the Abbott Cup, and holding the Barons’ franchise goals and points titles. He is also sixth in points per game among the top 50 in games played. A VERY good career for Mr. Courbouche, who will be a hall of famer once it opens.

Christophe Paquet - D (BRK 1920-23, TOR 1923-24, NYB 1924-35)
Paquet played 775 games in his great career. His 4 Abbott Cup titles are tied for most in league history, and he played a key role in all of them, especially in 1923 with Toronto. As well, he was considered the best defenseman in the league for part of his career. His 240 career goals is the most by an MHL defenseman, and his two-way game was lethal at its best. A Blue Bird legend.

Roy Parent - C (YRK/HAM 1920-24, SYR 1925-27, CHI 1928-34)
Parent was an unknown star for the first half of his career, playing in two smaller markets in Hamilton and Syracuse. However, he truly shone once he joined Chicago. He was known for his great playmaking skills, and lead the league in assists in 1929-30. As well with the Wildcats, he was a big part of their first Abbott Cup in 1933. Parent currently sits 5th all-time in goals, 3rd in assists, and 2nd in points. While he’ll inevitably be overtaken and fall down the lists as time goes on, he deserves lots of credit for being one of the league’s best players.

Kenneth Moore (KGN 1921-22, TOR 1922-29, NWK 1929, DET 1930-35)
Moore was one of the league’s best secondary scorers during his career, mainly during his time in Toronto. As well, he was a playoff performer, having 17 career goals in 38 playoff games. His time in the league had some controversy, partic